Journal

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The Show Must Go On

This past weekend for Anne of Avonlea had it’s ups and downs. Actually, the weekend started out very good and went down hill from there.

The Saturday, 2 PM show had a group of Seniors from a local church. So we had over 50+ people (literally and figuratively). This was our best show to date. There is a lot of humor that kids seeing the show would not laugh at. This was the first show where we had to pause for laughter. And the energy the actors get from a responsive crowd makes the show even better.

Candy Cain Spahr, who was one of the directors and who had been out of town for all the run, was also at this performance.

The Saturday, 7:30 PM show was, I suppose OK. There was not much of a crowd and they were not nearly as responsive as the 2 PM show.

The Sunday show, well was, let me just say we did a show. With 5 minutes till curtain, there was only 2 people in the audience. My thought was “let’s give back there money and free tickets to next weeks show”. With 2 minutes left, 2 more people arrived. Then 5 other family members arrived for a total of 9 people in the audience. It was a very empty theater and our voices seemed to echo. I must say, as small as the audience was, they were very responsive and really seemed to enjoy the show.

We have 3 more public shows left and then two sold out shows for the Girl Scouts. And not that I don’t mind a theater full of kids, it sure is nice having a treater full of adults who get the humor.

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New Headshots Coming Soon

Today, I went down to The Trolley Barn to meet with Eric and Britney of Milestone Photography. They were absolutely fantastic. I am sure they took hundreds of shots. They worked with me for almost 2 hours, 6 location (some of them twice) and two outfits (well, two different shirts). Lots of photographers will actually limit the number of shots during a session. They worked with me, until they were satisfied. It was a great session.

I had an adventure getting there. The directions from Google Maps, had me turn right on Waddell Street, which I could not find. So I rode up and down Irwin Street looking for Waddell which was supposed to be less than a mile. Actually I did not go far enough, Waddell does exist. So I cut over in a general direction that I know Edgewood Avenue to be in. Found Edgewood and went up and back on that road once before finally going far enough to find the place.

Leaving the place was another site-seeing tour in itself. I wandered northward for a while and then west towards I-85. I ended up on I-75 north after the two interstates split. Fed up with the whole thing, I just went I-75 to 285 around to I-85. Yes, miles out of the way. I need a GPS device.

Anyway, I can’t wait to see the pictures. These pictures are of me with my current look: Bald with a Beard.

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Auditioned at the Unifieds

Yesterday was the second day of the auditions for the 2008 Atlanta Unifieds. I took the day off from work to do this. Having lost my letter stating the time I was to audition and thinking it was around 2 PM and giving myself time for traffic, parking, etc., I arrived at 12:30 PM. My slot was not until 3:22. As it turned out, 12:30 was lunch break. I happend across Barbara McFann, Hugh Chapman, Jeannie Hinds and one other (sorry, I can’t remember her name) for lunch.

I had been nervous all morning and now that my time slot was much later in the day with a few hours to wait… the day was unbelievably long. For very important appointments like auditions or interviews, I can’t sit around the house. I have to get out and waste time in an effort to relax, not that I could yesterday.

After I checked in, a few people were called down at a time to a dressing room before going on. As I was waiting up stairs and listening to the folks moving us around, there were a few MIA’s and No-Shows. What gets me is that the MIA’s had checked in but then left never to be seen again.

So why was this so nerve-racking? Well, the Unifieds has approximately 60 Atlanta area and regional theatre companies, both union and non-union. Most of the union theaters find there future auditioners from this annual event. I probably auditioned for more theaters yesterday than I have in the past 4 years.

I was shaking badly when I finally made it onto the stage, but I was surprised at how steady my voice was. I walk on stage with no hair and a beard and the headshot I sent in was with hair and a clean shave. We are supposed to announce who we are and our audition number, 209 for me. So I add to that a little as an explanation: “Yes, I am Jay Croft. This look is for my current play.” Or at least I think that is what I said. I believe the point was made, it got a laugh for the irony.

Non-Union auditioners are given two minuets to do two monologues. I never realized how fast two minutes can fly by. After my introduction, there will be a beep, which is the beginning of my two minutes. I started with Inferno, which was a good choice. It must be about a minute and a half. It received a good bit of laughter; I even had to pause for the laughter. I stumbled though a line, but managed to finish. Then with a brief pause and move stage right to indicate a new monologue, I started with Stewart. I got through the first paragraph and started on the second when the beeps indicated the end of my two minutes. I restated my name and audition number and left the stage.

I don’t feel too bad about not finishing; the point is to show two different aspects of acting.

I do hope I get some calls from the professional theater. I hope I did not look stupid.

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Anne’s Second Weekend

The first show after the first weekend, if there is a break, is always the hardest. The first opening weekend is always preceded by a weeks worth of rehearsals. Then you make take a break of a few days (in our case: 5 days) then do another show. That 5 days is a long break. You tend to forget lines unless you are diligent and study during the break. I was very pleased I did not forget any thing on that Saturday.

This weekend went very well. We had a large crowd of Girl Scouts on Sunday that made up most of the audience. About 90 people total. Having a large, responsive audience makes a huge difference in the performance level of the cast. At one point, I am on stage with ANNE and we are discussing daydreams, that it felt great being on stage. And I was thinking how much I love acting.

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Anne of Avonlea Opening Weekend

Anne of Avonlea opened this past weekend. The crowds were small, but this was Easter weekend. We did OK. I shaved my head on Friday night with the exception for fringe around the ears and back of the head. Pictures coming soon.

I ran line with Lizzie (ANNE) so that could get used to my not having any hair. We did laugh, but thankfully not during the show.

Remember my last post about not being very professional? This is where having lines so thoroughly memorized is needed. Cast members will forget lines but you are less likely to forget if you really really know your lines. I forgot some of my lines this weekend and Lizzie and I skipped half a page.

I will study my lines this week, but my priority now is to memorize my second monologue for the Atlanta Unifieds next Tuesday.