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Introduction:
Hello and welcome to "Inside the Sundance Institute '05 Theatre Lab!" I will be working at Sundance for three weeks from July 11th to July 31st. I wanted to write a brief introduction on Sundance as well as write out what my goals are for myself and my journal during my stay here in Utah.
Sundance is a 5,000-acre recreation and arts community located at the 6,500 foot base of Mount Timpanogos in Utah's Wasatch Mountains. The Sundance Village is the home of the Sundance Institute's Summer Programs, Filmmakers Lab, Theatre Lab, Film Music Program, and Documentary Labs. This is my first time working at Sundance and taking part in the Institute's Theatre Labs. Here is an exciting clip from a letter I received from Sundance that has a wonderful description of what the Labs are all about..."The range of projects and artists in this year's Theatre Lab represents the dynamic landscape of new theatre in our country today. Each play has a unique place in it's own development, and aside from your own work as an actor, you will have the opportunity to observe other projects as they move ahead. The Lab's 7,000-foot rustic canyon location provides you with a rare respite from the pressures of the city. We encourage you to use your time and resources at Sundance to take unparalleled chances with your work. Your time at the Sundance Lab will include rehearsals, meetings, readings, and a host of special events (parties, screenings, etc.) Our facilities include a unique variety of rehearsal rooms, as well as thousands of acres of forests, fields and streams. We are very excited about your participation and look forward to seeing you in July!"
Seven hundred scripts were submitted to Sundance this year and only eight were chosen. As you can imagine, the pieces that have been selected are in many different stages of development. The Theatre Labs were created to allow a private and safe atmosphere for playwrights and actors to work on their projects. Out of respect for each piece I will not comment on plays that are being produced here. The goal I have for my journal is to record my own personal experiences and growth while at the Institute. I will be working on Most Wanted playing the role of Danny Reyes. Many of you may recall that I did a quick reading/workshop of this piece in early January. My personal goals while at Sundance are to take risks in my own work and to ultimately leave a stronger actor. I am honored and thrilled to be working at Sundance and I'm truly looking forward to what these exciting three weeks have in store. Thank you for taking a moment to visit my journal. I hope you will join me as I share my experiences at the Sundance Institute '05 Theatre Labs!
-Daniel Torres
More entries coming soon...
8.18.05
Now almost an entire month has gone by since I had my amazing experience at Sundance! I apologize for the late journal entries! I have been traveling ever since I left Sundance so it made finishing my journal next to impossible! I have also come to realize that I am totally addicted to computers and can no longer survive without one! Pathetic, I know! Thank you for staying with me through this experience though. Here's what happened in my last few days in Utah.
We had our final Theatre Lab presentation on Saturday, the 30th of September. It was a new musical called Passing Strange. I know I must sound like a broken record by now but this piece is just phenomenal! I was truly moved after watching this presentation. In a time where all new musicals seem to be coming straight out of a juke box it is so inspiring and refreshing to see that people are still striving to tell their stories in a unique and intriguing way! Stew and Heidi Rodewald's Passing Strange is like no other musical I have ever seen. Passing Strange tells the story of a young black man "exploring the limiting notions of black authenticity, the double outsider status of black bohemians, and the definition of home." My Highschool pal, Daniel Breaker played the lead and all I can say is that he is my hero! I can't get over how incredibly talented he is! You will absolutely be seeing much more of him in the future, mark my words! :)
On Saturday night we had a huge closing night party! It was such a blast. Nothing beats an open bar, a dance floor, great music, and great friends! It was the perfect way to end the Sundance experience.
Those three weeks at Sundance were just incredible. I am truly honored to have taken part in the Theatre Labs this summer. It's something I know I am going to cherish and keep with me for a very long time. Leaving Altar Boyz was such a hard decision for me but when I look back, I see that I really had no choice. In this path I like to call a "career" its important to take risks when you can and continue to nurture your creative side and the passion you have for what you do. And things truly do come full circle! I have just recently been asked to come back to Altar Boyz! I will be playing the role of "Juan" for a two week engagement starting September 12th to September 25th. I am excited to come back and so honored to be given this opportunity. Its definitely been an exciting few months and I have so much to be thankful for. Thank you again for joining me for Inside Sundance! I have really enjoyed writing it, bad grammar and all! Tomorrow I leave for a ten day trip to France! I will be spending a weekend in Paris and then I'll be attending my best friend's wedding in Burgundy! So until the next journal, take care of yourselves and definitely keep checking in! All the best!
7.30.05
Today we watched two more presentations...Measure for Pleasure and New York is Bleeding. You couldn't find two more contrasting pieces! David Grim's Measure for Pleasure is a restoration comedy met with a modern sex farce. I loved this show! I haven't laughed this hard in ages! The cast was phenomenal. I've only seen Euan in Caligula so it was great to see him perform this role. He really was incredible. I could seriously list each actor and go on and on about how hilarious and amazing each one was. Big credit goes to the director, Peter Dubois. The presentation, which took place in an outside theatre, was almost completely staged and pretty much off book. I was amazed with how prepared this presentation was. Measure for Pleasure will be seeing a run at the Public next year. I truly recommend seeing this play! It really is hilarious but also has an important message as well. If you are in New York I really hope you will get a chance to see it.
The evening presentation was Said Sayrafiezadeh's New York is Bleeding. Bleeding tells the rarely told story of the "worst civil disturbance in American history." Its a play that deals with "shifting identities in a rapidly transforming country and with what it ultimately means to be an American." I was really blown away to hear this story. So few people know of the extraordinary violence and horrible lynching's that occurred in New York in the 1863 riots. I think its an important piece of theatre for that fact alone. The cast was excellent as usual. Angela Robinson played my favorite character in the play, the cockroach. Cockroach serves as the narrator since it is a sign of New York's "survival of the fittest." Cockroach bookends the play with two monologues but mostly spends her time watching the scenes in a corner of the stage. I absolutely loved this unique narrative device. Angela was great in the role. I was truly impressed with her work for the sheer fact that she also had such a huge part in Most Wanted! I don't know how people were juggling two shows at once! Congratulations to everyone involved in both of these successful presentations! More soon!
7.28.05
"Its the day of the show ya'll!" Fortunately, our presentation wasn't until 8:00pm so we had most of the day to rehearse. Luckily, we were able to fit in two full run thru's before our dinner break. Our first run thru was a bit shaky but things totally came together the second go around. In the finale of Act I, Danny and I climb on to a table and dance like were at a nightclub. During the run thru the table completely buckled underneath us and snapped in half! Thank God it happened during rehearsal! We ended up getting a stronger table so everything worked out in the end. Although, I may lay off the breakfast buffet tomorrow morning! Lol.
After rehearsal I headed back to "Overton" to shower and get ready for our presentation. I caught the van back down to the Dining Room tent but I wasn't really hungry for dinner. I usually don't like to eat right before a performance anyway. I headed over to the Rehearsal room early so I could warm up and hopefully calm some of my jitters. The presentation was held in the same room we rehearsed in. Its a large barn like room with glass walls and a gorgeous river running right outside. Its absolutely beautiful. The room isn't perfect for performances though. The acoustics are pretty bad and the air is INCREDIBLY dry! Luckily, we used mics so their really wasn't a sound problem in the end. As for the dry air, I just kept a few water bottles by my station and drank as much and as often as I could. Once the entire cast arrived we had a quick vocal warm up. Soon after that the room was filled with audience members and it was time to get underway!
The presentation went really well. I can't tell you how great it felt to finally perform this piece. I had a few moments of nervousness but for the most part I felt totally confident. Everything came together really well and personally I am so proud of this presentation and the hard work and dedication everyone has put into it. Afterwards, we headed over to Danny, Mark, and James' house where they put together a wonderful cast party for us. The first thing I saw when I entered the room was a bucket of KFC. It was then that I knew it was going to be a great party! Lol. It really was a blast though.
I can't believe we're done already! I mean you put in three weeks of intense work and then suddenly you're finished with it! I have to say I would love to experience a full run of this show. Their are so many discoveries you make during a run that are impossible to find in a quick process such as this. This experience has been so rewarding though and has truly surpassed my expectations on what Sundance would be like. We still have a few more days here with the Labs. One good thing about being done early is that I can finally let loose and really enjoy my last few days here. I'm definitely going to make the best of it! :) More soon!
7.27.05
Today we viewed two presentations. The first presentation was Tanya Barfield's Blue Door which played in the afternoon. Blue Door is a two character play "written in the style of storytelling, oral history and folklore of African Americans. Blue Door follows four generations of black men, spanning a hundred and fifty year period, from slavery to the present day." The two actors for this piece are Reg E. Cathey and Daniel Breaker. I have really been anticipating seeing this presentation. Tanya and Reg E. were my first roommates here, Reg E. plays my father in Most Wanted and Daniel Breaker and I went to Highschool together so I have truly been looking forward to seeing and supporting their work. I knew it was going to be amazing and you can believe me when I say, it really was! Both Reg E. and Daniel gave incredible performances and were thrilling to watch. They also had wonderful chemistry working together with obvious support and respect for one another. Both had lengthy monologue after monologue, many of which were completely memorized. Keep in mind both actors are in other pieces as well! Like Terre Haute the blocking remained simple. Direction was by Marion McClinton who, when I was speaking with him earlier, told me how much this piece personally means to him. It is so rewarding when you are working on a piece you can absolutely connect to and believe in. It truly makes everything we do so worthwhile! Tanya has written a beautifully complex and heart wrenching tale. She is also currently working as the Dramaturg for the Broadway Bound musical The Color Purple. I'm so looking forward to seeing The Color Purple in New York and truly hope I can do the same for Blue Door someday soon.
The evening presentation was Anna Ziegler's BFF. I had seen the first act of BFF in rehearsal but saved the rest of the play for the presentation so I was very much looking forward to seeing the play in its entirety. This play has gone under major reconstruction since we've been here. At first it was written as a five character play but then they decided the story would best be told with only three characters. Its been really interesting listening to how much this show has evolved during this process. I have personally become very fond of Anna so I was all too excited to finally see the presentation. In short, BFF chronicles the period of adolescence in girls when the tools of growing up are also weapons." It tells the story of two best friends, played by Naomi Peters and Emily Bergl. Both did absolutely beautiful work. I actually found myself in tears throughout much of the play. Thank God for Thomas Sadoski who played Seth, one of the girls love interests. He was hilarious and so endearing. All three actors were wonderful and so well suited for this piece. I have to say that the casting has truly been amazing and spot on for every piece so far. I would imagine that its a difficult task since most of the actors have to be in two shows. Naomi plays my sister in Most Wanted so it was awesome to see her do something completely different. You may remember Emily Bergl as Carrie in CARRIE 2: THE RAGE! She told me she'll be walking down the street and people will just yell out "Yo Carrie!" or "You look like that girl from the movie CARRIE but you're much prettier!" LOL I have to see this movie ASAP! Emily will be in the upcoming Broadway play A Touch of the Poet. I'm definitely going to get tickets. I really need to see more plays in New York. BFF was directed by Lisa Peterson. I have so much respect for Lisa. She really is such a class act and so much fun! She did an amazing job of nurturing this piece and finding the best way to tell this story. When speaking to Anna and Lisa previously I could tell that they were a bit nervous about the direction of the piece. At first I assumed it was because it wasn't very strong but after seeing the presentation I realized it was just the opposite. It was just that good.
Congrats to all involved in the presentations! Two new, amazing, and completely different plays in one day! I'm getting incredibly spoiled here at Sundance! Its truly unbelievable to witness this process! Most Wanted is tomorrow and after seeing these presentations I think I've gotten even more nervous! Thank goodness we have the afternoon the rehearse. Lol I think we're in great shape but I just can't help having the last minute jitters! More soon!
7.26.05
Sunday and Monday were yet another two days off to relax and explore. I actually spent much of my down time with Michael and Jessica. Jessica Hagedorn is the writer of Most Wanted and of course Michael Greif is our Director. They share a cabin together on "The Light Side" and I spent much of Sunday afternoon chatting and reading the newspaper at their place. Amazingly, I get cell service at their cabin so I got to catch up on the many over due phone calls I've been putting off. On Monday, Michael asked me if I would serve as a reader for a last minute audition he was holding at Sundance. Its always a learning experience getting to observe auditions so I was excited to be a reader for one of Michael's. It was a lot of fun actually and I'm so glad he asked me to help out. Afterwards, Michael and I sat down at the kitchen table and worked on some scenes in Most Wanted. My character makes a series of telephone calls throughout the play. We went through each phone call a few times, exploring different choices. This has been such a quick process for us that we have spent most of our time getting the music under our belts and reading script changes. It was so nice to sit down and do some real scene work! I'm feeling really great about the work we did and I am thankful to Michael for taking some time out of our day off to work together. Definitely time well spent!
Today we had our last day of staging for Most Wanted. We actually finished! I am so amazed with how well and how quickly things have come together. What a professional group! I am continually beside myself and so honored to be working here at Sundance. It truly is amazing. Since we spent the entire rehearsal on new staging we will now spend Thursday afternoon running the show in its entirety. I am looking forward to getting back to Saturday's staging work! We did everything so quickly that I'm eager to make sure I remember the work we've done! Thank god I wrote everything down. Michael has a way of making sure his actors are taking blocking. He always says to me "Danny Torres if you could grab a pencil and join me on page..." Its pretty funny actually but really helpful as well. The mood in rehearsal has definitely felt rushed but still cool and totally undercontrol. I am so excited (and nervous) for Thursday!
Tonight we watched the second presentation at Sundance. The play is called Terre Haute and was written by Edmund White. What an incredible piece! I have to preface this by saying that it was the first actual reading of this new play! I was amazed with how focused and tight the script was for its very first reading! It is a two character play about a "young man on death row for a political crime and the visit paid him just before his execution by an old man who is a celebrated writer." The two actors were Brad Pitt look alike/Irish folk singer Austin Lysy as the young man on death row and Ken Ruta as the writer. Both actors were phenomenal in the piece and I was astounded to see that they were mostly off book for the entire presentation! Ken was mesmerizing. It truly was like watching a legend at work. I mentioned Austin as an Irish folk singer because he is a member of an Irish and American folk music band in New York. If you are in town you should totally check them out! I'm definitely gonna gather up a Sundance reunion for one of his gigs when I get back to the city. If you want to look into the group you can visit their website at Randomfolk.com. You can also check out why we call him a Brad Pit look alike as well. Back to Terra Haute...the presentation was directed by "the amazing" David Drake. You may remember David from his solo play/movie The night Larry Kramer kissed me! He did an incredible job with Terre Haute, focusing on the actors and keeping the presentation simple yet captivating. It was a great presentation and all involved should be incredibly proud! I have no doubts that this play will have a great future. More soon!
7.23.05
Today's rehearsal went really well! We had our first day of staging and I am truly impressed with how Michael Grief runs our rehearsals! He doesn't waste a moment of rehearsal time because he knows exactly what he wants! I can't tell you how exciting it is to work with a Director who is in total control. Its not that its rare, its just that in situations like these rehearsals can get stressful and out of hand all too easily. We only have two more rehearsals before our presentation and yet I have no doubt in my mind that everything will come together perfectly for Thursday night! I am so glad much of the show is going to be staged! Most Wanted is such an emotionally driven show that its very hard to "get where you need to be" while sitting in a chair, reading off a script. I think we are all going to benefit greatly by doing as much staging as we can in the short amount of time we have to put this show up! I can't believe their are only two more rehearsals left! Time really does fly by.
After rehearsal, most of the group went Bowling but a few of us decided to drive in to Salt Lake City and have a night out on the town. I had a few drinks, played a little pool, and got on the dance floor. It was great to get away for a bit!
Last but least...Recently I've received a few emails asking me exactly what a "Dramaturg" is. I had written about working with dramaturg, Christine Sumption in my journal and I guess I should have explained a bit further. A dramaturg's job can include a great deal of things but for this process, I believe the dramaturgs are mostly acting as script consultant's. Here is an explanation I found on a website describing a dramaturg's work. "The dramaturg's skill set should include historical knowledge of theatre and society, research skills, playwrighting and structural analysis experience, written and verbal communication skills and an ability to work in collaboration with directors, designers, actors and stage managers at a table and in rehearsal. Dramaturgs do their best to give a production team the information it needs, while not becoming exhaustive with too much information or too many observations. The key is to know the script and to analyze what the audience will need to know, or need to be told through the production choices, in order to fully appreciate the work of the playwright and production team." Christine (or "Sumption" as I like to call her) has been a wonderful addition to our rehearsal process. I know her expertise and dedication can only better Most Wanted and that is why I mentioned my excitement with working with her. She is also a true sweetheart and its been great getting to work with her! If Sumption ever reads this journal I'm sure she'll tell me my explanation was "exhaustive with too much information and too many observations!" Well, we can't all be dramaturgs! More soon!
7.22.05
No rehearsal today! After breakfast, Danny Gurwin and I headed up to Stewart Falls. He had never been so I thought I would show him my short cut by the Overton house. It was such a gorgeous day! I could seriously hike to the falls everyday and never get tired of it! Its been great working with Danny on Most Wanted. Danny and I met while working on the Zanna, Don't! demo recording but this is our first show together. He is incredibly talented and has been so much fun to work with. Danny has recently been cast as a lead in the television pilot Christopher Street! They will be filming three episodes of the new series in the hopes that the pilot will be picked up and sold to a network as soon as possible. I wish him the best with this exciting new project! I'll definitely keep you posted on Christopher Street as more details arise!
Tonight was the first presentation! The play is called Taking Flight. It is a solo piece from writer/performer Adriana Sevan and tells the story of "two close friends, one of whom is seriously wounded during the 9/11 attacks in New York." Giovanna Sardelli directed the piece. Giovanna and Adriana are quite the pair! Their positive energy and excitement has been so contagious during our first two weeks here at Sundance. I was very much looking forward to this piece and what I knew was going to be a unique and beautiful collaboration. Adriana did an incredible job of writing and performing Taking Flight. I, personally, was incredibly moved by the play. Taking Flight was the first piece to be presented because Adriana was slightly further along in her process then the other playwrights. She still spent these past two weeks strengthening her story and by the end she said much of the piece had been rewritten! That really is amazing to me! Congratulations to all involved with Taking Flight! It definitely was a wonderful experience in the theatre and I am so glad I was there to witness it. More soon!
7.21.05
This morning we had a read thru of an updated script that incorporated some major rewrites. I have to admit today's rehearsal wasn't my best. I was actually pretty thrown by the script changes. The best way to describe it is that on Tuesday I felt like I had finally connected all the dots for my character's journey and today it seemed like some of the dots were taken away. I know script changes will continue up until our final presentation and with every revision the piece really has gotten stronger, I just need to get better at adapting to changes faster. I actually have some new questions about my character now. Mostly about Danny's mind set and motivations for his actions at the end of the play. In other words, I have to do my homework! :) At lunch I had a long talk with Johanna Glushak about rehearsal. Johanna plays my mother in Most Wanted and she gave me some excellent advice on how to adapt to these changes. I swear each meal in the Dining Room tent is like attending a master class! Everyone here is so remarkable in there own way and there is so much to learn from all of them. After lunch, we had another read thru of the script and already I was feeling much better about the changes and the choices I was making towards the end of the play. I think its mostly a matter of how cold reading script changes can throw you. I'm definitely going to work towards becoming stronger at this. Lord knows I'm gonna get a lot of practice! :)
Tonight was "Home Owner's Night!" This is a dinner to honor each home owner who has graciously volunteered to give Sundance there home for the summer! Without their support, Sundance would have a difficult and near impossible task of housing all of the artists who come in for their many programs. It really is amazing to see how many local families allow Sundance participants to stay in there homes while they are away. In my situation, the Overton's actually live downstairs in one of the many levels of the house. The house is so large that I had still yet to see them! I was very much looking forward to meeting them at dinner and thanking them for their generosity!
After dinner we all were all invited to attend a screening of Finding Neverland! Most exciting about the evening was that playwright Allan Knee would be joining us for the event. Allan is a Creative Advisor for Sundance and the film Finding Neverland is based on his play, THE MAN WHO WAS PETER PAN. I actually got to sit with Allan at dinner. He told me that he was very pleased with how well they adapted his play for the screen and that he was looking forward to seeing it again. After the film, there was a discussion with Allan about his play and the filming of the movie. I got to ask a few questions and afterwards we continued our conversation in the parking lot. He told me that he has been asked to pen an adaptation of THE MAN WHO WAS PETER PAN to become a Broadway Musical! I am very much looking forward to seeing this! If you haven't seen Finding Neverland then do yourself a favor and rent it! I couldn't recommend it more, especially for those who love theatre and the power it has to change its audience. More soon!
7.20.05
Today I sat in on a morning rehearsal for BFF. BFF is a new play by Anna Ziegler and is being directed by Lisa Peterson. Naomi Peters, Thomas Sadoski, and Emily Bergl make up the three person cast. I was able to catch their read thru of Act I. Naomi is in Most Wanted with me so it was really fun to see her in a different piece. I've been so busy with Most Wanted that I can't imagine what it's like to keep switching back and forth between two completely different shows! Their rehearsal process had a slightly different feel from ours. Being such a small cast the read thru felt very intimate and every now and then they would stop to talk about a scene they had just read. Its been so interesting getting to know everyone in the "Dining Room Tent" and then looking in on them at work. I ducked out before they started reading thru Act II. I didn't want to know the entire story before seeing their presentation next week! I am really thrilled for Anna. She is the youngest of all the playwrights and is just so sweet and humble about being chosen for Sundance. I can't imagine what it would be like to have your play selected out of 700 entries! Its an honor indeed.
After lunch I decided to take a hike up to Stewart Falls! I can see the large waterfall from my balcony and it has become one of my goals to hike there and stand in the rushing water. I set out on a mission to find a trail from the "Overton" house and after a good bit of searching I found my way. I was actually a little nervous to be out there by myself. This week there have been siting's of moose, rattlesnakes, three cougars, and a bear in this area! Playwright, Tanya Barfield set out on this same trail and actually had a cougar cross the path about 15 feet in front of her. I almost fainted when the mouse climbed on my naked foot so I probably would have spontaneously died seeing a cougar in the wild. lol The trail was absolutely gorgeous though! There were quite an array of wild flowers with butterflies jumping from one stem to the next and every so often I would have to cross a make shift bridge over a running stream. As I got closer to the falls I had to bend completely forward in order to make it through the trees. Once out of the heavy foliage, I was right there at the foot of Stewart Falls! It was amazing! As I got closer to the falls there was a gushing wind carrying a heavy mist from the falling water. It was incredibly refreshing on this hot day! I quickly tore off my shirt and climbed into the freezing water. And I'm not exaggerating when I say it was freezing! A lot of the fall comes from melting snow so you can just imagine how cold it must have been. I climbed about half way under the fall. The heaviest section of the waterfall would have been too powerful to stand under so I stayed where I was until literally my head started pounding from the cold water. I'm not really what you would call an adventurous person so It was a great moment for me standing alone in this water fall in the middle of Utah! On my way back there was a long brown snake slithering up the trail in front of me. I followed behind until it finally turned off into the grass. It really was an amazing experience! I'm definitely going to have to hike up to Stewart Falls again! More soon!
7.19.05
Today has been my most exciting rehearsal day yet! We focused on Act II, doing two read thru's back to back. At first this seemed like an exhausting task but it was actually very helpful and exciting to rehearse in this way. There were many visitors in the room including a reporter for the LA Times who is doing a piece on the Sundance Theater Labs. We were handed new script pages for the first read thru so some of material was being read for the first time. With each script change the show gets tighter and tighter. I can't tell you how exciting it is to see a show come together like this. After our first read thru I reminded myself of my goal while at Sundance..."to take risks in my work." I thought rehearsals had been going really well up to this point but I realized I was still "playing safe." For the second read thru, I tried to let go of my inhibitions and just go for it. I can't tell you how good it felt to do this! Up to this point we had only read scenes sitting in chairs, around a table but today I found myself standing, making stronger choices and feeling free to follow my instincts without worry of being "wrong." I really felt emotionally connected and 100% invested in the material. I think we took a big step today and I'm truly looking forward to continuing my work in this direction. More soon!
7.18.05
Monday was another day off for me. Geez, you might think I came here just to vacation! :) I actually spent the majority of the day doing research for Most Wanted. I guess this would be a good time to tell you a little bit about the show. Most Wanted is described as being "inspired by the short, tragic life of Andrew Cunanan and the events leading up to and surrounding the murder of Gianni Versace. It explores the cult of celebrity, the contradictions between narcissism and notoriety, issues of "passing", sexuality, class and race." I play Danny Reyes, the role loosely based on Cunanan. He's an incredibly complex character so doing research for this show has been very helpful to me. For example, Danny studied Art History so I wanted to get acquainted with the artists Danny most admires. Mainly Picasso and Goya's "Dark Paintings" as well as contemporary artists like David Hockney and Andy Warhol. I've become a David Hockney fan. I wasn't familiar with his work at all before this. I also did research on the cities/destinations Danny talks about in the play. The character is a pathological liar who has invented his own grand past in order to get respect and be accepted in the circles he so desperately wants to run in. Even though Danny has never been to France he knows everything about the country and could talk about his "vacations to Paris" for hours. He is incredibly smart, with (arguably) a photographic memory. He studies and studies in order to impress and that's why its been important for me to do the same. During my research on France I couldn't help but get excited for my trip to Paris in August! 10 days in France, I can't wait! More soon!
7.17.05
What an amazing weekend! Friday night we had a screening of the film "Mysterious Skin" which stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt. The movie was incredible and I highly, HIGHLY recommend it. It does have a lot of "adult content" though and while I found it to be a brilliant, thought provoking movie I also found it to be mighty disturbing. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is in Measure for Pleasure here at Sundance so after the movie he volunteered to lead a "Q and A" session. It was great to hear him talk about the process of making this film. You would probably recognize Joseph from the television show "3rd Rock from the Sun." He really is incredible in this movie! It was definitely a great night and very generous of Joseph to answer questions and share his experiences with us.
I woke up at 6 am Saturday morning and thought I would check my email. For some reason I can't seem to sleep in past 5:45-6 am! I must still be getting adjusted to the time change. I didn't want to wake up any of my house mates so I didn't turn on the lights in the living room. I switched on my computer and all I could see was the large blue screen. Just as my eyes were starting to adjust, I felt claws and a furry belly climb onto my naked foot! It was definitely a mouse and I screamed like a nine year old girl!!! I quickly turned on the lights but I couldn't find the culprit. The darned mouse got away! Although, to be honest, I really didn't want to see it. Now I sit "Indian style" while I type these journal entries! :)
I had rehearsal at 9:45 that morning. We worked on group music, focusing mainly on the opening number. After our music rehearsal, we began a read thru of Act One. The read thru went really well although I was finding it pretty difficult to sing this score so early in the afternoon. After lunch we returned for another music rehearsal and then many of us were released early.
On Saturday night, Sundance threw us a dance party! We all got dressed up and met a the party after dinner. Phillip hinted that we would have special guests at the party and they turned out to be two Ballroom Dancers from B.Y.U. They performed one of their routines for us and then pulled everybody onto the dance floor to teach some steps. I had just made it to the open bar so I sat that one out. ;) I got a kick out of watching everyone though. And later I spent the rest of the night on the dance floor. It was a great night! After that long first week it seemed like we all needed to relax and have some crazy fun. It really was a blast.
Sunday is our day off. They gave us a list of activities to take part in and I ended up taking a nature hike through the mountains. Other options were yoga with Peppy or Capoiera with Naomi. The Capoiera class made me think of Tyler, one of my cast mates in Altar Boyz. He is currently learning Capoiera for his next show, The Miracle Brothers and would come into the dressing room sore and complaining that Capoiera was going to be the death of him. Needless to say, I stayed away from the class here at Sundance! lol. The nature hike was amazing though! It started with taking the ski lift up the mountain and then hiking your way back down. I sat in the ski lift with Naomi Peters, she plays my sister in Most Wanted. The views from the lift were absolutely breath taking and the hike was great. We didn't see any wildlife but the surroundings were just gorgeous. It was definitely an amazing weekend and a wonderful end to my first week at Sundance! More soon!
7.14.05
Today was a great rehearsal day for us. We rehearsed individual music in the morning and learned group music in the afternoon. At 3 pm we had a cast read thru of a newer script. They made a few script changes that work really nicely! Its so interesting to see how much the show has already changed from the reading I did in January. Its really moving forward, which is pretty exciting to be a part of. I really love the cast. Angela Robinson, who plays the reporter is wonderful! This is the role Adrienne Lennox played in the January reading. I am a big Lennox fan so when I heard she wasn't coming to Sundance I was slightly bummed. But she just won a Tony award for Doubt so I guess she isn't really looking for work right now. lol In any case, Angela is really perfect for the role. And would you believe that she is from Jacksonville, Florida too!? That makes five of us from Jax now! What are the odds!?
For dinner, Sundance catered a party at the Overton house! This is where the 4 roommates and I are staying. It was so nice to have everyone over at our place. The theme for the night was "Mediterranean" with amazing Greek catering! It was also our Producing Artistic Director, Philip Himberg's Birthday so we were celebrating that tonight as well. It was an awesome night! Happy Birthday Philip! More soon!
7.13.05
I had most of the day off except for a quick music rehearsal after lunch. I'm starting to really feel comfortable with the new music. The sooner the better! After rehearsal, we all headed to Elk Meadow for dinner. A van took us part of the way but then we were dropped off so that we could hike the rest of the mountain. I got pretty winded due to the high altitude. I get winded and dehydrated really easily here. I've been drinking water like a fish though! When we finally arrived to the meadow we each had a packed lunch box waiting for us. We pulled up some hay stacks and had dinner.
After dinner we walked into another section of Elk Meadow. It was breath taking spot with gorgeous panoramic views of the mountains. We formed a large circle which I counted to hold 71 of us. In the middle of the circle was Native American spiritual leader, Larry Cesspooch. Cesspooch, of the Northern Ute tribe, is a spiritual advisor and consultant for the Sundance Institute. He was there to perform the blessing, a tradition that started with the Film Festival and has more recently become customary for the Theatre Lab as well. Cesspooch talked to us first about the Ute tribe and the mountains we were surrounded by. He beat on his drum and sang a Ute spiritual. While banging on his drum a large deer came out of the woods and started walking towards our circle. It as amazing. After the song, Cesspooch came by and individually blessed each and every one of us. He would light a patch of sweet grass in his hand and bellow the smoke over our bodies using an eagle's wing. He took the eagle's wing and gently placed it on either side of my head while praying to "the grandfather" to protect and watch over me. Afterwards, I asked him if he had a Native American name. He told me that Cesspooch means "White Belly" and that his family got the name because his Grandfather had a white birthmark over his tummy. They say that once you have been blessed you officially become a member of the Sundance family. What a beautiful ceremony and such an honor to take part in it. More soon!
7.12.05
Moving day! Only my second day at Sundance and I'm already moving. lol! I would have loved to live with Tanya and Reg. E. but our house was really only meant for two people. Luckily there was a space open at "Overton" Its pretty high on the mountain so its quite a hike but when they showed me the house I almost passed out! It is gorgeous! Its literally a mansion over looking the most gorgeous mountain with snow peaks and a breath taking water fall pouring right out of its middle. The patio/balcony is not to be believed. The house itself is 5 floors with an elevator running from top to bottom. I'm staying on the second floor down with my own room, a door that closes and another grand patio. I'm taking lots of pictures believe me. Ok wait a second this journal is supposed to be about Sundance and my Goals! I'm getting side tracked by the beauty of Utah, words I never thought I would say! :)
A good friend of mine, Danny Gurwin joined us this morning. We will be working together on Most Wanted. A lot of people here are in two shows while some of us are only in one. Danny and I will just performing in Most Wanted. The way they have scheduled people to rehearse two shows was to schedule a "Slot A" group and a "Slot B" group. Most Wanted is in the B group so I actually had the morning off. I went to lunch at 12:30 and then went to our first rehearsal at 2:00.
For our first rehearsal we did a cold reading of the entire script. Whenever a song came up our composer, Mark Bennett, would sing the music. Because I knew a lot of the music from before I was asked to sing my material. I was pretty nervous for this first read thru but it actually went really well. It was nice to just jump in the material head first! They have written my character a few new songs so it was great to sing them for the first time. James Sampliner, is a genius Music Director. Before I left New York he made these C.D.'s for everyone in the cast. Each personalized C.D. had our songs on it, played four different ways. One with the accompaniment and parts, one just our part played out, one with only accompaniment, etc. Its a really tricky score so its amazing to have the C.D.'s to work with. I definitely have a great head start on the material which I am very thankful for. It was awesome to meet as a cast for the first time and read the script aloud. It was pretty exciting.
After dinner we all met in the Sundance Screening Room for the "Lab Overview." At this meeting each playwright along with their Director had to individually stand up and tell us about their piece. Some of these works have been workshopped before while others will be seeing their first cast! The wide range of pieces here is so exciting. Each Playwright and Director was also asked to tell us what their goals are and what they most want to get out of their work here at Sundance. It was thrilling to hear each person talk about their work, how it came about and where they want it go. I have never experienced anything like this before. The Theatre Lab really is such a unique and exciting program!
Slot A rehearses tomorrow so it looks like I have the majority of the day off! I will probably end up rehearsing music at some point but nothing is set in stone yet. More soon!
7.11.05
I woke up at 4:45 am and was in a taxi by 5 am. I'm glad I left as early as I did because the airport was packed and the lines were moving really slowly. My flight for Salt Lake City, Utah was scheduled to leave from JFK a little after 7 am. When I finally got settled on the plane I cracked open my Altar Boyz scrap book and read all the letters given to me on my final night. It was a lovely way to spend the plane ride.
When we arrived in Utah I headed to baggage claim to hopefully meet up with the rest of the Sundance group. I spotted Euan Morton right away. I performed in Caligula with Euan in the New York Musical Theatre Festival last year and was excited to hear I'd be spending the next three weeks working with him again. We sat together on the 45 minute bus ride from Salt Lake to the Sundance Institute and talked the entire way.
When we arrived the first thing I noticed was a gorgeous rushing stream that runs through out Sundance. It winds through ever corner of the resort and is absolutely gorgeous. There was a quick orientation where each of us received an information packet and a trendy Kenneth Cole bag. We were then put into two groups: The Light Side and The Dark Side, which determines which side of the mountain you will be living on. I'm am staying at "Hillam" on the dark side with Reg. E. Cathey and Tanya Barfield. Reg. E. is an actor and will be playing my father in Most Wanted. Tanya is a playwright and has written a two person play entitled Blue Door. Reg. E. is in that play as well. The other actor in Blue Door is Daniel Breaker. When I first saw his name on the list of actors working at Sundance I was really surprised. I went to Highschool with Daniel back in Jacksonville, Florida! I couldn't believe there was going to be two of us from Jacksonville here. As I looked down the rest of the list, I saw another familiar name... Emily Swallow! I went to middle school with her! I couldn't believe it! What are the odds? I am terribly proud of the three of us for continuing to pursue our dreams and am very excited to be reunited with some old friends.
After getting settled in my new house we headed down for dinner. They cater three meals a day for us and the food here is incredible! You are probably going to see that in my journal a lot for the next three weeks! After dinner we had another orientation in Rehearsal room A where we each got up and introduced ourselves. It was really exciting to meet everyone and hear what they are here to do. The room's walls were lined with actors from the stage, television and film, directors, novelists, playwrights, dramaturgs, stage managers, and all of the incredibly welcoming staff here at Sundance. It was an exciting orientation and although it was slightly intimidating meeting all of these brilliant people it was also thrilling to know that I'll be spending the next three weeks working with them!
After orientation I headed to the Owl Bar, which is the local watering hole here at Sundance. I had a few drinks with Euan and the Measure for Pleasure group. Measure for Pleasure is the play Euan and Emily are working on. It will be seeing a run at the Public in New York this coming year. It'll be fun to watch it be developed here and then see it make its New York premiere! Upon leaving the Owl Bar, I was the only actor from The Dark Side and decided to not get in The Light Side van. I waited awhile after the group left and realized somehow I had missed my van. Sundance gets pitch black at night and after only being here for a few hours there was no way I was going to find my way home without a flashlight. Luckily I befriended Paris, the manager at the Owl Bar. She said she would be happy to run me up when she got off work. This allowed me to get another pint while waiting to go home. :) While sitting there Robert Redford walks in and sits down at the bar! I wondered if I was going to see him while I was here and there he was on my first night. There was a Mayor's Convention at Sundance this weekend and Redford and the other gentlemen were all making their way into the bar. I heard Al Gore was with the group but I didn't see him. Ole' Al had my vote so it would have been amazing to meet him. lol I hung out for a bit longer and then Paris drove me up The Dark Side to "Hillam." I am wondering if I should nickname The Dark Side so I don't always have to write it out so ominously! How about the D.S.? I think that sounds a little less creepy. :) I will say it couldn't be more gorgeous here! The majestic mountains, the running streams and waterfalls, the wildlife and beautiful homes, its all just too much to take in at once. This is definitely the best way to see Utah for the first time! I'm truly looking forward to tomorrow and getting started on Most Wanted! More soon!
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