Okay,
So seeing as there are over a million students in the New York City region who are home today due to inclement weather, I figured this would be a great opportunity to catch up on 'ye ol Blog...
A few nights ago, at school we had quite a successful reading of Lydia Diamond's "The Bluest Eye" sponsored by The 'Yard and Juilliard's Black Student Union. Juilliard actors, alums, and professional actors came out to support and be a part of the reading. We also had a Bake Sale for BSU with proceeds going to the club's 3 week teaching residency in Botswana this summer. We've been working really hard to save up money for the Botswana trip. I'm really excited about it, because it'll be a wonderful opportunity for my work on the Ancestral Story to take shape. I also know that I'll be in a place to learn so much...I'm sure it'll be life-changing and I'm very open to all its possibilities.
We just finished our showings earlier this week on Monday. I was extremely happy during the process of rehearsal for "The Hard Sell". I felt like it was a great opportunity to begin using all the tools we've been learning in Voice and Speech and Alexander Technique...really a chance to put it all together for ourselves and see how it can influence the quality of our work. I feel like this is the first time I told myself in the beginning of a rehearsal process: "Carolyn, you need to use everything you know to see how it can affect your work. That's why you're here, to learn and to practically apply what you're learning." And I feel confident knowing that I put all my eforts towards doing that. In our Voice class, we got some tough love from our teacher telling us that we need to start taking ownership of our craft. To stop looking at ourselves as just students, and to realize that we are becoming artists with an assortment of vital tools that we need to consistently utilize. Just as a painter knows the exact type of brush he needs to use to create a forest landscape, we have specifc tools we can use to make a story clearer, more engaging.
When she said that, it clearly rang as a call to action. I came back to school because I told myself I wanted to have a set of tools that would allow me to feel fully equipped as a performer. Now I'm realizing it's about more than just feeling fully equipped, its about using those tools so consistently that at some point by an observer, it may seem "effortless". When truly, having the tools allows you a way into any type of text or work. It creates more possibilities...always.
And then there's what's beyond technique...there's instinct. It's easy to forget about that when you're in an academic environment, and you begin to forget what it means to trust your gut. But I know one thing that I am always growing in as well is trusting my choices as an actor and really going aftter them boldly. That there is no "range of correct choices", that it really is essential to take risks in order to discover something totally new. And when you take that risk, its not just liberating for you as the actor, its a chance to free your character as well. I think this next quarter, I'm going to make it my goal to take some greater risks in the rehearsal room and to come into rehearsal with some secific ideas. Theatre is all about collaboration, right...well, now I've just figured out that I have to have ideas in order for the collaborative process to really function at its best!
Lastly, today marks the beginning of Spring Break...Hallelujah! I'm so ready for the time off. More than likely, I'll still keep myself very occupied. I'm planning on getting my coaching business up and running again for this semester. If you're reading this blog and you or a friend need monologue coaching, let me know. Also, if you need to chat with any of my past clients, I can always connect you with them so you can find out a little bit about the way I like to work.
Feel free to contact me at cms4@juilliard.edu if you have any questions, or would like to schedule an appointment.
Love and Blessings to you all!
-Carolyn
Friday, February 26, 2010
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Umm...Yeah, It's February....
So, its a quiet Saturday night and I decided to take it easy and finally get a chance to stop and catch up with life.
It's a been a great month and a half. This semester started off beautifully. I gotta say, this 2nd year has really been a gift in so many ways. I feel like I'm just beginning to see the training take shape. Ever since my experience in The Tempest, I've been able to see how I've grown in the past year and a half. Its great to be able to chart your own development as an artist. I feel really blessed.
Right now we're working on The Playwright's Festival plays. They're all plays written by the students in the Playwriting Fellowship Program here at Juilliard. I'm in a play called "The Hard Sell" by Andrea Ciannavei. I'm really loving the play, loving the process and especially loving the direction. Daniel Aukin is directing and I admire his delicate "hands-off" approach. I think its great because it allows me to simply trust my instincts, which is something over the past year and half I've run away from. It's been difficult to follow my instincts in other shows we've done here because oftentimes I confused instincts for old habits. I'd make a choice that was simply familiar as opposed to what would work for the moment. But now I've gained the tools to be able to know what to do to make a moment make sense. That's so liberating! Working with Daniel has allowed me the freedom to playaround with ideas and not feel like I'm "doing something wrong". It's creatively empowering!
In other Juilliard news, over this semester I've been part of the movement to help revamp The 'Yard Reading Series. Originally it was just meant to be a platform for premiering new works in a casual play-reading format. Now we've expanded the concept to include and Open Mic Series as well as guest artist talks, and collaborations with other student clubs. I'm really excited about what it could become. Its just particularly challenging with our busy schedule. I also tend to be the type of person that hates doing things halfway. So its difficult when you get a grand idea that you'd like to execute, but there's just not enough time to organize it. Difficult, but definitely a reality. However, we're in the process of organizng an Open Mic for next week on Valentines Day. We'll see what it will become, we think it could potentially be very exciting....we've got a week.
Also...I was selected to be a part of a team of Juilliard students to go to Botswana this summer and teach theatre to young adults in the Setswana region. I'm pretty thrilled, but it's a 5 week program. Pretty long but potentially a life-changing experience. Spain last summer was such a necessary experience, and I'd love to do something very similar to that again, but I'm finding that variety is the spice of life and this summer I decided to apply to a bunch of summer trainging programs as well as this Botswana teaching team. I deeply believe last summer was about reconnecting with my artist inside. BUt I think this summer is about using the tools that I've learned so far as well as finding an opportunity to learn more. Also I think its a great ime to begin the pre-packaging process for my life after Juilliard. Getting a website together, a voiceover reel, and a coaching business started, all the tools to get my life rolling upon graduation.
I recently had a revelatory conversation with a friend a few days ago, we were on the phone chatting and at the dame time the radio was on. Ironically a asong came on the radios that was quite a few years old. It was the song that I remember saying: "I hope to be chillin' in my dorm room someday when this song comes on." I don't know why it was an image that was so ingrained in my mind from the moment I first heard the song. I've always been a believer in pre-memories, that you can essentially have a memory of something before it happens, thus confirming it as a part of your future. This song came out over ten years ago, and it wasn't unitl thia fated afternoon that I finally heard it on the radio, while chillin' in my bedroom. Crazy....and amazing! This incident has led me to the revelation that I have to begin creating more pre-memories. ThatI need to begin envisioning myself in places I've always wanted to be: on the red carpet, in my new huge house in the hills, directing my own projects on stage and screen...doing it all. And I need to be specific, because all de ja vu is , is a pre-memory. A scent, a color, a place...it all comes together as if you've been there before. Because you fated yourself to be there. I want to have the power to align my fate to put me in the places I want to be. I do believe we're that powerful. This year and especially this summer is about putting that belief into practice.
It's a been a great month and a half. This semester started off beautifully. I gotta say, this 2nd year has really been a gift in so many ways. I feel like I'm just beginning to see the training take shape. Ever since my experience in The Tempest, I've been able to see how I've grown in the past year and a half. Its great to be able to chart your own development as an artist. I feel really blessed.
Right now we're working on The Playwright's Festival plays. They're all plays written by the students in the Playwriting Fellowship Program here at Juilliard. I'm in a play called "The Hard Sell" by Andrea Ciannavei. I'm really loving the play, loving the process and especially loving the direction. Daniel Aukin is directing and I admire his delicate "hands-off" approach. I think its great because it allows me to simply trust my instincts, which is something over the past year and half I've run away from. It's been difficult to follow my instincts in other shows we've done here because oftentimes I confused instincts for old habits. I'd make a choice that was simply familiar as opposed to what would work for the moment. But now I've gained the tools to be able to know what to do to make a moment make sense. That's so liberating! Working with Daniel has allowed me the freedom to playaround with ideas and not feel like I'm "doing something wrong". It's creatively empowering!
In other Juilliard news, over this semester I've been part of the movement to help revamp The 'Yard Reading Series. Originally it was just meant to be a platform for premiering new works in a casual play-reading format. Now we've expanded the concept to include and Open Mic Series as well as guest artist talks, and collaborations with other student clubs. I'm really excited about what it could become. Its just particularly challenging with our busy schedule. I also tend to be the type of person that hates doing things halfway. So its difficult when you get a grand idea that you'd like to execute, but there's just not enough time to organize it. Difficult, but definitely a reality. However, we're in the process of organizng an Open Mic for next week on Valentines Day. We'll see what it will become, we think it could potentially be very exciting....we've got a week.
Also...I was selected to be a part of a team of Juilliard students to go to Botswana this summer and teach theatre to young adults in the Setswana region. I'm pretty thrilled, but it's a 5 week program. Pretty long but potentially a life-changing experience. Spain last summer was such a necessary experience, and I'd love to do something very similar to that again, but I'm finding that variety is the spice of life and this summer I decided to apply to a bunch of summer trainging programs as well as this Botswana teaching team. I deeply believe last summer was about reconnecting with my artist inside. BUt I think this summer is about using the tools that I've learned so far as well as finding an opportunity to learn more. Also I think its a great ime to begin the pre-packaging process for my life after Juilliard. Getting a website together, a voiceover reel, and a coaching business started, all the tools to get my life rolling upon graduation.
I recently had a revelatory conversation with a friend a few days ago, we were on the phone chatting and at the dame time the radio was on. Ironically a asong came on the radios that was quite a few years old. It was the song that I remember saying: "I hope to be chillin' in my dorm room someday when this song comes on." I don't know why it was an image that was so ingrained in my mind from the moment I first heard the song. I've always been a believer in pre-memories, that you can essentially have a memory of something before it happens, thus confirming it as a part of your future. This song came out over ten years ago, and it wasn't unitl thia fated afternoon that I finally heard it on the radio, while chillin' in my bedroom. Crazy....and amazing! This incident has led me to the revelation that I have to begin creating more pre-memories. ThatI need to begin envisioning myself in places I've always wanted to be: on the red carpet, in my new huge house in the hills, directing my own projects on stage and screen...doing it all. And I need to be specific, because all de ja vu is , is a pre-memory. A scent, a color, a place...it all comes together as if you've been there before. Because you fated yourself to be there. I want to have the power to align my fate to put me in the places I want to be. I do believe we're that powerful. This year and especially this summer is about putting that belief into practice.
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