more updates
Once again, I apologize for not writing for a while (and for any typos you might find!). It's Course Registration at my school, and it's been crazy for the past two weeks (and I don't mean in a good way). That's not a particularly interesting thing to write about, however, so I won't, except to say that most students have been great, and so has the staff. The hours are long, however, and I get very fatigued and have trouble keeping it together by the end of the day. Taking breaks and yoga and the elliptical machine have all been godsends. There's only one more day of registration and then we start classes the day after Labor Day. I have no idea how the summer has nearly ended, except that it didn't really begin until the third week of June (so unfair, eh?), so it's certainly going to be a shorter summer than winter (as per usual in Boston). At least I have the weekend free, so I plan to spend some time outside with A. tomorrow and then possibly with E. on Sunday, after yoga and "The 40-Year Old Virgin" (I have a weak spot for Steve "The Green Grocer" Carell).
As far as the theatrical world, it's been an interesting couple of weeks. "Autumn Premieres" will debut the end of September, and the Arlington Players have a cool website up now (www.arlingtonplayers.com). Part of me still feels a bit, I don't know, guilty about being part of the festival. I'm not really sure if "Uncharted Territory" is worthy of being produced, but I just have to trust that if it sucked, Rich and company would not bother putting it on. That said, two directors DID pass on it, and man, that hurt. There could be all kinds of reasons why they each said no, and I'm not sure why, nor does Rich think it would be useful to find out (it's all subjective, after all). But it hurt because the director who said no had said yes until he actually read the script, so there's no way to take it personally (though he doesn't know me, so I can't take it as as a personal reject, but rather an artistic one). Happily, another director did say yes, and since she was already directing another play, I'm sure she did so because something in it intrigued her, or she liked the challenge of directing it, or wanted more experience. Whatever the reason, and I don't know yet, because I haven't spoken or written to her yet, she does want to work with the script, and that is definitely something that excites me. The Arlington Players also have a set designer, a stage manager, and are looking for more tech people, so it feels professional, and I've never really been involved with an elaborate production before (not since I was 15 and had a minor role in "The Rimers of Eldridge" at Phillips Exeter Academy, a disastrous experience, as I hated the part, hated myself, disliked the director, and basically stopped acting for over 15 years until I started taking classes again in my early 30s).
Additionally, I auditioned for the third play, "Toast," on Monday. It was an interesting experience, as I was the only person who showed up, given the late posting of the casting call. This worked to my advantage, as I had the whole audition to myself. ;-) I got to speak to the playwright, Monica, whom I know from the Write-On group, as well as executive producer Rich and the director, and I not only got to perform an original 2-minute monologue but also got to read for three characters. All were interesting and I think I did pretty well, though I don't have high hopes that I'll be cast, as the notice has now gone out to several groups, and I expect to have some significant competition. Nonetheless, I feel good about the job I did, and all you can do is give it your all and hope for your best. If I do get cast, I'll put off my trip to see my sister and niece and nephew in Florida a few weeks; if not, I'll keep the trip in early October, and see the productions (since my play still is being produced, of course) Friday, September 30th. I am trying not to get my hopes up (I think the play is very strong), and instead am focusing on my audition for SlamBoston (through Another Country Productions) on Tuesday. My friend A. is coming with me, and that's really cool, as she has not auditioned for a role since high school, and we also met in Mari Novotny-Jones's theatre class at the Boston Center for Adult Ed about 12 years ago (God, I'm getting old!). It would be a tad ironic if she were to get cast and not me, but if that were to happen, it would be because she had a great audition and was just right for a role and I was not. Let's hope we both get cast!
I also am continuing to send my new play "Accept This!" out, and today sent it off to The Theatre Cooperative. It's impossible to tell if the play works or not, since I've received mixed reaction (and have made some, but not all, recommended changes as a result of the feedback). I might bring it to Write-On this fall to get the group's response, but I'd like to move on to a new piece (not that I have one, but I do have a couple of ideas stirring). It's fun to be involved with a number of projects, and I haven't done any new writing for a couple of months, so it's time. I'm usually too tired to do much, but it's almost Labor Day Weekend (deep sigh...I need more summer, as noted, and I fear the return of SAD), and that will give me some time. I think I'll ask A. to see the Zeitgeist Theatre's new production of "The Story," since I have two comps through stagesource, and God knows, two comps should never go to waste (nor should one, or three, for that matter). I remember when the audition notice for that play came out, and I was disappointed to see that there were no parts I could audition for (that is typically the case, as many companies want 20 and 30-somethings, and in this case they were seeking an African American woman, so that ruled me out immediately). It sounds like an interesting play, and I'm excited that the theatre season is beginning, because I miss my theatre weekends.
I should add that I'm doing only so-so on the spending front. I did exchange a pair of Gap jeans I didn't need for a chocolate brown pocket book/briefcase, but I also bought a deep red/maroon fleece jacket (40 percent off! What could I do?!) at Patagonia on Thursday. I'm trying, honestly, and I'm eating out less. When I was with book club last week, I only had a bagel and a diet coke, since I was still not hungry after the delicious barbeque at our company picnic (complete with bumper boats!) and didn't want to waste the money, and I really have been frugal on that end this week. Buying clothes, though, is so damn tempting when you work on Newbury Street in Boston and all you see are pedestrians with shopping bags. I do spend most lunch hours in the gym (today was a great Ashtanga yoga class), which is helpful, but I see the "sale" sign and my heart goes thump, thump. Maybe cognitive behavioral therapy will help. Maybe another meeting with the financial advisor. Maybe I will get a decent raise at work. Maybe I'll win the lottery. Maybe someone will commision one of my plays and I'll get royalties off it, like, say, Israel Horowitz. Maybe I'll just be even more disciplined in the future. And maybe it'll be all of the above.
Anyway, that's what's been going on with me. I'm doing okay with eating (though not losing enough weight), I'm doing better with spending, and I'm sending out plays and auditioning, despite the possible (probable?) rejection. I was part of a salon reading of D.'s screenplay in progress last night, playing two roles, and despite my fatigue after Late Registration at work, aka Hell Day, I did reasonably well and enjoyed it. I can only hope to find more roles that I'm suitable for, can only keep writing because I have something to say (and keep seeing and reading plays that inspire me, as Monica's "Toast" has), and have to keep developing this so-called thick skin required to remain in the arts. (A co-worker has stopped writing and sending out his plays, despite previous success, due to burnout and some residual bitterness, I suspect, and I don't want the same to happen to me.) I know I won't make money off my writing or my acting, but that's really not why I pursue either (though I wouldn't complain if someone offered to pay me sometime for something!). I do believe, however, that success is necessary, meaning getting casted or getting plays chosen for festivals, and if you continue to hone your craft and do not obtain quote unquote success, there has to be a time that you say, I need to hang it up and try something else. At least that's the case for me (and why I stopped doing improv, amongst other reasons). I'm far from having that happen to me with playwrighting (not as sure about acting...yet...but we'll see), and will continue to remain as optimistic as I can.
Plus I always have the Red Sox and the Patriots. Escapism can be very useful and should not be underrated. :-)
As far as the theatrical world, it's been an interesting couple of weeks. "Autumn Premieres" will debut the end of September, and the Arlington Players have a cool website up now (www.arlingtonplayers.com). Part of me still feels a bit, I don't know, guilty about being part of the festival. I'm not really sure if "Uncharted Territory" is worthy of being produced, but I just have to trust that if it sucked, Rich and company would not bother putting it on. That said, two directors DID pass on it, and man, that hurt. There could be all kinds of reasons why they each said no, and I'm not sure why, nor does Rich think it would be useful to find out (it's all subjective, after all). But it hurt because the director who said no had said yes until he actually read the script, so there's no way to take it personally (though he doesn't know me, so I can't take it as as a personal reject, but rather an artistic one). Happily, another director did say yes, and since she was already directing another play, I'm sure she did so because something in it intrigued her, or she liked the challenge of directing it, or wanted more experience. Whatever the reason, and I don't know yet, because I haven't spoken or written to her yet, she does want to work with the script, and that is definitely something that excites me. The Arlington Players also have a set designer, a stage manager, and are looking for more tech people, so it feels professional, and I've never really been involved with an elaborate production before (not since I was 15 and had a minor role in "The Rimers of Eldridge" at Phillips Exeter Academy, a disastrous experience, as I hated the part, hated myself, disliked the director, and basically stopped acting for over 15 years until I started taking classes again in my early 30s).
Additionally, I auditioned for the third play, "Toast," on Monday. It was an interesting experience, as I was the only person who showed up, given the late posting of the casting call. This worked to my advantage, as I had the whole audition to myself. ;-) I got to speak to the playwright, Monica, whom I know from the Write-On group, as well as executive producer Rich and the director, and I not only got to perform an original 2-minute monologue but also got to read for three characters. All were interesting and I think I did pretty well, though I don't have high hopes that I'll be cast, as the notice has now gone out to several groups, and I expect to have some significant competition. Nonetheless, I feel good about the job I did, and all you can do is give it your all and hope for your best. If I do get cast, I'll put off my trip to see my sister and niece and nephew in Florida a few weeks; if not, I'll keep the trip in early October, and see the productions (since my play still is being produced, of course) Friday, September 30th. I am trying not to get my hopes up (I think the play is very strong), and instead am focusing on my audition for SlamBoston (through Another Country Productions) on Tuesday. My friend A. is coming with me, and that's really cool, as she has not auditioned for a role since high school, and we also met in Mari Novotny-Jones's theatre class at the Boston Center for Adult Ed about 12 years ago (God, I'm getting old!). It would be a tad ironic if she were to get cast and not me, but if that were to happen, it would be because she had a great audition and was just right for a role and I was not. Let's hope we both get cast!
I also am continuing to send my new play "Accept This!" out, and today sent it off to The Theatre Cooperative. It's impossible to tell if the play works or not, since I've received mixed reaction (and have made some, but not all, recommended changes as a result of the feedback). I might bring it to Write-On this fall to get the group's response, but I'd like to move on to a new piece (not that I have one, but I do have a couple of ideas stirring). It's fun to be involved with a number of projects, and I haven't done any new writing for a couple of months, so it's time. I'm usually too tired to do much, but it's almost Labor Day Weekend (deep sigh...I need more summer, as noted, and I fear the return of SAD), and that will give me some time. I think I'll ask A. to see the Zeitgeist Theatre's new production of "The Story," since I have two comps through stagesource, and God knows, two comps should never go to waste (nor should one, or three, for that matter). I remember when the audition notice for that play came out, and I was disappointed to see that there were no parts I could audition for (that is typically the case, as many companies want 20 and 30-somethings, and in this case they were seeking an African American woman, so that ruled me out immediately). It sounds like an interesting play, and I'm excited that the theatre season is beginning, because I miss my theatre weekends.
I should add that I'm doing only so-so on the spending front. I did exchange a pair of Gap jeans I didn't need for a chocolate brown pocket book/briefcase, but I also bought a deep red/maroon fleece jacket (40 percent off! What could I do?!) at Patagonia on Thursday. I'm trying, honestly, and I'm eating out less. When I was with book club last week, I only had a bagel and a diet coke, since I was still not hungry after the delicious barbeque at our company picnic (complete with bumper boats!) and didn't want to waste the money, and I really have been frugal on that end this week. Buying clothes, though, is so damn tempting when you work on Newbury Street in Boston and all you see are pedestrians with shopping bags. I do spend most lunch hours in the gym (today was a great Ashtanga yoga class), which is helpful, but I see the "sale" sign and my heart goes thump, thump. Maybe cognitive behavioral therapy will help. Maybe another meeting with the financial advisor. Maybe I will get a decent raise at work. Maybe I'll win the lottery. Maybe someone will commision one of my plays and I'll get royalties off it, like, say, Israel Horowitz. Maybe I'll just be even more disciplined in the future. And maybe it'll be all of the above.
Anyway, that's what's been going on with me. I'm doing okay with eating (though not losing enough weight), I'm doing better with spending, and I'm sending out plays and auditioning, despite the possible (probable?) rejection. I was part of a salon reading of D.'s screenplay in progress last night, playing two roles, and despite my fatigue after Late Registration at work, aka Hell Day, I did reasonably well and enjoyed it. I can only hope to find more roles that I'm suitable for, can only keep writing because I have something to say (and keep seeing and reading plays that inspire me, as Monica's "Toast" has), and have to keep developing this so-called thick skin required to remain in the arts. (A co-worker has stopped writing and sending out his plays, despite previous success, due to burnout and some residual bitterness, I suspect, and I don't want the same to happen to me.) I know I won't make money off my writing or my acting, but that's really not why I pursue either (though I wouldn't complain if someone offered to pay me sometime for something!). I do believe, however, that success is necessary, meaning getting casted or getting plays chosen for festivals, and if you continue to hone your craft and do not obtain quote unquote success, there has to be a time that you say, I need to hang it up and try something else. At least that's the case for me (and why I stopped doing improv, amongst other reasons). I'm far from having that happen to me with playwrighting (not as sure about acting...yet...but we'll see), and will continue to remain as optimistic as I can.
Plus I always have the Red Sox and the Patriots. Escapism can be very useful and should not be underrated. :-)
posted by Sue B at 6:55 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home