Apologies for the long wait, I came straight home from opening weekend at BRF and woke up on Monday morning to go and be an intern for Spotlight Youth Theater's Project Dance Camp. There shall be a post about that on my Astonishing blog shortly.
In short, the camp went through Friday and I didn't have time (or energy) Friday night to write anything. However, I have made use of my "Captain's Log" and wrote down many things that I discovered on the first weekend.
~Opening Weekend~
I was extremely nervous. Like can't eat breakfast, think you might throw up or pass out nervous. I wasn't as nervous as I was for the audition for BRF, where I was about to burst into tears (says the girl who does not cry), but I was pretty darn close.
Luckily, I have the most supportive cast in the WORLD to work with. I haven't interacted with anyone who tries to shut me down during a bit.
Even more important, I'm working with a Captain who not only shows me the ropes, but pushes me out and makes me start things (mostly wooing). When you've been portraying a Captain for several years, you ought to be at least good at it by now, but my Captain is more than good, he's brilliant! I swear I'll come up with a more descriptive word once my brain comes back from a 9 day marathon of physical activity.
Speaking of the physical side of being at BRF, the first weekend wasn't too bad. I took plenty of small 5 to 10 minute breaks, even if it was just sitting down on the Street and giving "free advise." I also downed enough Adam's Ale to have to visit the privies more times that I want to count (or admit) right now. I also made sure that I was snacking on salty things and drinking lots of "gator's aide" to replenish all the good stuff you need from that. The soup at the Dirty Duck Inn pretty much saves me every luncheon (sometime after 1pm) and keeps me going through the afternoon.
So now the things that I learned the first weekend- or was reminded of.
Reminder- If you aren't Failing 50% of the time, you aren't trying hard enough. (Note: Fail more).
Lesson- Simply talking to people is good. You don't always need a bit to make a connection.
Observation- Frobisher's mustache might poke his eyes out one day if it keeps getting longer.
Lesson- Every time you stretch yourself you find how elastic you truly are.
My first weekend was a plethora of discovery and sad to say: a lot of playing it safe. I took more risks the second weekend (also I found more of my character the second weekend). I can still take lots of more risks and am making a point to try and do so. I don't want to hide behind my Captain, I want to be able to work alongside of him. Even though I was told that I did very well on opening weekend, I knew deep down that there were times where my lack of self confidence got to me and I let the Captain take much more of a lead than I might have. Especially on the first day when I was excited but really had almost no idea how the day would go.
A note about my Captain for those of you who haven't met him, and even those who have: I really could not have asked for a better person to learn from and work with. Simply finding out how to hold my own around him when he's being the larger than life personality of Captain Frobisher has been a very good exercise. Combine that with the fact that he's pushed me out and made me take control of what we're doing a few times (which was terrifying, but in a good way), each day is a mental marathon as well as a physical one. All of this has made me a better performer and made me less self conscious and more able to just let go and let the scene go where it wants to!
My Captain, if he has taught me anything, has taught me the importance of "yes and." We've done some ridiculous things and it's all because we both just kept on saying "Yes, and." There were times were in my head I said "Really? Really? You want me to do what?" But then my other mind kicked in and said "This is funny! Let's go with it!" Point and example- wooing. It took me two weeks to become comfortable enough to simply make myself as ridiculous as possible and invoke "Venus' knees" as a compliment during a wooing. Don't ask where that came from...I have no clue.
Things that worked this week-
My mustache bit where I go about with a drawn on mustache and ask people how to grow better facial hair.
Asking men for advice on how to be manly (works really well with teenage guys).
My no cannibalism allowed contract. 3 times in four days and each the time reaction has been different, it's fantastic!
I promise that I will write another post about the most recent weekend, but that will come later today. There were many things that happened on the first weekend, but the second weekend only gets better.
Showing posts with label Jokes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jokes. Show all posts
Monday, July 16, 2012
Monday, July 2, 2012
The Last Weekend without Patrons
This post is going to be a little bit different. I'm going to lump the two days into one. Why? Because I'm the author and I can.
Saturday- The Last Day of BAPA
To be honest it wasn't the most eventful week. I still had tons of fun and did a lot with my character. One of the Fools and I came up with a bit where he calls me out as a girl and we have to drag a patron in to help me discourage him. He is one of two people who are actually allowed to call me "Anne" without getting socked (or a very dirty look). I did have to make it known that people need to call me "Andrew" or I might not play with them. Most likely I will respond that I do not know their "Anne" but they might address me as "Master Andrew."
My electives on Saturday were phenomenal. My first class was taught by the director of the BRF Fight Cast and he also plays Robin Hood. He's a really cool person and I loved what he had to say about simply making a personal connection with a patron that wasn't apart of a big "bit." I'm really looking forward to having those "small moments" with patrons where I just get to talk to them. I'm looking forward to the big/funny stuff too, but those genuine moments are what people remember for years.
My second elective was about Elizabethan Maritime history. It was taught by the man who plays Sir Francis Drake. It was one of the best history classes I have taken. He was really hilarious to listen to and even though I was pretty tired, I was avidly listening. Plus, I got to try hardtack! It's not that bad once you get used to kind of gnawing at it for half an hour.
After BAPA ended and we all had a mock-cry, the cast of Ren Quest held a BBQ for everyone and I got to hang with a bunch of the cast and just have a good time. We did some improv and I got to go up once (there were SO MANY PEOPLE), and it was a lot of fun.
SUNDAY- DRESS REHEARSAL!!!!
Sunday was oodles of good times. This past Thursday I got a taste of working with patrons when I went to the train station downtown and passed out fliers with some of the cast (Captain Frobie included) and it was great to get a sense of working with the Catpain and sort-of-kind-of "patrons" (aka- the commuters).
So when Sunday rolled around I loved having one last chance to just play with the other characters, at the same time, I really really really can't wait to talk to patrons.
Wearing my costume wasn't that bad. It was hot, but when you're doing things in costume you don't think about it too much. I love my costume. I love my hat, my shirt, my pants, my doublet, I especially love my belt with everything hanging on it.
We started out with playing Hot Seat and I got to go up twice. Once with my shipmates, and once with Captain Frobie. It went ok, I've had better Hot Seats, I think I would consider it a warm up more than anything.
Then when Dog and Pony went up with their Muppet-like puppets, I started freaking out because they are SO FLIPPING COOL! I will start wigging out whenever they come near me. Everyone thinks it's really hilarious.
The next super-duper (trying not to use the word "awesome") part of the day was when we split up into our groups and walked around the site. The Captain showed me a map that he drew of the "new world." It's really funny. Kind of one of those things you just have to see or ask me to explain in person. After looking at the map we started our "walk about" and wandered all over the site as Captain Frobie told me which places were good to interact with people in, which shops like the performers (and which ones don't), and just general Faire-things-I-should-know. We ran into a couple characters and got to try out some interactions. The more I work with these people, the more comfortable in my character I get. There's only so much you can do on your own before you need to just start working through things with the people you run into.
I also got to try some of the famously good soup from the Dirty Duck Inn. It's amazing. I'm so glad I get to eat there all summer!
After lunch we had full cast rehearsal for Opening Gate, Closing Gate, and Parade. Mostly there was a lot of joking around while waiting to rehearse Closing Gate. Lots of teasing and general good natured fun.
The next thing that I'll mention is that after our official rehearsal was over I got to hang with some of the women in our cast. These women are so much fun to talk with. One of them told me that I am a "Find." I think the best translation is that I'm of value to the group. I got so many compliments from people yesterday and I was overwhelmed by the support that I've received.
My favorite part of the day is actually my change in backstory. Mwahahaha- the elusive and not often used backstory. I didn't come up with this new story, but my friends Captains Hawkins and Frobisher did.
Apparently Anne is the daughter of a woman known as "Easy Fanny." She has 5 or 6 possible fathers, but she does know that he was a famous Captain. This means that it could be Drake, Hawkins, Frobisher, Wynter, De Goiti, or possibly one or two others. I've been giggling about this since lunchtime yesterday. I like it a lot better than my old backstory and it's a lot simpler to explain!
So concludes my last post about rehearsals and BAPA. I honestly don't know what posts will look like from here on out. I'll try and post about each weekend, but I can't guarantee anything. I'm going to miss telling a lot, simply because I can't tell everything- there's too much to tell!
Here's to getting ready for patrons!!! Please come and play with me! Anne will be ever so happy!
Saturday- The Last Day of BAPA
To be honest it wasn't the most eventful week. I still had tons of fun and did a lot with my character. One of the Fools and I came up with a bit where he calls me out as a girl and we have to drag a patron in to help me discourage him. He is one of two people who are actually allowed to call me "Anne" without getting socked (or a very dirty look). I did have to make it known that people need to call me "Andrew" or I might not play with them. Most likely I will respond that I do not know their "Anne" but they might address me as "Master Andrew."
My electives on Saturday were phenomenal. My first class was taught by the director of the BRF Fight Cast and he also plays Robin Hood. He's a really cool person and I loved what he had to say about simply making a personal connection with a patron that wasn't apart of a big "bit." I'm really looking forward to having those "small moments" with patrons where I just get to talk to them. I'm looking forward to the big/funny stuff too, but those genuine moments are what people remember for years.
My second elective was about Elizabethan Maritime history. It was taught by the man who plays Sir Francis Drake. It was one of the best history classes I have taken. He was really hilarious to listen to and even though I was pretty tired, I was avidly listening. Plus, I got to try hardtack! It's not that bad once you get used to kind of gnawing at it for half an hour.
After BAPA ended and we all had a mock-cry, the cast of Ren Quest held a BBQ for everyone and I got to hang with a bunch of the cast and just have a good time. We did some improv and I got to go up once (there were SO MANY PEOPLE), and it was a lot of fun.
SUNDAY- DRESS REHEARSAL!!!!
Sunday was oodles of good times. This past Thursday I got a taste of working with patrons when I went to the train station downtown and passed out fliers with some of the cast (Captain Frobie included) and it was great to get a sense of working with the Catpain and sort-of-kind-of "patrons" (aka- the commuters).
So when Sunday rolled around I loved having one last chance to just play with the other characters, at the same time, I really really really can't wait to talk to patrons.
Wearing my costume wasn't that bad. It was hot, but when you're doing things in costume you don't think about it too much. I love my costume. I love my hat, my shirt, my pants, my doublet, I especially love my belt with everything hanging on it.
We started out with playing Hot Seat and I got to go up twice. Once with my shipmates, and once with Captain Frobie. It went ok, I've had better Hot Seats, I think I would consider it a warm up more than anything.
Then when Dog and Pony went up with their Muppet-like puppets, I started freaking out because they are SO FLIPPING COOL! I will start wigging out whenever they come near me. Everyone thinks it's really hilarious.
The next super-duper (trying not to use the word "awesome") part of the day was when we split up into our groups and walked around the site. The Captain showed me a map that he drew of the "new world." It's really funny. Kind of one of those things you just have to see or ask me to explain in person. After looking at the map we started our "walk about" and wandered all over the site as Captain Frobie told me which places were good to interact with people in, which shops like the performers (and which ones don't), and just general Faire-things-I-should-know. We ran into a couple characters and got to try out some interactions. The more I work with these people, the more comfortable in my character I get. There's only so much you can do on your own before you need to just start working through things with the people you run into.
I also got to try some of the famously good soup from the Dirty Duck Inn. It's amazing. I'm so glad I get to eat there all summer!
After lunch we had full cast rehearsal for Opening Gate, Closing Gate, and Parade. Mostly there was a lot of joking around while waiting to rehearse Closing Gate. Lots of teasing and general good natured fun.
The next thing that I'll mention is that after our official rehearsal was over I got to hang with some of the women in our cast. These women are so much fun to talk with. One of them told me that I am a "Find." I think the best translation is that I'm of value to the group. I got so many compliments from people yesterday and I was overwhelmed by the support that I've received.
My favorite part of the day is actually my change in backstory. Mwahahaha- the elusive and not often used backstory. I didn't come up with this new story, but my friends Captains Hawkins and Frobisher did.
Apparently Anne is the daughter of a woman known as "Easy Fanny." She has 5 or 6 possible fathers, but she does know that he was a famous Captain. This means that it could be Drake, Hawkins, Frobisher, Wynter, De Goiti, or possibly one or two others. I've been giggling about this since lunchtime yesterday. I like it a lot better than my old backstory and it's a lot simpler to explain!
So concludes my last post about rehearsals and BAPA. I honestly don't know what posts will look like from here on out. I'll try and post about each weekend, but I can't guarantee anything. I'm going to miss telling a lot, simply because I can't tell everything- there's too much to tell!
Here's to getting ready for patrons!!! Please come and play with me! Anne will be ever so happy!
Sunday, June 17, 2012
Rehearsal Week 3
Today I had to get up slightly earlier (har har) and pick up two friends to get to rehearsal, one of which needed to be on site at 9am. Hence we left promptly at 7:40 and arrived at 8:50. Pretty good time for picking up two people!
After that I just kind of mellowed around and got ready for stuff to start (at 10AM), so I had an hour to kill. I brought my doublet- so excited about that- and my hat, so I slipped into those and buckled my very awesome belt.
As a side note- I really want to find a small eating knife that I can carry around on my belt. The more I think about my character, the more I think she would have a very small weapon to defend herself if things came to that. Plus, as a sailor, she would have a cutting utensil for ropes and such.
Side note over. As more people came to Street things started to liven up and I found that one of my fellow cast mates is going to sell me a cup for a dollar. I've been having some trouble finding a suitable drinking vessel and I'm very glad that I no longer have to worry about that. Now I just need to figure out how I want to attach it to my costume (once I get it of course).
Now, there is a bit of an "inside joke" that I am going to have to explain in order to further tell about my day. While doing some Ship's Boy (not Cabin Boy, that name came along later) research I came across some information about a time when a crew was driven to starvation at such a point that they killed and ate the cabin boy. Upon further research I discovered that lots had been drawn and it just happened that the cabin boy got the short end. However, I liked this story and though that it would be a fantastic prop/joke to carry around a contract signed by my captain saying that I cannot be eaten if I am able to prove that I am nobility, of the clergy (Ok, that's not applicable), or a woman. Guess which one is the easiest to prove?
The captain thought that this is a great idea and I have drawn up the document and it is signed, although we shall get to the signing part later.
So in the morning we did our usual warming up stretches and tongue twisters and other great stuff. Then we did the "My name is ___ and I want a..."
Today my character said "I'm Anne Drew, Ship's Boy to Captain Martin Frobisher, and I'd like not to be cannibalized."
Hence the running gag of the day began.
The next game was one of those games where I kind of really like the game, but have no clue what to do. Everyone had to walk around in a circle except for one person who was in the middle. The middle person would play their character and try to get everyone to stop circling and notice them.
Today my Director actually told me to go into the circle, which I knew would happen, and half hoped that it would not happen. Not because I didn't want to be in the middle, I just had no idea of what I would do.
So I rubbed dirt on my face and tried to make it look like a 5 o'clock shadow, tried to talk in a deep and manly voice, and tied knots. I was probably in the circle for less than 30 seconds. It felt like forever but I was glad for the stretch of acting and character. So much of my character is based around what I do with other people that it's good for me to have to learn to make my character stand alone.
The next thing my memory has decided on is when we played "Hot Seat," the game where you answer questions about yourself as your character. So. Much. Fun. I discover things about my character and totally lie about other things.
So the captain went up for hot seat and actually had me come up and read part of my contract. Apparently I was reading it like I didn't want to be reading the document (whoops on my part, I was actually super excited), so I didn't get to finish it, that's okay though. It was funny and he signed the paper so now IT'S LEGITIMATE!
I also went up for Hot Seat as just my character and as part of the crew. Apparently we're all contractually obligated to not say anything negative about Frobisher. Also, one of my crewmates kept calling Anne-Drew a girl and it was hilarious.
Then we sang the songs we're supposed to know. Personally I don't think I'll ever be able to get them out of my head at this point I've sung them so much.
Then came lunch which was a marvelous potluck at St. George that my stomach did not want to participate in. For some reason, all day I have not wanted to swallow any of my food. Ergo I have been forcing food down my gullet in order to make it through the day.
After lunch we went and sang with BBF. It was okay. I know the songs and how to sing in my dialect. But it wasn't my favorite part of the day.
For most of the afternoon we played "group drive by" where different groups had brief interactions with each other. So one group would be "it" and the other groups would take turns interacting to try out stuff and just do interaction work.
Being Anne-Drew is fun because the Captain keeps putting A-D in really hilarious situations, like introducing the new crew member to the floozies. I'm trying to be really go with the flow about what people throw at me and handle it in character as best I can. For example, A-D does not want to interact with the floozies because well, they're going to find out that she's a girl (it's not like they can't tell already- everyone BUT Frobisher knows). So much fun stuff got thrown out today and I loved working with my fellow sailors.
The fun part came when we started acting like patrons and interacted with the people. I'm pretty sure the sailors scared all of the "patrons."
So then rehearsal kind of ended and we all went to get our pictures taken for our ID passes. Then I sang a few shanties with the shanty group and then headed off to an Alexander technique thing that I had no knowledge about what so ever.
To condense it into a small answer- Alexander Technique is kind of like alinement/massage therapy/body awareness. The director of the fantastic Comedia troupe worked with me and I have to say that I would love to learn more about this. Look up Alexander Technique because I can't really explain it other than to say that it is really awesome and relaxing.
Then I went back and just hung out with people until my carpool people were ready to go. I really do value the time I have had to hang out with people in my cast outside of doing exercises. There have been a couple people that I'm starting to really think of as friends. I found one very kindred spirit yesterday, and I'm comfortable with being myself. I'll argue and be a brat, but I also love helping people, and I love learning things. I think my brain is just doubling in capacity every time I go back up to BRF because I learn SO MUCH!
Well, that's about it for today. It's a mere summary, but it's going to have to do. I love how I'm starting to get a grip on my character and can see her start to come out in different ways, sometime she surprises me. It's like writing a book, you can set up all these "rules" for your characters and then suddenly you find that your character has this awesome thing about them that you didn't know!
A note- Out of respect for my fellow BRF people, I am going to try and use their character names/occupation (such as Director) instead of real names. This is after thinking about how I run my other blog and I think giving people appropriate nicknames protects them and myself from bad situations.
Also- I'm trying not to use to many cliche words like "Awesome" and "Amazing." Please know that if I do use them it's because I truly mean something amazed me or was awe inspiring.
After that I just kind of mellowed around and got ready for stuff to start (at 10AM), so I had an hour to kill. I brought my doublet- so excited about that- and my hat, so I slipped into those and buckled my very awesome belt.
As a side note- I really want to find a small eating knife that I can carry around on my belt. The more I think about my character, the more I think she would have a very small weapon to defend herself if things came to that. Plus, as a sailor, she would have a cutting utensil for ropes and such.
Side note over. As more people came to Street things started to liven up and I found that one of my fellow cast mates is going to sell me a cup for a dollar. I've been having some trouble finding a suitable drinking vessel and I'm very glad that I no longer have to worry about that. Now I just need to figure out how I want to attach it to my costume (once I get it of course).
Now, there is a bit of an "inside joke" that I am going to have to explain in order to further tell about my day. While doing some Ship's Boy (not Cabin Boy, that name came along later) research I came across some information about a time when a crew was driven to starvation at such a point that they killed and ate the cabin boy. Upon further research I discovered that lots had been drawn and it just happened that the cabin boy got the short end. However, I liked this story and though that it would be a fantastic prop/joke to carry around a contract signed by my captain saying that I cannot be eaten if I am able to prove that I am nobility, of the clergy (Ok, that's not applicable), or a woman. Guess which one is the easiest to prove?
The captain thought that this is a great idea and I have drawn up the document and it is signed, although we shall get to the signing part later.
So in the morning we did our usual warming up stretches and tongue twisters and other great stuff. Then we did the "My name is ___ and I want a..."
Today my character said "I'm Anne Drew, Ship's Boy to Captain Martin Frobisher, and I'd like not to be cannibalized."
Hence the running gag of the day began.
The next game was one of those games where I kind of really like the game, but have no clue what to do. Everyone had to walk around in a circle except for one person who was in the middle. The middle person would play their character and try to get everyone to stop circling and notice them.
Today my Director actually told me to go into the circle, which I knew would happen, and half hoped that it would not happen. Not because I didn't want to be in the middle, I just had no idea of what I would do.
So I rubbed dirt on my face and tried to make it look like a 5 o'clock shadow, tried to talk in a deep and manly voice, and tied knots. I was probably in the circle for less than 30 seconds. It felt like forever but I was glad for the stretch of acting and character. So much of my character is based around what I do with other people that it's good for me to have to learn to make my character stand alone.
The next thing my memory has decided on is when we played "Hot Seat," the game where you answer questions about yourself as your character. So. Much. Fun. I discover things about my character and totally lie about other things.
So the captain went up for hot seat and actually had me come up and read part of my contract. Apparently I was reading it like I didn't want to be reading the document (whoops on my part, I was actually super excited), so I didn't get to finish it, that's okay though. It was funny and he signed the paper so now IT'S LEGITIMATE!
I also went up for Hot Seat as just my character and as part of the crew. Apparently we're all contractually obligated to not say anything negative about Frobisher. Also, one of my crewmates kept calling Anne-Drew a girl and it was hilarious.
Then we sang the songs we're supposed to know. Personally I don't think I'll ever be able to get them out of my head at this point I've sung them so much.
Then came lunch which was a marvelous potluck at St. George that my stomach did not want to participate in. For some reason, all day I have not wanted to swallow any of my food. Ergo I have been forcing food down my gullet in order to make it through the day.
After lunch we went and sang with BBF. It was okay. I know the songs and how to sing in my dialect. But it wasn't my favorite part of the day.
For most of the afternoon we played "group drive by" where different groups had brief interactions with each other. So one group would be "it" and the other groups would take turns interacting to try out stuff and just do interaction work.
Being Anne-Drew is fun because the Captain keeps putting A-D in really hilarious situations, like introducing the new crew member to the floozies. I'm trying to be really go with the flow about what people throw at me and handle it in character as best I can. For example, A-D does not want to interact with the floozies because well, they're going to find out that she's a girl (it's not like they can't tell already- everyone BUT Frobisher knows). So much fun stuff got thrown out today and I loved working with my fellow sailors.
The fun part came when we started acting like patrons and interacted with the people. I'm pretty sure the sailors scared all of the "patrons."
So then rehearsal kind of ended and we all went to get our pictures taken for our ID passes. Then I sang a few shanties with the shanty group and then headed off to an Alexander technique thing that I had no knowledge about what so ever.
To condense it into a small answer- Alexander Technique is kind of like alinement/massage therapy/body awareness. The director of the fantastic Comedia troupe worked with me and I have to say that I would love to learn more about this. Look up Alexander Technique because I can't really explain it other than to say that it is really awesome and relaxing.
Then I went back and just hung out with people until my carpool people were ready to go. I really do value the time I have had to hang out with people in my cast outside of doing exercises. There have been a couple people that I'm starting to really think of as friends. I found one very kindred spirit yesterday, and I'm comfortable with being myself. I'll argue and be a brat, but I also love helping people, and I love learning things. I think my brain is just doubling in capacity every time I go back up to BRF because I learn SO MUCH!
Well, that's about it for today. It's a mere summary, but it's going to have to do. I love how I'm starting to get a grip on my character and can see her start to come out in different ways, sometime she surprises me. It's like writing a book, you can set up all these "rules" for your characters and then suddenly you find that your character has this awesome thing about them that you didn't know!
A note- Out of respect for my fellow BRF people, I am going to try and use their character names/occupation (such as Director) instead of real names. This is after thinking about how I run my other blog and I think giving people appropriate nicknames protects them and myself from bad situations.
Also- I'm trying not to use to many cliche words like "Awesome" and "Amazing." Please know that if I do use them it's because I truly mean something amazed me or was awe inspiring.
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