All good things come to an end

The last few rehearsals we had we jam packed with hard core decisions to be made and tech throughs to be done. I worked sound for both shows, Bible Boot camp with the Revelations and So Fresh and So Clean's two man show, Dirty. There was a lot of work done on each of the show's all week long in order to get them to a performance level for the weekend, and I gave a lot of serious input into both, however, my work as the sound board op was done very late in the game. For Bible Boot camp scenes were being switched around in order up until performance day. For Dirty, the show's script was still being revised, revamped, and rewritten, so I had very little time to make sure I had these cues down pat. For me, this made things more exciting. I have no problem working on my feet like that.

As far as the sound cues went, each show's director took a very different approach to giving me my cues. For Bible Boot camp, I basically had a cue and a tentative volume. The rest was kind of up to me to feel out and decide as the show ran. For Dirty however, the director gave me the in and out line for the cue, volume percentages to make sure I hit, and counts for fade ins and outs... VERY precise! It was cool to be working on two shows simultaneously that were so different in that sense.

The final products went over smashingly, particularly Friday night's performance of Dirty. None of us knew what happened, but we all agreed it was probably some of the most brilliant live performance that we had ever seen. Everything just came together and was spot on. We all had such a rush and performance high. I have seen very little in my life that was comparable to that. The director was really happy with my work and conveyed this to me over and over again, and I was glad to have been able to give him what he wanted.

This was my last week of work at my internship, and I was heading out to the airport right after the show, so it was very sad and emotional. I had a nice send off and everyone was so great. I cannot wait to work with them when I come back again in T minus 8 months and counting!

So much to say, so little time

It has been quite some time since I wrote. I had been meaning to, but then work came up instead... which is good, right? :-) So a few days after the final callbacks were held, the final cast was selected for the fall show. The first read through went very well. It was great to be there, because I got to be there with all the actors (principals, understudies, dancers, and all), as well as every other person involved with the production behind the scenes. It went very smoothly and of course there were other things to take care of, such as equity forms for those that are members of AEA (Actor's Equity Association). Things were run much differently than I had seen from school theatre. It almost seemed like it was a performance in itself. Since the read through, initial blocking has been going on, as well as dance rehearsal, and every other department hitting the ground running, particularly the publicity department. There was a photo-shoot for the posters, and those results should turn out swimmingly.

Last week's show was a variety show: 'Boy Whores in Underpants: Live at John's'. I was basically a presence in the theatre once again, helping them talent out along the way and also ran their projector (as their were some new media elements involved) and sound during the performances. What I got most out of this show was the fact that since it was a variety show, a lot of it was improvised, so I got to see how the basic structure was used versus how spontaneity was used and effected each night's performance. I learned so much from being able to see that.

This week, sadly, is the last week of shows. There are two different ones: One that is being shown Friday and Saturday; Dirty. The one that is being shown Saturday and Sunday is Bible Bootcamp Revelations. Today I spent the day with Carla Jo, as her stage manager, and stepping in as a producer as well. Carla Jo, wrote this piece, and she also is directing and acting in it. Today, I basically was in charge of making sure everything ran according to schedule. we are on a tight deadline, and many other projects we are working on within the company are using the space before/after, so we really do have a small window of time to get the show back up and running. I also worked on inventory of the many many boxes of props (both angelic and satanic), setting up, taking pictures, and spiking of the props she knew she wanted to use during this performance. Along with this we went over every single thing that needed to be done, bought, altered, rehearsed before the show opens up again Saturday. I gave a lot of direction and opinion on what I thought worked and did not, and it was great to be able to just throw that out there and have that taken into account for the show. it was just the two of use working on it today, and that made it pretty cool.

My first performance with a professional theatre company

I love LA more each day... especially when I get a chance to perform live for an audience! As I briefly mentioned before, this weekend's show was a 3-in-1 show (each actor performing something different). The first performer was Jaime, and she was telling tales of her... adventurous (major understatement) youth that included some hilarious and frightening stories about usage of certain drugs. I was kind of like Vanna White during this bit, or at least that's what they called me. I like to think I had a bit more personality though Anway, I would spin this wheel and call out which stories she had to tell. :-D We had some running banter planned beforehand to keep a pace moving and a few bits between us to cause some conflict, like her feigning as if she didn't want to do it and my job was to make her. 

After Jaime came Terry. Terry told his story about what it was like to drive a limo for the Saudi royal family. WOW! During his performance I had more of a technical job, working the slide show, but I was on stage while I did it, so we tried to incorporate it in as much as possible.

Richard played the piano, sang, and told short quips in between, pretending we were all at this restaurant here in LA called Twain's. I was his waitress, I came on three different times, and did my waitress-y bit, talking to Richard in between songs, checking up on him, getting refills and taking orders. At the very end of the show when Richard starts playing 'California Dreamin' and Jaime and Terry are "singing" a hilarious version of it, I stomp in ad slap the check on the piano... turns out they don't have cash. ANNNNNNND BLACK OUT. I promise it was much funnier to watch, but the explanation is difficult :-) I became quite the running gag throughout the show which was good because you are always more likely to get laughs when you DON'T ask for them. It was a great opportunity getting to work a lot of improv during the show, as only some of the lines were solid, the rest were scenarios for me to accomplish while I was on stage.

I also worked as the stage manager during this weekend's run of One Ups (the show title by the way, because I don't believe I mentioned it before). It was kind of intense doing both but for the most part it went swimmingly. The part that did not however, was Saturday night, Terry's slide show did not work. The slide show took the computer's wallpaper and that was it. We had so many people try and work on it with no luck. We were running about 20 minutes late and eventually decided to start the show while some people were still working on it. So I go on stage and am doing Jaime's act, and as soon as I run off (with less than one minute between Jaime and Terry's acts) JJ (producer/director) debriefs me explains what I am going to do instead. It was quite hectic, and although we never got the projector to pull through Saturday night, the show still went really well. I was so fortunate to have gotten to work with the group that I did this week. Cheers!

You canNOT teach this in a classroom

The final callbacks for Savin' Up for Saturday Night were probably one of the most interesting experiences I have ever partaken in. We ended up staying until about 1:30am discussing the final picks, and some were still left undecided when we left. During the auditions, each character had several different sides (ranging from a monologue, to a partner scene, to a large group scene, and then one or two songs depending on the character). During the larger group scene portion (which was near the end when each character had been widdled down to no more than four), Jeremy (the director) grouped them specifically to see how different pairs worked together.

There is so much more that I want to share on here, but it would not be in good taste to go into further details on the casting matters as it was one of those "what is said in this room, stays in this room" kind of matters. I'll just say I stand by the recommendation to.... scratch that.... I URGE you to take part in a casting process if you are an actor. The information is INVALUABLE. You will learn so much and get great insight on the real reasons why people do and do not get cast. It is truly amazing.

The show's this weekend should be great as well. It is a three person, one man show. Three very talented individuals will be doing their own performances. I found out though, that I will be in them as well :-DDDD I am SO thrilled about that. Performing in my first LA professional show. MOre details to come about what they are doing and what I am doing!

Bonnie was right

I keep saying how busy things are, but then they just seem to get even busier... did not know that was possible, but apparently it is, because I most surely am! In hopes of keeping things at a bearable length, let's divide this post into three sections: CarnEvil, Guys and Dolls and Savin' Up for Saturday Night.

CarnEvil: The final rehearsals for that went very well. I learned a lot from Chris and since we were spending so much time together we got to chat a lot of "business" and just some LA stuff, like, for example, where the best area to move when you get our here for commercial is, etc... Much running around took place, as I was not running the boards I was running around doing all sorts of things during the show, including supervising the ushers and delegating, as part of house manager duties. The house was completely packed and very receptive for both showings. Michael (the composer), along with the rest of the cast and crew put so much heart into this piece, and I cannot wait to see where it goes!

Guys and Dolls: I went to the final dress rehearsal for Guys and Dolls in Concert (Broadway Cast plus Jessical Biel) at the Hollywood Bowl along with my friend, Sascha. Among the other cast members were Beau Bridges and ... Scott Bakula! I adore Scott Bakula... just sayin'. Anyway, it was great to be so close to and watching these professionals (such as Scott Bakula) whom I admire, doing tis work. It was extremely motivating, and an all around great show. SO much fun!

Savin' Up for Saturday Night: This is where I have been spending the majority of my time most recently. I have been helping to run the auditions for the first main stage show of the season. We had two days of general open auditions and tonight was our dance callback. The first two days I was mediating, helping the actors in the lobby if they needed anything or had questions, taking audition forms along with headshots and resumes then taking them into the director, assistant director, writer, composer, and producers. I discussed things with them and was the go between for both sides. It was great because I got to see our head guys at work and I also got to see the actors prepping and observe how they handle things. I chatted with them and peered over resumes as well. I actually ended up meeting a guy who graduated from Miami in the 90's. Very cool. It was funny because since no one auditioning knew I was intern, there was an unbelievable amount of schmoozing and trying to get in good with me. I also picked up an interesting tip from Jeremy (the director): On the audition form it asks if you would be willing to be an understudy. Someone answered, "Yes, if guaranteed performances." Jeremy aid that was the perfect answer. Being a part of this process has gained me access to bits and pieces of information that I'm sure will prove to be valuable throughout my career.

Tonight however, was even more valuable. I sat in during the dance callbacks and helped out the choreographer during the auditions. Afterwards we all had a big discussion about what was liked and not liked. It was interesting to see how she made notes and her thoughts on the work that was being done. Most importantly however, I was able to see first hand the many reasons why you just simply will or will not get the part, and why it more often than not has nothing to do with your talent. I have been watching this objectively and am fascinated by it. Of course, Bonnie Gillespie and every other casting director that has said to intern in the casting department was dead right. There is NO WERE else that you can obtain this knowledge and understanding, you just have to see it. Some of the factors included, age, how two people look togeter, types being too similar, perhaps you draw to much attention to yourself, or they are short handed in another department and you are good at more than one thing... etc. Those are just A FEW of the simple and basic reasons that can put you in or out of the game from the start. Luck really does have a lot to do with it.

Last round of callbacks are tomorrow!

CarnEvil, Auditions, and Gangs, Oh my!

I believe we left off after Friday night's shows, so let's play a quick game of catch up shall we...?

Saturday was Michael, performing his adult magic show. I was planning on arriving at the theatre several hours before the show (per usual), but Michael called me and wanted to run some things so I got there even earlier. We did the levitation bit and switched some cues around, adding in one more trick and an intro for him.

The show went well, although I did need to do some impromptu improvisation with preset cues (always intersting), when things went in a different order once the show started. Some of the lighting fixtures were very important for the specific "scenes" so I didn't want to get behind.

This is not where the real excitement was that night; no, that was AFTER the show. There was a shooting in our parking lot/the rooftop across the street... gang activity. Brandon called 911. We were loading stuff up in the truck in the lot and could see 20 cops with shot guns cocked, doing those hand motions to move in like you see on television. There were helicopters with spotlights overhead, and more cops on the on the sidewalk keeping a look out and doing a bit of crowd control and this particular gang got wind of what was going on, and people came out of the woodwork. We were there for some time longer, but about a minute or so after we left the theatre several cops cars blew by us, lights flashing, moving in the direction we had just came from...

Anyway, back to recent theatre goings-on: I went to the company meeting which was quite eventful. I learned a lot more about upcoming projects and heard updates about projects I am working on. It was a long but efficient meeting, and much was discussed.

CarnEvil is our next upcoming show; I have been looking forward to it since the Thursty's. It original premiered during Serial Killer, but this is a longer, more complete version that also has more songs. I met the writer/composer Michael, and he is just brilliant. It is going to be a huge show in all aspects, so I am doing a lot of running around helping anyone and everyone who needs a hand. I was watching as things were getting programmed the other night and I was helping out as a stand in to see how everything looks on a human body... very different effect from a blank stage. I also got to hang out with some of the actors I hadn't seen since the Thursty's as well, while blocking was being done. This is going to be a great show. If in the area, go to www.sacredfools.org for more info on this week's show and the rest of summer camp!

I have also sunk my teeth deep into the prepping process for next week's auditions for the fall show, 'Savin' Up for Saturday Night'. That should be a lot of fun as well.

Like Cirque de Soleil... Only Sexier

This weekend's schedule is a bit different than usual. We have three different shows in two nights; Jon and Juliet (two SF company members) performing their own 'Cirque de Loon' as an opening act for The Abe Lincoln Story on Friday night, then Saturday, Michael, the adult magician performs.

Since Wednesday was devoted to Michael and his act, Thursday was spent working with the band (The Abe Lincoln Story) and Jon and Juliet. I was very glad to get to work with Jon and Juliet once again. I have learned a lot from them about performing just by watching how they work and getting to talk to them afterwards. I spent the rehearsal memorizing all the directions in addition to the cues that we had since the producer was not there nor was the technical director. I was taught how to "ride the mics", which basically means to stay on top of each of the channels being used to make sure they don't spike or create any sort of feedback, and adjust them as seems fit to while they play. For the Jon and Juliet's act, what they call a "progressive clown piece", I am in charge of running sound, so I got all the cues in there and did a run through. They said to pay extra attention because depending on if they need to stall the show a little extra longer for a member of the next act to show up (who was going to be running late) they would add in a part they initially took out and we (meaning me) would add some impromptu music to coincide accordingly. I also explained to Danny the ins and outs of working/running the lights for a show.

Tonight was the first two performances. Everyone staggered in at designated times, early enough to practice or at least walk through their pieces so that was good. It gave Danny adn I a chance to work on the set-up of equipment we put together for the band. I also went over more of the ins and outs of lighting with him tonight before we opened house. Since he was in the booth right next to me it was very easy to answer any questions he had, while still running the sound board so that was good. Things ran very smoothly tonight. There were no problems with any cues and the disc player did not freeze. Needless to say I was happy about that. Now, I am looking forward to tomorrow's show, which should be a lot of fun.