Tag Archives: Shakespeare

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Year 2013 is Looking Sexy

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Alexandra Del SoleHello New Year of 2013!  I just wanted to post a few things to keep all you tons and tons of readers out there updated with what’s shakin.  We had a great run of the show Taming of the Shrew and we received a couple great reviews.  “Not to be overlooked is Alexandra Poncelet Del Sole, as the supposedly demure Bianca. Though she plays the cry baby early on, Poncelet Del Sole’s Bianca becomes more than a foil for Katherina here. She rightly gains a haughty edge in Act 3, Scene 1, first flirting with Lucentio and then rejecting Hortensio. Bianca has three suitors on a string in this play, and Poncelet Del Sole deftly handles each would-be lover.”  I have never been personally pointed out before so this was quite fun for me to see.  Check out the whole article HERE.

In other news I also filmed a Holiday restaurant commercial which was fun with the guys at SituatioNormal Studios.  Take a look-see….

This new year has started out pretty rad and I vowed to keep myself open to things outside my comfort zone and go for the changes in life and not fear them.  That being said, I joined a Burlesque show called Va Va Va Venus where I will be singing and performing with these lovely dancers.  Talk about stepping outside of your own box.  Oh, and I cut my hair and got bangs.  ( If you’re a girl you understand it’s a big deal 🙂 )  Hope you all had a great season and raise a toast to this being a very lucky year.  xoxo

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Zombies, Mad Men, and a King

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Today was surreal.  For a few hours I was sitting in a room at Pearl Studios in NYC  with the cast of the up coming reading of King Lear.  So what?  You might say that, but here is the insane part.  I spent the day with Bebe Neuwrith, Jeffery DeMunn (Dale from THE WALKING DEAD), Darrell Hammond (SNL), and Rich Sommer (MAD MEN) and a few more extremely awesome people.  It was so exciting to meet Jeffery since his character was my favorite on The Walking Dead, and I literally jumped out of my chair screaming and crying when he was killed off.  I might have had a few glasses of wine so I was emotional but either way Dale was the best.  Tomorrow night is the actual Gala event and I feel like I have drunk 10 Mountain Dews like honey boo boo child (toddlers in tiaras reference) and can’t wait to see the audience’s reaction to this star-studded venue.  For now I am going to do jumping jacks until I pass out. Here is a link for tickets and info on King Lear, as well as an article on Broadway World.

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Sometimes We Smell

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Happy Saturday!  Tonight will be the third run of our show Midsummer Nights Dream.  Instead of boring you with news about all the wonderful “oooooohs and ahhhhhhhs” we got for our preview shows, I am gonna give you a few behind the scene details that made me chuckle and doubt if things were gonna be pulled off in time for opening night.  First things first….we lost our set designer the day before we opened and the stage was left in a sad, weeping, naked and vulnerable state.  If you could picture in your head three plain black walls with two benches and that’s it, then you probably understand why were a little shocked.  Within moments of our director telling us the bad news, our amazing costume director swooped in like a super hero and offered to help out.  In doing so, he created a beautiful forest with draping trees and a visual world for the actors to run through.  (problem 1)  Then we ran into an issue for me and the other fairy dancers that the stage and new platforms created a challenge since the rehearsal space we had been practicing in was quite different and we didn’t account that we were going to be dancing on a 6×6 ft raised box.  We had one fairy down but she bravely got back up and into the game.  Thank goodness it was only during a rehearsal and she wasn’t badly hurt.  (problem 2)  Some of the male characters were given boots as part of their costume and boy did they create a whirlwind, literally.  Those boots were so new that when the men ran across stage they each ended up either on their asses or gliding around stage with flailing arms like a terrible ice skater.  (problem 3)  I don’t know what it is about someone tripping or accidentally falling (with no injuries of course) that makes me giggle.  That’s actually how I made one of my best friends years ago.  I had just started working at the Barnes and Noble Cafe and one of our closing tasks was to mop the floors.  Me and Alana* were almost finished when all of a sudden I saw her slip, fall, and then slide into a bunch of garbage cans as if she were the bowling ball and the cans were the pins.  I could not contain my laughter and finally managed to spit out an “are you ok?!”  I later found out she didn’t like me very much from that moment on but fortunately she forgave me and we can still laugh about it today.  An Alex issue kept coming up for me during dress rehearsal which is that I COULD NOT remember one of my lines, and by line I mean one word.  I think I need to work on my short-term memory skills because every time the fairies ran on stage I had to cue them by saying the word, “Ready!”  I would get so wrapped up in the moment I was entering stage in full excitement that I would blank out on what to do next.  It finally took my friend behind me to continuously poke me in my ribs to realize I had to say something.  I keep joking with her that maybe on the last night of the show I will finally remember my line.  (problem 4)  Another issue that actors rarely bring up is the smell of their costumes.  I’m gonna keep it real for this blog and for those that don’t participate in theater so they know what really goes on. Sorry to break the news.  Costumes usually get cleaned once a week so you can imagine it creates a very interesting Eau Du Stinky (read that with a fake French accent and it makes it funnier.)  Good thing there is such products as perfume and febreze.  (problem 5)  I guess most of these aren’t earth shattering problems but they just make me shake my head and smile and hopefully bring you a little closer into the world of THEATRE.  xo

 

* -Alana is not my best friend’s real name.  It is not to protect her, but to protect me from being yelled at.  😉

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BraveHeart

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I find it a very strange thing that as I travel to rehearsals or productions the rest of the commuter world is going home. As their work day ends at 5 o’clock, mine begins and I skip about the mob of people going in the opposite direction of me. If you have ever traveled via subway during rush hour, then you must know the challenge of going against the crowd. It’s almost as if you are in a mini version of Braveheart and have to charge forward through the mass of people. As long as I have my heavy-duty headphones on with music blasting I feel like I can gracefully dodge the oncoming chaos. After battling the trains to get to the theater, todays rehearsal started promptly with a change in the ending of the show and a new song that needed to be learned. We have 6 days till we open the doors to the public and I couldn’t be more frantic. They say in theater if you have a bad dress rehearsal then the show will be terrific, so hears hoping to some rough days ahead. 🙂 We received our promo cards today so if you see these around town you better grab one and come to see Midsummer Nights Dream. This is actually the first full length Shakespeare play that I have ever done, so I am getting a crash course on how different it is from regular theater. As you can see in the photo, things get quite interesting and always expect the unexpected. Till tomorrow…Adieu xo

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Dance Magic Dance

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I woke up this morning with songs from the movie Labyrinth in my brain.  After winding down from the past couple of days, Tim decided to make me smile by popping in a childhood favorite of mine.  If always reminds me of being a kid and being home on sick days.  I would bundle up in blankets, hold onto my favorite dolls and watch this fantasy land unfold.  If you haven’t seen it, definitely check it out to see the magic puppetry of Jim Henson and Kevin Clash (aka Elmo).  Thank goodness my past couple of days were not invaded by Goblin kings, so I was able to continue with my acting.  On Sunday I went to the two script readings felt like a super actor.  Nahh, I just felt good about having an entire day filled with people and things involving the career I want.  The first script reading was for a movie, based on a true story of a writer  that unknowingly got manipulated into crime.  The actors read in front of a mysterious group of people so here’s hoping this script gets picked up by producers and it works out for the author.  As I mentioned in a previous post I was able to read with some friends and it was nothing less than fun, happy and stress-free.  It’s always good to catch up with those you shared such wonderful memories with but haven’t spoken to in a while.  The second script reading was for an upcoming play about a man and his invisible friend.  It is very rare that I absolutely enjoy, and become ecstatic about modern plays but this one proved to be one of the best.  I walked into an intimidating room of talented actors sitting around a coffee table with their shoes off, wine glasses in hand and chatting about how each of them went to school together and what shows they performed with one another.  It was a bit of a slap in the face for little me.  Kind of ironic that I had just come from a similar situation and didn’t take notice to those that were in the position I was in now.  There is a certain dynamic of actors that know each other and I was getting a good taste of how I could have seemed cliqueish in the script reading before this.  So, I put on my “big girl pants” and decided to attack the script the best I could.  After a couple of hours I fell in love with the play and felt blessed to be in a room with such talent.  I truly hope it gets picked up because its gonna be a biiiiig deal when it does.  In fairness to the author I don’t want to tell much more about it.  Monday began the week of rehearsals for Midsummer Nights Dream.  We have less than a month till opening and I hope I am able to memorize my Shakespearian lines for my debut with The Frog and Peach Theater Company.  I have never thought so much about the character actions, and mind-set of a faery, but I guess in this business one must expect the unexpected.  xo