Time for another post

Hey it sure has been a while since I last wrote here. Sorry about that. Good thing we have GoogleReader and other RSS-type-feed-thingies or I wouldn't have any more readers at all. A lot and not much has happened since I last wrote. I'll give just a few highlights of what I have been doing with acting the last little while.

"The Foreigner" - As you know I auditioned and got called-back for this production at the Hale Center Theatre in Orem. As you also know I didn't get cast. What you don't know is that a few weeks later I ran into Laurie Harrop-Purser (the director) at the grocery market and she came up to me and let me know that she loved my audition and callback and that the Hales also loved me, but unfortunately I was too young for them to cast me in that production for the roles they would have like me for. So, I feel good about that. I've got my toe in the door and if they'd stop doing musicals all the time I might actually get cast in a show. Or I should just get over myself and audition for more musicals.

The Playmill Theatre - On that note I did audition and get calledback for the Playmill Theatre's summer season. I worked for them two summers ago and it was a wonderful experience and they were all so excited to see me again. That made me feel great. I should find out tomorrow or later this week if I got cast. They are doing "Joseph", "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels", and "High School Musical". Should be good. I'm auditioning because I enjoyed it, I need the money, the free-time I would have would be perfect for perfecting my work, and it scares me. Musical theatre terrifies me and yet I have a great desire to be able to do it. The Playmill is a wonderful place to confront and overcome those fears. That's why I'm doing this again.

ACTF - This last week was ACTF for Region 8. I, of course, didn't go being as I have graduated, but I had the wonderful opportunity to work with a lot of the partnerships and coach and direct them. It was a wonderful experience and I learned a lot. The biggest things I learned, or re-learned, are the importance of technical control (projection, articulation, word-stress, vocal strength, movement, stage presence, comic timing, understanding of styles and periods, etc.) and emotional vulnerability. Combined these elements make for powerful theatre. However, both require lots of training and hard work to develop. Unfortunately, a lot of young actors (myself included) get frustrated when it doesn't come right away. It takes time. It takes effort. And you will spend your entire life working on it.

Sadly, non of BYU's students advanced through to the semi-final round. Which is very shocking to me since BYU almost always has a strong representation in the semi and final rounds, and also because we had some very solid scenes being presented this year. I'm still very perplexed, but life goes on. It could be any number of factors and I'm sure it is. I willingly acknowledge my role. I know that I am still young and learning how to coach and direct and I'm wouldn't be surprised if the students that worked with me lost out on some better coaching and training than they could have received. I'm not sure. I'm still learning how to better coach and teach. I did see some great work happen though, and I know that they are very talented artists.

Ah, well. That's just the nature of this business. I think the best remedy is to know in yourself that you are doing good work and that you feel good about it. Honestly admit room for improvement; but also honestly admit success and ability. Don't let what others say about your work (whether positive or negative) weigh too heavily on your opinion of your work. You know where it is at and you know where you want it to be. So make the effort to achieve that.

New Testament films - I also auditioned for the LDS Church's new series of films they are making about the New Testament. It was fun and a good experience, but I don't expect to get called back. First of all because my audition didn't go very well. I'm still trying to figure out this whole film audition thing. It's a very different beast than stage auditions. Secondly, I don't think I'll be cast because they are looking for Middle Eastern and Greek looking people, and I'm about as pale as they come short of being albino.

LDS Film Festival - My roommates and I participated in the 24 Hour Film competition with a very silly entry about Lesser Known Stories of the Bible. We won an honorable mention, which was very nice. Once it gets posted on-line I'll include a link to it. It was quite silly.

That's the latest update. I'm planning on writing more often, since this is what I love to do and the more I write about it, the more excited I get and want to make sure I'm doing all that I can to keep on top of my career choices.