At the behest of my grandmother, (shoutout to Grandma Jude), I am finally going to continue on this journey of finishing my blog. Granted, I have been home for a couple of days now and the season has been wrapped up, but better late than never, right?
After my off week, I began work on Duncan Sheik (Spring Awakening) and Kyle Jarrow's (Whisper House) new musical, Noir. It is a very interesting piece, paying homage to the film noir genre as well as the old-fashioned radio crime dramas of yesteryears. The process was interesting right form the beginning due to the fact that our number of rehearsal days (not hours) was shortened down to approximately 1.5 weeks as opposed to 2 and we were also without a director and musical director for the first part of that time due to prior commitments/productions, etc.
The first days of rehearsal were spent reading through the script and learning the music and beginning some basic movement so that we could really hit the ground running upon the arrival of the director and musical director. The other thing about this particular Musical Workshop was that the creators elected to go with a more realized production than the previous two workshops. Partly because they had already workshopped the piece over in Germany back in 2014 and were ready to work out more visual kinks along with the typical writing kinks that are worked out. Once the director arrived, we began staging the show, going through the show from the top and working through to give the show the staging and movement that it required.
The next day, Wednesday, was our allowed 10 out of 12 rehearsal which is typically when the technical elements are incorporated, but because of the nature of our truncated schedule, we elected to build in the technical elements while we went through the show. We were able to complete all of Act One in those ten hours and then the next morning, on Thursday, we completed the rest of the show so that we could do a full run-through that evening. All was a success that evening and we met again Friday morning to work out some kinks and run the show one more time before we presented it in front of an audience. The first presentation went quite well and we met again Saturday morning to do some fixes and re-works before the show Saturday night. By then, the company had found their groove and things went smoothly for the remaining two performances. With the closing of our show brought the end of the 2015 Powerhouse season, however we still had a great deal of work to do.
The next day began our week of strike which means that everything that NYSAF brought to Poughkeepsie had to be packed up and shipped off to storage in either Poughkeepsie or in NYC. The SMInterns were responsible for putting back and re-organizing everything that we had unpacked in our first week. We went through our list in approximately 2 days and by Wednesday, we were in good enough shape to be helping other departments with their strikes. On Wednesday afternoon we were given time off so some of the SMInterns and myself decided to go sit out and relax on the hill that overlooked the lake.
Because I had some time, I decided to look at getting tickets for The King & I for that night. Unfortunately, the cheapest tickets available were about $170 so that was a no go. Then that night, I was talking with a friend who had seen the show and their words about the show made me want to see it more, so I decided to look to see if I could find tickets for Thursday night. It's not like I had that much to lose, right? To my surprise, StubHub had some last-minute tickets for sale at a total of $76 so I snatched one up and was able to get the afternoon off the next day so that I could FINALLY get to see the show; the one that I had been wanting to see my whole summer out there.
After a bit of work in the morning, I ran home, showered, got a ride to the train station and hopped the 2:54 train into Manhattan. Once I arrived in the city, after a nice, relaxing train ride, I walked to the StubHub storefront near Times Square, got my ticket in hand, and then walked uptown to Lincoln Center, one of my favorite spots in New York City.
Once I arrived at Lincoln Center, I decided to go sit up on the grass roof and relax a bit. I then ran to Starbucks to grab a quick bite of food and then went back to the theatre to sit and wait to go into the auditorium. I did check to make sure that Kelli O'Hara was in the show that night (she was out sick the last time I tried to see the show) and, to my delight, she was. Soon it was time for the show to begin. All throughout the show, I sat with the excitement of a little kid, soaking in every minute of the production. After the final curtain, I stood in amazement at the sheer beauty of the production that I saw. Everything about the production simply radiates elegance from the performers to the costumes, to the lights. All of the production elements came together to create a beautiful night at the theatre. Once the curtain fell, I made my way down to the Stage Door so that I could meet the cast and creatives.
Thankfully, I was able to secure a nice spot at the Stage Door, which allowed me to get to meet Kelli O'Hara, Jose Llana, and the rest of the wonderfully talented cast. It was an added bonus that I got to see Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty) and Kate Mulgrew (Orange is the New Black) who were coming to visit Patti LuPone at her production, Shows for Days, also playing at Lincoln Center. After waiting for a bit, Kelli and Jose finally made their way out to the Stage Door to greet their fans. I was lucky enough to get pictures with both of them; I couldn't have asked for a better way to end my time in New York.
I made my way back downtown to Grand Central Station, grabbed a quick bite to eat, and hopped on the 11:47 train back to Poughkeepsie where my wonderful friend Taylor waited to pick me up from the train station in the wee hours of the morning. The next morning, I was able to sleep in and enjoy my day. Once I woke up, I completed some packing and then met up with some of the SMInterns to get one last milkshake at BurgerFi. We then walked back to campus and then made our way back to the hill to enjoy some sunbathing before our final company dinner at the local restaurant, Gusto.
After a delicious meal, we made our way back to the theatre to watch a slideshow that they put together celebrating our summer at NYSAF. We were then each given a sweatshirt with the company logo on it which brought a nice end to our summer. A couple of us then walked back to the bridge leading up to our TAs and decided to split off and say some goodbyes; some of us were going out for drinks and some of us still had to pack. After we said our goodbyes, a couple of us made our way to the bar to enjoy one last round of drinks and fries at the Beech Tree. Once we made our way back we headed in for the night to get ready for our long days of travel ahead.
I woke up at 7:45 the next morning and finished my packing and then went to hand in my keys and hop the van to the train station. Once I got into the city, I took a cab to LGA and said "see ya soon" to one of the cities that I absolutely love. Once I made it to the airport, I did the typical airport stuff and made my way to my gate to sit for a couple hours to wait to board my flight. After a very crowded, yet surprisingly quick flight, I arrived back on Wisconsin soil, happy as a clam.
While I am sad to be leaving New York and cannot wait 'til the net time that I can make my way out east (hopefully permanently after I graduate this coming May) I am happy to be back with my friends and family starting my final year in school: moving into a new apartment with my lovely sister Molly, starting rehearsals for Oklahoma!, getting to PSM two shows in the spring, and many other adventures in between. It was definitely an adventure this summer; I learned a lot about myself, the business, and my career, and I am thankful for the people that I got to meet and the connections that I was able to make because, who knows? If the Mother Abbess taught us anything it was when one door closes, another one opens. Until next time!
Wednesday, August 12, 2015
Monday, August 3, 2015
"The Space Between"
Well, clearly I'm doing a GREAT job of keeping you all informed of my goings on. It's ironic, seeing as I leave to come home in six short days and I still have about a month's worth to catch you all up on. So, I'm going to piecemeal the posts over the coming days so that I can feel like I did my job. HERE WE GO!
As soon as Rain finished, things seemed to get crazier, even though there was not much going on...if that makes any sense at all...It probably doesn't, but I digress. Anyway. During my "week off" (the quotation marks will make sense in a moment) I spent a great deal of time (SURPRISE) working.
Because of the rigorous production schedules here, we all end up helping out other departments whenever the need arises. Because I did not have production duties the week of July 12th, I ended up being sent to Company Management as well as the props department.
With Company Management, I ended up once again helping to set apartments for the various artists that would be coming to stay with us in the coming weeks. Even though most of that day was spent indoors, I somehow still manage to get a nice farmer's tan in the 10 minutes I spent outside. Gotta love my Wisconsin roots!
For the rest of the week, I spent my time working with the props department. Probably my biggest takeaway from my time there was that I am not cutout to work in the world of props and I commend those that have chosen it as their career path. The show that we were working on was entitled The Light Years, a piece that had been workshopped by the group The Debate Society for a couple summers at NYSAF and was finally receiving a fully realized production. The piece alters between the 1893 and 1933 Chicago World's Fairs, meaning that there were a great deal of period props that were required to make the show look as authentic as possible.
Because not many people just have artifacts from the 1890s-1930s lying around in their living rooms, there was a great deal of time spent making the necessary items for the production. Since the show had a great deal to do with lights (shocker, I know) most of my week was spent creating various versions of electrical cabling to look as though it was from 1893. Let me tell you, if I never see another light cable from that time period again, I'll be content. Even when I saw them used in the production, a part of my soul fell away........totally kidding.....maybe...
Perhaps the one beneficial thing of spending the week with props was that for the better part of that week, it was hot as Hades outside, with temperatures reaching the 90s. It made me glad to not have to be running back and forth between buildings all day long.
Also during that week, I had the opportunity to see two of the shows that we were producing. The first was a musical entitled Loving v. Virginia, based on the landmark court case regarding interracial marriage. The musical has had some previous workshops and is still in its working stages, so I will be curious to see what comes of the work. The other production was a workshop presentation entitled The Last Match which depicts a high-intensity tennis match between both Russian and American tennis superstars, offering a glimpse into their lives and relationships, and the moments that define them. The piece, like Rain, will also be presented in a fully realized production at San Diego's Old Globe this coming winter.
After a week of working on props, I had a day off which, in my opinion, happened on the most beautiful day of the summer, but maybe I just think that, because it was my day off. I started the day off by sleeping in until about 12:00 and then just laying in bed indulging in some Will & Grace reruns on DVD. Then I made myself some lunch and decided to spend some time outside, so I changed into some comfortable summer clothes, grabbed a blanket, my music, and my sunglasses and just sat outside under a tree and read my book (the same book I've been working on for about three years now: In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson). After soaking up some sun, I went to the gym, and then went out for our weekly SMIntern dinner at BurgerFi. It was a perfectly marvelous day and a great way to start off my prep week for my final show, Noir which I will be talking about in the next installment! Until next time!
The company of RAIN after our final performance
As soon as Rain finished, things seemed to get crazier, even though there was not much going on...if that makes any sense at all...It probably doesn't, but I digress. Anyway. During my "week off" (the quotation marks will make sense in a moment) I spent a great deal of time (SURPRISE) working.
Because of the rigorous production schedules here, we all end up helping out other departments whenever the need arises. Because I did not have production duties the week of July 12th, I ended up being sent to Company Management as well as the props department.
With Company Management, I ended up once again helping to set apartments for the various artists that would be coming to stay with us in the coming weeks. Even though most of that day was spent indoors, I somehow still manage to get a nice farmer's tan in the 10 minutes I spent outside. Gotta love my Wisconsin roots!
For the rest of the week, I spent my time working with the props department. Probably my biggest takeaway from my time there was that I am not cutout to work in the world of props and I commend those that have chosen it as their career path. The show that we were working on was entitled The Light Years, a piece that had been workshopped by the group The Debate Society for a couple summers at NYSAF and was finally receiving a fully realized production. The piece alters between the 1893 and 1933 Chicago World's Fairs, meaning that there were a great deal of period props that were required to make the show look as authentic as possible.
Because not many people just have artifacts from the 1890s-1930s lying around in their living rooms, there was a great deal of time spent making the necessary items for the production. Since the show had a great deal to do with lights (shocker, I know) most of my week was spent creating various versions of electrical cabling to look as though it was from 1893. Let me tell you, if I never see another light cable from that time period again, I'll be content. Even when I saw them used in the production, a part of my soul fell away........totally kidding.....maybe...
Perhaps the one beneficial thing of spending the week with props was that for the better part of that week, it was hot as Hades outside, with temperatures reaching the 90s. It made me glad to not have to be running back and forth between buildings all day long.
Also during that week, I had the opportunity to see two of the shows that we were producing. The first was a musical entitled Loving v. Virginia, based on the landmark court case regarding interracial marriage. The musical has had some previous workshops and is still in its working stages, so I will be curious to see what comes of the work. The other production was a workshop presentation entitled The Last Match which depicts a high-intensity tennis match between both Russian and American tennis superstars, offering a glimpse into their lives and relationships, and the moments that define them. The piece, like Rain, will also be presented in a fully realized production at San Diego's Old Globe this coming winter.
After a week of working on props, I had a day off which, in my opinion, happened on the most beautiful day of the summer, but maybe I just think that, because it was my day off. I started the day off by sleeping in until about 12:00 and then just laying in bed indulging in some Will & Grace reruns on DVD. Then I made myself some lunch and decided to spend some time outside, so I changed into some comfortable summer clothes, grabbed a blanket, my music, and my sunglasses and just sat outside under a tree and read my book (the same book I've been working on for about three years now: In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson). After soaking up some sun, I went to the gym, and then went out for our weekly SMIntern dinner at BurgerFi. It was a perfectly marvelous day and a great way to start off my prep week for my final show, Noir which I will be talking about in the next installment! Until next time!
Tuesday, July 14, 2015
Soon It's Gonna Rain
I know that my lack of a blog posting has had you all on pins and needles these past two weeks and to those of you who were waiting by your computer constantly clicking refresh on your computer and making your loved ones dump out your urine from a 2 liter bottle of soda, I sincerely apologize; to you AND those brave loved ones. As you all may have gathered by now, this business that I have so eagerly gotten myself into is quite a time intensive one, not leaving me much time to sleep and be a human, let alone blog about the whole ordeal. At any rate, despite the crazy schedule I still love what I do and these past two weeks have only reaffirmed that.
My most recent project was a musical adaptation of the Somerset Maugham short story, Rain. The basic premise (for those of you that did not read the story or just failed high school english back in the day) is that two couples are forced to stay in a hotel in Pago Pago (Pahngo Pahngo) on the island of Western Samoa in 1924 when their ship is quarantined due to a Measles outbreak. The balance of order is thrown with the arrival of Sadie, a "workin' girl" making her way to Australia. Everyone's patience, virtues, and morals are tested over the course of a week in the hotel and its paper thin walls. That's all I'm going to say about the piece itself. You're just going to have to go and read it if you want to know what happens. See? I'm helping you all be more culturally aware.
Anyway. The musical, as it was presented here, is in the workshop stage. This means that the show has been substantially developed and they are hoping to put it on its feet before they move further with it. In the case of Rain, the fully realized production (sets, lights, costumes, orchestra) will be presented at the Old Globe in San Francisco which is run by our brilliant director, Barry Edelstein who is making his debut as a director of musical theatre. The score is by Tony nominee Michael John LaChiusa and has a book written by Tony nominee Sybille Pearson. The two previously collaborated on the recent musical, Giant, which was produced by the Public Theatre a couple of years ago. For our production, the creative team decided to present the entirety of the piece (a full two act musical) at music stands with only a piano accompaniment. Despite the lack of instrumentation, the score is still amazingly beautiful; something that I can't wait fort the rest of the world to hear.
We began the rehearsal process, like all shows do, with a meet and greet of the members of the cast and creative team. I was beyond excited to be "meeting and greeting" some of musical theatre's greats which range from Tony Nominees like Jennifer Westfeldt and Elizabeth Davis, to Broadway vets like Jason Danieley, Benim Foster, James Joseph O'Neil, and performing vets that are sure to be household names in the theatre community like Carmen Cusack, David Harris, Jennifer Hubilla, and Tommy McDowell. All nine of these performers are some of the most talented and humble people that I have had the privilege to work with and I will not soon forget the time that I got to spend with them. After the meet and greet, we then dove into rehearsals.
The first two days were spent learning the entirety of the score. It was like I was having a private concert being performed for me with Michael John (MJ) and/or J Oconer (our musical director) at the piano and these theatre giants singing right to me. I couldn't believe it, even while sitting there. Once the score was learned, our director, Barry, dove into the book with everyone. They picked it apart bit by bit and then we went and had a read/sing-through to get a sense of how the piece had come together since the industry reading in New York this past Thanksgiving. Once that was over, the creators went back to the drawing board and began making more extensive cuts and changes to the piece. At the end of the first week, we had yet another reading of the piece before we moved into the theatre. This reading was done presentation style (behind music stands) so that we could start to get an idea of what this incarnation's final product would be like. This allowed our creators to use the Equity day off to be able to work out kinks and cuts that needed to be made so that the piece had a solid starting place in tech week.
What was great about this particular show was that I was serving as the acting ASM on the production. Because of the contract that we use (SPT Tier 3) for those of you contract buffs, any show with more than 10 performers is required to have both an Equity PSM and ASM team. Since ours only had nine, we were only required to have an Equity PSM. What I came to find out was that the cast and the creative team all thought I was hired by NYSAF to as an Equity ASM for the production. To their surprise, I was merely an intern randomly assigned to the production, which had all of them very much impressed. I guess school IS paying off, Mom and Dad.
The other aspect of this production that was probably the most beneficial to my training as a Stage Manager was the fact that it was a new musical which means that there were re-writes after re-writes and changes upon changes. One day songs were in and the next they were out. Or re-written. Or in an entirely different key. Or all three. It's one thing on a musical that has a six to eight week rehearsal process but for a show that has a two-week process, it's even more daunting. A great deal of my duties were tracking the changes made throughout the rehearsals and updating the master script along with our PSM so that the production has a fresh starting point when it begins rehearsals this upcoming winter. It also was another testament to the time and stress management skills that I have developed and will continue to develop over the years.
Needless to say, the day off leading into tech week brought about a massive script change which, of course, the PSM and myself were in charge of distributing to the company. Each day during tech week, we started rehearsal by taking out old pages from our script and filling them with the new ones. Jut to give you an idea, by the end of tech week, we had successfully filled two boxes that hold reams of paper with our recycled script pages. On Tuesday and Wednesday we worked through the piece, adding some simple staging so that we would be ready to go for our 10 out of 12 on Thursday. If you don't know, 10 out of 12s are where the company rehearses for 10 hours out of a 12 hour time block. In this instance, our rehearsal started at 11 (9 for the SM team) and then ended at 11 at night (12 for the SM team). In that day, we rehearsed a majority of the show. We did not complete the last 4 pages but we picked up with those Friday morning.
In that rehearsal Friday morning, we finished the last 4 pages and then we promptly gave the actors even more cuts and changes to the script. Everyone seemed to be running around like chickens with their heads cut off since we were presenting the piece that afternoon to a preview audience (another requirement of this particular Equity contract). Once that finished, we had a dinner break and then gave our first public presentation which seemed pretty well-received. We all went out for celebratory drinks afterwards and then went to bed so that we could get ready for our rehearsal the next day.
Oh yeah. In the professional world when you are in "Previews" which is sort of what Friday was, you are allowed to rehearse for a certain number of hours before the performance in an effort to incorporate changes in the show. Our big change that we worked at that rehearsal was a brand new opening sequence. After watching the show twice the previous day, our book writer and composer felt that the opening didn't introduce us to one of the characters fast enough, so they re-wrote the entire opening sequence which is similar in style as well as length to the "Prologue" from Into the Woods.
After hard work and dedication, we ended up ending that rehearsal early, completing the incorporation of the new opening as well as additional cuts/changes before our curtain that evening. Because the show was "frozen" which means that the show is set, all of the company seemed to be much more relaxed since the show was now going to be the same for the next three shows which allowed them to focus on bringing more details of the story to life. Each of the three remaining shows (despite minor hiccups) went extremely well and seemed to be favored by audiences. It makes me extremely excited to see not only the fully realized production in the spring, but also the reactions of a wider audience than the 700+ people that saw it this past weekend.
I feel incredibly blessed to have been able to work on this piece. First of all, I enjoyed the fact that it's a bit different from the "commercial" shows that are dominating Broadway right now. Granted, those are nice, but they can only maintain their appeal for so long; it will be nice to get something fresh and new in the American Musical Theatre scene. Secondly, and perhaps most importantly, I feel so honored to have been able to work with all of these wonderful professionals and to have gotten to know them all both personally and professionally. We all took the time to get to know each other and to talk with one another all the way from Tony nominees down to Seth the Stage Management intern. I shared a great deal of laughs and received wonderful advice from some of the theatre's giants and will never forget how wonderful these past two weeks were; we were all a part of the life of a new American musical and I cannot wait to see where not only the piece goes, but also where all of these talented artists go next. It is yet another reminder that I have chosen the right career path and am happy with that choice. Enough sappiness. I need to get some sleep so that I can be a fully functioning human in the morning. Until next time!
Tuesday, June 30, 2015
"The Festival? The KING'S Festival?"
In case you were all trying to tune in to the regularly scheduled programming this past week, our programming was on a week hiatus on account of the major sportsketball thingy-maggig that was taking over all of the major networks. Okay, so maybe not, but this past week ate up all of my time as I was working on the first of NYSAF's Readings Festivals. That whole week of prep was most definitely useful as we were able to hit the ground running after a long weekend.
Just a brief, personal update for those of you that might be unaware. Minutes after completing my last blog posting, I found out that one of my grandmothers was suffering a massive heart attack and had to be rushed to the hospital. This was especially hard since I'm over 700 miles away and the whole night, could not do anything to help my family through that tough time. Sadly, we lost my grandmother early the next morning. Thankfully, my sister, Molly and I had just been up there two weeks previously and got to spend the day with her and our grandfather. Strangely enough, I had some sort of feeling, deep down, that that may very well be the last time I would see one of them. I am grateful to have my last memories of her be happy ones, sitting around talking, and telling her about the exciting summer I was bound to have. I know that now I have one huge supporter watching over me as I continue forward, since that's all we can do while we are on this earth; "the main thing is to keep on living, keep on caring about what's GOING to happen." If you can figure out what show that poignant quote is from, I'll give you a figurative gold star ;)
As the weekend wrapped up, we went into final preparations for our first readings festival. As I may have mentioned earlier, this is a play festival dedicated to showcasing the work of playwrights and composers/lyricists as they are working on developing their shows to have a life beyond the page. All of these shows are in the early stages of development; some have their sights on Broadway, some have their sights on additional readings or workshops. The main point is that NYSAF is that during that week, all of us at NYSAF are dedicated to making the experience a fruitful one for the playwrights; it's all about them.
Because we produce five shows over the course of one week, we as a company have the opportunity to also go and support the other new works that are being created. I was lucky enough to be able to go and see 15 Minutes, a new musical about Studio 54 that has its eyes set on Broadway. I am beyond excited to see the life that not only that show has, but all of the shows that we produce over the summer.
For my reading, I had the great honor of working with two wonderful women who are beginning to make their mark in the world of the theatre: Stella Powell-Jones (granddaughter of playwright Harold Pinter) and Clare Barron. If you'll recall, the title of my play was a boy put this girl in a cage with a dog and the dog killed the girl. In case you were all wondering, the play was not JUST about that. Rather, the events laid out in the title serve as the catalyst for change in the lives of a group of twenty-somethings as they try to navigate their way through the various stages of life. No, we did not use a real dog in the show. Rather, the dog was portrayed by an older actress, whose actions and presence loom over the characters in the context of the show.
In all my years that I have been in the theatre thus far, I have only worked on pre-existing shows, ranging from musicals to adaptations of beloved children's tales. This was my first experience working on a new piece of work and it is an experience that I will not soon forget. I feel that I got the luck of the draw with my cast: everyone was so collaborative and supportive of not only each other, but the work itself. We instantly formed our own mini company, particularly after we all went out to dinner our first night working together. Something that one does not expect to occur when you are only working with a group of people for six days.
In those rehearsals. I learned not about the logistics of working on a new piece of theater from a stage management side (printing and compiling script edits everyday and going through the proper chains of command in order to distribute paperwork and schedules as well as other various duties) but also just how much brain power goes into the writing of a new play. I loved getting the opportunity to watch our playwright analyze the words of the play as she heard them for the first time. It helped me to see just how much of an art actually creating and writing a play is.
Rehearsals were pretty basic; we sat around a table everyday reading the script and analyzing the characters and trying to figure out the kinks. Sometimes we would work from completely new pages and other times, we would go back to previous drafts of the play that Clare had written. All of this was spear-headed by our wonderful director, Stella, who was the perfect mix of fun and focused that I enjoy in a director; she could joke with us, but knew how to steer the ship when she needed to. As for me, not only did I serve as the SM on the production, but I also acted as our Stage Directions Reader for both rehearsals and performances. This simply means that because we were not doing a fully realized production, I would read Clare's stage directions to help the audience paint the picture of what was going on visually in the play. All of these rehearsals and developments culminate in a reading at the end of the week which is presented in front of an audience. Despite the fact that we were the last reading to perform, we had a very responsive and attentive audience which made Clare and Stella absolutely ecstatic.
At the end of the performance, as Clare and Stella were departing, both of them told me how much they enjoyed working with me and commended me on my professionalism and that they were more than happy to help me out in any way they can in the future, which means a lot to me as I continue to move forward in my Stage Management career. (I really only included that tidbit so that my parents have something to brag about to their friends).
There were many artists working with us this past week: Michael C. Hall, Lena Hall, Finn Wittrock, Peter Yanowitz, Stephen Trask, and many more, all of whom we barbecued with mid-week in an effort to bring us all closer together and instill that company mentality. I couldn't believe some of the people I was able to share burgers and beer with. It all seems surreal, even after a week. It just makes me even more grateful to be here, getting to connect and network with so many reputable people.
As we all know, there is no rest for the weary. All during readings week, I was also doing prepwork for my next project, Rain, by Michael John LaChiusa and Sybille Pearson. We began rehearsals for that today and are off to a great start. I can't wait to share more about this new, beautiful show within the coming days. Until next time!
Just a brief, personal update for those of you that might be unaware. Minutes after completing my last blog posting, I found out that one of my grandmothers was suffering a massive heart attack and had to be rushed to the hospital. This was especially hard since I'm over 700 miles away and the whole night, could not do anything to help my family through that tough time. Sadly, we lost my grandmother early the next morning. Thankfully, my sister, Molly and I had just been up there two weeks previously and got to spend the day with her and our grandfather. Strangely enough, I had some sort of feeling, deep down, that that may very well be the last time I would see one of them. I am grateful to have my last memories of her be happy ones, sitting around talking, and telling her about the exciting summer I was bound to have. I know that now I have one huge supporter watching over me as I continue forward, since that's all we can do while we are on this earth; "the main thing is to keep on living, keep on caring about what's GOING to happen." If you can figure out what show that poignant quote is from, I'll give you a figurative gold star ;)
As the weekend wrapped up, we went into final preparations for our first readings festival. As I may have mentioned earlier, this is a play festival dedicated to showcasing the work of playwrights and composers/lyricists as they are working on developing their shows to have a life beyond the page. All of these shows are in the early stages of development; some have their sights on Broadway, some have their sights on additional readings or workshops. The main point is that NYSAF is that during that week, all of us at NYSAF are dedicated to making the experience a fruitful one for the playwrights; it's all about them.
Because we produce five shows over the course of one week, we as a company have the opportunity to also go and support the other new works that are being created. I was lucky enough to be able to go and see 15 Minutes, a new musical about Studio 54 that has its eyes set on Broadway. I am beyond excited to see the life that not only that show has, but all of the shows that we produce over the summer.
For my reading, I had the great honor of working with two wonderful women who are beginning to make their mark in the world of the theatre: Stella Powell-Jones (granddaughter of playwright Harold Pinter) and Clare Barron. If you'll recall, the title of my play was a boy put this girl in a cage with a dog and the dog killed the girl. In case you were all wondering, the play was not JUST about that. Rather, the events laid out in the title serve as the catalyst for change in the lives of a group of twenty-somethings as they try to navigate their way through the various stages of life. No, we did not use a real dog in the show. Rather, the dog was portrayed by an older actress, whose actions and presence loom over the characters in the context of the show.
In all my years that I have been in the theatre thus far, I have only worked on pre-existing shows, ranging from musicals to adaptations of beloved children's tales. This was my first experience working on a new piece of work and it is an experience that I will not soon forget. I feel that I got the luck of the draw with my cast: everyone was so collaborative and supportive of not only each other, but the work itself. We instantly formed our own mini company, particularly after we all went out to dinner our first night working together. Something that one does not expect to occur when you are only working with a group of people for six days.
In those rehearsals. I learned not about the logistics of working on a new piece of theater from a stage management side (printing and compiling script edits everyday and going through the proper chains of command in order to distribute paperwork and schedules as well as other various duties) but also just how much brain power goes into the writing of a new play. I loved getting the opportunity to watch our playwright analyze the words of the play as she heard them for the first time. It helped me to see just how much of an art actually creating and writing a play is.
Rehearsals were pretty basic; we sat around a table everyday reading the script and analyzing the characters and trying to figure out the kinks. Sometimes we would work from completely new pages and other times, we would go back to previous drafts of the play that Clare had written. All of this was spear-headed by our wonderful director, Stella, who was the perfect mix of fun and focused that I enjoy in a director; she could joke with us, but knew how to steer the ship when she needed to. As for me, not only did I serve as the SM on the production, but I also acted as our Stage Directions Reader for both rehearsals and performances. This simply means that because we were not doing a fully realized production, I would read Clare's stage directions to help the audience paint the picture of what was going on visually in the play. All of these rehearsals and developments culminate in a reading at the end of the week which is presented in front of an audience. Despite the fact that we were the last reading to perform, we had a very responsive and attentive audience which made Clare and Stella absolutely ecstatic.
At the end of the performance, as Clare and Stella were departing, both of them told me how much they enjoyed working with me and commended me on my professionalism and that they were more than happy to help me out in any way they can in the future, which means a lot to me as I continue to move forward in my Stage Management career. (I really only included that tidbit so that my parents have something to brag about to their friends).
There were many artists working with us this past week: Michael C. Hall, Lena Hall, Finn Wittrock, Peter Yanowitz, Stephen Trask, and many more, all of whom we barbecued with mid-week in an effort to bring us all closer together and instill that company mentality. I couldn't believe some of the people I was able to share burgers and beer with. It all seems surreal, even after a week. It just makes me even more grateful to be here, getting to connect and network with so many reputable people.
As we all know, there is no rest for the weary. All during readings week, I was also doing prepwork for my next project, Rain, by Michael John LaChiusa and Sybille Pearson. We began rehearsals for that today and are off to a great start. I can't wait to share more about this new, beautiful show within the coming days. Until next time!
Friday, June 19, 2015
"Too Darn Hot"
Most people on a Friday night, decide to go out on the town and try to be the life of the party. Given the fact that I am regularly a raging party animal, I decided that, tonight, I would take some time to fill you all in on the past couple of days here at NYSAF. As you might have guessed from my blog post, it has been hotter than Satan's kitchen up here the past couple of days. For people in normal living conditions, they are able to retreat into the comfort of their abode and relax in the nice, cool breeze of the AC. Here, this is not the case. We have the great luxury of staying in one of the few places on campus that does not have air conditioning. Normally, this problem is solved by the purchase of a fan, which, yours truly made. However, upon buying the fan, I found out that it was defective, so I needed to return it; not necessarily a task of convenience when you are an intern without a car. So, when it has been rainy for three of the past five days and you are without a fan the air becomes somewhat thick and unbearable, especially, when you have to make multiple treks across Vassar's vast campus grounds. These treks are made somewhat bearable by the presence of the groundhogs that inhabit the campus.
As the SM interns, we have the unenviable task of doing a bunch of presswork for the productions that are to come this summer. This includes anything from organizing office supplies for each of the individual rehearsal rooms, to setting up the call board (a place for company members to know the goings on for each show that is rehearsing) to putting together first aid kits, to setting up green room areas for the companies of each show. For those of you that don't know, green rooms are places for company members to go and relax and partake in coffee and tea and various other things during breaks in the rehearsal process. There are certain standards that are required by the AEA (more on that in a minute) in terms of what is in the green rooms and what supplies are required, etc.
As a company, NYSAF has put together a packet of requirements for each rehearsal room that is based upon AEA's standards. Our ultimate task this week was to knock off each of the items on the checklist so that we are ready to go when we dive in head-first with the first readings festival this upcoming Tuesday. Two of the five SM interns are already in rehearsal for shows so the remaining three of us began to work through the list. Each day, we would report to our supervisor and see which of the things on the master list he wanted us to get done. Usually, we would check in with him two or three times a day. Tuesday and Wednesday, we cranked through a huge chunk on that list, so he sent us over to help Company Management turn over 10 apartments for the artists and designers that will be arriving early next week.
In the theatrical world, Company Management is the branch of the company that is responsible for the hospitality side of things. They make sure that the apartments are all in functioning and livable conditions, take company members on grocery runs, organize company activities, etc. Basically, they make sure that everyone is happy in their life outside of their working environment. Yesterday, we three SM interns helped the CoMan Interns with their changeover so we swept, wiped, mopped, and organized the various apartments that would be housing the artists. It was a long and tiring day, but for a day that was slightly muggy, it was nice to be working in units that HAD air conditioning.
Today, we returned to our generic SM tasks which we, once again, accomplished in a very timely manner, so our supervisor sent the three of us home early, which allowed us a little time to explore. Earlier in the week, we three interns went to the campus library to check things out (get it?) The library itself is similar to the Great Hall in the Harry Potter series. I'm pretty sure they even shot on location there...just kidding. FOOLED YA! Anyway, we went to check out some books so that we might remain cultured and educated, but because we are only allowed access to certain campus amenities, we were unable to check out books. So, we decided that today we would head to the public library and sign up for cards.
After that, one of the other interns and I were contemplating about going to the gym or getting groceries, so we decided to kill to birds with one stone and go on a literal grocery run. We changed into running gear and grabbed our backpacks and ran from our apartments to the grocery store. In case those of you were concerned about me being able to return that defective fan, don't worry, I did, and am now enjoying the comfort of a very nice fan as I type this blog. We then went to the lovely Dollar Tree as well as the local Stop and Shop Grocery store and then walked back home with our goods in hand.
In my last post, I had told you that I would let you all know about some of the cool people that I will be getting to work with this summer. Well, literally the next day, our press release went out to all of the big Broadway news outlets highlighting our summer talent. Some of the people that will be gracing us with their presence for this first half of the summer are are Michael C. Hall from Dexter, Tony® Award-Winning Lena Hall from Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Tony® Award-Nominee Condola Rashad (Phylicia Rashad's daughter), Carmen Cusack, who has played Elphaba in Wicked all over the world, as well as Jason Danieley, most recently of The Visit with Chita Rivera, Derek Klena from Wicked and The Bridges of Madison County, and Finn Wittrock from American Horror Story: Freak Show. I also found out that the director that I will be serving as SM for on boy/girl/cage/dog is the granddaughter of the famous playwright, Harold Pinter. The world keeps getting smaller, ladies and gentlemen.
I also mentioned earlier in the post something about AEA. In case you are still burning with curiosity as to what that stands for, it is an acronym for the Actors Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers. The organization was founded in 1913 and is currently run by Broadway veteran and former Miss America, Kate Shindle. The organization provides the guidelines for various theatre across the country ranging from every show on broadway, to theatres all the way out in California. It helps to maintain professional and ideal working conditions for theatre artists as they continue to hone their craft and also provide adequate pay scales depending on the level of the theatre and the contract that is utilized by that theatre. The various contracts are typically determined by the location of the theatre and the maximum seating capacity of the performing house. You're probably wondering "what does all of this useless information mean"? Well, I'll tell you! After some more useless information...
The most common way for one to join the union is to obtain work at a professional, Equity affiliated theatre and then they can enroll in the Equity Membership Candidacy Program (EMC). Once enrolled, applicants have to accrue 50 weeks of work which is kept track through a point system; one point for every one week of work. Anyway, I found out earlier this week that as SM interns, we have the opportunity to begin the EMC enrollment process, so I have elected to do so. That way, I will be one step closer to being able to work not only in NYC and on Broadway, but also to work with many prestigious companies across the country.
I know I said that the posts would start to get shorter and not as detailed oriented but what can I say? I'm a Stage Manager. Details are my strong suit. That being said, I am going to wrap-up for the day and try to unwind some more before heading to bed. Thanks again for reading! Until next time!
Just some of the many groundhogs on campus.
As the SM interns, we have the unenviable task of doing a bunch of presswork for the productions that are to come this summer. This includes anything from organizing office supplies for each of the individual rehearsal rooms, to setting up the call board (a place for company members to know the goings on for each show that is rehearsing) to putting together first aid kits, to setting up green room areas for the companies of each show. For those of you that don't know, green rooms are places for company members to go and relax and partake in coffee and tea and various other things during breaks in the rehearsal process. There are certain standards that are required by the AEA (more on that in a minute) in terms of what is in the green rooms and what supplies are required, etc.
As a company, NYSAF has put together a packet of requirements for each rehearsal room that is based upon AEA's standards. Our ultimate task this week was to knock off each of the items on the checklist so that we are ready to go when we dive in head-first with the first readings festival this upcoming Tuesday. Two of the five SM interns are already in rehearsal for shows so the remaining three of us began to work through the list. Each day, we would report to our supervisor and see which of the things on the master list he wanted us to get done. Usually, we would check in with him two or three times a day. Tuesday and Wednesday, we cranked through a huge chunk on that list, so he sent us over to help Company Management turn over 10 apartments for the artists and designers that will be arriving early next week.
In the theatrical world, Company Management is the branch of the company that is responsible for the hospitality side of things. They make sure that the apartments are all in functioning and livable conditions, take company members on grocery runs, organize company activities, etc. Basically, they make sure that everyone is happy in their life outside of their working environment. Yesterday, we three SM interns helped the CoMan Interns with their changeover so we swept, wiped, mopped, and organized the various apartments that would be housing the artists. It was a long and tiring day, but for a day that was slightly muggy, it was nice to be working in units that HAD air conditioning.
Hogwarts...er....I mean the library...
Today, we returned to our generic SM tasks which we, once again, accomplished in a very timely manner, so our supervisor sent the three of us home early, which allowed us a little time to explore. Earlier in the week, we three interns went to the campus library to check things out (get it?) The library itself is similar to the Great Hall in the Harry Potter series. I'm pretty sure they even shot on location there...just kidding. FOOLED YA! Anyway, we went to check out some books so that we might remain cultured and educated, but because we are only allowed access to certain campus amenities, we were unable to check out books. So, we decided that today we would head to the public library and sign up for cards.
After that, one of the other interns and I were contemplating about going to the gym or getting groceries, so we decided to kill to birds with one stone and go on a literal grocery run. We changed into running gear and grabbed our backpacks and ran from our apartments to the grocery store. In case those of you were concerned about me being able to return that defective fan, don't worry, I did, and am now enjoying the comfort of a very nice fan as I type this blog. We then went to the lovely Dollar Tree as well as the local Stop and Shop Grocery store and then walked back home with our goods in hand.
In my last post, I had told you that I would let you all know about some of the cool people that I will be getting to work with this summer. Well, literally the next day, our press release went out to all of the big Broadway news outlets highlighting our summer talent. Some of the people that will be gracing us with their presence for this first half of the summer are are Michael C. Hall from Dexter, Tony® Award-Winning Lena Hall from Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Tony® Award-Nominee Condola Rashad (Phylicia Rashad's daughter), Carmen Cusack, who has played Elphaba in Wicked all over the world, as well as Jason Danieley, most recently of The Visit with Chita Rivera, Derek Klena from Wicked and The Bridges of Madison County, and Finn Wittrock from American Horror Story: Freak Show. I also found out that the director that I will be serving as SM for on boy/girl/cage/dog is the granddaughter of the famous playwright, Harold Pinter. The world keeps getting smaller, ladies and gentlemen.
I also mentioned earlier in the post something about AEA. In case you are still burning with curiosity as to what that stands for, it is an acronym for the Actors Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers. The organization was founded in 1913 and is currently run by Broadway veteran and former Miss America, Kate Shindle. The organization provides the guidelines for various theatre across the country ranging from every show on broadway, to theatres all the way out in California. It helps to maintain professional and ideal working conditions for theatre artists as they continue to hone their craft and also provide adequate pay scales depending on the level of the theatre and the contract that is utilized by that theatre. The various contracts are typically determined by the location of the theatre and the maximum seating capacity of the performing house. You're probably wondering "what does all of this useless information mean"? Well, I'll tell you! After some more useless information...
The most common way for one to join the union is to obtain work at a professional, Equity affiliated theatre and then they can enroll in the Equity Membership Candidacy Program (EMC). Once enrolled, applicants have to accrue 50 weeks of work which is kept track through a point system; one point for every one week of work. Anyway, I found out earlier this week that as SM interns, we have the opportunity to begin the EMC enrollment process, so I have elected to do so. That way, I will be one step closer to being able to work not only in NYC and on Broadway, but also to work with many prestigious companies across the country.
I know I said that the posts would start to get shorter and not as detailed oriented but what can I say? I'm a Stage Manager. Details are my strong suit. That being said, I am going to wrap-up for the day and try to unwind some more before heading to bed. Thanks again for reading! Until next time!
Monday, June 15, 2015
"Here I Go...There's No Turning Back"
All right. Now that I got that introductory stuff out of the way, Now's the time where we get to the INTERESTING stuff as opposed to my nerdy ramblings. My journey out to Poughkeepsie began the other day on Saturday, June 13th in the wee hours of the morning. Given how much the college life has screwed up my sleeping patterns and how excited and adrenaline-filled I was, I only had one solid hour of sleep the night before leaving. I had been prepping and packing all week: two suitcases, a carryon, and two boxes that will be shipped to me at a later date (fingers crossed for this Wednesday). Anyway, I finished my final packing requirements and then, along with my lovely mother and sisters, we groggily made our way to Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport so I could board Southwest Flight #1296 to NY-LGA. In the words of Little Red from Into the Woods, I was "excited AND scared." Honestly, I wouldn't have it any other way. It's such a uniquely wonderful feeling as one prepares to conquer a world full of unknowns.
As we were cruising down the highway that early morning, I, naturally, turned on the Sirius Broadway Radio station so that I could "get in the zone," or rather, just torture my mom and sisters and force a little more musical theatre knowledge down their throats one last time before I left. Naturally, I was sad to be leaving my family and friends for the summer, since, originally, I was going to be working closer to home at First Stage Children's Theatre in Milwaukee for the summer (another amazing theatrical organization if you do not know about them). We pulled up to the airport unloading zone and we got my bags out and we said our temporary goodbyes and I walked through the doors to begin my my 24-hour adventure to NYC.
Since my contract for the summer did not Start until yesterday, June 14th, we figured that it would be best for me to leave for New York on the 13th so that if any travel problems arose, I would have a buffer day of travel. Because of this, I decided to spend the night in the City soaking up the energy that, in my opinion, continues to pulse and inspire the world of the theatre. I got all checked in and made my way through security and onto the plane with a great deal of time to spare. Once we took off, I enjoyed a very smooth flight filled with snoozes, Coca-Cola, and honey roasted peanuts, as one does on a 1.5 hour flight.
I finally landed in New York City and made my way to baggage claim. Thankfully, mine were some of the first bags off of the plane so I did not have to wait very long. Before I left I had done an online Taxi Fare Calculator to get a rough estimate of what my trip into the city was going to cost me. While I was waiting for a Taxi, a fancy-schmancy driver game up to me and told me that his ride that he was supposed to pick up did not show and he was going back into the city so he said that he would give me my fare for a flat rate, which ended up being the same money that I had allotted for my taxi. I thought, "Eh, what the hell, why not" and we proceeded to go to the car, which I thought, would be some SUV of sorts.
Now, in the movies, this would be the part where the mysterious men come and grab me and throw me into a sketchy van as I frantically try to dial Liam Neeson's phone number to alert him of my distress. Instead, he ended up taking me to a white, stretch limo. So for the same price as my ride in a yellow taxi, I was driving into the city in a limo. I'm not complaining one bit.
After we pulled up to my hotel (shout out to Pops for helping me make those arrangements), I checked in and was delightfully surprised to find out that I could check-in right then and there and not have to wait until three o'clock. So I got my reservation squared away and proceeded to go up to my room and conk out for about two hours.
Since I had been up so early traveling, I figured that the next best thing would be to get some sustenance so that I could make it through the 2PM matinee of An American in Paris that I was going to see with my wonderfully awesome friend, Angi, who attends school in the city. Since I love the Rockefeller Center area so much, I decided that I would walk there to get food. Now, my hotel was in Chelsea which, according to iPhone Maps, is a 45 Minute walk from Rockefeller Center. However, since I am an avid promoter of "walking with purpose," I was able to make it there in 30 minutes with Potbelly's Sandwiches calling my name, and the soon to be blisters on me feet angrily screaming at me.
After lunch, I spent time people watching in the Square where the giant Christmas tree is located. Eventually, I met Angi at the theatre to enjoy the matinee. Overall, I loved the physical aspects of the show: the sets, costumes, lights, dancing, performances, singing, etc. The only thing that did not do much for me was the book. The elements of the classic Gene Kelly film were definitely there, but in an effort to expand the musical canon of the piece, it seemed that the book was crafted in order to accommodate additional songs, as opposed to further expanding and fleshing out the characters. That is not to say that the book was terrible by any means; it just did not do as much for me as I was expecting.
As soon as the curtain call was over, Angi and I rushed to the subway where we headed uptown to Lincoln Center to see if we could get tickets to see Kelli O'Hara in The King and I. Now, this production is one that I have been wanting to see since it was announced that Lincoln center was going to be producing it. I tried constantly to get student tickets in the weeks leading up to my trip, but to no avail. Our only hope was the possibility that they might be selling student rush tickets. Being the firm believer in the adage "everything happens for a reason" that I am, I was somewhat glad that I was not able to secure a ticket to the show as Kelli was out with bad flu and won't be returning to the show until tomorrow. The box office attendant told us that they would probably be offering student rush to the show since she was out and some would be returning their tickets, but if I was going to see the show, I wanted it to be first seen with Kelli playing her Tony Award®-Winning role. What can I say? I'm a die-hard fan of hers.
We then left the gorgeous grounds at Lincoln Center and, over a cup of gelato, we decided to forgo a show that evening and just go back to my hotel and grab some food and veg out and catch up. We went back to Chelsea and stopped at the hotel for me to change my shoes (yes, mom, you were right about the shoe choice) and then we went to a delicious burger place called Bareburger which serves delicious burgers made with grass-fed beef. After grabbing some cookie butter and some wine following dinner, we went back and spent a wonderful evening catching up and swapping stories, just like the gals on Sex and the City.
After Angi left, I showered, crawled into bed, and got some sleep before my early train to Poughkeepsie the next morning.
After I woke up, I packed up my things, checked out, and made my way to the magnificent Grand Central Station where I boarded the 9:43 AM train to Poughkeepsie. The train ride, like my flight, was nice and smooth with only the occasional crying baby disrupting my siesta. When I got off the train, I was greeted by the lovely NYSAF Company Management staff and made my way to the company van where another one of the interns and myself rode to the Vassar College campus to begin move-in.
After receiving my keys and other various pieces of paperwork, I made my way to my apartment and unpacked my things in my room. The apartments are pretty nice: they could stand some paint and some minor fixes, and, you know, Air Conditioning, but other than that they're lovely. Since I was so exhausted, I lay down for another brief nap before our Company Meeting where we would meet the staff and the other interns.
At the meeting, we all went around and introduced ourselves: who we were and what our position was. After that, we split into groups and took a tour of Vassar's lovely campus. Highlights of the tour included the Martel Theatre, the Shiva (pronounced SHEE-va) Theatre, the Pool (which is not a pool, but a large square patch of grass that is slightly lower than the other parts of the grounds), the Powerhouse Theatre, and my personal favorite, the Streep Room (bought by and named after Vassar Alum Meryl Streep).
Once the tour concluded, we headed back to the Martel Theatre where we participated in an hour of team-building/introductory exercises to help strengthen us as a company and as a unit. All of these activities proved to be very eye-opening and provided a great deal of perspective for me as to how I envisioned the remaining eight weeks going. After our activity leader left, we went back to the apartment courtyard for a welcome barbecue graciously provided to us by the Company Management team.
Following those festivities, my three roommates and I decided to enjoy the nice weather last evening and do a quick grocery run so that we could stock up on the necessities. You know. Like Wine. As we were leaving, one of the Company Management Interns ran into us on the street and offered to give us a ride home which was good for us, since it began to rain. We then unloaded our Dollar Store grocery treasures and proceeded to chat a little bit before bed. We all turned in somewhat early (in theatre world that is any time after 10 PM before midnight) since we all had busy first days ahead of us.
For us SM Interns, we began our day by having a meeting where we received our show assignments for the summer. As I stated in my previous blog post, we produce a variety of works here at NYSAF and I have had the great fortune to be assigned one of the plays in our first Play Reading Festival entitled a boy put this girl in a cage with a dog and the dog killed the girl by Clare Barron. No Joke. That's the title. More information will follow once I get a chance to read the script. My other two assignments for the summer are two of the three Musical Workshops. The first one is Rain with Music and Lyrics by Tony Award® Nominee Michael John LaChiusa, a Book by Tony Award® Nominee Sybille Pearson, based on the short story by Somerset Maugham, and Directed by Barry Edelstein. The second piece is entitled Noir Music by Tony® and Grammy Award® winning composer Duncan Sheik, Book by Kyle Jarrow, Lyrics by Kyle Jarrow and Duncan Sheik, and
The rest of our day was spent cleaning and organizing and prepping for the upcoming season; this is basically our task throughout the week. We do anything from cleaning rehearsal spaces to organizing office supplies, to printing scripts, to setting up green room spaces. After a long day of work, I walked back to the grocery store to get a couple more things and then to Big Lots! to buy a fan for my AC-less room. Unfortunately, when I got home, the damn fan was broken so I get to trek back to the Big Lots! and return the fan for a new one. Until then, I'll just have to adjust to the fluctuating weather which, at the moment, is a mixture of cool and balmy. There's a lot of moisture in the air since we've gotten a bit of rain in the past 24 hours.
Since I was smelly and sweaty from my grocery adventure, I hopped in the shower and then went to our SM End-of-Day meeting where we made a game plan for tomorrow. Then I went home, enjoyed a nice dinner of Chicken and Rice-a-Roni (the San Francisco treat). Which brings me to now. The final sentences of my blog. I know this was a lot to take in, but, I promise, that future blog posts won't be as exciting and detailed as these ones...okay they might be...at any rate, they will become standard and concise since my life will soon be consumed with rehearsals. SHAMELESS PLUG: I have included a link to the website at the bottom of the post so that if you wan to find out more about the company or the shows that we are doing, you are free to do so. For better or worse, I'm here, Im in this for the long haul, and, hopefully, you aren't bored to tears by these posts. If you are, then, clearly, I need to amp up my writing style. Or, there is something wrong with you, the reader...Yeah. That's it... ;) Until next time!
As we were cruising down the highway that early morning, I, naturally, turned on the Sirius Broadway Radio station so that I could "get in the zone," or rather, just torture my mom and sisters and force a little more musical theatre knowledge down their throats one last time before I left. Naturally, I was sad to be leaving my family and friends for the summer, since, originally, I was going to be working closer to home at First Stage Children's Theatre in Milwaukee for the summer (another amazing theatrical organization if you do not know about them). We pulled up to the airport unloading zone and we got my bags out and we said our temporary goodbyes and I walked through the doors to begin my my 24-hour adventure to NYC.
Since my contract for the summer did not Start until yesterday, June 14th, we figured that it would be best for me to leave for New York on the 13th so that if any travel problems arose, I would have a buffer day of travel. Because of this, I decided to spend the night in the City soaking up the energy that, in my opinion, continues to pulse and inspire the world of the theatre. I got all checked in and made my way through security and onto the plane with a great deal of time to spare. Once we took off, I enjoyed a very smooth flight filled with snoozes, Coca-Cola, and honey roasted peanuts, as one does on a 1.5 hour flight.
I finally landed in New York City and made my way to baggage claim. Thankfully, mine were some of the first bags off of the plane so I did not have to wait very long. Before I left I had done an online Taxi Fare Calculator to get a rough estimate of what my trip into the city was going to cost me. While I was waiting for a Taxi, a fancy-schmancy driver game up to me and told me that his ride that he was supposed to pick up did not show and he was going back into the city so he said that he would give me my fare for a flat rate, which ended up being the same money that I had allotted for my taxi. I thought, "Eh, what the hell, why not" and we proceeded to go to the car, which I thought, would be some SUV of sorts.
Now, in the movies, this would be the part where the mysterious men come and grab me and throw me into a sketchy van as I frantically try to dial Liam Neeson's phone number to alert him of my distress. Instead, he ended up taking me to a white, stretch limo. So for the same price as my ride in a yellow taxi, I was driving into the city in a limo. I'm not complaining one bit.
After we pulled up to my hotel (shout out to Pops for helping me make those arrangements), I checked in and was delightfully surprised to find out that I could check-in right then and there and not have to wait until three o'clock. So I got my reservation squared away and proceeded to go up to my room and conk out for about two hours.
Since I had been up so early traveling, I figured that the next best thing would be to get some sustenance so that I could make it through the 2PM matinee of An American in Paris that I was going to see with my wonderfully awesome friend, Angi, who attends school in the city. Since I love the Rockefeller Center area so much, I decided that I would walk there to get food. Now, my hotel was in Chelsea which, according to iPhone Maps, is a 45 Minute walk from Rockefeller Center. However, since I am an avid promoter of "walking with purpose," I was able to make it there in 30 minutes with Potbelly's Sandwiches calling my name, and the soon to be blisters on me feet angrily screaming at me.
After lunch, I spent time people watching in the Square where the giant Christmas tree is located. Eventually, I met Angi at the theatre to enjoy the matinee. Overall, I loved the physical aspects of the show: the sets, costumes, lights, dancing, performances, singing, etc. The only thing that did not do much for me was the book. The elements of the classic Gene Kelly film were definitely there, but in an effort to expand the musical canon of the piece, it seemed that the book was crafted in order to accommodate additional songs, as opposed to further expanding and fleshing out the characters. That is not to say that the book was terrible by any means; it just did not do as much for me as I was expecting.
As soon as the curtain call was over, Angi and I rushed to the subway where we headed uptown to Lincoln Center to see if we could get tickets to see Kelli O'Hara in The King and I. Now, this production is one that I have been wanting to see since it was announced that Lincoln center was going to be producing it. I tried constantly to get student tickets in the weeks leading up to my trip, but to no avail. Our only hope was the possibility that they might be selling student rush tickets. Being the firm believer in the adage "everything happens for a reason" that I am, I was somewhat glad that I was not able to secure a ticket to the show as Kelli was out with bad flu and won't be returning to the show until tomorrow. The box office attendant told us that they would probably be offering student rush to the show since she was out and some would be returning their tickets, but if I was going to see the show, I wanted it to be first seen with Kelli playing her Tony Award®-Winning role. What can I say? I'm a die-hard fan of hers.
We then left the gorgeous grounds at Lincoln Center and, over a cup of gelato, we decided to forgo a show that evening and just go back to my hotel and grab some food and veg out and catch up. We went back to Chelsea and stopped at the hotel for me to change my shoes (yes, mom, you were right about the shoe choice) and then we went to a delicious burger place called Bareburger which serves delicious burgers made with grass-fed beef. After grabbing some cookie butter and some wine following dinner, we went back and spent a wonderful evening catching up and swapping stories, just like the gals on Sex and the City.
After Angi left, I showered, crawled into bed, and got some sleep before my early train to Poughkeepsie the next morning.
After I woke up, I packed up my things, checked out, and made my way to the magnificent Grand Central Station where I boarded the 9:43 AM train to Poughkeepsie. The train ride, like my flight, was nice and smooth with only the occasional crying baby disrupting my siesta. When I got off the train, I was greeted by the lovely NYSAF Company Management staff and made my way to the company van where another one of the interns and myself rode to the Vassar College campus to begin move-in.
After receiving my keys and other various pieces of paperwork, I made my way to my apartment and unpacked my things in my room. The apartments are pretty nice: they could stand some paint and some minor fixes, and, you know, Air Conditioning, but other than that they're lovely. Since I was so exhausted, I lay down for another brief nap before our Company Meeting where we would meet the staff and the other interns.
At the meeting, we all went around and introduced ourselves: who we were and what our position was. After that, we split into groups and took a tour of Vassar's lovely campus. Highlights of the tour included the Martel Theatre, the Shiva (pronounced SHEE-va) Theatre, the Pool (which is not a pool, but a large square patch of grass that is slightly lower than the other parts of the grounds), the Powerhouse Theatre, and my personal favorite, the Streep Room (bought by and named after Vassar Alum Meryl Streep).
Once the tour concluded, we headed back to the Martel Theatre where we participated in an hour of team-building/introductory exercises to help strengthen us as a company and as a unit. All of these activities proved to be very eye-opening and provided a great deal of perspective for me as to how I envisioned the remaining eight weeks going. After our activity leader left, we went back to the apartment courtyard for a welcome barbecue graciously provided to us by the Company Management team.
Following those festivities, my three roommates and I decided to enjoy the nice weather last evening and do a quick grocery run so that we could stock up on the necessities. You know. Like Wine. As we were leaving, one of the Company Management Interns ran into us on the street and offered to give us a ride home which was good for us, since it began to rain. We then unloaded our Dollar Store grocery treasures and proceeded to chat a little bit before bed. We all turned in somewhat early (in theatre world that is any time after 10 PM before midnight) since we all had busy first days ahead of us.
For us SM Interns, we began our day by having a meeting where we received our show assignments for the summer. As I stated in my previous blog post, we produce a variety of works here at NYSAF and I have had the great fortune to be assigned one of the plays in our first Play Reading Festival entitled a boy put this girl in a cage with a dog and the dog killed the girl by Clare Barron. No Joke. That's the title. More information will follow once I get a chance to read the script. My other two assignments for the summer are two of the three Musical Workshops. The first one is Rain with Music and Lyrics by Tony Award® Nominee Michael John LaChiusa, a Book by Tony Award® Nominee Sybille Pearson, based on the short story by Somerset Maugham, and Directed by Barry Edelstein. The second piece is entitled Noir Music by Tony® and Grammy Award® winning composer Duncan Sheik, Book by Kyle Jarrow, Lyrics by Kyle Jarrow and Duncan Sheik, and
Directed by the Obie Award®-Winning Rachel Chavkin.
I will not only get tow work with all of these prestigious creators, but there are also many Broadway Actors that will be appearing in these two productions as well as the rest of the season. I got a look at the cast lists and since I am unsure if I can publicly post our lists, I will refrain until we get further into our productions. Needless to say, I'm excited. The rest of our day was spent cleaning and organizing and prepping for the upcoming season; this is basically our task throughout the week. We do anything from cleaning rehearsal spaces to organizing office supplies, to printing scripts, to setting up green room spaces. After a long day of work, I walked back to the grocery store to get a couple more things and then to Big Lots! to buy a fan for my AC-less room. Unfortunately, when I got home, the damn fan was broken so I get to trek back to the Big Lots! and return the fan for a new one. Until then, I'll just have to adjust to the fluctuating weather which, at the moment, is a mixture of cool and balmy. There's a lot of moisture in the air since we've gotten a bit of rain in the past 24 hours.
Since I was smelly and sweaty from my grocery adventure, I hopped in the shower and then went to our SM End-of-Day meeting where we made a game plan for tomorrow. Then I went home, enjoyed a nice dinner of Chicken and Rice-a-Roni (the San Francisco treat). Which brings me to now. The final sentences of my blog. I know this was a lot to take in, but, I promise, that future blog posts won't be as exciting and detailed as these ones...okay they might be...at any rate, they will become standard and concise since my life will soon be consumed with rehearsals. SHAMELESS PLUG: I have included a link to the website at the bottom of the post so that if you wan to find out more about the company or the shows that we are doing, you are free to do so. For better or worse, I'm here, Im in this for the long haul, and, hopefully, you aren't bored to tears by these posts. If you are, then, clearly, I need to amp up my writing style. Or, there is something wrong with you, the reader...Yeah. That's it... ;) Until next time!
Prologue
I'm just going to start this blog out with a fair warning: there are going to be a LOT of musical theatre puns, references, and general wordplay that appear within this blog. Each blog title is also going to be the lyrics from a song within the musical theatre cannon because, frankly, coming up with them gives me something mindless to do at the end of a long day's work. If all of this upcoming theatre trivia and neediness is going to be too much for you to handle, I would suggest consulting your physician in order to make sure that you are put on a round of medication that will allow you to keep up with the general goings on of my life, since that's probably the reason that most of you are currently reading this blog.
However, if you are one of the millions of Americans who are joining us mid-season because of word of mouth., I'll just I've you a brief overview: I was selected to work with New York Stage and Film Company as a Stage Management (SM) Intern for the summer. It is a great honor and privilege to have been selected for this position as hundreds of people applied for the program, and only five of us were selected as SM Interns. I'm sure that you are all wondering "what on God's green earth is New York Stage and Film (henceforward referred to as NYSAF)? So that you don't have to go to the heinous trouble of opening another web browsing window or, God forbid, a new tab in your current browser, I took the liberty of copying and pasting an abbreviated version of the "About Us" section of the NYSAF website:
For 30 years, SAF has played a major role in the development of new plays for the American theater, provided a home for a diverse group of artists free from critical and commercial pressures, and has established itself as a vital cultural institution for residents of the New York metropolitan region...
The cornerstone of SAF’s artistic programming is the Powerhouse Season, an eight-week residency and partnership with Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, NY, where each summer more than two hundred and fifty professional playwrights, directors, actors, and designers, as well as close to fifty student interns, and fifty student apprentices live and work together. During the Powerhouse Season, SAF is deliberately flexible with its production resources and with its three producing venues, to meet the specific needs of artists and projects. The professional artists present mainstage productions with full technical support, as well as workshops and readings of works in progress, all of which are open to the public. The Powerhouse Apprentice Program is a key part of our activities – a rigorous, pre-professional, hands-on experience for a new generation of theater artists. The Apprentice Company take conservatory-level courses taught by resident faculty, attend master classes led by distinguished artists, and perform in their own season of classic and original works...
We are a vital incubator for artists and their work, a catalyst for new stories that go on to theaters across the country. The Tony Award-winning plays Tru (Jay Presson Allen) and Side Man (Warren Leight) received premiere productions with SAF, and our audiences have seen nearly all of John Patrick Shanley’s works in development, including the first public reading of his Pulitzer- and Tony Award-winning play Doubt and most recently the world premiere production of The Danish Widow. Other recent highlights include the world premiere of Richard Greenberg’s The Babylon Line and a workshop of Beth Henley’s Laugh.
At least nine projects developed recently by SAF will have major New York City, regional, and international productions during 2014/2015, including: The Fortress of Solitude, by Michael Friedman and Itamar Moses (Public Theater & Dallas Theater Center); Found, book by Hunter Bell & Lee Overtree, music and original lyrics by Eli Bolin (Atlantic Theater Company); The Invisible Hand, by Ayad Akhtar (New York Theatre Workshop); Brooklynite, by Michael Mayer and Peter Lerman (Vineyard Theater); Bright Star by Steve Martin and Edie Brickell (Old Globe Theater); and Hamilton, by Lin-Manuel Miranda (Public Theater).
Several other recent projects that trace their developmental roots to SAF include Dave Malloy’s Natasha, Pierre, and The Great Comet of 1812; Beth Henley’s The Jacksonian; the Broadway productions of Seminar (Theresa Rebeck), A Steady Rain (Keith Huff), and American Idiot; as well as The House That Will Not Stand (Marcus Gardley), Murder Ballad (Juliana Nash/Julia Jordan), The Twenty-Seventh Man (Nathan Englander), The Power of Duff (Stephen Belber), Emotional Creature (Eve Ensler), and Jennifer Westfeldt’s feature film Friends with Kids.
SAF has supported the development and work of writers such as Jon Robin Baitz, Lee Blessing, Eric Bogosian, The Debate Society, David Marshall Grant, Zoe Kazan, David Lindsay-Abaire, Joanna Murray-Smith, Eric Overmyer, Steven Sater, Duncan Sheik, Nicky Silver, and Ruby Rae Spiegel, and directors including Joe Mantello, Michael Mayer, Pam MacKinnon, Leigh Silverman, Alex Timbers, and Kate Whoriskey.
Okay. I know that was a LOT of information, but I gifted that it was the most efficient way of informing all of you about this wonderful organization.
Essentially, what I am hoping to accomplish this blog is to most efficiently keep everyone up-to-date with my various projects and shows that I will be working on during my internship. This is particularly exciting because all of the shows that we are working on are in various stages of the play development process, meaning that they could be extremely different pieces of theatre two years from now.
Okay, I lied. What I REALLY hope to accomplish from this blog is a book deal that will eventually get me a movie deal where I will write the screenplay and the film will be directed by Nancy Meyers of The Parent Trap fame...Kidding.
Also, I should have warned you all that there will be a great deal of sarcasm that is laced within the writings of this blog. That being said...Here we go!
However, if you are one of the millions of Americans who are joining us mid-season because of word of mouth., I'll just I've you a brief overview: I was selected to work with New York Stage and Film Company as a Stage Management (SM) Intern for the summer. It is a great honor and privilege to have been selected for this position as hundreds of people applied for the program, and only five of us were selected as SM Interns. I'm sure that you are all wondering "what on God's green earth is New York Stage and Film (henceforward referred to as NYSAF)? So that you don't have to go to the heinous trouble of opening another web browsing window or, God forbid, a new tab in your current browser, I took the liberty of copying and pasting an abbreviated version of the "About Us" section of the NYSAF website:
For 30 years, SAF has played a major role in the development of new plays for the American theater, provided a home for a diverse group of artists free from critical and commercial pressures, and has established itself as a vital cultural institution for residents of the New York metropolitan region...
The cornerstone of SAF’s artistic programming is the Powerhouse Season, an eight-week residency and partnership with Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, NY, where each summer more than two hundred and fifty professional playwrights, directors, actors, and designers, as well as close to fifty student interns, and fifty student apprentices live and work together. During the Powerhouse Season, SAF is deliberately flexible with its production resources and with its three producing venues, to meet the specific needs of artists and projects. The professional artists present mainstage productions with full technical support, as well as workshops and readings of works in progress, all of which are open to the public. The Powerhouse Apprentice Program is a key part of our activities – a rigorous, pre-professional, hands-on experience for a new generation of theater artists. The Apprentice Company take conservatory-level courses taught by resident faculty, attend master classes led by distinguished artists, and perform in their own season of classic and original works...
We are a vital incubator for artists and their work, a catalyst for new stories that go on to theaters across the country. The Tony Award-winning plays Tru (Jay Presson Allen) and Side Man (Warren Leight) received premiere productions with SAF, and our audiences have seen nearly all of John Patrick Shanley’s works in development, including the first public reading of his Pulitzer- and Tony Award-winning play Doubt and most recently the world premiere production of The Danish Widow. Other recent highlights include the world premiere of Richard Greenberg’s The Babylon Line and a workshop of Beth Henley’s Laugh.
At least nine projects developed recently by SAF will have major New York City, regional, and international productions during 2014/2015, including: The Fortress of Solitude, by Michael Friedman and Itamar Moses (Public Theater & Dallas Theater Center); Found, book by Hunter Bell & Lee Overtree, music and original lyrics by Eli Bolin (Atlantic Theater Company); The Invisible Hand, by Ayad Akhtar (New York Theatre Workshop); Brooklynite, by Michael Mayer and Peter Lerman (Vineyard Theater); Bright Star by Steve Martin and Edie Brickell (Old Globe Theater); and Hamilton, by Lin-Manuel Miranda (Public Theater).
Several other recent projects that trace their developmental roots to SAF include Dave Malloy’s Natasha, Pierre, and The Great Comet of 1812; Beth Henley’s The Jacksonian; the Broadway productions of Seminar (Theresa Rebeck), A Steady Rain (Keith Huff), and American Idiot; as well as The House That Will Not Stand (Marcus Gardley), Murder Ballad (Juliana Nash/Julia Jordan), The Twenty-Seventh Man (Nathan Englander), The Power of Duff (Stephen Belber), Emotional Creature (Eve Ensler), and Jennifer Westfeldt’s feature film Friends with Kids.
SAF has supported the development and work of writers such as Jon Robin Baitz, Lee Blessing, Eric Bogosian, The Debate Society, David Marshall Grant, Zoe Kazan, David Lindsay-Abaire, Joanna Murray-Smith, Eric Overmyer, Steven Sater, Duncan Sheik, Nicky Silver, and Ruby Rae Spiegel, and directors including Joe Mantello, Michael Mayer, Pam MacKinnon, Leigh Silverman, Alex Timbers, and Kate Whoriskey.
Okay. I know that was a LOT of information, but I gifted that it was the most efficient way of informing all of you about this wonderful organization.
Essentially, what I am hoping to accomplish this blog is to most efficiently keep everyone up-to-date with my various projects and shows that I will be working on during my internship. This is particularly exciting because all of the shows that we are working on are in various stages of the play development process, meaning that they could be extremely different pieces of theatre two years from now.
Okay, I lied. What I REALLY hope to accomplish from this blog is a book deal that will eventually get me a movie deal where I will write the screenplay and the film will be directed by Nancy Meyers of The Parent Trap fame...Kidding.
Also, I should have warned you all that there will be a great deal of sarcasm that is laced within the writings of this blog. That being said...Here we go!
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