Let the memory live again
Continuing with today's blog....
My big acting gig came about this Spring when I got cast in "Grey Garden's" at the lovely Jewel Box Theatre in Poulsbo. Yes, this is a musical based on the documentary of the same name. It's the story of Big Edie & Little Edie Bouvier (aunt and cousin of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis) and I finally have gotten the role(s) of my lifetime. I'm not saying that Mama Rose (Gypsy), Maria (Sound of Music), Diana (Chorus Line), Eve/Mama (Children of Eden) or Aldonza/Dulcinea (Man of LaMancha) weren't big dream roles because they were. I am so grateful for those experiences in more ways than one. If anything they all prepped me for this experience.
I have had issues with memorizing lines over the past few shows. I don't know if it was fear, procrastination, doubt, or combinations thereof but I was really worried about this show. I learned the songs relatively fast, mainly by listening to the cd for 8 weeks. I haven't had a show where I've had so many lines and so many songs so I thought "play to my strengths and learn the music quickly. " Then I would only have to deal with lines, right?
Well, I came up to the week before the show and I was still struggling. I could not believe I couldn't remember these damned lines. I did discover something rather late in the process that did hinder me.... let me just say drilling and doing speed thru's were not happening. Repetition is what works typically for me and I just didn't get it. I was so scared going into run throughs and I can't believe the improvement my memory made from Saturday to Friday of opening night.
I did discover (and rediscovered) a few things about myself:
I do realize that this particular show was hard. Hell, it was beyond that....these characters, their lines and songs were just plain difficult. Some of the melodies were bizarre, the harmonies were insane, Kevin had to play the piano onstage as well as act/perform, and everyone had to really work at it. I had lines that repeated over and over with subtle changes here and there (sounds like Sondheim!) which still drive me crazy. Despite it all, this show is amazing and I would tell anyone to do it if they want to expand and grow as performers.
I relearned some memorization tricks plus I figured if I can memorize this script, I can memorize anything! That is a huge accomplishment in my book. Conquering that fear was a big hurdle.
My big acting gig came about this Spring when I got cast in "Grey Garden's" at the lovely Jewel Box Theatre in Poulsbo. Yes, this is a musical based on the documentary of the same name. It's the story of Big Edie & Little Edie Bouvier (aunt and cousin of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis) and I finally have gotten the role(s) of my lifetime. I'm not saying that Mama Rose (Gypsy), Maria (Sound of Music), Diana (Chorus Line), Eve/Mama (Children of Eden) or Aldonza/Dulcinea (Man of LaMancha) weren't big dream roles because they were. I am so grateful for those experiences in more ways than one. If anything they all prepped me for this experience.
I have had issues with memorizing lines over the past few shows. I don't know if it was fear, procrastination, doubt, or combinations thereof but I was really worried about this show. I learned the songs relatively fast, mainly by listening to the cd for 8 weeks. I haven't had a show where I've had so many lines and so many songs so I thought "play to my strengths and learn the music quickly. " Then I would only have to deal with lines, right?
Well, I came up to the week before the show and I was still struggling. I could not believe I couldn't remember these damned lines. I did discover something rather late in the process that did hinder me.... let me just say drilling and doing speed thru's were not happening. Repetition is what works typically for me and I just didn't get it. I was so scared going into run throughs and I can't believe the improvement my memory made from Saturday to Friday of opening night.
I did discover (and rediscovered) a few things about myself:
- I let a bad experience from another show creep into my psyche and it made me doubt myself. Something that happened a while ago really messed with my confidence.
- I discovered myself placing blame everywhere else because I wasn't getting what I needed. Rather than finding the solution, I complained (internally mostly) and worried and didn't ask for help.
- I am a huge procrastinator. (I knew this....really, I did.)
- I had forgotten some basic acting skills.
- I forgot to take off my director's cap. I don't mean to say I directed myself or others, but I kept thinking like a director rather than like an actor.
I do realize that this particular show was hard. Hell, it was beyond that....these characters, their lines and songs were just plain difficult. Some of the melodies were bizarre, the harmonies were insane, Kevin had to play the piano onstage as well as act/perform, and everyone had to really work at it. I had lines that repeated over and over with subtle changes here and there (sounds like Sondheim!) which still drive me crazy. Despite it all, this show is amazing and I would tell anyone to do it if they want to expand and grow as performers.
I relearned some memorization tricks plus I figured if I can memorize this script, I can memorize anything! That is a huge accomplishment in my book. Conquering that fear was a big hurdle.
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