Sunday, December 16, 2007

Apprentice's Perspective, Volume I, Issue 2

Hey blog friends. It's Jacob. 'member me?

Did I say weekly? Maybe not. In fact, I even had a whole post written up, but it was apparently eaten by the draft system on blogger. Oh well...here is some info on what I've been up to.

- I found out who I'm going to be in Twelfth Night! Please come out and see me in January as *deep breath* Valentine / Sea Captain / Servant / First Officer / Priest. My real star making turn as the Sea Captain comes in the second scene, so I suppose you could leave after that, but if you did, you'd miss a pretty darn good show. Everyone has been working ridiculously hard on it, as the time crunch is, apparently, even more severe than in a "normal" Tavern production. No worries, though. It forces one to step up their game when they know they're under the gun. Or at least it forces me too. I'll speak from my own experience.

In conclusion, come see it. It's a lot of fun!

- I would also be remiss if I didn't point out that my partner, Tiffany, is ripping it up as Fabian in Twelfth Night. She's really good, y'all.

- Since we last spoke, I've gotten to audition for two other shows at the Tavern. The first, Of Mice and Men, was interesting in that I was able to audition with a fellow apprentice. I was also, sad to say, a little more nervous than I would be normally, just because it was my first "real" Tavern audition. And, granted, you won't see me in Of Mice and Men, but the experience was invaluable. Plus, you will see an apprentice make an appearance, as Mark Schroder will be playing "Interstitial Banjo Guy"! Congrats, Mark!

The second just concluded and, let me tell you, I'm pretty tired from it. The first set of auditions for Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead were this past week, and I felt pretty good about them. Jeff McKerley is such a wonderful, sweet man in the audition room. He really put me at ease immediately so I was able to calm down and focus on the task at hand. I was even able to remember all of my monologue - No small feat, as I has just memorized it the day prior. During the cold read portion of the evening, I really took in my surroundings. Everyone being on even ground was exciting. I felt as if I had just as much of a chance as anyone.

Turned out, I did, because I got a callback that I went in for today. It was odd to be reading for R&G with guys that have played Hamlet, Petruchio and The Bastard from King John at the Tavern, but I definitely took ownership of it. It was my time, for good or ill, so I made the most of it. We'll find out what happens with that later on, but there's plenty of time for that. For now, I'm still pretty darn tired. That play is so textually thick that it takes energy to put those thoughts out there.

- We're working on Alexander technique. I know so little about it, I am loath to say anything, so let's just say that it's a new frontier to explore.

- We also started Madrigal class, which has to be the hardest class for me. I came here with a solid working knowledge of what it took to build a scene, create a character, drive a fight, drive a nail and so on. However, music is something I fall behind in. I've been in several musicals before, but I have problems singing in front of an audience. Furthermore, I have no clue about music theory, how to read music, or...anything, really. Thank God our teacher (Matthew Trautwein, who you'll ALSO see in Twelfth Night, as Feste...) is taking it slowly. As is, it's like someone speaking Spanish to me. I know enough to be able to pick out a word or two, but I just feel lost. I'm working hard to try and catch up, though. I know that class will be very good for me.

- After taking a little time away from my monologue in text class, I was able to dive right back into it. I'm having a great time inhabiting Hotspur for the time being. It's a very focused mindset to have.

- Speaking of text class, what promises to be my favorite class is coming up as the year draws to a close. Pizza and monologues. I can't wait. I also can't wait for it to be over, because, once it draws to a close, I'll be heading to my old Kentucky home for Christmas.

That seems as good a place as any to stop. I'll have another entry up...eventually. I'll try and make it sooner rather than later.

Have a great day, blog friends!