Monday, March 31, 2008

The Countdown Begins

So…we open in two weeks. That seems just a little terrifying at this point, but manageable somehow!!! It will never cease to amaze me how different the process of putting up a Theatre 359 show is from main stage. But as much as it is drawn out and the process feels like it takes forever, it seems to bring us together for one common purpose… let's just be better!!! Act better, don’t be so shit-tastic . This show has so many elements that just keep getting added in… the musicians came this weekend… they were AWESOME and it was way less painful than I thought it would be to place them in, they just kind of fit with us (YEAH Aaron and Angus!!!). The run was really good compared to last week's… Paul actually smiled and people laughed, instead of just the big “Oh crap, we’re screwed!” – NO COME, IT’S GOING TO BE GOOD CAUSE WE’RE BETTER NOW!!!! So needless to say let the countdown begin….11 days until opening and 5 more rehearsals.

Bring it on...

Sammantha Isaman
Mentorship II Student

Acting in When the Sun Meets the Earth

Friday, March 14, 2008

NEW YORK, NEW YORK...

Posing in the heart of the Big Apple: Kelsey Krogman (top left), Megan Craig (top right), Belinda Jackson (bottom right), Sammantha Isaman (bottom left), photo credit Paul F. Muir.

We escaped the Alberta deepfreeze just in time to find the weather in New York quite warm, despite some rain and snow. Our time there was spent seeing shows and the sights (like the Mac store on 5th Ave.), and participating in workshops. We audited some classes at HB Studios, home of the quintessential acting textbook Respect for Acting, and saw a play there, Lilian Yuralia, which was like watching a master class in Uta Hagen’s acting principles. We learned some basics of the Alexander Technique at the Neighborhood Playhouse, Sanford Meisner’s school for acting. We revisited some of the scenes from last spring’s Studio Stage production of As You Like It at Shakespeare and Company in Lenox, Massachusetts.

In Toronto, we had the opportunity to explore text and movement under Gerry Trentham’s guidance again; he led an Intersession class with the Mentorship students last spring in Rosebud. I took in some fabulous shows, like David Mamet’s hilarious new play November, about a president on his way out of the Oval Office, and The Seafarer by Conor MacPherson, about two brothers playing cards with the devil. I returned to Rosebud, inspired to play and explore within the work ahead of me.

Kelsey Krogman
Mentorship II Student