Author: theactorvist

I love the Theatre. It's my church. It's my joy. I have been performing in plays and musicals for over half of my life, and I would be lost without it. Now more than ever, people are cutting back on everything that is too expensive or unimportant to their lives. As an actor, heck as a person, I don't know of anything that is more important than the arts. Art reflects history. It shows humanity at its worst but also its best. Every day some artistic program is getting cut from a school or a great show goes unseen. Maybe a talented singer isn't able to audition for American Idol. There are a ton of people who live in the South Bay Area of California, who go unseen or unheard. There are many production companies that are just bursting with talent, but people don't see the shows. I will do my best to bring you interviews with local artists of every kind, send out the call for local companies looking to cast people in productions, and much more. Stay tuned because this is only the beginning.

First time on stage with "stuff"…

The light at the end of the tonight's tunnel.

Woe is me…Ah, Shakespeare! Never in theatre have truer words been written.

The cast ran through act 1 this evening.  We had use of the sets and some of the props.  For the most part things moved along.  We did stop to fix a few issues like getting the cast to help with some of the set pieces during the changes.  The spacing NEEDS to be addressed, but when I tried to do it on Sunday, there were so many people missing that I don’t know if it was worth the time.  The good thing is that Bill said that if there is anything that needs to be fixed, I can stop and address the issue.  I had no idea that I was allowed to do that.  I guess I was just under the impression that only the director had that authority.  When I worked for AMT, I never saw the choreographer stop the scene.  Now that I have that juicy bit of knowledge, I think I’ll be good to go.

The set changes were slow, and they take up SO much room that the wings have no room for the cast when they have to make the 3 second (seriously, it’s 3 seconds) quick costume change.  I am excited that Bill liked my idea of repurposing some costumes from West Side Story to give to Charity, Helene, and Nicki,  I just hope the costumer isn’t too upset that I brought this up and tried to fix a missing piece of the puzzle.

I feel that at this point, my head is going to burst and a mixture of Skittles, thumb tacks, and erasers will come pouring down like confetti.  I know it’s not my job to get them to rehearse on their own time.  I’ve worked for theatre companies before, and the cast usually find their own time to get the steps down.   Then again, I do feel that I have to do everything that I can to make the show the best that it can be.   So I’ve decided to open the rehearsal hall early everyday this week, and possibly next week if we can’t be in the theatre.

I tell you what, friends, this is going to be the longest tech week EVER.

I am so bummed because there was a piece of audio that I really wanted to bring to you, but I experienced user issues.  Yeah, like I turned on the digital recorder, but not the actual mic.  Ha, here I am talking about details, and yet, I can’t even pay attention to my own details.  So that will be my note to myself.  Turn on your microphone, Jery.

Bill Starr sets Act 1, Scene 1

First time on stage with “stuff”…

The light at the end of the tonight's tunnel.

Woe is me…Ah, Shakespeare! Never in theatre have truer words been written.

The cast ran through act 1 this evening.  We had use of the sets and some of the props.  For the most part things moved along.  We did stop to fix a few issues like getting the cast to help with some of the set pieces during the changes.  The spacing NEEDS to be addressed, but when I tried to do it on Sunday, there were so many people missing that I don’t know if it was worth the time.  The good thing is that Bill said that if there is anything that needs to be fixed, I can stop and address the issue.  I had no idea that I was allowed to do that.  I guess I was just under the impression that only the director had that authority.  When I worked for AMT, I never saw the choreographer stop the scene.  Now that I have that juicy bit of knowledge, I think I’ll be good to go.

The set changes were slow, and they take up SO much room that the wings have no room for the cast when they have to make the 3 second (seriously, it’s 3 seconds) quick costume change.  I am excited that Bill liked my idea of repurposing some costumes from West Side Story to give to Charity, Helene, and Nicki,  I just hope the costumer isn’t too upset that I brought this up and tried to fix a missing piece of the puzzle.

I feel that at this point, my head is going to burst and a mixture of Skittles, thumb tacks, and erasers will come pouring down like confetti.  I know it’s not my job to get them to rehearse on their own time.  I’ve worked for theatre companies before, and the cast usually find their own time to get the steps down.   Then again, I do feel that I have to do everything that I can to make the show the best that it can be.   So I’ve decided to open the rehearsal hall early everyday this week, and possibly next week if we can’t be in the theatre.

I tell you what, friends, this is going to be the longest tech week EVER.

I am so bummed because there was a piece of audio that I really wanted to bring to you, but I experienced user issues.  Yeah, like I turned on the digital recorder, but not the actual mic.  Ha, here I am talking about details, and yet, I can’t even pay attention to my own details.  So that will be my note to myself.  Turn on your microphone, Jery.

Bill Starr sets Act 1, Scene 1

Pet Peeve when it comes to staging…

I have this pet peeve when it comes to certain parts of staging. It’s called a cross. A cross is when an actor or dancer is told to move from one point of the stage to another.  I didn’t want to say crosses in the title of the post out of fear of having the religious people freaking out. Well, that and it’s about more than just crosses.  Anyway, I hope this helps all of the actors that this applies to.

Crosses

When an actor is told by the director or choreographer to cross the stage, I can’t tell you how many times it looks like they are just  moving because of that exact reason. They were told to.  When asking the actors what they are doing during the cross, they say, “I don’t know. You didn’t tell me what to do.”   I want to pull my hair out!  I want to grab it by the fistful.

The director or choreographer is only there to give you just what the title implies, direction.  It’s up to the actor to create the reason why s/he moves. Putting intent behind movement creates interest and energy which adds to the show.  If it looks weird, or out of place, then the actor will be told ways to adjust the cross.  That first step has to come from the actor, I feel.  Otherwise, it would take 4 months of rehearsal to get the show up and running, and even then it would look bad.  It would look bad because it would be over worked and lose that spontaneous feeling that reality has.  No one plans out every single movement that they will do, do they?

Eye contact

I find that I am thrown, yes thrown, as in flung from the momentum of the show when I see this happen.

When an actor is speaking to another, it’s incredibly important that you maintain eye contact during those intense or intimate moments.  The difference between an actor that maintains the connection and one that doesn’t is HUGE! When the connection is lost, it shows that the actor is uncertain or unfocused which to the audience translates as unprepared or not as talented as the actor truly is.  When an actor can keep that connection, the moment gets taken to another level because the audience is engaged in the tension that is being built up between the characters.

Staying in the moment

Along the same lines of eye contact, if a movement is not something that the character would do, don’t do it.  I know, that’s easier said than done.  Here’s what I mean:  Just for an example, if an actor was playing Jesus in Jesus Christ Superstar, there is no appropriate time for him to adjust his dance belt.  Or if an actor is playing a corpse and adjusts their shirt because they are self conscious about their stomach.  It’s not character appropriate, and again takes the audience out of the  moment as well as the actor.  When an actor is fully immersed in the character, they will forget their personal issues.

Yikes, I feel like I am being super negative about these things.  I don’t mean for it to sound that way.  These are easy basics that will help an actor.  And I truly do want to help  and sometimes speaking truthfully is difficult to hear.

Now, go get’em!!!