At Work (for Shame!)

Yes, I know, I shouldn't be posting, but the interns have a blog, too, so I can just pretend I'm writing for that. Even though I just posted something.... hush.
This sort of writing I normally reserve for my journal. Stream of conscious and whatnot. But oh well. I feel the need for an audience. Understandable, since I'm cooped up in a 15' by 10' office with one other person and quite a bit of other crap. Desks and computers and a huge demon printer (you read right, it prints demons, but it is also possessed by Satan his-self). Bookshelves with stuff, you know, an office.
It's not that I can't work at a desk, I just never thought I would be interested in a career path that would land me behind one. Well, I guess this is a career path (ew, scary thought). But I'm sitting on a folding chair, so that should give you an idea of my social standing when I walk in the door. Okay now, it's not that bad, everyone is really nice and the work is mostly just boring, not hard. Intern stuff. *shrug* Plus my folding chair now has a little red paisley cushion on it, which gives it a nice touch.
Should probably give a little update on what I've been up to for the last month (wow I'm a terrible blogger). I got cast in a show at Bus Barn Stage Company in Los Altos, making it my first professional acting gig. Pretty exciting. The play is Private Lives by Noel Coward, and I am playing Louise, the irritable French maid. It's good fun, and really stretching me as a performer. It might surprise you to learn that I am not used to being the center of attention. It makes me really uncomfortable and I get self-conscious and it's no good. Louise, on the other hand, doesn't give a shit about what people think of her, and has little to no respect for her superiors. Also she has a cold. The effect, I hope, is comedy. Well, I think I'm funny, or at least funnier than when I started. The director and rest of the cast are all very supportive, which is good, because this is hard. Go figure.
(Rawr why is it always so cold in this office?! I need to bring in fingerless gloves to keep my hands warm.)
What else... Ah yes. If you keep tabs with you Youtube channel (insert plug), you'll know that I recently acquired a guitar, and have begun to teach myself how to play. Thank goodness for the internet, otherwise I might have to actually talk to real people, which requires their patience (and mine). I don't like having to make people wait on me, or coddle me. I can look after myself (which might account a bit for the anti-drama queen thing), and this is no exception. That being said, all the offers of assitance from friends are very nice and well-meaning, but I can't sit there and listen to someone talk about something. I have to do it, and find it out for myself, in order to really learn it.

Okay, flurry of activity happened and now it's chill again. That was an interesting 45 minutes. Printing and stapling and frantically putting together packets for the board meeting. And now that that is done I'm back to nothing to do. Fantastic. I wonder what's going on Facebook...

And now I'm pooped.

What a day! Man, ups and downs all over the place. To keep it concise, I'll stick to one of each.

Bad news first (might as well rip off the band-aid quick). I was supposed to see The Laramie Project: The Epilogue this evening at 5pm. Well, I only remembered at 4:57pm and I was maybe 12 or 13 miles from where I needed to be, not to mention rush hour traffic to contend with. Needless to say, I didn't make it. Was very upset with myself. Argh.

Okay, time for good news! I'm in this advanced acting class called Stretch, so named because it's supposed to "stretch" your comfort zone out by focusing on an area that you find difficult as an actor. Based on a person's past, he or she may/will find it harder to go to some places, like confrontation or vulnerability or trust or taking control. So, our teacher, Janis, figures out what that "stretch" is by asking us about our past and just by her own observations. (Darn, I realized I was supposed to keep this short... oh well.) Then she writes scenarios and places the student actors in those situations, specifically designed to challenge us into action. The scenes themselves are improvised, which makes it that much harder, because the words have to come out of our own mouths. The idea behind this is that it is indeed easier to portray an emotion if you have the words that convey that emotion right there in front of you. But if you have to come up with those words yourself, that forces you to sink deeper into that and really feel it. Basically it's super amazing. Oh, and as a rule--to maintain trust and a safe working environment--no specifics about what goes on in the class are allowed to be disclosed, ie the work of other actors besides yourself. (So I can tell you what it's about and my work, but no one else's.)

Okay, long explanation over. I had an amazing scene tonight (as a returning student I had seen the framework of that scenario before, but aspects of it were switched around a little to fit the performers). I hadn't done a real scene since sometime in June, so I was nervous about it, and shaky and stuff, but oh man, just letting myself sink in and go there was sooo fun!!! My thing is being the center of attention and "explosive emotions", or letting myself get taken to the far end of how any particular emotion that comes to me in the moment. Lots of fun, a little scary, and I'm looking forward to future scenes. Success! On the downside my throat hurts a little from shouting... poop. But other than that! :D