Sneak Peeks

As some of you might know from an earlier post, we had a photo shoot for The Pillars of the Community last week. I wasn’t in the photo shoot, but got to help out which was really fun. While at work (I work as an assistant to Elements' Artistic Administrator), I happened to get a peek at some of the pictures from the shoot and some mock-up poster ideas… I have to tell you they looked pretty cool! Stayed tuned to see the finished product later-I personally can’t wait to see the finalized poster… We’ve got some great designers on the job!
                On another note, I’ll give you a peek in on an ‘in-house showcase’ that two of my friends and I are performing this weekend for our friends, family and the rest of the Company. We’re doing some Ibsen and some Shakespeare- pulling from things that we learned during our month in Chicago. Our theme: Myth and the Sea, and living on Cape Cod, we have the luxury of performing it right by the ocean! More to come on that later…

The exercise of reliving

I was looking forward to another day of rehearsals and wondered why we don't call it reliving? That is what we have to do when going over our lines repeatedly, to truthfully relive our emotions that we need to use to do justice to our character.  If I don't its a waste of time and is unfair to the other actors that are working to do their part...

Never let 'em see you sweat

Someone was commenting on the internal work that the theater arts is.  Its a kind of suffering that if the artist is doing their job right you never realize what it costs them as a person. But as the artist you are putting yourself intentionally in a "Groundhog Day" over and over again. I have to willing to be in the moment in order to live the moment in front of you. Every performance.  That is what you come for. To experience something fresh or revealing, or a reliving of a old mostly forgotten memory...

Playtime

For some people music is what catches them. Colors can make all the difference to another persons day. For others, words are the key to unlocking their heart.
Drama has a important role to play in human inspiration (and even salvation). The proof is the long history of man using drama to communicate with others. From the story you share with a friend to Shakespeare's writing to Noel Coward, it unlocks and opens the heart to a shared experience.

Its Saturday night

Saturday night when I was a young adult was saved for Saturday Night Live, of course. A whole group of friends would sit down and laugh for an hour.  Even if we were offended with something (rarely) we "tune in" to be there the following week to see what they would do next.
Great theater groups are like that.  Every time there is a show I stand in the back and watch others excercise their acting chops.  Its not like I don't know the lines by then, but something about watching them spin their energy into a moment is mesmerizing. I just have to see what happens next. Just like Saturday Night Live.

Everyone Craves Drama

Whether you are a Book Worm, a Couch Potato, or a Drama Queen, everyone craves amusement of some sort.  Just sitting the office, I enjoy a quick story or reaction from another person.  It takes you out of your own sphere for a minute and lets you know you are still alive somehow.  My favorite is when someone flounces through the office without saying a word. 
 You just have to smile. 

Creative spin

Swirling around me in this office is buzzing activity.  I have a computer programmer snapping his fingers working out loud how to do only God knows what, mumbling from the finance office (that's pretty normal actually !), two Elements people perplexed and sparring vocabulary as only dramatists can about how to land a venue in Boston, two publicists working on the phones for Gloriae Dei Cantores tour (IN TEN DAYS !!), and one tour planner and a tech guy kneeling in front of the printer,( and I'm not repeating what they are saying anywhere)!

Meanwhile I sit here like a real life "Wheres Waldo?" hidden in plain sight. Trying desperately to spin a fascinating blog... Its so Broadway.  I can almost hear them breaking into lines and song. 

 I'll let you know how it ends !