I-POD in the finals!

Thanks to everyone who has come out to see I-POD in The Network One-Act Festival. We found out today that we made it to the finals. The smoothly run festival has been full of awesomely diverse and creative shows which makes me particularly proud to be part of one of the ten selected finalists.

It has been fascinating to watch what the competition aspect of the festival does to actors. With each performance bringing a risk of elimination, there is pressure equivalent to that of a big audition. When a job is at stake, the nerves distract from executing a scene effectively. A typical audition is just 2 to 3 minutes however, and actors can fake it for that brief period of time. But a one-act is 20 whole minutes. Long enough for an actor to think about all kinds of things...Who is on the panel of judges today? Did I really mean that last line? Do I have bad breath? Why didn't that joke land? Is that person laughing with me or at me? Did that judge just smile? Was there more laughter yesterday? Why is the guy on the front row tapping his foot? Will they take points off for my bad breath?

I have seen several very good actors walk of the stage in the last week and reveal this inner dialogue that has absolutely nothing to do with the story they were just trying to tell. They are so in their own head that normally consistent performances are thrown way off. And as a very smart acting teacher always says "When you are in your head, you are in a very bad neighborhood."

Film festivals often end with awards. Oscars are given out annually. But film producers have a single finished product to promote long after performances have been edited and immortalized on celluloid. In theatre, every performance can vary greatly with new live exciting moments happening unexpectedly. Those moments when someone is actually experiencing something right there in front of you are priceless. It would go against the laws of physics for someone to be truly in the moment and simultaneously aware of how he/she is being judged on a scale of one to ten. Acting wasn't meant to be a competitive sport, so I have particular respect for all those who have taken that on throughout this festival.

The final performances will be this Wednesday night, March 21 at 6:00 and 8:30pm. If you are able, please come support all the actors that have engaged in this contest. They deserve your laughter and applause. As long as you are laughing with them.

get tickets here

AEA members get in FREE! And The program includes some discounts for classes and seminars at The Network.

Acting is all about honesty. If you can fake that, you've got it made.
~ George Burns

I-POD

I'm directing a play titled I-POD that will be part of The 2012 Network One-Act Festival next week. It has been so much fun to bring Natalie Menna's script to the stage. 

Nandita Chandra plays a New York City artist who agrees to spend six weeks on a self sustaining eco barge on the East River. She's the type who really has no business living among these naturalists. Will she win the Guggenheim grant that everyone on the barge is competing for?

Come check it out: tickets available here 

"'I'm not sure how serious you really are about this.' She says while inspecting my sinful leather shoes. There was a sale at Saks, bitch, and they're cheaper than your four hundred dollar vegan square-toed atrocities."
-- Stella in I-POD