Sunday, January 29, 2012
The Scene as it Stands
This week was all about narrowing down the choices for showcase We all started out with at least two scenes to present in class this week. We then spent time workshopping the scenes and brainstorming a few other choices. At the end of the week our acting coach and course leader sat down to narrow it down to one scene per person. This meant some reshuffling as well as cutting down the scenes. At the end of the week I unexpectedly found myself in a brand new scene. I am still working with one of my previous scene partners, but this scene was suggested at the very last second. Thursday morning Antonis brings in the script of Arthur Millers A View from the Bridge. He had kept looking at new scenes all week to try and find the perfect one, and this was one his roommate had just suggested. The acting coach suggested he read through the scene with one of the Americans in the class, and as I was handy I jumped in. Now all of the other scenes we memorized and put up on their feet. As neither of us had a chance to work the scene we just sat and read it. Even so, as we started reading, everyone in the room at that moment perked up and leaned in. It was actually rather exciting. Needless to say this was the scene that I ended up with. I am quite pleased with the scene. We cut it down over the weekend and jump in with both feet tomorrow.
Now the thing about A View from the Bridge is that is not a terribly funny play. One might even call it a tragedy. So, I need to find a good song to compliment that, to show that I can do funny. Comedy has sort of become my strong suit this year so I want to make sure that comes through with the showcase. Right now we have it narrowed down to about 4 songs. Two of which need major cutting to get them under 90 seconds. I'm a little worried about that, as those two are my top choices. I've got some rep coaching tomorrow, we'll see how that goes.
So that's showcase. Everyone is freaking out a bit. Ok let me amend that, I am freaking out a little bit. I am just assuming everyone else is freaking out as well. Our teachers keep emphasizing how important this is, and that we really want to have an agent by the end of the year, and that showcase is the way to do that. No pressure right? Oh, and this is my favorite part, we got to have a question and answer session with some industry professionals on Friday, two of whom were agents. Now in hindsight, these two agents don't really seem to be the kind that would be terribly interested in us graduates. I believe one of them represents both Colin Firth and Helen Mirren, I fit right into that type. However through the course of their Q&A session it came out that 1) they were more interested in going to BA showcases than MA, because we are old and over the hill 2) they aren't really interested in signing Americans because unless we sort out the visa thing we have an expiration date and 3) they aren't really interested in people who don't speak with an RP (think upper class British) accent so we should all find pieces in that accent to do for our showcase. I think that covers me in all three counts. What a wonderful way to start my Friday. The rest of the day was more of what I am used to hearing, but it was still a little disconcerting to get all of that information at once. Now, does this change any of my plans? No. Of course not. I knew this was going to be a tough career from the beginning, and I am not going to let two casting agents (out of hundreds I might add) discourage me. I just need to take a deep breath and get back in the game.
So here I am Sunday night, gearing myself back up for the week. I am not totally sure I am ready for the week, but that hasn't stopped me yet. Hopefully by the end of the week we will all have a clearer idea what the showcase is going to contain. I think that will help, knowing exactly what I have to work on.
This week in the wild world of Katie's theatre going: Matilda the Musical and The Lion in Winter (not a musical). Full update to follow.
Sunday, January 22, 2012
On the Mend
Well, finally after a long recovery process it looks like both my computer and I are on the mend. I took my computer into the lovely IT people at Central and they fixed it for me. It did take two days, which was a little sad, but as long as I have it back I don't mind. My cold however is taking much longer to kick than this virus. Still not quite back on my game vocally, but almost.
This week was full of ups and downs. This term has so far been very different than the first two. For one thing is has been very self driven. Right now we are prepping for the showcase, which means that we are all looking for scenes and music. We have spent the week breaking off on our own and scouring the library for plays, only meeting as a class every once in a while to present what we have found. I feel like I haven't seen most of my classmates at all this term. This will change next week. We have a new acting coach coming in to work with us on the scenes that we have picked so far. On Thursday we sat down and made sure everyone had two different scenes to work on, which took a quite some time to organize I might add. We are meeting as a full class three times next week to workshop these scenes. I am looking forward to seeing what everyone has found. And it will be really nice to get on my feet and do some work. Everyone has been realizing that although we started with weekly acting classes at the beginning of the year, as we started working on other projects we stopped getting that type of coaching. The devised piece was mostly focused on putting the whole show together, rather than the direction for each individual piece. So I think everyone is looking forward to getting some feedback and workshop time again.
We are all cracking down on music as well. My music binder has gotten a complete overhaul and I am working on a ton of new stuff. Still not really having much luck finding pop-y stuff to sing, but I am ok with that for the moment. At first I was feeling really unsatisfied with the music I had found to work on, but after some rethinking (dumping a few, and finding a few others) I am feeling much better. Right now my book seems to be pretty split between contemporary music and some of the more classic musicals. I did realize, when I unwittingly brought only pieces by Stephen Flaherty to a rep session, that I tend towards certain types of music. So I need to branch out from that. But for the moment, as I am searching for THE PERFECT piece to sing for showcase, I think playing towards my strengths is fine.
Also spent some time working on the music for Sunday in the Park with George. They have yet to announce who gets to audition for what, but I figure 'no work is wasted'. Plus I want to be ahead of the game once we get to auditions. I know that I am not the only one who is doing this either, so I am not worried. I am feeling pretty good about the music. I am enjoying working on it, and I think when the time comes I can do a lot with it. I just need to remind myself that there are several other things that come before this show, most of which are more important than this in the long run.
Turned in my first big paper for grad school. Woohoo! Although their hand in process is a little bit weird. First of all no one really told us what the policy was (this was a problem across the board with every MA I believe). And we all found out that apparently we are not allowed to turn in things early. So the entire school had a 1 hour window during lunch on Friday to turn in their papers. Needless to say it was a little chaotic. We were forwarded an e-mail that was sent to all of the course leaders reprimanding them for our lack of knowledge about the hand in process. I think that is more their bad than ours. Oh well. We know now I guess. The rest of the papers are due on Monday,. They are written and edited, and now all that is left is to turn them in. I will be glad to be done with this for now, although I do feel good about the paper I wrote.
Meetings for our group projects tomorrow. Should be interesting, as I know this went on everyone's back burner as we all finished the essays. We did however spend two days sitting through lectures that were supposed to help with the project. A very LONG two days. Glad that's over. It is weird, because our course is on such a different timeline than the other MA's. I think for everyone else the project is not due until May. Ours is due in Feb. So while the other classes get to mingle and collaborate we are off by our elitist selves. I wish we did get a chance to meet with these other classes. I think that the collaboration would be both interesting and informative. Oh well you cant have everything.
Right now its off to Camden for lunch with my cousin, to enjoy one of London's rarities. A sunny(ish) day in January!
This week was full of ups and downs. This term has so far been very different than the first two. For one thing is has been very self driven. Right now we are prepping for the showcase, which means that we are all looking for scenes and music. We have spent the week breaking off on our own and scouring the library for plays, only meeting as a class every once in a while to present what we have found. I feel like I haven't seen most of my classmates at all this term. This will change next week. We have a new acting coach coming in to work with us on the scenes that we have picked so far. On Thursday we sat down and made sure everyone had two different scenes to work on, which took a quite some time to organize I might add. We are meeting as a full class three times next week to workshop these scenes. I am looking forward to seeing what everyone has found. And it will be really nice to get on my feet and do some work. Everyone has been realizing that although we started with weekly acting classes at the beginning of the year, as we started working on other projects we stopped getting that type of coaching. The devised piece was mostly focused on putting the whole show together, rather than the direction for each individual piece. So I think everyone is looking forward to getting some feedback and workshop time again.
We are all cracking down on music as well. My music binder has gotten a complete overhaul and I am working on a ton of new stuff. Still not really having much luck finding pop-y stuff to sing, but I am ok with that for the moment. At first I was feeling really unsatisfied with the music I had found to work on, but after some rethinking (dumping a few, and finding a few others) I am feeling much better. Right now my book seems to be pretty split between contemporary music and some of the more classic musicals. I did realize, when I unwittingly brought only pieces by Stephen Flaherty to a rep session, that I tend towards certain types of music. So I need to branch out from that. But for the moment, as I am searching for THE PERFECT piece to sing for showcase, I think playing towards my strengths is fine.
Also spent some time working on the music for Sunday in the Park with George. They have yet to announce who gets to audition for what, but I figure 'no work is wasted'. Plus I want to be ahead of the game once we get to auditions. I know that I am not the only one who is doing this either, so I am not worried. I am feeling pretty good about the music. I am enjoying working on it, and I think when the time comes I can do a lot with it. I just need to remind myself that there are several other things that come before this show, most of which are more important than this in the long run.
Turned in my first big paper for grad school. Woohoo! Although their hand in process is a little bit weird. First of all no one really told us what the policy was (this was a problem across the board with every MA I believe). And we all found out that apparently we are not allowed to turn in things early. So the entire school had a 1 hour window during lunch on Friday to turn in their papers. Needless to say it was a little chaotic. We were forwarded an e-mail that was sent to all of the course leaders reprimanding them for our lack of knowledge about the hand in process. I think that is more their bad than ours. Oh well. We know now I guess. The rest of the papers are due on Monday,. They are written and edited, and now all that is left is to turn them in. I will be glad to be done with this for now, although I do feel good about the paper I wrote.
Meetings for our group projects tomorrow. Should be interesting, as I know this went on everyone's back burner as we all finished the essays. We did however spend two days sitting through lectures that were supposed to help with the project. A very LONG two days. Glad that's over. It is weird, because our course is on such a different timeline than the other MA's. I think for everyone else the project is not due until May. Ours is due in Feb. So while the other classes get to mingle and collaborate we are off by our elitist selves. I wish we did get a chance to meet with these other classes. I think that the collaboration would be both interesting and informative. Oh well you cant have everything.
Right now its off to Camden for lunch with my cousin, to enjoy one of London's rarities. A sunny(ish) day in January!
Monday, January 16, 2012
Sometimes I Really Hate Technology
Don't get me wrong, there's some amazing stuff there. But sometimes....
Like for example, the continuing saga of my laptop. My laptop had been freaking out all fall. So when the screen goes on the fritz during my Christmas break I decide to just bite the bullet and buy a new one. I figured that it would be safer that way. Then I don't have to worry about it dieing while I am in the middle of writing my dissertation.
So I get my nice shiny new computer and take it back to school. And its been a week, ONE WEEK since I got back, and guess what happens. I have contracted some sort of horrible evil computer virus. Thankfully I have the lovely Central IT folk to help me out. But they have been working on my computer now for the last hour and its looking no better. They seem confident that they will fix this today, which is very reassuring. But I mean come on! I just want to take my computer home and not have to worry about things crashing, or people stealing my identity. Plus I need to edit the three papers I wrote over the weekend so I can turn them in before Friday.
Right, enough about that. While I am sitting in the computer lab waiting for them to be done I might as well update. This weekend was neither terribly productive, nor terribly restful. I was sick for most of the weekend. Not horribly ill, or even bed ridden, just enough to feel crummy and unmotivated. So I didn't have much chance to work on any of my new music. I did however finish the many essays they gave us to write!
This morning was dedicated towards picking more scene material for the showcase. Tom and I started off the morning bringing in two scenes that we had glanced through. I thought for sure that Paul wouldn't let us do the scene from Arcadia (me being not actually English and all), however he really liked it, actually preferred that one to the other scene we brought in. So we'll continue to work on that. It has been really fun getting to see some of the other scenes people are bringing in. Many are from plays that I don't know at all, or only know a little bit about. Some of them, however, are plays that I know very well, and really enjoy. For example two of the guys in our class brought in a scene from Martin McDonagh's The Pillowman, which is one of my absolute favorite plays of all time. I only got to see a very brief snippet of the material, but I think it will be really great once they have gotten it on its feet.
At lunch they had an alum come and talk to us about his experience, which was really interesting. He is currently playing in Ghost, and will be in the upcoming Les Mis movie. It was both encouraging and intimidating to hear about his experiences after he graduated. But it has gotten me motivated to do more work prepping myself for that. I need to do more research into the business side of things here. They have been encouraging all of us to research agents and casting directors so that we know something about the people that might be approaching us after the showcase. Right now I am still feeling quite overwhelmed by the whole thing, but I think once I start doing my homework I'll feel much better.
Right, well off to check on my computer. Hopefully they will be done soon. I had so many plans for today that got sidetracked by this....
Like for example, the continuing saga of my laptop. My laptop had been freaking out all fall. So when the screen goes on the fritz during my Christmas break I decide to just bite the bullet and buy a new one. I figured that it would be safer that way. Then I don't have to worry about it dieing while I am in the middle of writing my dissertation.
So I get my nice shiny new computer and take it back to school. And its been a week, ONE WEEK since I got back, and guess what happens. I have contracted some sort of horrible evil computer virus. Thankfully I have the lovely Central IT folk to help me out. But they have been working on my computer now for the last hour and its looking no better. They seem confident that they will fix this today, which is very reassuring. But I mean come on! I just want to take my computer home and not have to worry about things crashing, or people stealing my identity. Plus I need to edit the three papers I wrote over the weekend so I can turn them in before Friday.
Right, enough about that. While I am sitting in the computer lab waiting for them to be done I might as well update. This weekend was neither terribly productive, nor terribly restful. I was sick for most of the weekend. Not horribly ill, or even bed ridden, just enough to feel crummy and unmotivated. So I didn't have much chance to work on any of my new music. I did however finish the many essays they gave us to write!
This morning was dedicated towards picking more scene material for the showcase. Tom and I started off the morning bringing in two scenes that we had glanced through. I thought for sure that Paul wouldn't let us do the scene from Arcadia (me being not actually English and all), however he really liked it, actually preferred that one to the other scene we brought in. So we'll continue to work on that. It has been really fun getting to see some of the other scenes people are bringing in. Many are from plays that I don't know at all, or only know a little bit about. Some of them, however, are plays that I know very well, and really enjoy. For example two of the guys in our class brought in a scene from Martin McDonagh's The Pillowman, which is one of my absolute favorite plays of all time. I only got to see a very brief snippet of the material, but I think it will be really great once they have gotten it on its feet.
At lunch they had an alum come and talk to us about his experience, which was really interesting. He is currently playing in Ghost, and will be in the upcoming Les Mis movie. It was both encouraging and intimidating to hear about his experiences after he graduated. But it has gotten me motivated to do more work prepping myself for that. I need to do more research into the business side of things here. They have been encouraging all of us to research agents and casting directors so that we know something about the people that might be approaching us after the showcase. Right now I am still feeling quite overwhelmed by the whole thing, but I think once I start doing my homework I'll feel much better.
Right, well off to check on my computer. Hopefully they will be done soon. I had so many plans for today that got sidetracked by this....
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Getting Back in Gear
Well I made it through the first week back. But I seem to have made myself sick in the process. So much for jumping in with both feet. This term is going to be very interesting. Also exciting, stressful and challenging. Hopefully fun will crop up once in a while too.
They started in right away Monday morning with our group projects. My group had pretty much already formed before the break, and had some ideas that we'd been kicking around, so we used the class time to try and pinpoint our exact question. However this proved to be rather challenging. The more we talked the more ideas we had. Basically we want to look into the changes that happen when a show moves. For example, what happens when a show goes from an out of town trial to opening on Broadway? What happens when certain jokes don't work in the new city? What happens when a show tours internationally? With that vague of an umbrella we can go a lot of different directions. When we were forming the group we realized that we cover a vast array of different theatre cultures. We have the US, the UK, Australia, Singapore and now South Korea. There are a lot of differences there. So we need to work on focusing our idea a bit. But I think it will be a fun group, and an interesting project. The biggest problem is that they have given us this rather large assignment right when we are working on our showcase.
That's the other thing we have been working on this week. They have sent us off in search of scenes, or duologues as they like to call them here, for the showcase. Its been great how self motivated everyone has become this term. Its amazing what 3 weeks off can do for everyone's energy and enthusiasm! I have brought in 2 scenes so far. One of which was approved and the other immediately rejected. I have one more that I'm bringing in on Monday, which I think they will reject as well. Its been very interesting working within the criteria of the showcase. They keep mentioning how these scenes have to be perfect. So generally they want things in our own dialect (which is why they'll veto the scene Tom and I are bringing in from Arcadia), they want pieces that will sell us accurately, at our best, and the most optimal casting. And everyone can eventually only be in one scene, however we should have a couple to work on until they start making final cuts. Phew, lots of things to think about. I think this will become very stressful very quickly. Or at least until we all settle with a few scenes to workshop. Then it will be tense again as they pick the final line up for the show. Especially as not everyone is going to get a scene. Well, one thing at a time.
They also have us looking for music for the showcase, and the audition module after that. I went to the library and checked out huge stacks of music books. I am still not super attached to anything I have found, but I have a bunch of new stuff to work on. I need to find something perfectly me for the showcase. And I need to figure out which scenes I am working on because I want to contrast that with the song. If I end up with a comedic song I need a dramatic scene and vice versa. Also how do I convey my full vocal range in just one song?? I'm still not really a true belter, but a lot of the comedy songs should be belt. I am not sure I want to sing a super soprano-y song because I can do the alto stuff too. Too many things to think about. Also, looking ahead to the audition module and auditioning in general they keep saying I need to find Rock and Pop style songs for my book, because I tend towards everything else. So I've been looking for that, but am floundering a bit because I don't really care for that style of show. Also I was told I should have some Folk in my book as well. Interesting. However I have completely overhauled my music book. I took out everything from last term and it is now completely full of new music. So at least I have a starting point.
On top of all of that I still need to edit and turn in my Christmas research paper. Oh, and there are two assignments that they forgot to tell us about before the break. Somehow we were supposed to magically know they were due. So I have to write those too. True they are shorter assignments, but had I known about them I would have started them much earlier. Well that's what today is for.
Still not feeling top notch so I'm going to go make a pot of tea and deposit myself on my couch to write some essays and read some scripts. Wish me luck!
They started in right away Monday morning with our group projects. My group had pretty much already formed before the break, and had some ideas that we'd been kicking around, so we used the class time to try and pinpoint our exact question. However this proved to be rather challenging. The more we talked the more ideas we had. Basically we want to look into the changes that happen when a show moves. For example, what happens when a show goes from an out of town trial to opening on Broadway? What happens when certain jokes don't work in the new city? What happens when a show tours internationally? With that vague of an umbrella we can go a lot of different directions. When we were forming the group we realized that we cover a vast array of different theatre cultures. We have the US, the UK, Australia, Singapore and now South Korea. There are a lot of differences there. So we need to work on focusing our idea a bit. But I think it will be a fun group, and an interesting project. The biggest problem is that they have given us this rather large assignment right when we are working on our showcase.
That's the other thing we have been working on this week. They have sent us off in search of scenes, or duologues as they like to call them here, for the showcase. Its been great how self motivated everyone has become this term. Its amazing what 3 weeks off can do for everyone's energy and enthusiasm! I have brought in 2 scenes so far. One of which was approved and the other immediately rejected. I have one more that I'm bringing in on Monday, which I think they will reject as well. Its been very interesting working within the criteria of the showcase. They keep mentioning how these scenes have to be perfect. So generally they want things in our own dialect (which is why they'll veto the scene Tom and I are bringing in from Arcadia), they want pieces that will sell us accurately, at our best, and the most optimal casting. And everyone can eventually only be in one scene, however we should have a couple to work on until they start making final cuts. Phew, lots of things to think about. I think this will become very stressful very quickly. Or at least until we all settle with a few scenes to workshop. Then it will be tense again as they pick the final line up for the show. Especially as not everyone is going to get a scene. Well, one thing at a time.
They also have us looking for music for the showcase, and the audition module after that. I went to the library and checked out huge stacks of music books. I am still not super attached to anything I have found, but I have a bunch of new stuff to work on. I need to find something perfectly me for the showcase. And I need to figure out which scenes I am working on because I want to contrast that with the song. If I end up with a comedic song I need a dramatic scene and vice versa. Also how do I convey my full vocal range in just one song?? I'm still not really a true belter, but a lot of the comedy songs should be belt. I am not sure I want to sing a super soprano-y song because I can do the alto stuff too. Too many things to think about. Also, looking ahead to the audition module and auditioning in general they keep saying I need to find Rock and Pop style songs for my book, because I tend towards everything else. So I've been looking for that, but am floundering a bit because I don't really care for that style of show. Also I was told I should have some Folk in my book as well. Interesting. However I have completely overhauled my music book. I took out everything from last term and it is now completely full of new music. So at least I have a starting point.
On top of all of that I still need to edit and turn in my Christmas research paper. Oh, and there are two assignments that they forgot to tell us about before the break. Somehow we were supposed to magically know they were due. So I have to write those too. True they are shorter assignments, but had I known about them I would have started them much earlier. Well that's what today is for.
Still not feeling top notch so I'm going to go make a pot of tea and deposit myself on my couch to write some essays and read some scripts. Wish me luck!
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Aaaaaand We're Back!
After a much needed Christmas break (the longest I've had since I finished my undergrad) I am now back in London and gearing back up for the next term.
Last term ended on a really great note. The devised piece pulled itself together at the last minute like these things always do. I think we actually put together a pretty great show. We had small audiences, but everyone who came said they really enjoyed the show. If anyone wants to check it out you can find video footage here:
http://www.youtube.com/
There are pictures up on facebook too.
To really cap things off our final performance of A Brief History of Everything was at the Royal Festival Hall. Yes, I have now performed at the Royal Festival Hall! Woohoo. We were part of their lunchtime concert series leading up to Christmas. It was packed. You can fit a lot of people into that lobby. All around it was a great experience. There were plenty of bumps along the way, but still totally worth it.
Got some really nice comments from my teachers as we all left after the show which was really encouraging. I am putting a lot into this program and its nice to know that I am really getting a lot out of it.
I had a wonderful time over the break. David came for a whirlwind visit. I got to spend a lot of time catching up with family and friends. I at a lot of good food and was a general layabout for 3 entire weeks. Bliss!
Lots of big stuff coming up for the rest of the year. First up is this paper I have to finish. This is basically a baby version of my dissertation this summer. I am actually really enjoying the topic (social media and theatre) but I am reminded just how long it has been since I have had to write a school essay. Its in a good place and we still have some time but I need to make sure that I keep working on it. I'd much rather get distracted by our other projects, for example looking for scenes for our showcase, than write an essay.
The showcase is only one of the many things this term. Although its next up. Well that and our group research projects. I think we finalize our groups tomorrow. We also start work on finding and choosing scenes and music for our agent showcase in February. I am really excited to see what people bring in. I am a little worried that we will hit some of the same problems with the showcase as we did during the devised piece. But hopefully since we've done this type of show before everyone will feel a little more confident (and therefor calmer) this time around.
After the showcase we get into our audition module. Basically a few weeks working on building up our rep books. At the end of which we will audition for a panel of people unfamiliar with our work. I think this should be a lot of fun.
And then finally ....drum roll please... our full scale musical. They announced the show right after we all dispersed for Christmas, which I think was really sneaky and clever of them. That way we had a few weeks to take in the announcement before we all started gossiping and worrying about it together. So, our spring show is going to be Sunday in the Park with George. I am always a big fan of Sondheim so I am really excited about this. And I think it is a good choice because of the number of parts. There are generally 14 actors, who each play a different character in the second act. So if they split the tracks into two separate roles then there are more than enough for everyone in our course to be featured. Of course there are the inevitable lead roles, which I am sure will cause a lot of anxiety, but there are a lot of other fun bits as well. I think once we get through casting everyone will have a great time.
And then after that, well, I have to write a really long paper. But I don't want to think about that just yet. One thing at a time. Right now my paper, while it needs a lot of revision, is at 2500 of the required 3000 words, my much neglected blog has been updated, and the little girls kicking the back of my seat last night made sure that I didn't get much sleep on my flight. So I think I am justified in heading to bed before 9pm.
Its good to be back.
Last term ended on a really great note. The devised piece pulled itself together at the last minute like these things always do. I think we actually put together a pretty great show. We had small audiences, but everyone who came said they really enjoyed the show. If anyone wants to check it out you can find video footage here:
http://www.youtube.com/
There are pictures up on facebook too.
To really cap things off our final performance of A Brief History of Everything was at the Royal Festival Hall. Yes, I have now performed at the Royal Festival Hall! Woohoo. We were part of their lunchtime concert series leading up to Christmas. It was packed. You can fit a lot of people into that lobby. All around it was a great experience. There were plenty of bumps along the way, but still totally worth it.
Got some really nice comments from my teachers as we all left after the show which was really encouraging. I am putting a lot into this program and its nice to know that I am really getting a lot out of it.
I had a wonderful time over the break. David came for a whirlwind visit. I got to spend a lot of time catching up with family and friends. I at a lot of good food and was a general layabout for 3 entire weeks. Bliss!
Lots of big stuff coming up for the rest of the year. First up is this paper I have to finish. This is basically a baby version of my dissertation this summer. I am actually really enjoying the topic (social media and theatre) but I am reminded just how long it has been since I have had to write a school essay. Its in a good place and we still have some time but I need to make sure that I keep working on it. I'd much rather get distracted by our other projects, for example looking for scenes for our showcase, than write an essay.
The showcase is only one of the many things this term. Although its next up. Well that and our group research projects. I think we finalize our groups tomorrow. We also start work on finding and choosing scenes and music for our agent showcase in February. I am really excited to see what people bring in. I am a little worried that we will hit some of the same problems with the showcase as we did during the devised piece. But hopefully since we've done this type of show before everyone will feel a little more confident (and therefor calmer) this time around.
After the showcase we get into our audition module. Basically a few weeks working on building up our rep books. At the end of which we will audition for a panel of people unfamiliar with our work. I think this should be a lot of fun.
And then finally ....drum roll please... our full scale musical. They announced the show right after we all dispersed for Christmas, which I think was really sneaky and clever of them. That way we had a few weeks to take in the announcement before we all started gossiping and worrying about it together. So, our spring show is going to be Sunday in the Park with George. I am always a big fan of Sondheim so I am really excited about this. And I think it is a good choice because of the number of parts. There are generally 14 actors, who each play a different character in the second act. So if they split the tracks into two separate roles then there are more than enough for everyone in our course to be featured. Of course there are the inevitable lead roles, which I am sure will cause a lot of anxiety, but there are a lot of other fun bits as well. I think once we get through casting everyone will have a great time.
And then after that, well, I have to write a really long paper. But I don't want to think about that just yet. One thing at a time. Right now my paper, while it needs a lot of revision, is at 2500 of the required 3000 words, my much neglected blog has been updated, and the little girls kicking the back of my seat last night made sure that I didn't get much sleep on my flight. So I think I am justified in heading to bed before 9pm.
Its good to be back.
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