The title of this blog refers to the fact that this is the FIRST post here for yours truly, Julia Giolzetti. I have been with the Tempest Ladies for almost 2 years (!!!!) so this post is well overdue.
Aaanyway, we are now well under way with Macbeth rehearsals, and even have preliminary blocking down for a few scenes. This is insanely exciting, especially for me, since I was brought in after all this work had been done for the Tempest. The collaborative efforts I am experiencing are invigorating and my spirit is lifted after every meeting with these gals.
I must also mention that we have a director this time around! Lindsay Tanner, who is a dear friend of Stacey and I from Tisch, is joining our madcap ensemble as an outside eye, Shakespeare text detective, and all-around ringleader. Our first day with her consisted of hours of witchy role-playing in dim candlelight. Last Sunday, we reviewed how to walk like a man, talk like a man, walk like a man my s-o-o-o-n. Sorry, I'm listening to Frankie Valli as I write this. Anyways, we puffed out our chests, broadened our shoulders, balled our fists, and flattened our steps. We noticed how, even though we don't consider ourselves to be girlie girls, our hips have a natural sway to them. But when inhabiting a male character, it's all about taking up as much space as your body permits. That means your steps are wider and, by default, your hips stay facing straight ahead.
I've been trying out my dude moves in public, particularly on the subway. If you're a female who has taken public transit, you're probably familiar with the phenomen that is men using their legs/thighs to take as much space as possible. With my new dude moves, I'm able to claim my own space in the way men do. It's a far more comfortable ride after you push a man's legs out of your space with your own legs.
But back to Macbeth. It's very important for us to be as accurate as possible with our male characters--once the audience stops noticing we're actually women, they can focus more on the story. Some would ask, why then wouldn't we just cast men? Well, for one, our company is the Tempest Ladies, but the main reason is if this play was done with all the right genders, only 3 or 4 women would have a speaking role in a cast of 20. Same goes for the Tempest, where the female roles come to a whopping ONE. Same goes for Hamlet (2), Romeo and Juliet (4, 1 of whom is Lady Montague which....come on), Julius Caesar (2), and even Antony & Cleopatra (2!) And let's not even start on the History plays (looking at you Henry IV, BOTH PARTS). Being a Shakespearean actress is not an easy venture outside of this company. In fact, most of the shows I've done outside the Tempest Ladies have ended up being male roles anyway (Boy in Henry V, Pisanio in Cymbeliene, Snug in Midsummer). Plus, the theater community is already over saturated with talented attractive 20 something women, so even getting seen for a female Shakespeare role is like finding an empty cab during a downpour--unlikely.
On top of all that, given the opportunity, what woman wouldn't want to take a crack at Mackers? Lady M is of course one of the best roles the Bard ever wrote for women, but her husband is equally complex, compelling, and completely bonkers by the end. Don't assume that because we are performing an all-female Macbeth that this will be all about girl power and Lady M...quite the opposite. While we are putting a lot of emphasis in these early rehearsals on the witches' storytelling/framing aspects, our discussions always come back to the man himself. You will see each of us take him on, both in scenes and in soliloquy. We aim to offer a truly unique production of this show, where you physically see Macbeth's mind contort, transform, and internally struggle with his murders. By the frantic final showdown, you will see 5 Macbeths full of impotent rage, ready to take on a castle of rebels.
I'm afraid I've already revealed too much. Thank you for reading this far, and stay tuned for more Mackers updates!
Love,
TTL
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Monday, October 1, 2012
Illegal Behavior
I had the amazing fortune of going to Washington DC over the weekend to visit my brother. I had never been before and though I knew about the obvious attractions; the White House, the Kennedy Center, the Presidential Memorials… etc., what I was not expecting to find was my way into the exclusive Shakespeare library of Henry Clay Folger.
I have to tell you, the staff at Folger’s Shakespeare Library is very accommodating to young ladies travelling on their own. I noticed that few tourists venture further east of the Mall than the Capitol Building and so I sensed a deep and amused appreciation that I, a tourist and not a scholar, a young woman travelling alone, would be one of the few attracted to this library. I also think it was this appreciation that saved my ass later.
When you enter the building, the first and only room you see is a long hall with different relics. It seemed more like a museum than a library… which is fine. Immediately to your left as you enter is a glass case which holds one of the First Folios. The folio was standing up with the dedication page open, and you could flip through the rest of the pages on a digitalized screen beneath. I swiped through the pages of Romeo and Juliet and teared up at the experience. I felt a bit silly but reading the First Folio in person was amazing to me.
But just wait.
My eyes filmed up and my skin prickled at an ELECTRONIC copy of the First Folio… so you can imagine the sensation that coursed through me when I found, behind thick, heavy, dark green velvet curtains, a door that was left unlocked, and entered into none other than the actual Folger’s Shakespeare Library.
It was massive: two floors, stain-glassed windows, mahogany tables, old authoritative looking people behind big desks… and it was frigidly cold. It was what you would expect of any “off-limits to the general public” library. I pretended like I was meant to be there and I walked straight to the first shelf. I skimmed through dictionaries, many faded red/green/blue covered colossal books that all look identical to the next and eventually found The First Folio in person. It weighed at least 10 pounds. I crossed the room and took my seat and flipped through each and every page. The first play was ‘The Tempest’ which I felt was deliciously appropriate. Each time anyone passed by me I buried my nose deeper into the bind of the book. I realized quickly that in order to be there you had to be an authorized “Reader”. That means a professional researcher who has been granted special permission to access the library for research. I could say I was there for research and I wouldn't be lying, but I was no “Reader.”
As you can imagine I, of course, got caught on the way out because the door by which I had entered was locked by the time I was finally ready to leave. I had to go out the main entrance where I was asked to show proof of my “Readers Pass”. I played dumb, the guard played dumbfounded. She sent me back into the library where I looked for another escape route. I was considering a window when the main librarian found me. She luckily was extremely sweet and amused by the situation. She told me she had a feeling I was not meant to be in there but it was her fault for not catching me sooner. She escorted me out and that was that.
I think the only thing missing from this story is a more severe punishment at the end but as I said earlier, there is something kind of great about a young person sneaking into a library to read a book. No? I would admire that and I think that the staff at Folger’s felt the same way.
Overall it was an exceptional trip, and this anecdote was just the cherry on top of the sundae.
**Fun fact: The First Folio was assembled by Shakespeare’s friends/members of his theater company, The King’s Men, a few years after his death. It was a gesture to commemorate their dear friend and a means for his work to live on for years after his life. They compiled all of the pages of his work that they had between them and sculpted together the first full works. They received a publishing deal and printed only around 750 copies of the First Folio. Of those 750, only between 240-250 copies survive today and Folger’s owns one third of them. Due to the printing mechanism of that time, no two copies are exactly the same. Cool, huh?
I have to tell you, the staff at Folger’s Shakespeare Library is very accommodating to young ladies travelling on their own. I noticed that few tourists venture further east of the Mall than the Capitol Building and so I sensed a deep and amused appreciation that I, a tourist and not a scholar, a young woman travelling alone, would be one of the few attracted to this library. I also think it was this appreciation that saved my ass later.
When you enter the building, the first and only room you see is a long hall with different relics. It seemed more like a museum than a library… which is fine. Immediately to your left as you enter is a glass case which holds one of the First Folios. The folio was standing up with the dedication page open, and you could flip through the rest of the pages on a digitalized screen beneath. I swiped through the pages of Romeo and Juliet and teared up at the experience. I felt a bit silly but reading the First Folio in person was amazing to me.
But just wait.
My eyes filmed up and my skin prickled at an ELECTRONIC copy of the First Folio… so you can imagine the sensation that coursed through me when I found, behind thick, heavy, dark green velvet curtains, a door that was left unlocked, and entered into none other than the actual Folger’s Shakespeare Library.
It was massive: two floors, stain-glassed windows, mahogany tables, old authoritative looking people behind big desks… and it was frigidly cold. It was what you would expect of any “off-limits to the general public” library. I pretended like I was meant to be there and I walked straight to the first shelf. I skimmed through dictionaries, many faded red/green/blue covered colossal books that all look identical to the next and eventually found The First Folio in person. It weighed at least 10 pounds. I crossed the room and took my seat and flipped through each and every page. The first play was ‘The Tempest’ which I felt was deliciously appropriate. Each time anyone passed by me I buried my nose deeper into the bind of the book. I realized quickly that in order to be there you had to be an authorized “Reader”. That means a professional researcher who has been granted special permission to access the library for research. I could say I was there for research and I wouldn't be lying, but I was no “Reader.”
As you can imagine I, of course, got caught on the way out because the door by which I had entered was locked by the time I was finally ready to leave. I had to go out the main entrance where I was asked to show proof of my “Readers Pass”. I played dumb, the guard played dumbfounded. She sent me back into the library where I looked for another escape route. I was considering a window when the main librarian found me. She luckily was extremely sweet and amused by the situation. She told me she had a feeling I was not meant to be in there but it was her fault for not catching me sooner. She escorted me out and that was that.
I think the only thing missing from this story is a more severe punishment at the end but as I said earlier, there is something kind of great about a young person sneaking into a library to read a book. No? I would admire that and I think that the staff at Folger’s felt the same way.
Overall it was an exceptional trip, and this anecdote was just the cherry on top of the sundae.
**Fun fact: The First Folio was assembled by Shakespeare’s friends/members of his theater company, The King’s Men, a few years after his death. It was a gesture to commemorate their dear friend and a means for his work to live on for years after his life. They compiled all of the pages of his work that they had between them and sculpted together the first full works. They received a publishing deal and printed only around 750 copies of the First Folio. Of those 750, only between 240-250 copies survive today and Folger’s owns one third of them. Due to the printing mechanism of that time, no two copies are exactly the same. Cool, huh?
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
Cuts, cuts, cuts!
"Is this a dagger which I see before me..."
"They met me in the day of success..."
"To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow..."
How can you possibly cut the beautiful words of William Shakespeare? Let me explain that sometimes this truly is a painful process. There is so much important information in the text because at the time that was all Shakespeare had! Fortunately, now we have the tools to effectively tell the story of Macbeth without all of the text.
We spent one whole rehearsal meticulously reading through the script and cutting. We always keep scansion in mind, but we especially pay attention to important story details. We certainly cannot cut out Duncan’s death right? (Whoops sorry for the spoiler)! We even cut something that got put back in. Our fearless and talented director, Lindsay Tanner (who will be introduced in the next post), was able to shed light on a scene that we were too quick to judge as unnecessary!
We hope for the show to run 90 minutes without an intermission!
"They met me in the day of success..."
"To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow..."
How can you possibly cut the beautiful words of William Shakespeare? Let me explain that sometimes this truly is a painful process. There is so much important information in the text because at the time that was all Shakespeare had! Fortunately, now we have the tools to effectively tell the story of Macbeth without all of the text.
We spent one whole rehearsal meticulously reading through the script and cutting. We always keep scansion in mind, but we especially pay attention to important story details. We certainly cannot cut out Duncan’s death right? (Whoops sorry for the spoiler)! We even cut something that got put back in. Our fearless and talented director, Lindsay Tanner (who will be introduced in the next post), was able to shed light on a scene that we were too quick to judge as unnecessary!
We hope for the show to run 90 minutes without an intermission!
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Our Next Venture: Mackers!
Hello Readers! Long time no blog! I'm sure you all are aware of how busy we have been traveling, teaching, performing and creating these past months!
You’ve all especially been hearing our updates about our upcoming production of Macbeth. But what does a Tempest Lady production entail? The next series of blog posts will, hopefully, shed some light and get you as excited as we are about this production!
Pick the show: Originally we all had discussed continuing on with Twelfth Night, but after some reconsideration we decided that Macbeth was the best choice for a next piece.
But why Macbeth?
First, from a marketing stand-point, since we have been expanding our educational department we decided it would be a good idea to choose a play that is taught in schools. That leads us with four options: Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer’s Nights Dream, Hamlet, and Macbeth. All of these plays are wonderful but there is something about Macbeth that drew us to it.
The driving force in this play is ‘the witches’. They start the show. They are always present. We have toiled with theatrical magic before with The Tempest but dark magic is something entirely different.
That brings me to the next point, Macbeth is completely different from The Tempest. Aside from the fact that it is a tragedy, it is also a much more psychological. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth both descend into madness because of this need for absolute power.
So much of the play revolves around the idea of manhood. Many of the characters, including Lady M, find their manhood or question it throughout the play. Lady M goes as far as to change herself into a man or an androgynous being so that she has no remorse for the death of Duncan. How can we, an all female company, shed more light on this issue?
These were a few of the major factors that helped us pick the beautiful and dark play to be our next installment!
Stay tuned for the next important step: Cuts!!!
Love,
TTL
You’ve all especially been hearing our updates about our upcoming production of Macbeth. But what does a Tempest Lady production entail? The next series of blog posts will, hopefully, shed some light and get you as excited as we are about this production!
Pick the show: Originally we all had discussed continuing on with Twelfth Night, but after some reconsideration we decided that Macbeth was the best choice for a next piece.
But why Macbeth?
First, from a marketing stand-point, since we have been expanding our educational department we decided it would be a good idea to choose a play that is taught in schools. That leads us with four options: Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer’s Nights Dream, Hamlet, and Macbeth. All of these plays are wonderful but there is something about Macbeth that drew us to it.
The driving force in this play is ‘the witches’. They start the show. They are always present. We have toiled with theatrical magic before with The Tempest but dark magic is something entirely different.
That brings me to the next point, Macbeth is completely different from The Tempest. Aside from the fact that it is a tragedy, it is also a much more psychological. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth both descend into madness because of this need for absolute power.
So much of the play revolves around the idea of manhood. Many of the characters, including Lady M, find their manhood or question it throughout the play. Lady M goes as far as to change herself into a man or an androgynous being so that she has no remorse for the death of Duncan. How can we, an all female company, shed more light on this issue?
These were a few of the major factors that helped us pick the beautiful and dark play to be our next installment!
Stay tuned for the next important step: Cuts!!!
Love,
TTL
Saturday, November 26, 2011
In Light of Thanksgiving - We're Thankful For Our Swings!
Introducing the newest members of The Tempest Ladies ensemble: Stacey Bone, Mallory Hammond and Stephanie Strohm!
Stacey Bone is a graduate of NYU's Tisch School of the Arts where she studied at the Stella Adler Studio of Acting. Some recent credits include an exciting turn on the Biography Channel as Debi Mazar in Celebrity Ghost Stories, a musician singing Shakespeare’s words to Joan Baez’ music in As You Like It (Harold Clurman Lab Theatre), Whitney in Surprise (Turtle Shell Productions), a plethora of crazy characters in Under Milk Wood (Rebellious Subjects Theatre), and Sophie/Celia in Everett Beekin (Stella Adler Studio). She also spent a summer apprenticing at the Williamstown Theatre Festival where she performed and worked on workshop and main stage productions; including being an "ensemble" member in Alex Timbers' production of Beyond Therapy.
Mallory Hammond could not be more excited and honored to join the Tempest Ladies. Born and raised in sweet home Alabama, Mallory moved to New York excited to pursue acting. She attended Auburn University where she earned her BFA in Acting. Since graduation she has toured the southeast as a Spanish mother in Zorro, and the midwest and northeast as a little boy mouse in Stuart Little the Musical. When Mallory is not performing she is writing, watching 30 Rock, or most importantly cheering for Auburn football. WAR EAGLE!
Stephanie Strohm is a Connecticut Yankee and red velvet cake aficionado who traveled further north to study history and theater at Middlebury College. Since then, she has performed in more than 25 states, mostly as a frog. NYC credits include Crave (C) with PTP at Atlantic Stages, Pink! (Abby) at the Abingdon, Platonov (Sasha) at Columbia University, and Suzy for President! (Dawn) at the American Theater of Actors. Regionally, she has played Juliet, Maria, Titania, Luciana, Lady Macduff, and the Princess of France. Her first novel, Pilgrims Don’t Wear Pink, is being published this spring (HMH Graphia.) She is proud to be a founding member of MaineStage Shakespeare, and very excited to be a swing for the Tempest Ladies.
Stacey Bone is a graduate of NYU's Tisch School of the Arts where she studied at the Stella Adler Studio of Acting. Some recent credits include an exciting turn on the Biography Channel as Debi Mazar in Celebrity Ghost Stories, a musician singing Shakespeare’s words to Joan Baez’ music in As You Like It (Harold Clurman Lab Theatre), Whitney in Surprise (Turtle Shell Productions), a plethora of crazy characters in Under Milk Wood (Rebellious Subjects Theatre), and Sophie/Celia in Everett Beekin (Stella Adler Studio). She also spent a summer apprenticing at the Williamstown Theatre Festival where she performed and worked on workshop and main stage productions; including being an "ensemble" member in Alex Timbers' production of Beyond Therapy.
Mallory Hammond could not be more excited and honored to join the Tempest Ladies. Born and raised in sweet home Alabama, Mallory moved to New York excited to pursue acting. She attended Auburn University where she earned her BFA in Acting. Since graduation she has toured the southeast as a Spanish mother in Zorro, and the midwest and northeast as a little boy mouse in Stuart Little the Musical. When Mallory is not performing she is writing, watching 30 Rock, or most importantly cheering for Auburn football. WAR EAGLE!
Stephanie Strohm is a Connecticut Yankee and red velvet cake aficionado who traveled further north to study history and theater at Middlebury College. Since then, she has performed in more than 25 states, mostly as a frog. NYC credits include Crave (C) with PTP at Atlantic Stages, Pink! (Abby) at the Abingdon, Platonov (Sasha) at Columbia University, and Suzy for President! (Dawn) at the American Theater of Actors. Regionally, she has played Juliet, Maria, Titania, Luciana, Lady Macduff, and the Princess of France. Her first novel, Pilgrims Don’t Wear Pink, is being published this spring (HMH Graphia.) She is proud to be a founding member of MaineStage Shakespeare, and very excited to be a swing for the Tempest Ladies.
Monday, November 21, 2011
I Do Not Know One of My Sex
The following was taken from Jana's personal blog:
________
On Sunday I had the distinct privilege of sitting in on The Tempest Ladies’ swing auditions. It was a victorious audition experience. Not only did we find our swings, but we were overwhelmed by how many talented actors showed up to play. Everyone aced – no one bombed. That says a few things: This city is filled with LOTS of great actors. This city doesn’t have enough acting jobs for these great actors. And these great actors all want to be a part of our all-female Shakespeare work specifically.
That last bit – the bit that all of these women wanted to be a part of the work we do was both overwhelming and encouraging. It also revealed something to me that I’d never considered before. To prepare for the audition, we asked that each woman bring in two contrasting monologues – one comedic and one of a male character. Wondering if anyone would be able to rise to the male character challenge, we were, again, pleasantly surprised as Hamlet, Cassius and Prince Hal came confidently into the room. In fact, I would go so far to argue that the male monologues were stronger than any contrasting female monologue we saw that day. And I had to ask myself – why are the male monologues better?
The Writing is Stronger? Is it because Shakespeare’s males experience higher stake situations and, therefore, require stronger, and, perhaps, better written pieces of text?
There is Male Confidence? Is it because playing a male automatically allows for a certain confidence that doesn’t come naturally when playing a fair sexed woman?
It allows Freedom? Is it because playing someone opposite to your own sex allows for a certain freedom that you could never experience without making a 180 in sexuality?
If it has to do with freedom, I have to take this a step further and wonder what that says about where our society is today. Yes, for women, we’ve made strides and experience things that even women of twenty years ago wouldn’t have experienced. And yet, there is still an unspoken amount of inequality, isn’t there? Maybe it’s subconscious, but it’s there. Why else would playing a man make us so liberal in our stage choices? So vocally stable and sound? So empowered and grounded? So strong and confident? Because as a male character in the room, these actors suddenly found the authority of a man. The authority that says, “This is my right. I’m entitled to this acting gig. I’m a good actor. I can tell a good story.” Does playing a man assert a certain right? And what does it say that we, as the casting directors, saw more power in the male monologues? Does that mean we have been conditioned to abide by the male right and to accept the male character as more confident, stronger and right for the choosing?
I don’t know that I have the answers to these questions. I certainly wouldn’t be so bold to claim any of this as fact, but there’s something about these questions still lingering with me a week after the audition that speaks volumes to what our culture has been taught and what we still follow based on learned behavior. I don’t know that it is good or bad. I think it is, however, uneven, off-kilter and skewed.
________
That said, we underwent a very difficult decision-making process immediately following the auditions. We took time going through each headshot and discussing each actress. Everyone had brought something worthwhile to the table and it became harder and harder to narrow down the pile of people. Finally, we arrived at a final three. We had initially aimed at casting two swings - in case one ensemble member and one swing couldn't make it, we would have another swing to fill in. However, with three actresses left in front of us and six tracks to cover, we thought: why not cast three swings? Each swing can cover two tracks. So that's what we did - we added three swings to the ensemble! Without further ado, we welcome Stacey Bone, Mallory Hammond and Stephanie Strohm to The Tempest Ladies!
________
On Sunday I had the distinct privilege of sitting in on The Tempest Ladies’ swing auditions. It was a victorious audition experience. Not only did we find our swings, but we were overwhelmed by how many talented actors showed up to play. Everyone aced – no one bombed. That says a few things: This city is filled with LOTS of great actors. This city doesn’t have enough acting jobs for these great actors. And these great actors all want to be a part of our all-female Shakespeare work specifically.
That last bit – the bit that all of these women wanted to be a part of the work we do was both overwhelming and encouraging. It also revealed something to me that I’d never considered before. To prepare for the audition, we asked that each woman bring in two contrasting monologues – one comedic and one of a male character. Wondering if anyone would be able to rise to the male character challenge, we were, again, pleasantly surprised as Hamlet, Cassius and Prince Hal came confidently into the room. In fact, I would go so far to argue that the male monologues were stronger than any contrasting female monologue we saw that day. And I had to ask myself – why are the male monologues better?
The Writing is Stronger? Is it because Shakespeare’s males experience higher stake situations and, therefore, require stronger, and, perhaps, better written pieces of text?
There is Male Confidence? Is it because playing a male automatically allows for a certain confidence that doesn’t come naturally when playing a fair sexed woman?
It allows Freedom? Is it because playing someone opposite to your own sex allows for a certain freedom that you could never experience without making a 180 in sexuality?
If it has to do with freedom, I have to take this a step further and wonder what that says about where our society is today. Yes, for women, we’ve made strides and experience things that even women of twenty years ago wouldn’t have experienced. And yet, there is still an unspoken amount of inequality, isn’t there? Maybe it’s subconscious, but it’s there. Why else would playing a man make us so liberal in our stage choices? So vocally stable and sound? So empowered and grounded? So strong and confident? Because as a male character in the room, these actors suddenly found the authority of a man. The authority that says, “This is my right. I’m entitled to this acting gig. I’m a good actor. I can tell a good story.” Does playing a man assert a certain right? And what does it say that we, as the casting directors, saw more power in the male monologues? Does that mean we have been conditioned to abide by the male right and to accept the male character as more confident, stronger and right for the choosing?
I don’t know that I have the answers to these questions. I certainly wouldn’t be so bold to claim any of this as fact, but there’s something about these questions still lingering with me a week after the audition that speaks volumes to what our culture has been taught and what we still follow based on learned behavior. I don’t know that it is good or bad. I think it is, however, uneven, off-kilter and skewed.
________
That said, we underwent a very difficult decision-making process immediately following the auditions. We took time going through each headshot and discussing each actress. Everyone had brought something worthwhile to the table and it became harder and harder to narrow down the pile of people. Finally, we arrived at a final three. We had initially aimed at casting two swings - in case one ensemble member and one swing couldn't make it, we would have another swing to fill in. However, with three actresses left in front of us and six tracks to cover, we thought: why not cast three swings? Each swing can cover two tracks. So that's what we did - we added three swings to the ensemble! Without further ado, we welcome Stacey Bone, Mallory Hammond and Stephanie Strohm to The Tempest Ladies!
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Signing with Gardner Arts Network
As many of you already know, on September 15th 2011, The Tempest Ladies signed with our very first booking agency, Gardner Arts Network! What you may not know, however, is the story behind how this new partnership came about.
Jana, (who is back from gallivanting across the UK; we’re happy to have her back,) had contacted Jeannette Gardner back in January 2011 while we were all furiously promoting our showcase of ‘The Tempest’ for the APAP conference. The running joke amongst us Ladies is that Jeannette was very nearly the only person that actually answered her phone during that time. After countless calls to different presenters, endless answering machines, Jeannette picked up the phone and informed us that she was unable to attend our showcase but to keep her in the loop for our upcoming performances.
We did. We invited Jeannette to our spring performance at the Players Theatre and luckily she was in town and available to come. On a side note I’d like to add that those two shows at the Players Theatre were our most solid and gratifying performances yet. After two and a half years of working on ‘The Tempest,’ everything seemed to miraculously fall into place that night. The two new ensemble members of course brought a new light and energy to our group and performance, but as a whole, we all reached a point where we were able to simply relax into our production. We were able to play with the text, our props, each other, the audience and ultimately ourselves more than we ever had before. I can safely speak for all the Ladies in saying that it was a tremendous night of shows and our audiences also added an enormous amount to their success.
Jeannette was in our 7pm audience and after the show she told us she had thoroughly enjoyed it and would be in touch with us the following week. We were elated by this and I’m sure it was that prospect which boosted our energy enough to be able to get through a second run of this exhausting show with little to no break in between.
We followed up with Jeannette and after a short e-mail exchange we had our first meeting with her in mid June. To say the meeting was long would be an understatement. We left her office two and a half hours later than when we had arrived with a handful of instructions and a renewed sense of possibility. She told us to design a flyer and poster for our group, film a promotional trailer of our show and draft a study guide for the educational component that we’re currently developing.
Stella’s mom had done a painting of us in our harpy position once before and we all loved it. Therefore, we had the idea of asking her to paint another picture of all of us in different hats and different physical movements to use as our flyer. She agreed, felt honored and produced a painting which is electric, colorful, accurate and imaginative. The final product came out far superior to anything we could have even imagined. We are so thankful for and proud of her beautiful work. (http://cargocollective.com/shirleyverrette)
The study guide was entirely our responsibility. We divided the sections up into a summary of the show, a list of major characters, a series of different exercises and thought provoking questions, information on the period the play was written in, information on Shakespeare, information on The Tempest Ladies, and a series of different workshops. Although we were all involved in the creation of the study guide Julia Giolzetti deserves particular recognition for her work and contribution to it. And Laura Borgwardt takes all of the credit for the different workshop ideas and games. As individuals we all have our strengths but as a group we make up quite a unique force.
The video- you already know about. If you don’t know about it, read the previous blog!
We met with Jeannette periodically throughout the summer to touch base on the progress of our materials and to also look over our professional agreement. There were questions we had about the contract which Jeannette patiently answered. We felt we needed time to look over the contract more thoroughly and she likewise didn’t want to jump into anything before she saw our finished promotional video. We completed the teaser and the trailer by the middle of August and presented it to Jeannette. She had one minor criticism about the sound in one section but generally and genuinely loved it. The last and final thing therefore, was the printed materials for her to take along with her to her first conference.
She required 2 laminated posters, 100 flyers and 10 DVDs of our trailer. We had already designed our flyer and poster and so did research on an affordable yet high quality company and had those printed. As for the DVDs we thought it would be special to print a custom image on the face of the DVD itself. We settled on the image of our eyes which we also had used as our postcard image for our June 2nd announcement. The eyes on the DVD look great and surprisingly eerie. You can’t quite tell which way is right side up and which way is upside down. Spooky. We also took it a step further and had a stamp made of our Tempest Ladies Logo. On the DVD sleeve we stamped our logo on the front. The package as a whole unit is very innovative and utterly DIY. Merely because it’s a stamp and had to press each one individually, each cover is slightly different. To give you an example, on one of them I pressed the stamp so hard on the paper that our lady came out with a very distinctive handlebar moustache.
At the completion of all of the printing production, we met with Jeannette one more time. She approved the posters, the flyers and the DVDs. She went over a few details regarding the Performing Arts Exchange which is the first conference she is representing us at (It’s actually occurring this weekend in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and we are crossing our fingers that it’s a success.) She also told us that after sending out an e-mail blast about us, a theater upstate responded within ten minutes stating they were interested and wanted more information. That was definitely an exciting addition to an already exhilarating day! At the end of our chitchat and answering all final questions, The Tempest Ladies signed our name to be represented by Gardner Arts Network.
It is easy and simple to say that we are all very excited and positive about this next chapter of The Tempest Ladies. We could not have come this far without the support of others and the determination of ourselves.
With much love,
The Tempest Ladies
Jana, (who is back from gallivanting across the UK; we’re happy to have her back,) had contacted Jeannette Gardner back in January 2011 while we were all furiously promoting our showcase of ‘The Tempest’ for the APAP conference. The running joke amongst us Ladies is that Jeannette was very nearly the only person that actually answered her phone during that time. After countless calls to different presenters, endless answering machines, Jeannette picked up the phone and informed us that she was unable to attend our showcase but to keep her in the loop for our upcoming performances.
We did. We invited Jeannette to our spring performance at the Players Theatre and luckily she was in town and available to come. On a side note I’d like to add that those two shows at the Players Theatre were our most solid and gratifying performances yet. After two and a half years of working on ‘The Tempest,’ everything seemed to miraculously fall into place that night. The two new ensemble members of course brought a new light and energy to our group and performance, but as a whole, we all reached a point where we were able to simply relax into our production. We were able to play with the text, our props, each other, the audience and ultimately ourselves more than we ever had before. I can safely speak for all the Ladies in saying that it was a tremendous night of shows and our audiences also added an enormous amount to their success.
Jeannette was in our 7pm audience and after the show she told us she had thoroughly enjoyed it and would be in touch with us the following week. We were elated by this and I’m sure it was that prospect which boosted our energy enough to be able to get through a second run of this exhausting show with little to no break in between.
We followed up with Jeannette and after a short e-mail exchange we had our first meeting with her in mid June. To say the meeting was long would be an understatement. We left her office two and a half hours later than when we had arrived with a handful of instructions and a renewed sense of possibility. She told us to design a flyer and poster for our group, film a promotional trailer of our show and draft a study guide for the educational component that we’re currently developing.
Stella’s mom had done a painting of us in our harpy position once before and we all loved it. Therefore, we had the idea of asking her to paint another picture of all of us in different hats and different physical movements to use as our flyer. She agreed, felt honored and produced a painting which is electric, colorful, accurate and imaginative. The final product came out far superior to anything we could have even imagined. We are so thankful for and proud of her beautiful work. (http://cargocollective.com/shirleyverrette)
The study guide was entirely our responsibility. We divided the sections up into a summary of the show, a list of major characters, a series of different exercises and thought provoking questions, information on the period the play was written in, information on Shakespeare, information on The Tempest Ladies, and a series of different workshops. Although we were all involved in the creation of the study guide Julia Giolzetti deserves particular recognition for her work and contribution to it. And Laura Borgwardt takes all of the credit for the different workshop ideas and games. As individuals we all have our strengths but as a group we make up quite a unique force.
The video- you already know about. If you don’t know about it, read the previous blog!
We met with Jeannette periodically throughout the summer to touch base on the progress of our materials and to also look over our professional agreement. There were questions we had about the contract which Jeannette patiently answered. We felt we needed time to look over the contract more thoroughly and she likewise didn’t want to jump into anything before she saw our finished promotional video. We completed the teaser and the trailer by the middle of August and presented it to Jeannette. She had one minor criticism about the sound in one section but generally and genuinely loved it. The last and final thing therefore, was the printed materials for her to take along with her to her first conference.
She required 2 laminated posters, 100 flyers and 10 DVDs of our trailer. We had already designed our flyer and poster and so did research on an affordable yet high quality company and had those printed. As for the DVDs we thought it would be special to print a custom image on the face of the DVD itself. We settled on the image of our eyes which we also had used as our postcard image for our June 2nd announcement. The eyes on the DVD look great and surprisingly eerie. You can’t quite tell which way is right side up and which way is upside down. Spooky. We also took it a step further and had a stamp made of our Tempest Ladies Logo. On the DVD sleeve we stamped our logo on the front. The package as a whole unit is very innovative and utterly DIY. Merely because it’s a stamp and had to press each one individually, each cover is slightly different. To give you an example, on one of them I pressed the stamp so hard on the paper that our lady came out with a very distinctive handlebar moustache.
At the completion of all of the printing production, we met with Jeannette one more time. She approved the posters, the flyers and the DVDs. She went over a few details regarding the Performing Arts Exchange which is the first conference she is representing us at (It’s actually occurring this weekend in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and we are crossing our fingers that it’s a success.) She also told us that after sending out an e-mail blast about us, a theater upstate responded within ten minutes stating they were interested and wanted more information. That was definitely an exciting addition to an already exhilarating day! At the end of our chitchat and answering all final questions, The Tempest Ladies signed our name to be represented by Gardner Arts Network.
It is easy and simple to say that we are all very excited and positive about this next chapter of The Tempest Ladies. We could not have come this far without the support of others and the determination of ourselves.
With much love,
The Tempest Ladies
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)