finding a home

Official New Yorker: four days and counting. I arrived in Manhattan in a heat wave making me very much doubt my decision to leave the cool lakes of Maine, but it felt poetic since we moved out of DC in over one hundred degree heat. It’s comforting, in a way, to be embraced by such an extreme and to feel prepared to handle it. I am prepared!

I planned my move to be here in time for PTP/NYC’s 25th anniversary celebration, a full day of play readings written, directed and performed by Middlebury alumnae. I was overwhelmed and inspired to witness the talent of generations of artists all sharing and demonstrating a similar passion, education and professionalism.

I played Lucy Webb Hayes in House Improvements by Emily Feldman, a play starring the 19th President of the United States. It was such fun to share the stage with my good friends Lucas Kavner and Andrew Zox and deliver Emily’s clever comedy to such a friendly audience. It’s been a few months since I’ve acted due to The Big Transition and I was nervous to get back on stage and underestimated my natural instincts. As soon as we started and I was on stage with talented actors whom I trust and who challenge me, it was pure play and fun.

Uncertainties melted away and I was home.  Of course today is a new day in this massive city and it will take a lot of energy and good friends to build a home in it, but I found the right place to start. Onwards!

a private production

Time to break the many months of internet silence, my friends. Last summer I decided to apply to graduate school to pursue a Masters of Fine Arts in Acting. Experiences started to accumulated that made me feel that I was not as capable to live up to the high standards I set for myself. There are many technical tools of the craft that I need to learn and master to be able to perform to the best of my potential ability. I have experienced disappointing rehearsal processes that made me wonder what else I could contribute to make the process of exploring a play as challenging, vital and satisfying as possible. What other tools do I need to guarantee that my performance is as clear and honest for the audience as possible?

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dipping into the Inkwell

Right before our first rehearsal started for Clementine and The Cyber Ducks by Krista Knight as part of the 2010 Fall InkReading Series, the company was told that the focus of the InkReading process is to develop the playwright rather than the play. What does it mean to focus on the playwright – our director joked that we do Pilates and create a nutritional plan with Krista- instead of the play? I have done many new play readings during my time in DC, but they have mostly been day-long exercises with a specific theatre company focused on hearing the play aloud to determine whether it is worth producing. I have not had many opportunities to contribute to the development of a play and give feedback that could potentially alter the final words on the page. I am a novice at the craft and therefore the specific instruction to shift focus from play to playwright confused me. Read the rest of this entry »

welcome to a midtown haven

I had the pleasure of spending a day last week at the New Dramatists’ home in midtown Manhattan rehearsing for and then performing in the New Playwright Welcome. Every year, ND selects around eight playwrights to join the company and be nurtured by a seven year residency. This year’s class includes Annie Baker, Daniel Beaty, Madeleine George, Sibyl Kempson, James McManus, Peter Sinn Nachtrieb, Betty Shamieh and Francine Volpe.

James McManus, the lovely author of Cherry Smoke, invited me up to New York to perform the opening scene of his play at the welcoming event. Read the rest of this entry »

let’s table it

It is a pleasure to work with a director who highly values the importance of table work. Table work, for better or worse, refers to the process at the beginning of rehearsals when the director, actors and other interested members of the company sit around a table and talk about the play. I know theatre artists have diverging opinions of the value of table work, some think it’s a waste of time to sit around and talk about a play when discovery happens on your feet as you make choices and respond to scene partners. Other people need to talk in excess, asking subtle- and sometimes annoying- questions about the actions, motivations, and events on the page. I think there is a happy medium.

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lessons in comparison

I’ve spent the past two months in Grover’s Corners, New Hampshire, friends, located inside the black box of Everyman Theatre in Baltimore, Maryland. It has been an honor and challenge returning to the classic American play by Thorton Wilder as Emily Webb in Our Town.

I first played Emily at Brown Ledge Camp as a fifteen year old camper. Last spring, I was thrilled to be cast in the role for this season and eager to tackle the character again, this time with a little more understanding of the craft. I must say, it has been more of a challenge than I expected, especially playing the young Emily in Act One.

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reading the fall away

I’ve had a satisfying close to 2009: a year full of stimulating theatre and collaborations, fulfilling travel and rewarding times at home. The Picture of Dorian Gray was an incredibly challenging and growing experience. The cast had a great run together and the Round House audiences loved the show.

Since we closed in October I’ve been busy working as a standardized patient at George Washington University Medical School, where I get to utilize my acting and teaching skills helping medical students develop their communication and technical proficiency for when they work with real patients.

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sex, drugs, rock ‘n roll and a little Wilde

This past month has been one heck of a ride. Tonight we open The Picture of Dorian Gray at Round House Theatre and I must say I’m a little sad about that. Opening means that rehearsals are over, our playwright goes home, we say goodbye to our director- the amazing Blake Robison- and the cast is only together for three hours a day instead of eight (or twelve). I’m going to miss the luxury of just working on theatre- stimulating, challenging theatre- and will return to the day jobs. But what a run we’ll have!

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it really does all work out

It is the middle of May and I should be rehearsing Bruise Easy by Dan LeFranc at Catalyst Theatre. However, that show was canceled in March due to budget constraints. I was disappointed for the lost opportunity to work at Catalyst Theatre and with director Shirley Serotsky on a world premier play. I did my research and emailed some colleagues and got myself into some audition rooms. I knew I had a great job at Round House Theatre come August, which was a reassurance, but the idea of not working on a play was somewhat startling, especially after a year of non-stop work. However, there was something in me that also just wanted to take a break.

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a waltz with Chekhov

Our Cherry Orchard has opened up at Everyman Theatre in Baltimore! We had a wonderful opening night on Friday, lots of love from family, friends and loyal subscribers. It’s been a wonderful process so far. A real acting challenge for me as it is my first Chehkov and I’ve had the chance to discover and play with all the depth and possibility in his beautiful writing. Anya is a delightful character, full of optimism and hope, but also complex in her sensitivity to her family and past.

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