Lights? Class! Acting!

I am back in class! After a well-deserved vacation, Suzanna is back and I am ready to do some acting. On Monday I got a scene from La La Land with a guy I worked with on Diablo last Fall, where we got into a discussion about all the Oscar nominated films, as well as what constitutes a spoiler. The scene itself has lots of levels, and it will be fun to play around with it and figure out when it switches from a conversation to a fight, and how to take certain things. It was really fun as a cold read, and should be even better next week!

Last night was definitely a first for me class-wise. It took me longer than it should have when I was walking to class to realize that there was no power on a huge chunk of the street (I just thought it was really dark out). Since the building was entirely in the dark, Suzanna was going to cancel, but then we found some generator-powered emergency lights. We carried our chairs out into the hallway, huddled in a circle and read our lines by the light of our cell phones. It was really intimate because of the close quarters, but also not so much because of the low lighting. It would have been really cool to do Monday’s scene in this setting, but instead, I did one from Bridget Jones’ Baby. I play Bridget, so I will get to use my British accent, build my comedy chops and work with a wonderful partner.

Other than class, I have been having some very interesting days at McGill, the kind where I have a character that is very unlike me, so I don’t just have to memorize a back story and answer questions, I have to go out of my comfort zone and go against my initial instinct. I have also been watching a lot of videos from Bonnie Gillespie as well as Dallas Travers. I am now seeing a lot of things, especially social networking, in a whole new light. As someone who relies on videos and books and interviews to motivate and inspire me on a somewhat frequent basis, I really appreciate people who dedicate their time and energy to put out information with the main purpose of helping others. So thank you!

On Tuesday, I went to see Resident Evil with my brother. While the movie did not meet my expectations, the time with my brother exceeded them. We got to talking about my career and for someone who is not in the acting industry, he definitely gives excellent advice. I should probably listen to my little brother more often 🙂

On a closing note, I watched the Superbowl on Sunday and have 2 things to share about it. First, whether you love them or hate them or don’t care, The Patriots were definitely a shining example of how you should never give up, even when it seems like everything is against you and you’re never going to make it. Because that might be the moment when your luck will change and your hard work will pay off.

Second…Lady Gaga. My mom and I did notice that she did not have the rock hard abs with a six-pack that one would expect. Instead she was…human? A lot of people have been body shaming her, which makes no sense because there was absolutely nothing wrong with her. Personally, I want to applaud her (not that she needs my, or anyone else’s approval), because it was refreshing to see someone who looked more like the people I interact with. I found it empowering and it gave me more confidence in my own body.

“And here’s to the fools who dream,

Crazy as they may seem,

Here’s to the hearts that ache,

Here’s to the mess we make.”

-Audition (The Fools Who Dream) from La La Land