So I'm a fool. At least I feel like one. I knew that over Christmas break I procrastinated preparing monologues that I would be using at the beginning of the semester; however, I didn't realize how foolish that was until the middle of KCACTF...
I realized this as I was preparing in my hotel room for my professional summer stock audition that I was so unprepared. Sure, I had multiple monologues to choose from depending on how I was feeling that day, but a couple of them were definitely not up to par. I then looked back and asked myself when do I work on my craft? When I get cast in a show? Sure, that's important, but I need to hone my craft before I get into shows.
I spent all semester last fall in an independent study with Bartruff working on analyzing and performing Shakespeare. It was fantastic! Very rarely does a student get one on one time with the Beard. It was probably the most rewarding time I have ever spent. I felt like I was straight out of the RSC workshop when John Barton aired a television series about how to play Shakespeare. However, I haven't worked on anything else. I feel like that is completely necessary of me as an actor. I spend time in the costume shop working and expanding my skills. Music people are constantly practicing their craft. I need to spend more time in the studio in front of the mirror. Or.... eek! the dreaded camera!
Also, even though I studied some Shakespeare monologues and Jim gave me his vote of confidence by recommending I use my Lady Macbeth purple speech for callbacks at URTAs, I still had a serious slide of confidence at summer stock auditions at KCACTF. I thought to myself, "How often have I performed Shakespeare? What the hell qualifies me to even audition for it?" So clearly my work needs to continue in this area...
