After many requests (okay, mostly from my mother), I'm making an honest effort to get back to blogging. Blogging filled a creative void for me when I was unemployed and helped me stay sane through the grind of a survival job. So here I am again, unemployed--but with a Master's!
This is me on my graduation day with my proud parents. They gave us medals! (The school, not my parents.)
One of the reasons I didn't get back to blogging sooner is that in the year or so since I stopped, I joined Facebook. Yes. I finally gave in. Peer pressure from the kids at school--for real. After all, I didn't want to miss out on all the newsy updates from my exciting new friends like "Tom is eating yogurt" (not his real name) and "Amy is going to the gym" (also not her real name). I might miss something!
As a result, I can now only think in short, third-person, declarative sentences about the minutiae of my life. I'm constantly thinking things like "Michael is appalled at the price of Heirloom Tomatoes" and "Michael thinks the A train should stop at 96 St." It would make for very short blog posts. Luckily, I don't actually publish these things as my Facebook status either--though many people do. You know who you are--not that there's anything wrong with that. By the way, this is one of the reasons I will never, ever, join Twitter. Unless it was to write something like this. (NSFW: language)
So, my dear, vast readership, I will attempt to update you on my status with an entire paragraph in the first-person:
I graduated from The Shakespeare Theatre Company's Academy for Classical Acting at the George Washington University(try fitting that on a resume) in late July. It was one of the best years of my life. I worked really hard and loved every minute. I made wonderful friends and learned more than I ever thought possible. I highly recommend it (especially to you who ended up here by google searching MFA programs). I spent August in DC working on my final "not-a-thesis" paper which is due on Dec. 1. I'm in good shape with that--I've fought the Facebook sentence structure as much as possible. I moved back to NYC the first week in September and am living with Scott in his studio apartment. It's cozy. But that situation may change soon. I'll keep you posted. Right now I'm adjusting to life back in the city and trying to remember what it was like to be an actor here. I went on my first audition the other day. It went well, but it was a long shot. If anything happens, you'll know. Right now I feel a little like Rhoda Morganstern at the end of her opening credits: "New York, this is your last chance!" Cue hat-throwing.
As a New Yorker who sometimes keeps a car in the city, I am normally not in favor of anything taking up a parking space other than a car. Today, however, I have to make an exception. New York City is taking part in an international event called Park(ing) Day. (http://www.parkingdaynyc.org/)
The idea is to convert conventional parking spaces into engaging, people-friendly public spaces for one day a year. The aim is to spark discussion on the importance of parks and public space in normally auto-clogged cities like New York. Parking spaces all over New York have been transformed into art installations, exhibits, or performance spaces, like "Shakespeare in the Parking Space", which I made a special trip to see.
In a spot located on Columbus Avenue between 60th & 61st Streets, some Fordham University students set up a simple platform and a bench (all one really needs to perform Shakespeare) and treated passersby to sonnets, monologues, some contemporary poetry, songs and the inevitable "original rap". Some of the Shakespearean selections included Hermia and Helena from Midsummer (pictured below), Juliet Act 4, scene 2, a marvelous St. Crispen's Day speech from Henry V delivered with all the gusto only a college boy can muster, and even a female Hamlet.
Hard-boiled New Yorkers, normally too busy to even look up from their Blackberries, stopped to listen, laugh, applaud and take pictures, including a group of construction workers on their lunch hour (pictured below).
I must admit my word-nerd, classical theatre-loving heart was moved to see this earnest group of students performing Shakespeare as it was meant to be: in the open air for the masses. I doubt Shakespeare could have anticipated the noise from buses and ambulances whizzing by, however.
It's good to know that if I don't get any work after completing my MFA in classical acting, I can always high-jack a parking space to perform.
One of my classmates sent me this clip. Perhaps only the other Shakespeare geeks in my program will find this funny, but I thought I'd post it just to give you all a little insight into how I've been spending my days here. Enjoy.
I feel compelled to write a post after my first week of grad school. I'm not sure what to write exactly because there is so much to digest. It's like a total immersion course into acting. 9 to 5 everyday, an hour for lunch and then home to do homework. So much of the course is physical, too, so it's exhausting but at the same time, exhilarating. There are 16 of us. We range in age from 23 to 57. So, thank god, I'm not the oldest one in the class! In fact most are around my age. I have my first paper due Friday, which I wrote over the weekend and my first monologue today--TODAY. I feel ready though. I apologize for the slap-dash post here, and truthfully I'm still learning how to manage this schedule so I'm not sure how much time I'm going to have to blog, but check back periodically. I might surprise you.
Long time readers know all about my quest for graduate school and my MFA in acting. Earlier this year I decided to attend a program in Washington, DC which focuses on classical acting in particular. Last month I went down to DC once again, this time to see the student productions and to find an apartment.
One of the shows the students were doing was Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale. It's one of the canon that I was not that familiar with so I decided to pick up a paperback version for $5.50 to read on the train on the way down. Even though it's considered one of the comedies, there are some very moving scenes in the play. As I came to one of those sections I was moved to tears. I actually cried. Real tears. Reading Shakespeare. On the train.
I stopped reading for a moment and that's when my tears turned into those of joy with the realization that yes, indeed, I've made the right decision. If I can be moved to tears reading Shakespeare on a train, then I must be headed in the right direction. This must be my passion.
The productions were beautifully acted and I look forward learning what those students have learned. And I found an apartment--what will be my new home for the next year. My last day of work was August 1, and since then I have been busy packing up my life and my apartment here in New York in preparation for this new adventure. I move to DC on August 17, so until then the posts will be light as they have been all Summer. Be patient. And thanks for reading.
You probably think this is going to be another political post but it's not. Instead it's about my future and the road it will take. In case you didn't get it from the last post, I've made a decision about where to go to grad school. I'll be in Washington DC in September for a one-year, intensive, total immersion approach to classical acting and Shakespeare. By the end of July next year I'll have my MFA in Acting.
I'm grateful such a fast-track program exists since most MFA programs take three years to complete. And this program is designed specifically for actors who have some professional experience or are already in the business and don't have the luxury of taking 3 years off, so it's a perfect fit. Besides that, the concentration is in classical acting which is what I was looking for from the very beginning. When I first heard about this program a little over a year ago, I pictured myself there though I thought it was a long shot. But here we are--and so it will be. Whew. It's a wonderful feeling to be sure of at least one thing in one's life.
Stay tuned for Manhattan Chowder--the Grad School Edition this September.
Jotted in a notebook on board the Acela train from New York to Washington, Tuesday morning, April 1:
The Acela train from New York to Washington is a wonder: 2 hours and 35 minutes from the heart of the big apple to Union Station in DC. I left before dawn for an investigative trip to the city that will be my home for a year come August.
The train is sleek, fast and quiet--at least inside anyway. As the dawn breaks over gritty, industrial New Jersey, a mix of apprehension and excitement. We whiz by houses along the way and I wonder if my trip is waking them up the way it is me. I can't rest.
Longtime readers of my blog will remember that I made an unsuccessful bid for graduate school last year to get my MFA in Acting. In retrospect I did not research or apply for the right programs. Instead, I opted for programs that were close to home, figuring it didn't matter where I got my masters, as long as I got one. This plan ended up backfiring on me and I was forced to come up with a Plan B. That Plan B has come to fruition. Yes, dear readers, I have been keeping a secret from you. Since December I have been busily filing applications, working with my acting coach and quietly attending auditions for grad school. Finally, I am pleased to announce I have been accepted into two fine MFA Acting programs with another possible offer in the works from a third school.
These offers came all while the drama of my unpleasant work situation was playing out, and indeed, it was hard to let myself truly experience the joy of achieving my goal of graduate school. But now that it is in the past, the letters of complaint have been sent and it is up to the powers that be to rectify (or not ) the situation, I am able to concentrate on my wealth of graduate school choices at hand. I will post more specific information once I have it. Stay tuned.
So there's a bit of personal catching up to do here on this blog o' mine. First, just as I had gotten over the rejection and humiliation of not getting into an MFA Acting program, the only school that did not reject me outright and put me on their waiting list has come through. I got my acceptance package last Friday. So that throws a serious monkey wrench into my Plan B. While it's nice to get a fat envelope with a letter that begins "Congratulations" rather than a pathetically limp single page note that says "We regret to inform you," I don't think I want to go there. After I applied and did some further investigation I decided it was too similar to my undergraduate program. The more I think about it the better fit for me is probably a program with a university affiliated professional theatre residency. But maybe I'll see what this school comes up with money-wise before I make a decision.
And second, I'll have time to mull over my decision next week ON MY TRIP TO ITALY! Yes, the triphas been planned for some time. Scott and I will be gone from June 5 to the 17. In honor of my parents' 45th anniversary they have rented a villa in Tuscany near my father's ancestral village (pictured below) for the month of June. They've invited all us kids over when our schedules permit. This will be Scott's first trip to Italy, so we'll use the house in Tuscany as a home base and travel around to all the famous sites. We're going to try and get a couple days in both Rome and Venice and spend the rest of the time exploring Florence and the Tuscan country side. I'm preparing to blog while I'm there, but I'm not sure what kind of wireless connections will be available. I hope to keep you posted with all our adventures and lots of pictures!
I've been sitting on this news for about a week now, and it's not good. Despite some promising auditions, callbacks and interviews, all of my applications for graduate school have been unsuccessful with the exception of one school where I made the waiting list. I knew this was a possibility, but never seriously considered the reality.
I've spent the last week mulling the situation over in my mind. Most MFA Acting programs are highly competitive choosing a company of 10 to 12 actors who must work well together in terms of type and talent. They are usually designed for people who have never acted before. In a sense, I've already achieved what most of the students in these programs hope to once they graduate. I have both the training and experience. Also, I think my age was a factor. Being at least a full decade older than most of the other applicants would make it difficult for me to blend into one of these companies. My age came up in the interviews more than once. Questions like "With all your experience, what do you hope to get from this program?" and "How would you feel being in classes with students who are fresh out of undergraduate school?" and the most direct "This program is tough for older actors."
Perhaps I was naive only applying to 4 schools. Perhaps I shouldn't have limited my choices to schools within commuting distance from New York. I want my degree so I can teach acting on the university level someday. But maybe an MFA Acting is not the degree I should be going after since I already have a BFA in Musical Theatre.
It's disheartening, and I'm left to figure out my Plan B. So next year I'll apply for the URTA Auditions (University/Resident Theatre Assoc.). It's a way to audition for many programs around the country at the same time. And it could mean leaving New York for a while at least. Many of the URTA participating programs are affiliated with a resident professional theatre which may be more appropriate for me. I'll also look into other degrees, too, perhaps MA Theatre Arts or Theatre Education programs. I'll use the upcoming year to make up the academics I'll need to be eligible for them. It's easy to systematically plan an alternative route, but it still sucks that everything is still another year away and that everything I've been working toward for the last six months isn't going to happen in September. It feels like starting from square one again. But at least I'm not giving up.
After an exhausting month of stress and anxiety, my MFA Acting auditions for grad school are finally over! Here's the rundown on my progress in case you've been following along:
As you know, I totally blew my first audition for School No. 1. It prompted my cathartic 21-stanza Audition Haiku. What can I say? I was depressed and writing about it helped. But I didn't really want to go there anyway, so it's all good.
The audition at School No. 2 went very well which I posted about here. Thank you all for your words of encouragement and support after both these posts! I had my visit to the campus of School No. 2 earlier this week which was enlightening. This school's program probably has the best reputation of any of the schools I'm applying to, so I was expecting a lot and for the most part what I observed lived up to my expectations. However, I've come to the realization that I will have to get over the fact that a lot of what I'll be studying in these programs are things I already know from my professional experience or from my undergrad studies. This became quite evident in a voice/verse class when the professor stepped out of the room to leave the students to do a scansion analysisof their Shakespeare monologues. I began to help the girl I was looking on with (because she needed it desperately) which prompted a chain reaction of other students seeking my advice for this line or that or in some cases whole sections of monologues. It made me feel like the big man on campus--or more accurately, the "old man" on campus, which is another thing I'll have to get over.
I got to meet briefly with one of the faculty members at School No. 2 who will be making the admissions decisions and expressed to her my interest in the program once again and tried to glean some information on my chances of acceptance. I left with no better idea than I came with though, so we'll see. I should know by mid-April.
School No. 3's audition went well for the most part, too. I was slightly thrown because of the space in which I had to audition and the fact that I wasn't really provided with any warm-up space for preparation. This audition was slightly different, too, in that the faculty wanted to see a scene rather than monologues like at the other schools. So I had to enlist the help of a friend to do the scene, burdening not only my own psyche with this anxiety but someone else's as well. I ended up getting wait-listed there. Better than a flat out rejection, and it's my third choice school anyway.
My audition for School No. 4 was last weekend. This by far was the most pleasant audition experience. The students who checked me in were extremely friendly and accommodating giving me a choice of warm-up rooms. There were at least six faculty in the audition room (more than any other school) and after I presented my monologues they did a very thorough interview. Each question was very thoughtful and almost every faculty member in the room had a question for me. I was called back the next day along with 20 other perspective students. They ran a very pleasant yet thorough call back process in which we were led in everything from voice and movement exercises to improv. I left there feeling like they had a good sense of who I am and what I can do. I can't imagine why I wouldn't be accepted there. But ya never know... It's my second choice school.
Anyway, that's it in a nutshell. For now I'm in wait-and-see mode. I'll keep you all abreast of any news. In the meantime thanks again for all your well wishes and support. It's nice to know there are folks out there in cyberspace pulling for me in addition to those here at home, too!
My grad school audition went very well this past weekend. They seemed very pleased with my work that day. I've been invited to the campus to observe some of the classes in the program and have been assigned an MFA student liaison to contact with any questions and concerns. Does this mean I'm "being courted" by them? Hmmm.
The good news is I actually want to go to this school. We'll see. Please keep your fingers in the crossed position. Thank you.
. So here I am again, unemployed--but with a Master's!
. So here I am again, unemployed--but with a Master's!
