Student Views

One week until this show closes! It’s been an exciting run (7 weeks of shows/previews plus tech at the beginning) and I’m sad to see it coming to an end.

On the other hand, I get to see a little more of the behind the behind the scenes work. And no, that is not a spelling error! I’ll be working in the offices with company management and I’ll get to learn a little more about the business side of theatre. So far, all of my experience has been in production and I am looking forward to peering behind another curtain.

Also, I’ll be heading back to Westport next Monday! I’ll be helping with their grand and spectacular fundraising Gala. There will be a few interns from this summer that I’ve missed quite a bit, not to mention all the staff there. It almost feels like I’m going home for a night (almost…).

This past weekend was a full one! On Saturday, we had our normal two show day (a matinee at 3 PM and an evening performance at 8 PM) and the beginning of the second seminar of the semester. This seminar is on auditions and we will be learning how to prepare for an audition and, ultimately, performing at least one of our monologues for the instructor, who does a lot of casting in the city. While I do not consider myself an actor (although I do enjoy a good romp with our improv troop, Cooper Street, see photo below), I am going into this head high! Or so I keep telling myself. It will certainly be very interesting. I’ll get to know a little more about professional auditions and, as an SM (or ASM or PA), I will probably be involved in auditions in one way or another. Also, I think it’s very important to know as much about a field in which so many people work together so that you can truly appreciate everyone’s work and understand how much went into a ninety minute or two hour show.

Cooper Street! (Photo by Claire McAdams)

After our initial audition session on Saturday, I rushed in to the theater for our matinee. I’ve been getting there between ten and fifteen minutes early in order to clean up the Green Room and make coffee before most everyone else gets there. Or, that’s always the plan. Everyone seems to be sitting at the table eating lunch or dinner when I show up. But it’s still nice to get there and sit down for a few minutes before work starts.

On Sunday, I had my midterm review, which is a scary term for a sit-down chat with Dana Tarantino, the theatre faculty member for the New York Arts Program. We discussed my journal (we need to write a few entries a week to reflect on what we have been doing/seeing/learning) and the first part of the semester as well as what there is in store for me for the rest of the semester. It definitely was not as nerve-racking as I had thought it was going to be.

And tomorrow is my day off! A morning with Darkly Dreaming Dexter, an afternoon in Central Park and the Natural History Museum, and then an evening of grilling with friends in the backyard. Sounds just terrible.