Something I Love

This is from the preface of the play Dylan, and I absolutely love it.

In the dark of the theatre we remember ourselves. And we know we are
not average men and that Madison Avenue shall not sell us that we are.
In the inner space of the theatre, our blood turns red. Our nerves
signal us...across the orchestra pit, straight to the pit of our
stomachs with the pitiless speed of feeling which, if not faster, is
more revealing than light. In the bell and siren of the theatre, the
dormant half of the brain wakes up. Speaks up, saying, "Who can
identify with ordinary men?" For non of us is ordinary to ourselves.
And it is ourselves that we awaken, in the morning of the theatre.
Nobody is John Doe, but everybody is Hamlet, prince, insane, with
murders to commit, with trapdoor graves of Ophelia-loves to leap into,
with wit and poetry on the tongue's apt tip. And everybody is
Falstaff, gross drunk, thief, liar, and scoundrel...All men want to
turn a flower girl into a princess. And all women, once having been
turned into a princess, want to turn about and tell the teacher off.
And both may relish having the mind of Shaw to do it with... And that
is where we live. In the reality of the theatre. Not in the fiction of
society. But where we can identify. Where we are extraordinary. Where
we speak like angels, feel like saints, and act like heroes. Where
life is romantic and true as the telescopes tell us. Where we remember
ourselves, in the passionate, compassionate, tall, large, deep,
bright, dark of the theatre.

Ready or Not

I have a confession: I am a copy cat. My good friend and classmate has decided to blog about our time in Moscow, and I have decided, in turn, to copy her. I figured, hey, I already have a blog; does it matter that I haven't written on it in over a year? The answer is probably, yes, it does matter, and Alex, you are still a big, big copy cat. For that, I am sorry. But not sorry enough to not blog about it.

Here is my gorgeous friend's blog. Everyone should check it out because not only is she a talented actress, she is quite the writer as well:

Click here

So, since it has been over a year since I have written (and I know I have tons of readers waiting with bated breath), I should probably do a catch up post on what I've been up to. My life since July 2010 can only be summed up in two words: graduate school. I am a first year at the ART/MXAT Institute for Advanced Theater Training at Harvard, and yes, that is the whole name of my school. Very succinct right?

I have been fortunate enough to be surrounded by 17 other incredibly talented and dedicated actors. They have become my family, spending sometimes 13 hours together a day in class and in rehearsal, and then VOLUNTARILY hanging out after to grab a pint or two (or three). We have only known each other since July, but at this point, these poor people know more about me than my poor family. They have seen me at my best, and, unfortunately for them, at my worst: drenched from movement class, cranky from lack of sleep and that particular time of month, bombing a scene or monologue, crying for no particular reason, pulling out my hair, eating away my sorrows in chocolate, etc etc.

We arrive six days a week at 9AM and give our blood, sweat, and tears to this program. Nothing but a 1,000% is expected, and believe me, if you don't give it, the program will outright take it from you. It demands it. Our teachers are highly respected in the theater world, and we are lucky enough to call the American Repertory Theater our training ground and home. We have a legacy of groundbreaking artistic directors and producers, brilliant actors, and visionary directors, and I feel blessed to be a part of a program that is so dedicated to helping each artist achieve their personal best.

So far we have taken:
4 different acting classes and techniques
Voice
Russian Movement
Russian language
Drama History
Strength Conditioning
Yoga
Pilates
Modern
Jazz
Choreography
Ballet
Speech and IPA
Shakespeare
Voice Lab
Singing Technique
Singing Repertory
Music Theory
Alexander Technique

We have also been in rehearsal for the premiere of a new play by Brendan Shea. It is based off of the stories The Sandman and The Nutcracker by ETA Hoffman. It is being directed by Janos Szasz, the cutest and most foul-mouthed little Hungarian man you will ever come across.


And now, as a class, we are about to embark on a completely new journey together. We leave on Monday to travel to Moscow! We will be performing said ETA Hoffman play in repertory at the Moscow Art Theater, where we will also be taking classes. This theater was founded by Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko and is known for producing some of the first performances of Chekhov's work. It set the stage for naturalistic acting, and as such, birthed the modern form of theatrical training and acting in Europe, which then spread to the rest of the world.

So, there you go--I am a copycat. I hope to blog regularly about my time in Moscow. I have less than 2 days until I leave, and still, it doesn't seem real. I look to Moscow with anxious excitement, unsure of what to expect (or what to pack), but filled with energy and enthusiasm. I have studied the language, rehearsed the play, read the guide books, and packed my adapters, yet I know nothing can fully prepare me for Russia. Ready or not, I'm going.