First Crack at a run through!

Today we took our first crack at doing a full run through of a show!  It was very scary and nerve wrecking, but in a good way.  It helped a lot of the kids figure out where they actually come in and what songs they come in on.  I admit it got kinda stressful because I kept having to repeat myself, but I can't blame the kids they were trying they best they could.  My director helps me a lot in learning how to teach children, I am really enjoying this experience.

Last week and this week

Had a busy week last week, completely forgot to blog! Anyway, last week was A Play in 2 Days and A Play in 3 Days. The play in 2 days went very well, we had a small group of 4-6 graders, about 13 of them, but they were fantastic to work with, they were all very committed, most of the time they rehearsed on their own during their lunch and snack breaks. Some of them are wanting to pursue theatre in high school as well, so it was great to help them out a bit. The play in 3 days was 2nd and 3rd graders. It was a bit tougher, there was a lot more of them, and at that age their focus isn't the best, but we got them there, ready to perform for their parents on Friday.
This week is Clue Week. All of the teachers are characters from the board game Clue. Throughout the week the kids find clues and solve puzzles, making scenes about who they think the murderer is (one of the teachers). I'm Mr. Green, the only male teacher in the class, so of course I'm one of the top suspects :) it's a great week for the kids because they get to spend the whole week pretending with us, while also preparing a play to perform for their parents on Friday. The age is 3-5th grade, at that age they're starting to become more self conscious, feeling that they're too old, or that it's uncool, to pretend, so I think event camps like this and Harry Potter Week are great for them, because of course they know it's fiction, but they allow themselves to really get into it and use their imagination.

Winnie the Pooh

We open Pooh tonight, or so we are supposed to. We have had no tech rehearsals mainly because of The Aracoma Story still running till Sunday. We would have had a tech last night if we didn't get rained out. With having no tech time, we are treating tonight as a preview. It's amazing how much you can get done when your are willing to come in at 9 am two weeks before Pooh and still work Aracoma Story. This journey is nearing the end with less than 2 weeks to go. It's been fun and an experience, but I'm ready to come home!

Apprentice scenes

We recently sent in our applications for the technical positions for the apprentice scenes. I was given the assignment of Stage Supervisor, and scenic carpenter. So I will be back stage running the crew during the shows and making sure everything is set for the shows. It is a huge responsibility and I am extremely excited to have this opportunity.

We were given some interesting statistics the other day...

We have worked 9 total weeks. In those 9 weeks, we have worked the equivalent days of working 13 weeks as a full time employee. Also, we have put in over 725 hours. If you factor each week based on a 40 hour schedule, we have worked 18 weeks. Basically, this means we are working TWO full time jobs, all at the same time, while getting overtime on top of that.

This place is insane.

Half way through!

we are now officially half way through the camp!  Today I learned that some kids need a different type of person they can talk too.  Some kids don't like everyone and then they shut down and won't do anything.  If they don't do anything they don't learn as much as they could.  I hope I get more chances to work with kids again because it is really teaching me a lot about myself.

Performance for the little ones

Today the littlest group apart of the camp will be performing! We saw their dress rehearsal yesterday during camp and it was the cutest thing ever.  Today they get to perform for their parents and I know they are all so excited.  I get to stand backstage with little kids to try and keep them quite, I know how hyper they are going to be.  I hope everything goes well with them today and can't wait for my kids to perform.

End of Week 2 tomorrow!

So tomorrow will be the half way mark of the TMP summer camp.  I can honestly say that I am very proud of the work the Little Mermaid cast has done.  I am so proud of the characters they are building and how well they listen to direction.  I can see how happy the kids are when they get to do a song, it reminds of myself when I was younger.  I really am enjoying myself here!

'Actor Challenges' and worse internet than usual.

We've done the same show four times in a row this week, and it's definitely a dramatic shift between what I've become used to. During the week we have special preformances for groups who come to rent out the theatre, and they all happened to choose the same show to come see. It's hard as an actor, because the shows feel a bit stale by this point in the season anyway, but trying to stay focused is really hard when your on auto-pilot so much of the time.

One thing we've started to do in order to help with that is giving each other actor challenges. Usually it's simple stuff like adding certain physical movements to the show somewhere, or adding emphasis to certain lines so the cast can listen backstage and know that the actors on stage are paying attention.

The internet and cell service here is intermitent at best, but this week it's been practically non-existent. The internet cut out four times before I was able to post this blog, and I was using the desktop at work. Supposedly, it's being worked on, but I have the sneaking suspicion that it's just the reality of living in a town with 145 people. Usually I only have short ammounts of time to get on the internet at all, and it makes it diffuclt to stay in contact with the outside world when the internet cuts out several times before you can finish writing an e-mail. Oh well, only three weeks left in the summer!

Miming outside the box.

This week in class we learned all about mime. Not just placing your hands on imaginary walls, but creating an entire world using just your motions.

We began very simply with making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Except it wasn't simple at all. We had to go through the motions excruciatingly slow so that we could really pay attention to what we were doing. I mean how do you mime working a twist tie perfectly? How many turns to open a peanut butter jar vs. jelly jar? How do you hold the bread when you're spreading peanut butter, and then where do you put the bread when you're done? These things we do routinely, subconsciously even, so bringing them into consciousness for an audience is a very difficult process.

We then moved onto gibberish, which is part two of miming. Though we cannot actually use words, inflection of tone and rapidity of speech can greatly improve communication. We started gibberish work with a game called "definition". One person says a gibberish word and the person to their right has to define it immediately after. It helps with recognition and quick thinking.

The big game that we played to practice our skills was called Interview. One person was the moderator, and the two people on either side were for or against a topic. However, to make their point, they can only speak in gibberish. The moderator must figure out the point one of the people is trying to make, and explain it in a different type of gibberish to the other person. It really tests the communication skills of the players.

I host this weekend, so there will be shenanigans afoot! Until then...

Over and out!
-D

Fighting through Aracoma and Pooh

We are in the home stretch of the internship. We've finally started up the second week of Aracoma after a couple days of rain. Monday we started working on Pooh, while it was down pouring. Thank goodness for the shelters! Pooh isn't much different then Aracoma in the fact that we are using the same set and 3/4 less sand and a couple things we have to build. I can now effectively build a 'club house' and apply shingles and siding to it. Obviously we are not using ACTUAL shingles or siding due to the budget, but its the same principle. I'm also doing a very small amount of scenic painting, most of it is just base coat and writing. 2 and a half weeks to go!

Half Way through the second week!

Today we finished blocking the whole show, we are totally rocking this out!  Now we just have to hope that the kids will remember at least half of it.  We only have three songs left to stage which is awesome because then the kids can really get into their characters.

Hi all,


Sorry it's been a lightyear since I last posted, I've been extremely busy.  But I'll try to quickly catch you up. 


So in addition to taking improv classes at The Groundlings, I've also been inspired by the lovely Kathleen Hoil to take some circus aerial  classes here in LA.  Learning to climb silks and do various tricks on the trapeze has been a blast, and an excellent workout to boot.    I only wish I there were circus classes like these when I was a young kid in Iowa, climbing trees all over the neighborhood. =)


 I've  also been keeping busy with my internship with the Festival of New American Musicals. I just finished teaching for our program called The East Side Initiative. For this program, I along with a few other coworkers, help plan and initiate performance workshops for the underprivileged kids on the east side of Los Angeles. For my part, I helped teach the acting/performance class, while in addition, the kids also took classes for dancing and singing from local professionals. At the end of the day, each different group would give a performance showcasing what they had learned. Teaching these kids was easily one of the highlights of my summer and a very rewarding thing to be a part of. 

In addition to this program, the Festival of New American Musicals is a nonprofit, so I also spend a good deal of time filling out and submitting grant applications.  This is easily my LEAST favorite thing to do as this can be a very lengthy and time consuming process but after two summers, I have become somewhat of a pro. And as I've said in past posts, my favorite privilege of being an intern, is attending 2 to 3 new musical premieres each week all over Southern California. One of the latest ones I saw was in La Jolla California entitled "Hands on A Hard Body" starring Hunter Foster (Sutton's bro).  Now, it's not what your thinking.  It's actually a musical about the contests that are held by car dealerships for whoever can keep their hands on a car (or in this case, truck) the longest.  It tells the story of the twelve people from all different backgrounds that are brought together by a single goal: to win a brand new truck.   One of my biggest worries with this musical was staging problems (As all contestants had to keep their hands on the truck.  This is one of the major problems of the Little Miss Sunshine Musical) but the director found very creative ways to overcome this. It was surprisingly catchy and creative.   And the night we attended, it was just announced it will be heading to Broadway this fall!  So if any of you make a trip to New York in the fall, check it out!

And finally, in my spare time I have also been working as a background actor on different television shows and movies. One of my favorite experiences was working on the set of the upcoming Steve Jobs movie starring Ashton Kutcher (and Josh Gad from Book of Mormon!).  It was a really neat experience and for most of the day, I just happened to be placed right behind where Ashton and the rest of the actors were doing their scene, so who knows, maybe you'll get a peak of my of me.  Working as a background actor has been such a fun experience. It's a great way to meet new friends and do some networking in addition to getting some of the best food.  Oh, and I don't mind getting my hair and makeup done. =) This coming Monday I will be working on the set of CSI: New York.


Alright, well that's just a quick update.  Can't wait to catch up with all of you when school reconvenes.  But until then, have a good rest of summer!

Vicky

Hip Hop Workshop!

Today we had an awesome hip hop workshop, it was so fun to dance with the kids!  The kids are really starting to get into their parts I am so excited for them to see all their costumes.  Today we blocked the first half of the show and I can say that I am very impressed with these kids dedication.  Hanging out with the kids from TMP is also an amazing learning experience.  They know so much about everything and I can't wait to keep learning more agh!

Fame Jr.

Fame Jr. has been crazy lately. So far I've memorized the whole casts' names, which I'm surprised I've been able to remember. Assisting Amy has been interesting because I have to know when to step back and let her make decisions and when to take control of situations when Amy is busy with other situations. I think I'm doing okay with managing the two. I'm definitely making sure that Amy makes design decisions because those are not my choices. Amy is definitely doing a great job with the show though! The costumes look great! I'm excited to work on dress rehearsals as they are during the day and will be a little more day intensive. My internship is almost over, which is also crazy!

Beginning of week 2!

It was a great Monday! Today we discussed with the kids the dos and don'ts of auditioning.  I felt like everything we talked about today I pretty much learned just these last couple of years in college.  Tomorrow we have an awesome hip hop workshop that the kids will really enjoy and we are finally starting to stage the show!!! I think the kids are really starting to warm up to the parts they were given and are starting to really have fun.

Tomfoolery Auditions

Hey y'all,

Tonight and Sunday at 7 pm ACTORS is holding auditions for Tomfoolery. It's a musical based on the work of Tom Lehrer. The shows will be September 21-30 on the weekends. I've been asked to choreograph a short dance audition, so I will be conducting the dance part of auditions while the directors and producers watch. They are looking for 6 men and 4 women to be involved with this show. I have also posted information on the Pearson bulletin board about an opportunity to design lighting for the show. Check it out.

In other news, I just finished entering various plays into a database and filed them upstairs behind the light booth at ACTORS. Hope you're all having a wonderful summer. I can't wait to see alls y'alls when school starts back up.

Keep living the dream,
Brandon

And now we finally get two days off

Well we opened up Tuesday after 2 days of tech. We have only had three FULL performances of the show. Why only three? Because mother nature at times doesn't want us to do a show. Things are going to get chaotic here in a couple days because while one show is running, we have to get ready to put on another show, a day after the current one ends. During the one day switch we have to move about 12 TONS of sand and paint the stage floor, BEFORE the shows one and only tech. We definitely can do it, but we are gonna be dead tired once the last show opens. But this whole summer is not a sprint, but a marathon. We are about to find out how much we have left in the tank with 3 weeks of shows to go plus a couple days to winterize the theatre.

Week 2 starting tomorrow

I am really looking forward to starting the week over again I love working with all the kids.  Rehearsals are going to start getting really intense and now all the kids are starting to open up because they are starting to feel comfortable around everyone.  We are almost done working on the bigger numbers involving the whole cast, now we can start doing the littler stuff which I am so looking forward too because we have some great talents to show.

Its Friday!

So yesterday we got both of the huge numbers choreographed and learned the music parts.  I am having so much fun working with the girl who is playing our Ariel.  She reminds me so much of myself when I was her age because she gets so nervous.  I love working with her because she has the pipes for the part I just need to work on bringing her out of her shell and not worry so much about the mistakes she might be making.  So I think thats my goal for the day is to try and bring her out a little bit more so she can really shine.

Lion King Week

This week I'm working with 1-2nd graders to perform a (very) condensed version of The Lion King. I've been rather surprised by the low reading level of the group as a whole (a group of 32). Each child gets one to two lines to say, and about 90% of them had trouble reading it. The teachers have had to make quite a few cuts in the songs to make them manageable. I got to choreograph "Oh I Just Can't Wait to be King," and with it I learned what this age group was physically capable of. I started out giving them steps that were much too complex for their age, I've brought it down as much as I know how and they seem to be doing better. Tomorrow they perform for their parents.

Work Shop Day!

Today we start work shops I am so excited! We get to teach these kids some things that will hopefully help them in the future if they want to be apart of the professional Theatre world.  It is so cool because I get to work with a Director and a Musical Director and they totally let me chime in and give my two cents.  TMP is a very humble place to work in because I don't feel totally out of the loop and they are so welcoming to me.

So we got our cast all figured out for The Little Mermaid JR! This is so much fun, today we watched sound of music in between times of rehearsal and tomorrow and Friday we will be doing workshops inspired by the movie.  One of the workshops is going to include puppets and learning all the signs for DOE RAE ME etc.... I am really enjoying this a lot, all these kids have so much talent and they get to do this summer camp until they are done with High School.

Fame Jr. 2!

So far this weekend has been wildly crazy. Working on Fame Jr. is a lot different than Pinkalicious. The fact that I am the assistant to Amy is interesting, but I'm learning a lot about how to work as an assistant and where to let her do her thing. I'm trying to step back and let her do the work, while asking her where she needs assistance. The nice thing about her show is it's more of a contemporary feel as opposed to a cartoonish feel that Pinkalicious had. Fame Jr. is also nice because the kids are already in rehearsal during the day so we're usually allowed to talk to them during their breaks or after rehearsal. Lastly I'm loving that we're actually having time to shop instead of having consistant shop hours. It's nice being able to work whenever because Angie trust us more now. Lately we've been working on talking to the kids about what they already have to cut back on what we need to buy. The kids have very different personalities so it's interesting to see almost who's too cooperative and who's the most difficult to work with.

July

This has been a crazy month. It started off with 16 hour days, doing double changeovers and getting  very little sleep. on the 7th, I was injured when a pulley block for the orchestra net was dropped 8 feet onto my back. I wore a sling for a day before a second doctor said that was stupid and took me out of it. Since then i have been cleared for work and we have been cranking out the shows and rehearsals. We open our 4th show this Saturday.

on Monday the applications are due for the apprentice scenes, and I am applying to be a stage supervisor or a carpenter. I am excited to get to do some work of my own and see if I have what it takes. This place is amazing and fun, but some of the hardest days I have ever known. All 18 of the stage crew are very talented and well trained so sometimes we get in each others way. It is a difficult balance of leadership and cooperation. It can get tense and sometimes go a little too far, but the most important goal is to stay professional.

We had our mid season evaluations the other day and I had a really great review. My supervisors said they believe I am one of the stronger leaders and one of the better trained crew members, so now it is my job to help elevate the other members to my level and make them better. It was really nice to hear that. Especially since it is hard to judge how things are going.

On a fun note. I get to be in costume for one of the shows because they like to make their shifts look realistic to the world as much as possible. So I am wearing a nice suit and 3/4 coat. As I go out on stage to set a scenic piece, apparently All the audience (at the time it was the production staff) started paying attention to me because my hair was long and wavy and I was upstaging the lead female while she was singing. So they made me put up my hair. I thought that was fun.

D-O-W-N and that's the way we get down! *clap clap*

This week gave me my best improv class yet!

We started off with "That's the way we get down", a chanting game that involves everyone dancing. I say "Hey Jack!" he says "Hey what?" "Hey Jack!" "Hey what" "Show us how you get down!" "No way!" "Show us how you get down?" "Ok" and then Jack would dance. Jack then goes up to a new person and repeats the process. I did some party rock shuffle and charleston, good times. The game is mostly for an energy booster and team building.

We did a little zip zap zop beep, and added "Bunny", where you have to put two fingers up like ears and chant "Bunny bunny bunny bunny" until you pass the bunny, a zip, or a beep.

Jumping right into scene work, we practiced two-line scenes. One person set up the who and the where, and the other person countered with a what. Simple, fact-establishing exercise. That evolved into longer scenes, working on avoiding questions and establishing a relationship between two characters.

We moved on to "Countdown", a game where all 6 people from both teams have to get on stage in 2 minutes. Then, the scene must be performed in 1 minute, 30 seconds, and 15 seconds respectively.  My scene was the most fun. I was a beach goer, and two guys came up and offered me beer, I declined, as I was 15, and my boyfriend came up to defend me. I pulled him out of a fight and we walked romantically along the beach. Two more people still needed to come into the scene, so I decided to panic and realize that my parents had shown up at the beach. My 'mom' disapproved of my relationship and my 'dad' called me a slut for wearing a two piece. If that scenario wasn't funny enough, we had to speed it up. By the time we got to 15 seconds, the scene ended on "Slut!" and the entire class was doubled over laughing.

We got together and made a circle, going around and telling the person to our right what we like about their comedy. Then, we ran in a circle together and chanted "we're the best!" Someone decided to start chanting "slut!" and out teacher died laughing.

We ended class with Free-for-all-Freeze, where two people start a scene and one person calls "freeze!" and trades places with one of the performers. The scene starts again with an entirely different scenario based on the pre-freeze positions of the players.

Our class is really starting to feel like a team. Everyone is ridiculously supportive and enthusiastic. I could not have asked for a better group of people to be silly with!

Until next time,
Over and out!
-D

Opening Aracoma

It's amazing what  can happen over the course of a week. We got the set re-painted and was able to green it up a lil bit. We also open today and have only had 2 full days of tech and tech started last Thursday. We haven't been able to have tech, because of weather. We've had one night of mics and all the pyrotechnics. He we go!

Four weeks left.

For the rest of the season, we're only responsible for doing shows and special performances. It's a weird feeling, knowing that in only four weeks the summer will be over and I'll have to readjust to 'civilian' life. Everything here is so regimented, being able to decide something as simple as when or if I want to eat will be weird. I'm definitely looking forward to it though. I've learned a lot about theatre this summer, and I've learned a lot what I don't want to do.

As much as I like Brownville, I don't think I want to come back next year. It won't be the same without my cast mates from this year, and I want to be doing something different anyway. I've learned that I don't think costuming is my calling anymore. I started the summer out very sure of what I wanted to do and now I'm not so sure anymore. Oh well, that;s what the next two years of school are for I guess. Until then, I'll just focus on finishing up the summer and getting ready for school.

TMP Internship

Today I started my internship at Tacoma Musical Theater being the stage manager of The Little Mermaid Jr! It was so much fun today working with all those kids, we get to have auditions tomorrow to cast the roles and I actually get to be apart of the casting! It is so fun to see the other side of things and we have such great talent to choose from.

Oz Week

Just finished up Oz Week at the DMPH. I had two classes, the morning with Kindergarteners and the afternoon with 1-2nd graders. In the Kindergarten class we focused on teaching kids storytelling basics, as we worked our way through the story of the Wizard of Oz. The kids seemed to enjoy it, they got to make their own paper puppets of the characters and they all "acted" through the story as the teacher narrated and gave them simple lines to repeat. The afternoon class with the first and second graders was a part of a progressive play that involved a class of 4-8th graders. These classes spent the week putting together a 55 minute version of the Wizard of Oz that took the audience to different parts of the building. The first and second graders were the Munchkins. We spent the week teaching and rehearsing songs and choreography, as well as having the kids do various crafts to make the space look more, well, Munchkiny. I have worked with both age groups previously in the summer, but I still learned new ways to handle a group, sometimes games work well with one group of Kindergarteners and not the next group, sometimes the way you explain an activity makes sense to one class of second graders but not the second graders the next week. With kids you just gotta adapt, which I feel like I've done pretty decently this summer. My attitude with the kids and teachers is engaged but laid back. Hard working and self starting but flexible. Next week is Broadway week. I have second graders. And we're doing The Lion King! (from the Disney film, not the Broadway musical).

The Improv Story (Abridged Version)

Since last week's post was a novel, this one will be a summary:

Started off with Zip Zap Zop Beep

Everybody Go: Do a silly motion and say "Everybody go_____" (the motion). Everyone says yes! and does the motion.


Teacup: One person says a phrase, the person next to them must repeat their words exactly. Inevitably, the words will sound different, until we end up with Gibberish

Story: Tell a story one person at a time, 6 people per chapter. I went during the last chapter, and pulled some information from the first chapter, which my instructor was impressed with. It is very interesting to watch a story develop, one idea at a time.

Switch Interview: Start as an interviewer, given a topic. Mine was video games. Create a persona for your interviewer; I give mine Princess Peach. Point of the exercise: make the interview interesting, and it will be funny. Do not try to be funny-you will not be funny.

Freeze: Two people do a short scene, the rest of the class has their backs turned. Referee yells "freeze", and two people tap the players out, adopting their positions. They must create a new scene entirely based off of the positions they begin in. I was placed with my hands on my head, and the person across from me had a hand out. She begged for money, I was angry at her, she wanted money for Cousins Subs, I said I might have given her money if she had said subway, she said "Better bread better subs!" (Cousins slogan) and I said $5 footlong! We were then froze and switched out.

Ended with a count to 20.

 Going to the 10:00 show tonight to watch some of my friends who won the Recreation League play against real players!

Over and Out,
D

Aracoma and One Month To Go

The whole set is up, foam and all. We started working on the painting today and sprayed 3/4s of the mountains between myself, the other gen tech and the TD. We still have to hit the masking wall and the actual platforms. Found out that using a sprayer for the mountains is like painting a car and that the technique used is similar to one in football. 12 of the 24 lights have been refocused and are in the process of getting re-gelled. Overall not a bad way to start tech week seeing how we only had a 9 days to get ready. We are nearing the end of the summer and the end of the internship. We are all slowly getting burned out seeing how our last day off was the weekend before Ring of Fire closed. (We didn't get our day off because of the time crunch.) With being burned out, tension was at an all time high between us as a group. But that has passed and everything is back to normal. 1 to go!

Free time (finally)

This morning I got back from two entire days off from Brownville. We did the math, and we've worked for fifty two days straight without a single day off. I tried to sleep in on Monday morning, but I woke up at 8:59 and couldn't get back to sleep. There's only five more weeks in the season, and from here on out the schedule changes drastically. We don't have rehearsal anymore, so when we're not doing shows we have time off. Right now, I am spending my very first evening off watching the rest of the house work out and contemplating what to do now that I don't have lines any more. 

Over the 'weekend', I was in a town of 23,000 people, which is still small, but I kept getting overwhelmed by stuff that I wouldn't have even thought of before this summer. Like the fact that there's a grocery store more than twenty minutes away, or a gas station within two towns. I went to Hy-Vee, and there was a Redbox and a Starbucks in the same place. Driving through Omaha at night was also a bit disorienting, because I forgot what city lights looked like at night. I essentially forgot that the world outside of Brownville existed. I'm definitely excited to be moving home after this, not a small amount due to the fact that Ames has a Target.  

Fame Jr.

Fame Junior has had a slightly slow start at the playhouse. We started talking about costume concepts and ideas for character today, but I have a feeling after Friday when we know what the cast list is and we have measurements for the characters everything will start to pick up very, very fast. We planned on shopping for stuff next week and Friday is measurements. In two weeks we're doing a master's class for the students for them to learn about how they can get involved in costuming and what the designer does not specific to the show. I feel like I'm learning alot about how to work with kids with this internship through Pinkalicious and now Fame Jr. It's definitely a different dynamic and an interesting concept that I would have never thought of when thinking about costuming professionally. It's definitely a good skill to learn though!

Sweating my tail off in WV

So we are nearing the end of the week before tech for The Aracoma Story. Thanks to the craziness that was Christmas Carol, this set is a little easier. It is still just as crazy as it, but this has more elements to it than Christmas Carol. These platforms are higher and tomorrow we add the addition of foam mountain pieces to the platforms. Oh and we are also going to be getting what I believe is 8 TONS OF SAND! Not really much to learn this week except how to attach the foam pieces and how to beat the heat. Tech for The Aracoma Story is next Wednesday...and our day off isn't coming soon enough.

Lyra and House Managing

On Tuesday we learned lyra, which is a vertical. steel hoop suspended from two supports. I consider it the most difficult aerial apparatus. Technique-wise, double silks is the most challenging, but lyra not only requires a lot of core strength, but is also very painful because it's steel and a lot of the movements start with the lyra supporting you at the base of your spine or your hipbones. I was not very good at lyra, partly because only one was the appropriate size for someone my height and I wasn't consistently able to practice on that one, but mostly because it's just a difficult apparatus in general.

The last two days I house managed my first show. It was done by the children's intensive class, and was pretty impressive for a group of kids between the ages of 7 and 14. I was pretty excited to house manage and consider myself very lucky to have been given the opportunity to help out more at the Gym. I also got a nifty staff shirt so things are getting legit.

Kathleen

Improv 101

I finally started classes on Tuesday!
Everyone is fantastic. Our teacher, Beth, is one of the Comedy Sportz players and knows me, so therefore I was given a bit of flack for going to Europe while everyone in Wisconsin endured the heat apocalypse. Seriously, what is going on with this country? I'm afraid to step outside for fear of spontaneously combusting and melting at the same time. But heat aside all of my classmates are willing to try new things and are very supportive, which makes for an awesome atmosphere!

We started out with some simple Zip Zap Zop Beep, which is basically shooting focus from one person to the next. It's all about being in the moment and not planning who will be thrown the energy next. We then did a rhyming game called "What do you want for your birthday?" It starts with the chant "What do you want for your birthday this year?" and one person says "I want a _____ for my birthday this year." The blank can be any one-syllable word, as it has to be rhymed. So if someone said "I want a tree for my birthday this year" the next person could say "I want a knee for my birthday this year" or "I'm watching Glee on my birthday this year."

After those warm-up games, we got into some scene work. A game called "Try that on for size" involves one person mimicking a simple activity and saying what they are doing, followed with 'try that on for size'. The next person copies the same motion but says something (logical) that they are doing. An example:
I'm laying bricks, try that on for size! (side to side hand motion)
I'm buttering bread, try that on for size.
I'm conducting an orchestra, try that on for size!
The same motion is continued until someone cannot think of an action, in which case that pair is out, and the next pair steps up. I am happy to report I did not get out :)

We then worked on emotions. We played with varying intensity of emotions, and emphasized the difference of making an emotion more intense, not just louder. If you are angry, being louder does not show a more convincing level of anger, it just hurts your vocal chords. Using that lesson, we played a game called emotional party. A group of four people enters a party, each having a set emotion to portray. The host begins with one emotion, and when a new person enters the scene with a different emotion, the host must adopt that emotion. This pattern continues until the fourth person has entered, wherein all members of the scene have adopted the first person's emotion. The fourth person then leaves, and everyone returns to the third person's emotion, etc.
The most important thing about this game is not so much how well you are portraying the emotion, but having a reason to portray it. Therefore, relationships between people must be developed within a very short amount of time. For instance, I was hosting a party because I was getting audited, and a girl my age came in emoting innocence. The next person, an older man, came in emoting anxiety. I decided he would be my dad and lamented to him that I would be sent to jail in Saudi Arabia if the government found out how bad my taxes really were. We then had a reason for being in the same place, and the scene made sense.

Class ended with a simple count to ten, and we were released back into the heat. I can't wait for next week!

I apologize for the length of the above novel.
Over and out!
-D

Lately the Playhouse has been quite slow in terms of costuming. We've been slowing down on Rent and tomorrow we'll finish the last few things that we have. I worked on a jacket inspired by the artist Stephen Sprouse who was a fashion designer with a semi graffiti-esque technique in that he commonly would create stripes of writing, most known for his Louis Vuitton bags. We wrote one of his phrases that he is known for "What do you think the 90's are gonna be like?" all over a red sport jacket. It was interesting to do because I had to vary font so every "T" didn't look the same while still trying to create a look that was very symmetrical. An interesting task that takes awhile for someone that is a complete perfectionist like me. I got it done though and was super happy with the outcome. I've enjoyed learning not only about costuming, but also how to incorporate era appropriate pieces into a design.

The end of a begining

Today was the last day of one of the best expereinces in my life.  I had the most wonderful time and am so excited to start making my dreams come true.  This was exactly what an internship should always be.  Thank You Bella Ruse, and the Barker Family.

This Week: THEATRE SURVIVOR

This week at the DMPH is a bit different. Rather than interning for a class taught by a teacher, this week is planned and taught by two of the five education interns, I and another intern were given the task. It's been really interesting, engaging, and challenging. It was initially challenging because we didn't get to design our own concept for the class. Someone else wrote a description for the then unplanned class that is posted on the playhouse website, which serves as a preview for parents looking for which class they want to put their kids in. The other intern and I are challenged to design a class based around that short description. This year the theme for the class is Theatre Survivor. There is no performance at the end of the week, and we have 22 7-9th graders. Tomorrow is the last day of the class, and it's gone very well. We split the kids into two teams (blue and red), with I and the other intern serving as the leader of a team. This week they have been give theatrical, mental, and physical challenges both within their team and against the other team. We've been teaching them about collaboration in life, theatre, and within a survival setting. Each day has had a survival theme, Tuesday for instance was Navigating the Ocean, and half the day was spent outside playing theatre games that were adapted to include water, which the kids loved (everyone was soaked). We're also doing scene and improv work, teaching them the foundation of dramatic structure. Today I taught the kids basic improv, but started them off with a game of Sticks of Death, a game I learned in acting class. I thought it might be too advanced for them, but not only did they do it well, they loved it, and continued to request it throughout the day. The game really seemed to help them grasp the idea of accepting information from your partner, and reacting in an honest way, which helped them with their improv. I've learned a great deal about what goes in to planning a class, and what it's like to be the one in charge all day, but the kids have made it great.

Almost open!

This week has been one of the busiest weeks of the summer, and it will finish when we open two seperate shows, one of which we've put together in less than five days. We've had a lot of half days because of the schedule, and 4th of July falls the day before we open. Things are tight, but I'm feeling pretty confident that we'll be able to open without too many problems. Once we have all five shows open, we'll start getting more free time since we won't be rehearsing.

This morning, the company threw together some costumes from storage and took part in the parade. A board member offered to let us ride in his horse drawn trolley, so we got to sit in the shade and throw candy to little kids. There was a suprising ammount of people in Brownville, considering the population of the town is less than 150. My understanding is that a lot of people from the surrounding area come to see the parade here. Today, I also learned that Jesse James' last gunfight was in Brownville, Ne, right on mainstreet where I walk to lunch everyday. I think every midwestern town has some obscure Jesse James' story, but I guess this one is actually verified.

Happy 4th of July!

Busy Week

This week I am scheduled to work 93 hours. I have to leave here in 15 minutes to catch a ride to work. We opened our first two shows last weekend to sold out crowds. I guess Oprah was in there somewhere.

I found out the other day that I get to be in costume for  one of the shows. I am a venetian soldier and I visible to the audience during some scene changes, so that is why I get a costume.

The hours are long, the pay is amazing, since it is hourly, and you meet a lot of great people. not much sleep is had, and you are soar all the time. I have fulfilled half the length of my contract so far, and apparently it only gets harder. Yay for that.

Every member of the 18 person crew has been injured in some way so far. Some more than others. I am pretty sure I tore the cartilage in my right knee early on. I have been wearing a brace the whole time. We work at a ridiculously fast pace and move some of the biggest and heaviest scenery I have every seen.

The other day I got to be in fall arrest equipment for one of our changeovers. The opera does not have a traditional fly system so everything is done from chain motors and the 10 coves (catwalks) that run over the stage. 

Only a couple more days

Tomorrow is Fourth of July! Bella Ruse gets to play for an hour and a half and the whole Barker family will be better I cannot wait.  I have learned so much this month that I can only say thank you because words can't describe how blessed I am.  I only hope to keep learning and learning like this because if I do everything I want will happen.

I Miss the Mountains

I am begrudgingly back in the States. Ireland is my favorite place in the entire world and I am going to do my best to move back there after I graduate. Here's hoping they have lots of theatre programs!

But about theatre things. I saw Billy Elliot at the Victoria Palace on the West End. It was nothing short of magical! The talent that these children have at such a young age is amazing, and the adult cast shined as crass but loving supporters of Billy. Elton John's music is captivating, powerful, and electric. The set was brilliantly designed, with a rotating staircase, removable walls, pieces that the actors pulled out from the walls, and my favorite, a connectable police barricade that Billy used in one of his dance routines. The dark world of the miner's strike was easily perceptible in the damp and cold of the colors of the set and the actor's attire. And Billy, with so much honesty and heart, really gave a powerhouse performance that I will not soon forget. If you're ever in London, go see the show!

Also a word of advice: if you think you put on enough sunscreen in Rome, you haven't. My first-degree burns are living proof of that.

Over and ouch,
-D

Coming Down to the Last Few Days

Had an amazing day today with the whole barker family.  These people are so kind and truly happy with their lives.  Kay and Joseph are so blessed by their family supporting all their dreams and everything their kids want to accomplish.  I will be sad to leave because I feel apart of the Barker clan and have truly been blessed with this internship.

So you know that storm that hit the east coast? Yea...that hit us.

So fun story...we haven't had internet since last Friday. But now that we do, time to update this thing. Here's what I've learned: We can strike a stage really quickly. We had to do it twice; before the show started, but the band was up so that was an immediate tear down. The second time happened half way through our last show yesterday. So with that one show is done. We stuck the set today, which took 6 hours. Tomorrow we start to work on the set for The Aracoma Story and with a chance of rain in the forcast AND only having a week before tech, we could be pushing late nights for painting. No rest yet and probably not till Sunday...if that, but such is life.

Back in Orange City! We made back safely from Minneapolis, now we just have the Fourth of July show left before they move.  I had a great weekend, I am liking Minneapolis more and more and its a great music scene! Gives me some good ideas to think about in the future.