I can't believe its been over a week since my first post! Rehearsals have been intense - we're getting a lot accomplished and it is fun to see the play take shape and the characters come to life. I love Adam's directing style. He is super smart and has a wonderful way of communicating his ideas and incorporating them with the actors' impulses, making it a wonderfully collaborative effort. I often sit in to watch scenes I'm not in to observe the work in progress. I'm getting to know the cast, and every one of them brings such talent and joy to their roles. We're still at the point in the process where new bits come in to a scene, and I find it so funny, I have to laugh! It was particularly difficult to tame my giggles yesterday - there's some funny stuff going on!
So far, we've just had one day off - New Years Day. I spent the morning relaxing with a book, and then took myself out to lunch at Grafton Street in Harvard Square, taking my time watching the falling snow and learning my lines. Then I walked over to Church Street to see Sweeney Todd. Tomorrow we get a much deserved day off. I look forward to sleeping in a little, and then going out to hear some music - my castmate Zilah (who plays Eliante) is taking me out to hear one of her favorite bands. I look forward to some down time and seeing a little bit of Boston while I'm here!
Until soon,
Amy
Showing posts with label the misanthrope. Show all posts
Showing posts with label the misanthrope. Show all posts
Sunday, January 06, 2008
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Adventures in Moliere
Greetings! My name is Amy and I'm thrilled to be back at New Rep playing Celimene in The Misanthrope. I've been asked to share my experiences with you via this blog and give you a look into the life of an actor. So here goes my very first post...
It's been a whirlwind few weeks! I finished another show on December 23rd in Connecticut, spent Christmas Eve and Day at home in NYC, and left for Boston at 6 am on December 26th to make it to our first rehearsal at 1 pm the same day! I met my castmates and the crew, saw a model of the set design, the costumes, and we had our first table read. I'm so excited about Audra's magnificent set - I can't wait until it's built so we can play on it! And I'm grateful to Raphael for his exquisite costumes since I find they help me with character development. The table read was great fun. It's amazing to hear the script already begin to come to life!
I'm excited to be a part of this production, and I look forward to the process, but for now, all I want to do is get some sleep.
Until soon!
Amy
PS - My Dad thinks I'm in Buffalo. It's a long story...
It's been a whirlwind few weeks! I finished another show on December 23rd in Connecticut, spent Christmas Eve and Day at home in NYC, and left for Boston at 6 am on December 26th to make it to our first rehearsal at 1 pm the same day! I met my castmates and the crew, saw a model of the set design, the costumes, and we had our first table read. I'm so excited about Audra's magnificent set - I can't wait until it's built so we can play on it! And I'm grateful to Raphael for his exquisite costumes since I find they help me with character development. The table read was great fun. It's amazing to hear the script already begin to come to life!
I'm excited to be a part of this production, and I look forward to the process, but for now, all I want to do is get some sleep.
Until soon!
Amy
PS - My Dad thinks I'm in Buffalo. It's a long story...
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
The Misanthrope - costume designs
Backstage @ New Rep caught up with Costume Designer Rafael Jaen of The Misanthrope to get an inside peek at his inspiration for the gorgeous show.
Rafael Jaen is a member of USITT and USA Local 829. He has been designing costumes for over 35 years. His professional design credits include drama, musical comedy, Shakespeare tragedy, opera and dance in regional theatre. His work has been featured in full-page articles in the Boston Globe, Boston Herald and national publication’s including Live Design and TD&T. Mr. Jaen was nominated for a 2006 I.R.N.E Award in Costume Design for the musical Urinetown, produced by the Lyric Stage. Mr. Jaen is currently a Costume Design Faculty at Emerson College. His book Developing and Maintaining a Design-Tech Portfolio was published in 2006 by FOCAL Press/Elsevier. Visit his website.
What was your inspiration for the costumes, Rafael?
Rafael: The design process has been inspired by a Renoir painting (The Boating Party). Director Adam Zahler has said how much he likes the mood, light and texture of it. For my color palette and fabric choices I have focused in impressionistic paintings by Renoir; for silhouette I have early 1900’s period posters and also portraits from Sargent for the women. Director Adam Zahler and I want to give the show an elegant, colorful, fluid and whimsical look. The idea is to create a highly stylized Edwardian silhouette and evoke the various styles of La Belle Époque. We believe that this goes with the language and actions of the play.
View a slide show of Rafael's sketches and inspiration here: SLIDE SHOW
More about Rafael:Rafael Jaen is a member of USITT and USA Local 829. He has been designing costumes for over 35 years. His professional design credits include drama, musical comedy, Shakespeare tragedy, opera and dance in regional theatre. His work has been featured in full-page articles in the Boston Globe, Boston Herald and national publication’s including Live Design and TD&T. Mr. Jaen was nominated for a 2006 I.R.N.E Award in Costume Design for the musical Urinetown, produced by the Lyric Stage. Mr. Jaen is currently a Costume Design Faculty at Emerson College. His book Developing and Maintaining a Design-Tech Portfolio was published in 2006 by FOCAL Press/Elsevier. Visit his website.
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