So. Life is pretty average still.
Tomorrow making a quick trip up to KC for some fun with some friends. It's my mini vacation and I'm treating myself.
I deserve it!!!
Putnam County is going really well. We extended until September 10 for sure.
I'm a little disappointed with some Emporia folk. First off, Wichita is NOT THAT FAR OF A DRIVE! You know how I know? Because I've already made the drive twice to see shows that friends and classmates were in/ designed/ stage managed, and only 3 have come to see my show, and only two more have any plans to come. It's a bit disheartening really. I guess I know where that stands, and I won't bust my ass to see future productions.
Say la vi.
The Wichita Children's Theatre tour starts two days after the last Putnam Bee. September 12. Not sure where we are going and whatnot, but I am pretty excited to see all of KS throughout the autumn. I really think KS is a pretty state so seeing parts that I haven't seen before will be exciting.
I'm hoping (fingers crossed) that I will have another gig lined up in after the tour stops. It will be at The Wichita Center for the arts, and the play is "The Merchant of Venice" ... another Shakespeare! Which will look REALLY good on a resume, going from Children's Theatre one week, to Shakespeare the next. I'm sure the role will be minimal, and the pay even less, but I'm definitely willing to get any sort of work right now.
Next weekend, I'm taking my niece to see her first big girl play at Music Theatre of Wichita, The Little Mermaid.
Exciting. Hopefully she enjoys it!
Of for some Zz's
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Monday, July 4, 2011
Pee
I've been on a reading kick.
Re-read Tina Fey's book.
Reading Sarah Silverman's.
I just bought Betty White's book.
Wanting to find a book about Tennessee Williams.
I need to read some plays and find some monologues. Going to start Grad School auditions early.
"The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" is going VERY well. We've been sold out the past couple of weekends and it's looking like we'll continue with that path for the following weeks.
Perhaps a little review
http://www.kansas.com/2011/06/16/1895033/review-laughters-the-word-in-putnam.html#storylink=misearch
helped us out :)
UM. This week is the Children's Show I'm doing. Six shows in two days. No biggie. It pays really well. Especially for the little amount of work that really goes into it.
Through this gig, I will be touring with Wichita Children's Theatre from September through March. Which will be nice. The lady who runs it saw me in Putnam and offered me the spot. I had my reservations with it. Six months is a LONG time commitment. ... and it's Children's Theatre. No the exactly the richest of text. BUT then I realized how much I was over thinking it. AND I can say I've performed for 2 year olds all the way to 65+ . It will be fun and a good experience (hopefully).
Other than that, just working at Homewood Suites and a little bit at Village Inn. Just trying to keep busy. If I'm not making money, then I'm spending it... and that's no good.
- DML
Re-read Tina Fey's book.
Reading Sarah Silverman's.
I just bought Betty White's book.
Wanting to find a book about Tennessee Williams.
I need to read some plays and find some monologues. Going to start Grad School auditions early.
"The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" is going VERY well. We've been sold out the past couple of weekends and it's looking like we'll continue with that path for the following weeks.
Perhaps a little review
http://www.kansas.com/2011/06/16/1895033/review-laughters-the-word-in-putnam.html#storylink=misearch
helped us out :)
UM. This week is the Children's Show I'm doing. Six shows in two days. No biggie. It pays really well. Especially for the little amount of work that really goes into it.
Through this gig, I will be touring with Wichita Children's Theatre from September through March. Which will be nice. The lady who runs it saw me in Putnam and offered me the spot. I had my reservations with it. Six months is a LONG time commitment. ... and it's Children's Theatre. No the exactly the richest of text. BUT then I realized how much I was over thinking it. AND I can say I've performed for 2 year olds all the way to 65+ . It will be fun and a good experience (hopefully).
Other than that, just working at Homewood Suites and a little bit at Village Inn. Just trying to keep busy. If I'm not making money, then I'm spending it... and that's no good.
- DML
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Ch'ello.
The last time I did the show, it left a bad taste in my mouth. I disagree'd with many of the things chosen to do. In this production, they once agai
n said they wanted to make Chip the "cool kid" at the spelling bee. Which still baffles me. I talked to the director and tried a few things out and I think what I have chosen to do is alright with her. Basically I made Chip think he's cool. In my mind, and if you watch these spelling bees, NOBODY is cool at these things.
At Emporia, I thought the choreography was excessive. In many solo songs we were instructed to add movement. I didn't understand it. In this production, we really let the soloist shine.
But the main difference that really couldn't be helped at Empo is the venue.
Albert Taylor is HUUUUGE.
Cabaret Oldtown is a 200 seat intimate theatre, and I can see everyone. It's amazing. Every joke lands with great reaction. And for the first time, I'm in a show where everyone who is attending, wants to be there. Meaning, we don't have people showing up because it's class required.
In short, I'm having a great time. Absolutely loving it. After the show we sit around and have a coule drinks at the bar and have a blast.
Here's a picture of us in the Wichita Eagle.
... and a link to our "review" from The Wichita Eagle. It is more like a synopsis, but whatever...
http://www.kansas.com/2011/06/05/1879254/kids-dreams-spelled-out-in-bee.html?storylink=fbuser
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Professional
So. Rehearsals for my first show out of college are well underway. It's exciting that I get paid to do some theatre (albeit not a lot, but some!) I've set myself into a nice little routine that I thoroughly enjoy.
1. Wake up go to work at Village Inn... I will say I hate that place but the people I work with are always so much fun. I laugh so hard when I'm there. Just the other day we played Harry Potter which just consisted of us pretending we had wands and making fake spells)
2. Nap
3. Rehearsal until 10:00. I LOVE this place. I've wanted to do a show for some time now, ever since I saw a show a couple years ago. It's a good time. People go there to enjoy themselves. It's very intimate, and often allows for some improv time. I am so glad this opportunity came about. I love it. The people in the show are hilarious as well. I am going to have a hard time keeping a straight face because there are a couple in the cast who change things up. Usually I would find that annoying, but again, at the Cabaret, it's expected of you. I will also be with the show until the end of it's run from June 3- August 20. I've never done a show more than 5 times before, so this will be A LOT of fun. We perform every Friday and Saturday with a possibility of adding another performance. It will be really neat to do a show for longer.
4. Smoothie or coffee at Mead's Corner. A little coffee shop right next door to the theatre. I usually take out five dollars from that day's tips and walk over to buy a treat afterward.
Aside from the show and work a couple other things worth mentioning.
I am OFFICIALLY out of Emporia. I moved all of my stuff last Friday. I made it a point to move without the help of my parents. Every time one of us moves they always work their asses off to help us move, and I wanted to make sure I managed it by myself. This meant renting a u-haul and getting a friend to help me on the other side in Emporia. First off, driving a u-haul is not fun. I almost killed a lady by switching lanes (seriously though, she was in my blind spot). My friend Misty and I got everything loaded, and back to Haysville I went. There my mom helped me just move things in the garage. Not difficult at all. Then had my brother come over and help me move everything into the house. My dad insisted on helping, but I think he was appreciative that I didn't rely on his help. A sure sign of growing up. (ALSO! A sign of growing up, with my graduation money, the first thing I did was pay off my credit card! YES!)
Also, had my first professional call back. It was for the Coterie theatre in KC. I got a taste of what this whole profession may be like. It was for the play "The Outsiders" which was a movie and also a novel. They sent me a script a couple weeks ago and so I read it, and none of the roles really jumped out at me. At least in the sense that I would be right for. I asked a couple actor friends of mine and asked what they thought, they all agree'd possibly for a soc. A soc is one of the socials, or higher class kids. The play ends with a rumble... so you need to be pretty tough looking. Well... I am not. So regardless, I made arrangements to go to the call back. When I arrived, it was pretty apparent I did not really fit any of the parts, and personally I feel I stuck out like a sore thumb. I did a couple readings, and honestly, it felt like a giant cluster fuck. The scene they did for the call back had about 8 characters on at one time, and if not blocked turns quickly into a giant mess. After that scene they released a few people, myself included, and worked with the others on different scenes. I was not bummed in the least that I was let go, I was a bit disappointed I drove all that way, and missed a rehearsal to go to it. It still isn't official that I'm not in the show, but I'm not going to count on it. I'm still confused as to why I was called back in the first place. To me, it was so apparent I would not be in this show. I fit no one. I told my friend who works in Chicago this and he said "MAKE YOURSELF FIT THE PARTS!" Maybe that was my problem, I went in with the negative attitude that I did not belong there. I'm a skinny pale white kid who has never thrown a punch. It became very clear to me that in order to be a better actor, you need more life experience (generally, there are exceptions of course!)
So this is my life as of late.
Hoping it doesn't get lame anytime soon.
- DML
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Something ELSE I want to see!
So. Now that I have left ESU. Some thoughts I want to share.
Now first of first, I enjoyed my time at Emporia. I'm glad I went there. Thankful for the time and opportunities I received. The people were great, the productions were great.
Things I'm glad to have left behind.
Attitudes. Emporia is a generalist program, which means, they teach you in all aspects of theatre. They TEACH you in all aspects of theatre, doesn't mean you have to DO every aspect of theatre. Sure, take the first couple of years to get a feel for things, it isn't uncommon for a few actors to decide they like designing after being taught, and vice versa, in which there is nothing wrong with that. We are taught all of this if anything to have a respect for one another. The bare minimum is to have the knowledge of what each other does (actors and technicians) and the most to get respect for one another. That statement about respecting each other, is usually for the most part directed to the actors.
What I debated saying at Curtain Call as my senior speech but decided not to was this.
"One cannot survive without the other. No matter how beautiful the sets, the lights, the costumes, if an actor is up on the stage sucking majorly, obviously didn't do their research, lines not memorized, no one gives a shit what the designers have done. This is also applied the other way around, an actor could be giving the performance of his/her life. But if the design team isn't cohesive to what the actor is doing, they could care less to what the actor is saying."
It bothers me A LOT.
At my time at Emporia I was called pretentious, rude, stuck up, a diva, stupid, among several other things. Not once, did I call a technician or designer that. I respected the work put into the show, and most cases thanked them for their work.
Yes, I am an actor. That is what I wanted to focus on. I did the bare minimum for the technician side. Meaning, I did the practicum's, I took and passed all my classes devoted towards the technical side of theatre. Guess what, technicians did the exact same thing when it comes to the acting side. If a person is a self-declared technician, they have to take two acting classes and audition twice. I had to take stage lighting, intro to design, costume design, scenic design, stage costuming, and directing along with 42 hours in the scenic shop and 42 hours in the costuming shop. Yes I bitched about it, but no more than when people had to audition when they didn't want to. I passed my classes. I will admit, there is NO WAY I put in 42 hours in the scenic shop. Several times I showed up and was sent home and just told to take the hours. I probably put in half the hours in reality.
What the point is, it's so easy for technical people to bitch about actors, when one cannot survive without the other.
Case closed.
Discuss. PLEASE.
Now first of first, I enjoyed my time at Emporia. I'm glad I went there. Thankful for the time and opportunities I received. The people were great, the productions were great.
Things I'm glad to have left behind.
Attitudes. Emporia is a generalist program, which means, they teach you in all aspects of theatre. They TEACH you in all aspects of theatre, doesn't mean you have to DO every aspect of theatre. Sure, take the first couple of years to get a feel for things, it isn't uncommon for a few actors to decide they like designing after being taught, and vice versa, in which there is nothing wrong with that. We are taught all of this if anything to have a respect for one another. The bare minimum is to have the knowledge of what each other does (actors and technicians) and the most to get respect for one another. That statement about respecting each other, is usually for the most part directed to the actors.
What I debated saying at Curtain Call as my senior speech but decided not to was this.
"One cannot survive without the other. No matter how beautiful the sets, the lights, the costumes, if an actor is up on the stage sucking majorly, obviously didn't do their research, lines not memorized, no one gives a shit what the designers have done. This is also applied the other way around, an actor could be giving the performance of his/her life. But if the design team isn't cohesive to what the actor is doing, they could care less to what the actor is saying."
It bothers me A LOT.
At my time at Emporia I was called pretentious, rude, stuck up, a diva, stupid, among several other things. Not once, did I call a technician or designer that. I respected the work put into the show, and most cases thanked them for their work.
Yes, I am an actor. That is what I wanted to focus on. I did the bare minimum for the technician side. Meaning, I did the practicum's, I took and passed all my classes devoted towards the technical side of theatre. Guess what, technicians did the exact same thing when it comes to the acting side. If a person is a self-declared technician, they have to take two acting classes and audition twice. I had to take stage lighting, intro to design, costume design, scenic design, stage costuming, and directing along with 42 hours in the scenic shop and 42 hours in the costuming shop. Yes I bitched about it, but no more than when people had to audition when they didn't want to. I passed my classes. I will admit, there is NO WAY I put in 42 hours in the scenic shop. Several times I showed up and was sent home and just told to take the hours. I probably put in half the hours in reality.
What the point is, it's so easy for technical people to bitch about actors, when one cannot survive without the other.
Case closed.
Discuss. PLEASE.
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Graduated
I'm a college graduate now. Crazy.
Doesn't feel like I should be graduated. I plan on going back to school eventually but for now just testing the waters in theatre.
Pretty excited actually, Monday I will start rehearsals for "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" at Cabaret Oldtown that will run from June 3- End of July with a possible extension to the end of August. I also got a callback from one of the theatres I auditioned for a couple weeks ago for a good theatre that will probably pay nicely. The only problem is, the callback is during rehearsals for Putnam, and I've already missed a week and a half of rehearsals. So I asked the director if I could possibly miss or be late to the rehearsal and go to the callback. She said she'll let me know soon.
So fingers crossed that works out!
I move back to Wichita tomorrow, and I have to be completely honest, I cannot wait to move out of Emporia. I've had my fun, but I've also had my horrible times here. At the moment, the horrible times are what is sticking out at the moment. The people I will miss, some more than others, and actually not very many right now, nothing personal it's just I'm anxious to get started with projects and making sure I don't get in a place where I feel like I'm not doing anything. I want to constantly be busy as long as I can be. I know in a couple weeks I'll think of something someone in Emporia would laugh at and I'll instantly miss everyone. But, I want to separate myself. I think it's too easy to hold onto things. I know I do, I still have things in my closet from high school that I can't make myself throw away, when really, I need to because it's taking up space.
SO! here's to graduation, and having fun tonight!
Doesn't feel like I should be graduated. I plan on going back to school eventually but for now just testing the waters in theatre.
Pretty excited actually, Monday I will start rehearsals for "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" at Cabaret Oldtown that will run from June 3- End of July with a possible extension to the end of August. I also got a callback from one of the theatres I auditioned for a couple weeks ago for a good theatre that will probably pay nicely. The only problem is, the callback is during rehearsals for Putnam, and I've already missed a week and a half of rehearsals. So I asked the director if I could possibly miss or be late to the rehearsal and go to the callback. She said she'll let me know soon.
So fingers crossed that works out!
I move back to Wichita tomorrow, and I have to be completely honest, I cannot wait to move out of Emporia. I've had my fun, but I've also had my horrible times here. At the moment, the horrible times are what is sticking out at the moment. The people I will miss, some more than others, and actually not very many right now, nothing personal it's just I'm anxious to get started with projects and making sure I don't get in a place where I feel like I'm not doing anything. I want to constantly be busy as long as I can be. I know in a couple weeks I'll think of something someone in Emporia would laugh at and I'll instantly miss everyone. But, I want to separate myself. I think it's too easy to hold onto things. I know I do, I still have things in my closet from high school that I can't make myself throw away, when really, I need to because it's taking up space.
SO! here's to graduation, and having fun tonight!
Monday, May 2, 2011
Dwindling Down
So! Midsummer is closed. Saw ASSASSINS at WSU, very good. A good weekend for good theatre.
Just had post mortem. Yikes. So I should probably correct a statement that I made in my last post about feeling ready for the show. Apparently we needed more people in the shops, and it was HUGE problem. Just wanted to clear that up. I for one didn't go into the shop, I went into the costume shop a couple times. Could I have made it into the shops? Yes a handful of times, did I, no.
No excuses but my schedule blew. Classes until 2:30 and I would pick up any afternoon work shifts that I could. So I could have gone into the shop. One comment was made how one night after rehearsal they asked people to help out, unfortunately that was a Monday and I work 11-3am.
Oh well. The show went up and it was very good. Unfortunately we struggled with it more than I thought.
This semester I sort of focused on my life outside of the department, probably too much. I really tried separating it. My sanity was hindering last semester. I love most people in the department, but having classes then rehearsal, then hanging out with those people becomes a bit much. I enjoy discussing theatres, and yes, a little shit talking as much as the next person, but it was nice to just hang out with people with different interests and just discuss other things.
OTHER News.
I just got cast in Cabaret Oldtown's production as "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" Looks like I'll be revisiting Chip. I'm excited. I feel like I didn't get it right last time I did the show, so hopefully with some fine tuning, I can make it a better production. My first professional show outside of ESU! I'm a bit worried because I had trouble sustaining the notes, Chip requires a tenor, a belt-er. I have no training. I don't know how to do that healthy for my throat and vocal chords. I strain the notes horribly. So, hopefully I can get help with those that I didn't get last time!
I must admit, as far as roles go, I've had a pretty kick-ass year.
"The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee"- Chip
"You Can't Take it with You" Boris Kolenkhov
"All in the Timing" - Co-director
"A Midsummer Night's Dream" - Oberon
It's neat to have had a major role in every production this year. Will some say I didn't deserve it because I didn't go into shop? Probably. My response, I will politely ask you to suck a fart outta my ass. (thanks Jamie Urban for that quote)
I worked hard in other ways to get those parts. I became very reliable when it came to putting in the hard work for the parts. If you gave me the role, you could bet you would get the best performance out of me that you could.
Do people work harder than I do. They sure as hell do. But quit talking about it, nobody likes a bragger.
It's just the end of the year and I'm a bit pissy, and annoyed. I know about two weeks into summer I'll be missing people like crazy again. But right now. Ready to be outta here!!!!
Just had post mortem. Yikes. So I should probably correct a statement that I made in my last post about feeling ready for the show. Apparently we needed more people in the shops, and it was HUGE problem. Just wanted to clear that up. I for one didn't go into the shop, I went into the costume shop a couple times. Could I have made it into the shops? Yes a handful of times, did I, no.
No excuses but my schedule blew. Classes until 2:30 and I would pick up any afternoon work shifts that I could. So I could have gone into the shop. One comment was made how one night after rehearsal they asked people to help out, unfortunately that was a Monday and I work 11-3am.
Oh well. The show went up and it was very good. Unfortunately we struggled with it more than I thought.
This semester I sort of focused on my life outside of the department, probably too much. I really tried separating it. My sanity was hindering last semester. I love most people in the department, but having classes then rehearsal, then hanging out with those people becomes a bit much. I enjoy discussing theatres, and yes, a little shit talking as much as the next person, but it was nice to just hang out with people with different interests and just discuss other things.
OTHER News.
I just got cast in Cabaret Oldtown's production as "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" Looks like I'll be revisiting Chip. I'm excited. I feel like I didn't get it right last time I did the show, so hopefully with some fine tuning, I can make it a better production. My first professional show outside of ESU! I'm a bit worried because I had trouble sustaining the notes, Chip requires a tenor, a belt-er. I have no training. I don't know how to do that healthy for my throat and vocal chords. I strain the notes horribly. So, hopefully I can get help with those that I didn't get last time!
I must admit, as far as roles go, I've had a pretty kick-ass year.
"The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee"- Chip
"You Can't Take it with You" Boris Kolenkhov
"All in the Timing" - Co-director
"A Midsummer Night's Dream" - Oberon
It's neat to have had a major role in every production this year. Will some say I didn't deserve it because I didn't go into shop? Probably. My response, I will politely ask you to suck a fart outta my ass. (thanks Jamie Urban for that quote)
I worked hard in other ways to get those parts. I became very reliable when it came to putting in the hard work for the parts. If you gave me the role, you could bet you would get the best performance out of me that you could.
Do people work harder than I do. They sure as hell do. But quit talking about it, nobody likes a bragger.
It's just the end of the year and I'm a bit pissy, and annoyed. I know about two weeks into summer I'll be missing people like crazy again. But right now. Ready to be outta here!!!!
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