Staged Reading of "Maidenhead" at Brooklyn College

On Friday I had the privilege of reading the role of Angela in Brooklyn College MFA Playwright Kim Davies' new play, Maidenhead. 

In a feudal, alternate-universe United States, high-school prom queen Angela Johnson is a vestal virgin gone rogue, dragging her gay bestie and her father's AmEx to the big bad city and throwing them all into high-stakes crime.  Nothing is sacred when you're sharp, subtle, and a shapely seventeen, and schoolgirl Angela knows how to play for keeps.  If beauty is fleeting and virginity is a woman's treasure, she'll buy low, sell high, and take her payment in unmarked bills.  But even when the future seems most certain, Angela can't escape her past.  In K. Davies's sharp new satire, sex sells, winner takes all, and nobody comes out clean.

Directed by MFA directing alumnus, Welker White, curated by Andy Buck, an MA candidate in Theater History, with design consultation by MFA Design candidate, Tatsuki Nakamura, the cast includes current students and acting alumni Emmanuel Elpenord, Paula Jon deRose, Michael Colby Jones, Jonathon Maldonado, Aaron Mednick, Mervyn Morris, Jeremy Ping, Keelie Sheridan, and Darius Stone. 

The Friar's Foundation Adopt-A-Scholar Reception

So many updates! Here's the first!

Last night I along with several other scholars from NYC arts programs were honored by the Friar's Club as a part of their Adopt-A-Scholar Program. Friar's Club members generously donated scholarship monies to help us finance our studies in our chosen fields, and I am so honored to be one of the recipients! 

Each college had one student perform and one student speak- I was lucky enough to be selected to perform a monologue from my one-woman show, A Woman in Progress. I was STOKED to get to perform in front of such an esteemed audience. I was also mildly terrified...

In the bathroom getting ready to perform. NERVES!

My fellow 1st year MFA, Jonny, was selected to speak on behalf of the Brooklyn College contingency- he was a hit! He expressed his gratitude sincerely and humbly, but not without some chop-busting- it IS the Friar's Club (you know, the ones who throw the Celebrity Roasts)- laughter is important...

And then... it was my turn! My monologue was very well received, and I truly enjoyed performing it!

From the very bottom of my heart, thank you to the Friar's Club for your commitment to helping young artists finance the training they need to hone their skills. Education is truly the most generous gift one can give. 

MFA Acting Week 3

Monday 9/12

Improv

Today marked our first improv session and I can tell I am going to love it. This course will serve more as an opportunity to become acquainted with our own unique individual creative processes than to 'teach improv'. We discussed some of the personal obstacles we as actors encounter- doubting and denying impulses and fearing that we aren't enough (original enough, funny enough, clever enough, giving enough...). We often forget to stop and realize how much more energy we expend when we restrain ourselves and restrict our impulses, rather than allowing ourselves to be without judgement. Our professor used a beautiful analogy that resonated deeply with me- if we think of ourselves as houses, our experiences and emotions are stored in different rooms, some of which we allow free access to, others of which are locked and guarded. It's important that we know what is in each room of our house so that we can access and call upon the things that our work demands from us. 

Tuesday 9/13

Speech

We continued working on the production of consonant sounds and had a mini-group quiz. Everyone passed!

Wednesday 9/14

Movement

Our readings for this course gave us background information on the Alexander Technique, including how Alexander himself discovered the principles he would go on to teach. We discussed the startle response- the body's physiological and neurological pre-choreographed response to danger, and how this physically manifests in a species that is constantly living under stress. The righting reflex, which the body naturally does when the danger is removed, manifests in the head and neck leading the spine into length. We also began to discuss the cycle of awareness, inhibition and direction.

Acting
We did a facial mirroring exercise today where we sat across from a partner and conversed with them while taking on any facial manipulations we observed in them- raised eyebrows, wrinkled foreheads, etc. More than imitating, it required a release into our partner which necessitated working with ease. This allowed us to be more open when observing and being observed. We did some more improv work and discussed the impact that place has on our behavior.

Thursday 9/15


Speech
We had a double speech session today as our voice teacher is away working with the RSC. We continued work on our consonant sounds and then played with the power that different sounds have in different words.

Kinetics
Today we discussed the elements of the theatre auditory- sound, tempo, pitch, volume, stress and phrasing. We expiremented with this and then recapped all of the elements- kinetic, auditory and visual, through which we will analyze scenes and characters in the future. We finished up our abstract art/ movement exercise as we began to think of ourselves not only intellectually but also as physical entities with lines, forms, shapes, etc. As actors we are both the sculptor and the sculpture. 

MFA Acting Week 2 Redux

HOW have three full weeks already passed? I'm a bit behind- here's a week 2 recap! 

Monday 9/5 

No Classes

Tuesday 9/6

Voice- We focused on the anatomy of the vocal mechanism and had a discussion on the components of an effective vocal warmup and its purpose- to free the instrument and facilitate effective breathing and emotional connection, allowing access to a free, responsible, authentic and connected voice. 

Speech- Consonants! Wahoo! We learned all 26 consonant sounds, where they're made in the mouth, what type of sound they are (stop-plosive, fricative, glide, affricate, nasal or lateral) and the corresponding script and print IPA symbols. 

Wednesday 9/7

Movement- In addition to our continued exploration of the foundation of the Alexander Technique, we did an exercise to discover the true locations of our joints (vs. where we perceive our joints to be). We were asked by our teacher to observe our repertoire of movement patterns without judgment.  

Acting- We shared our experiences from our sensory observation assignment and then did a simple improv exercise. Person A sat on stage while person B left the room. B returned with a relationship and objective, and A was only allowed to respond to B's words and behavior- A was not allowed to contribute any new information. It was interesting to explore simply listening and being affected. 

Thursday 9/8

Voice- We brought our monologues in to workshop from a vocal perspective. My classical piece from Sophocles' Electra is a powerful and emotional piece- unfortunately I have a tendency of holding vocally in heightened situations- releasing this completely changed my monologue in a wonderful way. We also had a short discussion on the idea that nothing in an actor is compartmentalized- it is impossible to allow disconnect and a lack of integration in our training- everything is related (voice, breath, physicality, emotion...). 

Speech- Speech is an essence of identity and is not something training will or should change about someone. We train our speech to be able to make a choice- we increase our range and sharpen our instrument to be able to meet the demands of the text when we are called upon to do so, but there is truly no right or wrong way to speak as an individual, there are only shades of effectiveness- did it work? Did my audience believe me? We also discussed the power of certain sounds found in the English language and the impact they have on the listener. 

Kinetics- This class focused on the elements of the theatre visual, including line, form, mass, color, texture and space. We did some exciting exercises exploring the manipulation of a shape (our bodies) to evoke different reactions in ourselves and our audiences. 

This week was special because in addition to our classes, we had prep (Friday), auditions (Saturday) and callbacks (Sunday) for Eurydice- one of the fall productions that needed to add a few castmembers. (Brooklyn College tries not to cast MFA Actors in their first semester so that we have an opportunity to acclimate- fall shows are usually cast in the spring and then filled in with new students.)

Relaxing on campus with classmates Andrea and Sarah after auditions. 

I also had the opportunity to see an absolutely stunning production of The Little Mermaid by the Glass Bandits Theatre Company in McCarren Park with my classmates Aaron, Patrick, Jeremy and Jeremy's wife Laura. The puppet work was flawless, the a capella vocals were haunting and the piece moved swiftly- every detail was simply and perfectly attended to. And it was free. Awesome!

Stay tuned for Week 3's recap!

In case you missed it, check out Week 1 here. 

MFA Acting- Week One Recap

It's here! It's happening! Wait- WHAT? We already finished our first week? Wow. That was fast.

The Brooklyn College MFA Acting Class of 2013- from L to R- Patrick, Jeremy, Jonny, Aaron, myself, Andrea and Sarah. 

As I've said many, many times before, I'm so thrilled, honored and humbled to be here. My classmates are talented, dedicated and very unique. My professors are passionate about their work and committed to our development as performers. The program focuses on our individual development and growth as unique artists with unique voices. 

Week two begins tomorrow! Insane! Here's an incredibly un-detailed and oversimplified recap of week one- hopefully I'll have time to share more specifics in the coming weeks!

Voice

We've begun to study the voice from both an anatomical and a holistic viewpoint. We're starting to learn what components in the body are used to create vocal sounds, what the role of the voice is in an actor's craft and the incredible importance of the breath in vocal production. 

-Actors need discipline to be free. 

-We are our instruments. 

-Our voices are our most intimate expressions of ourselves.

Diction and Dialect

In this course we've begun breaking down what speech is- the use of specific sounds, pitch, inflection and emphasis which we use to communicate. We've begun to develop a warmup which engages all the physical components of speech including our tongues, lips, jaws, soft palates, faces, etc. 

-There is no one proper way to speak, except clearly and effectively. 

Movement/Alexander Technique

Our first class focused a lot on becoming aware of and being present with our bodies while moving. We had the opportunity to move organically while telling a story and then were asked to follow someone else's movements while telling the same story- it was interesting to experience and study a foreign movement pattern while telling a familiar story. 

-Can you observe yourself without judgement?

Acting

Much of our discussion centered around the idea of of being curious and aware but existing comfortably without answers- it's ok to not always know why or how something is in this exact moment, so long as we're aware. We also spoke about the intimate and vulnerable sides of acting, and how important these things are to creativity. Lastly, we focused our attention on a performer's energy and how vital it is to the work we do. 

-The only way you can create is to be open to the energy of other actors. 

-Let yourself be without answers.

Kinetics/ Analysis

Our first class was focused on the idea of the theatre as a living art- the audience is present for both the inspiration and the creation as they exist in live time. 

-The theatre is a place for seeing, an auditorium is a place for hearing, and acting is the doing of a deed (which is where kinetics come into play). 

Improv

 Updates/ Thoughts yet to come- the hurricane and Labor Day have cancelled two Mondays in a row, so we've not yet had an improv class.

MFA Acting Orientation

I'm bracing myself for a weekend of reading, writing and running from Hurricane Irene, but before we're evacuated (true story- I live in the coastal evacuation zone- in a basement), I wanted to share some thoughts from yesterday's orientation at Brooklyn College!

First on the schedule was a meeting with the head of our department. We talked a bit about what to expect on this journey, got our schedules and went over our first assignments. My program is very small- there are seven first year MFA actors (including myself) and 7 second years. The second years came for an informal Q & A and we got to know each other a bit, which was wonderful. They were so kind and welcoming and helped relieve a lot of our anxiety about starting school. I feel very blessed to be a part of such a supportive group!

Next we attended a department-wide orientation (where we got to meet the MFA Directors, Designers, Dramaturgs and Theatre Managment students). It was inspiring and a bit humbling to meet everyone and hear a bit about their story. Our department seems to have students representing every continent, many states, all ages and backgrounds- each of us brought together by our love of and dedication to the theatre. It's a powerful thing to sit amongst so many others and hear what they've been through to get to this point. Additionally, we learned that Brooklyn College's Theatre program has been ranked 14th in the country by the Princeton Review. 

I went out with some of my classmates and fellow theatre department friends last night- it was wonderful to get to know everyone better! 

I'm currently finishing up/ tweaking a few assignments for next week, including a writing piece about the story of my voice and some general assessments of where I am right now as an actor. As soon as I'm happy with them, I'll be sharing pieces of the assignments on this blog. Check back soon!

'Twas the Night Before Orientation...

Tomorrow is Orientation, and then on Friday, I begin my first day of MFA Acting studies at Brooklyn College.

Deep breaths. 

I'm thrilled to get started, but a bit nervous about the unknown.