Tag: Theatre

NYC Photographer

NYC Photographer. Artist. Actress. Subway Photographer.

NYC Photographer

NYC Photographer. Artist. Actress. Subway Photographer.

Scrooge

As I’m sure my fellow bloggers know, coming to the page can sometimes be hard, so here goes! At first, when I thought about Scrooge I went for the obvious: bitter about Christmas and life. To be honest, sometimes I can feel a tiny bit Scrooge-y during the holidays…just a tiny bit. Holidays can be hard. I also decided I felt like adding levity to my post because laughing is so much fun. Trust me, this one’s pretty unique. I can’t imagine anyone out there has this exact story, ha ha!

I was 18 years old. I was a senior in high school, and I was performing at a local dinner theatre in “Scrooge: the Musical” 4 nights per week. To me, it was so cool that I was doing professional dinner theatre while still being in high school! It was a lot of fun, and I’ll never for get it; especially one particular performance. During one of the party scenes of a Christmas in the past I was wearing a hoop skirt and there was a lot of spinning in the choreography. There were 3 of us girls on stage, all in hoop skirts. Now, I’m not sure how many of you are in theatre, but for those who are not, hoop skirt costumes don’t always have as many layers to wear underneath as regular hoop skirt outfits. I can now hear the collective groan as you, the reader, see where this is going, ha ha. Well, the spinning portion of the dance came around…and boy was there a lot of spinning…and I was in heels, too. Of course, when you’re spinning in that kind of dress it tends to take on a velocity of its own, so you better hold onto your partner tight! I did just that, but somehow…our hands came undone…and the world went wildly out of control. I saw the horrified faces of the other performers as I spiraled out of control, off the stage, skidded across the floor, and landed underneath the table at a poor older woman’s feet. Here’s the cherry on top of a fall that doesn’t seem like it could be more embarrassing: since I was flat on the floor my hoop skirt…well, you get the idea. There was more to be seen than I intended, that’s for sure. Without giving it a second thought I remembered that the show must go on, so I popped up, brushed myself off, ran onto the stage, and resumed…spinning with my dance partner, all the while smiling more so than I’ve ever smiled in my life so my embarrassment would be hidden. For the record, no one got hurt and now it makes for a fun party story! I’m glad, though, that this was not recorded.

I hope I have made you chuckle, as that was entirely my sole intention in telling you this story! Scrooge

Can A Place Hold A Memory?

I found myself thinking this while sitting in the audience tonight at rehearsal. I love sitting in the empty theatre of whatever show I’m performing in and coming to a state of comfortable balance in the space; just observing, centering myself. It’s a space of exploration for me. I’m curious about the great actors who may have graced that stage before me. How cool is it that I get to be in the same space? I’m not sure if it’s just me projecting my assumptions or not, but either way it’s special to me.

I learned about centering myself in the space in a class in college called The Speaking Voice In Performance. For the first few classes we laid on the ground, eyes closed, focusing on being in the moment and the breath. It may not seem like work, but you’d be surprised at how much emotional work and mental effort goes into quieting your brain and allowing yourself to let go of your anxieties or thoughts. After a while, with the noise of the outside world drifting away outside the black box doors, for an hour each day my mind quieted long enough to hear things I’d never noticed before. The hissing of the pipes, the creaking of a door, the sounds of the building becoming increasingly louder, as I myself grew increasingly quieter. The energy of the room became more apparent than it had before. This room had its own life, its own energy, its own vitality. I became just a passerby in the big scheme of things. I liked that. It reminded me that my anxieties are not the totality of the truth of my existence. There were many bigger elements outside of myself. For some, realizing that they are a tiny particle in a much bigger universe is frightening and makes them feel unimportant. For me, it started to relax me and showed me that the universe is vast and wonderful if you stop long enough to listen to it. It is not frightening nor depressing to me, my small nature in the big scheme of things; it is a relief. I am only in control of what I do. I can’t control the world outside of me, much as I can try, but at the end of the day I am not responsible for the actions of everyone and everything else in my vicinity. It’s a huge weight lifted. This vast world and the infinite space beyond all have their own marvels that I get to be privy to, should I choose to wonder at them. So, can this microcosm of a space in the big expanse hold a memory?

It may be far-fetched to jump from the contents of the last paragraph back to the original question, but in my brain it makes quite a bit of sense, so I’ll try to span the bridge as best I can for you, dear reader. Quieting my brain enough to be rooted in the space I’m in with no outside distractions, no cars honking, no passersby cursing, no trains humming, and getting in tune with the energy of the space leads me to question how one effects the environments they’ve spent time in, energetically. Who came before me in this space? On this stage? In this audience? In this dressing room? What great work has been performed exactly where my two feet are planted? How many wonderful memories have been created in this theatre? How much laughter? What did that sound like? How many memorable performances? How many standing ovations? Am I standing on the same ground, the exact spot, of the great performers who have inspired so many? There are so many that I admire. Have they left their energetic mark on these walls? As I experience the room, thinking these things, my imagination goes deeper and deeper, until I can almost see and hear each of these instances happening. Am I walking in the literal steps of the greats who’ve gone before me? I like to think so, and hopefully someone will come along and wonder the same about me…

NYC

RDP Monday: Dazzle

“Give em’ the old razzle dazzle, razzle dazzle em”. Any “Chicago” fans out there? That lyric was literally the first thing that came to mind when I thought about the word dazzle. Dazzle sounds sparkly, doesn’t it? It sounds glitzy, like the 20’s, at least in my opinion. It reminds me of themed 20’s parties, songs, dances, movies, singing, and general stuff of that era. It also makes me think about how I can dazzle people…or at least “dazzle” my own life. You see, I’m an entrepreneur, so I’m always thinking of ways to dazzle my customers at all of my jobs (yes, you read that correctly, I have several jobs). I’m a waitress, dog walker, house sitter, e-commerce store owner, and aspiring actress/singer. There’s a lot of room to dazzle there!

Thinking about the e-commerce store, though (millennialpets.org), I’m always learning and growing. I’m not particularly technically inclined, and that is an uphill climb for me…but I’m always learning and achieving and acquiring new skills. I’ve learned more about how the internet/tech works in the last few months than I have in a lifetime, and it really is a whole other world. All in all, I hope to dazzle my clients every day with awesome customer service, speed, accuracy, and products that provide tons of incredible memories! I also hope to have the skills of Broadway stars so that I can literally dazzle entire audiences every night one day. It will happen. In the meantime, keep on being you, you fabulous ragtagdailyprompt’ers! Have a wonderful Monday!

Because Sometimes You’re Just Obsessed With Everything Broadway and You Dream of the Day When It’s YOU In One Of Those Shows…

The city’s gorgeous late at night, when it’s just you, the lights, and the buildings that bustle by day…

I’ve found that ambition has a price, so I’m trying to revel in the beauty of the moment while working to make my dreams happen. 🙂