Thursday, July 21, 2011

Thinking About My Next Year

Two years ago was interesting.  I had a difficult summer.  That fall and winter, while struggling with finances, my older son's lack of interest and motivation with college applications, and a particularly bad winter, I performed in a Christmas play.  With the new year, I thought about how much I enjoyed acting . . . maybe that next year, I should be in more plays?

The next year, I was literally a theatre whore.  I went to just about every audition and I took just about any part.  My reasoning was that I wanted to make sure my name was known, that theatre groups knew I was available.  In less than a year, I was in ten performances.  Four of these were one-day performances, one of them was a movie shoot that took place in one day, and five were performances that ranged from one weekend to seven weeks.  This was a lot.  It meant I had a great many frustrations, but I also had some great experiences as well.  

So, what about this year?  This springtime, I was incredibly frustrated about theatre.  I was routinely turned down for parts, and it hit the point where I was going in to auditions knowing I would not get a part.  I looked back at my favorite plays and I saw that there were no parts for me.  I knew I was good, yet I found that the only substantive parts I would get were from acting classes.  I had been in two major plays, and I hated both of them.  Then, I realized something: I had been in ten performances in less than a year . . . I seriously needed to take a break!  No wonder I was so crabby and frustrated!

Right now, I really miss the stage, but I haven't wanted to go back to the auditioning process.  I will start auditioning again after Pennsic, but this time I will be a bit more selective of plays.  I already know that my two major theatre companies have nothing to offer me in terms of performances.  One will be doing a version of "Nutcracker", which will mix ballet with modern dances: not for me.  After that, they will be doing "Cats": again, not for me.  The other specializes in Gilbert & Sullivan, and I'm just not interested.  But, it looks like I will be quite busy!

One director with whom I have worked wants to put on my play "Leia".  She is toying with the idea of February.  I won't actually be in the play, but I have a feeling I will be pretty active with script modifications as they find things.  I am hoping that next year at this time, "Vampe" will be in full swing.  This past weekend, I was able to hear some more of the music for "Vampe", and even watched as my collaborator composed music for songs I had written . . . this is going to be a fantastic play!  I have a feeling, though, that between now and then, we will need to take the painful step of cutting things from the play! 

These two things, if they work out, will be a big priority for me this next year.  But what about acting?  Like I said, I will be auditioning again soon enough.  I saw two acting classes that interest me, so that should keep me occupied in the fall.  I am also hoping that my idea of a "Staged Readings Workshop" will happen . . . it it goes like I hope, I might finally be able to perform in "Angels in America"!  One thing I must watch for, however, is a long run, like I had last fall.  "Murder on the Nile" ran for seven weeks . . . for seven weeks, my weekends were taken.   Sorry, with Jen in my life, I can't and I won't do that!

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