Yesterday I got into Harvard's MFA in Acting, and today I did my audition for THE Actors Studio (affiliated with Pace University)...
...AND GOT IN!
Once again, beyond happiness and excitement and disbelief. They told me straight away - minutes after I walked out the room. Said they wanted "something nice for me to fly home with" and offered me a position starting this fall.
Whaaaat!?
So happy. The course co-presidents of the school are Academy Award Winners Al Pacino (Glengarry, The Godfater), Harvey Keitel (Reservoir Dogs, Thelma & Louise), and Ellen Burnstyn (Requiem for a Dream, The Exorcist).
The curriculum is so focused on Acting - without any particular focus on a specific medium (TV, Film or Theatre) - which is what I've been hopelessly searching for in the theatre-crazed city.
AND students take part in the famous James Lipton Series: Inside The Actors Studio, of which, this is one of my all-time favorites:
(Oh, and two Alumnimunimni are nominated at the Oscars this year: Bradley Cooper and Sally Field).
So excited. Can't deal. I still have to think about things and blahblah but for today I'm just happy. And the love and support from home is ridiculous.
To update you first: I have done 3 out of 6 auditions. All of them have taught me much more than I could've asked for. Especially Juilliard - which I didn't get into. I've since realized (and it's taken me the full week to realize it completely) that it's probably a blessing in disguise. I was bruised and battered and buried under the reality of it my 'failure' and guess what? I'm still here. I'm still alive. And I will win if you bet I haven't learnt one of the most important lessons for an actor to learn:
"Right afterThe Tree of Life(2011) came out, I started hearing about strategies for my career. And I made a decision that I wasn't going to do anything based on a strategy. If I don't continue to challenge myself and risk failure, I have no business being an actor. I'm not an actor to be a personality. I want to see every part I take like a master class. And you know what? I'm going to fail sometimes. And that's OK. Because when you fail, you learn more."
-Jessica Chastain.
Since my Juilliard audition, I've had a lot of ups and downs trying to figure out what I can do to be better. And so many ideas run through my mind but I can't do it all and I have to be clever when it comes to designing my 'practice' because another thing I've learnt up here at the 'centre of the universe' is that there are millions more just like me trying to do what I want to do.
By the way, beautiful brainiac, Jonathan Sierck recommended this book to me and it's brilliant and if you nodded your head even subconsciously while reading that last sentence, you should read it:
So, here I am, left with trying to work out how to do this because I am hell-bent on doing it and doing it properly. I joined Juilliard's mailing list (before the audition... awkward) and a few days ago I got a mail from them advertising an exclusive 'Conversation with Jessica Chastain' at Lincoln Centre, Friday 3pm.
Wow. I went on my own today to experience (because 'listening', 'observing', or 'attending' would not do this justice) Jessica Chastain speaking about everything from going to Juilliard, through her many incredible films, her methods and challenges, to fellow actors and directors, projects, theatre and work ethic. At the end there was a short Q&A and without preparing or deciding to actually ask a question, my hand shot up and they selected me to ask her - best actress nominee - anything I wanted.
And the first question that came to mind (probably because of how much thought I'd given it for the past week) was at 52:30 in this live recording of the conversation. And the answer, so simple and brilliant, has catapulted me psychologically to where I need to be to make it happen for myself.
"Do the work when no one's watching."
And I will thank her to her face on the other side of the work.
On Friday I had my audition for A.C.T. and then got called back for the preliminary round of call backs that night in NYC, and THEN: I watched Tarantino's latest masterpiece, Django Unchained.
So, all-in-all it was a great day. The callback was a lot of fun - we had a very informative chat / Q&A with the lecturers, did a little voice warm up, a cold reading, our monologues (SO nice to audition with a little bit of an audience) and then had to sing a song each. Wow. Singing in America is like apologizing in South Africa - almost everyone is really good at it. And then they let us out and said that if they want to see us at the final callbacks on the 1st of March, we'll find out by then. So, now we wait. And then Django Unchained. Wow. It is Tarantino's most complete movie yet. It is also his most vital. His storytelling talents match the heft of the tale. Also, Jamie, Christoph, Leo, Samuel and Kerry made for an ensemble quite as tight as the Silver Linings Playbook team (which, in my eyes - is close to perfection).
Also, in the scene where DiCaprioconfronts Waltzand Foxx's characters he actually cuts his hand when slamming it into the table. He just kept going with the scene (which Tarantinocalled "mesmerizing"). Reminded me of bloody injuries in Streetcar last year. And, by the way, this is Samuel L Jackson's SIXTH film with Tarantino.
So, Friday was the best day I've had in New York so far. X
I got through round one of the American Conservatory Theatre audition process. Whoop whoop. It was a lot of fun auditioning. Callbacks are this evening so I call on the spirits of their notable alumni to give me the following qualities, respectively:
Denzel Washington: Quiet brilliance.
Annette Bening: Heart and Vigour.
Elizabeth Banks: Colour, an afro and ability to work with J-Law.
My bloggage has been reasonably unreliable lately. So, this post is just to catch up where I'm at:
I graduated, I was in a play ('The View'), I'm following the Oscars like De Niro follows the Eagles in my new favourite film ('Silver Linings Playbook') and I don't care what you say about it, AND I am currently living in New York City.
Just for two months. But like, proper living here. It's crazy. And it's amazing. And clearly. Taking away my. Ability to. Write long sentences.
But jokes aside, I'm loving it.
A lot of people have asked me to keep them updated on what's happening here because I'm auditioning for a bunch of schools which I won't divulge too much about. Basically, my MFA in Acting at The Actors Studio / Juilliard / A.C.T / A.R.T / BrownTrinity.
So here I will post random shit and bizarre NYC things and information about my auditions. Mainly for my family. But if you're not family, that's cool, too. Sort of. Just don't judge. Or do. Whatever. NYC.
In the meantime, I'd like you to meet The Cleaning Woman. She's pretty cranky, but she got me through the 'prescreening' video audition round at Juilliard:
My auditions are all in the next four weeks. Pray for me, please.
By: Daniel Dercksen6 Dec 2012 12:44Submit a commentBizLikeThe View, which is now on at UCT's Intimate Theatre, can only be described as a cerebral orgasm of thought, ideas and expression.This fundamentally radical new play from Philip Rademeyer, who gave us the vexing Lie, is an emotionally charged explosion of awareness. It effectively examines humanity and explores humaneness, turning points of view upside down and inside out with astounding wit and dark humour, profound intelligent introspection and absurd truth.
Inspired by an American pastor's recent comments that gays and lesbians should be contained in an isolated enclosure and ultimately killed off, The View's simplistic setting features a young man imprisoned in a cell, looking down at a ruined Earth and dreaming of being rescued. Through a series of conversations between the boy and family members, historical figures and characters from his imagination, the play illuminates the boy's life and relationships, and also reveals the reason for his incarceration.
Magnificent performances
If there is one reason to see this important work of art, it's for Gideon Lombard and Ella Gabriel's magnificent performances. Lombard has flexed his acting muscle with extraordinary performances in ... miskien and Special Thanks To Guests From Afar, and, with The View, his well-honed instinctive sensibility and natural talent brings heartbreaking characters to vibrant life with heartfelt passion. Lombard is mesmerising, his performance filled with a charming honesty that is sincere.
Equally brilliant is Ella Gabriel, who blew audiences away with her remarkable performance in UCT's A Streetcar Named Desire, delivering a sensational performance as the many characters who oppose and question the tormented young man's views. Gabriel's gift is undeniable; The View gives audiences a unique opportunity to witness the vast range of her special talent.
Incredibly visceral visual sense
Rademeyer's exceptional skill as writer is only equalled by his incredibly visceral visual sense, filled with delicate detail and controlled excellence. He allows us to listen, to really listen, digest and absorb his richly textured and multi-layered text. It's also an incredibly funny and poignant dissection of the eternal rivalry between what society deems normal and anomalous; a dramatic conflict between heterosexual bliss and procreation and homosexual evil; the universal faces of love in all its extremes, and life placed under an astute microscope.
The synergy and crackling chemistry between Lombard and Gabriel is exceptional, as well as the unique symbiosis between words and performance. The View is what live theatre is all about and how live theatre can challenge its audience intimately and personally.
Senseless jabbering and meaningless and worn-out words
There is defence in its offence, and shows how senseless jabbering and meaningless and worn-out words can suffocate and poison interpretation and communication. Recollections, judgment and thoughts are explored in their extreme and stripped naked and raw. No matter how set your view is, dare to challenge who you are and what you think with The View.
We need brainy plays like The View to stimulate the intellect and allow us a unique opportunity to look at the world differently and respect other people's views. "Humans, people, are the problem," states The View, and, for once, I have to agree. Also, "People are not the problem," is its defence. "They are too timid. The darkness beckons and they run away." When madness has destroyed the fabric of our humaneness, regret always comes too late and memories become our eternal prison.
The View is an intimate journey into what is wrong with the world and an important exploration of what needs to be done to improve the world and the quality of our lives.
The View is only on for one week so do whatever you have to in order to experience this exceptional proudly South African production.
Read more about The View at www.writingstudio.co.za/page1746.html The View runs at the Intimate Theatre until 14 December at 8pm (no performance Monday, 10 December). Tickets are R70/R50. To book, emailrustcooperative@gmail.com or call +27 (0)82 410 6996.
And:
http://www.mondaymissile.co.za/rvwtheview.html#.UMSHdI429SU A sermon, preached by a certain Pastor Charles L. Worley of Providence Road Baptist Church in Maiden, North Carolina, captured on a video camera and posted on YouTube, went viral: It's been viewed more than 282,500 times and has been covered in blogs, in newspapers and by TV stations around America. The New York Daily News and the Huffington Post counted it as one of the most trafficked stories of the day. In his sermon the good pastor suggested that gays and lesbians be incarcerated in huge enclosures surrounded by electric fences... "And have that fence electrified 'til they can't get out," he says. "Feed 'em and you know what, in a few years, they'll die out. Do you know why? They can't reproduce”. The most frightening part of this pastor’s tirade is that his statements do not exist in isolation. This type of hate speech is heard around the world on a daily basis. There are governments taking steps to eradicate homosexuality and liberal thinking from their populations.
In Philip Rademeyer’s new play The View, a young man sits alone in a hermetically sealed pod at an undisclosed location, looking down at a ruined earth and dreaming of being rescued. A gatekeeper or jailer arrives with his final request; a video containing interviews with various people from his life. From his hermetically sealed pod, the boy reviews the people and influencers from his life. It unfolds as a type of docudrama, the characters (and there are many) each in turn relate their insights, opinions and feelings about the young man. It’s an apocalyptic scenario in which homosexuals and other dissidents are subjected to a Stalinist isolation. Bigotry, hate and ignorance mix with love, compassion and misunderstanding in this powerful piece of theatre. Written as a two-hander, this play, staged by Rust Co-Operative, is set to be the talking point of Cape Town theatrical circles for quite some time. It is beyond poignant; it’s hard hitting and very real narrative strikes at the very core. Gideon Lombard as the young man delivers a deep and very dark perspective on gay life. At times hopeful of liberation and at others resigned to his fate, his existence is a metaphor for those in society who examine and question their perceived isolation from society and it’s norms. A strong and pivotal performance from Lombard sets an anchor for perhaps the most striking facet of the play. The video characters described earlier are all played by Ella Gabriel. In a tour de force she characterises everything from the driver who brought the young man to this place of isolation, to his parent’s struggling to accept his homosexuality and his current disposition. She moves seamlessly from one character to the next with only the aid of a few simple props. The audience riveted to each monologue in turn, these two actors charging us to examine our most deeply held opinions and beliefs. Hardly daring to breathe, I await each new development in turn.
An eerie soundtrack accompanies the play. Set design by Penelope Youngleson is stark and simple. Lighting, sound and set are perfectly fitting forthis apocalyptic scenario. As I leave the confines of the Intimate Theatre, I am excited and disquieted by what I have just seen. Chatting briefly to friends and colleagues we can all agree on one thing, this is a must see. Don’t miss it!
Postscript: The View is fast becoming a talking point and the word is spreading fast. Hopefully another stage will beckon before too long.
And (I'll add the translation once it's done):
Poëtiese teks oor hoop en verlies tref sekuur
2012-12-10 01:48
Artikelopsies
Deel
Kry Die Burger op
Mariana Malan
Charles Worley het geskok, maar sy gewraakte opmerking het toe tog positief vrugte gedra.
Vroeër vanjaar het Worley gesê gays en lesbiërs moet in konsentrasiekampe gesit word waar hulle uiteindelik kan uitsterf sonder om voort te plant.
Kyk ’n mens na wat byvoorbeeld in Uganda aan die gebeur is, en selfs net na korrektiewe verkragting op ons voorstoep, sien jy dat baie ander sy sentiment deel.
Nou by die positiewe: Philip Rademeyer het die stelling gevat en op sy kop gedraai. Hy bied aan ’n jong man die kans om diep in sy siel te gaan delf en met sensitiwiteit oor sy lewe en verhoudings te praat. Hy praat met sy familie, soms praat hy sommer net.
Gideon Lombard sit in die kollig. Aan die een kant is dit ’n gevangenis. Eers later besef ’n mens wat die ‘‘misdaad’’ is waarvoor hy moet boet.
Vir die gehoor is die ruimte aan die ander kant amper ’n beskermende borrel waarin hy kan praat en praat en praat, en sit en sit, en is en is.
Min akteurs kan dit regkry om ’n marathon binne ’n beperkte ruimte hardloop. Lombard kry dit reg om dit op een kolletjie, op een ongemaklike stoeltjie, reg te kry.
Die indruk word gewek dat hy neerkyk op ’n plek van verwoesting. Sy laaste wens is om ’n video te kry waarop onderhoude is met verskillende mense wat ’n indruk op hom gemaak het.
Gabriel glip moeiteloos in verskeie karakters se vel. Sy is onder meer hekwag, bestuurder, engel, gewese geliefde, die kind wat hy nooit sal hê nie, suster, pa en ma.
Elkeen is ’n perfekte klein kamee wat met min woorde eintlik so baie sê. Die pa weet dat sy seun iewers vanuit die sterre op hom afkyk.
Die ma is die een wat jou die meeste aangryp. In haar klein wêreld waar sy nog haar plastiekhandskoene dra, vir waarskynlik skottelgoed was, en haar klein figuur in ’n soortgelyke ligkol, slaan sy jou vierkantig in die midderif.
Die teks hanteer verlies, hartseer, herinneringe en hoop. Dis diggeweef, dis digterlik, dis briljant.
Gemeet aan vorige werk wat die klein geselskap Rust Co-operative al gedoen het, het mens iets uniek verwag. Dat jy die teater snikkend en totaal oorweldig gaan verlaat, kon mens egter nie voorsien nie.
This time next year, I'll be living in New York City.
(Now that that's out of the way):
Today I was at a restaurant I go to at least 5 times a week. An unusual looking guy (I guessed around thirty or so) sat at the bar about three chairs down. I caught him looking at my sushi. I was annoyed - typically timid South African, I didn't want him to talk to me. I'm usually much more comfortable pretending to text or to be on the phone or to think really hard and to avoid eye contact completely - anything's better than talking to a stranger.
"What's that you're eating?"
HOLY SHIT: HE'S AMERICAN.
I was shy but quickly convinced myself to strike up a conversation with him (especially after he told me he lives in NYC). And I was so proud of myself. We chatted for the rest of the meal. He showed me pictures of Hurricane Sandy, his home, his halloween outfit, etc. Told me he was there at the restaurant (eating Sushi) because it's Thanks Giving today. I said "not quite a turkey" and he laughed. It was sweet of him.
We chatted away, he could hear me (I worked quite hard not to mumble) and he introduced himself right at the end as'Joe from New York City'. And he wasn't a jerk, or obnoxious, or loud, or stupid or naïve, or any of the other equally as presumptuous traits so many South Africans readily lend their Western counterparts. He was just Joe from New York City. And it was so nice to meet him.
MOVIE OBSESSION: Lars and the Real Girl.
Ryan Gosling, Emily Mortimer, Paul Schneider
Directed by Craig Gillespie
Written by Nancy Oliver
This is by far one of the most interesting stories I have ever heard. I chose to watch this movie based solely on the fact that Ryan Gosling was in it, having no idea what to expect - (that formula works really well: selecting movies based on Gosling's filmography) - and I was so pleasantly surprised. Watch it. And try to have no idea what it's about first.
There is a time in the life of every young artist when he falls under the spell of a mature artist whom he idolizes and will emulate, consciously or subconsciously, almost by reflex. It is probably the way great art is passed on from one generation to the next. We must hope that we are influenced by the best.
This fundamentally radical new play from Philip Rademeyer, who gave us the vexing Lie, is an emotionally charged explosion of awareness. It effectively examines humanity and explores humaneness, turning points of view upside down and inside out with astounding wit and dark humour, profound intelligent introspection and absurd truth.
