WIT Voices

X (TEN) is an original play, that I’m cast in, written and directed by Cindy Marie Jenkins This play is still being worked on and we were told that at the audition. Working scripts usually change at every rehearsal, until the bugs are all ironed out and until the story and the characters make sense. (At least that is my experience with working original scripts.)

Today at rehearsal we received another revised script. We only received 43 pages, the rest of the script we are going to get on Monday, which will be the finished play that we will perform at the Fake Gallery and at the Arlington West Memorial March 30th and April 6th.

Some of our parts have changed dramatically in this new script, some just a bit. The story line and the characters are still the same but in this new script Cindy was really fleshing out the core of the story, as opposed to giving too much background info. She wanted to focus on the war itself and on the effect that it has on people, families, friends, and the country. Not on how the war started.

We were reading and singing. When we finished, one actress got up, slammed her script down on the chair and said that she was quitting. This was a good time for a break and Cindy went outside with her to talk in private. After they finished talking the actress packed her bag and left. Cindy came back in and we all sat down in anticipation.

Was she going to ignore this incident or was she going to address it? What will she say about this actress? Everybody stared at her. (I personally think that the actress’ behavior was wrong. Working scripts change. Heck, even movies change at the cutting table and your entire scene can be cut.)

Anyhow, after we all stared at Cindy, she spoke. She apologized for not letting everyone know about the drastic changes she made. She said she talked with one of the actresses who had a big part cut and whom the story revolves around but she realized that she should have told the other actress as well about the changes. Cindy said that she had her writer cap on and didn’t think about anything other then the big picture, the story, the play. She asked the actress to read the finished script on Monday and then decide if she still wants to quit.

Cindy thanked everyone for going along with the changes, for going along with the process, even thought it’s difficult. She encouraged us to talk about our characters and to discuss the changes that she made. She was speaking very respectful of the actress who stormed out and of everybody else who is part of this production.

And so the rehearsal ended. And I was speechless. I was speechless about how well Cindy handled the situation. She could have rolled her eyes. She could have made a smarmy remark about actors, who one can never please. She could have done so many things wrong in this situation where she could have lost the trust and the respect of her actors.

But she faced the situation and spoke well and respectful. I learned from her today. I learned to respect her more and that I can trust her as an actor and as a friend. It is difficult to write, direct and to watch for everybody’s emotions at the same time. I don’t know if I could do it. But my hat off to Cindy for handling a difficult situation this well.

I sometimes consider myself to be lucky that I’m a working actor.

And other times I’m reminded that I’m working so hard that I should not consider anything luck but the fruit of my sweat that I put into everything I do.

Anything I touch from morning to night I do for the love of acting:

• I design websites not only to make a living, but so that I can apply that skill to promote myself and my projects
• I photograph productions, so that I can meet other people and get to know the different theatres
• I work with the SkyPilot Theatre not only because they are an amazing company but also so I can learn about the process of running a theatre
• I helped out on the Voices From Chornobyl film shoot, not only because I love my director, but also so I can learn about the process of making a film
• I teach at AFI through the SAG Conservatory, not only because I love to help actors, but also so that I can learn about myself and meet others in the industry
• I volunteer at Women In Theatre so that I can meet people and so that I can get them excited about Theatre in LA
• I go to plays and to see movies to learn and to support my friends
• I promote my friends who I work with so that I can promote my projects
• I blog to share my passion…

Everything I do has something to do with acting and the creative process.

I find myself the most relaxed on set or in the theatre. That’s where I can finally breath, focus and be myself.

That’s the only place, where I can feel my skin from the inside and where I can feel my heart beat. That’s where I really feel alive.

I have been working monthly and weekly on one project or another and I love it. I always look forward to those few hours where I can be directed, where I can relax, where I can be amongst the creative people that feed me, encourage me and guide me.

So am I lucky that I’m working? Am I lucky to know the people who cast me? Am I lucky to be cast?

Maybe I’m lucky that I have the health and the energy. Maybe I’m lucky that I have a passion for something that most people are looking for their entire life. Maybe I’m lucky that I met the people who I love working with.

But I don’t think I’m lucky to be working. I work very hard every day to keep in touch with the people. I work on staying in touch with my self. I work hard in promoting my shows and my projects. I work hard to support my fellow actors, directors, producers and writers. And I work hard on my craft every day!

I shot a music video/documentary last Sunday on a very sort notice.  I worked with the director, Danielle Stallings, about 8 years ago and this shoot was the result of her submitting to a competition and being one of the finalists who had to finish a short film within a couple weeks.

So she came up with a music video/documentary concept that involved some beach shots, forest scenes, a bus ride and lots of plants.  Danielle also interviewed some people who started the “counter culture” in the 70s and the interviews were part of the documentary.

Danielle bought some plants to use for the filming and all the actors who were involved were given the  option to keep the plants at the end of the day.  To my surprise nobody took the plants home.  Well that was good for me because Danielle gave me all the plants that I wanted and so I took all of the small plants and I left her with the big ones that I had no room for.

After the shoot they all looked wilted and exhausted.  I put them on my patio next to each other, gave them some water and now, three days later they all look healthy and happy.  If you can’t pay me for a shoot, I will work for food as any other actor but I will also work for plants or a bicycle.

“A Past in Hiding” - Memory and Survival in Nazi Germany by Mark Roseman

“The rain is streaming down, but still how beautiful it is: camping by the lake. How one lives when close to nature, to weather and time, to the animals and the sounds of solitude. I can’t tell you how beautiful it is! At first I was worrying about the weather and thinking I could enjoy it and feel happy only if everything were bathed in sunlight. But now I realize that’s not true. Everything, including oneself, is more alive when the clouds and the rain and the wind are all about. I feel like the grass and the leaves, exposed, utterly open to the elements. It’s beautiful! Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful.

To be totally oneself, without distortion, without a mask, without qualification. To open oneself fully, to forget oneself and only then to find oneself.

To be all senses; feeling, seeing, hearing. And to want nothing, to just take what comes; to taste and enjoy it.

Waking up in the dawn after an astoundingly warm and good night in the tent; bathing in the reservoir in the morning surrounded by the mist as it moves across the water. And then hiking through the puring rain; woods, fields, meadows. At one point a rain-drenched cart, otherwise no sounds, no evidence of people nearby. The path led across a hill through wisps of cloud, then through a wood rich with the fragrance of wet pines. At one point, a horse out to pasture whinnied happily at the unexpected interruption of its isolation. It sniffed me up and down, chewed at my sprig of broom and walked with me to the end of the pasture. Elsewhere, I surprised a couple of cows. Behind a gorse-covered hill two farms squatted together, like children huddled in the rain. A thousand good thought wandered with me through mist and rain, above all the strong desire to have a friend by my side, someone to share the experience with me.

Sometimes on the way you explore a stretch through the woods and then have to retrace your steps to the main path. You must erase this detour from your memory so that later you don’t lose your way home. And it occurred to me that life’s often like that; you can take a wrong path and so easily lose sight of your goal. It’s so good to be able to plan out the mistake until you can find the right path. Then you can look at your mistake, evaluate it, and above all, learn to accept it…”

A handwritten excerpt from Marianne Ellenbogen’s diary from June 2nd, 1944, while living underground in Nazi ruled Germany.

When I started doing theater in LA, my only wish was to get the next gig, to get cast. I auditioned weekly in neighborhood theaters, across town and across the city.

After doing theater for a few years, my wish extended to belong to a theater company. I didn’t want to have to drive around anymore. I wanted to find a theater locally that had a good reputation, that had great actors and directors and that produced meaningful plays.

I started going to different theaters weekly, seeing plays, checking them out on-line and looking at their past reviews. I was asking friends about which theaters they liked and I got to meet some board members to find out about their policies and about their community participation.

Some people said they will help me get into their company and some said they will refer me. The people who offered to help, didn’t and the referrals from the others never happened. Some theater companies moved out of town because the rent became too high and some theaters closed.

It was not easy to find something local that had all the things that I valued in a community theater. I was aware that if I was to join a company I had to like the members, the productions, the neighborhood, and I had to be willing to put in company time…And of course they had to like me as well and I would have to pass the audition!

I auditioned for one company that I liked. The audition was a great experience but I didn’t get in. After my audition I heard from every person that knew this company that I should be glad that I didn’t get in. Members as well as non-members were walking away from it because the company lost it’s original mandate, it’s creative mojo, and they didn’t treat their members well.

I got discouraged because I thought that the company was good. I did my research, watched their plays, looked up all their history on-line and I realized that I didn’t know anything about the company. I decided that I’m not going to audition for a company anymore. But my goal was still to join a community theater, but only after working with them on a production.

My wish was still the same but I changed how I would go about joining. I started auditioning for theater companies instead of for independent productions. And luck came my way…

A director/actor friend of mine, with whom I worked with 6 years ago, called me and invited me to be in the play that he was about to direct for a young theater company in Burbank, called SkyPilot Theater Company. The play was TAKING SIDES by Ronald Harwood. Mike, the director, gave me the script and told me that I can choose either of the female roles. I read the play, loved every word of it and chose the role of Emmi Straube.

We rehearsed for one and a half months, days, nights, and weekends and I fell in love with the actors and with the company. I wanted to be part of the SkyPilot Theatre! I wanted to be associated with them and I wanted to be amongst these amazing actors for many more productions!

I worked my ass off. I promoted the play, brought in people, even organized a bike ride to fill the seats and to show my friends how awesome this company was. I built the company a website and I posted the production on several theater related sites for free. I made myself available whenever they needed me. I worked like I was obsessed and it paid off.

After the play ended, one of the producers asked me if I was interested in joining the Company. I tried to stay cool and just told him that I’ll think about it, but before I could finish the sentence I jumped into his arms and said “Yes! Yes! I would love to!”

I can’t tell you how happy I am about becoming a member of the SkyPilot Theatre Company! I’m ecstatic! I’m proud because I worked hard and I earned my Membership. I’m overwhelmed to be amongst these talented actors who have a vision and the passion to work on stage. I’m honored and I’m thankful for them for seeing my passion, my love, my dedication and my talent to invite me to to make my wish come true!

Hi everyone! I’ve been threatening to contribute to this site for a while but, sadly, didn’t feel I had anything to say. So now I will say little, and just include a very short essay I wrote once that I used for a monologue of a sort years ago. Also, after finally getting my VO demos together and submitting to various and sundry agents, I ended up getting cast in two grad films (SAG approved) simultaneously and have an interview with a commercial on-camera agent in a few days. Just when I thought it was safe to let myself go …

In any case, here is the little piece I wrote in a writing workshop ages ago. I warn you it is a bit dark, but I thought I’d start with this, and in a future post share more uplifting pieces!

“Leaving” by Carol Anne Seflinger

He had worked so hard for so long to be an actor, yet most of it after all was

behind the scenes. The classes, the photo sessions, the manufactured résumés, the

altered nose and teeth–so many initiation rites an anthropologist would be

dumbfounded. And now Stanley Razminovich was at a point in his life where he finally

had to say,”Enough!” It is not working, it never had and it never will. A five-foot

two-inch, three hundred pound actor in L.A. is beyond an anomaly.

And so he packed up his meager trifling mementos, the few theatrical reviews he

did get always misspelled his name, anyway. He dragged them down the three

flights to the basement of his Cahuenga walk-up, created a pictorial pyre

of played-out dreams in the center of the basement floor, poured gasoline all over

his 8×10 glossies, stood in the middle of them, lit a match and started his best

re-creation of Hamlet’s Soliloquy.

I can’t believe the kid from India almost misspelled “darjeeling”

That’s what I’m thinking as I watch SPELLBOUND, the documentary on the National Spelling Bee.

Of course, this kid’s grandfather also has 1,000 praying for him in India.  If he wins, his grandfather will feed 5,000 poor people.

…….he just lost on ‘hellebore’

that’s a shame

8 spellers left.  this is more tense than learning the results of an operation or whether an opening goes well.

I have to remember this documentary when I’m trying to capture suspense on stage.

Ok, it’s down to 3 spellers.  Gotta go.

Part 1 of a Series Written by Cindy Marie Jenkins

I decided that I would take advantage of this wonderful forum to expose more Working Women in Theatre. The first Tuesday of each month, I will bring you the insights and talents of our colleagues. Our first Interview is with Cricket Strother Myers, a woman who I met when I was a CalArts groupie and who has taken huge leaps in her career in the short five years that I have known her. Success story is putting it mildly.

Take a look at her bio, for one thing: Cricket is a Freelance Sound designer, based in Los Angeles. She is the Resident Sound Designer for the Celebration Theater in West Hollywood, and the Resident Assistant Sound Designer at the Mark Taper Forum. Cricket won a Los Angeles Drama Critic Circle Award and was nominated for a Robby Award for her Sound Design of Floyd Collins, at West Coast Ensemble. In 2006, she was nominated for an LA Weekly Award for her Sound Design of Iphigenia (A Rave Fable). She was a finalist for the 2005 TCG/NEA Career Development Grant, and in 2003 won the USITT Young Designers Clear-Com Award for Sound design. Cricket got her MFA in Sound Design from California Institute of the Arts, in 2003. Cricket was named a “Young Designer to Watch” in Live Design Magazine’s April Issue, and was also recognized as “An Artist To Watch” by LA Stage Magazine in September.

CMJ: Please tell us a little history of your career as a Sound Designer.

CSM: I started in theater in High School but didn’t start working with sound until 2000. I am proud to say that since then I have worked in houses with only 25 seats and in houses with 3000. I have assisted on a Broadway show, and will have my first Off-Broadway design soon, but Los Angeles has become my home and my life, and it’s the work I do here that I am the most proud of. Many theaters here feel like a home away from home now, Celebration, the Taper and the Colony to name a few.

CMJ: Was there anything specific that drew you to sound design? When did you decide that was your career path?

CSM: Actually, Jon Gottlieb drew me to sound design. I knew I loved theater, and had done a little of everything, and then I met Jon. Jon helped me find my place in theater, and taught me the skills I needed to excel. Really, it wasn’t til grad school that I finally knew that sound was my career.

CMJ: Which production do you view as your greatest artistic success?

CSM: That’s a tough one. I feel that way about several productions. Each for different reasons. My two productions with the Furious theater company stand out in my mind. They are a group of people that challenge the way I think and push the boundaries of my design. My work becomes an integral part of the production, not just something laid on top of it. I am truly excited about Dark Play with Boston Court, because it’s so unlike anything I have ever done before and is challenging me in so many ways, and yet, after just two days of tech, I am really proud of what the show and my design are becoming. Again, my design changes the shape and mood of the theater and the production.

CMJ: On which production did you learn the most about design?

CSM: Well, I have to say I am still learning. Every production I do teaches me something new about me, and my skills and my art. Sound design has some many facets. Sideshow at the Colony (assisting Drew Dalzell) taught me so much about the technical things. How speakers work and which mics are better in certain applications. I did a production of the Maids at LMU, where I really got to play with the idea of the subconscious and how I can affect the mood and tension in a room. Halloween Horror Nights has taught me so much about Show Control, And almost every show hones my people skills!

CMJ: Who are your heroes in the theater world?

CSM: Well, there’s the pioneers of sound design, John Leonard and Jack Mann. There’s other designers I have worked with and have helped me, such as Mark Bennett, John Gromada, Drew Dalzell, and my mentor Jon Gottlieb… Mark and John Gromada were instrumental in the successful petitioning for a Tony for Sound Design.

CMJ: If you could choose anyone to work with, who would you choose?

CSM: I don’t know that there’s any one group or person that I really want to work with. I love working with teams that challenge me and excite me. I want to keep working with those kinds of people!

CMJ: What is your favorite:

CSM: Play - well, there’s Toad of Toad Hall, which is the first play I ever worked on, as a freshman in high school. I fell madly in love with the theater because of that experience. As an adult, Susan Lori-Park’s plays excite me, and A Fugard’s plays make me think.

Book - I will be a dork here, and say “The Listening Book” by W.A. Mathieu. It really changed the way I listened to the world, and therefore changed how I experience the world.

Costume - Two of my friends and I went as the 3 Furies one year to a CalArts party.

Animal - Rabbit

Movie - The Illusionist. It was stunningly beautiful and Phillip Glass did the soundtrack

Color - Purple.

CMJ: How many productions do you actively design over the course of one month?

CSM: I try to keep to opening only 2 in a month, but have been known to open as many as 4. Of course even if I am not in tech, I am often reading and thinking about a couple more. I will only open 2 shows in Oct, but I have two in November that I am reading and talking with directors about.

CMJ: How do you approach a play that you’re going to design?

CSM: Well, I start with reading the script and sitting down with the director. I get his/her first impressions about the story, the people and the environment. I also note the “needs” of the script. Practical things, like a phone ringing or a doorbell. I read the script again then, and make notes in the script about mood and environment. I spend the next few weeks thinking about the scope of the show, and what my design needs to accomplish. I like to meet with the other designers too, to talk about their impressions. I rarely start building cues until I have seen a rehearsal or run thru. I really don’t start solidifying what the show really is in my head until I have seen it. That’s when I really start hearing it in my head, and know what it’s going to become. Then it’s the challenge of taking what I hear in my head, and making it come to life. Which is sometimes rather tricky!

CMJ: Tell me the job description for a Sound Designer.

CSM: Wikipedia says Sound Design is “The manipulation of audio elements to achieve a desired effect.” Which I kinda like. My job is to support the action and mood of the production, without distracting from the play. Sometimes that means a lot of sound, sometimes that means knowing when to stay silent and let the words speak for themselves. Sometimes it’s both. I have to understand the gear well enough to know what to use in which situation, but a design is so much more for me.

Cricket’s Recent Reviews:

Trying, Directed by Cameron Watson, The Colony Theater, 2007
The Los Angeles Times, by K. Kathleen Foley
“Watson’s faultless staging is augmented by sound technical elements — Victoria Profitt’s handsome and cozy set, Cricket Myers’ subtle sound and Jared A. Sayeg’s virtuosic lighting design, which perfectly evokes the separate seasons of Biddle’s final year. ”

Backstage West, by Madeleine Shaner
“Cameron Watson’s sure direction shows a loving hand; everything good is enhanced by Victoria Profitt’s superlative loft-office design, Jared Sayeg’s lighting, and Cricket Myers’ sound design. ”

Show Magazine by Melinda Schupmann
“Director Cameron Watson’s understanding of these characters makes the performance riveting, humorous, and completely without artifice. It is hard to imagine a better team to bring this impressive play to life. Skilled as always, Victoria Profitt’s beautifully articulated set creates a perfect backdrop for the garage office of Judge Biddle. Jared Sayeg’s lighting and Cricket Myers’ sound designs compliment Profitt’s work.”

Reviewplays.com by Cynthia Citron
“Moreover, they are blessed with a remarkably fine set designed by Victoria Profitt. The other designers are equally adept: A. Jeffrey Schoenberg on costumes, Jared Sayeg on lighting, and Cricket Myers on sound. ”

I’ve been rehearsing all week long for two plays that I’m involved in. “Taking Sides” and “Voices From Chornobyl” (I just built the website for it, check it out) two plays that are historical and that are heavy.

I have been rehearsing each day rotating the plays. One day I’m in Russia in 1986 and the next day I’m in Berlin, Germany in 1946.

My head is spinning and I just want to cry for all the people, for all those in the unknown, for all those who suffered. I want to scream, and wail after some of the rehearsals. And I want to shut everything out at times.

But I love what I’m working on! I love that I feel so alive that I can feel so much! I love the emotions that come up during rehearsal and during research.

Tomorrow I’m back in Russia and Sunday in Germany again. What a week! What an adventure! What a journey! I’m glad to be alive and healthy!

I say to be careful what you wish for.  In more grammatically correct terms, be careful for what you wish. 

 If you wish and work hard enough, you will get it.  {Warning: loosey goosey feng shui buddhist terminology follows} If you are clear enough when you speak to the universe, you will get what you want.

Months ago I realized that my “Placeholder Job” of Recruiting wasn’t the right place for me to work.  I took a long hard look at what I want to do with my life and narrowed it down to 3 points of focus: Directing, Writing & Educational Theatre (which combines the first 2).

I set off!  (Darnit, another dangling preposition)

Realizations which I made:

Researching Writing jobs, I realized the obvious: no one pays you to write without a portfolio.  Would you hire an actor without a resume?  Folks in TV can afford to leave that question rhetorical.

Researching Directing jobs, I re-realized that  I’m still on a path.  It’s a good path, and I enjoy the path.  The path is still long and arduous and requires introducing a few more theaters to the concept of spike tape, but it’s an upward path nonetheless.  I made some adjustments to my attitude towards that path and the different roads I could take and what supplies were needed and as soon as I exhausted that metaphor, moved on to my next point of focus.

Educational Theatre is something I always loved.  I ran a couple of Drama Camps in Boston and Santa Clarita, and worked harder than I ever have to make them the best experience possible for those kids.

Then I realized that the job I loved the most was working as a Mentor for the Speak To Me program through CTG.  This was when I was an AEA Stage Manager, and two years in a row I mentored an SM-to-be while continuing to coordinate everything regarding the production.  It kept me up nights.  I had all of the regular show duties and paperwork and had to find time to fill out the Program paperwork/evaluations and also train an assistant.  I bought Frapuccinos (sp?) for all of my crew and was never happier to be at Starbucks at 5am on a Tuesday morning.  Did you know they take orders in advance?. 

So I gave my notice and began the pursuit of working in Educational Theatre.   Thinking I would be working after-school and need to supplement my income, I also pursued tutoring and teaching outside of LAUSD, or “The District” as we like to call it here in the not-for-profit educational world.

Roughly a month after I started actively seeking a new job, I was offered the position of Theater Coordinator for Safe Moves, (www.safemoves.org) and will soon begin coordinating, running and directing plays with middle school students. 

I was a little unsure at first, and then I realized my quandry: I was contemplating the reality of combining what I love with how I make money.

It wouldn’t just be a Placeholder Job. 

It wouldn’t even be a Day Job.

It wouldn’t even be just a job to pay the bills.

I would enjoy it. 

It’s what I’m good at.  (It’s at what I am….oh, screw grammar)

I strongly believe in the power of theatre to educate.  There are so many facets to this position that are fantastic, and I actually believe I’ll be working there for a long time, happily.   I will continue to Write & Direct outside of my *J*O*B*, but I will pursue my job with as much vigor as I pursue performances.  Because my job will be a series of performances.

Genius.

Why didn’t I think of it sooner? 

Work at what you love.