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July 28, 2005
Hi Ho, Hi Ho, to Coeur d'Alene We Go...
Because we're performing at the Lake City Playhouse this week: POW! at 7:00 tonight, A Thousand Cranes at 7:00 tomorrow night. Then we drive back here and do Cranes for the last time at 10am Saturday morning. We have one more performance of the 2 minute POW! curtain-raiser on either Saturday or Sunday and then my summer season is officially over.
Note to self: Remember to take camera.
Posted by sally at 09:05 AM | Comments (1)
July 26, 2005
So It Went Well...
For those of you in the Spoke-vegas area, I may or may not be quoted in a story in the Inlander over the next couple of days. (There may also be a picture of me contorted into a pretzel shape to go with the article. At least, I hope the photographer got one of that position because I look like an idiot, and nothing is funnier, really, than a person looking stupid for the sake of good theatre.)
My audition went really well. Poor Dave had to deal with nervous Sally in the cab of the truck for roughly 45 minutes as we waited outside the theatre, but otherwise it was what I would call successful.
I would say, however, that overall, Spokane theatre people, at least the actors, are not a very welcoming lot. I got lots of cold looks, and even though I occasionally joined conversations, only one person actually responded to my comments. Everyone else was standoffish. I mean, how hard is it to be pleasant to someone who is trying to be pleasant to you?
So I did what my former acting instructor (who was, incidentally, the person holding the auditions) suggested for how to walk into an audition. I populated the space with people who adore me (Mom, Dad, Dave, John, Janene...) and then I assembled an army of the best actors in history at my back, along with assorted tigers and turtles, and waited to walk into the room. At that point, my nerves calmed right down, I was Collected Woman, and everybody else's nervous vibes shot through the roof. That's right, people, I have the Power.
It also helps your audition go well, I must say, when the Artistic Director comes over and gives you a hug when you walk into the space. So I auditioned, and they took pictures while I did. And then I got some direction, which I greedily soaked up and will use in future auditions, and it was all fabulous and safe and fun. I had a ball. There were four people in the room besides me, and they all laughed, though of course the laugh I was listening for was hers, because it's the one that counts, and I got it. Also, as we worked, she got bouncy and wiggly like she does when she gets excited about what's happening on stage, so I figured that I was doing well.
Then the reporter (who is also the Inlander's theatre critic, I believe) and I left the space and he interviewed me in the kitchen area. This was right off the lobby where all of the auditionees were congregating, so they saw me walk through with him. And the lovely woman stage managing the auditions came up to me saying, "Sally, I heard your pieces were really great, could I get the names of them?" right in front of all the people waiting for their turns. She didn't do that for anyone else as far as I know.
So the reporter and I sat in the kitchen and curious and suspicious actors occasionally poked their heads in for glasses of water. And now they think I'm some kind of hotshot, which rocks, considering how cold they all were to me before. Mwahahahahahahahahahahaha. I can't think of any better revenge, since I am currently not some kind of hotshot, but am instead doing children's theatre and have nothing lined up after POW! and A Thousand Cranes close on Saturday. Go ahead. Be afraid I'm going to take all of your gigs. It won't happen, but after being jerks, you deserve to worry that you've been jerks to the wrong person.
Anyway, it didn't hurt my ego at all that the reporter burst out with, "Your audition was wonderful. Really, really great work. Fantastic stuff!" right at the beginning of the interview. And then, when he asked what Dave and I had planned to do before Dave decided to go to graduate school himself and I said, "leave and do theatre elsewhere," and he responded with, "Oh no! I want you to do theatre here," that felt pretty good too. I know he can't help with the casting, but it was nice to hear such lovely compliments.
And then Dave and I went to the Olive Garden in Coeur d'Alene and I had toasted ravioli and chicken parmesan and the day ended very well indeed.
Posted by sally at 11:22 AM | Comments (2)
July 24, 2005
Big Day Tomorrow
Tomorrow I audition for a former instructor of mine who is now the Artistic Director for one of the two professional theatres in Spokane. I was really nervous about it already, because I frequently feel that the only thing I got out of this program acting-wise was insecure. So I've been trying to desperately figure out what pieces to use.
I wanted to do things she'd never seen before, but one of the side benefits of graduate school is a complete lack of time to work up new pieces. I have, especially while doing the knee recovery thing, read a lot of plays over the last six months, and found hardly any monologues that I want to use for auditions. (Apparently I'm not looking in the right places.) So I'm doing one piece that she saw me do once, badly, to show that I really can do it, and a piece she hasn't seen that I began working up six months or so ago because I felt I needed a new Shakespeare piece.
Anyhow, I've been feeling nervous about this not only because I want to do well in this audition, but also because she'll call me on my shit. "Why are you apologizing? Never apologize for your work." "Are you blocked on the right side? You're holding on to something there." "You are coming on way too strong. You need to find a place for the softness." Etcetera. And just now, I turned on my cell phone and discovered a voicemail from her.
The local paper is doing an article on actors and auditioning, and they want to sit in on a few auditions and interview a few actors. And she thought of me because, as she said when I returned her call, "You're a strong actor and we've already worked together so we have a shared vocabulary."
Yay! She thinks I'm a strong actor!
Shit. She thinks I'm a strong actor.
I'm excited about the whole thing, because along with the audition and the interview, she'll spend a couple of minutes working with me on one of my pieces so the reporter can see how that part of the process works. I love working with her, and I'd eat glass for a chance to spend some more time doing just that. (And my ego is gratified by her compliments.)
But now I'm terrified that I have selected entirely the wrong monologues for that sort of thing, and I really don't have any other options worked up well enough to substitute. (I'm also afraid that she has remembered me incorrectly and will be sorry she made the suggestion once she actually sees my pieces. Or, alternately, that I will suddenly bomb horribly as I occasionally have in auditions, for no apparent reason, and begin acting from roughly 30 miles away. Just because.)
Posted by sally at 10:22 PM | Comments (1)
July 20, 2005
I Am Pleased to Announce...
The addition of London Calling to my Compadres list. Brett Affleck-Aring, a friend of mine from school is currently living and working in London. His blog entries make me think of my time there and how much I miss that city. London has to be one of the greatest cities in the world.
Posted by sally at 09:15 AM | Comments (2)
July 18, 2005
So That's Why My Workouts Are So Hard...
I began doing figure eights on the indoor basketball courts at the gym yesterday. I figured ten was a good number to start with, and did my ten plus the usual bike and stairmaster and weights and track running. I felt good but tired when I was done. And the last set of 5 laps on the track was really hard.
Today was cardio, so I just did bike, stairmaster (I managed a full 30 minutes at higher settings than normal), figure eights and laps (and the various sideways exercises, which are not as hard as I think they're supposed to be). Anyhow, I was really tired, as was my knee by the time I'd done my ten or so figure eights, but I hit the track anyway. I decided to increase my number of laps run by one per set, so I now run roughly 1/2 mile at a time, with 1/3 mile of walking in between. Anyway, that last half mile was a bugger, just like yesterday. So when I got home, I decided to figure out just how much ground I was actually covering on the basketball court. I guessed it was probably not even a quarter mile and that I was just a wimp. Um. Not exactly.
The courts at the rec center are the standard size. Which means that they are 94' x 50'. That being the case, the diagonal is about 106'. If I take 2 diagonals per figure 8 and run outside the court at the ends, my figure eights are roughly 312' each. Which means that I'm running 3120' or so with ten. Which is almost 6/10 of a mile. So instead of running slightly more than a mile each of the last two days, I've been running more than a mile and a half. Not including the traveling I do when I'm doing all of my sideways stuff. I am suddenly very clear on why my legs are so tired and that last 1/2 mile plus is so very hard to run.
Posted by sally at 08:25 PM
July 17, 2005
Lazy-ish Day
I gave myself the day off (sort of). Slept in, played on friendster went to the gym, read, wrote, watched Bend It Like Beckham. I love that movie. It's such a great story.
I started my new exercise routine today at the gym. I get to move sideways now (that was approved on Thursday), so along with the 35 minutes on the bike and the 20-30 on the stairmaster and the 20-30 minute run 5/walk 5 combo and the weights and the lunges and single leg squats, I now also get to do figure eights on the basketball court to get my knee used to turning again and I get to do the grapevine and sideways step-y thingies. And to jump forwards, backwards and sideways.
I also started jumping onto the Bosu ball last week. I've been using it for balance and standing on it to do upper body work. It's a good allover workout, trying to balance works the legs and the core, and the arms get the free weights.
As far as the jumping goes, I have to jump on and stick. Then I step off. The therapist explained it and then showed me how and it still took me a couple of minutes to get my legs to jump. It reminded me of right after the surgery when I would think, "Okay, right leg, lift," and my right leg would do nothing at all, regardless of how hard I thought at it. This time it was more psychological than physiological, but my legs still didn't want to cooperate. "Jump on that thing? And land? With this knee? Are you high?"
She wasn't, and I did it, and survived with new ACL and bone grafts intact, but it still makes me nervous. I never did that sort of thing before the surgery because it seemed like a bad idea. And now I'm required to as part of my rehabilitation? Okay, but people get hurt doing things like that. It seems like a good way to lose a knee.
Posted by sally at 10:24 PM
Time on My Hands
Shows are open, I have no obligations to anyone but myself and my sweetie until Thursday morning's 8am pickup rehearsal. We're having dinner with our next door neighbor on Tuesday, and I think my parents are coming into town on Wednesday, but those are pleasant commitments, and otherwise I am accountable to no one for four whole days.
Now I just have to learn a new monologue and work on the yard and clean up the house and do the laundry and get some shopping done and add the new knee exercises and...
Posted by sally at 10:58 AM
July 13, 2005
A Sad Farewell
My friend Paul is killing off his blog. Too many people were taking advantage of anonymity and making horrible posts. Frankly, I just don't understand that. If you can't sign your name to the things you say, you probably shouldn't say them out loud.
I'm sorry to see his blog go because I really enjoy his perspective. I love his writing. I love watching him figure things out as he goes along. Paul has been extremely honest and open for the entire life of his blog, and to kill that voice through petty, mean, and cruel comments is inexcusable. Shame on those whose postings led to this end.
Posted by sally at 11:12 AM | Comments (1)
July 12, 2005
To All of You Who Say Cats Are Graceful, Aloof, Dignified Creatures...
I give you Quickly:
She put herself into this position, so don't be saying I'm cruel. She has always done a sort of semi-somersault when she wants to snuggle, and that's what she attempted here. Only the back of the couch got in the way and she ended up inverted. HOWEVER. She stayed in this position. She was purring in this position. She liked this position. Because whatever cat myths I have shattered with this photograph, one thing remains true. Cats will not do anything they don't want to. And if it's uncomfortable, they won't stay there.
How do I know she was perfectly comfortable? Because this is the position she was in when I left the couch:
Posted by sally at 09:30 AM | Comments (2)
July 05, 2005
The Horror!
This summer, a terrifying double-feature.
Imogen-Eating Couch
Sleeping in the air-conditioned living room on a warm sunny day seemed like the purrfect choice until things went terrifyingly wrong. Based on a true story, the shocking tale of good furniture gone bad.
It Came from the Laundry Basket
The Eames-Harlan household seemed like any other quiet little home in rural America. But bubbling just under the serene surface was a horror unlike any other.
Posted by sally at 11:38 AM
July 01, 2005
Remember the "Old" Post from Last Week?
Perhaps one of the reasons I'm feeling old is all the reminders I'm getting. Like the orthopedic surgeon saying at my three-month follow-up on Monday when I told him my knee is still stiff when I wake up in the morning, "Well, you're not 19 anymore." Really? 37 and 19 are different ages physically? Huh. I hadn't noticed that before...
Or maybe it's due to being surrounded by ripe, beautiful, young women because I work on a college campus. And in the theatre department. Young women who still have their careers in front of them, while I am now having to discard some favorite audition pieces because I can't get away with them anymore. And in all but two of the plays I've done since I got to the university, I've been somebody's mother. (And yes, I do count Mrs. Malaprop. She was Lydia's aunt, which is the closest thing there is to a mother in The Rivals.)
Or perhaps it's because my twenty year high school reunion is in six weeks. Twenty years. I've been out of high school for twenty years and I still act like I'm eight. At the ten-year I was six, but I found a couple of other six year-olds in 28 year-old bodies to play with. I hope I'm not the only eight year-old at this reunion. An eight year-old with a driver's license. Well, if everybody else has aged beyond recovery, at least I'll be able to drink.
Posted by sally at 09:27 PM
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