Hello my friends, it's been awhile...

Hello my friends, it's been a while...

Where do I begin?

Well, the play is moving along swimmingly well, despite the regular mishaps, when people don't show up for certain scenes, rehearsals get cancelled, script changes, we hire and fire new actors...
Yep, all is good at the zoo for disturbed animals that we are now calling a cast and play.
I now have newfound respect for actors.

Their jobs are not easy!

Coming from a film background, I was used to having actors look directly into the camera, or acknowledge the camera's presence, but with theatre - you have to play to the audience. So many rules I feel like I am having to re-learn and forget everything else that I learned about film, for film because these are two different kinds of wildlife and both are hard to tame!

Lessons I have learned so far:
-look into the audience when you have an emotional pivotal moment
When I, the irate mother find my son and Samantha about to go at it, I flip out. At one point, I pull a whole martyr bit - 'are you trying to kill me??" . When I say this, I would usually turn to the actor himself - well, I can't tell you how many times charlotte (the director) yelled at me with 'LOOK AT ME!! LOOK AT ME!!!". It's very awkward, but apparently, when you play to the audience, and let them into our 'moments', they feel like they are more involved with what they are seeing on the stage.

- don't hide your face.
Apparently I have a tendency to hide my face when I am doing my 'big hand gestures' - re: Italian mother. "Make your gestures wide! Exaggerate! Wider ! more open!! "I have shouted to me from the director's chair.

It is all a lesson in how to be comfortable with your body and exaggeration is the key - people in the 5 th row as well as the 55th row have to see you too. Funny though, when I first started acting in films, they told me I was too theatrical, now I am not enough... These snowbushes people are so picky!

And needless to say - being over the top is exhausting! In two scenes, I come out ranting and screaming, mind you, they are really short scenes, but nonetheless! Try doing that over and over again for 3 hours straight!!

Who would have thought that showbiz would be so much work!!

Well, on that note, I am completely spent but will return with some more rants and news ;-)