Got through that one. Audition, I mean. I felt good about the choices, but even with the PBJ I could not help but shake with anxiety.
I'm not kidding.
Ever since I can remember, I shake like a leaf at every audition. Not shows, not teaching, not any other public speaking-just auditions. But I did the best I could.
I'm not like Kristi-this is my last audition for a bit, but the monologue hunt with continue!!
Power to the people (and other fellow shaking leaves).
-Whit
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Monday, August 23, 2010
It's Raining Men
And by "men" I mean "auditions".
Before I get too much further into this entry let's give it up for Whit, who successfully compared the audition process to a PB &J sandwich. Hear hear!
So, remember when I said it's audition season in Chicago? The winds of the season blew in full force this weekend aren't leaving any time soon.
Here in the Windy City, auditions come in waves. (apparently I like weather/nature related analogies) In the fall, we usually have a whole bunch of Season General auditions. This basically means the theatre company is testing the talent waters. You usually are not auditioning for a specific show, but rather giving them an idea of what you can do. If they find you appropriate for one of their upcoming shows, they call you back to audition a second time, but it might not be until March......even though you auditioned in September....it messes with your head, I gotta be honest. BUT, it's quite thrilling to get that call in March that someone saw you audition in September and remembered you. I'll take it!
I have TWO auditions this weekend. One Saturday and on Sunday. Both require two monologues, which means a total of four monologues! Ahh, PANIC!
Sidebar: I have a rather difficult to pronounce last name and when I was in high school, someone gave me the nickname "She's-In-A-Panic", which sounds similar to my last name if you say it really fast. That nickname was well earned. I panicked prematurely then and I still do now.
Once I got over myself, I realized that I really only have to do 3 monologues. (3 because the first audition requires a Shakespeare, which isn't appropriate for the second audition) Here's the direct instructions I've been given for Audition #1:
Choose Thine Own Adventure based on the works of Willy S -
"Please prepare a 1-2 minute Shakespeare piece you love. Don't worry about gender, age, race, comic vs dramatic, etc. Your love for the lines you choose is most important."
Eurydice by Sarah Ruhl
"Please prepare a brief poem (2 minutes max). Margaret Atwood or e.e. cummings are good examples of poems to look at in terms of style. Using this poem as a base, create a fully realized world for it. Through the language and physicality we should have a strong sense of what is happening. What kind of character are you? To whom are you speaking? What is the situation and where is this moment taking place? The specificity is not meant to intimidate but to allow absolute creative freedom, creativity and artistry. Your imagination is appreciated and celebrated by the Filament artistic team!"
I'll be busting out that old chestnut from Hamlet, "I have of late, but wherefore I know not..." because I love it. I love the speech, I love the meaning behind the speech and I relate 110% percent to what he's feeling at that moment in time.
For the second piece, I think I'm going to work on a poem called Love After Love by Dereck Walcott. (I read it the beginning of the book The Time Traveler's Wife, but shh...no one needs to know that) It is speaking about healing after a break up, but I think the actual words are more universal. I think his words are really about healing in general. Healing after a time of being so despondent, you feel you can't get any lower.
So there's my audition package for the first audition. Down in the dumps with Hamlet, then rising from the ashes with Walcott.
I will use the Walcott poem again for Audition #2 and I'm still trying to find something else that I think compliments it. This company was not nearly as specific about what they are looking for, so I'm on my own.
I have to be honest, I have a lot of work ahead of me this week. Especially to get the poem to reflect what Audition #1 is asking for. I'm pretty excited about it though. I've read Sarah Ruhl's Eurydice and several of her other plays. She's one of my favorite playwrights, so I hope I make a good showing. I would love a chance to do some of her work.
Off I go!
-Kristi
Before I get too much further into this entry let's give it up for Whit, who successfully compared the audition process to a PB &J sandwich. Hear hear!
So, remember when I said it's audition season in Chicago? The winds of the season blew in full force this weekend aren't leaving any time soon.
Here in the Windy City, auditions come in waves. (apparently I like weather/nature related analogies) In the fall, we usually have a whole bunch of Season General auditions. This basically means the theatre company is testing the talent waters. You usually are not auditioning for a specific show, but rather giving them an idea of what you can do. If they find you appropriate for one of their upcoming shows, they call you back to audition a second time, but it might not be until March......even though you auditioned in September....it messes with your head, I gotta be honest. BUT, it's quite thrilling to get that call in March that someone saw you audition in September and remembered you. I'll take it!
I have TWO auditions this weekend. One Saturday and on Sunday. Both require two monologues, which means a total of four monologues! Ahh, PANIC!
Sidebar: I have a rather difficult to pronounce last name and when I was in high school, someone gave me the nickname "She's-In-A-Panic", which sounds similar to my last name if you say it really fast. That nickname was well earned. I panicked prematurely then and I still do now.
Once I got over myself, I realized that I really only have to do 3 monologues. (3 because the first audition requires a Shakespeare, which isn't appropriate for the second audition) Here's the direct instructions I've been given for Audition #1:
Choose Thine Own Adventure based on the works of Willy S -
"Please prepare a 1-2 minute Shakespeare piece you love. Don't worry about gender, age, race, comic vs dramatic, etc. Your love for the lines you choose is most important."
Eurydice by Sarah Ruhl
"Please prepare a brief poem (2 minutes max). Margaret Atwood or e.e. cummings are good examples of poems to look at in terms of style. Using this poem as a base, create a fully realized world for it. Through the language and physicality we should have a strong sense of what is happening. What kind of character are you? To whom are you speaking? What is the situation and where is this moment taking place? The specificity is not meant to intimidate but to allow absolute creative freedom, creativity and artistry. Your imagination is appreciated and celebrated by the Filament artistic team!"
I'll be busting out that old chestnut from Hamlet, "I have of late, but wherefore I know not..." because I love it. I love the speech, I love the meaning behind the speech and I relate 110% percent to what he's feeling at that moment in time.
For the second piece, I think I'm going to work on a poem called Love After Love by Dereck Walcott. (I read it the beginning of the book The Time Traveler's Wife, but shh...no one needs to know that) It is speaking about healing after a break up, but I think the actual words are more universal. I think his words are really about healing in general. Healing after a time of being so despondent, you feel you can't get any lower.
So there's my audition package for the first audition. Down in the dumps with Hamlet, then rising from the ashes with Walcott.
I will use the Walcott poem again for Audition #2 and I'm still trying to find something else that I think compliments it. This company was not nearly as specific about what they are looking for, so I'm on my own.
I have to be honest, I have a lot of work ahead of me this week. Especially to get the poem to reflect what Audition #1 is asking for. I'm pretty excited about it though. I've read Sarah Ruhl's Eurydice and several of her other plays. She's one of my favorite playwrights, so I hope I make a good showing. I would love a chance to do some of her work.
Off I go!
-Kristi
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