ok, so I had a good time with the stage hand gig and now my rent is paid for next month, so i'm back at DCT. actually, I was back on Friday, but it wasn't the best day-Thursday night I took my truck into the shop because it has a leak in the clutch fluid- so I took my brothers motorcycle to work. first problem of the day which should have been a warning sign is the throttle was having some issues in the last mile.- (I will finish this story later because i'm going to go in order of the days events)
at DCT I started by drilling a shit ton of holes in some pipe to hang the picture frames for Flat Stanley-it's 28 feet long (2 pieces 14 feet long that connect in the center) and it's really not that many holes, but it filled up the morning, during this, I also managed to fling some flaming metal shrapnel into one of the mutton chops, where it continued to smoke for a few seconds longer then was comfortable.... and I gashed my arm on a metal burr which took a lot longer then it should have to stop bleeding...... at lunch the motorcycle started up fine and ran great for the 500 yards I rode it across a busy intersection for food.
after lunch I ran eye bolts through all of those holes I drilled, but because Home Depot only had enough eye bolts in the size that was about 3 inches too long, I had to cut the bolts- twice- The deep well socked head couldn't fit all the way on it because it was too long, so I could only drive the nut on a little over half way before I had to cut it, then after I did that and got all the nuts on all the way, I had to cut them as short as possibly to keep them out of the way. then I did just a few minor carpentry things- cut a couple boards, nail then to a flat, then fix a Christmas tree to make it tour worthy. after that we spent the last hour doing an extremely thorough cleaning of the shop. then I left for home.
thats when my night got really exciting. I live about 25-30 miles away from DCT- about 10 miles into the lovely drive on the highway, the motorcycle starts having issues, and actually dies on me- so I pulled over to the shoulder (coincidentally about a 100 yards from the exit I would have to take from that direction to get to where my dad works) so I called my brother to tell him his bike is a piece of shit, then I had my dad come pick me up- he showed up anyways- then decided it would be best if he went and got the trailer, and I stayed with the motorcycle.....due to rush hour traffic, this took him about 2 hours....... (it's normally a 20 minute drive each way) I didn't even get home until about 9:30 pm....it's now Monday, my truck is still in the shop, the motorcycle is pretty much out of commission.... I have no vehicle at the moment......it's gonna be a fun week.....
I hope y'all have a better week then me!
Justin (Chops) Voga
Monday, June 30, 2014
Sunday, June 29, 2014
Much Ado About Nothing: Diving In
This past week, rehearsals finally started for "Much Ado". It's a very welcome thing. I'm ready to be up and going with this project, and so far it's been good.
"Much Ado About Nothing" consists of a lot of scenes within five acts. The director and a couple people helping her have made cuts to the script, but it's still several hours long. We rehearse in small segments, either full scenes or partial scenes. A few of the cast members are in other shows, so we haven't had everyone all at once yet. This coming Saturday is a stumble-thru of what we are calling Act 1.
I appreciate the direction Angie is taking with doing this Shakespeare show. Words are always important, but I feel that's true even more so with Shakespeare. So far, the rehearsals have been reading through a scene, then breaking it down. We're figuring out exactly what is going on, what is being said, and finding all the little hidden treasures in the script. She is constantly encouraging us to not memorize the words to just say them, but understanding and diving into the script. The words have beauty and meaning, and that needs to come across in how we understand and play our roles.
So after the initial read of the scene and talking about it, Angie gets us up on our feet to give it a go. She'll give suggestions and different tactics to play off of. She definitely has a vision for the show, but she wants us to be involved in it as well.
Angie and I talked about my character Conrade on Wednesday. I've been doing a lot of thinking on my own, and it was great to have her thoughts. The setting is 1960, Virginia, just after JFK's successful election. In our production, Don John (the main villian) has more of a communist persepctive on life and society. Conrade believes and sympathizes with his words and what he stands for. Some of this is due to her background story (which is being created). I've discovered her superobjective and some traits in her character as well. Having a couple days off (my director is in NYC), I'm excited to get back in and explore.
We're supposed to be off book by the 14th, but I should be off here in the next two days. It's always nice to not have the script in hand.
Until next time!
~ Noel VanDenBosch
"Much Ado About Nothing" consists of a lot of scenes within five acts. The director and a couple people helping her have made cuts to the script, but it's still several hours long. We rehearse in small segments, either full scenes or partial scenes. A few of the cast members are in other shows, so we haven't had everyone all at once yet. This coming Saturday is a stumble-thru of what we are calling Act 1.
I appreciate the direction Angie is taking with doing this Shakespeare show. Words are always important, but I feel that's true even more so with Shakespeare. So far, the rehearsals have been reading through a scene, then breaking it down. We're figuring out exactly what is going on, what is being said, and finding all the little hidden treasures in the script. She is constantly encouraging us to not memorize the words to just say them, but understanding and diving into the script. The words have beauty and meaning, and that needs to come across in how we understand and play our roles.
So after the initial read of the scene and talking about it, Angie gets us up on our feet to give it a go. She'll give suggestions and different tactics to play off of. She definitely has a vision for the show, but she wants us to be involved in it as well.
Angie and I talked about my character Conrade on Wednesday. I've been doing a lot of thinking on my own, and it was great to have her thoughts. The setting is 1960, Virginia, just after JFK's successful election. In our production, Don John (the main villian) has more of a communist persepctive on life and society. Conrade believes and sympathizes with his words and what he stands for. Some of this is due to her background story (which is being created). I've discovered her superobjective and some traits in her character as well. Having a couple days off (my director is in NYC), I'm excited to get back in and explore.
We're supposed to be off book by the 14th, but I should be off here in the next two days. It's always nice to not have the script in hand.
Until next time!
~ Noel VanDenBosch
Thursday, June 26, 2014
US Performing Arts Camp
Finally! I got this site to upload my blogs! Okay, so here's the deal, this past week since Thursday, I have been incredibly busy with training and my first week at UCLA.
The summary of my job this summer is working as a mentor to over 50 kids as they go week-by-week taking theatrical classes that range from acting for the camera and digital film to animation and musical theatre conservatory. As a mentor, my job is to look after the kids throughout the day, as well as be a guide as they learn new skills in the area of the arts.
The training days went very well, although they were quite long and tedious. We would get up at 7, and be in the mentor lounge as we would be given manual after manual and we would role play different scenarios that we may have to deal with throughout the summer. There are currently 10 mentors including me and we each had 10 students this first week.
The first week went wonderfully as my group was incredibly sweet. It took them awhile to warm up, but they finally broke the ice with each other. My group was the Digital Film crew and their assignment was to shoot a film with several different scenes and types of shots. I got the honor of being in two of the films that will be shown tomorrow at the showcase. The kids loved the assignment because it sounded like they were gaining so much more knowledge than they had previously.
Different activities throughout the week outside of class include Monday: pizookie night which entails having a cookie sized pizza with ice cream, Tuesday: a guest speaker comes in (Stephen Rider came this week) to talk to the kids about the industry, Wednesday: we take the kids to the Westwood area that includes shops and restaurants, Thursday: Talent Show which means the mentors put on a talent show in front of everyone (I did a poetry slam), and Friday: a "Works In Progress" day that shows off the work of the groups from the week.
I am having a wonderful time and look forward to these next few weeks as we continually gain more kids.
The summary of my job this summer is working as a mentor to over 50 kids as they go week-by-week taking theatrical classes that range from acting for the camera and digital film to animation and musical theatre conservatory. As a mentor, my job is to look after the kids throughout the day, as well as be a guide as they learn new skills in the area of the arts.
The training days went very well, although they were quite long and tedious. We would get up at 7, and be in the mentor lounge as we would be given manual after manual and we would role play different scenarios that we may have to deal with throughout the summer. There are currently 10 mentors including me and we each had 10 students this first week.
The first week went wonderfully as my group was incredibly sweet. It took them awhile to warm up, but they finally broke the ice with each other. My group was the Digital Film crew and their assignment was to shoot a film with several different scenes and types of shots. I got the honor of being in two of the films that will be shown tomorrow at the showcase. The kids loved the assignment because it sounded like they were gaining so much more knowledge than they had previously.
Different activities throughout the week outside of class include Monday: pizookie night which entails having a cookie sized pizza with ice cream, Tuesday: a guest speaker comes in (Stephen Rider came this week) to talk to the kids about the industry, Wednesday: we take the kids to the Westwood area that includes shops and restaurants, Thursday: Talent Show which means the mentors put on a talent show in front of everyone (I did a poetry slam), and Friday: a "Works In Progress" day that shows off the work of the groups from the week.
I am having a wonderful time and look forward to these next few weeks as we continually gain more kids.
This got deeper than I had intended... whoops
So our first 3 day break is fast approaching and I am ecstatic. I can't wait to be back in Ames for a few days. I have made some pretty good friends here and a couple of them who were here in years past have told me that this year is not typical. The company is largely lacking in competence, drive, and professionalism. But I am making the best of it. I take great pride in the work I do in the box office. I enjoy talking to the customers in person or on the phone and brightening their day by either fulfilling their expectation of a friendly and welcoming interaction or surprising them with it.
The shows here are selected explicitly for entertainment purposes, unfortunately. It is fun to provide the audience with an enjoyable evening of theatre, but I want to do theatre that matters. I want to make people think and ask questions like "why am I where I am?" and "how can I put purpose into my life?" This can be done in an entertaining way. Obviously it can because theatre is largely entertainment. But stories do not exist just to entertain. They should teach. They should challenge. They should remind people to care for one another.
There are very few acting challenges in this kind of theatre, which I am very disappointed about. I am here to learn and grow. Not just to showcase what I already know. But unfortunately, I don't feel like I am experiencing much growth in acting. However, I have been challenged to be patient with people who either don't care about the art or whose regard for it does not outmatch their own personal agendas or lack of capability. I am grateful for the opportunity to learn in this way as I am certain I will cross paths and work with similarly frustrating actors for the rest of my acting career, but I would much rather be surrounded by people who are exceedingly more talented than I am so that I could see masterful storytelling first hand every day and be a part of it. I don't want to do things just to do them or to be able to say I did them. Unless I am doing them to do them with excellence. Which would undoubtedly be accompanied by several noble side effects such as growth and learning, beautiful storytelling, deep meaningful relationships, self fulfilment and fulfilment within the company, useful experiences, precision and depth, and above the rest: reminding the audience of their reality and the incredible but fleeting opportunity they have every day to live it with intentionality and with the knowledge that they will never get to do it over again.
I refuse to be robbed of these integral byproducts of this art I love so much. This experience will not deter me from these goals, because I know without a doubt that they are anything but unreasonable. Instead my experiences here will serve to spur me on to do theatre with immense reverence for my own transient existence and that of everyone around me. We only get one chance. And this should not lead us to stress out over it. In fact, it ought to squelch the hold that stress threatens over us. Because in acknowledging that we only have one chance, we should understand that every moment we spend on stress is a moment full of love and meaning lost.
I just can't comprehend people who so easily disregard their mortality and who spend each day just waiting for the next. Where is the purpose? Where is the meaning? What would keep you going? And most of all, in living in such a way, how could you not spend each moment regretting the hundreds before it that you have thrown away and wasted?
Not me. I'm here. And while I'm here, I'm going to live. Not just exist. But live. And I am ineffably excited to spread this gospel in the way I live my life. In hopes that some of the people who are living stagnant, dormant existences will wake up and join me. I sincerely hope so. For their sakes.
W
The shows here are selected explicitly for entertainment purposes, unfortunately. It is fun to provide the audience with an enjoyable evening of theatre, but I want to do theatre that matters. I want to make people think and ask questions like "why am I where I am?" and "how can I put purpose into my life?" This can be done in an entertaining way. Obviously it can because theatre is largely entertainment. But stories do not exist just to entertain. They should teach. They should challenge. They should remind people to care for one another.
There are very few acting challenges in this kind of theatre, which I am very disappointed about. I am here to learn and grow. Not just to showcase what I already know. But unfortunately, I don't feel like I am experiencing much growth in acting. However, I have been challenged to be patient with people who either don't care about the art or whose regard for it does not outmatch their own personal agendas or lack of capability. I am grateful for the opportunity to learn in this way as I am certain I will cross paths and work with similarly frustrating actors for the rest of my acting career, but I would much rather be surrounded by people who are exceedingly more talented than I am so that I could see masterful storytelling first hand every day and be a part of it. I don't want to do things just to do them or to be able to say I did them. Unless I am doing them to do them with excellence. Which would undoubtedly be accompanied by several noble side effects such as growth and learning, beautiful storytelling, deep meaningful relationships, self fulfilment and fulfilment within the company, useful experiences, precision and depth, and above the rest: reminding the audience of their reality and the incredible but fleeting opportunity they have every day to live it with intentionality and with the knowledge that they will never get to do it over again.
I refuse to be robbed of these integral byproducts of this art I love so much. This experience will not deter me from these goals, because I know without a doubt that they are anything but unreasonable. Instead my experiences here will serve to spur me on to do theatre with immense reverence for my own transient existence and that of everyone around me. We only get one chance. And this should not lead us to stress out over it. In fact, it ought to squelch the hold that stress threatens over us. Because in acknowledging that we only have one chance, we should understand that every moment we spend on stress is a moment full of love and meaning lost.
I just can't comprehend people who so easily disregard their mortality and who spend each day just waiting for the next. Where is the purpose? Where is the meaning? What would keep you going? And most of all, in living in such a way, how could you not spend each moment regretting the hundreds before it that you have thrown away and wasted?
Not me. I'm here. And while I'm here, I'm going to live. Not just exist. But live. And I am ineffably excited to spread this gospel in the way I live my life. In hopes that some of the people who are living stagnant, dormant existences will wake up and join me. I sincerely hope so. For their sakes.
W
Tuesday, June 24, 2014
Chops internship update 4
my last post was almost a week ago.... I've not been lazy, but life has been a little hectic the last week with a lot of stuff not relevant to theatre. but that just means I have a large amount re report.
so Thursday of last week we did some building specific stuff- we mostly built some racks for the costume store room and that took an entire morning. for the rest of the day I finished all of the platforms we needed to build for Flat Stanley. On Friday in the morning we started with the flats. we got everything cut listed before lunch, then after words I got a little over half of it framed out.
Yesterday was a simply, yet busy day. I got all of the flats completely built- unfortunately the other intern (who is only in before lunch) was having a bad day so a lot of it took twice as long as normal because of all of the tearing apart and re cuts that had to happen, but it still wasn't too bad. after lunch I found a mistake of my own that usually isn't a big deal unless the designer is either just a little more picky then most, or is an asshole- I cut the angle on the wrong side of a piece of lauan so I had to put it on backwards so they made me tear it off and replace it. after that we made a run to home depot (which is actually right across the street) to get some more supplies, then we put all of the flats on the platforms; hey presto it's starting to look like set pieces!
Today we started fidgeting with the parts of the set they are recycling from the original (non touring) production of this show. we repaired and put together two beds, then we fixed some large picture frames that needed a metric fuck ton of help- and we had to make them sturdy enough to withstand the the abuse of tour life.....and they weren't built well to begin with.....after that we made yet another home depot run for some 1 X lumber, then we build some headers for the flats- essentially they sit on top of the walls and rais up to make then larger, but lower down so they will fit in the trucks.
thats pretty much it for the last week. tomorrow and Thursday I will actually be working with a stage hand company in Fort worth so I can pay the bills.
have a wonderful night!
Justin (Chops) Voga
so Thursday of last week we did some building specific stuff- we mostly built some racks for the costume store room and that took an entire morning. for the rest of the day I finished all of the platforms we needed to build for Flat Stanley. On Friday in the morning we started with the flats. we got everything cut listed before lunch, then after words I got a little over half of it framed out.
Yesterday was a simply, yet busy day. I got all of the flats completely built- unfortunately the other intern (who is only in before lunch) was having a bad day so a lot of it took twice as long as normal because of all of the tearing apart and re cuts that had to happen, but it still wasn't too bad. after lunch I found a mistake of my own that usually isn't a big deal unless the designer is either just a little more picky then most, or is an asshole- I cut the angle on the wrong side of a piece of lauan so I had to put it on backwards so they made me tear it off and replace it. after that we made a run to home depot (which is actually right across the street) to get some more supplies, then we put all of the flats on the platforms; hey presto it's starting to look like set pieces!
Today we started fidgeting with the parts of the set they are recycling from the original (non touring) production of this show. we repaired and put together two beds, then we fixed some large picture frames that needed a metric fuck ton of help- and we had to make them sturdy enough to withstand the the abuse of tour life.....and they weren't built well to begin with.....after that we made yet another home depot run for some 1 X lumber, then we build some headers for the flats- essentially they sit on top of the walls and rais up to make then larger, but lower down so they will fit in the trucks.
thats pretty much it for the last week. tomorrow and Thursday I will actually be working with a stage hand company in Fort worth so I can pay the bills.
have a wonderful night!
Justin (Chops) Voga
Adventures Under the Sea: Making a Splash
I come to you beaming with proud because the kids nailed! opening weekend! It was so great to see all their hard work finally pay off. And I was so impressed with the end product. Rehearsals had been going great, but there is something about a live show that really just amps the kids up. Everyone was making choices that were spot on with their characters, and a lot of kids who had been struggling with certain parts really hit it home. Our Sebastian especially was something to get excited about. She was clearly one of the crowds favorites with her comedic timing, and sass which had completely changed levels from what we saw on Thursday. The audience was having a great time because you could feel that the kids were having a great time. Even when things went wrong (because with children's' theatre, its bound to happen) the kids barreled through. They had a costume malfunction backstage which left our Ursula onstage by herself for several long moments, but she handled it with the grace and poise you would expect from a professional. Another one of our kids apparently threw up from pre-show sugar indulgence right before going on, but me and Kivan didn't even know until afterwards because of the way he dealt with it, and the kids determination to continue and use a table that had only been hastily cleaned from the throw up. At another moment, the music which plays under the dialogue during the climax of the play skipped to the next song, resulting in the music being paused, but the kids just rolled with it. All these snafus just made me more excited because I got to see them deal with it like the professionals they are becoming. It is so different to sit in the audience and not be cataloguing notes, like I had done during rehearsal. I always enjoyed watching the kids during their practices, but being able to watch and truly enjoy it as an audience member was definitely the greatest experience of the whole experience. I can't wait til next weekend to see what that brings. :)
Friday, June 20, 2014
Much Ado About Nothing update
This is my first update since I started, basically because nothing has been going on and the rehearsals are finally starting up. That first read-thru was the Sunday after I got back to town (May 13th) and since then the theatre group members have been planning, making the final cuts to the script, and figuring out a rehearsal schedule. My first rehearsal will be Sunday evening (June 22nd). I have the script that Fourth Room Theatre has cut and changed, but I decided to purchase a First folio edition of the play along with Lexicons so I get a better understanding of the language, words, and thoughts.
The month lay time in between that first rehearsal and actually getting everything into gear has been hard for me. Personally, I feel like the energy has died with these weeks of not getting the group together. I wish we could have gotten together like once a week and kept doing read-thrus. At the same time, it's been a good opportunity to look over the script myself and learn the lines before even getting to rehearsal. So there are pros and cons to each side, as with everything in life.
Oh! Something I should mention: not too long ago, one of the group members emailed and asked if I'd be willing to costume the production. After thinking about it and asking some questions, I said yes. I haven't costumed a show in almost a year and a half, so it will be good to get back into it. I've also never worked with costuming on a show set in the 1960's. Lots of learning experiences with this play!
Basically I'm really excited to finally start weekly rehearsals. The cast is incredible and there are a ton of people here that I've wanted to work with for a long time.
~ Noel
The month lay time in between that first rehearsal and actually getting everything into gear has been hard for me. Personally, I feel like the energy has died with these weeks of not getting the group together. I wish we could have gotten together like once a week and kept doing read-thrus. At the same time, it's been a good opportunity to look over the script myself and learn the lines before even getting to rehearsal. So there are pros and cons to each side, as with everything in life.
Oh! Something I should mention: not too long ago, one of the group members emailed and asked if I'd be willing to costume the production. After thinking about it and asking some questions, I said yes. I haven't costumed a show in almost a year and a half, so it will be good to get back into it. I've also never worked with costuming on a show set in the 1960's. Lots of learning experiences with this play!
Basically I'm really excited to finally start weekly rehearsals. The cast is incredible and there are a ton of people here that I've wanted to work with for a long time.
~ Noel
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