Ch-ch-ch-changes

I am a professional actor

Towards the end of my shoot on a wonderful little horror movie, the director forbid me from denying that fact. Mostly because he was sick of me haranguing him for saying he was not a professional director. Don't you hate it when your good advice gets thrown back in your face?

Well, he was right.

I've had a crazy month of August. The first two weeks were taken up by said horror movie and I audited a very inspirational acting course.

The movie reminded me how much fun acting was, how much I loved being on set, and how great it is to be part of a team working passionately towards something that's bigger than yourself. Even the incredibly early morning wake-up calls (did you know there's a 4:30 in the morning now?) only reminded me that I was getting up to go do something I absolutely adore doing (and if that happened to include cutting people in half with a chain saw or sending someone off a cliff, who was I to argue?).

The course made me realize that I was being a lazy actor. If I'm honest with myself, I know that I expected lots of great parts with very little effort or preparation. I'd go into an audition and just expect talent to carry me through. I would complain about how hard I was working to get things done, but I was really wasn't working at all.

So, for an upcoming audition, I prepared like mad. I wasn't going to let old habits stand in the way of what I wanted. I was going to get this part. I read the script a few times and immediately picked a scene that struck a cord with me. I brushed off my monologue and put it on its feet. And then I did something that I never allowed myself to do in the past.
I got help.
Thanks to two really great friends, I got to play with both scene and monologue. They helped me discover things about the characters and make good choices. They were lifesavers.

I arrived at the audition feeling rather grounded. I was feeling happy just to be there. Adequate preparation had already taken away about 50% of my nerves to the point that when I realized there were five extra people in the room than what I had envisioned, I didn't freak out. I was actually glad for the opportunity to play in front of more people. And play I did. I didn't take my self too seriously and had fun. Yes, Nancy, acting is fun!

And then I got a callback.

Wow!

Then I took a page out of my amazing friend's handbook. I went to my resume and added the credit to the list. I was letting the universe know that I believed it could happen.

Guess what? I got the part.

I laughed uncontrollably for about two minutes when I received the news.

Nancy Kenny will be appearing in Rabbit Hole this October at the new Gladstone Theatre (Get your tickets now!)


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On Monday morning, I went and took the crazy to a whole other level. I walked into work and I gave them my notice. After about four years of floundering about in full-time jobs, I realized that if I wanted to truly be a professional actor, I had to either shit or get off the pot. Well, gosh darnit, it's time to shit!

To tell you the truth, no decision has ever felt so right before. It was time.

I'll be at my current job until September 12, and then rehearsals start for Rabbit Hole. My contract is for six weeks until October 25th.

After that point, who knows, but I believe (and it's about damn time I did) that I can be an actor and still manage to take care of myself.

Besides, if ever I'm royally fucked, I'll just move in to my film director's basement and take his DVD collection hostage.
Because I am a professional actor and he created a monster.

Post Show Blues

The Ottawa Fringe Festival concluded this past Sunday and, thanks to an oddly placed holiday during the week, it hasn't really hit me until now. It's typical to feel a slight crash after a show, but I think it may be worst after the Fringe Festival.

Though it was hard going to work every day with the festival on, I really didn't mind it because I was pumped about the night ahead. How often can you perform in two shows in one night, see two other shows, and then sit down with a very large group of like-minded individuals, drinking beer and talking about art? On one night, karaoke was even included.

I love the atmosphere that comes along with the Fringe. I always find it very inspiring. I met an 18 year old girl who was appearing in her own one-woman show, her third since the age of 16. I met mothers who manage to juggle their artistic endeavors with familial obligations. I met people who take their shows across Canada (and sometimes the world) and spend the vast majority of the year on the road.

They all make it look so easy and fun (though I know it's more fun than easy).

So now I am back at work and wondering what comes next. I envy the many performers I met who are living the true life of an artist and are free from the shackles of the 9 to 5 lifestyle. Though I'm sure many of them would be more than happy with my paycheck (which will be increasing shortly thanks to a promotion I've just received), I don't think any of them would trade it in to lose out on doing what they love.

I guess in the end it's all about perspective. There are lots of great things in my immediate future. On top of getting a promotion at work, tomorrow I start a job at Bluesfest, another cool festival in town. I'll be doing surveys for a large pocketful of cash and access to all the festival events and headliners. If you see me hanging around a venue, stop by, say hi, and take a minute to fill out my questionnaire.

I'm really looking forward to shooting a film for two weeks in August, my first real paid gig. Also, Evolution Theatre got a lot of great press and sold out many shows during the Fringe. We broke even early on, which means we'll actually get a little bit of coinage for the work we did. Evolution's next show will be in September and I will be taking care of publicity for that one.

After that though, I'm not too sure. I've had a few auditions for stuff in October, but I don't know if any of it will pan out. It may be a perfect time for me to go visit a friend in Japan. Or write some stuff. Or take lessons to brush up on new skills.

Who knows where the wind blows...

0.57

Lately, I'm not sure why, I've been toying with the idea of going back to school. Getting a Master's degre is something that has always been running around in the back of my head, especially if I could do my thesis on one particular aspect of the theatre that touches me on a deeply personal level.

Because I would love to do my thesis on theatre in the acadian culture, I always thought my only option would be l'Université de Moncton. However, a move to Moncton just does not appeal to me at the moment. With the addition of a new MA program at the U of O and their additional focus on francophone culture, I started thinking well, why not here and now?

I had been reading in the papers that the university was adding money to their graduate scholarship programs which I thought might work for me. Unfortunately, to gain access to these scholarships, you need at least an 8.0 GPA. I'm off by at least 0.57

No scholarship for me.

I left my undergrad with over 40K in debt which I am nowhere near done paying off. Now being a home-owner, I don't think I'm ready to get even deeper into more of that.

If anyone has any suggestions, I would love to hear them.

I Don't Get It

Over the past two months, I had been spending a lot of time and money on acting workshops. In fact, I had one just this past weekend.

These workshops have been great since most of them focused on the almighty audition. You see, it's a well known fact that you can be one of the greatest actors in the world, but just completely suck at auditions.

There's a story in one of my books that talks about this casting director who was out seeing A Streetcar Named Desire on stage with Marlon Brando. Brando had completely mesmerized him and he called his assistant to ask why he had never seen this wonderful actor before. His assistant checked in their files. Marlon Brando had already auditioned for this casting director eight times.

I believe I am a good actor. It's more than that actually. I know I am a good actor. This past weekend, I felt comfortable in my skin during my mock auditions with a prominent casting director from Toronto. I actually liked the way I looked on camera and truly felt that I had done some of my best work. Best of all, I had fun. I was ready for my next big audition!

Which happened to be today...

It was for a corporate video, in English and in French. No problem, I thought. I know that I have a natural ability to host things. I learned my lines and I dressed the part.

But something happened today...

I started getting scared. I started thinking about how much I really wanted to nail this gig because I hadn't done any professional work in a while now. I started thinking about my credit card and how much I could really really really use the money. I started worrying about my braces and the fact that most people believe me if I tell them I'm twenty... the breakdown said they wanted someone 30 to 40...

I panicked.

All the way down on the bus, I went over my lines in my head. Ok, good, I know them. I put on some lipstick and powdered my nose. Great, I look stylishly business but still friendly and cute. Then the receptioninst told me they had a telepromter in the room. Even better!

I sat down and tried to calm the pounding in my heart, tried to breathe and ground myself, tried to just relax and have fun, tried to get rid of the pasty, chalky taste in my mouth. This is just another silly audition after all.

I walked down a hall and around cubicles to the room. Somehow it felt like "dead-man walking". I walked into the room. The faces were friendly, familiar and smiling. Nothing to worry about.

There is NO teleprompter.

SHIT!

I placed myself on the mark. I'm asked to do the English sides first. No problem, no problem. "Welcome to the..." OH fuck! Welcome to what? WELCOME TO WHAT?!? I feel the papers shake in my hand as I look down the barrel. The director tells me I can read from the page if I want to.

But I don't need to read, I KNOW MY LINES! I KNEW THEM ON THE BUS! ASK THE LADY WHO THOUGHT I WAS CRAZY FOR WHISPERING THEM NEXT TO HER!!! I want to scream that out, but I don't.

I try again. I stumble and bumble and fumble again and again. I don't want to read directly from the sheet because my hands are trembling so much that the sheet shakes and makes a terrible noise. I'm sure it sounds louder in my head.

It seems to take forever. Start-Stop-Go Again. Stumble some more...

The French is just like the English.

By the time we go in for a closer shot, I'm so pissed at myself, I'm sure I don't sound too friendly. At least, I don't seem to need the sheet anymore.

SEE! I did know my lines.

Too late though.

The director shakes my hand on the way out and tells me she hopes it's not too cold out. I stutter (when did I pick up a stutter?) that it's actually quite beautiful out... quite quite quite beautiful.

Besides, I'm so hot under the collar right now, I don't think I can ever again feel cold.

I leave, holding my head up, trying not to cry.

Man that sucked!

I make it all the way downstairs before I realize I forgot my coat.

Shit, fuck, shit, fuck, fuck, fuck SHIIIIIIIITTTT!!!!

Great, now my eyes are leaking.


Sigh... now I have to just put it all behind me until the next audition.


So you sure you want to be an actor?

Thoughts Post Stratford Audition

I wrote these thoughts after my audition last Tuesday while waiting for the train to take me back to Ottawa. Call backs are being held on March 3rd and I haven't heard anything back.

Ah well!

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First of all, Martha Henry is a beautiful woman. I could see her being Governor General one day. She looks like your kindly grandmother who could spend an afternoon with you baking cookies and yet tell you naughty stories about her life when your mom wasn't in the room. There's an aura about her that lets you know she has really lived her life and has nothing to prove to anyone. It was incredibly comforting to walk into a room with her (at least I thought so - I can't speak for others who auditioned).

I don't want to over analyze my audition (it's over and done with afterall), but I did realize a few things. At times I definitely rushed, and pushed, and "acted" really hard. Ms. Henry noticed this, of course, and redirected me. She told me to just stand there in th emiddle of the room and talk to her. When I did, it felt like magic.

I can't believe how much I learned from a simple audition that barely spanned five minutes, but if I have to take anything away from it, it's the realization that I still have a tremendous amount to learn. And that's not a bad thing.

All in all, I had fun and I know that, whatever may come along down the road, I'm looking forward to it.

Looking Forward

It's been a busy past couple of weeks. I finished up the show I did with NORT and then stage managed Breathing Time Productions night of one act plays. On top of that, I've been busy with rehearsals for Toto Too's Jigsaw Confession in January and finishing up a marketing course at Algonquin College (I actually have an exam next week, eep!).

Of coursee, during all this time, I was also going through the motions of purchasing my first home and, as of this weekend, I am finally moved in. It will be beautiful once I'm finally unpacked.

But that, dear friends, is not the extent of my news.

You see, over the past couple of weeks/months, I have been working with two other colleagues to found our own theatre company. As of last week, the incorporation papers have gone through and it is official: Evolution Theatre is now a legal entity.

Yes, I am a founding member of a new theatre company in Ottawa and I want you all to hear about it and spread the word.

We have our season and venues (mostly) set up for next year (I say mostly because tonight's Fringe Lottery will determine where our summer show will take place). General auditions will be taking place on January 12, 2008 - location TBD. I encourage everyone to come out, even if you are a member of the Canadian Actor's Equity Association. Depending on our funding situation, we might still be able to use you.

Though all this information will be blitzed around town in the coming weeks (we have our first BOD tonight, actually), I thought I'd let my friends in on the ground floor. So without further ado, here is Evolution Theatre's upcoming season of contemporary canadian theatre, including one Ottawa premiere:

The Ventriloquist by Larry Tremblay (April in the Studio Leonard Beaulne)
This Is A Play by Daniel McIvor (June during the Ottawa Fringe Festival)
The Diswashers by Morris Panych (September in Academic Hall)

If you are interested in auditioning for us, please send your resume and headshot to evolutiontheatre@gmail.com (our proper email address will be going up with the launch of our new website, so the gmail account will do for now).

We will also be looking at holding a kind of actor's gym in January as an opportunity to see new talent and play around with some scenes. If you're interested in participating, you can email us about that too.

I'll be frequently posting about what's going on with the company here, so check back often. I may even be starting a new blog about it - So you want to start a theatre comapny :p

Back to Basics

I had an amazing acting class this weekend. It was an introduction to the Meisner Technique with Jacqueline McClintok, an incredibly funny and inspiring woman who was one his last students at The Neighborhood Playhouse in New York.

If you read the book Sanford Meisner on Acting, the first three chapters give you a good idea of the exercises we were doing in class.

All the exercises mostly revolved around the "Repetition Game". Basically, two people sit face-to-face in chairs. One person makes a general observation like "Your shirt is blue" (or "You have curly hair," or "You just shuffled in your seat," ect.), the other person repeats "My shirt is blue," the first person repeats "Your shirt is blue," and so on and so forth until you are told to stop or switch. Then the other person makes an observation.

When I read the book, on paper, it sounded kind of boring. Especially when you realize that people spend weeks doing this one exercise before moving on to anything new. But once you're there, you realize how fascinating it is and how much it strips acting back down to it's basic, most essential elements: Stop thinking, Make it about the other person, Stay in the moment, and Listen!

You should see the great notes I took. It's a shame if you missed out on this amazing course (*cough* Eric *cough*).

Jacquelin is now based in Montreal but she had a wonderful time in Ottawa. Everyone in class was hoping that she would come back again soon, but if not, we may have to make a weekly road trip.

Why I Am Full Of Shit

For those of you who don't know yet, after talking about it for years, I've finally taken the plunge and gotten braces to correct a slight overlap in my two front teeth. Most people didn't notice this overlap until I point it out to them, but I noticed and it bugged me. That was reason one for getting it done. Reason two was because, as of May 19th, orthodontics were fully covered under my health plan. So basically, I'm getting them done for free. My dentist also told me that the enamel on my top teeth was worn down like that of someone who grinds their teeth (I don't). He attributes this to the fact that my mouth doesn't close properly and so they've simply started to wear down from improper use. It's nothing major right now, but it could get worse in the future.

All this to say I am now metal-gear solid.

A part of me figured that this would mark an impromptu break in my acting career. After all, braces not only affect how I look, they could affect the way I speak. So who would want to hire a metal-mouth mid-twenty year old who can't talk good? (grammar mistake on purpose)
So I would take this nine month sabbatical to do my own work, create my own company, write/direct/produce/star in my own shows and not worry about performing for other people. I'd just finish up my acting class and Shakespeare and then set sail.

I even had the perfect project already lined up. I got asked to be a supernumerary in Opera Lyra's upcoming production of Don Giovanni. Perfect! No talking and an appearance in Southam Hall at the NAC.

Oh sure, I would still audition for stuff IF it came up, but there's no way I would get cast!

And this, ladies and gentlemen, is why I am full of shit:

Two auditions and a callback later and I've been cast in two independant films, one of which I may have to turn down because, get this, I don't have the time!

My agent also called me yesterday and I have an audition tonight for the next MOW in town. I'm auditioning for a part called the SSHHHH Girl. Basically, I'm in a college class and go "Shhhhhh!" to the main actors.

Who knows, the braces may be what makes me stand out from the rest of the crowd.

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Stay tuned for another SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION!

Pay No Attention to the Voices in Your Head

*Edit - added the video*

I had resisted posting/emailing my last blog. There was a little voice inside me that kept telling me I would look like an idiot if I sent it. However, the louder that little voice got, the more confident I was that I needed to send this out. I wasn't doing it to get a response, but the overwhelming about of replies I got told me that I was right. I feel hopeful about life.

I'm tired today. I had very little sleep and it's not making me feel all that great. It is my own fault. I didn't have to go out for a drink after a short film festival I attended, but I wanted reconnect with some old friends. I feel better though if I keep working on stuff. Tonight I'm going to pour over my script for the first time since the reading and I will try to build it up. I'm also going to start learning my lines for this scene from acting class that I've been resisting. I'm working on the Crackwalker by Judith Thompson. If you're not familiar, let me just tell you that it's not one of those happy feel good shows.

Tomorrow I'm back with Remote Planet, which is great. I haven't been able to record any shows in a while since Saturdays have typically turned out to be very busy for me. I'm also going to be reshooting a scene from a short film I did a little while back. Turns out the lighting was really bad in my last scene and it needs to be redone.

While I'm glad to have been doing so many films lately, I wish some of them would get completed. I have yet to see anything that I've ever done.

Finally, there is an awesome little video that was made during our Coffee House Fundraiser on the Buttons and Beaus Blog.



Remember, you can still help out by sponsoring me in the MS Supercities Walk!

Busy Weekend (Part 2)

While shooting that Algonquin film, I also found out from one of the other actors that one of the many short films I was supposed to be working on had already started shooting without telling me. There's a longer story there, but i don't feel like getting into it right now. I'm just annoyed that getting screwed over by an independant film has been happening alot to me lately. On the bright side, that same actor told me that I was probably quite lucky to not be involved since they don't seem to be very well organized.

Small favours, I guess.

I didn't have too much time to dwell on this however. I had what I thought was a callback on Sunday for another short film. It turns out that it was more of a rehearsal than anything else. The director just wanted to see how the lead and I would interact together. The verdict was positive. I got the part.

Once that was done, I had to hurry back downtown to Arts Court for my Salamander workshop. We did another two hours of singing (which I think is going to be the norm every Sunday), followed by an hour and half of movement work and a brief intro to the text. Homework for this week: spend 45 minutes to an hour every night working on the songs we're learning, read the folio version of Measure for Measure and pick out the spots where a character enters and exits, and increase my work out routines to include more yoga and activities that build my endurance.
I'm not eactly sure when I will find the time for all this, but we'll see.

I checked my messages and found out that my "husband" for Possible Worlds was violently ill and so rehearsal that night would be cancelled. That was a shame because things had been going so well lately; I had been really looking forward to it.

It did give me a chance, however to speak with the coordinator for the Shakespeare Young Company. We had a really great talk about where I am at compared to some of the other people in the company. She pointed out that I have great technical abilities from all my years of training and that I work very hard. Too hard even. She told me that now I need to relax and just know that the basics are there for me. They are already ingrained in my body and all I need now to sit back and play.

It's not the first time I get that piece of advice and I told her so. She told me I must have had some really great teachers (don't I know it!)

By the end of the night on Sunday, I was beat. But it was a good kind of tired. One that comes from knowing that you've been working hard on something you love.

I'm a Salamander

Yesterday I had my first of ten workshops with Salamander Theatre's Shakespeare Young Company. I have to say I was surprised at some of the responses I got when I first told people I was accepted into this group. The general vibe was that this was juvenile, that the caliber of work wasn't going to be very high, and that it was a waste of my time and money.

Well you know what? Those Negative Nancy's (not to be confused with Nancy Kenny, who never "whines, complains, or looks at the bad side of things," evah! :p) can bite me. I'm not doing this for you. I'm doing this for me. I feel that as a performer there are quite a few areas where I find myself lacking and I want to continue to improve.

Those areas include, but are not limited to: Shakespeare, singing, dancing, various areas of stage fighting, performing outdoors, ect.

Things we did yesterday: approximately two hours of singing and a two hour introduction to some of the basics of stage fighting.

I was very impressed. Things started at two o'clock on the nose and, with the exception of a short ten-fifteen minute break, went dilligently through until six. By the end of it, I was beat and feeling muscles in my body that probably had not been used in quite some time. But I also left there with some vocal warm ups, a very short song (or "catch"), plenty of reading material (including the first folio of Measure for Measure, the play we will be putting on this summer), new physical warm up exercises, and a variety of basic stage fighting moves.

That seems like a pretty good start to me.

Oh Shit!

Dear Fringe Applicant;

Congratulations and welcome to the 2007 Ottawa Fringe Festival. A public lottery was held on December 15^th and your company won a spot in next year’s Festival.

I got in?

I got in!

...

Sweet Jesus, I have to actually finish my script now!*

*I hope everyone (*cough* Kris Joseph *cough*) realizes that I am only half-kidding and I was planning on finishing this script all along.

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On another note, Salamander Theatre has also decided that I impressed them so much with my first audition for their Young Company, that I don't need to do a second one. So post Fringe, you will be able to see me in Measure for Measure at various locales around town.

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I'm fighting the rising urge to panic in the pit of my stomach. Resistance be damned! I'm going to make this work.

Time to Get to Work

Well, after a week of hard work, my acting workshop is now over. While I'm sad we're done, I'm feeling good about how it went. I'm amazed how much I've learned about myself as an actor over such a short period of time.

My mind feels all jumbled right now as I try and recall everything. I'm sorry, I'm going to be keeping this brief since there is just way too much for me to talk about.

I've got a lot of work to do. I want to read more plays and see more film and theatre. I plan on taking dance and movement with some of the girls from class. I want to finish some of the scripts I've got going. There is so much real beauty in the world; I want to immerse myself and be inspired by it.

Touching Base

I know, I know, it's been a while since my last post... at least for me, this constitutes a little while. Classes have been going very well. I've sat through almost every single one so far, which makes for some pretty long days (at least 12 hours). I've been learning an incredible amount about myself and my art, which is great. At rehearsal last night, I found myself more in touch with my character than I had ever been.

Unfortunately, I'm finding myself in a stupid battle with resistance at the moment. It's some pretty strong stuff, which means that I'm probably on the verge of something big. I just wish I could get over it right now so that I can move on.

Beautiful People

You know, one of the hardest things you can probably do in your life is be yourself, your true honest-to-god self, in a room full of strangers. I admire everyone I saw yesterday with the balls to do that. Congratulations, you've just taken a big step towards becoming the best actor you can be by simply being true to yourself.

There is something incredibly magical and beautiful about people once they just let themselves go. I couldn't stop smiling yesterday. My cheeks actually started to hurt after a while.

Wow, I don't smile enough.

I learned so much from watching other people perform. It continues the trend I was experiencing by being an assistant teacher to a class of green actors. It really teaches me a lot about myself.

For instance, every fear or nervous energy that would creep up on me, creeps up on other people too. I'm just like everyone else. I'm not "special". I'm not alone.

And yet, people all have different ways of coping with their fears. In that sense, we're all different. We all bring something unique to the table. We're all "special".

Pretty neat, huh?

Always Training

The day just isn't going by fast enough.

Acting classes are starting tonight with Michele Lonsdale Smith. My class officially begins on Sunday, but I'll be heading over to Arts Court later on to audit the introductory course. The great thing about that is that I get to experience the class for the first two days without the pressure of having to perform. I find that I learn so much from watching other people. I'm also going to get to see a fresh batch of people act which I'm really looking forward to.

I don't know if I'll have the time to update everyone on my progress in the class since I plan on spending a lot of time there, but I'll do my best.

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Rehearsals are also coming along quite nicely. I'm always amazed at all the new discoveries that get made. I think this is going to be a good show.

"I'm in a play"

Kris's last post really hit home because it reminded me of an incident that occured last Sunday (No, it doesn't involve nipple rings, but it's almost as seedy).

I was walking through the mall, on my way to meet my scene partner for Michele's class, when I noticed a shoe sale at Transit. For class, I'm doing a bit from Spike Heels by Theresa Rebeck. As you can probably guess from the title, my character wears spike heels in the play.

I quickly scan a rack before grabbing the first shoe that attracks my attention as a possible match. The sales girl approaches me.

"Can I help you with anything?"

"Yes," I respond showing her the shoe in my hand. "Is this the kind of shoe people would look at and go 'Wow, those are ridiculous! How the hell can you walk in those things?' or even 'You could take someone's eye out with those!'"

She gives me a quizzical look but, either because she actually did agree with me or simply because she saw a sale in the making, replies: "Yes, of course."

She gets me a pair in my size. I try them on and, although a little shaky, they fit just fine. But I'm not sure they'll match with what I'm planning to wear.

The sales girl obviously sees the doubt in my face.

"Is something wrong?"

And that's when I too screwed my face up and gave her the answer that I hate giving people because it always conjures up images of geeks in church basements mounting productions to celebrate the nativity: “I’m in a play.” And I also do not know in which nativity play Mary would go traipsing about in stilletoes and a mini-skirt.

Ignoring the weird look she's giving me, I let her know about my "matching" dilemna. That, she seemed to understand.

"Oh, well you know even though they are on sale, they aren't final sale. Just keep the receipt and you have 30 days to return them."

And that's how I ended up with the shoes for my class.

It's funny though, the reactions some people give you when you tell then that you are an actor. Like such a thing could not possibly exist in a city like Ottawa. And yet, here we are. We're not going away, so people better start getting used to it.

WANTED: Nancy Kenny, some more

Well, well, well, where were all you people in oh, let's say, September, when I was in a big stinking funk of nothingness? (or maybe the big stinking funk is what kept you away? note to self: watch your karma)

Whatever it was, it's definately over now.

To recap, let's see what's going on in December:

• Rehearsals for Possible Worlds (which get more and more interesting every time)
• My last class with the Adult Professionals (I'm going to miss that group!)
• Class with Michele Lonsdale-Smith (I may have mentioned her once or twice :p) from Dec. 7 to 14
• The play The Domino Heart, where Kris Joseph experiments with wacky facial hair and body piercings (I will make it out to one performance or die trying!)
• A Sens game versus Boston (ok, not an actor related thing, but I'm looking forward to it anyway)
• I then leave for 10 days at home in NB where I hope to complete the frist draft of my Fringe script and fight with my mom over how much her "cut" as a producer is going to be.
• And we top everything off with a massive New Year's Eve Blowout at my house on December 31st (all blog readers are of course invited!) where we will be celebrating with such illustrious guests as my best buddy Derek (fresh off a tour of duty in Vietnam... or maybe he was teaching English in Japan... I wasn't paying attention) and my wonderful souls sistah Eugenia (if she manages to change her flight, which she totally better! :p) More on that one later.
• And somehow, throughout all of this, I have to find time to do some Christmas shopping and work 9 to 5 for the MNTF...

I've even had to say no to a few things like another play and some radio shows because I've simply gotten too busy.

Not a bad way to end the year and, as we swing into January:

• More rehearsals and finally the opening of Possible Worlds (Shameless Self Promotion Coming Soon!)
• Possibly three short films (although since only one has giving me an actual shooting date, the others will probably now have to wait until after PW)
• A brand spanking new intensive scene study class with Claudia to keep my skills sharp (this one is going to be fun!)
• A second, third, and possibly fourth draft of my Fringe play
• Whatever free tickets I may get my hands on for the NAC
• Anything else that comes my way...

I'm excited! While I know that most of these things may not even happen, it's fun to have stuff to look forward to.

*Edit* Make that four short films now. Ok, they are definately going to have to wait until after PW.

Speaking Shakespeare

Yesterday, I had an audition for Salamander Theatre's Shakespeare Young Company. While I had known about the auditions for some time, it wasn't until Thursday or Friday last week that I decided to sign up.

Why did I wait so long?

Well, like any sane person, Shakespeare intimidates me. Reading his words is like reading Spanish: I sort of get the gist of what he is saying, but I don't understand every word. Even after getting more information about the company, I was still skeptical. First of all, it is a 10-week workshop that you have to pay for. Second, the audition requirements included one Shakespeare monologue, one contemporary monologue, and one song.

Oh boy

I was still reeling from the craptacular job I had done for my Third Wall audition (personally, I think it was that dog's fault) with monologues. Now, to make things worse, I had to throw in a song.

Sigh

Ok, I can do this.

At least I was very happy with my contemporary monologue from Forever Yours, Marie-Lou.

So first things first: Shakespeare. I went back to my days at the University and picked up the monologue I had worked on in acting class with the amazing Terry Tweed.

Once I had printed out a double-spaced copy, I got to work making notes... every syllable underlined, does that make 10, yes, good, moving on... da DUM, da DUM, da DUM... do you pronounce the ed at the end of that word? count the syllables again... ok, this one has 11 syllables... it's an emotional line... take a breath... gosh I've forgotten how dramatic this woman can be, love it!... wait a second, there's 12 syllables here... count again... yes 12... since when does he use 12!...bastard bard is trying to screw me over, who does he think he is? Moliere?... ok keep going... what is she trying to say here... write it out in plain text for yourself... stop looking at the page... how much do you remember...wait, the stress is on this word now... oooooo, I get it! That's funny! Bard's a funny guy...
It was crude and it definitely wasn't pretty, but I got it done.

I was surprised how much of the work just came back to me once I got into it. I always thought my brain was kind of like a computer that's maxed out on memory. Whenever I learn text, it usually disappears from my brain once I don't have to use it anymore to make room for something else. But I guess that analogy is wrong. It seems the text is still there, just fragmented. All it needs is a little refresher to piece it back together.

So at the audition, I do my piece. When I'm done, I can see the people on the other side of the room smiling. They don't have to though. I know I've done a great job because I actually understood what I was saying, knew who I was talking to, and connected to my character. I curse myself for not having used this piece for Third Wall instead of the one I did. They redirected me a few times and then I moved on to the contemporary monologue.

I can't believe I hadn't started using this monologue sooner for auditions. I can relate to this Tremblay character so well it scares me. They tell me they were impressed with how at ease I am in my contemporary work. Awesome!

Then, the song

I had informed them that I am not a singer. I am an actor who can sing. The guy behind the table could relate. I do my song accapella and, when I'm done, the woman agrees with me: I'm not a singer, I'm an actor who can sing. She says I have a beautiful instrument, but I'm scared to use it. That's when I realize that my hands were shaking throughout the song.

But it doesn't matter. I more than made up for it with my monologues.

I'm told that the SYC is exactly the place for actor's at my level. They tell me not to worry that I can't make the group portion of the audition later that night due to rehearsal. They will set up another time for me.

I am now more excited than ever at the possibility of joining this company. I am always looking for opportunities to improve my skills and this would give me the chance to fill the void in many areas. According to their FAQ, not only would I be learning more about Shakespeare and his text, but there would be some basic sword fighting, physical theatre training, singing (!), and the opportunity to perform in outdoor venues (which I have never done before).

Ok, now that I've completely psyched myself up for this, I'll try not to sit around and wait for the phone to ring...

Back to work!

Oh Glorious December, When Will You Arrive?

I finally know what play I will be doing a scene from and who my partner will be for Michele's upcoming class!

I am very excited to be doing Spike Heels by Theresa Rebeck with the wonderful Joe Marques!

December just can't arrive fast enough!