I am working with The New York Acting Ensemble and their first performance in LA, A Hatful of Rain. Next month, we are showing at the Avery Schreiber theatre from May 2nd - May 25th, every Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
I'm excited about working with this group. They've just recently come over from Florida and have welcomed me into their group for this project. I was introduced to them as an artist because they were looking for a better poster for their show. I painted the poster for them and it went on from there.
In May, I will be showing a series of drawings from their performance of A Hatful of Rain. These drawings show moments from the play that really stand out and visually tell the story, and will be up before and after each performance. In this way, audience members have the chance to take home a piece of the play with them in either a print or an original drawing. In a separate room there will be prints available as well as some originals of my other work.
Other than my artwork, I have accumulated a few other roles in the play, including the role of Putski, a rich, attention seeking drug addict who offers the drug dealers a way out of the city during a crack down.
A role I wasn't expecting that has been a bit interesting to me is the directing. Myself and Junior have teamed up to finish the blocking and character direction for the play. He's great to work with; full of ideas and never pushing his ego for the direction (which is usually what you get). It's an exciting experience. Because I'm drawing these scenes, I'm watching for good composition and powerful moments, which I think gives me an advantage on the direction. I've never done this before, but I'm happy to, and the cast has been patient and helpful the whole time. It's also a very cool experience to offer advise to bring a scene in a new direction and then watch them take on that direction and run with it. They're capable actors and are all concerned with nothing more than offering a good show. I've never done theatre before and so there are many things I do not know, but they've all been gracious to help and work with me to meet the same goal.
I'm working on the drawings now and they're coming out nicely.
For anyone who is interested in attending, here's the info:
May 2nd - May 25th,
Fridays and Saturdays (art) 6pm-8pm (play) 8pm -
Sundays (play) 5 pm (art) 7:30 pm -
At the Avery Schreiber Theatre
11050 Magnolia Blvd.
North Hollywood, Ca.
91601
www. FrogFaith. com/Sienna
Art.Sienna@gmail.com
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Friday, April 04, 2008
META Show Day One
A 22 hour flight with a lay over in Canada returned me to the ole US of A on February 5th, 2008. We landed with just enough renminbe to to buy a much needed pack of American cigarettes and a cup of joe. We were welcomed into the energetic and very blond arms of Andy's brother, Sam and his girlfriend, Marita.
After day one, we should have know how busy life was going to be for us. The very next day, Andy went to Raleigh studios with Sam to work on his company, Apocalyptic Films at 6 am. 6 am after a 22 hour flight is a little early for me, so I passed.
Life has not slowed down since.
Last night was the first run of the two day show at the META theatre with The New York Acting Ensemble. It was a technical run for both of us (the play and the art show), and I think we were all happy with how it turned out.
The NYAE was performing teaser pieces from A Hatful of Rain to a small audience in preparation for their full run in May. They set the mood with a comedic short performance from what was dubbed "Deuce Reparatory Theatre Company's 2008 Season" with Clay Baxtor and Ed Chaves, the remnants of a full group of actors, whittled down to two. When they first walked onto the stage, I was prepared for an impromptu actors performance akin to something you'd see in an acting class. I assumed it was filler. I was pleasantly surprised.
The skit was hilarious. The two walked onto the stage donning English accents and explained to us the meaning of Duece, prepared our little American audience for their skit and quickly fell into an ever changing scene with homages and mockery to some of the most well known plays to date They began and ended with literally waiting for Godot, and flipped through many faces of theatre with well set up transitions and timing. Of mice and men, Glass Menagerie, The Death of a Salesman, and on. A few times, the transitions were a little rough, but they were changing from arguing about being such an odd couple to the failing execution one eager and simple Lenny Small. The transitional cues consisted mainly of blocking, severely breaking from one scene to another depending on their stance and their interaction with the set. It was clever, sometimes a bit too cute, but very funny, all in all.
It warmed up the audience and broke the ice and helped answer the question everyone has when going to a play: "Am I going to be sitting through a boring, poorly acted play?" You can't help it, that question is always there, but the first skit warmed the audience up quite well and we were ready to see the rest.
So as not to lead us on to thinking this was all going to be comedy, they quickly followed it up with a dramatic monologue from "The Vet" performed by Stan Fisher. The monologue was an amputee veteran's remembrance of his experience in Vietnam. The monologue was dark and low. It was everything a Vietnam Vet's story always has been; dark and somehow foreboding.
I can see why they chose this monologue just before their scenes from A Hatful of rain. A Hatful of Rain is set after World War II, and tells the first story of a junky following the war, and how his family deals with it. Johnny came back from the war addicted to the morphine they put him on during his recovery from torture. They didn't tell him how to deal with it and paid no attempt to ween him off of it before he returned to his family and pregnant wife. The Vietnam story was there to remind us that what Johnny was returning from was war, and that while physically removed from it, his experiences there were very real and would find it's way into his home life regardless of how much he wanted it gone; no matter how many newspapers he destroyed and how many conversations he avoided.
A dramatic monologue on it's own is hard to pull off. People don't want to be brought down, and only do if they first care about the character. Unfortunately, we didn't get to know him before his monologue, and so it fell a little flat, due to lack of set up. This is the downfall of any monologue that has to stand on it's own. It served it's purpose, sitting in the back of our minds through Johnny's experience, but the monologue itself left the audience wanting; wanting a reason to love or hate this man who poured tears in front of them.
Following the monologue, the real show of the night began, with four select scenes from A Hatful of Rain. The scenes were clearly selected to allow enough time to introduce the family to the audience, let us care and then plainly show the turmoil that shifted beneath the surface.
This was a promotional show, and was intended as a good excuse for a technical run. No one expected it to go without a hitch. The actors are still wrestling with their characters, the blocking is up for grabs and one character has yet to be cast. Early play production is always fraught with problems, but they made good with what they had and successfully gave the audience a glimpse of the world they will be bringing to life in May.
Here and there, lines were lost, and every now and then, a character's emotion was a bit muted or over played, but that is the way of an early performance. The actors are still getting comfortable in the skin of their characters.
The family was very clear and I walked away knowing the characters much more than I had expected. I know the play and I know a majority of the actors, so I don' t get the advantage of suspension of disbelief, but from behind me, I heard the audience sighing in empathetic pain as the husband and wife played out the dance out what could be the last days of their marriage. They laughed openly with the drunken timing of the brother Polo, and the whole room tightened as they waited to see if Celia would accept of dismiss Polo's advances, offering a man who loved and appreciated her. In that moment before he kissed her, no one breathed.
I especially loved watching my father, Thomm Boffi. play the role of the Father, but I guess that's to be expected. He's been worried about this performance, and from how much worry I saw coming from him, I expected a choppy performance. That's not what we got. Just like everyone else; a few lines were lost here and there, but the father came out clear. I knew this character, and he wasn't my father, he was very much a full realization of Johnny's father. The audience laughed at this jokes and tensed at his anger. He came through natural.
Next up was the art show.
In China, I created a 3d Room to display my art, suspending it from the ceiling, to be used in a music video. I remembered that fact after I had a chance to step back and look at the stage. My paintings were set up in an arc around the stage, hanging from thin thread, suspended from the ceiling and rafters. How perfectly cyclical.
The set up took longer than we expected, so a few early comers were able to see some of the set up and listen as little bits of artist last minute madness leaked through.
It was an intimate show. This being the first show, I invited mostly friends and family. It gave a good opportunity to hammer out the edges and find the flow for the next show. Free wine was flowing and the night found a nice rythym with some cool sometimes eerie music coming from the speakers. I told and retold the stories from the paintings and realized for the first time how foreign and new my little life had become for my family and friends. I enjoyed telling the stories to fresh ears. It gave it new life.
We sold a few prints and hung out until the very last minute.
I can't give much of a review for my show because, well it's mine, but it was pretty much a success. There was good vibe, good people, and a great set up that I can't wait to have again this Thursday. It was odd seeing all those paintings hanging from the celing. There seemed to have bene more of them than I remembered once they were put up. Feed back, perspective, creative conversation. This is what I came back for.
This Thursday is the last day at META, and I'm looking forward to it. We've invited more people, fixed a few of the rough edges and even have a mention on a radio show. I'm excited. I'm thrilled. I'm working with a group of creative people all to get out a good show. It's what we live for.
I can't wait for May.
Johnny Pope: David Warren
Polo Pope: Jason Ragle
Celia: Hallie Powers
Father: Thomm Boffi
Deuce: Clay Baxtor and Ed Chavez
The Vet: Stan Fisher
After day one, we should have know how busy life was going to be for us. The very next day, Andy went to Raleigh studios with Sam to work on his company, Apocalyptic Films at 6 am. 6 am after a 22 hour flight is a little early for me, so I passed.
Life has not slowed down since.
Last night was the first run of the two day show at the META theatre with The New York Acting Ensemble. It was a technical run for both of us (the play and the art show), and I think we were all happy with how it turned out.
The NYAE was performing teaser pieces from A Hatful of Rain to a small audience in preparation for their full run in May. They set the mood with a comedic short performance from what was dubbed "Deuce Reparatory Theatre Company's 2008 Season" with Clay Baxtor and Ed Chaves, the remnants of a full group of actors, whittled down to two. When they first walked onto the stage, I was prepared for an impromptu actors performance akin to something you'd see in an acting class. I assumed it was filler. I was pleasantly surprised.
The skit was hilarious. The two walked onto the stage donning English accents and explained to us the meaning of Duece, prepared our little American audience for their skit and quickly fell into an ever changing scene with homages and mockery to some of the most well known plays to date They began and ended with literally waiting for Godot, and flipped through many faces of theatre with well set up transitions and timing. Of mice and men, Glass Menagerie, The Death of a Salesman, and on. A few times, the transitions were a little rough, but they were changing from arguing about being such an odd couple to the failing execution one eager and simple Lenny Small. The transitional cues consisted mainly of blocking, severely breaking from one scene to another depending on their stance and their interaction with the set. It was clever, sometimes a bit too cute, but very funny, all in all.
It warmed up the audience and broke the ice and helped answer the question everyone has when going to a play: "Am I going to be sitting through a boring, poorly acted play?" You can't help it, that question is always there, but the first skit warmed the audience up quite well and we were ready to see the rest.
So as not to lead us on to thinking this was all going to be comedy, they quickly followed it up with a dramatic monologue from "The Vet" performed by Stan Fisher. The monologue was an amputee veteran's remembrance of his experience in Vietnam. The monologue was dark and low. It was everything a Vietnam Vet's story always has been; dark and somehow foreboding.
I can see why they chose this monologue just before their scenes from A Hatful of rain. A Hatful of Rain is set after World War II, and tells the first story of a junky following the war, and how his family deals with it. Johnny came back from the war addicted to the morphine they put him on during his recovery from torture. They didn't tell him how to deal with it and paid no attempt to ween him off of it before he returned to his family and pregnant wife. The Vietnam story was there to remind us that what Johnny was returning from was war, and that while physically removed from it, his experiences there were very real and would find it's way into his home life regardless of how much he wanted it gone; no matter how many newspapers he destroyed and how many conversations he avoided.
A dramatic monologue on it's own is hard to pull off. People don't want to be brought down, and only do if they first care about the character. Unfortunately, we didn't get to know him before his monologue, and so it fell a little flat, due to lack of set up. This is the downfall of any monologue that has to stand on it's own. It served it's purpose, sitting in the back of our minds through Johnny's experience, but the monologue itself left the audience wanting; wanting a reason to love or hate this man who poured tears in front of them.
Following the monologue, the real show of the night began, with four select scenes from A Hatful of Rain. The scenes were clearly selected to allow enough time to introduce the family to the audience, let us care and then plainly show the turmoil that shifted beneath the surface.
This was a promotional show, and was intended as a good excuse for a technical run. No one expected it to go without a hitch. The actors are still wrestling with their characters, the blocking is up for grabs and one character has yet to be cast. Early play production is always fraught with problems, but they made good with what they had and successfully gave the audience a glimpse of the world they will be bringing to life in May.
Here and there, lines were lost, and every now and then, a character's emotion was a bit muted or over played, but that is the way of an early performance. The actors are still getting comfortable in the skin of their characters.
The family was very clear and I walked away knowing the characters much more than I had expected. I know the play and I know a majority of the actors, so I don' t get the advantage of suspension of disbelief, but from behind me, I heard the audience sighing in empathetic pain as the husband and wife played out the dance out what could be the last days of their marriage. They laughed openly with the drunken timing of the brother Polo, and the whole room tightened as they waited to see if Celia would accept of dismiss Polo's advances, offering a man who loved and appreciated her. In that moment before he kissed her, no one breathed.
I especially loved watching my father, Thomm Boffi. play the role of the Father, but I guess that's to be expected. He's been worried about this performance, and from how much worry I saw coming from him, I expected a choppy performance. That's not what we got. Just like everyone else; a few lines were lost here and there, but the father came out clear. I knew this character, and he wasn't my father, he was very much a full realization of Johnny's father. The audience laughed at this jokes and tensed at his anger. He came through natural.
Next up was the art show.
In China, I created a 3d Room to display my art, suspending it from the ceiling, to be used in a music video. I remembered that fact after I had a chance to step back and look at the stage. My paintings were set up in an arc around the stage, hanging from thin thread, suspended from the ceiling and rafters. How perfectly cyclical.
The set up took longer than we expected, so a few early comers were able to see some of the set up and listen as little bits of artist last minute madness leaked through.
It was an intimate show. This being the first show, I invited mostly friends and family. It gave a good opportunity to hammer out the edges and find the flow for the next show. Free wine was flowing and the night found a nice rythym with some cool sometimes eerie music coming from the speakers. I told and retold the stories from the paintings and realized for the first time how foreign and new my little life had become for my family and friends. I enjoyed telling the stories to fresh ears. It gave it new life.
We sold a few prints and hung out until the very last minute.
I can't give much of a review for my show because, well it's mine, but it was pretty much a success. There was good vibe, good people, and a great set up that I can't wait to have again this Thursday. It was odd seeing all those paintings hanging from the celing. There seemed to have bene more of them than I remembered once they were put up. Feed back, perspective, creative conversation. This is what I came back for.
This Thursday is the last day at META, and I'm looking forward to it. We've invited more people, fixed a few of the rough edges and even have a mention on a radio show. I'm excited. I'm thrilled. I'm working with a group of creative people all to get out a good show. It's what we live for.
I can't wait for May.
Johnny Pope: David Warren
Polo Pope: Jason Ragle
Celia: Hallie Powers
Father: Thomm Boffi
Deuce: Clay Baxtor and Ed Chavez
The Vet: Stan Fisher
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