Callbacks and What I've Been Upto

So let's do a re-cap on what I've been doing since April. I actually have a few back log posts in queue that I'm hoping to get to, but let's give a breakdown.

I worked with Teatro Vision from January through March, performing in their West Coast Premiere of "Bless Me, Ultima." It was a wonderful, amazing experience in which I met some awesome veteran Teatro Campensino actors and got in touch more with my heritage.

As Ultima came to an end I started working on my next show with Arclight, "Much Ado About Nothing." Really working with Arclight feels like coming home. This was the second year I worked with them and juggled Fanime at the same time. I had a great time back at San Pedro Square and playing around with my character, Verges.

As the month of May came to a close I began my work with The King's Company in their production of "Godspell Jr." I was upgraded from Ensemble member to Apostle within a few weeks and had a lot of fun working with this group's first ever performance.

I then spent the rest of my summer helping out Shady Shakespeare. I worked as summer camp counselor intern, teaching 8-11 year-olds theatre and "A Comedy of Two Errors" and then teaching 8 and 10 year-olds theatre and "Julius Caesar" (no, really), as well as giving Shady a hand with set build.

The summer is coming to a close and for the first time in seven months I don't have a show lined up. Which is kind of freaking me out, but brings me today. I had a callback today with Broadway West for "The Last Night of Ballyhoo." This callback was actually happenstance for me. A few weeks ago I was talking with the director Ballyhoo asking him how his planning was going. He then looked at me and asked if I was coming to his audition. I reminded him I had already been the company's general auditions almost a year ago and then he asked me to come to his callback. This is networking people! I was genuinely curious about how his production was going, not fishing for anything, but because we've worked together and auditioned together he knows what I'm capable of. I was genuinely surprised and flattered to be invited to his callback.

I think the surprise had more to do me not seeing myself in any role within Ballyhoo. I had read the wiki awhile back and all that really stuck out in my memory were all the characters are supposed to be Jewish. And while I think I certainly look ethnic, Jewish doesn't come to mind. However, once I was invited to the callback I began doing more research. And while everyone is supposed to be Jewish, after reading the play I really felt a connection with the character Lala. And I felt that since the play takes place in Atlanta, Georgia that the Southern accent would actually take away from any discomfort I felt about ethnicity.

So I went into the callback and actually had fun. My mentor is always telling me to relax and have fun. And seriously, it's some of the best advice I've ever been given. I always try to tell myself before any audition or callback that it's supposed to be fun. I'm getting a chance to use my imagination like when I was a child and hopefully will get paid for it. Either way, I had a great time at the callback. I was there for about 4 hours, but pretty much read for Lala the entire time. I read once for Sunny, but just didn't feel I had the right look for Sunny. Honestly, looking around at all the people who'd been called back I pretty much felt like I was either going to get Lala or nothing. Sunny is within my age range, but she's the "pretty" one. And really, I play quirky characters, which I think suits Lala. The other women roles available were out of my age range. The other young girl reading pretty much read for Sunny the entire time. I felt like we had a pretty good chemistry together and it was fun working with her. I have to say my favorite part of the audition was actually doing the scene with her about Lala and Sunny's big fight. It felt so intense; it was great. I saw a lot people I knew at this callback and that's feeling more like the norm these days. Actors I've either worked with at other companies or have seen perform at Broadway West. Another thing of note that I liked is the way the director makes his adjustments with actors. His favorite line is "Give me three words that describe your character." I like how it clicks in for actors easily to make the adjustments he's looking for.

I still have a few days of waiting before I find out whether I got the role or not, but even if it doesn't work out there's always another audition coming around. And I just remind myself the exposure doesn't hurt either.

Callbacks for Arclight Rep: Much Ado About Nothing

I felt very lucky to be invited to Arclight’s callbacks for "Much Ado About Nothing." I performed with them last year and was glad they felt confident enough in me to not make me audition again.

I had to squeeze my callback in between rehearsals. Luckily we get an hour lunch break in which I hoped would be enough time for them see me. Also luckily the callbacks were being held in the same building as my rehearsal.

As soon as I was free I booked it down the courtyard to the callback. There was a very sweet high school girl running as the stage manager for the callbacks. Elizabeth and David were watching the sides since David is going to be the director. And even though I was half an hour later then my time slot (which I did let them know about) they were also running behind. After checking in I was told they were out of sides for the scene I was supposed to cold read for. But then the stage manager realized that someone else hadn't shown up at all and suddenly I had my sides to work with.

I was asked to read both as Verges and Dogberry in Act 3, scene 5. I found my scene partners: Jim Johnson, who I worked with last year on "Taming of the Shrew" with, and Dee, who I'm pretty sure I auditioned with at Shady Shakes last year. Jim and Dee would also be reading for Dogberry, and Jim would as well read for Verges. We ran the scene a few times, each of us rotating in as different characters. When we felt comfortable with it we took a break and I talked/said hi to everyone I recognized/knew. I also “recognized” a few faces of people I’d seen at other auditions, and one gentleman I realized I had sat next to at the “Working” show. I also spoke briefly to a woman, Karina, who heard me talking about my upcoming K.P. audition. It turns out she also works for them. Small world people. I then went to talk to the stage manager about when I’d be seen. It turns out that when you were ready you were supposed to let her know so she could put your name on a list. No one told me and there were quite a few people ahead of me. I very politely asked if I could be bumped up on the list because I was under a time constraint. She nicely agreed. I did feel bad because by this time it was after 1 P.M. and some people who’d been there since 11A.M. still hadn’t been seen, but I was on a lunch break didn’t have all day. Also Dee was under a deadline, which I think helped get us in earlier as well.

At some point things were running so behind that David came out and apologized. Some actor’s seemed pretty peeved, border lined pissed at how late things were running. I wasn't annoyed because I was actually able to get my times bumped up and had already decided if they didn't have time to see me I was just going to leave when I had to. Honestly, if I had had the day free and spent hours waiting to been seen I wouldn't have been annoyed or surprised. This is same company that cast me sight unseen for Taming of the Shrew because they ran out of time to see me during both auditions and callbacks for that show. All in all, I actually like this company which is still in its start up stages. I just feel I have realistic expectation of how things are run.

Dee was seen first since she was playing as Dogberry in a different group. When she came out she basically said that we'd been playing Dogberry "wrong." David told her his concept for a female Dogberry which was to be more like Professor Trewlaney from "Harry Potter." Luckily I was familiar with the idea and started to make some adjustments. I was able to go in shortly after and we ran the scene with me playing Verges once and Dogberry once, switching in with Jim. David told me right away about how he envisioned a female Dogberry, confirming what Dee had said earlier. I asked him about his concept for this production and he told me it was taking place during the mission era of California. So Dogberry was supposed to very “earth mother/shamanistic” who’d maybe done a bit too much peyote. I gave it my best. When I switched to play Verges they asked Jim to play Dogberry as “Don Quixote” and Verges was his Sancho who tries to explain everything for Dogberry. I really like working with Jim. He’s hilarious. I thought we did pretty well.

David then asked me to look at Conrad in Act 1, scene 3 and a Dogberry monologue from Act 4, scene 2. I found my Don John scene partner and we ran it a few times and then I worked on my Dogberry monologue a bit, trying to channel Emma Thompson. And then I went back to the stage manager to let her know I was running out of time. She bumped me again, thankfully. I did my scene and was prepared to do the monologue but David said they’d seen enough. We thanked each other and I wished everyone I knew “good luck.” David also let me know when I left that there might be additional callbacks. I think they were concerned they weren't going to see everyone before the day ended. I booked it back to rehearsal and made it just on time.

Callbacks for Shady Shakespeare

So after running a few errands this morning I finally settled in to watch my BBC version of Henry V. I spent a few miutes reading a Cliff Notes version of it as well as reading the Spark Notes. I managed to get through part way of Act 2, scene 3 before I ran out of time. I was also able to at least read the translation of the French scene between Katherine and Alice in Act 3, scene 4, and really hoped Larry (the director for Henry V) would be using a translation with French accents. I was mainly concerned with trying to figure out all the different characters in Henry V and which roles I'd most likely be asked to read for. As far as Midsummer went I was pretty sure I would be asked to read as a Mechanical and since I'm pretty familiar with the play I didn't waste my time trying to go over it (mostly because I was really crunched for time.) For Henry V I was aiming to read as either the Chorus (I already knew in advance this part was going to a woman), Alice, and possibly Hostess Quickly (although I thought this might be a stretch since I'm a bit young for the part).

Again I made sure to get the space early. I arrived while everyone had gone to lunch, except Larry. While I stretched I spent a bit of time catching up with him as well as discussing his plans for Henry V. He's decided he's going to keep the French, much to my dismay. Everyone started arriving not long after and we were all brought into the main room to given a briefing and sides. The AM crowd, which consisted of people reading for the Imaginary Invalid, was still finishing up. In the meanwhile, we were given our sides for Henry V to work on. My first piece was actually reading for Quickly in Act 2, scene 3. Luckily I had just seen this scene earlier and understood what was going on. I was paired with Tim (Nym), whom I've worked with before; Eric (Bardholph), whom I'm aquainted with from various Shady events; and Rich (Pistol), who I met for the first time today. As we ran the scene a couple of time I brought up whether we wanted to include actual kissing, as it's mentioned in the script. Ultimately, we decided yes. I'm actually ok with doing this for auditions provided everything is worked out in advance. I do not want someone sticking their tongue down my throat or groping me without having rehearsed it at least once. Luckily for me, Rick was a perfect gentleman.

After rehearsing a bit more we decided to take a break. I spent my downtime chatting with people I knew and introducing myself to a few new people. After some time we finally got in to do our scene. About a quarter through Quickly's speech Larry stopped me and gave me some adjustments. I can't say enough how much I appreciate this as an actress. I really hate going to a cold reading/callback, giving my interpretation and then being told "Ok, thanks." I'm always thinking, if my performance was way off from your interpretation tell me. Part of my job as an actress is being able to take direction. I have, on occasion, asked a director if they wanted me to try something different when I can see them making the "Hrm?" face. In this particular case I was told to make Quickly a bawdy, lusty wench not a member of the court. (My bad.) So I made an attempt to adjust. I can only hope I came through the second time around.

We were then told to hang out for a bit and then everyone would be called back in for more sides. After a few more minutes we all gathered around and were given sides for Midsummer. This time I would be reading as Snout in Act 1, scene 2. I actually was paired with lots of people I knew for this group. Since Snout only has one line, two if you're counting a unison line, I spent my time trying to connect with the other actors in the scene and just react to what was happening. I think we all worked really well together. When we went to perform they actually laughed, which I always consider a good sign. I was let go after my Midsummer reading.

And now is the waiting game. Overall, I was pretty please with the work I did. Could have done better? Always. Did I think I sucked/bombed it? Not at all. Having said that I don't have the highest expectations of getting cast. The competition was pretty cutthroat. They called back a lot of really good actors, most of which outweigh me in expereince and training. I'm hoping I'll hear back either way by the end of this week. In the meanwhile, I have scenes to work on for class, a Much Ado callback on Saturday, rehearsal, and my KP monologue to prep. I think I'll be able to keep myself busy enough this week.

Callbacks for Teatro Vision: "Bless Me, Ultima"

Teatro Vision is currently working on adapting Rudolfo Anaya’s Bless Me, Ultima into a play. I loved this book in high school and am looking forward to it going up onstage, even if I’m not a part of it. Elisa Marina Alvarado will be directing. You can check up on Teatro’s updates on their Facebook page.

My callback time slot was for 7:30pm, but I arrived at 7pm to give myself time to warm-up. A bunch of actors were sitting around chatting. It was a very familiar feeling. A lot of people seem to already know each other. It reminded me of my family gatherings-all the laughing, storytelling and joking. I hadn't been sent a script because at the time it hadn't been developed yet, so we were asked to read the novel. However, when I got there some people already had scripts. I was a bit confused. I also had the impression some people had been precast.

I was also wary of the outfit I had chosen. The email that was sent to me said that we should wear comfortable clothing and bring our own water with us. To me, that reads as I’m going to either be dancing or just doing a lot of movement. So I wore some workout shorts, a rock tee that I cut the collar off of, my vans and some makeup (gotta look good, right?). However, a number of people were dressed in jeans, nice shirts, some of the ladies even had heels. Only one other lady showed up wearing a workout sort of outfit, and a couple of the guys. I was initially really worried I had picked out the wrong outfit. As I learned later though, I did not.

It was at least a half hour before I was called in to read, so in the meanwhile I talked to the other actors who were also waiting. I talked a lot with a young woman who was working for Kaiser Permanente's youth traveling program, which I am very interested in. I grilled her about the program. She had travelled all the way from Fresno, where she was currently touring and then had to return the same night. Another gentleman, also with Kaiser, had driven from Sacramento.

When my time slot came up I was not prepared for the first part of the audition. I, 3 other ladies and 2 men were called in. There were sides on a table in the room, but we hadn’t been handed any. Instead, we were assigned characters, I was given one of TENORIO’s daughters, and a scene was described to us. I was very confused as to what was expected of me. I wasn't sure if were improvising, improvising with dialogue we were supposed to make up, or I was supposed to have something memorized. And we were just told to start. I became more confused when one of the guys started speaking. I looked at the other ladies who were also assigned to be daughters for guidance. They looked as confused as I was, but we all just sort of went for it. So we all just improvised it. After performing our improv piece one, which involved quite a bit of movement, we were assigned a side.

The first side was LUCAS stumbling upon TENORIO. The side was very similar to the scene we’d just improvised so I was thinking that Elisa had just wanted to see our physicality. After doing that once were then assigned sides similar to what we'd just done. Again, I was assigned to be one of TENORIO’s daughters. We ran the scene a couple of times. With the same group were assigned another side (minus a woman who had been playing "Death")-a school scene. Myself and another lady swapped JUNE's lines on different turns. We were dismissed for a bit after running the scene a couple of times.

I had some down time and spoke with a gentleman working on WVLO's White Christmas. He has a blog you should check out. I then was called back in to work with another group did the same TENORIO daughter scene. After a couple of runs with it I was let go for the evening.

I was quite satisfied with my work. I was also glad I spent time physically and vocally warming up. I probably should’ve warmed up more since I spent at least half an hour not doing anything. Also, I was glad that I was wearing the workout clothes because I spent much of my time being physical as a daughter. Now comes the waiting game. As I said before, even if not cast I felt I did a good job, there’s always room for improvement of course, and am looking forward to the production in general.