Tag Archives: Theater

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Subway Etiquette

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Todays little message is brought to you because the New York Subway has shown me it needs some etiquette lessons. I understand this town is focused on the hussel and bussel of fast paced commuters, but holy cow people are in need of some manners. In the past week alone I have experienced a slew of ill-tempered adults that need to learn to smile a bit more. My first encounter was with a woman who desperately needed to be in front of me to get on the train. Granted there was a problem with the train and we were asked to wait on the other side of the platform for a new one to come which resulted in under the breath grumbles. I had packed a mini suitcase filled with costumes and makeup that I needed for filming a movie scene the other day. I had deliberately placed it in front of me so it wouldn’t be in anyone’s way. WELL, some woman snuck up next to me and then proceeded to move me and my tiny suitcase out of the way so she could be a few more inches closer to the door. The following day, I had been waiting for the subway for a while and you could tell people were getting frustrated with the delay but it doesn’t excuse what happened next. The chugga chugga of the choo choo did me a favor and the doors ended up in front of me. Normally this means easy access to grabbing a seat. In polite fashion YOU SHOULD ALWAYS LET PEOPLE OFF THE TRAIN BEFORE YOU GET ON. I guess not everyone knows this because some chic in a yellow coat behind me had other plans. The doors flew open and passengers tried to get off but No, she couldn’t wait. She physically started pushing on my back as if I were invisible which led me into some weird ninja move to hurdle over people and baby carriages. I normally don’t like confrontation but I had to yell at this girl to back off. I had my headphones on so I think I shouted pretty loud. Which brings me to my next 2 topics. First, if someone is wearing headphones on the subway: they probably don’t want to have a conversation with you. Second: please don’t talk so loud (shout) to the group of people you are with when you are drunk or just plain rude. No one really wants to know what your baby’s daddy has been up to. This blog is actually longer then I thought so I shall just list the rest of my subway concerns.
* Please don’t FART or BURP. The smell gets trapped in the car and doesn’t leave until the next train stop.
* Please watch as you creepily slide your hand down the pole that I am holding on to. I keep lowering my fingers because the touch of strangers is awkward and that doesn’t mean I want you to follow my hand.
* Lastly, Staring is just very rude.
Thanks and sincerely Alex xo

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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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Snooze button Monday

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Hello Monday.  I don’t know how you will ever top my glorious weekend.  I was invited by my friend Greg to see The New York Pops at Carnegie Hall on Friday night.  The orchestra was performing a one night event in honor of music from Oscar Award winning movies.  The moment you walk into this theater your mouth drops open just a bit and your eyes twinkle from the light bouncing off the gold  embellishments on the walls and ceiling.  Our seats were so close up we could see the sweat glistening off Conductor Steven Reineke’s face.  Once the music started playing, it took everything in me not to get out of my seat and start dancing in the aisle.  The memorable theme songs from “Gone With The Wind” to “Star Wars” to “Harry Potter” drove me into an isolated finger dance in my chair.  Four days later and I am still humming The Cantina song.  I would normally put a link insert here but I wouldn’t want to put more people through this melodic torture.  After the last song I joyously clapped as hard as I could for all the talented musicians and then was quickly whisked away back stage to meet Mr Steven Reineke.  He is a tall handsome fellow and was very gracious to everyone he encountered.  Image

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Sunday evening was my turn to perform!  I worked with an incredibly creative, talented, and amazing actor and director.  We spent about 8 hours filming for a feature film where I spent the majority of the time running around in just a bed sheet and yelling profanity.  Any new experience or project I work on gets me super duper bluper nervous and it’s hard sometimes to get out of your head and use your skills.  I am so fortunate that my co-actor Nick has such an infectious personality, one can’t help laugh on set and feel at ease.  I can’t wait to hear more about this project and share what happens next.  This upcoming week is full to the brim with rehearsals for the upcoming Midsummer Nights Dream show debuts April 26th 2012.  Its crunch time I must prepare which I am lack there of.  xo

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Sleep Forever More

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I finally saw Sleep No More the other day and what a blast that was. If you haven’t heard of this show before I’ll explain just a bit. The performance is held in a renovated hotel that hasn’t been open since the early 1930’s. There are ornately detailed sets and rooms for the “audience” to roam around and participate in the show. It’s loosely based on Shakespeare’s Macbeth and the actors run ( literally run up and down stairs at times) around the hotel leading whoever chooses to follow them into the depths of this drama. I admittedly was nervous about getting tickets to Sleep No More since I am the type of person that scares easily and it’s suggested each person creates their own story and goes off on their own. Even though I’m a scardy cat I do love thrills so this was a great way to get the adrenaline going. As you enter the building you are greeted with old Venetian masks ( think Clockwork Orange ) and the choice of champagne or absinth. Well, in Alex fashion I had both. Note to self: absinth tastes gross. You are then led up in a dark elevator where you must fend for yourself. I stayed close to Tim for a bit and then lost track of his plaid shirt amongst the crowd of flannel wearing hipsters. It was alright because he got in a wave good bye and I gave him a awkward thumbs up that I was ready to be alone. I had a nice buzz from my cocktails and started running after the actors down eerie hallways and narrow staircases. After two hours, this theater experience became an Extreme Sport and I was definitely ready to Sleep FOREVER More. This week is flying by with rehearsals for Midsummer Nights Dream and it’s going to be on its feet in less then a month. Crazy to think how close it is but hey that’s the way of the theater. It creeps up on you and your changing into costumes one minute, then before you know it it’s the last curtain and your kissing friends goodbye. There probably aren’t many people reading this little blog but if you’re out there – remember to smile, laugh and always enjoy the world around you.

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Secrets Love ACTION!

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During a late night rehearsal for the play Secrets; Love we decided to film a scene where my character Giselle comes home to her boyfriend; Diego who has prepared a lovely dinner for two.  Giselle has a history of cheating on Diego and developed a bad rep between them.  Surprisingly her boyfriend has a secret of his own.

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The Zen of Shoes

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“I’d rather have a life of ‘oh wells’ than a life of ‘what ifs.” Today started off like any other day. Wake up to the pitter patter of feet in the above apartment and the long-delayed roll off the bed after hitting the snooze button a bunch of times. For the past couple of weeks I have been preparing my “book” of music that will set me up for upcoming Musical Theater auditions (aka Broadway). It has taken me almost a year to get the confidence and proper training to go out amongst the Glee and Smash fans and try to sing a song and not want to vomit and run away. Today I had a voice rehearsal with my coach and we narrowed down some good songs ranging from Lady Gaga to Eric Clapton to Chaka Khan to Bernadette Peters. I am a “music schizophrenic” so my taste is all over the map. I left rehearsal on a high of piano chords in my brain and had only 45 minutes to run to the train and make it to Union Sq in New York for a audition. Luckily I arrived 15 minutes early and what is a girl to do when she is nervous, anxious and early…..She Goes To A Shoe Store!! I had some time to spare and the huge DSW shoe store was a few feet away from my audition location. I rode the escalator up into the heavens of shoes and handbags and the tranquility came over me. All of a sudden, my nerves for the audition were sub-sided by a beautiful pair of pink & white saddle Bass shoes. They gave me hope and clarity that helped me through the next hour. I embraced the crazy dialogue of the script I had to read from, and by the end I landed the role in a new feature film called “Brooklyn.” There is nothing like the feeling of going into a audition nervous as s**t and then being told you landed the role within the same day. I thank all those that look after me and hope as long as I put in the effort I keep trucking along. 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

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Its time to play the music

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Here is a little re-cap of last night.  It was an interesting evening over all to be honest.  Just before arriving to the theater I saw Buddy from the show Cake Boss zoom past me in his Carlos Bakery Van.  I whipped out my Iphone as fast as I can to snap a picture.  All I really got was a distant picture through my rear view mirror.  Giddy and excited I arrived to the theater around 3pm.  We had a lot of last-minute things to do, which included hanging the curtains, setting up the lighting system and staging the curtain call.  All little stuff but time-consuming.  I had some friends and family come and support this original play.  A few lines were missed, some cues were late, and nerves were at a high but over all the show went well.  Later that evening, after a fun time with friends I was walking back home from the PATH train and found a surprise.  For a few weeks now Jersey Shore has been filming around the corner from my apartment and it has remained pretty quiet in the neighborhood.  I have been secretly dying to see Snooki and how small that meatball really is.  My time had finally come.  I cowardly walked passed her and J-wow putting their dogs in baby carriages.  I  awkwardly took a picture and scurried home.  I watched a few episodes of Monster Man and passed out.  Tonight is round two of the play and Im feeling low energy so I must go overdose on some caffeine.  xoxo

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I got the Midsummer’s part!

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This is a happy day.  In contrast to yesterday’s grueling adventure I received good news.  I got the part of Peaseblossom in The Frog and Peach theater company’s production of Midsummer Nights Dream.  I have always wanted to be a fairy and so now a small goal is being fulfilled.  To make the day even better, I had a relatively pleasant time at the DMV and renewing my license.  I was able to keep my old photo which is freakishly not bad compared to many I have seen.  Then when I was food shopping for tonight’s “pot luck” at rehearsal for Secrets Love play, someone let me cut them in line because I didn’t have many items.  Not only was that super kind, but it saved me a hell of a lot of time.  Another positive was that we had an excellent last rehearsal and I feel the show is going to have a great opening.  To top off the evening, I laughed my ass off like a child from watching the new Muppets movie.  Today was a good day.