New Year – Almost on my merry way!

Well, a very belated HAPPY NEW YEAR to everyone!

It’s final exam time here, so I will write this quickly.  Once I’m done with school, I keep telling myself, I will finally have enough free time to update this thing on a regular basis.  Whew.

Onwards…
- I auditioned for a conservatory in NYC in late December.  The audition went okay, not as well as I’d hoped.  I probably won’t be able to attend without a scholarship.  I feel like I probably got in but without any scholarship.  Of course, I’m probably being over-confident.  I just hope, in the very least, that I got in!

Also, I am tempted to reveal its name, but I think I am going to institute a new policy in this blog.  I’ve been following it for the most part, but now I’m going to write it down.  In the interest of not dwelling on the negative, I won’t name any names unless it reflects something positive in my acting career.  Furthermore, since I’m still building up the basis for my career (ie I’m not completely out there just yet devoting all my time to it, because I’m not done with school), I want to keep everything as anonymous as possible.  Just for my peace of mind.

- PA final scene = went wonderfully.  The best part about the PA professor is that he doesn’t hide his feelings.  If he’s disappointed with your work, you can see it on his face and hear it in his voice as he tries to give you helpful direction.  Conversely, if he’s happy with your work, you can tell right away and he will offer sincere compliments.  The latter occurred.  I was so relieved.  I bumped into him on the street the next day, and he not only said hi, but he remembered my name.  I guess that sounds silly, but since he’s kind of a big deal, he was absent for about half of our class working on something else.  Also, the class was fairly large, so we weren’t really a tight-knit group.  Anyway.  That was good.  The end.

- AA final monologue = blah.  I had trouble finding material, and I wasn’t in love with what I did.  Always bad.  The professor said that I should have chosen a stronger character instead of a vulnerable one, because I’m short and it already seems like I could do “vulnerable” given my size.  So something more feisty would be more effective, is what I understood him to say.  He kept referring to the Mamet scene I had done in September in a complimentary manner, which freaked me out, because shouldn’t I have improved from the beginning of the semester?  I’m flattered he loved my work then, but I wish I’d done a better job with the monologue or chosen a different one to show progress.  Also, I think I did well on every scene except the last, because I found Beckett so difficult.  And then not so great on the monologue.  On a positive side, he said that I’m a very economical actor, always believable, and that my gestures in the monologue were very meaningful and helped its intensity.  This is a personal feat, since I had been told in the past that I needed to work on my gestures.  The best part about it is that I had really been in the moment, and the gestures grew out of that.  So, great.

- Headshots!  I got new ones taken yesterday.  I really took a chance on this one.  I had them done in New England by professional photographers who are still looking to increase their business.  Good:  They were very willing to accommodate my needs.  The makeup artist was late, and they were cool with staying more than an hour longer than planned for the shoot.  They let me borrow a shirt for a third look and offered many great suggestions to help me look my best in how I wanted to come across in the photos.  Since they’re in New England, they weren’t too expensive.  Bad:  I’m pretty broke, so it was still a sizable hit to my bank account.    Okay, so they mainly do weddings.  I had to explain fundamental actor headshot rules to them (but they were willing to listen to, learn about, and implement my requests).  The makeup artist made me look too old, I think.  I usually look like a teenager, but I think I looked 20-something.  The photographers were so happy with the shoot (and eager to show their work), that a few hours later they posted a retouched image on their blog.  Bad for my google presence!  The picture is okayyy. I know that this isn’t the final product for me.  This was just for them to help promote their work.  I’m okay with that, I think.  I’ll get my photos in a week.  Hopefully, at least one or two good ones will help me book projects and find some representation.  Fingers crossed.  And then I’ll update my headshots with an experienced NYC headshot photographer.

- Upcoming:  two MFA auditions.  I feel conflicted about these, because I just want to get started on my career already.  There’s a 2% chance I’ll get into either one, I figure, and they’re two schools I would love to attend.  So… go team!

- Goals.  I need to rework my short- and long-term goals.  I fell a bit behind on the list I’d made over the summer.  More on goals in the next entry, hopefully!  Meanwhile, I need to study for finals, say my goodbyes, and work on my MFA audition material.  BLAHBLAHBLHABLAH

So busy!

My, oh, my!  School has been extremely time-consuming lately.  I’ll keep this short.

I auditioned for maybe five shows, was called back for one, but did not get the part.  Not a big surprise, since the community is so tight knit (read: a clique).  Also, I don’t think I made strong enough choices when I auditioned for some shows.  But that’s that.

Good news:  I got into the advanced acting class.  It’s a little awkward, since everyone else knows each other.  In this twelve person class, I definitely feel like the outsider.  It’s pretty intimidating, and I really do feel as though the pressure is on to step up my game to prove my worthiness.  It was competitive to get into the class, and it really showcases some of the strongest actors on campus.  I’m honored I got in.  I know that some people are like “who are you??? where did you come from???” but most are being nice.

I lotteried into the Practical Aesthetics class.  The professor is brilliant.  I’m so glad I’m taking this class.  I can’t wait to apply this technique.

I’m also taking a vocal production class.  The progress will be slow, but I’m looking forward to fixing some of my bad habits.  I need to breathe more!

Other than that, it’s been hard getting myself together for the future.  I haven’t worked out as often as I had planned.  I don’t want to take headshots until I lose some weight.  I’m by no means overweight, but my face is somewhat round.  And I just want it to come across as thin.  Nevermind the fact that keeping fit is important!  But really, I feel paralyzed without head shots.  Blah.

I just checked in with my original list of short and long term goals.  I think I’m on track for the most part.  But if I want to audition for grad schools, I will have to work harder.  School has gotten me a little bit off track.

Until next time!

Classes are starting

I have two auditions for classes on Tuesday.

The old version of the monologue that I found a few days ago actually works pretty well for me.  By the end, I cry like a baby.  The prep doesn’t take very long.  The length feels just right.  It ends naturally.  I’m cautiously elated.

If I can perform this monologue in the auditions the way I have been, then I feel fairly confident about getting into at least one of the classes.  Then again, I’m not sure if I’ll be asked to perform the monologue at one of the auditions.  I only know for certain that we’ll be doing monologues at one audition.

We’ll see.  I’m feeling nervous but also confident.  I know I have the potential to deliver, but I’m not sure if I’ll be able to overcome my nerves in order to actually deliver.

I’ve put the other monologues on the back burner for the moment, so that I could focus on honing my technique by reading acting books and by practicing the Sooze monologue.  My goal is to take an acting class here.  I know that there’s a good chance I won’t be accepted, since so many people audition and they take very few.  But I think that I have a good chance.

Anyway, that’s it for now.  I should know my fate by Wednesday.  And on Thursday, I can interview to try to get into the Voice class.  So if I don’t get into either acting class, then hopefully I can talk my way into the Voice class.