Tag Archives: Ilion Little Theatre

Loves of a Theatre Junky

Posted on August 31, 2015 by mohawkvalleygirl

It’s another Wrist to Forehead Sunday, but I have a different source for my angst today.  I am waiting to go to auditions at Ilion Little Theatre  for Lunch Hour, a romantic comedy to be presented in November.  My angst is not from audition butterflies, because I have agreed to be stage manager.  My job is set.  My angst is is due to the onset of as huge case of  WHAT THE HELL AM I THINKING???

Of course the answer to that question is, I’m not.  I almost never am.  I am, it must be admitted, a theatre junky (my computer wants me to spell it “junkie,” but my dictionary says “junky” is also correct).  When somebody asks me to do any theatre thing, I jump at the chance.  They don’t even have to ask me, I often volunteer.  And by “volunteer,” I mean beg.  “Oh please, please, PLEASE let me be in your play!  I can work backstage!  I can make costumes!  I can work on the set!  I can do lights and sound!”  Full disclosure:  I may be a complete klutz and borderline useless at any of these jobs; it never stops me.

Actually, I have not had to beg since I got involved with Ilion Little Theatre.  They are a very welcoming group, not at all clique-y.  I feel very fortunate to be involved with such a fun group of such nice people.   However, it cannot be denied that doing plays takes a lot of time and energy.  Sometimes there is more drama  backstage than onstage, even with a fun group of nice people.

The other source of my hesitation to become involved in Lunch Hour is that I am still so filled with concern over Roxy.  Roxy, as regular readers know, is the play being presented by Herkimer County Historical Society at Ilion Little Theatre.  It is less than two weeks until opening night!  Yikes!  Will we pull it together in time? Will it be good?  Will I be good?  Oh well, probably, but one can’t help but have butterflies.

You know, I don’t know why I’m sitting here with my wrist to my forehead.  I LOVE the theatre!  It is wonderful to audition for a play and get a part.  It is fun to learn lines, go to rehearsal, develop a character and all that.  And when the audience applauds at the end, well, that’s pretty good too.  As an added bonus, I often get quite a number of blog posts out of it, as you may have noticed.  So Happy Sunday, everyone,  I’m off to auditions.

 

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Why Would I Lie?

Posted on August 28, 2015 by mohawkvalleygirl

I just checked, and it has been 20 days since I published a post whining about how light-headed and awful I felt.  You have probably guessed I checked because that is what I feel like making a post about today.

I actually started to feel pretty crappy at rehearsal last night.  I think I still got my lines mostly right.  As rehearsal lasted longer than expected, as will sometimes happen, I began to say to some fellow cast members, “I’m never being in another play again.”  I don’t think they believed me.  Do you?

Time did not pass too slowly at work, for one blessing.  I spent much of the day wanting to put my head down and rest, but I resisted the urge.  The day was further enlivened by my reading of a play.  I am looking for one to direct for Ilion Little Theatre.  The play I was reading was VERY funny.  I kept laughing out loud as I was reading.  Then I would go back to work feeling unable to wait till I could read more.

“This is the funniest play that ever lived!” I enthused to Steven when I got home.  No, I’m not going to tell you what the play is.  For one reason, I don’t want to get anybody’s hopes up that we’re going to do it.  For another reason, I don’t want any rival community theaters stealing it.

Incidentally, directing a play is NOT the same thing as being in one.

 

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Roxy Update

Posted on August 27, 2015 by mohawkvalleygirl

Rather than have Wuss-Out Wednesday, I shall provide a brief update on Roxy, the play being presented by the Herkimer County Historical Society at Ilion Little Theatre.  Full disclosure: as opening night gets closer this blog may become All Roxy All The Time.  For now we will content ourselves with an update.

For anyone who has missed my previous posts about the play, it is an original play, written by local author Jack Sherman, about a historical crime which happened right here in the Mohawk Valley.  In 1884 in the Town of Warren, Roxalana Druse killed her husband, Bill, with a gun and an ax.  She was later tried in the County Courthouse in Herkimer NY and hung in the 1834 Jail.

The story is set some 30 years after the murder.  Roxy’s son, George, all grown up now, is telling the story to his daughter, Florence.  It’s not like those old movies Steven likes to make fun of, where the whole thing is a big flashback.  Rather, the action switches back and forth between the past and present, with Florence asking questions and remarking on the events.  Sometimes within the past,  the action goes even further back; as a character testifies in court, the murder is re-enacted.

At our rehearsal last night things seemed to be going very well.  The transitions from present to past to re-enactment are getting smoother.  Characters are being developed.  It is beginning to feel like a play.

We have rehearsal again tonight and I fear I have not looked over my lines since yesterday.  I should perhaps hit publish and do that.  Roxy will be presented September 11, 12, 13, 18, 19 and 20, at 7 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sundays, at Ilion Little Theatre, Remington Avenue, Ilion, NY. Tickets are $15 for adults, $10 for students.  For more information call 315-866-6413.

 

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But I’m NOT a Method Actress!

Posted on August 13, 2015 by mohawkvalleygirl

I’m afraid this blog may become All Roxy All The Time sooner than one might expect.  Opening night is one month from tomorrow.  Plenty of time, you say?  Perhaps.  But it is difficult to concentrate on other things, especially on nights when we have rehearsal.  And anyways, I thought of something new to talk about.

Roxy, for anybody just tuning in, is a play written by local author Jack Sherman about Roxalana Druse, who murdered her husband and was later hung for it at Herkimer County Jail.  The play is being presented by Herkimer County Historical Society at Ilion Little Theatre.  I play Roxy.

The historical society is going to great lengths to make the play authentic.  They have biographical information on many of the characters.  We have two costume designers who are striving to make the costumes true to the time period.  And then there is the set…

Since Roxalana Druse was famously the last woman hung in New York State (James Greiner wrote a book about her called Last Woman Hanged: Roxalana Druse; good book, read it), one might expect to see a gallows in a play on the subject.  So the historical society got a gallows.  In fact, they got some folks at BOCES to build them a gallows just like the one used on the real Roxy.

These gallows were pretty interesting in and of themselves.  They were called the Galloping Gallows, because they could be taken apart and moved.  Herkimer County rented them for the occasion.  Additionally, this was not a traditional gallows, where the condemned fell through a trap door.  Instead, a weight was dropped, jerking the body upward.  Who thinks of these things?

I have to confess, I am feeling just a little bit nervous about this contraption.  I think it is a bit more realistic than is strictly necessary.  How do I know the guy playing the sheriff won’t get a little carried away with his part on opening night?  Do you suppose I should insist upon a stunt double?

 

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Hot Under the Collar

Posted on July 29, 2015 by mohawkvalleygirl

So yesterday, while I was typing in my Monday whatever-it-was (Middle-aged Musings or Mental Meanderings), I remembered Bad Attituesday.  Just in time, because that is what I am having right now.

It really was not a bad day at work.  Things got awfully warm, and I am almost always something of a heat injury (that’s a real thing, you know;  even the army didn’t think I was being a big fat baby) (well, not about that, anyways, but we’re not talking about the army).

Where was I?  Ah yes, not a bad day at work.  I even started to write some stupid thing that may have made a decent blog post, before the heat injury portion of the day.  Now I’m home and the Bad Attitude portion of the day has hit me in full force.

What, I must ask, the hell is wrong with me?  I got home, took a refreshing cool shower, drank some iced coffee… these are things that ought to improve one’s mood.  Could it be anxiety over tonight’s rehearsal for Roxy (you know, that play I’m in at Ilion Little Theatre)?  One reason for tension is that I have nothing decent to wear.  You see, I want to wear skirts to rehearse in, because I will be wearing a skirt for performances.  It will help inform my character.

I have many skirts, some of which even still fit (I have been gaining and losing weight since the ’80s).  I found a wraparound India skirt I purchased in, I believe 1983.  As everyone knows, a wraparound skirt will almost always fit.  I found a t-shirt in a compatible color.

Therein lies my problem.  All my t-shirts lately have been binding on my neck.  Am I getting a fat neck in my old age?  Oh for heavens’ sake!  I can live with the arthritis, hot flashes, presbyopia and general breaking down of my body.  I can even accept the fact that it is much harder to lose weight.  But a fat neck?  What’s that all about?

Then again, the character I play in Roxy is the first and last woman hanged in Herkimer County.  Perhaps a shirt that is a little tight around the neck can inform my character.  A good actor utilizes all possible resources.  I bet even my bad attitude will come in handy.  Hope to see you all on Wednesday.

 

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Midsummer Monday

Posted on July 28, 2015 by mohawkvalleygirl

I began the week determined to write my blog posts in advance.  I would not spend the week composing nonsense at the keyboard, mostly about how I just can’t write a real blog post.  I was going to Write Real Blog Posts.

So far, not so good.

In my defense, quite a full weekend, ten hour day today, rehearsal tonight (you know, for the play I’m in?).  Oh, and temperatures in the 80s (92 in Little Falls, which is not that far away).  I do not work in an air conditioned building.  When I did work in an air conditioned building, I wore  sandals skirts with no pantyhose.  Now I wear steel-toed work shoes and BDU pants.  I say this with pride, not complaint.  I am bad ass.

Unfortunately, “bad ass” does not necessarily translate into “able to write awesome blog posts.”

I tried, I really did.  Actually, what I first tried to write was an article for Mohawk Valley Living magazine.  I thought perhaps I could publish a shortened version for the blog.  It did not go well.  I tried to work on my novel.  I wrote one sentence on a scene I had previously written.  That effectively brought the scene to an end.  I started another scene.  Then I couldn’t remember if one character did or did not believe in ghosts.

How could I forget such a thing?  How long have I been living with these characters?  What kind of a writer am I?  I was too traumatized to write anything else.  I looked over my lines for the play then helped a co-worker with a crossword puzzle.

Now I must finish getting ready for rehearsal.  For anyone just tuning in, it is for Roxy, at Ilion Little Theatre.  I play Roxy.  And I just realized something:  yesterday was Severed Head Sunday.  Today I am going to rehearsal for a play in which I CHOP MY HUSBAND’S HEAD OFF!  Oh how delightful to have something in common with Joan Crawford!

So what if I can’t always write an awesome blog post?  I’m still bad ass.

 

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Wednesday with Quentin Tarantino

Posted on July 23, 2015 by mohawkvalleygirl

Wuss-out Wednesday follows Tired Tuesday when one is on overtime and in a play.  I do love the overtime. For one reason, it gives me a good excuse to slack on everything else.  Uh, I mean, it gives me a chance to further my career, make a contribution in the workplace and… oh hell, nobody’s a good enough actor to sell that line of bologna.  I’m sure you’ll believe I can use the extra cash, but it is vulgar to brag about one’s income (especially when it’s really nothing to brag about) (so don’t bother hitting me up for a loan) (you know who you are).

Where was I?  Ah yes,  striving to post something, anything before going to rehearsal.  At last night’s rehearsal I showed that although I know my lines, I do not know my blocking (that’s moving where you’re supposed to be when you’re supposed to be there, for you non-theatre folks) (and for any pedantic theatre folks who want to correct my definition, oh just give it a rest!).

In my defense,  it is kind of a complicated play.  There are flashbacks AND re-enactments.  I think it’s a little bit like a Quentin Tarantino movie.  I can’t even add “but without all the violence,” because my character chops off her husband’s head (that’s not a spoiler; everybody knows that about Roxalana Druse).

I studied my lines again today while on breaks at work (I know, I should have been writing my blog post; one can’t do everything, after all).  I even said them to myself while I was working.  Luckily, my job is not one where I deal with the public.  I don’t think my co-workers were particularly disconcerted.  After all, they’re used to me.

Right now I’m as tired as I was on Tuesday with rehearsal tonight and more overtime tomorrow.  But that is OK, because the show must go on!  Tired is not too great a price to pay for stardom!  Or even for having fun being in a community theatre play.

 

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NOT Tired of Being in Plays

Posted on July 22, 2015 by mohawkvalleygirl

This will be a Tired Tuesday post.  Except that I CAN’T be tired, I have to go to rehearsal!  For the sake of anybody just tuning in, I am in the play Roxy, at Ilion Little Theatre.

I spent my breaks at work going over my lines and I seem to know them pretty well. I have something of a reputation for learning all my lines pretty quickly (I know,  you thought I was going to say I had a different kind of a reputation, oh you of dirty mind)  (you know who you are).  I hate to disappoint people.

It isn’t just a generic people-pleasing thing, though. I could do a whole other blog post about being a people pleaser  (which I don’t think I am,  judging from the number of people who are none too pleased with me most of the time) and whether or not that is a good thing, but that’s not really the dynamic at work here.

I strive to be the sort of cast member that directors, backstage people, and other cast members like to work with.   For one reason, it makes things a lot more comfortable if nobody’s mad at you.  More to the point, it makes a better play, because the sort of cast member most people like working with is the one who helps make it a better play.

Oh, I can see some of you raising your hands, ready to share with me stories about this or that sonofabitch who you wanted to KILL during rehearsals nonetheless came through and made it the best show ever.  The important thing, you are ready to sniff, is not whether or not you get along.  The important thing is can you ACT?  (You may or may not say “ACT” with a gesture.)

I would argue that theatre is a collaborative art.  We produce the best plays when we work well together.  Additionally, this is community theatre.  We are doing it for fun and for love of theatre.  Of course we want to put on the best plays possible (what fun is it to be in a turkey?), but why make the process harder by working with sonsofbitches?

So I try not to be a sonofabitch.  I learn my lines.  In fact, I’d better go look them over again before tonight’s rehearsal.

 

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Murder on Monday

Posted on July 21, 2015 by mohawkvalleygirl

I see that last Monday was “World’s Dumbest Monday”, which makes me a little embarrassed to feel as dumb as I do today.  No matter, dumb or not, I must make my blog post.

I don’t feel like watching World’s Dumbest today anyways.  I feel like watching my other favorite guilty pleasure show, Snapped.  Snapped is a documentary show about women who kill.  I think I wrote a blog post about it some time ago (too lazy to go back and check), but I have another reason to watch it and write about it today.  I feel it will inform my character of Roxalana Druse.

As regular readers may recall, I have the title role in Roxy, a play being presented by Herkimer County Historical Society and Ilion Little Theatre.  It is a new play written by a local author about Roxalana Druse, the last woman hanged in Herkimer County.  She killed her husband by shooting him then chopping his head off with an axe. I think he was asking for it, but perhaps that’s just me being in character.

That last sentence was just me being silly.  It is actually a serious play, probably the most serious I’ve ever been in.  Therefore, one might wonder if watching one of my guilty pleasure television shows is really the best way to prepare.  Listen, don’t try to second guess the processes of the creative mind.

More to the point, it’s Monday and I’m tired. It was a rough weekend and I’m not a young woman.  I studied my lines while on breaks at work and if I want to sit and watch a murder show on cable television, I will.  And I’ll write more about Roxy soon.

 

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It’s Only Lame Post Friday, After All

Posted on July 18, 2015 by mohawkvalleygirl

I am having a simply dreadful time. This is at least the  fourth time I have logged onto WordPress in the last hour and I cannot seem to compose a blog post.  Even a lame one.  What, I ask, is my problem?

I know, a lot of you have been asking that question for years (you know who you are).

Full disclosure (I use that phrase a lot, don’t I?):   It’s not a “real” Friday for me.  I have to work tomorrow.   Of course overtime can be a beautiful thing, especially when one has already spent the money (who, me, not stay within my budget? I daresay I might if I had one, but let’s leave that alone for now).

I mentioned in yesterday’s post that I have a fun adventure planned for tomorrow.  At least, I hope it will be fun.  It involves some nice friends and helping a worthy cause.  What’s not to like?  Tonight I have rehearsal for Roxy, the play I am in at Ilion Little Theatre, another Mohawk Valley adventure.

Now that I think about it, I seem to remember a few other adventures I never wrote about.  Must think back and try to remember those; I don’t suppose it is too late.

All this by way of introduction to a very brief whine about how I can’t seem to get my brain to write anything substantive TODAY!  I feel certain that this is not an uncommon phenomenon among writers.  Perhaps I could overcome it if I sat here and tried.  Unfortunately, I do not have time for such exertions right now.  I must scurry to rehearsal, and when I get home I must hustle to bed to be up early tomorrow.

As I said, I feel dreadful about it.  But not too dreadful to post this piece of nonsense.  I hope you’re all having a marvelous Friday.

 

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