Back from St. Louis

I just got back from a wonderful weekend at the Missouri Thespian Conference in St. Louis. This is where high school students from all over Missouri come together to learn about theatre. There are also several activities and performances. This trip I taught several classes and each year I am impressed by knowledge these kids have of the business.

Outside of the classroom there were two big questions. How do I pick a college and how can my theatre company raise money. So I will try and answer these questions this week.

When picking a college I think the most important thing is to do your homework. Go and see the school. See a production there. Talk to the teachers and students. Most importantly see if recent graduates are working and if they are not, ask why. You go to college to get the experience and knowledge to get jobs but also to get the contacts to assist you in getting jobs. Networking, networking, networking!

Ask My Friends - Living in NYC

Today we meet yet another fellow Nixian, Jessica Palmer. Jessica and I not only went to the same high school but we also both went to Webster University. She is such a sweet person and her talent and passion make her rise above many others. I asked Jessica to talk about living in NYC and what its like when you are just getting started.

“A few things I have learned since moving to NYC (2 years ago).
Time is of the essence, it reveals itself to you as an enemy or a best friend. Through prosperous and difficult times in the city I have learned that for myself I have to create my own every day STRUCTURE. Structure may come from a day job, a writing group you participate in, or a yoga class you take a few nights a week.You must create a life for yourself in the city in which you feel connected to the community that includes not only the theatre community but also communities such as those bozo yuppie types perusing used bookstores on the Upper West Side. There's plenty of room for you and your 5 roommates to join their book clubs!
Someone once spoke to my college acting class and said, "Be a TONKA truck." I interpreted that as "Do not limit yourself and your talent to any 'agreements.' “Yes, you have to absorb what you've read in college theatre textbooks, in books you've read about getting agents and so forth. However, absorb it, then stuff that information in the back of your closet with your poncho and break the rules, run people over. Who says you have to work "there" before working "here"?
Meet new people (then record their contact information in a database!), read lots of plays by getting a FREE library card, and go ahead... splurge on an AC unit for your apt. Augusts in NYC are brutal!
You may go through times where you lose a sense of your purpose, forget why you moved to the city in the first place. You have to put yourself first and take the time to regain your passion and ravenous need to be in the theatre. It's a holy place. But, it does not need tender loving care. It needs to have the door busted open by some hungry, crazed artist demanding to take it to the heavy side layer."

Ask My Frends - Off to College

If you read my post on Monday you know I teach at the Missouri State Thespian Conference every year. Last year I met a bright up and coming student who is one of the best networkers from all my years teaching. He stays in touch with me and always lets me know what he is up to. His name is James Hesse and he is currently a freshman at Nebraska Wesleyan University getting his B.F.A. I asked Jesse what his freshman year was like and what he wished he had known going into it.

“When I graduated high school I didn't exactly feel like a big fish in a small pond, but I thought I had reasonable experience in theater. College was a big smack in the face. I was lucky enough to start my freshman year a few months early and perform in HAIR, which had rehearsed over the summer. That experience taught me more than years in high school had. For one thing, I wish I had known the level of professionalism that was expected from everyone doing college theater. Lines, dances, songs are all memorized after just a few times rehearsing them, and then they are made intuitive. Intuition was never expected from us in high school and is something I wish I had been taught because once lines are intuitive and you own them, real theater starts to happen. Coming to college I wish I had more opportunities to direct and see theater from that perspective. All I've been hearing here is that directing is your best acting lesson--so why didn't I do that much in high school? Most importantly I feel like commitment in every aspect of theater is the biggest difference between high school and college, and I am very happy to see everyone after their freshman year is committed entirely to their work. Freshman year is really exciting so far, and I tried to come in with the attitude that I am going to learn something while I'm here. I know I have, and I'm working hard to keep learning something new every day.

So to anyone who is interested in going into theater, make sure you are ready to work really hard and learn a lot about yourself. You need to be ready to behave professionally all the time, and remember you are always auditioning! The amount of work you put into a show, or an audition, and your behavior in class is an audition for your faculty (learned that this year). And for God's sake, SMILE.”