The world premiere of Crown of Shadows, brought to you by The Round House Theatre in Bethesda, is nothing more than a fan fiction of Homer's Odyssey. Clearly it was inspired by the emotionally cliched genre of Stephenie Meyer more than by ancient Greece. Perhaps Telemachus and Calliope (the muse of epic poetry) would have taken each other to Prom if they hadn't been stabbed to death in the final scene.
Oh gods how I thus beseech you! How did you allow this atrocity to happen on stage? Why?!
Saturday, May 19, 2012
Friday, May 18, 2012
Intern Inflation
Describe your Internship Engagement:
5-15-12
Five new interns came in today and now there are more of us than necessary. The ratio of work available per intern capita has become inflated. I have practically nothing to do anymore. I'm not checking in with the PR department because their allotted intern arrived yesterday. It's at this point that I'm beginning to realize that in spite of what they told me during my phone interview, I haven't worked on a complete project from start to finish since I've started because I'm assigned things to do on a day-to-day basis. This was exciting at first because every day was a new surprise but now I've run out of surprises. The wheels are spinning but I'm not going anywhere.
I knew going in that as an intern I would be at the bottom of the food chain but I guess I was hoping to participate in Studio operations in a more meaningful way. As I've said before, I do think it's fantastic that The Studio Theatre encourages the entire staff to attend first rehearsals, see all of our productions, and take advantage of special comp ticket offers through the League of Washington Theatres to see shows elsewhere in the DC area. The benefit of working at the Studio is being a part of its larger network.
Last Tuesday I went to a seminar hosted by one of the professors here in the UCDC Center and I went into this thinking that there wouldn't be very much that would pertain to me. This professor invited UC alumni panelists to come and give us advice on maximizing the potential benefits of our time as interns. Many of them emphasized that their jobs and/or previous internships were tedious and menial but that there is something to be said about being in a professional environment and having face-time with people in the office. After being at the Studio for several weeks I'm beginning to feel that this describes my experience. I'll just have to find other ways of productively spending my time when I'm not working on an assignment.
5-15-12
Five new interns came in today and now there are more of us than necessary. The ratio of work available per intern capita has become inflated. I have practically nothing to do anymore. I'm not checking in with the PR department because their allotted intern arrived yesterday. It's at this point that I'm beginning to realize that in spite of what they told me during my phone interview, I haven't worked on a complete project from start to finish since I've started because I'm assigned things to do on a day-to-day basis. This was exciting at first because every day was a new surprise but now I've run out of surprises. The wheels are spinning but I'm not going anywhere.
I knew going in that as an intern I would be at the bottom of the food chain but I guess I was hoping to participate in Studio operations in a more meaningful way. As I've said before, I do think it's fantastic that The Studio Theatre encourages the entire staff to attend first rehearsals, see all of our productions, and take advantage of special comp ticket offers through the League of Washington Theatres to see shows elsewhere in the DC area. The benefit of working at the Studio is being a part of its larger network.
Last Tuesday I went to a seminar hosted by one of the professors here in the UCDC Center and I went into this thinking that there wouldn't be very much that would pertain to me. This professor invited UC alumni panelists to come and give us advice on maximizing the potential benefits of our time as interns. Many of them emphasized that their jobs and/or previous internships were tedious and menial but that there is something to be said about being in a professional environment and having face-time with people in the office. After being at the Studio for several weeks I'm beginning to feel that this describes my experience. I'll just have to find other ways of productively spending my time when I'm not working on an assignment.
The Music Man at Arena Stage
Arena Stage's production of The Music Man was exactly as I expected it to be: campy, corny, clean, and wholesome.
The end.
The end.
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Commuting to Work Today
I ended up oversleeping a little and I didn't leave the UC Washington Center until 9:55. I called in ahead of time to let the receptionist know that I would be a couple minutes late and to pass the message along to my boss. I got in this morning at 10:02 and my supervisor showed up about 10 or 15 minutes later. I noticed that more people than usual were coming into the office late. Apparently 14th street was shut down and city officials were blocking it off completely, even from pedestrians. This is fairly problematic considering that the Studio Theatre is on 14th street just below the road blockage. I was relieved to know that no one noticed my two-minute tardiness. The increased traffic over the unannounced street closure created quite a bit of drama in the office. Why? ...
...because Obama felt like eating a sandwich.
I wish that I was joking. But they closed the entire street down and wouldn't let people cross on foot to the nearby Starbucks because Mr. President wanted to buy a sandwich. In his defense that particular sandwich shop is exquisite. They use very fancy ingredients and the food is deliciously expensive. I ate there for the first time last week.
http://www.taylorgourmet.com/
Check out what the Washington Post had to say about it:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/goingoutguide/this-presidents-day-eat-like-the-obamas/2012/02/10/gIQAVJHCGR_gallery.html#photo=1
...because Obama felt like eating a sandwich.
I wish that I was joking. But they closed the entire street down and wouldn't let people cross on foot to the nearby Starbucks because Mr. President wanted to buy a sandwich. In his defense that particular sandwich shop is exquisite. They use very fancy ingredients and the food is deliciously expensive. I ate there for the first time last week.
http://www.taylorgourmet.com/
Check out what the Washington Post had to say about it:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/goingoutguide/this-presidents-day-eat-like-the-obamas/2012/02/10/gIQAVJHCGR_gallery.html#photo=1
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Congresswomen Update
The most recent things happening with our little theatre project include finalizations of our original script, the installment of mirrors, and laying out vinyl dance floor for our brand new dance studio and rehearsal space. I am helping the costume designer compile a list of all the items we need to acquire. Our director wants us to get back to him by the end of the week with our research on free and/or cheap inventory that we can rent or borrow from local theaters, our internship sites, or elsewhere.
Our show opens in about a month so I'm glad we are moving into an actual casting and rehearsal phase. We only meet once a week though, and because our director never made a syllabus for the class I have to ask the actors if they feel like showing up to rehearsals outside of our assigned class time. I feel like this process lacks structure but I don't have the authority to put it into place. The professor/director has that authority but chooses not to assert it because he feels that parameters and limitations are restrictive to the creative process. I still don't know how much money we have to play with but he's asking me to create a budget anyways. I guess it comes down to differences in philosophy. I take more of an outside-in approach to art whereas he's more of an inside-out creator. He doesn't want any maximums, caps, or roofs and I get the impression that his least favorite word in the whole world is No.
Sometimes I feel like I am in the dark. I never really know what he wants me to do because he'll tell me that he wants everything from here to the moon and back again, and it's hard to keep the whole thing grounded. I imagine that I will get better at guessing what he wants in the next couple weeks. One of the other students, who has worked with him in the past, has suggested that I learn how to frame things to make it sound like my idea is better. Or better yet, learn how to lead him into thinking that my idea is actually his idea and that it's brilliant because he's the one that thought of it.
I have a lot of respect for my director and I know that he is a great artist but certain aspects of my work feel a little bit like babysitting. The comparison to a child is not meant to belittle him but rather to emphasize his unbridled optimism and enthusiasm for his life's work.
He's told me repeatedly that it's better to ask for forgiveness than permission and I'm still trying to decide if that works for me.
Our show opens in about a month so I'm glad we are moving into an actual casting and rehearsal phase. We only meet once a week though, and because our director never made a syllabus for the class I have to ask the actors if they feel like showing up to rehearsals outside of our assigned class time. I feel like this process lacks structure but I don't have the authority to put it into place. The professor/director has that authority but chooses not to assert it because he feels that parameters and limitations are restrictive to the creative process. I still don't know how much money we have to play with but he's asking me to create a budget anyways. I guess it comes down to differences in philosophy. I take more of an outside-in approach to art whereas he's more of an inside-out creator. He doesn't want any maximums, caps, or roofs and I get the impression that his least favorite word in the whole world is No.
Sometimes I feel like I am in the dark. I never really know what he wants me to do because he'll tell me that he wants everything from here to the moon and back again, and it's hard to keep the whole thing grounded. I imagine that I will get better at guessing what he wants in the next couple weeks. One of the other students, who has worked with him in the past, has suggested that I learn how to frame things to make it sound like my idea is better. Or better yet, learn how to lead him into thinking that my idea is actually his idea and that it's brilliant because he's the one that thought of it.
I have a lot of respect for my director and I know that he is a great artist but certain aspects of my work feel a little bit like babysitting. The comparison to a child is not meant to belittle him but rather to emphasize his unbridled optimism and enthusiasm for his life's work.
He's told me repeatedly that it's better to ask for forgiveness than permission and I'm still trying to decide if that works for me.
Business Model and Mission at the Studio
Describe your Internship Engagement:
(4.23.12)
About two weeks ago my program coordinator back in Irvine flew out to Washington, DC in order to attend administrative meetings and talk about the future of the program. She had arranged with me beforehand to come and visit my internship site and talk to my supervisor, Sarah, about my role within daily Studio Theatre operations. The main reason for her visit was to see how I was doing and get a feel for how likely or unlikely it would be for future UC students to get their internship at the Studio. Since the arts program is such a young addition to the coursework and opportunities available through UCDC the administrators are making every effort possible to make connections with theaters, museums, and other art venues for future UC arts students. So far I've been very happy to hear so much talk and effort from the Higher Ups about the arts program and developing these connections.
It turns out that Sharon was planning on bringing a couple other program coordinators from California with her. There were four of us all together and when we arrived the Director of Administration, Sarah, took us through the building and gave them the same general orientation that I got over a month ago.This ended up being really cool because I got to re-experience some of the awe I felt when I first started. The tour is a chance for Sarah to brag about how nifty the Studio is and highlight its key successes in terms of the Studio mission statement.
The part I find most interesting about the Studio mission statement is the claim that "No theatre of comparable budget size operates such exclusively intimate spaces." So far I find that to be pretty true. Their largest theatre only seats about 200 people. The fact that a key component of their mission is apparent in the design and function of the Studio Theatre building itself seems significant. From the three shows I've seen I can easily say that the work they produce embodies a sense of intimacy in their choice of plays, their excellent theatrical craft, and in the environment they create. It makes me feel like the answer to my professor's question "Is the agency for which you intern actually doing what it claims to be doing?" is "Yes, absolutely."
Sarah's tour also reminded me of another interesting aspect of The Studio Theatre; everything is all under one roof. They own the entire 4 story building and remodeled it about 10 years ago to fit the needs of a growing theatre company. This means that they aren't spending money to rent space off-site. They also own small apartments to house the year-long apprentices and visiting guest artists. The decision to buy and own instead of renting is a great move for a long-term plan. When it comes to business and money I've been impressed so far. Most of The Studio's revenue comes from annual subscriptions purchased by loyal patrons and other single ticket orders. Before coming here I thought that this was completely unheard of. I mean who buys theatre tickets anymore? I thought that theatres had to rely on large donations and grant funding in order to exist. The fact that the Studio is able to donate their tickets to other organizations says a lot.
In the end I was very satisfied with how this visit concluded with my coordinators and I'm eager to continue sharing the value of what I do with them and the administrators here in DC. I'm hoping to get our final production of The Congresswomen project filmed so that everyone can see it and pass it along to perspective students. I also anticipate that my final paper will be published somewhere on the UCDC website like last year's group. that will result from the Arts Core Class discussions and the journaling collected through this blog.
(4.23.12)
About two weeks ago my program coordinator back in Irvine flew out to Washington, DC in order to attend administrative meetings and talk about the future of the program. She had arranged with me beforehand to come and visit my internship site and talk to my supervisor, Sarah, about my role within daily Studio Theatre operations. The main reason for her visit was to see how I was doing and get a feel for how likely or unlikely it would be for future UC students to get their internship at the Studio. Since the arts program is such a young addition to the coursework and opportunities available through UCDC the administrators are making every effort possible to make connections with theaters, museums, and other art venues for future UC arts students. So far I've been very happy to hear so much talk and effort from the Higher Ups about the arts program and developing these connections.
It turns out that Sharon was planning on bringing a couple other program coordinators from California with her. There were four of us all together and when we arrived the Director of Administration, Sarah, took us through the building and gave them the same general orientation that I got over a month ago.This ended up being really cool because I got to re-experience some of the awe I felt when I first started. The tour is a chance for Sarah to brag about how nifty the Studio is and highlight its key successes in terms of the Studio mission statement.
The part I find most interesting about the Studio mission statement is the claim that "No theatre of comparable budget size operates such exclusively intimate spaces." So far I find that to be pretty true. Their largest theatre only seats about 200 people. The fact that a key component of their mission is apparent in the design and function of the Studio Theatre building itself seems significant. From the three shows I've seen I can easily say that the work they produce embodies a sense of intimacy in their choice of plays, their excellent theatrical craft, and in the environment they create. It makes me feel like the answer to my professor's question "Is the agency for which you intern actually doing what it claims to be doing?" is "Yes, absolutely."
Sarah's tour also reminded me of another interesting aspect of The Studio Theatre; everything is all under one roof. They own the entire 4 story building and remodeled it about 10 years ago to fit the needs of a growing theatre company. This means that they aren't spending money to rent space off-site. They also own small apartments to house the year-long apprentices and visiting guest artists. The decision to buy and own instead of renting is a great move for a long-term plan. When it comes to business and money I've been impressed so far. Most of The Studio's revenue comes from annual subscriptions purchased by loyal patrons and other single ticket orders. Before coming here I thought that this was completely unheard of. I mean who buys theatre tickets anymore? I thought that theatres had to rely on large donations and grant funding in order to exist. The fact that the Studio is able to donate their tickets to other organizations says a lot.
In the end I was very satisfied with how this visit concluded with my coordinators and I'm eager to continue sharing the value of what I do with them and the administrators here in DC. I'm hoping to get our final production of The Congresswomen project filmed so that everyone can see it and pass it along to perspective students. I also anticipate that my final paper will be published somewhere on the UCDC website like last year's group. that will result from the Arts Core Class discussions and the journaling collected through this blog.
Interviewing SCR pt. 3
I got the internship!
More details to come later when I receive my contracts in the mail.
More details to come later when I receive my contracts in the mail.
Typing up Call-Back Sides
Describe your internship engagement:
(5/3/12)
I spent most of the day typing up
sides. We are holding call-backs for an upcoming show and the Casting Coordinator needed me to create a word document that
she can send over to the director for approval. The director
specified which scenes she wanted read and the casting coordinator
told me to type them all up. These are the sides. They are lines from
the script and the entire scene being played is cut down to about a
minute or two of performance time. At the call-backs the actors will
read from these sides that I typed up for various parts so that the
director can determine how people look and feel as different
characters. After that the parts will be cast and the show will move
into rehearsal mode.
Technically
I know how to touch type, so I didn't think the task of typing the
sides into Word would take that long, but it did. I wanted to make
sure that all of the lines were typed accurately, exactly as they
appear in the script. It's one of those jobs that would be incredibly
fast and easy if I had access to a computer with Adobe Acrobat (the full program and not just the reader) or
some other program that does OCR (optical character recognition). But
once again I encounter the problem of not having full access to
everything in the office and having to track down the IT guy to
temporarily fix this situation. Then once I do find him he has to sit
down and make this one-time-exception so I can do the job that was
assigned to me. I figured by the time I found him, and had all the
script pages scanned and turned into recognizable text, I would run
into printer issues again. So I did this job the long way instead because it would take just as long and ended up being easier. I couldn't
save the side documents on the drive that the Casting Coordinator
wanted me to because I can't access it. The IT guy told me that he
can't let me into the Production Drive on the server because it's a security issue.
My Legacy at Studio
Describe
your internship engagement:
(5/2/12)
This
afternoon I made more contact sheets for the PR department. Usually
on Wednesdays all of the interns are there so it's hard to keep us
all busy. Somehow I managed. I think this is because I was willing to
do really tedious work, just for the sake of staying busy. My biggest
project was cleaning off the work table in the PR section of the
office. It was piled pretty high with programs from previous
performances, newspapers, promotion and marketing materials, food,
photos, and other miscellaneous items that had collected. It took me
about an hour or so but I got the table completely cleared. In the
process of doing so, I had to make sure that all of the departments
that needed copies had enough programs before I dumped them in
recycling. This gave me a chance to walk around and talk to people
which is nice. Interaction is fun. So at this point my lasting legacy
in the PR department is a clean work space. I think the fridge in the
break room is coming up pretty soon too.
My other
super exciting job was taking out the mail. Doing errands isn't so
bad because I get to leave the office and go for a short walk.
IT Issues
Describe your internship engagement:
(5/1/12)
I didn't do anything too exciting. Recently I've been helping out in PR a lot even though technically I'm an administrative intern. I feel alright with this. Granted, I didn't expect to do PR work when I first applied but I find the opportunity to explore another department beneficial. My expectation with this internship was to gain new knowledge and observe the inner workings of a successful mid-size professional theatre company. I suppose I can do that from any department. Their year-long apprentice recently left so PR is under-staffed.
While sitting in their section I taught myself how to make photo contact sheets using the files off of our production stills CD for The Bachelorette and The Big Meal. My task of creating these pdf files compiling all the pictures was easy but printing them out was difficult. Since I'm a lowly intern my computer login has very restricted access to the servers and printers around the office. Oftentimes I can't do the jobs assigned to me without tracking down the IT guy because I don't have permission to access information or use the fancy printers. The IT guy likes to hide away from his desk, so finding him is rather troublesome. I've mentioned to him several times that the full-time staff expects me to have the same level of access they do and that this impacts my efficiency because the fact of the matter is that I do not.
Other than working around the printer issues I didn't do much else. It was pretty slow. I always bring my laptop to work so that I can do homework or side projects in my down time. I figure sitting in the copy room on my laptop is great way of screaming "I'm not busy right now! Give me a job to do!" and more often than not someone assigns me a new task. If that doesn't work I start going around the office asking people if there is anything I can do for them.
Friday, May 4, 2012
So Much To Blog About and So Little Time
Too many things:
1) I went to see a production this evening called Crown of Shadows: The Wake of Odysseus at the Round House Theatre in Bethesda, MD. It was rather lame despite the epic sounding title.
2) I got the internship at South Coast Repertory! I have a job lined up! Now I just have to figure out what I'm doing this summer...
3) A certain someone just came back from Japan so I'm happy that he's back in California again where it's so much easier to determine the time difference.
4) Thursday night I saw The Big Meal at The Studio Theatre and it was amazing. It brought me to tears.
5) The Congresswomen which I am stage managing is coming along slowly. I'm running into interesting challenges and I got to work with plexiglass, plywood, and contact cement earlier today. Safety goggles, respirator face masks, and the whole nine yards. We made the whole 3rd floor smell like paint fumes. The people in their offices must have loved us.
6) Later today (May 5th) I'm seeing a production called Hamlecchino at Gallaudet University. It's being produced by a company which specializes in physical theatre and commedia dell'arte. An afternoon of drama, italian, and ASL? I think so.
7) I'm doing the networking thing. I had coffee with an alumni from Berkeley last week and we're talking about meeting up again for a Happy Hour social with some friends who work at The Kennedy Center.
8) I'm seeing The Taming of the Shrew on Sunday. One of my professors is in it.
Did I mention that every show I go to is free? I'd elaborate on how awesome this is in more detail except that it's 3am and I've got stuff planned for tomorrow. Today.
Oh yeah and I'm also graduating. It's going to be a huge deal and I'm trying to help plan a celebratory party for the occasion. While doing the school thing and make an itinerary for when my mother flies over to visit DC later in June.
1) I went to see a production this evening called Crown of Shadows: The Wake of Odysseus at the Round House Theatre in Bethesda, MD. It was rather lame despite the epic sounding title.
2) I got the internship at South Coast Repertory! I have a job lined up! Now I just have to figure out what I'm doing this summer...
3) A certain someone just came back from Japan so I'm happy that he's back in California again where it's so much easier to determine the time difference.
4) Thursday night I saw The Big Meal at The Studio Theatre and it was amazing. It brought me to tears.
5) The Congresswomen which I am stage managing is coming along slowly. I'm running into interesting challenges and I got to work with plexiglass, plywood, and contact cement earlier today. Safety goggles, respirator face masks, and the whole nine yards. We made the whole 3rd floor smell like paint fumes. The people in their offices must have loved us.
6) Later today (May 5th) I'm seeing a production called Hamlecchino at Gallaudet University. It's being produced by a company which specializes in physical theatre and commedia dell'arte. An afternoon of drama, italian, and ASL? I think so.
7) I'm doing the networking thing. I had coffee with an alumni from Berkeley last week and we're talking about meeting up again for a Happy Hour social with some friends who work at The Kennedy Center.
8) I'm seeing The Taming of the Shrew on Sunday. One of my professors is in it.
Did I mention that every show I go to is free? I'd elaborate on how awesome this is in more detail except that it's 3am and I've got stuff planned for tomorrow. Today.
Oh yeah and I'm also graduating. It's going to be a huge deal and I'm trying to help plan a celebratory party for the occasion. While doing the school thing and make an itinerary for when my mother flies over to visit DC later in June.
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Food for Thought: FairTax
I know that at this point I don't really have a solid audience on this blog and therefore posing a question for debate will yield no response... But I've decided to post one here anyways.
While researching my assigned congresswoman for my Politics of Theatre class (Lucille Roybal-Allard CA-D House of Rep 34th District Downtown LA, Downey, etc) I came across a very interesting website called On The Issues:
www.ontheissues.org
This website breaks down how congresspeople vote on various issues and even has a quiz, which I'm currently working my way through quite arduously, which matches your responses, opinions, and stances on various issues with those of congresspeople up for election. I think this is pretty cool. The quiz is forcing me to think about issues I try to avoid thinking about most of the time because it's hard brain work and isn't a whole lot of fun. I realize this kind of attitude is probably detrimental to my development as a knowledgeable, responsible, and politically active constituent so maybe by sharing something cool I've found on the Internet with a faceless audience I can quasi-justify myself. Anyways, as I'm making my way through this quiz:
http://www.ontheissues.org/Quiz/Quiz2010.asp?quiz=Pres2012
I came across the issue of "Make taxes more progressive." Clicking on the issue itself takes me to an information page that spells out for me "Strongly supporting this issue means that you believe..." and other statements that are meant to help me clarify how I stand. Essentially these are pages that should be entitled "On the Issues For Dummies." The information page on this particular issue had a link to another website about a proposed tax reformation called FairTax. So I went there because I had never heard of it before:
http://www.fairtax.org/site/PageServer?pagename=HowFairTaxWorks
In a nutshell the idea is to abolish the IRS and income tax and instead create a national sales tax that will fund all of our federal programs. The effect of simplifying the tax code and encouraging consumption is beneficial for individuals as well as businesses because people are only taxed on what they buy instead of being taxed on what they make. According to the information on their website. There is also a pre-bate program (in the sense of being opposite of a rebate or reimbursement) meant to support low-income families by allocating money to be spent on costs of living up to the poverty level to counteract the economic burden of paying tax on everyday goods.
The FairTax website makes this sound like a great idea but I'm open to hearing potential problems. Obviously this means that everything becomes more expensive due to the added tax but theoretically we earn more money because we keep our entire paycheck. As a soon-to-be-graduate this is only slightly terrifying because my future prospects of a steady substantial paycheck in the theatre and entertainment industries are slim. The FairTax website also seems to omit any plans for how each of the individual states will get their necessary funding out of this new proposed plan:
http://www.fairtax.org/site/PageServer?pagename=grassroots_state_sites
(note that California is not listed here)...
Food for thought. What do you think?
While researching my assigned congresswoman for my Politics of Theatre class (Lucille Roybal-Allard CA-D House of Rep 34th District Downtown LA, Downey, etc) I came across a very interesting website called On The Issues:
www.ontheissues.org
This website breaks down how congresspeople vote on various issues and even has a quiz, which I'm currently working my way through quite arduously, which matches your responses, opinions, and stances on various issues with those of congresspeople up for election. I think this is pretty cool. The quiz is forcing me to think about issues I try to avoid thinking about most of the time because it's hard brain work and isn't a whole lot of fun. I realize this kind of attitude is probably detrimental to my development as a knowledgeable, responsible, and politically active constituent so maybe by sharing something cool I've found on the Internet with a faceless audience I can quasi-justify myself. Anyways, as I'm making my way through this quiz:
http://www.ontheissues.org/Quiz/Quiz2010.asp?quiz=Pres2012
I came across the issue of "Make taxes more progressive." Clicking on the issue itself takes me to an information page that spells out for me "Strongly supporting this issue means that you believe..." and other statements that are meant to help me clarify how I stand. Essentially these are pages that should be entitled "On the Issues For Dummies." The information page on this particular issue had a link to another website about a proposed tax reformation called FairTax. So I went there because I had never heard of it before:
http://www.fairtax.org/site/PageServer?pagename=HowFairTaxWorks
In a nutshell the idea is to abolish the IRS and income tax and instead create a national sales tax that will fund all of our federal programs. The effect of simplifying the tax code and encouraging consumption is beneficial for individuals as well as businesses because people are only taxed on what they buy instead of being taxed on what they make. According to the information on their website. There is also a pre-bate program (in the sense of being opposite of a rebate or reimbursement) meant to support low-income families by allocating money to be spent on costs of living up to the poverty level to counteract the economic burden of paying tax on everyday goods.
The FairTax website makes this sound like a great idea but I'm open to hearing potential problems. Obviously this means that everything becomes more expensive due to the added tax but theoretically we earn more money because we keep our entire paycheck. As a soon-to-be-graduate this is only slightly terrifying because my future prospects of a steady substantial paycheck in the theatre and entertainment industries are slim. The FairTax website also seems to omit any plans for how each of the individual states will get their necessary funding out of this new proposed plan:
http://www.fairtax.org/site/PageServer?pagename=grassroots_state_sites
(note that California is not listed here)...
Food for thought. What do you think?
Saturday, April 28, 2012
Begotten at the Arena Stage
This evening I went to see a production called Begotten: O'Neill and the Harbor of Masks at the Arena Stage. I got my free comp ticket through The Studio Theatre and I ended up sitting right behind one of my co-workers from the Studio's PR Department. He decided to redeem his comp ticket this evening as well.
Putting all coincidences aside, I've never experienced Eugene O'Neill in this way before. This production was an original workshop collaboration between Arena Stage and Georgetown University. It told the story of the story-teller. The script manifested the experimental nature of the work from which it derived and I felt that its nonconventional structure was not only artistic but transcendental in nature. Begotten is a presentation of some of Eugene O'Neill's most obscure writings which include a short play entitled Fog, his poetry, biographies, journals, letters, material from interviews, and other related sources. The director adapted these materials for the stage and stitched them together into a cohesive narrative embodying not only the work but the legacy and philosophical turmoils of the American dramatist. This production is part of the Eugene O'Neill Festival which also includes performances of Ah, Wilderness! (a play in which I myself acted back in high school understudying Essie Miller), Strange Interlude, Long Day's Journey into Night, and other lectures, workshops, discussions, and readings continuing into next month.
Although the entire show was very well done I'd say my favorite scene was the last. My professor from the Arts Core Seminar had seen this production and told me that this scene was intriguing. O'Neill wrote a monologue from the perspective of his dying dalmatian which he called Last Will and Testament of Silverdene Emblem O'Neill (An Extremely Distinguished Dog). At first I wasn't sure how this piece would fit into the rest of the play because it seemed so bizzarre and absurd. Yet the way that this piece was performed was incredibly rich, dynamic, and effective and still fit within the framework of the show overall. The actor playing Son (Eugene O'Neill) performed the dog while the actor playing Father (James O'Neill) spoke the words that the dog was communicating through his canine body and thoughts as they were originally written by the playwright. Clark Young and Rick Foucheux's depiction of this piece was stunningly well-crafted. Father, Foucheux, created the illusion of Son being his loyal dalmatian with head-scratches and affectionate pettings in exactly the same manner one expects to observe between a man and his companion dog. Clark Young's portrayal of the dalmatian was so convincing (in the complete absence of any telling props or costumes by the way) that his death at the feet of his master made me choke up quite a bit.
I'd say that this evening was another wonderful night at the theatre and hopefully next time I go to see something I will successfully convince a friend to come with me. I'm thinking The Big Meal at the Studio is up next.
Putting all coincidences aside, I've never experienced Eugene O'Neill in this way before. This production was an original workshop collaboration between Arena Stage and Georgetown University. It told the story of the story-teller. The script manifested the experimental nature of the work from which it derived and I felt that its nonconventional structure was not only artistic but transcendental in nature. Begotten is a presentation of some of Eugene O'Neill's most obscure writings which include a short play entitled Fog, his poetry, biographies, journals, letters, material from interviews, and other related sources. The director adapted these materials for the stage and stitched them together into a cohesive narrative embodying not only the work but the legacy and philosophical turmoils of the American dramatist. This production is part of the Eugene O'Neill Festival which also includes performances of Ah, Wilderness! (a play in which I myself acted back in high school understudying Essie Miller), Strange Interlude, Long Day's Journey into Night, and other lectures, workshops, discussions, and readings continuing into next month.
Although the entire show was very well done I'd say my favorite scene was the last. My professor from the Arts Core Seminar had seen this production and told me that this scene was intriguing. O'Neill wrote a monologue from the perspective of his dying dalmatian which he called Last Will and Testament of Silverdene Emblem O'Neill (An Extremely Distinguished Dog). At first I wasn't sure how this piece would fit into the rest of the play because it seemed so bizzarre and absurd. Yet the way that this piece was performed was incredibly rich, dynamic, and effective and still fit within the framework of the show overall. The actor playing Son (Eugene O'Neill) performed the dog while the actor playing Father (James O'Neill) spoke the words that the dog was communicating through his canine body and thoughts as they were originally written by the playwright. Clark Young and Rick Foucheux's depiction of this piece was stunningly well-crafted. Father, Foucheux, created the illusion of Son being his loyal dalmatian with head-scratches and affectionate pettings in exactly the same manner one expects to observe between a man and his companion dog. Clark Young's portrayal of the dalmatian was so convincing (in the complete absence of any telling props or costumes by the way) that his death at the feet of his master made me choke up quite a bit.
I'd say that this evening was another wonderful night at the theatre and hopefully next time I go to see something I will successfully convince a friend to come with me. I'm thinking The Big Meal at the Studio is up next.
Being an EPA Proctor
Describe your internship engagement:
(4.28.12)
Yesterday I got to play with cool software in the PR department and hang out with actors who came to visit the Studio for the EPA (Equity Principal Auditions). I was sitting behind the table asking for headshots and resumes for a couple hours indicating the Audition Forms and rehearsal calendars.
(4.28.12)
Yesterday I got to play with cool software in the PR department and hang out with actors who came to visit the Studio for the EPA (Equity Principal Auditions). I was sitting behind the table asking for headshots and resumes for a couple hours indicating the Audition Forms and rehearsal calendars.
Actors are a lot of fun to watch. Some are very quiet, some are not, most of them were very polite to me. One of them was a little weird, probably because she was nervous. I particularly enjoyed watching how the behavior of our Casting Coordinator changed as she floated between situations with actors verses her co-workers in the office.
What struck me the most about the EPA was how actors with AEA (Actors Equity Association) membership were treated compared to those who were non-union or EMC (Equity Membership Candidate). I know that being part of Equity comes with perks and benefits but the AEA tag next to certain names seemed a little arbitrary. I was always under the impression that AEA was so illustrious and such a milestone mark of one's professionalism that anyone that was a bonafide union member would be at the top of their game. But the two hours I was audition proctoring told me otherwise. For a lack of anything else to do I took the liberty to glance at resumes and see what people have been up to and how they chose to represent themselves and their work on paper. The prettiest resume I saw was from the last actor to audition before we were all done for the day. This resume was well-organized, readable, done with normal font and normal paper, and most importantly it was dense. A dense resume tells me that you are busy. I think it's better to have a dense resume that I don't have time to read all the way through than have something that looks too light or too padded. My only suggestion might have been to consider moving his Education section closer to the bottom so that all his Theatre credits would be the first thing I see after his name/contact/basic info. Although he did go to Tisch School of the Arts at NYU so that does leave quite an impression...
In addition to having a sharp-looking resume this actor also decided to talk to me and save me from dire boredom. He was friendly and I enjoyed the random networking opportunity. He was confident and down-to-earth and I hope that this carried with him into his audition.
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Interviewing SCR pt. 2
I think my phone interview went pretty well last Friday. The Production Stage Manager didn't ask me any funky questions that I didn't know how to answer. He wanted to know what I was doing in DC, my strengths/weaknesses, how I got into stage management, my "management style", and my biggest pet peeve. I thought the most interesting question was "Assuming that you get the year-long stage management internship here at South Coast Repertory what will you do afterwards?"... well... June 2013 is a long ways off for me and I haven't gotten that far in my planning. So I gave him the first backup plan I could think of and said I'd get a job on a cruise ship and sail the world. Surely my resume screams that I like traveling, what with seven months in Italy and DC and such. I suppose cruise ship is a half-step better than saying "I'll run away and join the circus" but I suppose it's still in the same school of thought.
At the very end he told me that he personally knows one of the people that wrote me a letter of recommendation. He told me to tell this person that he said hi and he wanted to let me know that this person gave him his Actors Equity card back in the 90's. Small world. I think I'd like to have one of those someday.
At the very end he told me that he personally knows one of the people that wrote me a letter of recommendation. He told me to tell this person that he said hi and he wanted to let me know that this person gave him his Actors Equity card back in the 90's. Small world. I think I'd like to have one of those someday.
Arts Core Log #1
Right now I'm taking an "Arts Core Seminar" class at the UCDC Center. Everyone takes a seminar and because I'm participating in the Arts Initiative program this quarter I'm taking a seminar course that's only partially political in nature. The theme is arts activism. Our professor wants us to look at the mission statement of the institution for which we are interning and compare it to our day-to-day work routines. The idea is to examine how each of us as individuals fit into the greater picture of what our internship sites claim to be doing. Basically throughout the quarter I will be critically determining whether or not the Studio Theatre is living up to its proposed goals. I'm supposed to journal everyday... Which I haven't been... So this will be the first.
The mission statement can be found here: http://www.studiotheatre.org/about/
In summary, the Studio Theatre is all about producing exceptional contemporary plays (oftentimes world or US premieres) in small blackbox-style playing spaces. From the two shows I've seen so far this seems to be the case. The close proximity between the actors and the audience demands a level of theatrical craft that can't be faked. The lighting design and fight choreography in Sucker Punch were phenomenal. There was a scene where the two actors were fighting each other back to back, each one reacting to the movements of the other. It made me appreciate just how much training and rehearsal the actors put into the execution and exact timings of their boxing choreography. The final fight scene was done on a rotating platform so that added another aspect of drama and intensity. Overall the play went by very quickly. It started abruptly with the sound of a speed bag being hit and rebounding. Then the house lights went down and the stage was set. The ending felt very much like a sucker punch. A lot of it had to do with the actors' believable portrayal of their characters' struggles and it really hit me in the gut. I don't think that experience could have happened without the feeling of intimate connectedness that the Studio manifests in all 4 of their performances spaces.
The other show I've seen was more like performance art. It was called Dogugaeshi and it was one of the five or so performances comprising the Basil Twist Festival hosted by The Wolly Mammoth and Folger Shakespeare Theatre Companies. The show was based off of an ancient Japanese art form which draws upon puppetry and visual art. The illusion was that the paintings coming on and off stage seemed to be receding into the distance when really the set was only 10 feet deep. The most exciting part for me was a scene where the entire set seemed to deconstruct as a result of some external factor. A storm? The concept of chaos? This show was a little bizarre. All of it was in Japanese but I did get a few subtitles during a scene where people were being interviewed. The video footage of this was projected onto one of the many canvases. The use of two-dimensional projections in this performance was interesting to watch as it overlapped hand-painted images drawn to three-dimensional linear perspective running on and off stage. The project was aesthetically beautiful and cleverly done (I got to have the pleasure of waltzing backstage to check it out) but the context and purpose was a little unclear to me. The reception afterwards with the rest of the cool people that got to go on opening night was pretty fun though.
The mission statement can be found here: http://www.studiotheatre.org/about/
In summary, the Studio Theatre is all about producing exceptional contemporary plays (oftentimes world or US premieres) in small blackbox-style playing spaces. From the two shows I've seen so far this seems to be the case. The close proximity between the actors and the audience demands a level of theatrical craft that can't be faked. The lighting design and fight choreography in Sucker Punch were phenomenal. There was a scene where the two actors were fighting each other back to back, each one reacting to the movements of the other. It made me appreciate just how much training and rehearsal the actors put into the execution and exact timings of their boxing choreography. The final fight scene was done on a rotating platform so that added another aspect of drama and intensity. Overall the play went by very quickly. It started abruptly with the sound of a speed bag being hit and rebounding. Then the house lights went down and the stage was set. The ending felt very much like a sucker punch. A lot of it had to do with the actors' believable portrayal of their characters' struggles and it really hit me in the gut. I don't think that experience could have happened without the feeling of intimate connectedness that the Studio manifests in all 4 of their performances spaces.
The other show I've seen was more like performance art. It was called Dogugaeshi and it was one of the five or so performances comprising the Basil Twist Festival hosted by The Wolly Mammoth and Folger Shakespeare Theatre Companies. The show was based off of an ancient Japanese art form which draws upon puppetry and visual art. The illusion was that the paintings coming on and off stage seemed to be receding into the distance when really the set was only 10 feet deep. The most exciting part for me was a scene where the entire set seemed to deconstruct as a result of some external factor. A storm? The concept of chaos? This show was a little bizarre. All of it was in Japanese but I did get a few subtitles during a scene where people were being interviewed. The video footage of this was projected onto one of the many canvases. The use of two-dimensional projections in this performance was interesting to watch as it overlapped hand-painted images drawn to three-dimensional linear perspective running on and off stage. The project was aesthetically beautiful and cleverly done (I got to have the pleasure of waltzing backstage to check it out) but the context and purpose was a little unclear to me. The reception afterwards with the rest of the cool people that got to go on opening night was pretty fun though.
Monday, April 23, 2012
Highlights From the Helen Hayes Awards
I just got back from the Helen Hayes Awards. I think it ended around 10:45 but then there was a big after-party at a hotel nearby. It felt like Prom. There was an open bar, free food, a photobooth, and a dance floor. I have work in the morning at The Studio so I didn't have too much fun, but it was still really cool going to the awards ceremony. I'm a little tired so I'm going to keep this to bullet points and maybe talk more about them later.
-A guy from The Washington, DC Council came in to read to us the official recognition of Theatre Week in DC this week as approved by the District of Columbia Council something or other. (More intersection of politics and the arts)
-Kevin Spacey made a live appearance. Bill Clinton via a pre-recorded video introduced him and talked about how worthy Kevin is of receiving the Helen Hayes Recognition Award. That was nifty.
-Almost everyone said "wow" and "I wasn't expecting this" or "I didn't prepare a speech because I didn't think I would be receiving this honor" when they gave their acceptance speil.
-Diversity of theaters and shows being presented for nominations and awards
-The song about Thank You to our Corporate Sponsors was amusing. It was to the tune of a song from a musical but I can't recall the name right now.
All in all it was similar to the Tonys but with special shout-outs to DC and the people who make theater in DC possible.
I'm going to bed now. But if I think of anything else I'll write it down in the morning or after I get back from work.
-A guy from The Washington, DC Council came in to read to us the official recognition of Theatre Week in DC this week as approved by the District of Columbia Council something or other. (More intersection of politics and the arts)
-Kevin Spacey made a live appearance. Bill Clinton via a pre-recorded video introduced him and talked about how worthy Kevin is of receiving the Helen Hayes Recognition Award. That was nifty.
-Almost everyone said "wow" and "I wasn't expecting this" or "I didn't prepare a speech because I didn't think I would be receiving this honor" when they gave their acceptance speil.
-Diversity of theaters and shows being presented for nominations and awards
-The song about Thank You to our Corporate Sponsors was amusing. It was to the tune of a song from a musical but I can't recall the name right now.
All in all it was similar to the Tonys but with special shout-outs to DC and the people who make theater in DC possible.
I'm going to bed now. But if I think of anything else I'll write it down in the morning or after I get back from work.
Friday, April 20, 2012
Interviewing SCR pt. 1
Today is another productive and work-filled day for me in DC because I have a phone interview with South Coast Repertory this afternoon and a casual networking opportunity to look forward to tomorrow. I recently applied to the SCR Stage Management Internship for their upcoming 2012-2013 season. The question of why I'm doing so hardly needs to be asked, in my opinion at least. I think I'm a good match for this. Not to mention the fact that I've seen the quality of work being produced there for several years now and I heard about the stage management and production assistant opportunities through the grad students and faulty at UCI. So why wouldn't I want to work for SCR?
When I got an email from the Production Stage Manager to set up a time and date I turned to one of the professors for help with my preparation and for a mock interview. Professor Clark is a career development specialist and he's in the process of coordinating a UC Alumni Mentorship Program for the UCDC students who expressed interest... (more to come later on how that pans out for me). I showed up at Professor Clark's office on the 3rd floor feeling unprepared because I'm not well-versed in answering "Tell me a time when..." types of questions. The entire mock interview took about an hour so that he could give me feedback throughout. He said that he got the impression I was knowledgeable and that I seemed to have reflected upon his questions before. I was surprised by his use of the words "sophisticated" and "well-articulated" because that's not what I hear when I listen to myself. Several of the questions were pertaining to the nature of stage management which were easy because I have put a decent amount of time and thought into that. But I still can't help but doubt the questions I will get will be difficult because they will be coming from someone who already knows what stage management is and what skills, experiences, and qualities are necessary.
After finishing this interview I was reminded of how powerful a medium theatre is. He asked me to talk about my experience studying abroad in Italy and I told him about a production I'd seen called I Cavalli alla Finestra (Horses at the Window). I told him that in spite of the obvious language barrier I was impacted emotionally by the circumstances in which the actors were playing. I had picked up cues from their reactions and the design of technical aspects in addition to whichever phrases of dialogue I had managed to catch. The performance overall had overtaken my understanding of the language and transcended the importance of relying upon words in my engagement with the art.
In the end I told him that I want to be a stage manager because I want to assure my cast and crew that their efforts will be rewarded when the show opens and that their challenges are meaningful in the eyes and readings of their future audience. Not in those words exactly but something like that.
When I got an email from the Production Stage Manager to set up a time and date I turned to one of the professors for help with my preparation and for a mock interview. Professor Clark is a career development specialist and he's in the process of coordinating a UC Alumni Mentorship Program for the UCDC students who expressed interest... (more to come later on how that pans out for me). I showed up at Professor Clark's office on the 3rd floor feeling unprepared because I'm not well-versed in answering "Tell me a time when..." types of questions. The entire mock interview took about an hour so that he could give me feedback throughout. He said that he got the impression I was knowledgeable and that I seemed to have reflected upon his questions before. I was surprised by his use of the words "sophisticated" and "well-articulated" because that's not what I hear when I listen to myself. Several of the questions were pertaining to the nature of stage management which were easy because I have put a decent amount of time and thought into that. But I still can't help but doubt the questions I will get will be difficult because they will be coming from someone who already knows what stage management is and what skills, experiences, and qualities are necessary.
After finishing this interview I was reminded of how powerful a medium theatre is. He asked me to talk about my experience studying abroad in Italy and I told him about a production I'd seen called I Cavalli alla Finestra (Horses at the Window). I told him that in spite of the obvious language barrier I was impacted emotionally by the circumstances in which the actors were playing. I had picked up cues from their reactions and the design of technical aspects in addition to whichever phrases of dialogue I had managed to catch. The performance overall had overtaken my understanding of the language and transcended the importance of relying upon words in my engagement with the art.
In the end I told him that I want to be a stage manager because I want to assure my cast and crew that their efforts will be rewarded when the show opens and that their challenges are meaningful in the eyes and readings of their future audience. Not in those words exactly but something like that.
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
The Theatre of the Congresswomen
For those of you who don't know I'm currently in Washington, DC as part of the University of California's Washington DC Academic Internship Program (UCDC). The University of California owns a building here up the street from the White House on 16th street and we all live here and pretend like we are still in school. But honestly it doesn't feel like school. For me at least. I'm only taking a few classes and none of them require hard political research.
Most of my time thus far has been divided between going to my internship at The Studio Theatre and stage managing a production of The Congresswomen with a group of other drama kids, mostly from UC Santa Cruz. Our version of The Congresswomen is loosely based on the play by Aristophanes but in reality it is a devised theatre piece inspired by Aristophanes' appreciation and development of political satire. So far our original script consists of an interview between Michelle and Marcus Bachmann discussing their counseling clinic and a song in which the congresswoman sings, "I am the very Model of a Tea Party Republican" to the tune of Gilbert and Sullivan's classic Major-General's song. We are particularly interested in exploring issues surrounding the congresswomen of California including Nancy Pelosi, Dianne Feinstein, Barbara Boxer, and Loretta Sanchez.
My role in this process is making some form of order out of the chaos. The collaborative nature of this project is both exciting and daunting artistically. We are without the safety net of someone else's script and our director is engaged in projects outside of class leaving him less available to workshop his and our ideas in any structured way. This is easily the most risky project I've ever been a part of. What if this show doesn't end up being very successful because we had too many ideas and never brought it into focus? What if the Board of Administration doesn't like what we are doing? What if the UC Center decides not to continue the Arts Initiative Program which we are so fortunate to have this quarter? These are the questions I've been asking myself lately when I think about how this production will progress in the next few weeks. I'm optimistic about the director's vision and sense of purpose but doubtful of its reception amongst "the higher ups". So far I've met with the producer twice whose real job is to serve as the Manager of Business and Information Services at the UCDC Center. We've met informally to begin the discussion of our production's artistic direction and two days ago we had our first official production meeting with the rest of the designers and collaborators... While our director was in San Francisco. Overall I think it went smoothly.
Next week I'm going to a Picnic with UC Alumni at a vineyard in Virginia and then I'm pulling out my fancy cocktail dress for the Helen Hayes Awards. The Studio Theatre has been nominated for several so it'll be fun to see my coworkers outside the office.
Most of my time thus far has been divided between going to my internship at The Studio Theatre and stage managing a production of The Congresswomen with a group of other drama kids, mostly from UC Santa Cruz. Our version of The Congresswomen is loosely based on the play by Aristophanes but in reality it is a devised theatre piece inspired by Aristophanes' appreciation and development of political satire. So far our original script consists of an interview between Michelle and Marcus Bachmann discussing their counseling clinic and a song in which the congresswoman sings, "I am the very Model of a Tea Party Republican" to the tune of Gilbert and Sullivan's classic Major-General's song. We are particularly interested in exploring issues surrounding the congresswomen of California including Nancy Pelosi, Dianne Feinstein, Barbara Boxer, and Loretta Sanchez.
My role in this process is making some form of order out of the chaos. The collaborative nature of this project is both exciting and daunting artistically. We are without the safety net of someone else's script and our director is engaged in projects outside of class leaving him less available to workshop his and our ideas in any structured way. This is easily the most risky project I've ever been a part of. What if this show doesn't end up being very successful because we had too many ideas and never brought it into focus? What if the Board of Administration doesn't like what we are doing? What if the UC Center decides not to continue the Arts Initiative Program which we are so fortunate to have this quarter? These are the questions I've been asking myself lately when I think about how this production will progress in the next few weeks. I'm optimistic about the director's vision and sense of purpose but doubtful of its reception amongst "the higher ups". So far I've met with the producer twice whose real job is to serve as the Manager of Business and Information Services at the UCDC Center. We've met informally to begin the discussion of our production's artistic direction and two days ago we had our first official production meeting with the rest of the designers and collaborators... While our director was in San Francisco. Overall I think it went smoothly.
Next week I'm going to a Picnic with UC Alumni at a vineyard in Virginia and then I'm pulling out my fancy cocktail dress for the Helen Hayes Awards. The Studio Theatre has been nominated for several so it'll be fun to see my coworkers outside the office.
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