Having Fun in Comic Text Scene Study - Interview with Andrew McGinn

Andy, we're excited that you'll be teaching Comic Text Scene Study at Freehold this quarter. Can you talk a little bit about your experience with comic scene study work?

Thanks! My experience with comic scenes is pretty much a love affair that I keep returning to. One of the reasons I love comic texts is that I apply so many of the core techniques you would with any other scene, but I know that the end result will be really fun. I love fun. I love it. It's learning about why the scene is funny, and then using that knowledge to send your performance energy in the right direction.

A fun example: Many moons ago I once got to tour the country playing the great role of Sir Anthony Absolute in Sheridan's The Rivals, a classic comedy about trickery, gossip, and getting the girl. So this guy is a big-hearted, very passionate, very sort of clownishly masculine guy, and the character is in his late 60's, meanwhile I had just graduated and was 23 years old. Everything about him is just plain big. So in I go having all the fun in the world being as huge as I can, and nothing -NOTHING- was funny. Getting a little time to think after those embarrassing moments, you realize that my having fun was the only discernible action on stage. The character of course needs to be doing things to people in order to achieve his goals, just like in every other play. Once I started treating it like any other scene I, as a performer, am working way, way, way less hard and the scenes became a hilarious riot. It's a case of channeling all that fantastic desire to have fun and make people laugh into the scene that was written. I certainly wish I had understood the scenes better when I started, but once I did, I had never had more fun on stage.

What roles have you played that have had a strong comic element and what did you discover in the process of playing them?

Well what's on my mind the most right now is of course Watson, from the recent production at Seattle Rep of Hound of the Baskervilles. The big discovery unique to that role for me, was that elegance can be funny. I’ve done a lot of classical comedy that like Hound of the Baskervilles has a lot of wit, irony, and language humor but the thing about the Watson that David Pichette and Robert R. Hamilton Wright wrote was that he was a patient and elegant man. Sometimes I got uncomfortable with that because I thought I wasn’t being funny enough, but then of course there’s times when Watson would lose his cool and THEN came the big humor. You see, without the grace there was nothing for Watson to fall from, and regain. ... and that’s just another example of how time and time again knowing and trusting the script really is the thing.

Are there any misconceptions actors have in approaching Comic Text work or skills that are particularly useful for an actor approaching a piece of comic text?

Mostly the thing that gets in folks way is that they don't think learning the mechanics of their scripts is part of the fun. But I’m here to tell you: It is!!! It's like listening to your favorite song and you're just waiting for the the chorus to send you off ... yet for us we're listening to the script waiting for the inspiration that's going to send us off! Listening to a script you know is funny moment-to-moment is like a delightful game of anticipation, like peek-a-boo.

What are you looking forward to in teaching the Comic Text Scene Study class this quarter?

Aw man, I'm so amped about this class. So much of acting training can be so heavy, and here we'll have a genre that is inherently not heavy, but meanwhile we'll be using the same skills: Dropping into a fiction, responsiveness, clarity action, the pursuit of objectives .... and in addition we'll look at common elements of comedy that makes them funny like extreme stakes, total failures, status reversals, and irony. It's going to be a fun and fascinating time. I'm amped!

Andy will be teaching Comic Text Scene Study at Freehold beginning April 6. More information can be found here: Comic Text Scene Study

My Studio Series Experience: Performing Outside Your Comfort Zone by Karen Polinsky

Surely, you’ve experienced that dream: The orchestra tunes up, the curtains part, and there YOU are, the prima ballerina in a tutu of pale pink chiffon. Happily, I can personally attest, being part of the Incubator Studio Series is nothing like this archetypal Jungian nightmare. Though it does mean taking a risk, your creativity and hard work is guaranteed to please the audience and teach you more than you ever imagined.

This is my second year as a playwright in the Incubator Studio Series. Last winter I was so terrified I nearly quit before I started. I had no mentor, no director, no actors and no experience staging a play. Six weeks later I was in the Rendezvous Room toasting the exhilarating success of a hilarious one-act called “Every Place Is No Place,” with a merry band of strangers who had somehow turned into a magical theatrical troupe. My new one-act “The Birdhouse Paradox” – though with only one week left, I confess I have the jitters – is every bit as promising.

My favorite part of this process is when the actors interrogate me about the back stories and the quirks of the fictional people I have created. Each and every time I discover these characters have not been fully-realized. Together, we explore who they are, what they fear, and how they react under pressure. In the process we end up revealing parts of ourselves that could not be shared in any other way.

The Incubator Studio Series offers fledgling-to-professional writers, actors, choreographers and directors the chance to perform outside of their comfort zone. The Project Lead defines the challenge. With feedback from the mentor Elizabeth Heffron, and director Rebecca Tourino, fourteen vague pages turned into seven pages of witty, insightful dialog. This year, the critique is aimed at helping all of us to learn together. Designing your project to address the next phase of your development is just one of the incalculable joys of the Incubator Studio Series.

I may never dance Swan Lake, however, after two seasons in the Incubator Studio Series I can say that I am a playwright. The opportunity to stage an original work in the Freehold Blackbox may not have realized all of my dreams, but it has changed my life.

My Studio Series Experience by Lisa Skvarla

Last year I had the opportunity to do the Studio Series at Freehold Theatre. I was recently in a solo performance class, and the studio series gave me the opportunity to take it to the next level. My solo show was called "My Father's Daughter." It was a tribute to my father, who had recently passed away. The studio series expanded my work in progress that I did in class and made it more polished, working toward a professional performance.

In the beginning, we were able to choose our own director and crew. I chose Teresa Mosteller as my director and Kathryn Skvarla, my daughter, as my crew and assistant director. Both were familiar with my content and the story I wanted to tell. Freehold set us up with a mentor, Elizabeth Heffron, who helped us out in our rehearsal process. We met with her in the very beginning and again at the end. She was very helpful in pinpointing what needed clarity, what worked, and the direction we needed to go in our story-telling.

Teresa and I met once a week, and as it came closer to performance day we met more often to tighten the work. Each artist was given a maximum time limit of 15 minutes. I was fortunate because my show was already 15-plus minutes, so all I had to do was shave some time off. It made me focus like a laser beam on what I really wanted to say.

Freehold also added a layer of luxury by letting us add lights, sound cues, and music. The lights really made a difference in telling the story, and the music we selected was from the big-band era -- perfect for setting the tone of my dad's time. One of the songs we selected was the actual song my father and I used to dance to out on the patio at night. The music added so much beautiful expression. During dress rehearsal, the lighting crew was very helpful in meticulously setting the lights and working with my director on getting the sound cues perfect.

Opening night I had the jitters! I was really nervous! The only people who had seen the performance thus far were my classmates, Teresa and my daughter. I had no idea what to expect. It was a FULL house! I have to say I was extremely surprised to hear the reactions from the crowd. I definitely found out immediately what worked and what didn't. The audience was fantastic, and the enthusiasm for the show was tremendous. People were laughing, crying, cheering and mournfully quiet. I felt so supported, loved and connected to the audience.

Afterwards, the feedback ranged from "You touched my heart" Grown men were crying-Yes,crying- and saying "I know your father, I know what he stood for" One woman thanked me for bringing her boyfriend back, for restoring his faith in live theater! Then, to top the event off, one woman came up to me and said, "When you are ready, I would like to produce your show." Wow! That doesn't happen everyday. I met people who I can now call friends. My confidence increased as a first-time writer, and my creative abilities as an actor skyrocketed. I am so grateful to have had this opportunity.

Thank you, Freehold.

******************************************************************** Join us for Freehold's 2014 Incubator Studio Series running two weekends, March 27 - 30 and April 3 - 6 with Program A & B in the first weekend and Programs C & D in the second weekend. Reservations Required via Brown Paper Tickets (Pay What You Can at the Door).

Exceptional Beginning Acting Classes in Seattle at Freehold Theatre this Spring

Freehold's highly acclaimed spring Acting, Auditioning, Voice Over classes (and more!) are now open for registration at Freehold Theatre in Seattle.  Freehold Theatre is a Seattle acting studio and theatre that for 22 years has been providing extraordinary theatre and fantastic classes taught by exceptional faculty.  Classes open to adults ages 18 years of age or older. Be sure and sign up now as our classes fill quickly.

We are privileged to have highly acclaimed artists as faculty including Darragh Kennan (The Hound of the Baskervilles, Seattle Repertory Theatre); Elizabeth Heffron (playwright for Bo-Nita at the Seattle Repertory Theatre), Andrew McGinn  (The Hound of the Bakervilles, Seattle Repertory Theatre), Sarah Harlett (Middletown at ACT), and many more.

We offer classes for the beginner as well as the advanced trained student.  There is truly something for everyone!

Here is our complete list of our great Spring class offerings ...

Step I: Intro to Acting, Section I with Stefan Enriquez
Step I: Intro to Acting, Section II with Christine Marie Brown

Step II: Acting with Text with Sarah Harlett

Step III: Basic Scene Study with Christine Marie Brown

Auditioning with Darragh Kennan

Comic Text Scene Study with Andrew McGinn

Intro to Biomechanics with Paul Budraitis

Meisner: Text with Robin Lynn Smith

Playwriting I: Point of View with Rebecca Tourino

Playwriting II: Experimenting with Genres with Elizabeth Heffron

Singing for Actors with Lucia Neare  

Spoken Word and Performance Poetry with Daemond Arrindell

Stage Fighting: Unarmed with Geof Alm

Voice with Rhonda J. Soikowski

Voice Over with Gin Hammond

More information or to register:

http://www.freeholdtheatre.org/spring-quarter-acting-classes-seattle-are-now-open-registration

or by calling us at (206) 323-7499.

If you are looking for outstanding training in a supportive atmosphere,

Freehold is the place.

Freehold Theatre Lab/Studio

2222 2nd Avenue, Suite 200

Seattle, WA  98121

(206) 323-7499
http://www.freeholdtheatre.org

"You get it when you get it" by Kate Gavigan

Funny the things that stick in your head.

That very first Step I: Intro to Acting class I took at Freehold some 11 years ago, George Lewis, the instructor, said “This is one of those classes that established professional actors could come back and take time and again and benefit from a great deal.  What you will learn here will serve as the foundation for your acting and will be what you return to again and again in your work.”

Ok, you got my attention.  And away we went on the journey and what a journey it has been.  The memories in that class are still vivid to this day – my reluctance to try to embody an exaggerated walk in a movement exercise and my ability to bust through that reluctance with some well placed prodding from George, the surprise from myself and my scene partner when I was able to respond honestly in an improvised scene and managed (as instructed) to really “get his goat”.  And don’t forget the laughter.  Lots and lots of laughter.

My enthusiasm for Freehold and the classes grew with each class I attended and when the next quarter’s brochures were hot off the presses, I was first in line snapping them up.  It’s not to say that sometimes I didn’t have doubts.  I, on more than one occasion, after putting down the nonrefundable deposit had the post-payment ambivalence and would call the Freehold office asking “Are you SURE the deposit is nonrefundable?”  The very pleasant registrar on the other end of the line would politely note “Yes, yes it is” and upon hanging up I’d remember that I had not yet paid for a class and been disappointed.  This would nudge me on to trust that this next class held promises and gifts that I would not regret having opened. 

And I haven’t regretted a single one. In fact, some classes I have enjoyed so much and gotten so much out of them I have taken them over and over.  One example, is Freehold’s Step III: Basic Scene Study class.  The first time I took it I was thrilled to get to work not with one instructor but two.  Timothy Piggee and Jacqueline Moscou had team taught for several years and their wisdom and that of the other students was inspiring.  I learned what it looks like when actors respond truthfully in the moment.  I learned personally what it was like to fail at doing just that and then to pick yourself up and try and try again.  

I took some detours around scene study work for a few years enjoying the fun of Spoken Word and Voice Over classes but found myself called back to text and scene work.  While I could have moved onto Freehold's Rehearsal and Performance class, there was a wee voice telling me “Nope. You still have some more you could learn in Scene Study” so I registered for my 2^nd Scene Study class – this time with Annette Toutonghi.  Talking to some of my previous Scene Study class alums, there was sometimes a “But you already took that class” response.  And while I had moments of thinking the very same thing – “Is this the best move?” – I recalled George’s line re: Step I “You could take it again and again and benefit” and leaned into my own intuition.

To say that my second Scene Study class with Annette was transformative would simply be an understatement. Her commitment to honoring the moment before in the scene, her repetition of “Are you responding to what was just given to you by your scene partner?” and her constructive notes were the road map I tried to follow.  I can’t say exactly when I felt transformed but there was one moment that stands out.  My scene partner and I were doing a parallel improv and I tried to take the direction given:  “Prior to the start of the scene, drop down into your personal circumstances, play your own objective, listen to our scene partner and respond only to what was said by your scene partner.”

It felt like being on a roller coaster flying down the steepest hill.  It was exhilarating, a little terrifying and made me realize that this is the only way I wanted to do it – to act. I wanted to live truthfully in the moment and respond to my scene partner – even if it wasn’t how I thought the scene should go or where I thought my character should be headed.  I left the class excited, a little lightheaded and also wondering when I could get back on the ride.

Later that week, I ran into a faculty member who’d asked how Step III was going.  I shared my transformative moment noting “I wonder why it didn’t click earlier?”  She laughed and said “I see this a lot with students but this work is a process and you get it when you get it – it can be different for everyone.”  

I left reassured and inspired to take Step III for a third time but this time with Christine Marie Brown.  I was able to take what I learned in my previous Step III classes (actually all of my Step classes) and apply it to new circumstances under the supportive and very knowledgeable instruction of another faculty member.  One of the wonderful benefits of taking the class with a different faculty member is getting to hear new ideas (and similar ones) but from a new perspective.  I got that and much more from Christine.  She chose a delicious scene for me to dive into: “Doubt” by John Patrick Shanley. In the process, I learned the importance of doing your homework on your character's backstory, the benefit of having a solid warm-up practice and the wisdom of asking yourself what you want from your scene partner. I left the class feeling satiated with Scene Work wisdom. So much so that I finally felt ready to take Rehearsal and Performance. 

Before taking Step III, I recalled thinking “I’m never going to be ready to take R&P” but over time I became more ready.  When I finally took the class, it was under the extraordinary instruction of Darragh Kennan. I have so many vivid memories from the class including times of fellowship with my fellow students, working through directors' notes to try and capture the nuances of the character's motivations and trying to remember all of the ukulele notes I was playing in the opening number.  But perhaps the most evocative was standing in the wings with a fellow actor 2 minutes before going on stage for the first time and saying to her: "Why in the world am I doing this?" and then fast forward 3 performances later with my saying to her "Why aren't we doing this for 3 MORE weekends?"  Heading into this class, I felt as prepared as I could be and the experience was delightful, terrifying, humbling, very powerful and one I will always treasure.  

It is no small thing for me that I can now say “I have been in a play”. 

While the road there might have been a longer one than I might have anticipated, it was the exact route I needed to take for my artistic journey.  I’m looking forward to the next trip and class.  

"Where IS that brochure?"

****************************************************************
In addition to being a Freehold student, Kate is the Communications Manager for Freehold Theatre and teaches Artist's Way classes in the Seattle community.
Photo above:  Kate Gavigan in Freehold's Rehearsal and Performance class performing in "Almost Maine" by John Cariani

Emerging in Freehold Classes By Laura Nelson

Prior to taking Step I: Intro to Acting at Freehold in January of 2013, my experience of acting had been limited to being an audience member, engaging in whatever theatrics were required of me as a language teacher (ESL, French and Italian) or as a language student (most recently, Korean), and participating in the occasional “skit” for a friend’s birthday.

I did participate in a high school play once; I was a chorus member, a “mama”, one of several townspeople in a high school production of “Fiddler on the Roof” who did not have speaking roles; however, I was a 30-year-old faculty member at the time and the experience had petrified me. I came away, though, with a sense of the excitement and joy that clearly had drawn both my brother and my son to the stage. I got a sense, too, that the seemingly contradictory sensations of being petrified and being excited, thrilled, were most likely inseparable.

Nearly 25 years later, both my brother and my son having passed away within seven months of each other, I decided to explore acting in part to honor their memories and their shared passion. It was a way of staying connected. I did not know what I would find in an acting class, but I knew that I would learn about the craft they loved, and possibly more about the two of them, and myself, in the process. That was enough to get me into Step I.

It is impossible to overstate the transformative power of the intimacy I have experienced in all 3 of the Freehold classes I have taken so far. Steps I through III are called the “Emerging Series” for a reason; so many actor-butterflies emerging out of so many acting-class-cocoons. It’s not about transforming oneself into a completely different creature. It’s about creating, cultivating and nurturing creative spaces essential to natural change and growth. It’s about participating in the process of change.

In class, participating means you start where you are, with no experience, like me, or with a lot, like many of my classmates. You commit to being open and curious, to being present, to doing the work, to supporting other students, to accepting the instructor’s dynamic involvement in whatever form it takes throughout the process, and voilà! You’re an actor-butterfly! Ok, maybe not. But the cocoon-class environments created by Freehold’s staff are real ones; they are safe, intimate, judgment-free, exciting, challenging, encouraging, and, I repeat, transformative.

I have emerged from each of my Freehold classes (Step I: Intro to Acting with Stefan Enriquez, Step II: Acting with Text with Meg McLynn, and exploring Solo Performance with Marc Kenison) changed, more awake, to myself, to others. Oddly, feeling both more solid and lighter. I have learned how to access feelings and react truthfully – on stage and in real life – with more grace, using elements beyond those provided to me solely by my brain. I have learned that in addition to my brain, where I have been hanging out for decades, I have a body that can be used to communicate in more ways than I’d previously imagined.

And I am still emerging. What we are emerging from is ourselves. Again and again and again.

 ****************************************************************

Freehold's Winter Quarter classes are now open for registration.  More information on Winter Quarter classes HERE.

Interview with Sandbox Artists Collective Member Amy Love on SOAP Fest

SOAP Fest is an independent project initiated by members of The Sandbox Artists Collective, a membership based collective of working theatre professionals, formed as a place for mid-career artists to explore their craft in the company of their peers. It was originally created in the fall of 2008 by Freehold's Theatre Lab in an effort to continue to push for a renaissance of new, courageous and experimental work in our artistic community.
 
What is SOAP Fest? 

SOAP Fest stands for Sandbox One-Act Play Festival.  It's a festival of brand new one-act plays, written by members of The Sandbox Artists Collective, and performed under the Actors' Equity Members' Project Code.  The inspiration comes from Ensemble Studio Theatre’s Marathon of One-Act Plays in New York, where several Sandboxers including myself are also members.  Leslie Law was having great success with Sandbox Radio Live! (which just transferred to ACT), so the timing felt right.  Thankfully fellow Sandboxers Liza Comtois and Gin Hammond graciously agreed to help steer the ship.  SOAP Fest premiered in June 2013 for three nights only to full houses, with a company of 40 actors, directors, playwrights, designers, and production staff, most of whom came from The Sandbox. This year we’ll be at West of Lenin in Fremont, June 4-June 8.    

 

"Knocking Bird," by Emily Conbere was performed in SOAP Fest 2013 directed by Andy McGinn, with Seanjohn Walsh (pictured left) and Michael Patten (pictured right). Photo by John Ulman.

You have had an amazing line-up of playwrights for last year's event - including Elizabeth Heffron, Scot Augustson, Emily Conbere, and Paul Mullin.  What have you heard from participants (actors/playwrights) regarding why they are eager to participate in SOAP Fest? 

Seriously, those were some exciting playwrights.  We couldn’t believe our good fortune for the very first year!  Hopefully what draws such talented writers is that SOAP Fest is first and foremost a playwright's festival.  The goal is to provide a workshop-like atmosphere where writers can continue to develop their plays, even during the rehearsal process.  Thankfully the directors, actors, and designers are totally on board for the ride.  We also do our best to get the word out about SOAP Fest, so people who participate can be confident that it's going to be seen. (photo above: With director Julie Beckman and playwright Scot Augustson. Photo by John Ulman.)

What have you heard from past SOAP Fest attendees? 

What was exciting was that people left the theater talking.  They wanted to discuss what they experienced -- the surprises involved in Scot Augustson's Milwaukee, the heartbreaking moments in Elizabeth Heffron's …dispose of me…, the controversial subject matter in Paul Mullin's Openly We Carry, or the incredible transformation that takes place in Emily Conbere's Knocking Bird.  The audience also seemed to really appreciate watching something intimate unfold with terrific acting in a beautifully understated setting.  And because they’re one-acts, they’re complete stories where, in the words of playwright (and current SOAP Fest Literary Manager) Conbere, “the blow of the climax comes quicker and more to the punch.”  I think people also enjoyed seeing the premiere of brand new work.

What are you excited for regarding the upcoming SOAP Fest in June, 2014?

Our inaugural lineup was really thrilling, and we can’t wait to see who will be featured in SOAP Fest 2014.  One of the interesting aspects of SOAP Fest is that the scripts are submitted anonymously.  The plays that are chosen are selected exclusively because they’re great stories.  Incidentally, last year’s playwrights are asked to sit out from submitting the following year, so 2014 is wide open for a whole new lineup.  Even with that guideline, we got over 50% more submissions!  When it comes time to discuss the plays, it’s going to be intense.  But I can already guarantee that SOAP Fest 2014 is going to be good.

For more information on SOAP Fest, go to http://www.soapfest.org