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BlaireauRusse
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Name: Preston
Birthday: 9/14/1989
Gender: Male
Interests: Acting, Singing, Writing, Shakespeare, pretty, smart women, speculation, Broadway showtunes.
Expertise: Slacking off, acting, singing, writing, parodies
Message: message me
AIM:  kittengoespop
Yahoo:  kittengoespop
Member Since:
4/30/2004
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| So... I had a first today!
I got a visit from Jehovah's Witnesses this morning! We were getting ready to leave for church, when suddenly, I hear a knock on the door. A middle-aged woman and an elderly man were standing on my porch. The woman was holding some papers, and the man was holding a Bible. He greeted me, and asked if I wanted to hear something he thought would interest me. I, not knowing who these strange people were, said yes. He then proceeded to read an excerpt from Psalm 37. Something about the meek inheriting the earth. And he then said something to the effect of, "Isn't it wonderful to know the future of mankind?" to which I replied, "Yes." Then, I slipped the door open, careful not to let the cat out (oh, by the way, the whole time he's been saying these things, I've been kicking the cat), and he gave me a little flier, then we exchanged our goodbyes and they left. Just as they were leaving, my mother came out into the living room. She asked me if they were Jehovah's Witnesses, and then I looked at the flier. Indeed they were!
So, Richard III has been going pretty well. We got a good review in the Patriot News. They said I was "captivating". Last night, one of the funniest things happened. In Clarence's death scene, he is drowned in a bucket. Last night, as he was being drowned, right as he died, the bucket cracked open. Water came pouring forth onto the stage, and after the blackout, the crew rushed on and wiped up as much of it as they could. For the rest of the first half of the show, the front of the stage was soaked. At least it looked really neat, though.
Only one weekend left! I'm going to miss it, I know I am, and not just because it's one of my favorite plays of all time. We have a good cast, a lot of good people, fun people with whom I enjoy spending time. Plenty of my friends have seen the show and loved it. My friend Sarah Little loved it so much, she's going to see it again! So, anyone who's having doubts about whether or not to come see it, come see it!
In other news, I am in A Christmas Carol at Open Stage for the second year in a row, playing the same roles I played last year. I've been to a few rehearsals for that, and it's coming along as well as it did last year. It'll be a great performance. And I'll be getting paid!
"I have seen the future and it doesn't work." -Robert Fulford
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| So, Richard III opens tonight!
I have had an interesting few weeks in this rehearsal process. When we first got our costumes, roughly last week, we tried them on, and they were largely unfinished. As I put the pieces on, I didn't like it. I actually didn't like my costume. Looking at myself in mirrors, I felt it went against what I had created for the character of Catesby. The next day, I talked to Jeremy about it because I felt that would be best. He managed to assuage my fears, saying that once the vest was finished, and the pants, it would look better. And by God, he was right. Almost a week later, and I love my costume. It's pretty much perfect.
Last night, we did a warm-up exercise where we stood in a circle and said someone else's line. That someone would then go into the circle and say someone else's line, etc., etc. I did an impression of the one guy, Aaron, when I said his line, and then when I recited Kent's line, I poked fun at the fact that he frequently stumbled over that line. It was something of a risk, I was somewhat afraid of coming off like a real jackass, but it was all taken in good humor (as it was intended).
Um... I cut all of my fingernails except for my right-hand pinky finger. It feels kind of weird, especially making a fist, and typing.
I regret somewhat that I haven't updated this as regularly as I would have liked, but perhaps it's better this way. It's not like anyone actually reads this thing anymore. Not to say that "no one loves me" but it's due to the simple fact that very few people actually use xanga anymore. And the people that do use xanga are people who I generally don't really talk to. So, I am glad that I tried this experiment again. It was interesting to try to recreate the glory days, and in a sense, I did. Hell, I'm writing this more for my own benefit than for anybody else's.
In other news, my classes have been going well. I've been making a fair amount of friends in the HACC theatre department. There are some good people in my acting class. Nice people, friendly people. We read Emma in my British Literature class, and I actually enjoyed it. I didn't think I, being a heterosexual man, would enjoy reading a Jane Austen novel. But I found myself genuinely entertained. Jane Austen has a very playful, clever writing style, and she draws some vivid characters. And I've always had a fondness for a comedy of manners.
"Emma Woodhouse, handsome, clever, and rich, with a comfortable home and happy disposition, seemed to unite some of the best blessings of existence; and had lived nearly twenty-one years in the world with very little to distress or vex her." -Jane Austen, opening line of Emma
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| Boy, I'm bad at this. I say I'll update, and then I don't.
So, rehearsals have been going very well. As of today, we have the whole show blocked! So, I guess, that's what we've been doing. We've been blocking. It's been fun, I suppose, about as much fun as blocking can be. While blocking, I came up with a neat idea for my character. I decided that Catesby should have a snuff box. I came up with this brilliant idea when we were blocking Act III, Scene i. I enter at the very beginning, and don't do anything until the very end, and it's a decently long scene. So, while we were going over the scene, I decided to partake of a little snuff. Jeremy loved the idea, and so the deal was sealed.
The fight choreography is amazing! The big battle at the end is so cool. I carry a crowbar and get injured. It's a grand melee, with three different fights going on at the same time. I love it! We also are staging more of the deaths that would ordinarily occur offstage. The death of the princes, in particular, is very chilling. I won't give away any details, but you (like anyone's actually reading this) will love it.
There was a big party for Gamut at the Nicholsons' house. It was a lot of fun. Each year I go, I find myself having more fun, and being more relaxed and feeling more at home. I didn't drink any alcohol, on account of my being twenty years old, but no one really drank to a point where trying to talk to them would have been an exercise in futility. Although there was one woman, around twenty-seven, who got kind of drunk, and I'm pretty sure she was hitting on me, right next to her boyfriend. But he was drunk, too.
So, we're starting to read Emma by Jane Austen in British Literature, so I had to buy a copy of it. I went to Barnes and Noble on Friday, ready to use my gift card that Craig had bought for me two years ago as a graduation present. I got there, and I had to search for a little while, but I bought it, hard-cover, for only ten dollars. Fortunately, the gift card was still valid, and I still have a few dollars left on it. Although it felt very odd walking up to the counter to purchase a Jane Austen novel. And nothing else.
Anyway, I'll try to be better at updating this! We'll see, though, what happens.
"Asking a working writer what he thinks about critics is like asking a lamppost how it feels about dogs." -Christopher Hampton
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| Well, ye followers and friends, ye faithful readers, I have news for you.
I auditioned for Richard III, and I was cast! I will be playing the part of Sir William Catesby, an adjunct of Richard's.
I auditioned on the 12th, using a monologue from Henry the Sixth, Part 3. I used Henry's monologue right before Richard kills him. Oddly enough, the person who went before me used Richard's monologue after he kills Henry. So I went up, and I said, "We probably should have switched, because I'm doing Henry's monologue before Richard kills him!" which elicited a few chuckles from the auditors. I was called back, and I went to the callbacks on the 14th (my birthday!), and that night, I got the call that I had been cast. Huzzah!
Our first two rehearsals were all about text analysis. We read through the script, and discussed the lines, the characters, and the implications thereof. Jeremy, the director, explained to us his vision for the show. He is setting it with 19th century street gangs, similar to Gangs of New York, that kind of thing. I managed to pull out many bits of my vast wealth of knowledge on Richard III and the history, seeing as how I've been studying this play for three years. Honestly, this is incredibly exciting, being in this show. Oh, and my father is in it as well, playing Hastings and Tyrrell, and Eric is in the show also, playing a vast assortment of minor characters.
On Saturday, I had a character work rehearsal. We discussed my character (along with several other people discussing their characters) to see how these characters fit into the world being created, what they do for a living, what kind of people they are, and how they relate to the other characters. We also did something very interesting. We had to find an animal that our character would most identify with, or is most similar to. I chose a ferrett. Then we did this exercise where we all sort of "became" our animal, and we made alliances, and found who trusted who and who were enemies. It was very odd. I've never done anything quite like it, and I don't know if it really helped or not.
More to follow! I hope you all continue with me on this journey!
"'Tis pity learnéd virgins ever wed / With persons of no sort of education, / Or gentlemen, who, though well born and bred, / Grow tired of scientific conversation: / I don't choose to say much upon this head, / I'm a plain man, and in a single station, / But -- Oh! ye lords of ladies intellectual, / Inform us truly, have they not hen-peck'd you all?" -Lord Byron
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| My life has been something of a rollercoaster these past few months.
I dated a girl for about two months back in the spring. Her name was Rachel. It was fun while it lasted, but ultimately it didn't work out. And that's all I'll say on the matter.
I was in a show directed by my mother. It was an original play, and while the script wasn't very good, the experience was fun. I got to do a show with Eric again, I got to work with John, and the girl I dated was in the show. It was a little awkward when she broke up with me mid-way through the rehearsal process, especially since we had to end up together at the end, but I got through it. I'm still here, aren't I?
Then I did Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at Oyster Mill Playhouse in July. That was a lot of fun. It is the only show I've ever done twice, and it was even more fun the second time around. I played one of Joseph's brothers, Dan. I would say that that cast is the most fun cast with which I have ever had the pleasure of working. It really was a wonderfully sublime experience.
I started classes at HACC. That's right, I've finally begun taking steps to secure my future! I'm taking two English classes, a Psychology class, and an Acting class. I've been going for about two weeks now, and I've been enjoying myself immensely.
However, despite this whirlwind of game-changing events, none of this is why I have decided to update. The reason for my update is this: Back in the day, I used to update regularly, because I was very active, doing one thing or another. I would give step-by-step accounts of the shows in which I performed. I am going to be auditioning on Saturday for Gamut Theatre's production of Richard III. If I get cast, I will be giving regular updates on the rehearsal process and how it goes. It has been a long time since I did something like this, and I'd like to resurrect that tradition. We'll see how it goes.
"No, I was not born under a rhyming planet, nor I cannot woo in festival terms." -William Shakespeare
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