One Week and Counting...
Today I realized that I've been in Toronto for one week! I can hardly believe it, it seems to have flown so quickly. Although now that I'm looking back at it, the amount that I've learned in a week is staggering.
I spent the rest of the weekend trailing the show, and then on Sunday I got to learn my makeup! I think I'm probably unique in this aspect, but I love makeup. OK, it's pretty girly, and at times I have known to be girly (although Sloan would argue that my superhuman strength is not very girly), but I think that I love makeup more than your average girl. It's one of the things in a show that really helps me get into character, and feel like I'm stepping out of my real life. This show is going to be especially fun, considering I have some crazy makeup.
One of my tracks in the show is the "Confidante". If you're familiar with the plot of Phantom at all, you'll know that at the end of the first act, the Phantom writes a show for Christine. She is supposed to play the lead, and Carlotta (the opera diva) is supposed to be the mute. Instead, the Opera directors give Christine the role of the mute, and Carlotta the lead. This angers the Phantom, who causes Carlotta to start croaking like a frog during the middle of the opera. My big scene happens during this "opera" within the musical, when I play Carlotta's "confidante". This is when I get my solo! Since it's a period piece, it's also super-stylized, and my makeup is crazy. I promise to post pictures as soon as I take them. Anyway, it's going to be fun to experiment with the makeup for the next few days, although I'm sure that once I get started and I have to change my makeup three times during the show... I'll be sick of it real fast.
On Sunday night one of the cast members had a birthday, so everyone threw a surprise party at a bar nearby the theatre. I'm so used to being on a tour where we were forced to hang out together (it wasn't like we could go make friends with people who didn't speak English), that I've been kind of confused about the fact that no one here seems to hang out in big groups. It makes sense, considering that I'm one of the only people under 30, and a lot of people here are in relationships (usually married to someone else possibly in the cast), but it's so different than what I'm used to. Here after the show, most people go home or hang out in small groups. Because of that, it was nice for me to see everyone hanging out together - and it gave me another chance to practice learning names. I can't stress how hard it is when I have a conversation with someone backstage while they're wearing a costume, stage makeup, and possibly facial hair... and then I have no idea who they are in street clothes!
After the party I headed out to dinner with two cast members, Kyle and Michael, who both happen to be friends of friends. It's such a small theatre world! They were really helpful, filling me in on some important tour advice, and some even more important tour gossip. Let me just tell you that from what I've heard, this is a strangely incestuous group.
Today was finally my first day off. I slept in, then woke up and actually used the gym in my fantastic building. Later I ventured out to walk around Toronto. In general, it really reminds me of Chicago. It's a downtown right on the water, and there's even a Lake Shore Drive. I walked toward central downtown, and since there was some kind of hockey game today - I ran into all sorts of crazed fans. They really take their hockey seriously here! Aside from the hockey, and the slightly strange accents (sorry, eh, hockey - I can't even describe how those words are said up here), this could totally be the states. It's pretty funny to be in a different country that feels so similar. One of the neat things that I discovered about downtown is that since it's usually so cold here, a lot of the fun part of the city is underground! There are whole malls and restaurants down there, so in the winter you don't have to brave the cold!! I really think Chicago could take a tip from this, since I always thought that Old Orchard Mall was ridiculous for making you go outside between stores, even when it was snowing.
So, tomorrow's back to the routine. I did some studying, so hopefully all the memorization has sunk in. Repetition is my best friend, so it's just going to take some time. Luckily, I don't have my put in till Friday, and then I start Friday night - so I've got plenty of time. But, I should probably go through Masquerade one more time. Ugh!
I spent the rest of the weekend trailing the show, and then on Sunday I got to learn my makeup! I think I'm probably unique in this aspect, but I love makeup. OK, it's pretty girly, and at times I have known to be girly (although Sloan would argue that my superhuman strength is not very girly), but I think that I love makeup more than your average girl. It's one of the things in a show that really helps me get into character, and feel like I'm stepping out of my real life. This show is going to be especially fun, considering I have some crazy makeup.
One of my tracks in the show is the "Confidante". If you're familiar with the plot of Phantom at all, you'll know that at the end of the first act, the Phantom writes a show for Christine. She is supposed to play the lead, and Carlotta (the opera diva) is supposed to be the mute. Instead, the Opera directors give Christine the role of the mute, and Carlotta the lead. This angers the Phantom, who causes Carlotta to start croaking like a frog during the middle of the opera. My big scene happens during this "opera" within the musical, when I play Carlotta's "confidante". This is when I get my solo! Since it's a period piece, it's also super-stylized, and my makeup is crazy. I promise to post pictures as soon as I take them. Anyway, it's going to be fun to experiment with the makeup for the next few days, although I'm sure that once I get started and I have to change my makeup three times during the show... I'll be sick of it real fast.
On Sunday night one of the cast members had a birthday, so everyone threw a surprise party at a bar nearby the theatre. I'm so used to being on a tour where we were forced to hang out together (it wasn't like we could go make friends with people who didn't speak English), that I've been kind of confused about the fact that no one here seems to hang out in big groups. It makes sense, considering that I'm one of the only people under 30, and a lot of people here are in relationships (usually married to someone else possibly in the cast), but it's so different than what I'm used to. Here after the show, most people go home or hang out in small groups. Because of that, it was nice for me to see everyone hanging out together - and it gave me another chance to practice learning names. I can't stress how hard it is when I have a conversation with someone backstage while they're wearing a costume, stage makeup, and possibly facial hair... and then I have no idea who they are in street clothes!
After the party I headed out to dinner with two cast members, Kyle and Michael, who both happen to be friends of friends. It's such a small theatre world! They were really helpful, filling me in on some important tour advice, and some even more important tour gossip. Let me just tell you that from what I've heard, this is a strangely incestuous group.
Today was finally my first day off. I slept in, then woke up and actually used the gym in my fantastic building. Later I ventured out to walk around Toronto. In general, it really reminds me of Chicago. It's a downtown right on the water, and there's even a Lake Shore Drive. I walked toward central downtown, and since there was some kind of hockey game today - I ran into all sorts of crazed fans. They really take their hockey seriously here! Aside from the hockey, and the slightly strange accents (sorry, eh, hockey - I can't even describe how those words are said up here), this could totally be the states. It's pretty funny to be in a different country that feels so similar. One of the neat things that I discovered about downtown is that since it's usually so cold here, a lot of the fun part of the city is underground! There are whole malls and restaurants down there, so in the winter you don't have to brave the cold!! I really think Chicago could take a tip from this, since I always thought that Old Orchard Mall was ridiculous for making you go outside between stores, even when it was snowing.
So, tomorrow's back to the routine. I did some studying, so hopefully all the memorization has sunk in. Repetition is my best friend, so it's just going to take some time. Luckily, I don't have my put in till Friday, and then I start Friday night - so I've got plenty of time. But, I should probably go through Masquerade one more time. Ugh!
posted by Beth at 11:06 PM
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