There's Hell, and Then There's Open Call Auditions

This week is all about doing things. Getting back out into the world and not letting myself sit around when I am not at rehearsal. So to start with I took myself out for a day of culture on Sunday.

Sunday was Chinese New Year. So a few of my housemates and I decided to hop on a train and head up in to Trafalgar square to join in the festivities. Unfortunately on the way one of our crew was delayed and had to join up later, and the other was called in to work at the last minute. No worries, we were meeting a friend there so I would be sure to have some company. Well, maybe not. I arrive at the very crowded square and proceeded to wait in the rain for over an hour. At this point the ceremonies had started, so I got to watch the firecrackers and hear some of the speeches, but being short and at the back of the crowd I wasn't truly able to see much of anything. Except for a sea of umbrellas that is. Ah well, the good thing about being stranded at Trafalgar Square is that the National Gallery is right there. So while I was waiting I wandered inside and spent some time with my good friends the impressionists, which really can make almost anything better. After a while everyone did show up and we wandered off for some tasty food!

Then in the evening I went to Silent Opera's production of Orfeo. Now this was a very interesting experience. I am not 100% sure why Silent Opera have chosen that name, being that they are not silent in any way shape or form. I can only assume it comes from the trend of silent raves  - where everyone is given a set of headphones. That way those participating in the rave can hear the music but it is silent for anyone observing. So, at the door we were each given headphones and invited in to the space, a warehouse right out on the water in the middle of the Docklands area. The space was very cool, in fact the design overall was really really interesting. However I think in the long run, the design ended up distracting from the production as a whole. They were going for the whole immersive theatre experience, which is something that I find amazing when it works right. The audience is moved from location to location, the actors move among the audience, it can be very cool. However this one didn't quite gel for me. Maybe it is because I am too short - as soon as we moved to the next location everyone was standing and so I missed half of the second act. I think if they had put a little bit more thought into the layout of the evening it would have worked a bit better. That being said the visuals were stunning (my favorite being the hundreds of glass jars suspended from the ceiling as you entered hell). And there were some lovely voices. The headphones weren't really used to their full potential until the final act, when they added a bunch of cool sound design. Before that they really only acted as amplification for the chamber orchestra. The biggest drawback of the evening I think was the lack of heating in the building on a night that it started snowing, my toes gradually going numb throughout the final act was a bit distracting. So all in all I enjoyed my trip to hell, however I think it didn't reach its full potential.

Continuing in our lovely theme of Hell, yesterday I dragged my housemates to an open call audition for the touring production of West Side Story. Now you may remember that my last open call was for A Chorus Line. Waiting 5 hours in line, in the rain, by myself, for a 10 second audition. This one was a bit better, but still an open call - which is never a pleasant experience. We only waited just over 2 hours before we were called in, and got about 30 seconds of audition time. I still managed to make a fool of myself, by missing the timing on the music and having to ask a question about it. It really wasn't a huge mistake but the guy running the audition kindly took the time to make me feel about 2 inches high. Ah well, such is the business. Looking at the girls held for a second round I really wasn't their type anyway, but I always hate feeling like I didn't perform at my best. But, at least we went. These calls are bound to get better every time.

This morning has already seen some productivity. I have called a few voice over agents, and have had two of them ask me to pass along my reel, which is always a good sign. So I just keep on truckin! The rest of today will be filled with research, errands and then pancakes! Because apparently in the UK Mardi Gras (or fat Tuesday) is Pancake Day. So as I made that huge effort to bring a box of bisquick back from the US I am subjecting people to American Style pancakes this evening. Should be fun! Then it's back to Prison tomorrow, and we begin the cycle all over again.

A Day in the Life

I am finding this whole process remarkably difficult to write about. Not because I dont have anything to say, but because I have so many thoughts that I cant put them in order. Let me just start by going through a typical day of rehearsals.

All of the actors are staying together in a cottage a little ways from the prison. So first thing in the morning there is a general scramble to get up and out for the day. Lots of hurried cups of tea, burnt sausages and crumpets usually make an appearance as we all bundle ourselves into our cars and head down the road. Once we arrive at the prison we congregate at the front gate and are given our id passes. We have a fantastic guard who has been assigned to be our liaison for the project. He knows us all by sight and will banter with us as we assemble one car load at a time. Occasionally there are questions about what we can and cannot bring in with us to rehearsal, but by now we basically have the drill down. Every once in a while there will be a random search and someone will have to empty out their bag and pockets, but since no one brings a whole lot to rehearsals this isnt too much of a hassle.

Once everyone is checked in and badged we head out to the rehearsal space. I always mean to count the gates we pass through, but I havent managed it yet. I think it is something like 6 gates, each of which has to be unlocked for us and then locked again once we have passed through. On our walk to the room we pass the gym. We usually get waves from some of the guys as we go past, there are usually at least one or two of our cast members getting in a workout before rehearsal.  Once in the room we have a few minutes to grab a cup of tea, lock up our stuff and start warming up before the guys start showing up.

Now these guys, these guys are kind of incredible. I don't want to invade anyones privacy, so I wont go in to too many specifics. I don't know a whole lot about most of them, only what they chose to share, and that is pretty personal to each of them. But the fact that they are part of this production is amazing. I am pretty inspired by them on a daily basis.

Spirits are high from the moment they arrive in the room. Everyone is chatty, and the energy is infectious. Soon the room is full and we begin our day. The rehearsals themselves are both very similar to every rehearsal I have been in, and completely different. For one thing most of the guys have no experience with this sort of process. So, sometimes the chatting gets a bit noisy, or someone will wander off for a drink of water in the middle of the scene they are rehearsing. But for the most part everyone is pretty attentive. There are moments where things don't go as expected, and there are times when things can get tense, however the rehearsals keep moving forward.

The amount of work and energy these guys are putting into this project is fantastic. There have been some amazing moments in rehearsals. Moments where you realize that although the room was buzzing with whispered conversations a few seconds before, now every single person is transfixed by what is happening on stage. Moments of incredible humor and levity - the number of times the whole room will burst into laughter is staggering. And incredibly moving moments - when the entire cast joins in to sing Somewhere with Tony and Maria, the day we closed the rehearsal with Maria's final monologue.

The days are exhausting, even though the women's chorus are only in a few numbers. With these rehearsals you really have to be in the room every second. For one thing you cant bring all that much in with you. I will often bring some knitting or a book to keep myself busy when I am not being used in a scene, but I cant bring knitting needles, and most of my books are on my kindle here, which is also a banned item. Aside from that though I sort of feel like I really do have to be attentive the whole time - as an example to those who aren't used to rehearsals, but also to support the guys while they are working. It is easy to forget how foreign this sort of thing is to people outside of the business. So we are all there to be as supportive and encouraging for these guys as they step completely outside of their comfort zone.

The flip side of that is that we also have to be on all the time, to watch what we say to these guys and how we interact with them. They are not professional actors and we need to remember that. These guys are all where they are for a reason, and we just need to be cognizant of that. To be completely honest there are moments that have made me a bit nervous. And every once in a while I do sort of remember just where I am and who I am working with. However, these moments are completely overshadowed by how much you can tell this project means to the guys involved.

So, even though I am only in rehearsals a few days a week I find myself rather tuckered out the rest of the time. That being said I do look forward to these rehearsals for the entire week until I get to head out on Wednesdays.

I doubt this will be a flawless production. I miss the amount of dance that normally goes into West Side Story, and the majority of the cast have no performance experience to speak of. Nonetheless, I think this will be an incredibly powerful show when we are done. I am so proud to be part of this production.

Go Directly to Jail: Do not pass go, do not collect $200

Before I tell you about my current project I need to catch you all up a little. I am now, officially a working actor in London, with a visa and everything. The process has not been an easy one, let me tell you. I genuinely believe that the border agency like to make things difficult on purpose, for their own entertainment.

The saga of my visa is another story entirely though. One that takes a long time to tell and is full of nail biting suspense. However I have another story for today so I wont get in to the gory details. Let me just say that after weeks of waiting, many hoops to jump through, and ridiculous last minute problems, I have obtained a UK work visa. This is what I have been working towards since I moved here, and it finally happened. I am still in a little bit of shock about it. Now, it is not for as long as I would like, and I will have to figure out how to renew my passport soon, but these are problems that I don't have to face just yet. So I will just enjoy the fact that I can stay here for a while.

Now how did this fantastic turn of events come to be? Well, that is what I want to tell you about today. You see, I have a job. I have been cast in a professional and paid production. And this production is unlike anything that I have ever worked on in the past. You see, this show is being produced inside of a jail. Yes, a jail. We are doing a production of West Side Story, in which more than half the cast are prisoners.

Now, I don't know about most of you, but before rehearsals began I had never set foot inside of a prison. Most of my knowledge of the inner workings of the prison system came from things like 'The Shawshank Redemption' and 'Prison Break', which I believe may not be hugely accurate. Before we were even allowed in to begin rehearsals every one of us had to go through some intense security screening. The story of my security screening is strikingly similar to the story of my quest for a visa, so I wont go in to all of the mind numbing details. Let me just say that it was a long and arduous search for about 10 times more paperwork than they had originally asked for.

Once that was all taken care of I was finally allowed in to rehearsals. These rehearsals are incredible. I have a very hard time wrapping my brain around everything that is going in to this whole process. I will fill you in on everything, but I need to collect my thoughts a little bit first. So, I will leave you with this for now, but you should expect another installment of the Adventures of Captain Kate sometime soon!