Hello avid blog readers and confused internet users who accidentally ended up on this site:
My name is Laura Borgwardt and I am in no way affiliated with the Tempest Ladies. (Actually, I just wanted to break the trend of people claiming to be involved with this project…but in reality, yes, I’m an ensemble member. Oh boy. Let’s see how my writing style translates to people who don’t know me…it could be disastrous).
We are now on a slight hiatus—after graduation we all went our separate ways for a month of work, home, being a child actor star, etc, before we head to Syracuse in July to rehearse for the Fringe.
We are working our way up the social media ladder and are excited about our twitter account (which I have no idea how to use…but our resident internet geniuses are taking care of it), our blog, and are now endeavoring into the world of kickstarter.com—we’ll tell you more about that once it gets up…but let me just say, we’ve got some kick-ass prizes in store! Oh! And we are now listed on the Quaker House Website as part of their official programming (http://www.venue40.org.uk/programme)! Check it out! And then when you happen to be in Scotland this summer on holiday, come and see the show!!!
Other current tasks include memorizing our parts, collecting instruments (over the past week I have spent many an hour in my room playing random drums and tin cans…my job doesn’t start until next week…what can I say?), searching for a venue for our New York performance, and living our lives. It’s all very exciting.
That’s it for now. I’m sure the more prolific members of our ensemble will continue to blog and make up for my sad display of blog ineptitude.
Love and peace.
--Laura
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Sunday, May 23, 2010
More has come!
Hello all, my name is Stella Berg and as can be deduced I too am a member of the Tempest clan of ladies. Finishing up the last semester of college EVER and graduating is a very exhilarating yet frightening experience and that is what the girls and I are going through presently. I apologize for the delay in this post but there were diplomas to receive, caps to be thrown, apartments to be moved out of and rotten vegetables to be scraped off the shelves in the refrigerator. Anyways, back on track you’ve heard about our show in Syracuse and you’ve heard all that we’ve done in order to go to Edinburgh Scotland BUT for all you New Yorkers fearing you’re going to miss out on this phenomenal piece of theater fear not because thanks to more incredible people and lucky turn of events we’re going to have a New York production when we return.
Just to give you a little background information, I was born in New York and my dad being an artist always had a lot of cool, fabulous artsy people around. Scott Griffin was a friend of his that I knew and loved from the start. He gave me piano lessons and he taught me my first phrases in Turkish when both he and my family (though at different times) all moved to Istanbul, Turkey. We lost touch for quite a number of years, however, after Scott moved back to New York and my family stayed on. A decade later while doing the Tepper semester in the city we both felt it was time to reconnect. I went to his office which turned out to be the penthouse of the Westbeth building down in the West village. He asked about our project, was thrilled by our endeavors and achievements and without hesitation inquired what he could do to assist the project further. I didn’t know what to say. Therefore he did the talking. “Well, the five of you are already here doing Tepper. Jana only lives in Maryland, what is that, three hours? I’ll pay for Jana’s ticket if she wants to come up every weekend and rehearse. You can rehearse here if you’d like. Then you can do a showing of your show here as well as in Edinburgh.” Flabbergasted all I could do was sputter that I couldn’t thank him enough for his generosity and that I’d meet with the girls and get back to him with our answer. Well, how could we possibly say no? Jana, like the trooper that she is, travelled six hours in total every week so that we could all rehearse our baby in the most wonderful space in Manhattan. Thanks to Scott we will be bringing the show here in September after we’ve returned from the UK and we feel so fortunate to have so many incredible, inspirational supporters.
Hello all, my name is Stella Berg and as can be deduced I too am a member of the Tempest clan of ladies. Finishing up the last semester of college EVER and graduating is a very exhilarating yet frightening experience and that is what the girls and I are going through presently. I apologize for the delay in this post but there were diplomas to receive, caps to be thrown, apartments to be moved out of and rotten vegetables to be scraped off the shelves in the refrigerator. Anyways, back on track you’ve heard about our show in Syracuse and you’ve heard all that we’ve done in order to go to Edinburgh Scotland BUT for all you New Yorkers fearing you’re going to miss out on this phenomenal piece of theater fear not because thanks to more incredible people and lucky turn of events we’re going to have a New York production when we return.
Just to give you a little background information, I was born in New York and my dad being an artist always had a lot of cool, fabulous artsy people around. Scott Griffin was a friend of his that I knew and loved from the start. He gave me piano lessons and he taught me my first phrases in Turkish when both he and my family (though at different times) all moved to Istanbul, Turkey. We lost touch for quite a number of years, however, after Scott moved back to New York and my family stayed on. A decade later while doing the Tepper semester in the city we both felt it was time to reconnect. I went to his office which turned out to be the penthouse of the Westbeth building down in the West village. He asked about our project, was thrilled by our endeavors and achievements and without hesitation inquired what he could do to assist the project further. I didn’t know what to say. Therefore he did the talking. “Well, the five of you are already here doing Tepper. Jana only lives in Maryland, what is that, three hours? I’ll pay for Jana’s ticket if she wants to come up every weekend and rehearse. You can rehearse here if you’d like. Then you can do a showing of your show here as well as in Edinburgh.” Flabbergasted all I could do was sputter that I couldn’t thank him enough for his generosity and that I’d meet with the girls and get back to him with our answer. Well, how could we possibly say no? Jana, like the trooper that she is, travelled six hours in total every week so that we could all rehearse our baby in the most wonderful space in Manhattan. Thanks to Scott we will be bringing the show here in September after we’ve returned from the UK and we feel so fortunate to have so many incredible, inspirational supporters.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Heya! I'm Holly another ensemble member and all around kook. As Sarah just said, we had a lot of work ahead of us.
What does it mean to bring a show to the Fringe festival? A Daunting question, I know, but not impossible to figure out. Thanks to our wonderful teachers, Joe Whelan, Tim Davis-Reed, and Felix Ivanov, everything was suddenly illuminated.
1.A Venue- The biggest hurdle we faced was finding a venue. There are many different factors that go into researching your venue. What kind of space do you want? Black box. Proscenium, A field?! Depending upon the type of production this is a crucial question. Next you will want to know how big of a house you want to play too. If you are a larger scale production with a more established company you probably want an audience larger than 120 people. If you are starting out it would be better to look for a space with less than a hundred so that the responsibility of filling the space is less daunting. Location is VERY important. You want to make sure that you are at a venue that is easily accessible to the walking audience. Anywhere off of the Royal Mile is usually your best bet. When you are shopping around for your venue don’t forget to consider: your technical requirements, your budget, and your dates and time slot. Once you have narrowed it down to 10 it’s time to send out proposals and applications and wait!!!
2.Advertising- This is the key element to getting people to see your production. There will be many forms you will be filling out that require a word limit to describe your show for advertising. The Fringe Program requires a 50 word limit I believe. So you must learn to be creative and brief. Chelsea, our stage manager and savior, helped find us someone who would take on the advertisement design. You will notice the “T” with the mysterious woman eyeing you, which was the work of our wonderful designer, Marina. It is also important to think of new and creative ways to get people to see your show. In fact, today we just spoke about creating a Mockumentary of the rehearsal process.
I'll let all of this sink in for you. More to come.
What does it mean to bring a show to the Fringe festival? A Daunting question, I know, but not impossible to figure out. Thanks to our wonderful teachers, Joe Whelan, Tim Davis-Reed, and Felix Ivanov, everything was suddenly illuminated.
1.A Venue- The biggest hurdle we faced was finding a venue. There are many different factors that go into researching your venue. What kind of space do you want? Black box. Proscenium, A field?! Depending upon the type of production this is a crucial question. Next you will want to know how big of a house you want to play too. If you are a larger scale production with a more established company you probably want an audience larger than 120 people. If you are starting out it would be better to look for a space with less than a hundred so that the responsibility of filling the space is less daunting. Location is VERY important. You want to make sure that you are at a venue that is easily accessible to the walking audience. Anywhere off of the Royal Mile is usually your best bet. When you are shopping around for your venue don’t forget to consider: your technical requirements, your budget, and your dates and time slot. Once you have narrowed it down to 10 it’s time to send out proposals and applications and wait!!!
2.Advertising- This is the key element to getting people to see your production. There will be many forms you will be filling out that require a word limit to describe your show for advertising. The Fringe Program requires a 50 word limit I believe. So you must learn to be creative and brief. Chelsea, our stage manager and savior, helped find us someone who would take on the advertisement design. You will notice the “T” with the mysterious woman eyeing you, which was the work of our wonderful designer, Marina. It is also important to think of new and creative ways to get people to see your show. In fact, today we just spoke about creating a Mockumentary of the rehearsal process.
I'll let all of this sink in for you. More to come.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Another 'Tempest' Brews...
Hello! I'm Sarah Olbrantz, another ensemble member! And I'm here to tell you the next of our sea-sorrow!
After initially working on ‘The Tempest,’ the cast as a whole felt overwhelmingly fulfilled. We had set out to accomplish the impossible. Outside forces tried to stop us, our inner voices grew weak and weary, but we pulled through and made it happen. What an achievement.
But this feeling was so good and exciting, that none of us wanted it to end. How could we sustain this energy? Like a drug, we had tasted the sweet elixir that is ‘creation,’ and desperately sought for more. In my own personal attempt to flee the country of America once again, I spoke the words that were secretly being whispered by everyone’s heart: Let’s try to take our show to the Fringe Festival in Scotland. Wheels began turning and ideas poured out.
The Dean of the College of Visual and Performing Arts (VPA) at Syracuse had recently visited our theater department, discussing her willingness and dedication to supporting and helping young actors in any of our passionate endeavors. We all immediately thought of this and began working on an email, proposing a meeting to discuss our passionate endeavor. After spending three years at Syracuse University, we felt confident that the "powers-that-be" would be more than willing to help us out in any way possible, even if that meant just listening to our proposal.
Dean Clarke responded promptly and the next thing we knew all six of us, including supportive faculty member Timothy Davis-Reed, were meeting in her office. She loved the idea. We all took notes, discussed the grants we would need to apply for, exchanged emails and left with very high hopes that over the summer break, Dean Clarke would be able to find room for our project in the year’s budget. Some ideas that were discussed included filming a documentary, or a “how-to," on taking a show to the Fringe; allowing future students to use it as a resource for their own passionate endeavors. Some other ideas were to try and involve VPA departments other than Drama; such as Communications and Rhetorical Studies and Art and Design for all of our advertising needs, and set/prop necessities. This would open lines of communication within VPA and potentially create new, working relationships. We solidified these ideas with our Stage Manager, Chelsea Jennings, and then put our project to bed. We would have to wait until the fall to find out if our proposal was actually possible and worth pursuing.
Fast forward to the Fall of 2009: Back at school, we email Dean Clarke to see if we can meet again to discuss the progress of our potential project. We eventually meet and after solidifying details of the project, Dean Clarke and her faithful assistant Katy Foley give us the go ahead to pursue the means by which we could gain funding for our project.
Success! The six of us, seven of us including our incredible stage manager, meet and pull a proposal together (mostly our stage manager – she is remarkable). We submit it and over Thanksgiving break are granted the money from the Co-Curricular Fund. We now are officially taking a Syracuse University supported show to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August of 2010.
Logistically, there was an incredible amount of work that now needed to be done. Applying to the Fringe, finding a theater, requesting that theater, being granted that theater, travel dates, rehearsal dates and space, advertising, production costs and budgeting, prop and set design, the list goes on and on! *Footnote: I personally soon discovered at this point that A) I am not interested in any facet of producing a show, and B) I love stage managers.
The Ladies began having weekly meetings in the attic of my house in Syracuse (not as creepy as that actually sounds). We discussed business logistics and conceptual ideas for the new and improved version of our show. Meetings were hard with one of our cast members interning in Chicago, but that goodness for Skype!
We ended the fall semester confident. Ready to take on spring semester, whatever it would bring. Five of us would be studying in NYC at the University's "Ariel Tepper Semester," one of us working and earning money at home in Maryland, and our fearless stage manager still in Syracuse. Could we still rehearse? How much could we actually accomplish? What exactly would this next semester bring...?
(You see how I built that suspense? It's a tactic called a "cliff hanger" to keep you coming back for more!)
After initially working on ‘The Tempest,’ the cast as a whole felt overwhelmingly fulfilled. We had set out to accomplish the impossible. Outside forces tried to stop us, our inner voices grew weak and weary, but we pulled through and made it happen. What an achievement.
But this feeling was so good and exciting, that none of us wanted it to end. How could we sustain this energy? Like a drug, we had tasted the sweet elixir that is ‘creation,’ and desperately sought for more. In my own personal attempt to flee the country of America once again, I spoke the words that were secretly being whispered by everyone’s heart: Let’s try to take our show to the Fringe Festival in Scotland. Wheels began turning and ideas poured out.
The Dean of the College of Visual and Performing Arts (VPA) at Syracuse had recently visited our theater department, discussing her willingness and dedication to supporting and helping young actors in any of our passionate endeavors. We all immediately thought of this and began working on an email, proposing a meeting to discuss our passionate endeavor. After spending three years at Syracuse University, we felt confident that the "powers-that-be" would be more than willing to help us out in any way possible, even if that meant just listening to our proposal.
Dean Clarke responded promptly and the next thing we knew all six of us, including supportive faculty member Timothy Davis-Reed, were meeting in her office. She loved the idea. We all took notes, discussed the grants we would need to apply for, exchanged emails and left with very high hopes that over the summer break, Dean Clarke would be able to find room for our project in the year’s budget. Some ideas that were discussed included filming a documentary, or a “how-to," on taking a show to the Fringe; allowing future students to use it as a resource for their own passionate endeavors. Some other ideas were to try and involve VPA departments other than Drama; such as Communications and Rhetorical Studies and Art and Design for all of our advertising needs, and set/prop necessities. This would open lines of communication within VPA and potentially create new, working relationships. We solidified these ideas with our Stage Manager, Chelsea Jennings, and then put our project to bed. We would have to wait until the fall to find out if our proposal was actually possible and worth pursuing.
Fast forward to the Fall of 2009: Back at school, we email Dean Clarke to see if we can meet again to discuss the progress of our potential project. We eventually meet and after solidifying details of the project, Dean Clarke and her faithful assistant Katy Foley give us the go ahead to pursue the means by which we could gain funding for our project.
Success! The six of us, seven of us including our incredible stage manager, meet and pull a proposal together (mostly our stage manager – she is remarkable). We submit it and over Thanksgiving break are granted the money from the Co-Curricular Fund. We now are officially taking a Syracuse University supported show to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August of 2010.
Logistically, there was an incredible amount of work that now needed to be done. Applying to the Fringe, finding a theater, requesting that theater, being granted that theater, travel dates, rehearsal dates and space, advertising, production costs and budgeting, prop and set design, the list goes on and on! *Footnote: I personally soon discovered at this point that A) I am not interested in any facet of producing a show, and B) I love stage managers.
The Ladies began having weekly meetings in the attic of my house in Syracuse (not as creepy as that actually sounds). We discussed business logistics and conceptual ideas for the new and improved version of our show. Meetings were hard with one of our cast members interning in Chicago, but that goodness for Skype!
We ended the fall semester confident. Ready to take on spring semester, whatever it would bring. Five of us would be studying in NYC at the University's "Ariel Tepper Semester," one of us working and earning money at home in Maryland, and our fearless stage manager still in Syracuse. Could we still rehearse? How much could we actually accomplish? What exactly would this next semester bring...?
(You see how I built that suspense? It's a tactic called a "cliff hanger" to keep you coming back for more!)
Sunday, February 28, 2010
The Tempest Renaissance
In the beginning there was The Tempest...and The Tempest was by Shakespeare and The Tempest was Shakespeare...he was with the Tempest in the beginning.
Okay, you'll have to excuse me - I'm new at this. I'm Jana, just one of the six Tempest Ladies, and I'm on a bus up to NYC on Sunday, February 28th, 2010. I've heard we have to say "twenty-ten" instead of "two thousand and ten" now, but I still say "two thousand and ten" in my head...Oh well. I am happy to report that I can figure out how to create a blog. This prevents me from claiming I am technologically inept, because...I'm not, as this blog would hopefully imply.
I'm not sure what is appropriate for a blog, but I hope you're reading it because you have an interest in us and in our work.
Let me start at the beginning of our Tempest process:
We gathered in our London flat just off the Marble Arch tube stop, near Edgeware Road (for all you Londoners) for a preliminary meeting. We were winding down in a semester abroad that had changed all of our perspectives on Shakespeare, acting, and life itself. We knew we didn't want to leave what we loved so much about the Globe Theatre's process behind, so we agreed to put up our own Shakespearean show, using the techniques we had learned while in London. This would prove to be tricky as we each only had a small window of time - three weeks - that overlapped in the coming spring semester, during which we could rehearse and mount the show. So while many of us were in rehearsal for other shows, we were meeting on the side, doing table work and figuring out our concept - costumes, props, lighting...etc, so that we could get right up on our feet as soon as the other commitments cleared up.
We decided we wanted the concept to be as simplistic as possible, going with the idea that in the end of The Tempest, Prospero is left with only his humanity, having given up his magic and releasing his spirit Ariel. So, we too, were left human, as actors, by the end of our show. We had very basic costumes - black capri pants and blue tee-shirts. We decided to give ourselves a challenge and to mix it up a bit by switching roles throughout the show - from scene to scene - and sometimes within a scene. To distinguish which character we were, we would wear a particular hat. Each character had a hat of a different style or color depending on who that character was within our concept.
I would go into the details of switching and the fun that evolved from it, but I think it's something that's better seen than described. We had such a blast with it and played with it in ways that really accented the state of the characters. If you come see the show in April or August, I know you will get a kick!
I think something that really blessed us through the process of the first production of the show was not only the fact that we could put up a full production in three weeks, but also the fact that we put up the entire production - on our own. This included directing, producing, and, of course, acting at least seven to eight different characters. I do need to mention we had a stage manager, Chelsea Jennings, who helped to keep us focused and on task during rehearsals, while also reminding us to take breaks...because, well, when actors work, they work and they forget about taking breaks. Holly, another Tempest Lady, was very insightful in noting that. I know during the first rehearsals - before we realized we needed a stage manager - we would be rehearsing and wonder why we felt so tired...then we would look at the clock and realize we'd been going for three or four hours straight. Another lesson learned - a stage manager is necessary - for everything - including one's sanity.
That's about the extent of our first production squished into a horribly short description.
I know the other girls will want to write and fill in the gaps that I left, as well as enlighten you on where our first production encouraged us to go and how we got the funds to go there. We also had a pretty exciting and unexpected run-in in NYC that I will let Stella tell you about.
Thank you so much for reading and please stay tuned.
Okay, you'll have to excuse me - I'm new at this. I'm Jana, just one of the six Tempest Ladies, and I'm on a bus up to NYC on Sunday, February 28th, 2010. I've heard we have to say "twenty-ten" instead of "two thousand and ten" now, but I still say "two thousand and ten" in my head...Oh well. I am happy to report that I can figure out how to create a blog. This prevents me from claiming I am technologically inept, because...I'm not, as this blog would hopefully imply.
I'm not sure what is appropriate for a blog, but I hope you're reading it because you have an interest in us and in our work.
Let me start at the beginning of our Tempest process:
We gathered in our London flat just off the Marble Arch tube stop, near Edgeware Road (for all you Londoners) for a preliminary meeting. We were winding down in a semester abroad that had changed all of our perspectives on Shakespeare, acting, and life itself. We knew we didn't want to leave what we loved so much about the Globe Theatre's process behind, so we agreed to put up our own Shakespearean show, using the techniques we had learned while in London. This would prove to be tricky as we each only had a small window of time - three weeks - that overlapped in the coming spring semester, during which we could rehearse and mount the show. So while many of us were in rehearsal for other shows, we were meeting on the side, doing table work and figuring out our concept - costumes, props, lighting...etc, so that we could get right up on our feet as soon as the other commitments cleared up.
We decided we wanted the concept to be as simplistic as possible, going with the idea that in the end of The Tempest, Prospero is left with only his humanity, having given up his magic and releasing his spirit Ariel. So, we too, were left human, as actors, by the end of our show. We had very basic costumes - black capri pants and blue tee-shirts. We decided to give ourselves a challenge and to mix it up a bit by switching roles throughout the show - from scene to scene - and sometimes within a scene. To distinguish which character we were, we would wear a particular hat. Each character had a hat of a different style or color depending on who that character was within our concept.
I would go into the details of switching and the fun that evolved from it, but I think it's something that's better seen than described. We had such a blast with it and played with it in ways that really accented the state of the characters. If you come see the show in April or August, I know you will get a kick!
I think something that really blessed us through the process of the first production of the show was not only the fact that we could put up a full production in three weeks, but also the fact that we put up the entire production - on our own. This included directing, producing, and, of course, acting at least seven to eight different characters. I do need to mention we had a stage manager, Chelsea Jennings, who helped to keep us focused and on task during rehearsals, while also reminding us to take breaks...because, well, when actors work, they work and they forget about taking breaks. Holly, another Tempest Lady, was very insightful in noting that. I know during the first rehearsals - before we realized we needed a stage manager - we would be rehearsing and wonder why we felt so tired...then we would look at the clock and realize we'd been going for three or four hours straight. Another lesson learned - a stage manager is necessary - for everything - including one's sanity.
That's about the extent of our first production squished into a horribly short description.
I know the other girls will want to write and fill in the gaps that I left, as well as enlighten you on where our first production encouraged us to go and how we got the funds to go there. We also had a pretty exciting and unexpected run-in in NYC that I will let Stella tell you about.
Thank you so much for reading and please stay tuned.
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