Wednesday, November 18, 2009

#5.5. SLAMBoston, again

After finishing up with our Shakespeare Now auditions, Chelsea, Joe and I walked down the street into Boston University territory to attend auditions for the Independent Drama Society's SLAMBoston.

For those that don't know, SLAMBoston is a ten-minute play festival licensed by Another Country Productions to other theatre companies. The producing company gets to use the name "SLAMBoston" while Another Country gets to put their name on the bill. Everybody wins!!

Location
When we reached the building in which the auditions were said to be held, the three of us - with the help of our new traveling companion, Mike, who had also just come from the Shakespeare Now audition - scoured the halls for clues as to what room the auditions were being held in.

In time, we stumbled upon a fellow from the IDS who pointed us upstairs into a lecture hall. There, the lot of us filled out audition forms and read over summaries for the eight or so plays being produced, all while shooting the breeze with the gang in charge.

Scenario
All the gang from the IDS - they didn't seem any older than us, which was pretty heartening - were running around handing off scripts and information to each other from between the sign-in room in the second floor and the audition room a floor above and several doors over. This was so, because they were the only rooms in the building that they could find.

Joe and I were handed sides from a play about guys who can or can't pee while they're having a conversation.

Audition
And then we went upstairs to read it for four or five directors. Afterwards, one of them handed us a piece of paper and said, "Make a scene out of this. Come back in five minutes."

He handed us The Jabberwocky.

So Joe and I crafted a tale of love, valor and cowardice, and through both our pains the Jabberwocky was slain.

Chelsea and Katie Müller , who arrived shortly after us when we told her to come, were handed the same material, only instead of slaying the Jabberwocky they humped each other.

The audition went on very similarly, being handed sides and working on them very quickly with each other, and those that we didn't know as well. The materials seemed more varied and accessible than that from the last SLAMBoston I was in. It was as far removed as you could imagine from the Shakespeare Now audition - we were having fun!

Reflection
I was cast! The play is called Canadian Tuxedo, and is being directed by Ben Flad of the IDS. It's about hitmen. Which is rad.

Katie was also cast in a play along with our cohort Scarlett Redmond. We are taking this Slam by storm.

So, in these last two rounds of headshots, the two times that I was cast were for productions of SLAMBoston.

The professional companies may not care for me, but the independent guys seem to love me!

And: I was never actually asked for a headshot. That totally makes up for my having to give two to the Shakespeare Now people.

Cha-ching!



Still, 5 headshots remain.

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

#4. & #5. Shakespeare Now Tour

I have returned again to Boston Playwrights Theater to flex my Shakespeare muscles.

This time, it's for touring productions of Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night's Dream and Macbeth.

80 bucks a show. You better believe every actor I knew showed up.

Scenario
After reading for a webseries about superhero dating at my alma mater, Emerson College, I hopped on the train and headed right over to Boston Playwrights' Theatre.

Comrades Chelsea Schmidt and Joe Ruscio were already signing in when I arrived. They recognized several young actors, as did I. My roommates Megan Reynold (who is cast in their current production of Macbeth) and Andres Solorano (who is cast in Apollinaire's Wonderful World of Dissocia) appeared in time.

I'm gonna be honest. I was pretty nervous. I worked very hard on my monologue on the roof of my apartment. I mean, rolling around and yelling at people in the streets below. But I hadn't gotten the chance to perform it in front of another person.

I was also gassy as all hell, which seemed inappropriate considering that everyone was pacing around and being aloof. Like at so many auditions. Didn't seem like the kind of place to just start farting.

But you know what? I can't change how I feel, mentally or physically. I walked off a ways, did some stretching and farted a little.

Audition
The three directors greeted me. I don't remember any of them, but the second fellow looked awfully familiar.

"What've you got for us?"

"Launce, from Two Gentlemen."

"Take your time."

Reflection
I'm not sure how I did it, but I got to the point, that point that sometimes an actor gets to when he doesn't care if his performance is what the directors are looking for - because at a certain point it's all about what HE wants out of his performance.

The thing is I'm not really sure how it happened. I'm not really sure how you MAKE IT happen. I think I was just lucky.

I think it was because, when I first walked in, I was legitimately anxious. I was anxious because I hadn't auditioned with a brand new monologue in months.

Maybe I can just keep alternating between being a complete slacker of an actor and then suddenly working really hard on my material. Exploring those two extremes seems to create a kind of apathetic satori where all is one and nothing really matters and that's why it's great.

I mean, like, maybe.

The thing is? Even though the audition was for three plays, the cast for all three will be made up of an ensemble of only 7 actors.

And they asked for two copies of my headshot.

WELL.



5 headshots remain.