Not Like the Movies

Imagine This

Movie Sal: I sit at my laptop, adorn my reading glasses and a pleasantly pensive face, then begin typing. 

Real Sal: I sit at my laptop, lean the chair forward so my stomach presses against the desk, unbutton my jeans and discard my glasses.

Yeah, real lady-like, but… it's real. I still need to find that naturalistic quality in my acting, adding the details that achieve an undeniable sense of reality.

Somehow, My Life is Like the Movies

Movie Sal:  Sal struggles, is placed under pressure, then succeeds. She experiences a series of uncanny situations and develops an undeniable love for her work.

Real Sal:  Sal struggles through difficult Sondheim repertoire, sings in class, and is chosen as a representative of RWCMD for the upcoming Sondheim Competition in London. She meets the male representative and finds out they chose songs from the same musical and are singing to one another in these songs. Sal then attends class in which they're studying a new ensemble song from (you guessed it) the same musical…. That Musical Is:  Sunday in the Park with George. 

I'm going to go all Billy Elliot on you and say that this opportunity is electricity. Sunday in the Park with George gives me that inexplicable energy and passion that only beauty can evoke. I finished watching a youtube version starring Mandy Patinkin and Bernadette Peters, and I cried throughout Act II. It's just… so beautiful. The story revolves around Georges Seurat, who is developing his pointillism technique (i.e. shading and creating colours with dots of paint). Sondheim crafts his composition similarly, as its staccato quality reflects the dabs of paint layering on canvas. I know I sound crazy, but I'm not going to stop. You Must find yourself a 2hr block and watch it here - Sunday in the Park with George. If you don't have a 2hr block, watch it in increments. I honestly don't care, just do it.

I also realise that Mandy Patinkin is Inigo Montoya, and I revel in the fact that he and I share similar facial expressions and hairstyles.

Unfortunately, I fail to have a hairy chest like Inigo's.

New Ways of Dissecting Scripts

This week, we finished up a 4-week intensive with Bruce Guthrie. Bruce is a freelance director based in the U.K., but of course he's currently flying to Singapore to direct Merchant of Venice there. His approach to directing is extremely exhausting, but also extremely effective. He would get us to look at the lines with a highly critical lens:  what do I say about other people when they're in the room? what do I say about other people when they're not present? etc. etc. etc. It requires many in-depth readings of the text, and it helps to solidify one's character. Bruce has given us tools to approach text, but moreover he gives us advice on being a positive contribution to the rehearsal room:  

When assessing yourself in rehearsals, ask, "Would I do this if I were getting paid to do this job?" 

We need to realise that our professional habits start here, and our professional reputations can be sculpted by our interactions with these outstanding forces in the musical theatre industry - our teachers. 

Back to the Movies

Spring has come to Cardiff. We've had very little rain this past week (knock on wood) and the flowers are blooming. I awake warm and comfortable in my bed, with the sun embracing my face. This week's picture comes from a hazy morning when the moon refused to leave the sky.

I'm Happy to See You too!

The Positive Ending

+Danielle Douez  has kindly pointed out that I always finish my posts with optimism. To be honest, I have done this primarily so that you don't get too worried about me. Now, though, I'm going to end with a positive ending, because I am completely stoked about the following: I will have a beautiful little niece in 3 months time. I will be able to see this little niece in 4 months time. I am… incandescently happy. How do I know she's beautiful? Just look at her parents, hehehe :)

Not to Mention Stylish!