tired, and ugh
Mood: worried
Posted on 2005-08-01 15:36:00
Tags: asmc charlottesweb
Words: 280
So this weekend was ASMC weekend #1. The show Friday night didn't go very well, but the rest of them (3 on Saturday, 2 on Sunday) went from fine to good. All the shows (except for the friends and family Friday show) sold out, which is quite a difference from last year (perhaps because "Peter Pan" is a better draw than "Fractured Fairies and Tails", which is a little less clear exactly what it is). I had fun, but it really drained my energy so I was both physically and mentally tired by Sunday evening. The kids seemed to enjoy it, though, so that's good.
So I've been stressed this weekend and today about totally different things. Today I'm stressed about work, which I think is a sign that I need to be less invested in my work. Which I'm not good at doing. So, um, we'll see how that goes.
The other thing I've been stressed about (I think this is the big thing) is Charlotte's Web - I started trying to learn my lines during performances and downtime this weekend, because lately I've been almost entirely unable to not do something I consider "productive" during free time. But that's another story. Anyway, I'm really worried about learning all my lines (there are gobs and gobs of them). And I'm having second thoughts about the whole thing (not in the sense of backing out - I've already signed a contract and all that, but whether I would say yes again if I had the chance). It's not like I've ever done any sort of "real" theater before...the acting and stuff was all incidental to the singing.
So, I'm a little down.
7 comments
Comment from wildrice13:
2005-08-01T17:19:22+00:00
Yoo can doo eeet!!!!!!
And yes, things are always rough around tech week. They'll calm down, you'll get your lines learned, you'll do wonderfully (he wouldn't have asked you if you weren't talented beyond the singing, silly) and everything will be hunky-dory :)
Comment from cifarelli:
2005-08-01T18:32:44+00:00
Worry about whether you'd say yes again AFTER you've learned your lines and done the show. You don't even know how it's gonna go yet! :)
Comment from egray:
2005-08-01T18:46:09+00:00
some of the most brilliant community actors i've ever seen are first-timers! and several who are old hands are terrible. experience is in NO way a gauge of skill in acting! (especially in community theater)
and yes, it will be stressful! i remember a show i did where one of the leads didn't get all his lines nailed until the day before opening night, and yes i bit my fingernails to the quick and thought i was going to kill him, but he turned out to be a shining star as the sheriff! :-) which is not to say you shouldn't know your lines before opening night, but that even if you don't, you can still be fabulous!
things always have a way of working themselves out, especially in the theater!
my own personal tips for learning gobs and gobs of lines:
- write them out, especially for long monologues. it always helps me cement them into memory.
- i don't know how much time you have, but i try and do something like 2-3 scenes a week and run them constantly, in the car, in the shower, as you're cooking dinner, in bed before you go to sleep (especially good if you have someone else to run them with). taking smaller chunks and doing them over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over makes them second nature, so it's not such a huge task.
- one of my friends made flashcards with all her cues on one side, and the first two words of her line on the other. she claimed it helped a great deal, but i always had to memorize things in order.
come to think of it, i don't really have that many tips, sorry.
you'll be fantastic though! and as the applause and adoration of the crowd rain down upon you, it will all be worth it.
Comment from gregstoll:
2005-08-02T09:10:13+00:00
Thanks for the tips! I'll have to give them a shot :-)
Comment from wonderjess:
2005-08-03T18:55:13+00:00
I just talked to mom--she was very worried that you died at the end of the play...but I was right in assuring her that you lived and charlotte died, right? I haven't read/seen it in a long time...but I thought it was pretty funny she was so worried.
and you'll be great! if nothing else, you'll be trailblazing as the only paid actor member of the family...except for a cousin...cousin loretta's daughter (loretta's aunt jenny & uncle joe's daughter) is/was an actress in california. but that hardly counts. different last name and all. :) or, if you'd rather, acting is in your blood. whichever one makes you feel better.
Comment from gregstoll:
2005-08-03T19:13:52+00:00
Yeah - I hadn't read it for a long long time, but I live at the end. But that's cute :-)
Heh, that's neat. Thanks!
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