My company has opened it doors to female theatre artists for Season 2011: Generational Collision.
Propose your project in 500 words or less.
If we think it rocks, we’ll ask for a full proposal and you’ll be in the running to be included in our next season!
I can’t wait to see what we get.
There are lessons we continue to learn over and over in life.
For me, it’s when to ask for help.
Given that I was born and raised in New England, a region known for its dedication to work ethic and the pride behind this work ethic, and I have high-achieving parents and an over-achieving genius brother, asking for help isn’t really in my genes.
When I became a mom, all that changed. That was round one of learning to ask.
Round to began with GAN-e-meed Theatre Project. I have no desire to create theatre on my own. It’s a social enterprise, creating theatre. It’s there for the community and is a community in itself. So I sought out the best I could find. And they, indeed, are the best. And I asked them for help.
But, of course, my pride took over at various points causing a personal system overload. I had to step back over and over, look at the big picture, and remind myself to ask for help.
As it turns out, the only thing you lose when you don’t ask is help. And we can all use a little help.
So, step one for all you like-minded thespians out there who want to create…just ask for help. It’ll be there when you need it.
Lucy Dreaming closes tonight at The Factory Theatre in Boston. Produced by GAN-e-meed as part of FeverFest.
We’re operating on a shoe-string for this one. Well, technically, without a shoe string.
Plus, we got involved late in the game so I didn’t bother to pull in any designers. I figured I could wing it.
And I can.
Except when it comes to lights.
Because I’ve realized that, as a director, the design element that speaks to me the loudest are the lights. Costumes run a close second. The hard part being that I know plenty about costumes and virtually nothing about lighting.
I have visions of halos and shadows, colors and dimensions. But I can’t get it to come across with my meager knowledge of how to plug in a light and not to touch the bulb or it may explode in my face.
This realization is, quite literally, an eye-opener.
So, my next task….get the lighting skills.
Just what I need, right? More to do.
I spent part of my morning in a NH National Guard uniform.
Dress Blues, to be exact. So I was told. I make no claims of knowledge about anything remotely war-like.
I joked, briefly, that I hoped my parents never saw me. They’re old hippies and such. I feel awkward when I find myself talking to someone who ever served in anything army-like. I just don’t know what to say. So I made the joke. And then I realized that the director was in the Guard (duh) and I actually had no idea who else standing in the room in a convincing costume was either.
Awkward silence while I tried to pry my foot out of my mouth.
But, it did get me thinking as I was standing out in the sun alternating between serious and smiling for the photo shoot that there is no guarantee that an actress will ever play a combatant whereas I am almost positive that every professional male actor has at some point played a military role on stage.
I have no point other than that I was thinking about it.
Sometimes I’m like that.
I’m heading back to the silver screen, in a manner of speaking. I used to go on a lot of commercial/film/etc auditions back in the day and I’ve decided I rather like doing that sort of thing. So, I’ve been sending my headshot off to all sorts of unknown film-ish entities to see what comes up. I’ve also been dredging up all the old footage I can find to see if I have enough decent stuff to put together a reel. I don’t think I do. But, in the meantime, I remembered that I actually shot something earlier this year. Very early in the morning, as exemplified by the awesome bags under my eyes and my very bored child who weaseled her way into the scene by nature of simply being there.
Hopefully, I shoot with these lovely folks again later this month on an entirely separate project.
Enjoy.