Unscripted - A Blog for Actors - Backstage

The Journey Continues...

For all intensive purposes Tales... was to have it's last show last Friday. But when we went on, we knew it wasn't the end. 2 days earlier we had been given the news that the Fringe had asked us to extend our run as part of the FringeNYC Encore Series. It was an exhilarating feeling to know that our journey with this show was to continue at the historic Actors Playhouse. This week was a break for us and I can't wait to get to our tech which will be coming up pretty quickly.

In the middle of life, Fringe madness and well, life, I did get to see a couple of shows at the festival. CROSSINGS dealt with the issue of Immigration, and ELI AND CHERYL JUMP, which was a beautiful story revolving around two people who have just met. There was so much good theater at this festival and I was pretty sad to have missed so much of it.

In the meantime, there have been some good auditions, call backs, and some major preparation for the upcoming school year. Life is good.

Now, how can I end without yet another shout out? So here goes - 5 more opportunities to see TALES FROM THE TUNNEL. It's dirty, hot, sticky and you probably just got off...the NYC Subway is a million little stories that make up a big city. Hop on board for a show based on over 150 TRUE STORIES from underground!

Buy your tickets y'all!

-- Farah Bala

From Cynic to Believer - Thank You Susan Atwood

So if I haven't made it clear enough through my blogs, the last couple of months have been absolutely amazing on so many levels. I feel so lucky to have been part of a show, a team, where everyone has been at the top of their game making sure they exceed all expectations. How else does one explain a sold out FringeNYC show on a FRIDAY at 3 pm???? A shout out to the producers and everyone on the Tales... marketing team.

And moreover, I have been moved to tears by the people who have showed up in the audience. Now I've been in the NY theater scene long enough to know (or so I thought) that no matter how many emails you send out, a handful of your nearest and dearest will come out to support your work, and then that's it. I myself am guilty of not going to support friends' work.

At this point I want to say, trust me, I did a one-woman show for three years in New York and the tri-state area, and I can count on my fingers all who came to see it. The excuse has always been, there's so much going on, how can you see everything and support everyone?

...And Thanks For All The Fish!

My job at Unscripted has ended.  I'm proud to have been one of the first bloggers here and that my stay has been so long.  I will miss this community and the experience, but change is needed - happy change - on both sides.  I have learned so much, felt a real growth with my writing and made some wonderful friends. 

September always feels like a new start, so this timing is perfect.  This past summer has been a very strange and wonderful coming-around of sorts for myself.  It's the start of my second decade here in this city.  I am in the black for the first time of my adult life.  Just when I worried I'd never be on stage ever again - I did a wonderful show.  I've had more fun and met more new people than I could have imagined.  I've also reconnected with some long-lost, dearly cherished pals, and I CUT MY HAIR!

Pissed Off, Or: Wisdom Is In The Eye Of The Beholder

As my light continues to fade here... I wanted to take one of my last (for now) opportunities to speak in a public forum to share an important message with all my sisters out there... all the wonderful women of the world.  And that is: Please sit your ass down when you pee in a public restroom.  For the love of god.  It's people like you who spray all over the seat and make a mess.  (You will not get sick and die from a toilet seat, I promise.)  And what's worse is you are also urinating all over yourself and your clothes.  That's just nasty.  I have seen it.  I have even had someone else's spray splatter my foot from the stall next door.  SIT.  DOWN.  Have some class.

And now, with that delicate matter out of the way... I was just reminded last night of one of my favorite theatre stories of all time...

THE SHOW MUST GO ON - A dedication to Sam Rosenberg and Heidi Azaro

Last week turned out to be very eventful, quick on the heels of a successful opening for Tales from the Tunnel.

Due to an illness at the very last moment, one of our cast members was unable to make it to our third show. We learned of this literally less than an hour before curtain, and our esteemed understudy Sam Rosenberg stepped up for the performance.

Just to give you a bit more information, the show has two understudies, the talented Heidi Azaro and Sam Rosenberg, who were with us through every rehearsal. Heidi and Sam have had the herculean task of not only memorizing lines for the 3 women and 3 men respectively, but also all the blocking (and each of us in the cast still need cheat sheets backstage!!). And if that wasn't enough, these two wonderful actors have been our pillars of strength backstage helping us through our transitions.

So on Thursday with Sam filling in on stage, Heidi somehow created another pair of hands and legs for herself to make sure she was at two places at once. 15 minutes before curtain, there seemed to be a sense of calm, but only we knew what was really going on underneath. Sam was an image of confidence.

At 7 pm our directors made an announcement about the last minute change. The audience was very supportive. 90 minutes later we had put on a show! A very different show, but quite the show it was! Sam was a vision of talent drawing from his bag of accents and characters playing so many different roles. Heidi had managed the impossible, making sure all the transitions went as smooth as possible. And of course, thank goodness for Improv! We were glad we all pulled through, the audience seemed to love it, our directors looked like they had aged just a tad, but all in all, it was a show worthy of the support it got.

A friend who came to see the show mentioned that the audience was very forgiving. I don't know if 'forgiving' is as much the word to use as is 'supportive'. I think in a case like this, the audience wants it to be the best it can be - they sure were rooting for us all the way.

That evening Sam and Heidi embodied the true essence of an actor and made sure we remained an ensemble! Thank you guys, we couldn't have done it without you!

-- Farah Bala

Reflections Part 3: Wherever You Go, There You Are.

My mother told me, "I hope you don't regret the time you spent in Boston".  I was afraid I would but the truth is if I never got my feet wet in Boston, I don't know if I would have made it to NYC.  And so it was a hot, steamy August day 10 years ago when I arrived in New York City, the borough of Queens. Happy anniversary to me.  Now I can rightfully say: Whatthefuckyoulookinat, huh?

Anyway... It probably took all of three minutes to unload my paltry belongings into the tiny, overly moist room in the basement.  Luckily there was a bed and a dresser and even a dehumidifier which was badly needed though really no match for the tropical conditions of the space.  I was now among friends - college friends who were actors (mostly), too.  So, after 2 years of loneliness and heartache, I was home.  Let the partying begin!

Megan Wants A Murderer

(Ok, fine - an alleged person of interest in a murder.) Have you seen this story?  A swimsuit model was found dead in a suitcase and a reality TV star is "a person of interest" in the crime.  The show that has made him this "star", you ask?  Megan Wants A Millionaire, of course.  Starring Megan Hauserman of Beauty & The Geek, Rock of Love, I Love Money and Rock of Love Charm School fame.

Oh, Megan... I worry for your safety (despite my bitterness that your IMDB page is way longer than mine).  Did Scooter teach you nothing? 

How To Make A Cheeseball:

In an overly long film, add:
1). a little ham,
2). a lot of syrup,
3). water it down thoroughly. 

Voila.

Too bad, so sad...

I was annoyed by the final cut of my former passion project, the film based on the book, Julie & Julia.  I had read the book and fallen in love with it and wanted nothing more than to be a waitress or some anonymous brunette in a corner for the movie.  I submit myself to everyone (even straight to the director) to no avail... well, you can read the story here, so I don't have to re-hash it (I'm realizing how many food analogies we use in everyday life - so I'm not trying to be pun-tastic, it's just the way it is).

Tales ... Premier...

The days leading to our first performance (which was yesterday) were hectic and filled with anticipation and excitement. 3 weeks' worth of intense work for us actors was coming to fruition. And then on Friday evening as we were ending rehearsal, I realized something else. 3 years' worth of work for our writers/directors Troy Diana and James Valletti were about to come to fruition. The baby they had nurtured, was finally being laid in our hands to share with the world. They both gave us actors a warm thank you speech (well it wasn't really a speech...) that left us speechless. 

We opened the next day to a house that was almost at capacity. We learned that our next two shows were sold out as well. the audience seemed to love us and we even met some of the people we play in the show, after the show was over. Some friends who I didn't expect to see, were in the audience which made it even more special for me.

I feel the need to now interrupt myself and shamelessly plug the show - Did I mention that Wilson Jermaine Heredia, who won a Tony Award for his portrayal of 'Angel' in the OBP of RENT, is in our show? No? Okay then. Wilson Jermain Heredia, who won a Tony Award for his portrayal of 'Angel' in the OBP of RENT is part of the Tales from the Tunnel cast. I simply could not resist sharing that tit bit! And he is amazing in Tales...So if I were you, I'd click on this link and buy my tickets to the show.

Back to the opening. We celebrated one of our cast member's birthday (the lovely and talented Carla Corvo) and some of us headed to Central Park for a boat ride on the lake!!! It was amazing!!! It was the perfect day!!!

-- Farah Bala

Reflections Part 2: Taking The Plunge And Being All Wet

Now that I was in Boston, I had to find income.  I literally pounded the pavement each day to the point of wondering if my swollen, blistered feet would ever look normal again.  I forget which came first but one part time job was at an art supply store in Cambridge and the other was at the Museum of Fine Arts gift shop (I haaaaated this job).  Some days I worked 16 hours - and yes, one day I did get up early to open the store only to show up at the entirely wrong job in the entirely wrong part of town, dressed entirely wrong.

I have so many anecdotes about getting established, but there just isn't time.  I will share this: I bellied up to a bar one afternoon to use their yellow pages while leisurely sipping a coke so I could get the numbers for the gas company, electric, phone, etc and was harassed by a drunk Elvis impersonator with a Tweety Bird poster that he was pretending to have talk to me.  [IMPORTANT NOTE:  Boston is full of crazy people.]

Now... I just needed to find the acting work... and Boston wasn't giving up her secrets easily....