Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Wherefore art thou, Courtney McLaren?

Wherefore art thou,
Courtney McLaren?


We don’t need Frank when there’s someone pounding the ivories next to us.
It’s true.
Someone is going ham next door.

Hi Courtney.
Hi Caroline.
Oh, sorry…what’s your name?
My name’s Courtney Anne McLaren.
Anne with an E or without.
Anne with an E.
Do people even spell Anne without an E?
They do, and sometimes people are like, you’re not spelling it right and I’m like no. It’s WITH AN E.
There is an E.
It’s the English spelling.
The English spelling.
The English spelling of Anne as opposed to the French.

Courtney is presently curling her hair…
I am. Turning on the curling iron as we speak!

Uh, where are you from?
I am from the center part of Massachusetts, like Fitchburg.
What’s the town that I’ve never heard of?
The town you’ve never heard of is Winchendon, Mass.
WINCHENDON!
Winchendon.
Never fucking heard of it.
A little farm town…I live next to a cheese farm.
Yup.
It’s pretty spectacular.
Yup.

Where do you go to school?
Um, I go to the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts in North Adams, Mass. I’m gonna be a senior.
Yup. Are you excited?
I am excited. It’s exciting but also scary cause like, I assumed I would always be an underclassmen, but I knew it was coming, it’s just like, it came sooner than I thought.
Yeah. Same boat!

What attracted you to this program?
Well, I had a friend who did the program last year…and actually another friend who did it the year before that, and so I definitely knew of it and heard great things from both friends. And then I went to NETC and I got a callback from there to here and I thought, well…it sounds great. And I did my research and…
And now you’re here…
Now I’m here. I sent in my application, they accepted me, and I was like “You know what!”
Why not.
More Shakespeare training is always fantastic.
Did you have a lot in…at school?
I had done a summer at Shakespeare & Company a year before this so I had some from there, and then I had a little bit at school. So yeah, my Shakespeare training…it’s getting up there.

Ow…I’m pulling my hair.
I like, can’t stop watching…I love watching people do their hair.
I’m so slow…
It’s okay.
My hair just really likes being straight…it doesn’t like any change I try to do to it.

What’s your favorite Shakespeare play?
My favorite Shakespeare play…difficult…I gotta go with Twelfth Night. I’ve been so attached to it this past year.
Viola.
Viola.
Vi.
Vi.
Vi…
And Sebaby.
Viola and Sebaby.

If you could play any character…
Any character? Right now? Anne Boleyn…my answer changes as I grow as a person.
That’s what I expect.
Exactly. Right now, it’s Anne Boleyn. Yup. That’s my dream right now.

Do you have a monologue?
Monologue? Sure why not. I’m deciding…

In this brief moment I would like to say Courtney McLaren…Courtney Anne McLaren is the number one Apprentice…UNIVERSALLY, I think.
I appreciate that.

OH.
OH GOSH. A GUEST IN THE INTERVIEW. (it’s Sari)
Of course you can come sit.
Join.
Sit and listen. Shut up and listen…yeah, someone is pounding…
Do you remember that…from The Princess Diaries?
Yeah, that’s why I said it!
Shut up and listen!

Alright, Courtney, we usually don’t have an audience other than myself but if you’d like to share a monologue with us…
I’ll do “hard to seem won” because I’m doing that for Steve Maler in two days. Let’s see if I remember it guys…



Thank you.
HARD to seem…OH.
You’re one of my favorite people Caroline…
ME?!
You are.
Gosh. Thanks.

I have more questions!
More questions, oh my!
Um, do you have a favorite experience here so far?
My favorite experiences here so far are my experiences with Team Simon, the best group in the program.
It’s obvious to me at least, you know…
It’s true. Very true. Tis true.

(The lights went off) Uh, lights out…
In the darkness you cannot see anything.
So yes, my favorite experiences have been with Team Simon. These include our song rides in the car, working as a group to develop our green show which is…I’m very proud of our Greenshow, I will not lie. It was like, a struggle getting there but now that it’s there it’s beautiful.
It has a lot of heart in it.
It does. A joke…we have hearts. Cut out hearts. Ha ha ha. Also, our sushi date last night.
Last night was a really special night.
It was. These rank among my favorite times with Team Simon.
I agree.

Now Courtney, do you have a piece of advice you would like to share with someone right now?
Right now, my piece of advice is to try to keep a positive attitude about everything you do. I think that negativity, like, actually kills your soul. Like, I can not function if I have a negative view on what I’m doing. So. When something in your life sucks, I think you need to find what’s good about it. Even if the only thing that you can think of is like, well, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. Like, just look for the good.
Just looking for the good. Thanks Courtney.
Anytime, Caroline.

Thursday, August 21, 2014

Wherefore art thou, Chet Robert Davino?

Wherefore art thou,
Chet Robert Davino?


So, hi.
Hello.
Usually there's Frank Sinatra.
I like Frank Sinatra.
You do?
I do.
In general, or do you have a favorite song?
Um...
In the general sense of liking Frank?
I like a lot of his stuff, um, but right now I've been listening to "I'll Be Seeing You" a lot.
Cool.

What's your name?
Chet Robert Davino.
Is that your stage name or your full name?
That's my full name and my stage name.
Great. Chet R. Davino?
Uh huh. That's my Dad's name.
Are you a second?
No, the last two names are the same.
I was gonna say...

Now. Where are you from?
Dumont, New Jersey.
Cool.
And when I was 5 I moved to Redding, Connecticut.
Okay. Where is that?
It's in Fairfield County.
I know that.

Um, where did you go to school?
Dean College.
And you just graduated...
I did.
Congratulations Chet Robert Davino. What did you graduate with a degree in?
I graduated with an Associates in Theater Arts and Technical Application and I graduated with a B.A. in Theater Arts.
Did you like Dean?
I did. It was what I needed at the time, but it's a growing program at the same time, so there's a lot that I missed out on.
I went to Franklin School of the Performing Arts so I know Franklin...
Yeah.
And I would take ballet class in that studio that was right there...so I know Dean College because of that.
I would walk by that every day.
Yeah. It was a good time...it was a lot of work.
It's a good area.
It is a nice area. You should go into those spaces once. That's what I want to have one day...like an F.S.P.A. for myself.
You should.
Like a Fame...
You should do Squirrels.
Yeah. Squirrels. I think that needs to have a section in this interview...
Okay.

I, Caroline Casey, Caroline Elaine Casey, am the co-writer of Squirrels the Musical which you have seen...
Yes I have seen...
The opening number of. "I Have a Tail."
(sings) "I have a tail..." Stephan also did some pretty cool choreography for it...he had a couple people onstage.
He had a few people! He choreographed it!
It looked very good.
It was unexpected. He showed me that video and I was like, this is a full production. 
It's a whole number.
At Williamstown! The night Idina Menzel was there!
Yeah. It was on a full stage around like, company members and stuff like that.
Incredible.
Yeah. They loved it.
And he gave me a shoutout! You knew me before anyone else here. Even Al.
Even before I knew you.
Incredible. Okay, enough about Squirrels...just know that I'm gonna write you in someday.
Thank you. I'll be there.
Maybe like, the snake.
I'm down with that.
Or you could be like, I don't know. I have to think about it. You open many possibilities for my show...anyways, this is not about me.

What is your favorite Shakespeare play?
My favorite Shakespeare play, um, comedy, is Much Ado. Um, my favorite tragedy is probably Julius Caesar.
"Et tu, Brute." Hm. Iulius Caesar. That's how you say it in Latin.
Is it?
Yeah.
Hm. I did not know that.
I had to translate some of it once in my life. I don't know, it was a rough day for me but...anyways...

Do you have a favorite character? Actually, your favorite character and then a character you'd like to play. They are two different things...maybe not though. Depending on you though, Chet Robert Davino...
Well, in the whole of Shakespeare?
In the whole of Shakespeare.
My favorite character is probably Horatio. I like Horatio a lot.
Why?
He's just good. He's very much a lawful good and he strives to do what's best for not only himself but for others and it's important that we remember that he tries to do his best for himself as well, because there are those selfless good characters that are like so good that they don't care about themselves. But it's important for people to care about themselves. You have to care about yourself before you can care about others. That understanding of what's important for himself and his country is also important to his best friend and his duty to his best friend, um, I find this very admirable. And the fact that he has to suffer...he's the one who has to suffer at the end of the play and must tell the story.
So you want to play Horatio...
I would like to play Horatio at some point...
Who would you want to play?
I would love to play Benedick. It was the first play that, Much Ado was the first Shakespeare play that I read on my own that I fully understood. Um, and, and, I don't know...he's stupid and witty, fun, and scary all at the same time...he's a very real character, um, no matter how over-exaggerated he can be played, he's a very real character.
I think that's right. I think he's the most interesting.
Him and Beatrice are very strong, real characters. They have a real earthy quality about them because we see them with these dark pasts that they hide, their facades. They have a, yeah, they have a real grounded sense of being people. And then you have characters like Claudio and Hero who are the lovers, and Shakespeare always makes fun of that in the play, but yeah, I want to play Benedick really badly. Someday.

So you've like Shakespeare for a while?
Uh, yeah, my Mom was an English major, um, so I was reading Shakespeare, or I had Shakespeare read to me when I was little, like a toddler. My sister is also a big lit nut so she would like, read it to me all the time. She did Twelfth Night in high school and then when I first, like, saw Shakespeare performed and that was awesome. I thought it was the coolest thing. There were people I knew and I got to see her play Olivia which is so different from Kerry's Olivia, like, I remember it very vividly. That's another moment where I was affirmed that I really wanted to do theater.

And then you applied to this program.
Yes, immediately after...I've been deferring for a long time. They've been actually wondering when I was about to show up...

Do you have a favorite experience here so far?
Um...
Very specific. I want one specific story. Every gives me vague answers...like do you forget?
Well, we've only been here for so long...
I don't care. I could tell you one right now.
What's yours?
I'm not telling you mine! This isn't my interview, asshole!
Um...
Go ahead. Try to pick one.
I would say one of my favorite moments, the one that comes to mind first would be when we had our first day off um, and we went to this lake in Wellesley and when we got there we realized...a bunch of us went, and then we realized when we got there that we had to pay $15 to get in so we like wandered around this little trail...so we followed that and there was this area with beach, so we went swimming there. And then it started to rain and then we got back, went and got food, went back to Babson and brought all our mattresses in the common room and watched movies and stuff and I fell asleep, but it was really good.
That's nice. You're the first one to talk about something that isn't...every day...stuff.

Can you do a monologue for me?
Do I have to do a monologue...
Don't sigh! This is Shakespeare Camp!
Uh, yeah. I can do a monologue for you.
Which one?
I'll do Antony from Antony and Cleopatra. I'll voice act it.

Thank you.
You have a nice voice.
Thanks. I got an award for it.
Really? What award?
I got the VASTA Award for um, speech and...for understanding of speech and conveyance of text.

Do you have a favorite piece of advice?
You only live life once and you should live it as though once is enough.

Thank you, Chet.
Thank you. Frank Sinatra said that.
He did?
Yeah he said, "You only live life once and the way I live it once is enough."



Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Wherefore art thou, Geoff Van Wyck? DATE NIGHT EDITION

Wherefore art thou,
Geoff Van Wyck?

DATE NIGHT EDITION

Testing, 1, 2... Testing. This is a destination interview! With, uh, Geoff.
Hi.
Hey Geoff. Maybe we don't have to project as much, you know. Hey. Okay. Uh. What's, what's your name Geoff?
My name is Geoffrey Prescott Van Wyck.


Great. Um, where are you from Geoffrey Prescott Van Wyck?
Prescott's my middle name, you don't have to add that.
No, it's fine...I like it a lot.
Um, I'm from...
Geoffrey Prescott would be a great film name.
Geoffrey Prescott?
Well, actually Van Wyck is very theatrical. So I would...
I mean, I've never thought of that before, but yeah, maybe...but I'm from Marblehead, Massachusetts.
Mahblehead.
Mahblehead.
Where did you go to school, Geoff?
I went to school at uh, I went to Marblehead High School and then...
And then where?
I went to uh, Curry College for two years and then I went to Marymount Manhattan for the remainder.
Cool.

Where was your favorite...what was your fav...when you transferred out of Curry, was Marymount all you ever wanted?
Yes, in the fact that it had a more established acting program um...
Did you study acting at Curry?
I did, I uh, I didn't major in it though, they had a, uh, concentration in Theatre, so I majored in Communications for the two years and that's where I like, did all their shows, um and it was a great experience. The program did Romeo and Juliet my first semester...
Were you in it?
I was Mercutio.
Get out.
Yeah, I know. It was great.
That's great!
It was awesome, I loved it. One of my favorite shows I've ever done.

Have you done a lot of Shakespeare?
Um, yeah, I have. I uh, my first experience with Shakespeare was with the uh, the Rebel Shakespeare of Salem. It was like a teen, like no, not even, like a...I don't know...young kids program where we would do Shakespeare shows...Midsummer there one year, then Hamlet the next where we toured around Massachusetts, um, and, then I did Romeo and Juliet. Uh, and then my next show was Othello and then I did Love's Labour's Lost...I also did The Tempest and um, and now I'm doing Much Ado About Nothing.
That's more Shakespeare than I've done. I've done...
Zippo.
Zip.

I remember you did your first monologue and I was like, yeah.
Adriana?
Yeah. You had such a clear vision, you had this, your smells, what the room smelled like. I was so like, I don't know, wowed by that. I'd never seen that kind of script work from an actress before.
Thanks Geoff.

Well I was watching...I spent a lot of time watching people audition for film my last semester at school...and...I...I realized that people were making those choices and I wasn't and I was...obviously I can make that choice. It's an easy choice to make. It's just about specificity. So ever since then, ever since I've been watching for that, it's not just about the words you say. It's actually about where you are...it's about the whole thing! Like, I wanna be in the room with that character. You know?
Yeah, totally.
If you're in a close up on film and you don't know where you are, then like, it doesn't make any sense. So that's where that comes from. Like who you're with. Who just left. Who you want to be with. Sorry, I'm getting pretty theatrical and this isn't my interview. That's the problem. These have become conversations.

I really like working with Adam. You can see him put a lot of personal investment in all of us. Like, how...
It's pretty impressive.
Yeah.
Shout out Adam.
Hey.

So, what's your favorite Shakespeare play?
Oh god, um, it's, uh, I just have so many. Uh...
Pick one.
Top five.
No top five. Just right now. It changes...
Henry IV Part 1.
Okay. Any reason?
Um, I really identify with Hal. Just uh, his, uh, relationship with his father, um, the, his struggle with, um being a prince and not necessarily like, appreciating the fact that he is and he kinda, and you know he has this duty to be uh, next in line for the crown but he's just trying to like, uh, live his life and be with the people he finds at the time to be uh, the most real...the most down to earth. And that's just you know, the people that are living loosely.
Living loosely.
Yeah, yeah. Um, also I love The Tempest, Titus Andronicus, it's such an out there show. I wanna do shows that aren't done as often I guess.
That's how I feel sometimes too. Someone's gotta give 'em justice. That's why I whip out Adriana all the time.

So, who have you been working on at Shakespeare Camp?
Um, well, definitely Puck. He's the one that I spent my time with learning a monologue from him and I love characters like that where they are supernatural...that I can invest my body fully and he's someone who isn't human. Like when I was a kid I would literally walk around and pretend to be the animal I was interested in at the time, whether it be a cat, a pterodactyl, whether it be an alligator.
You do have some reptilian characteristics.
Thank you.

Now, do you have, do you have a favorite experience here so far?
That's uh...um, performance wise, I was most uh, I felt very, I felt like I had contributed something as a whole to the Apprentices, uh, when I first did my Puck monologue for everyone and like Adam's one on one session with everyone. I, I don't know, I felt like I just...it was my first time showing it to anyone and uh, I just felt really invigorated at the time. Doing it, after it...I just felt very whole...I guess.
Yeah, I remember being there for that. I remember...
Eating the flower.
The Magic card.
Yeah.
Do you want to explain that moment for us?

THE WAITRESS COMES OVER

Thank you.
We can talk and eat! We can eat and talk! And we're...this is the moment we're eating!
Yeah.
The choice is to eat. My intention is eating.
And it's perfect, we're talking about eating the flower. Uh, well the Apprentices, mostly the guys have really taken into playing Magic The Gathering and I just chose to eat a Magic card because I knew it would connect to a lot of the guys...
A lot of the men.
A lot of the men. I actually made that decision to eat the card early on in the process. "What if Puck eats this flower" and I just tried to make that happen.
It was so appropriate. That's the thing too that I love, that you can make choices for your audience, and you can't be afraid of that. If you know who's gonna be watching, why not? I thought it was so funny. You looked at Courtney too and she's still traumatized.
Yeah, we had a moment.

I skipped a question so we have to go back.
Alright.
The question is this. What attracted you to this program?
Last summer I was searching Shakespeare companies in the area and I stumbled across Commonwealth Shakespeare Company and I saw that they had an Apprentice program and immediately I was intrigued with what they were offering. Stage Combat initially caught my eye along with more movement work and um, just a, a next place to work on Shakespeare. I had just taken two Shakespeare courses in college um, one text and play research and the next performance research and I was just very uh, very excited about Shakespeare at the time and at the moment I realized I couldn't apply because I had missed my opportunity, so I just kept that in the back of my mind for a year, that I was gonna do it and I auditioned for Adam in the very rehearsal space where we spend most of our time working um, and I uh, I got in.
Wow. That's great. I auditioned a year ago, when there were no spots for me. I got an email about doing to program this year, and I didn't have anything, and I was like, this is perfect. So, that's why I'm here.
Honestly, I can say this has been the best summer that I can like, honestly remember. With like detail...all the friends I've made, uh, the experiences I've had. We're all working to increase our level of ability and our passion and we just, we all just love each other.
It's nice to be with people who are really passionate.
Exactly.
It's also like, how did Adam put these people together? Because we kinda work, like, in a really interesting way.
Yeah, we do. I feel...
I'm always skeptical. I'm always skeptical about group dynamic. But it just kinda...works.
Yeah, it really does work. And going completely off what Mitchell told us about his conversation with one of the volunteers, that there was a lot of drama last year...
Yeah, WHAT?
I feel like there's very limited drama for our group. I'm really happy about that also, because we can sort of get past it and just work on what we love.

Now, next question, I know you're eating...
I am eating. It's really good.
Um, I'm gonna ask you to do a monologue, but you can do that after a few more bites...
Okay.
Just keep that in the back of your mind.

Do you have a favorite quote that you Geoff Prescott Van Wyck carry with you?
I just can't get rid of the quote that's like, ringing in my head right now at this very moment and that's "What fools these mortals be." And I feel like that kinda just, that particular quote...when I'm reading everyday news or you know, life events, I'll just think...We can fuck up sometimes, but um, we all make mistakes, we're all humans...that's Puck by the way.
"What fools these mortals be."

Do you wanna do your monologue now? Here?
I mean...I have to keep my voice down.
You can just speak the text...
Okay.
With passion.
Do you have a request, or should I just go.
How do you feel, two bites into your lobster roll, here at Back Deck, a little shout out to our location, drinking a strawberry lemonade is Geoff and I am drinking a beer. A beer. Me. This Juliet is drinking a beer.
Gender roles reversed.
And our Puck is drinking a strawberry lemonade. Go ahead, do your monologue.

Geoff Van Wyck. One of the only Apprentices to look me in the eye. What is acting, friends?
And you know how hard that is, especially for me...remember Paul's class?

Any last words?
To those reading this blog and considering applying to this Apprenticeship, it's really a once in a lifetime experience and the training you get is A quality and Adam is a great director and Steve is a terrific director of the entire Commonwealth Shakespeare program, it's just been a wonderful experience.
Geoff's Tony speech, ladies and gentlemen.

Monday, August 18, 2014

Wherefore art thou, Andy Jimenez?

Wherefore art thou,
Andy Jimenez?

I think it’s an appropriate mood.
Of course.
It’s just Frank, it’s a little soft, you know? It’s a little cliché. You know what, I’m a little over him. Like, maybe next time I’ll do Ella. Whoever my next victim is.

Okay. So this is Andy Part II. Andy, what happened to your phone?
Oh, my phone got uh, wet.

And what was on that wet phone?
Our interview.
Our interview.
Our interview.
So you’ve twice been…
Yes. Now I can change all my answers.

What is your name?
Andy Jimenez.

Where are you from?
Brooklyn, New York.

Where did you go to school?
Kingsborough Community College.
That’s right.

Okay, what attracted you to this program?
Well, Caroline, you see, I was at this competition called KCACTF and they were doing auditions, so I went. And I heard about the program from last year’s winner, cause they were offering one person a scholarship and that person who got the scholarship last year was there and she was telling me all about the program and I knew that I needed something cause my school doesn’t really work on classical material, so I knew that I needed to do something along those lines because id never done, I’m very new to Shakespeare, so I just wanted to get in there and just get up all in there. I just wanted to get it.
Get in there.
Get in there.

Um, what, what is your favorite Shakespeare play?
Well, Caroline, I would say Comedy of Errors because I said that last time, but it changes.
Have you had time to think about a new answer?
I’ve had time to think about a new answer.
What are you gonna say now?
Honestly, I’m gonna say Twelfth Night. I don’t know. It stole my heart.
Give me a reason.
My, um, I just think that like, it’s just beautiful, it’s…it’s just gorgeous, like the language, the l, it’s just made me feel the language and for like the abundance of love happening and I mean, Shakespeare’s just uh, like, fusion of characters and like, who, and like, misidentities is always fun, but like, the love aspect of Orsino’s dying love for Olivia and Olivia’s dying love for Cesario and Viola’s dying love for the Duke, I don’t know, it’s just beautiful.

Who’s your favorite character?
Viola.
Why?
Because she’s willing to sacrifice, at least at some point, she’s willing to sacrifice her love for Orsino and go on this journey to help him woo another woman.

It’s nuts. It’s crazy.
Yeah, it's crazy pants.

We listen to the same Frank songs every time. But it's nuts. If you think about it for too long, it's like what the? How did you come up with...something that's so legit?
And to think that, about, thinking about like, how people that, people that like, aren't really exposed to Shakespeare, how they take...they could be like, "What?!" It's just like, ridic.

Um, okay, now, who is your favorite Shakespeare character in general? In the general sense. Like if you had to choose one character right now, who would you choose?
Beatrice.
Bea?
Bea.
I don't know why I call her Bea, but I do call her Bea. I don't know.
I like Beatrice. I love women that are ahead of the curve, especially for, like, his writing when he wrote these plays. I think he idolized women.
He loved women. I, I...
I think he was fierce, so like, every fierce man loves his women. I don't know.
I think that's right. I don't know.
Like, strong women.
It's just like, how?
I think, I think it's the women in his life. I think like, his wife, I think he just, he fell in love with a woman who was much older than him. At first, that was the mother of his kids. He, I think, she had to have some way to lock him down.
It's just nuts to me. 
I'm sorry, is this interview about you or...
Oh, I'm sorry...
No, I'm just kidding...
I won't stop talking, sorry. They become more conversations.
I like it like that.
I need to stop talking.
I was just joking.
It's just, he talks about stuff that we haven't figured out today. It's nuts. How do you that? So many years later.
I think one thing, that like, has resonated with me cause I've had a lot of time to think on the MTA...I think that being an artist, or I don't know about being an artist, but being an actor in general, you are constantly checking in with who you are as a person because being a good person is being a good actor and you're constantly checking in and, and analyzing everything. And I think that as an artist, or at least Shakespeare was an actor, that sort of checking in with yourself and the world around you...and I think that he, he was such an artist that he was able, it was able to click with him. He was able to see it so clearly, you know, because he, he was always checking in with that inner voice.
I think it's honesty, too. He's honest. Now...
But honesty can be confusing because back then, you only know what you know. Like, in society we are told what he knows, what fact is is what everyone agrees as fact, so for him to see, he sees beyond that. It's like...It's crazy pants. It is.

Do you wanna do a monologue?
No.
You have to do a monologue.
Why?
Turn Frank off.
Every time.
A new piece. Do you have a new mono?
I do.
Go ahead.
Can I do it right here?
Yeah, right here lying on my couch.



I think it's interesting when people look at me or when they don't look at me. That's what I'm learning...a lot about people. Like, are you the type of person who gives the monologue looking at me or not...and you were looking at me.
Is that a good thing?
I'm not saying, but I have my opinion on it.
What's your opinion?
Who the hell are you talking to if you're not talking to me? You know what I mean? I remember every single person who looked at me and every person that didn't...because it makes a difference. I'm right here.
Wow. That touched me. Right...
I'm right here.
I'm looking at you, Caroline. I see you.
Who are you speaking to? Uh, sorry, this isn't about me.
No.
It is kinda about me, you know. You learn a lot about people.
Especially in a program like this, I have to say, you do learn a lot about people.
8 weeks together. We're only at 6. It's been, it's the start of 7.
We're two days into it, we have 5 days after this and then another 7. It's gonna go by like (snap.)
That's crazy.
It's crazy.
Didn't we just get here?
It kinda feels like it's been a year.
It feels like it's been a long time, like I feel like I, you know, I over know, I even over share with these people, but uh, yeah...

An experience you've had here that you love..that you'd love to share with me? Maybe you didn't love it. Anything that's happened to you here.
I don't think I've had much time to process where I am in my process here because everything's been so go-go, get ready for the next thing, but I would say like, I'd just say voice class. I mean I still think back on it and cringe about like, what I've shared and about how open I've been. But there, they there have been things that I didn't know weighed heavy on me until I had taken the class. And also, I think I thought I was a way better actor than I was before I came here, and I think that that's awesome, ya know, cause I feel like...I feel like I had a great year and...not knowing, I've unknowingly gone into like, complacency with myself. And I used to be a very hard worker and I think, I'm still finding that work ethic again. And the confidence to work.

Do you have a piece of advice you want to share?
Everyone's different. Like everyo, everyone's process could be different and you can't, you can't gage your success on other people's success, if that makes any sense. Like, you can't say anyone else has done it, so I can't say, "Caroline's done it this way and she got her job when she was this age and she got cast as a lead all through college and that's...that's what I need to do." You know, I think you just need to continue like, working towards being a better, a better artist and when you put artistry first, you get out of your own way. And you just start to frolic. Like a fairy. Like me.

Please buy my EP on iTunes...it's called uh, Andy. It's a self title.

Thursday, August 14, 2014

Week 8

We’ve reached the end of the Apprentice program! 

We performed Much Ado About Nothing last weekend at Babson, the Modern Theatre at Suffolk University and at Hyde Playground in Newton. I loved performing in new spaces each day. I particularly loved Hyde because it was outdoors and very unpredictable. A guy just walked through the end of the wedding scene. Yikes. But that’s outdoor theater!

We also finished FOHing for Twelfth Night. We drove into the city for strike after our last show and it was actually more enjoyable than I thought. The Apprentices are pretty goofy. Standing near Kyle W. Porter helped.

But less about what we actually did during our last week (sorry) and onto what I actually want to talk about...

ENDINGS.

What does it mean to find an ending? 

My movement teachers at Tisch would always ask us to "find an ending" during improvisations. Here's my attempt.

I’m very thankful for the past 8 weeks with Commonwealth Shakespeare Company. It was just what I was looking for. I needed something to propel me from graduation into my acting career in NYC, and this program was that appropriate bridge. An email from Adam came at the perfect time, and I can say now, it could've been fate. I don't really believe in fate, but I could believe it just from what this program has meant to me.

I like to think about all meaningful experiences as snow globes on a shelf. Within each snow globe are experiences, memories, and friendships locked in time. Because no matter how much we wish, we will never experience what we experienced over the past 8 weeks again. And that's okay, in fact, it's kind of beautiful. And as I reflect on all that's happened here, I can say that my Commonwealth Shakespeare snow globe is full of things I never expected.

Crazy car rides with Team Simon, the river with Yoel, encouraging talks with Jordan, being on the same page as Alexis, and finding my incredible friendship with Courtney. Being thirsty with Devin, watching Simon open up, having Adam’s response sessions, being blind with Sari and listening to Sweeney beg for me to sleepover. Kyle W. Porter calling me “Casey,” learning combat with Edmund, eating snacks with Sophie, feeling up Griff for the sake of art, and being Al’s sometimes roommate. Sharing voice pictures with Paul, talking Squirrels with Chet, believing in ghosts with Geoff, and loving Literature with Kyle Walton. I never thought I’d meet anyone like Mitchell. To Marielle always making me smile, to the one day Team Simon decided to change things up, to Kay being tougher and more courageous than you’d think. Emma with the damn grapefruit, Rebecca and her Instagram, and Andy for getting me. Watching Mae be herself and having Meredith Marie Powell understand my focal point problem when I can't speak to people directly. From info tent talks on the Common, to celebrating birthdays, hanging with the Moms or all of the temporary tattoos we got this summer, these past 8 weeks have meant an incredible amount to me. Because this program leaves room for exploration. Not only exploration of self and others, but also exploration of Shakespeare. It let this Adriana find her inner Juliet.

And because of that, I think F. Scott Fitzgerald is right. I'm not sentimental. I’m going to put this experience on my shelf with my other snow globes. 

Whenever a meaningful experience ends for me, I never try to drag it out. It makes more sense in my heart. These 8 weeks have been an incredible 8 weeks, but the program has ended. What’s happened has happened, and I feel very grateful for my time as an Apprentice, but also, its end. 

Here is the bookend.  I would like to thank Adam, Victoria, all of the teachers we’ve worked with. I would like to thank the company of Twelfth Night and CSC2. Without the diligent and hardworking team around us, this program wouldn’t have been the same.

I began this blog during Week 1 determined to write about the Apprentices. I had no idea what the next 7 weeks would bring, but I was right. This program was all about what I saw in my peers; therefore, the biggest thanks goes to you all. Thank you for being incredible artists, inspiring people and loyal friends.

Now a quote, well, lyric, that I think is appropriate. Mitchell said "Closing Time" could be Team Simon's theme, but maybe the last lyric is the group's appropriate send off. Anyways, I hope this finds you well.

"Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end."

Good luck.

CC


Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Week 7

Week 7 was an exciting, nerve-wracking, stirring, belligerent, and supple week at CSC (Hi Team Simon.) This week, Twelfth Night had their opening and press nights, Team Simon performed their Greenshow, the Apprentices performed their combat scenes on the Common, and we're still hard at work with Much Ado About Nothing. WOW.

It was cool being on the Common for Twelfth Night’s press night. The stakes were so high, as expected. I was working the info tent that night, so I got to meet a lot of the press people as the company members greeted them. Everyone in the company seemed excited, and it was awesome to be right in the action.  

I always find it interesting to see what people write about in reviews. Whether acting, direction, or design dictate their criticisms or praises. Basically I just want to know who the critic is.

Opening night was also an awesome night to be on the Common. Side note: Team Simon has a great schedule; we got to perform our Greenshow that night. I definitely explained what a Greenshow is. Ours explores fate and love and twins. You remember my LiLo post.

Later that night, the Apprentices got to attend the opening night part at Carrie Nation. I played pool with Tim, who’s in CSC2. We almost won, but I knocked the white ball in after the 8 ball. I don't really know what any of that means. Yikes. It was nice to spend a night in a different setting with people in this company. They’re all so sincere and dedicated. I really admire this company's work ethic.

On Friday afternoon, we showed our combat scenes on the Boston Common. Angie Jepson, our combat teacher, let us choose scenes to put combat phrases to. We changed the phrases to help convey the story in our scenes. I did the Tybalt/Benvolio scene. I was obviously Tybalt. After working more on combat, I actually learned to really like it. For some reason I was really able to jump into anger. Maybe it's because I was holding weapons.


A CHANGE IN TOPIC. I really enjoy meeting the people in the audience. If you remember my semi-political blog post last week, you’ll get why. I met last year’s iPad winner. I met a corgi named Daisy. I met a guy who’s been to every CSC show. I met Kerry O’Malley’s friends.

And beyond the new people I met, I didn’t realize I’d run into so many of my friends at the shows, some I haven’t seen in years!

I want to take a second to talk about the city of Boston. I’ve lived in Boston for my entire life, and truly, it’s one of a kind. It’s a city that has so much heart, not just in it’s culture, but in it’s history. And the sports are great too.


In 3 weeks, I'm moving back to NYC. But I know that with this move, I'll really miss Boston. Even though I spent my last four years at NYU, Boston has always been close to my heart.

I read this essay my freshman year at NYU about a woman who knew it was time to move out of NYC. She had lived there for 10 years and realized that in a city with millions of people, there was no way to start new. She had the same friends, same apartment, same job and felt stuck. One day she was walking out of the subway and through the smell of NYC, she smelled a peach and left.

NYC is the big apple. Boston is my peach.

I can’t believe that this week is our 8th and final week of the Apprentice program, meaning next week is my last blog post! Really I need to thank those who read this blog, especially considering I’ve never really been good at writing. Hopefully I’m not the only one getting something out of this.

Also, apologizing is not my favorite thing. I might take all that back.

I’ll leave you all with an F. Scott Fitzgerald quote that I’ve been thinking about recently. Maybe it's because I just reread This Side of Paradise. It’s something to think about as we approach the end.


“The sentimental person thinks things will last, the romantic person has a desperate confidence that they won't.”

CC

Saturday, August 2, 2014

Wherefore art thou, Devin McCall?

Wherefore art thou,
Devin McCall?

Hello Devin.
Hi Caroline.

Usually there’s Frank Sinatra playing, but this is kinda rushed and urgent.
Okay. That’s fine, we don’t need that.

Okay. What is your name?
Devin Mccall.
Yeah, for the viewers.

And where do you go to school?
I go to Pace University in New York City.

And what year are you?
I’m a junior, well, I’m going to be a junior.
Cool.

And where are you from from?
Melrose, Massachussetts.
Great.

What attracted you to this program?
Um, I was really interested in learning about Shakespeare, I was really interested in learning about this company and what they do, uh, cause I think it’s really interesting how they work on the Common and that’s a really cool space, so I was really interested in learning about that. And um, I liked that it was like, a training program and we get to take classes and stuff. So those are some of the things that attracted me.

When did you audition?
Well, I auditioned at NETC and then I submitted my application, my written application and then I emailed Adam because I hadn’t heard anything and he told me I still needed to audition. And I told him I had. And he told me they lost it. So I reauditioned over Skype. So I auditioned twice, technically.

For Adam? Several times?
Twice.
I don’t know if you can put that in.
I’m gonna put that in.
Wow, go Adam.
The second time was over Skype…I was in a closet at Pace, basically…in like, a little tiny room.
What monologue did you do?
I did Miranda from The Tempest.
How was it?
Basically in a room that was this wide with a, with a white…it was like a practice room and had like really bad reception, so I kinda was like afraid it was gonna keep on coming in and out…I was a little nervous.
Yikes. And now you’re here.
And now I’m here.

Um. What’s your favorite Shakespeare play?
I really like Antony and Cleopatra right now, that’s kinda what I’m into right now. But it changes.

Is there a specific character you want to play? Is it Cleopatra?
I would love to play Cleopatra, but right now I would love to play, also to play Miranda. That’d be cool. Or Imogen, or Hermione. That’d be fun.

What characters have you been working on here?
Uh, Miranda and Imogen…and uh, Cleopatra. And um, I’m starting to work on Joan of Arc.

Cool. Is this your first time doing Shakespeare?
I’d done like, I was in Romeo and Juliet when I was in high school, uh, I was in the ensemble of like a regional production and that was like a weird experience. And then I did Hamlet in college and it was like, also like, a really experimental weird version of Hamlet that was like Sleep No More. Everybody walked through this, the show. And that had like, a huge ensemble, kinda like, really involved in like, the world of the play. So, I did that too.

Cause you study musical theater, right?
No, I study acting.
Oh, you do. I screwed up. Sorry.
You just apologized to the…
I just apologized to my phone cause that’s what I’ll be using to transcribe this interview.
This interview.

Can you do a monologue for me…now?
Yeah, sure. So what do you do with the monolgues?
So, you just do it.
I’m just gonna speak the text.
As long as it’s honest.
It’s gonna be honest. Alright, I’ll do Miranda, cause you know, it’ what got me here.



So, do you have a favorite experience here so far?
Well, my Greenshow group got to go to Reed Academy and work with like, um, a bunch of little boys who were there for like, a summer camp and they were awesome. They were so cool. They asked us if we could come back next week. And, um, they really enjoyed the show and they talked a lot about stuff and they were really vocal about “Oh, I’ve been in a play before!” And it was really really cool to watch these kids be so engaged in something, uh, I’m not sure they would’ve thought of, like, that they would be interested in.
I wrote about that in the blog post. The week 6 blog post.
Did you?
What it’s like to work with kids.
Cause you guys went to the West End House.
That was a lot of kids, but it was a really good experience. It’s a really important experience to have, as someone in acting.
I agree.
Because they make choices that are bolder than our choices.
I agree.
You know?
Yeah. Even these kids, and some of them had emotional issues and stuff, and like, they were just really into the games and stuff. They were like super engaged and really interested in stuff. Yeah, it was cool.
One thing that one of my teachers said to me was that he, he likes working with high school kids more than college kids because when you’re at college, you’re kinda like…you’re not in it anymore for the same reason you were in it when you were a kid.
I feel like there is such a freeing, like a lack of, uh, constraint like when you’re in high school. Like when you’re in a show in high school, it’s just fun. You’re hanging out with your friends and you’re playing a weird character and that’s super fun, yeah. And then you get into college and you’re just thinking oh god, I have to make a living at this and this is like a business, how am I supposed to do that…so it kinda changes.
But what does it have to?
It shouldn’t. Back to high school Devin, maybe not, but I wish I had some of that lack of being afraid sort of thing.

Do you have any piece of advice that you want to share?
Well, there’s a go to that I always go to when you first, on one of the first days of school, my college professor said to me…but it has a swear in it, so I feel like I shouldn’t…
It’s okay.
Can I swear on the blog?
We do swear on the blog.
Okay.
Yeah.
So we can swear on the blog?
Yup!
One of my teachers on, one of the first things he ever said to us was, “Don’t flirt with it, fuck it.” And that is a great, that is great. Cause sometimes, I think, I dance around the idea of things but you just gotta fuck it. You gotta get over it and do your thing and be bold and just…
Fuck it.