This post will be a break from my tips. Please apply them all whenever you perform or just for daily living!
I would like to advertise a showcase I will be performing in. It is for a High school performing arts center and I will be in a couple of dance and song numbers. It is held at 7PM at the Kaimuki High School Auditorium. Admission is free but donations are welcomed.
Please come! I am also performing for my Acting II class's showcase at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. I am not too sure when the production date is, but I will get back to this post on that.
I am excited for the end of this year, aren't you guys as well?! I am really anticipating what is coming in store for me next school year and what adventures, feats, and drama (which I'm not too excited about) I will be encountering. Everything is a stepping stone and I hope I can someday make it on Broadway. Not big, just be able to be a professional in my field.
Sunday, April 27, 2014
Sunday, April 20, 2014
Musical Theatre in Hawaii
For those who've never seen a musical before, you should really take the opportunity to! Sure, this is not Broadway and the streets are not lined up with marquees, but there are several theatres that really showcase the best of Hawaii's musical theatre talent, ranging from the most prepared school students to the refined adult professionals.
The two that seem to generate the most buzz around Hawaii's musical theatre scene are the two independent community ones:
Diamond Head Theatre
Manoa Valley Theatre
Diamond Head Theatre tends to deal with ensemble musicals while Manoa Valley Theatre tends to delve into musicals with small casts (due to stage size, audience size, budget, etc.)
The two college ones:
Paliku Theatre
John F. Kennedy Theatre
Paliku generally deals with large musical shows (Phantom of the Opera, Les Miserables, etc.), while John F. Kennedy Theatre hardly does musicals and usually showcases plays, dance concerts, and Asian repertoire.
There are other theatres such as Kumu Kahua and Hawaii Theatre, although those usually produce plays. And I was never really into the "straight" play scene. Singing and dancing just seem too much of a value to give up in a production! Especially when you have so many amazing singers and dancers in Hawaii.
There are also high school performing art centers, although they usually only allow high schoolers to audition (with some being an exception, although those require Alumni-status).
P.S. There is always Neil Blaisdell for their stunning Broadway national tours, but those are very professional and usually come only every once or twice a year.
The two that seem to generate the most buzz around Hawaii's musical theatre scene are the two independent community ones:
Diamond Head Theatre
Manoa Valley Theatre
Diamond Head Theatre tends to deal with ensemble musicals while Manoa Valley Theatre tends to delve into musicals with small casts (due to stage size, audience size, budget, etc.)
The two college ones:
Paliku Theatre
John F. Kennedy Theatre
Paliku generally deals with large musical shows (Phantom of the Opera, Les Miserables, etc.), while John F. Kennedy Theatre hardly does musicals and usually showcases plays, dance concerts, and Asian repertoire.
There are other theatres such as Kumu Kahua and Hawaii Theatre, although those usually produce plays. And I was never really into the "straight" play scene. Singing and dancing just seem too much of a value to give up in a production! Especially when you have so many amazing singers and dancers in Hawaii.
There are also high school performing art centers, although they usually only allow high schoolers to audition (with some being an exception, although those require Alumni-status).
P.S. There is always Neil Blaisdell for their stunning Broadway national tours, but those are very professional and usually come only every once or twice a year.
Tuesday, April 8, 2014
Differentiating Reality and Rehearsed
In my Acting II class at UH Manoa, my teacher went over a vital aspect when learning a piece that I feel should be shared. Whenever you perform or even say a speech, divide your text into beats.
You can do this mentally, but usually better done by actually making your script. Use pencil because it can easily be erased. Beats can be divided in many ways, but I personally divide with slashes (/). This slash to many usually means to slow down or speed up what you are doing, but that is a common misconception. A beat is a change of intention. This usually then results in a pause (either a really short or long one) before you continue on after the beat change.
My explanation may be complicated and confusing... but here is an example.
You can record yourself with a webcam with this exercise.
1. Set your video cam. facing a table.
2. Turn it on.
3. Leave the room with your school bag (with a notebook and pencil inside).
4. Come inside the room with your school bag and put it down.
5. Take out your notebook.
6. Then take out your pencil.
7. Open the notebook to a desired page and pick up the pencil.
Now do it all again, but after every step from steps 3-7, take a pause around 2 seconds. Analyze what you are doing and why you are doing it. Check how you feel and if it affects how you will initiate your action.
Although the first time you do it is more natural, the second time usually is the one that seems natural to other people (especially in plays and movies). This is usually how plays and movies become so dramatic, but at the same time seem so naturalistic.
Anthony Lee
You can do this mentally, but usually better done by actually making your script. Use pencil because it can easily be erased. Beats can be divided in many ways, but I personally divide with slashes (/). This slash to many usually means to slow down or speed up what you are doing, but that is a common misconception. A beat is a change of intention. This usually then results in a pause (either a really short or long one) before you continue on after the beat change.
My explanation may be complicated and confusing... but here is an example.
You can record yourself with a webcam with this exercise.
1. Set your video cam. facing a table.
2. Turn it on.
3. Leave the room with your school bag (with a notebook and pencil inside).
4. Come inside the room with your school bag and put it down.
5. Take out your notebook.
6. Then take out your pencil.
7. Open the notebook to a desired page and pick up the pencil.
Now do it all again, but after every step from steps 3-7, take a pause around 2 seconds. Analyze what you are doing and why you are doing it. Check how you feel and if it affects how you will initiate your action.
Although the first time you do it is more natural, the second time usually is the one that seems natural to other people (especially in plays and movies). This is usually how plays and movies become so dramatic, but at the same time seem so naturalistic.
Anthony Lee
Sunday, April 6, 2014
Getting Rejected
Being in theatre, I understand the pains of being rejected from community theatre. Actually I've just been declined from a musical today at Diamond Head Theatre... I mean I had conflicts so I guess it was inevitable that I was not chosen.
Feeling sort of depressed, this is my topic for today. Something I went through and something I need to overcome. You can be lucky like my friend who gets in every musical he auditions for and with the role he desires. You can be like me who auditioned at DHT 3 1/2 times and still do not get in the shows.
Try elsewhere. It might not be you, it might even be the theatre itself. Try out for other theatres or companies and possibly they might just have a greater liking for you.
Practice more. This is something everyone knows. If you do not succeed at first, try try again. But even more than the last.
It might not be you. Sometimes you could do an amazing job, but the show only requires so much people and you do not match the overall feel or typecasting the show wants. Audition for a show that matches you and who knows, you might get a principal character.
Take classes the theatre offers OR crew for the shows. By doing this you get to make connections to the theatre's general company and even the casting directors. Be on their good side and whala!
I hope I can follow my own advice, haha.
Anthony Lee
Feeling sort of depressed, this is my topic for today. Something I went through and something I need to overcome. You can be lucky like my friend who gets in every musical he auditions for and with the role he desires. You can be like me who auditioned at DHT 3 1/2 times and still do not get in the shows.
Try elsewhere. It might not be you, it might even be the theatre itself. Try out for other theatres or companies and possibly they might just have a greater liking for you.
Practice more. This is something everyone knows. If you do not succeed at first, try try again. But even more than the last.
It might not be you. Sometimes you could do an amazing job, but the show only requires so much people and you do not match the overall feel or typecasting the show wants. Audition for a show that matches you and who knows, you might get a principal character.
Take classes the theatre offers OR crew for the shows. By doing this you get to make connections to the theatre's general company and even the casting directors. Be on their good side and whala!
I hope I can follow my own advice, haha.
Anthony Lee
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