The Seagull rehearsals

I love this play so much. 

We were working on Act I and Act II today. I think they went well, although there's still a few things I really need to clean up. Also I was really screwing up my lines, which is unusual for me - I'm still not sure why that happened. I am also getting nervous for Act IV - and I know my nerves are not helping. 

I wish I could devote all of my time to The Seagull. It's so hard to keep up with school. But I need to put so much work into Act IV. 

I live right by the waterfront and usually I'm down on the boardwalk constantly, but since the winter has been bad and I've been so busy, I've barely been down at all. I sat there for almost an hour after rehearsal to clear my head. I realized how much I love living by the water and suddenly I started connecting to Nina in all sorts of new ways. And then some seagulls started flying overhead, and I thought, alright, time to go home. 

PS I added some new photos to the Backstage section! 

Right now I have a huge, overwhelming, passionate desire to do theatre. To make something right now. To instantly have my own theatre company and create my own work. But there's only so many steps I can take today to make that happen. And that is extremely frustrating. I want to be working right now. 

I'm the Seagull - is that right?

Wow. School. Rehearsals. Things have been unreal lately! So busy. 

Rehearsals have been going super well for the Seagull! Turns out I have a lot more in common with Nina than I thought. There are still a bunch of things I need to figure out, obviously, and tomorrow we will be working on the daunting Act IV. 

Between homework and memorizing lines, I'm hoping to go catch The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel today!!!!!! I could use a day with Judi and Maggie. 

We're also preparing for our "panel auditions".... my god. I'm terrified. There are so many more things I want to do before the school year ends! And the summer is stretching out in front of me... so far without any work. So I'm about to really go on the job hunt. Any suggestions... send em my way. 

I am feeling a bit like the Seagull right now - so I need to draw on Nina and remind myself I'm not. Haha. 

PS - International Women's Day. Keep fightin the good fight. 

update on reading week

I thought I'd be able to accomplish artistic projects this break 

hahahahahahahahahaha

reading week and my feelings for Mike Leigh

it's reading week!

it's terrible to see the whole week stretched out before me and imagine all the personal artistic / academic projects I'd love to work on.. and then realize I have to catch up on school. 

HA HA HA

hopefully I'll be able to set aside some time every day for my own projects... I'd also like to read / watch plays for my own pleasure. There are some sweet theatre video / digital theatre databases I have been checking out. So my goal is to do one "input" thing and one "output" thing every day just for me. Watch one play and write one poem, for instance. And spend the rest of the day doing input / output for school. 

Also, there's a TON of movies I want to see right now!! I hope they all come to Halifax! Every couple of years there will be two months when there are so many films I am interested in. And then the other 22 months of those 2 years I hate absolutely everything. Mostly I really like historical dramas, and movies about art... So there's some great ones coming this way. 

I really want to take a film / photography class... I can imagine shots (either for film or photography) and I can never achieve them because I don't have the knowledge, or technique, or something. And it's so baffling and frustrating for me to see something with such exactitude in my mind and then not be able to create it or replicate it. Which is the reason I gave up painting and drawing.

Anyway, I think about that all the time but what got me thinking of it this time around was the trailer for Mr Turner. 

In Cinemas October 31

There's so many beautiful shots! I can't! And so many fantastic actors. Timothy Spall, Lesley Manville, Ruth Sheen.... And of course it has to do with Turner. Even though I just said I gave up painting, deep down I do still consider myself to be a painter. And I love art history so much.... 

I love Mike Leigh films. Love them. Visually the movies are always stunning, and the characters are fascinating. Vera Drake had a really profound impact on me - I'll write about that and Imelda Staunton at some other time because this post is long enough as it is - and when I found out about his style of working I was so intrigued. And from what I've heard / read, he applied so many of the same principles to this, even though it was a historical drama... Very cool. 

Thankfully Mr Turner is playing at the Oxford Street theatre, so maybe I'll be able to see it this week, if I get enough school work done... speaking of which...