| | I'm tired, but can't really fall asleep...but life continues...music mostly.... I quit the ICA. Kind of sad, but very exciting...this is because I have enough offers for paid singing gigs and shows this summer!!! YANK opened and closed at the BCA to good audiences. It went very well and was reviewed well. As always, I continue learning from every show I'm in. This particular show stretched me in more ways than one. It's a rather dark show in my opinion; as in not much uplifting in it - based on Eugene O'Neil's "The Hairy Ape". The main character, Yank, is a stoker on the liners in the NYC port and has searched his whole life to find a place to belong. He finally finds it working in the bottom of the ship...until one day when a rich little white girl goes down into the stoke hole to see "how other half lives" (meaning the poor). She is horrified and faints at the sight of Yank and from here on, Yank is angry at the way she made him feel that day. He goes out into the world to find where he belongs and no matter where he turns, he doesn't fit in. I won't give away the ending, in case you ever want to read the play, but it's not very happy. I played a character that shows up in every scene, in every place where Yank turns trying to fit in. I played a rich brainwashed church-goer, a prostitute, and a snobby leader of the IWW, and in the end, part of the zoo. These characterizations really stretched me as an actor. Like I've mentioned before, I'm always the ingenoue, or sometimes the coloratura pant role, but most often, the cute, bubbly personality onstage. I've never had to be so mean, so snobby, or so vulgar. I definitely could not do this show forever, but was enjoyable in a way - to access a set of emotions and personalities that I've had very little oppurtunity to experiment with onstage. I'm not saying that I would ever want to be those people, or that personality, in real life, but there is a satisfaction to being able to play versatile roles. Not just that, but there was "meat" to these individual characters that was so interesting to explore and really grab hold of and play, rather than the bubbly person, that really, resembles the more real-life me than anything. I am also happy to announce that I was able to excercise my low register in this show.  Now it's onto "A Little Night Music" being presented in the MIT theatre at the beginning of August. I am ashamed to admit that I know nothing about this show and only after a full read through tonight (or sight-read through for me since I missed the first week of rehearsals due to YANK), have I begun to figure out the storyline. auditioned for the role of Anne since it was the only character listed as a soprano on the list of characters at the open auditions. Upon my casting offer, I was told that while Anne could be a good fit, the directors thought that I would enjoy the role of Mrs. Nordstrom (a narrator of sorts) better since she sings a lot and Anne doesn't sing much at all, except for a rather low solo entitled "Soon". Given the choice, I opted for the role of Mrs. Nordstrom...only later being told by everyone and their mother that I was crazy to turn down the lead role of Anne. But, I am happy with what I chose. Mrs. Nordstrom's tessitura is much higher and this quintet of narrators sing waaaay more than anyone else in the show, plus the directors gave me some lines and other random scenes to do. I'm discovering that Sondheim is way harder than he looks on the page. I've never actually sung Sondheim before, but I've heard him and he doesn't sound so hard. Maybe it's just this show, maybe not. There are some crazy harmonic things he does and the tempos, registers, and rhythm can be a bit extreme for a Broadway show. Plus, he likes to repeat things and change them slightly each time. Very annoying. But nonetheless, it's a catchy show with catchy music, a twisted love triangle for a plot. The cast is coming from all sorts of places, so it'll be fun to work with all them. Ohh, I've also been asked (and scheduled) to sing on the summer concert series of New England Light Opera in July. The only sad thing is I think I'm going to have to cancel due to rehearsals for A Little Night Music.....still figuring that one out.... I'm getting very sleepy....maybe I should call it quits for tonight.... |
