Unscripted - A Blog for Actors - Backstage

Where to start?

Second Week of the Run Complete. I was totally wrapped up in the show this past week. SO wrapped up that I went to bed angry and cursing this Blog saturday night. I lay in bed pouring out expletives until I fell asleep, not the best way to journey off into dream land I suppose, but being tired and sitting painfully on the boarder of feeling like I had to much to say and at the very same time nothing to say at all, nothing would bring itself to the page. However I've decided that because this Blog has made me angry and want to ditch it, that it is something I can learn a lot from pursuing. Ironically, it seems that the things that get under our skin are our best teachers. 

Open: Play w/ Audience

An Inspector Calls opened this Wednesday, and during each energy filled evening since I'm reminded and taught more clearly than ever that the work on a play is only beginning when the 1st curtain goes up, and an audience rides on the story for the first time. We performed our best show yet last night, not because it was clean or glossy, but because we were taping into the real life of the play and bouncing things hard off one another. If I was aware of one thing in addition to what was happening moment to moment on stage, it was what was happening moment to moment from stage to audience. 

Art Sans Apology

     The rehearsal period for an J.B. Priestly's An Inspector Calls has been one of the shortest I've ever been involved in. We had about two full weeks of tough rehearsal, and we go into tech tomorrow. The play is finally starting to tighten up and pull together just in time for our designers to return from NYC today for the tech weekend.

    The rehearsal process has brought frustration to a boil at times, much of it due to dealing with the syntax of Priestly's English dialog in our American accents since the director, David Bridel, has chosen to not use RP (Royal Pronunciation) or any other foreign dialect as part of the show.

So long, farewell!

Hi everyone!

    This is my last blog post for Backstage. I'll be working on a couple essays over the summer, but as far as the blogging goes, this is it! 

      Blogging for Backstage has been a wonderful experience, and I've learned so much from analyzing my own career, as well as from reading the posts of other actors.

   Originally, I'd planned to end by posting the third episode of "The Hill," but I just finished a new version of my demo reel that includes clips from it, so I thought I'd go ahead and post that instead. 

The Best Things in Life Are Free

There's a theater in upstate New York, nestled in the Catskills that you don't know about... but you should.

It goes by the name of the Franklin Stage Company and is beginning its 13th season of high caliber performance with a zero dollar price of admission. The company was founded on the principle that great theater should be accessible to all. The art of theater is shared with Franklin's diverse audiences with the principle that art should only cost what the viewer feels it was worth.

Do you copy?

One of the most frustrating things about being an actor is the hunt for promised copy. Factor in the amount of time post pro takes, along with the other complexities of trying to get distribute a film, and you've got a web of opportunities for something to go wrong. My task for summer? Get myself out to a library in Bakersfield, (yes, Bakersfield), to rent a copy of an educational video I was in. Hopefully on DVD, because VHS will force me to seek technical help from someone with knowledge far beyond my own capabilities. It was the first thing I ever got paid for, and I'm desperate to see the final version. I also did an indie last month, and am so glad to say that the director has been very responsive to any inquiries on how cutting is going. He even sent me some pics (which I can't post yet for legal reasons), and has been very accessible to actors. This short will be my first IMDb credit, and it makes me feel legit! It's a relief to work with someone who keeps you in the loop regarding getting a version of the final product. 

The Hill at UCLA, Episode One, Spring Quarter from Valerie Brandy on Vimeo.

     

HAPPY JASMINE DAY!

When you do dance, I wish you
A wave o' th' sea, that you might ever do
Nothing but that.

-Florizel, A Winter's Tale

I have always taken pride in telling people that, "My birthday is May 20th, same as Cher".  (I truly believe that that statement was the reason I was accepted into UNCSA).  But I wasn't thinking about Cher as I turned twenty-one yesterday at all.

American Idol Gossip

Last week, I went to see a taping of "American Idol" with some friends. We were in the pit, front row, thanks to my amazing future roommate who majorly hooked us all up. In between cheering and UCLA eight-claps (it's a Bruin thing), I was able to observe the incredible world of multi-camera live TV.

First, let me say that the crew on American Idol is amazing. They work like individual pieces of a giant clock, operating in tandem to make sure every shot is exactly what it's supposed to be. The performances feel shorter live than when viewed on TV, and it makes you wonder how the judges come up with responses so quickly.

Finally, what everyone's really waiting for. . . celebrity gossip! Paula Abdul was so nice, and made sure to hug everyone in our group (she called me sweetums, so she's an A in my book). The other judges offered a smile and wave, but were nowhere near as accessible as Paula. Ryan Seacrest shook hands with us, and seemed like a friendly guy who genuinely enjoys his job-- which is far more stressful live. He makes it look easy on camera. Kim Kardashian was there, and while she spent most of her time texting on her blackberry during the preformances, she did bother to look up when the camera focused in on her for a quick closeup. And I will (grudgingly) admit that her makeup was top notch.

    So that's all the scoop on American Idol my friends! I think a "Dancing with the Stars," trip is in the works, so I'll make sure to keep you in the loop if it happens. . .  

Peace and Love,

~~ Valerie Brandy

P.S. Guess who else got a closeup?! Lol, just luck really.

(All pictures courtesy of Erika Troll)

 

     

Saying Goodbye

Parting is such sweet sorrow

-Juliet, Romeo and Juliet

My first year at UNCSA, our acting teacher Matt Bulluck told us that you couldn't play a part without falling in love with it.  He said that if you weren't in love with it when you started, you'd have to find a way to love it before you could do the work on it.  I didn't really believe him, but I stored that information in the back of my head.

Oliver The Ill-litter-ate

To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day

-Macbeth

My favorite cousin Jason knows the birthdays of everyone in our family by heart.  Not just immediate family, but extended and twice extended family.  I talked to him yesterday and he brought up that my birthday is in exactly two weeks.  Then he reminded me that in three weeks, I will have officially completed my third year of college and be in L.A.  Yikes!  This really put things in perspective.  In three weeks, the directing project I'm in, Blind Date, will be finished, my Shakespeare scene from As You Like It will have performed for financial donors of UNCSA as well as the student body and faculty, and The Diaries of Adam and Eve, the two person show I'm working on (and have helped adapt), will have provided me with a modest income.  Wow.