A Play A Week

I find myself repeatedly using this space to chronicle not the actor or person which I am, but that I want to be. So to begin with, let's go down the list of things I've talked about and see where I'm at with them. The physical fitness/more physical as an actor thing is going well, I've been frequenting the Porter Square location of Planet Fitness with some frequency, consistently going at least three times a week, if not more! I feel good about that. I think all this physical activity is going to be a key part of avoiding a potential slump and/or seasonal affective disorder this winter, something I've struggled with in the past. Exercising feels good, and I am starting to perceive some results in my physical composition, even if they are fairly subtle, I'm making progress. Go me! I still haven't started doing yoga or taking dance, which is the other aspect of that particular goal, but I'll get there.

Stand up is pretty far on the back burner at this point. An analogy I heard recently is that in terms of multi tasking and time management, you can only have one or two things on your "front burner" at a time, of course for me the main thing is continuing to grow as an actor. In terms of time committed, second would be the physical fitness thing. Lately, improv has been on the "back burner" so to speak, since I haven't been able to rehearse with my troupe these past few weeks due to Our Town's performance schedule but we also have some shows coming up, so I'll be able to refocus on that stuff soon, which is cool. Also back there is guitar, again with Our Town it's been hard to focus on learning new stuff. And way at the back... is stand up. I keep thinking about going back out there, writing some stuff, hitting some open mics. But then I think about what else I could be doing with the two or three hours involved in those five minutes of stage time, and it's hard to get really motivated. No doubt though I'll give it another shot at some point.

Oh, and Shakespeare! Last night I auditioned for Shakespeare Now's Spring touring company, an ensemble of 7 actors who travel to Massachusetts schools performing some well known plays in repertory. How did it go? OK, I guess, not bad. I mean, it's arguably one of the most lucrative non union gigs in town, and a lot of people who have worked with Shakes-Now have gone on to more serious stuff, so it's pretty competitive. Also, I really have no personal connections within the company, that I know of. So long story short I probably didn't get it (besides all those other things my piece, while adequate, could have been better) although you never know. Regardless that's the last time I'm thinking about it.

My newest goal I've decided is time permitting, to make it out to see at least a play a week from the local theatre scene. I've kind of done that inadvertently recently, I saw Collected Stories, The Divine Sister, Slasher, and a Harvard undergraduate production of Othello, and on the improv front saw my buddies in Unforgettable Mousetraps perform with Awkward Compliment at the Somerville Theatre. Doing Our Town has made it sort of tough to see stuff, but all things considered I've been doing pretty well!

Going out and seeing plays is important for several reasons. Seeing stuff on stage you grow artistically, observing others in their craft, hopefully learning from them what you can do better or in the unideal circumstance of a let's say less than good show, what not to do. Seeing stuff locally your also supporting the local theatre scene, and engaging with what's going on around you. You know, if you or I want to work with Boston's theatre community, which of course we do (or are doing) it's good to know what people are putting up. I'm going to see a show tonight, and seeing that will give me an idea of what this company is all about, if they are someone I'd want to work with, and give me a better idea of what to do to get in their good graces, so to speak.

Well, that was a pretty good blog post, I'd say! I know people read this when I post it to Facebook, but I'm yet to get any comments. So for this one, let me conclude with a question: what are you doing to make yourself better, or to get farther in whatever it is you do? Let's start a discussion.