2010- Year in Review

It's hard to believe that it's the last day of 2010. This has been a wonderful and incredibly challenging year for me as an artist, as a friend, as a wife and as a human being in general. I've learned and experienced a lot and, barring any incidents today/tonight (knock on wood!), it's been a year without loss of anyone in my family! Woo hooo!!!

So, let's recap the year, shall we?? It was a LOT less insane than 2009 was, that's for sure! I don't think I could have handled another year like that, and I certainly would be divorced by now if I'd tried.

January: Show Boat in Concert

Role: Ensemble

Company: Lyric Stage
Read the Review

Read my Recap

May: Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
Role: Muriel Eubanks
Company: Music Theatre of Denton
Read the Review
Read Another Review
Read my Recap

June: Encore III –The Divas!
Role: Director and Performer
Company: Denton Community Theatre
Read my Recap

August: The Producers!
Role: Ulla
Company: Denton Community Theatre
Read the Review
Read my Recap

I'd say that was a much more manageable year, wouldn't you?? I also kept most of my sanity this time and was able to focus on some Very Important Things such as my very best friend in the whole world getting married:

...and walking 60 miles in the Dallas 3-Day Walk for the Cure:

I also wrote the following reviews for John Garica's The Column before I resigned from that post:

Women and Wallace at Sundown Collaborative Theatre

Tuna Does Vegas at Casa Manana

24 Hours of Love at MBS Productions

La Llorona at Amphibian Stage Productions

Getting Sara Married at Runway Theatre

Again, not nearly as busy a year for me. Last year I wrote 11 reviews! So, 2010 was definitely a lot less insane, but because of that, it was also a lot more fulfilling. The projects I did meant so much to me and they are so special to me (not to take anything away from the wonderful experiences I had in 2009 of course) because I was able to take the time over this recent 4 month break and really reflect on them as landmarks in this year. Rather than a blur of images that I have from 2009, each show I did in 2010 stands out clearly.

I also went through some very major physical changes this year that have boosted my confidence so much that I enjoyed that time onstage so much more because I felt better about myself and I was able to do more and have more energy than I have in previous shows.

2010 was also the year that I had a spiritual re-awakening that caused me to even question what I should be doing artistically. I still don't know...in case you were wondering.

However, I do know that I've learned a lot about what I need to focus on (God, family, work) and that I am going to be a lot choosier about shows; picking of projects are going to mean the most to me and challenge me as a performer.

I'd really like to work with some different theatre companies in 2010 and add a non-musical or two to my resume. I've been to four non-musical auditions in the past two months (though I sang at 2 of them, funny enough) and I have already learned so much about what I need to do to improve. I haven't been blogging about these auditions because...well, I'm a little superstitious and don't ever want to jinx them and also...because I know that these auditions aren't always going to result in a role and I don't want to just blog about each audition/possible rejection. That's just boring, so I'll just save that kind of talk for my husband and close friends. You're welcome!

Finally...I've been hesitating about writing this next part for a few days now, actually, but I really feel like I want to share the biggest artistic discovery I've made this year. I am well aware that this is my own personal opinion, and you should treat it as such.

It really does not matter "who you know" as much as people think it does. "Networking" will only take you so far if you don't have the talent and the work ethic to back up all your "connections in the business."

No, that doesn't mean that meeting people in the field isn't important. No, that doesn't mean that you can just say or do anything you want because you don't care whom you offend. It's very important to meet other people in the biz because they are your future colleagues. But it's just more important, I feel, to show those colleagues that you deserve to be there because you are talented and you work hard and your behavior is above reproach. I've grown so weary of all the fake friendships and the walking on eggshells that so many people do around people who do not matter in the grand scheme of things.

In a nutshell: Don't burn bridges...but also don't worry about the ones that lead nowhere. Consider if the bridge you're working so hard to build and maintain is worth the effort and energy. Don't spend so much time looking at what's on the other side of that bridge that you are completely disregarding all the awesome things that are right next to you.

Is the bridge metaphor getting confusing? I'll be clearer: don't say no to projects because you're afraid of what other people will think -- if it's going to challenge and fulfill you artistically: do it. Don't spend hours and days and pieces of your soul keeping people happy who wouldn't do the same for you if it were asked of them, and especially don't do that if it means you're missing completely awesome friendships and relationships that are right in front of your face and so much easier to maintain.

Okay, I'm officially getting off my soap box now! Cheers to an incredible 2010, and here's to an amazing 2011!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Women and Wallace

Women and Wallace at Sundown Collaborative Theatre, my latest review for John Garcia's The Column -- published on Friday, February 5th, 2010 in The Column and on PegasusNews.com:

John Garcia's THE COLUMN- Friday February 5, 2010

www.thecolumnonline.com
www.thecolumnawards.org
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=504595304
www.talkinbroadway.com
www.pegasusnews.com

THE COLUMN STAFF:

CHIEF SENIOR THEATER CRITIC: John Garcia

ASSOCIATE THEATER CRITICS:

Clyde Berry
Mary Clark
Cheryl Cory
Esther Coughey
Ray Gestaut
Richard Goulde
Lyle Huchton
Laurie Lindemeier
Samantha McChensney Franks
Mandy Rausch
Mark-Brian Sonna

*THE COLUMN: READ BY OVER 15,150 SUBSCRIBERS WORLDWIDE!*

WOMEN AND WALLACE-A play by Jonathan Marc Sherman
Sundown Collaborative Theatre

*REVIEWED 02-04-10 PERFORMANCE

REVIEWED BY Mandy Rausch
ASSOCIATE THEATER CRITIC for John Garcia's THE COLUMN

Directed by Cody Lucas
Assistant Director Morgan Hillan
Costume/Makeup Design by Candace Cockerham
Props Design by Cody Lucas and Tiffany Hillan
Scenic Artist Andrew K. Currey

CAST:

Wallace Kirkman…….....….Travis Stuebing
Mother/Psychiatrist….…..Samantha Labrada
Grandmother…………........…Whitnie Wood
Victoria/Wendy……......……Jenna Holley
Sarah/Lily………….......…….Danielle Trudeau
Nina…………………..........…..Vera Brumley

WOMEN AND WALLACE
REVIEWED BY Mandy Rausch
ASSOCIATE THEATER CRITIC for John Garcia's THE COLUMN

As we enter into the month of February, we find ourselves bombarded with accoutrements of "love" everywhere we look. "Show your love by buying her ______," the radio and television commercials tell us. Stores have set up blinding pink and red displays as you walk in, so as to make sure you can't miss the giant stuffed pink gorilla wearing a t-shirt that says "Wild Thing." It's enough to make a person sick.

Leave it to the innovative and edgy Sundown Collaborative Theatre, a grass-roots theatre company picking up a lot of steam in Denton, Texas, to take the cheesy Nicholas Sparks version of love and give it a swift kick in the rump. Love, ladies and gentleman, is nothing like The Notebook, and Sundown's first show of 2010, WOMEN AND WALLACE by Jonathan Marc Sherman, is here to show us just how difficult, heartbreaking, and sometimes agonizing finding love can be. But if you think this play is anti-love – think again.

With the clever use of a handful of set pieces (boxes and columns painted black) in the sparse, black box setting (the upstairs of a coffee shop); creative use of props and staging; a soundtrack of carefully picked tunes; and a great cast who isn't afraid of anything, WOMEN AND WALLACE shows us that, while the path towards finding love can be ugly and sometimes make us crazy, in the end the ugly and crazy journey can help us appreciate the destination so much more.

The story revolves around Wallace Kirkman at various stages of his life from second grade up until his college years. At six years old, Wallace comes home from school one day to find his mother has committed suicide. Because of this obviously traumatic incident, his relationships with women going forward are awkward, strained and usually doomed from the start. These relationships are presented in the form of vignettes, often narrated by Wallace himself through the use of his journal entries.

Travis Stuebing as Wallace gives a truly remarkable performance. He never leaves the stage, which is a feat in itself with this script. All his costume changes are done off to the side or as part of the action between scenes, and even at these times he remains in character and never loses focus. An actor could easily turn Wallace into an over the top and one-dimensional "traumatized male now hates women and is angry at the world" character, but Stuebing finds and presents all the layers of Wallace's personality and bares them to the audience with heart-breaking and poignant reality.

In one moment, Wallace has the audience laughing (albeit a bit uncomfortably) in the reenactment of a dream, and in the very next moment he is poised at the edge of the stage (and likely at the edge of his own reason) pitifully crying out for want of his mother there with him. His facial expressions and total commitment to the character help him to take the audience along on Wallace's roller coaster ride through relationships. You'll laugh, you'll cry…and you'll probably cringe more than a few times. I cannot say enough good things about Travis Stuebing.

The women of Wallace's life are played by Samantha Labrada, Whitnie Wood, Jenna Holley and Danielle Trudeau. Labrada's characters have the fewest lines, but she still manages to say a lot as Wallace's mother and psychiatrist. Wood gets several laughs as the grandmother who seems to have a morbid obsession with framed photographs of people days before their deaths.

Holley and Trudeau each play two different love interests of Wallace's at various stages in his journey. Each relationship fails, but each also reinforces Wallace's idea that all women will eventually desert him. In addition to their named roles, this talented quartet acts as both a run crew changing around set pieces and handing Wallace his props as needed, as well as a miniature Greek chorus, aiding Wallace in the vignettes of his life and the transitions in between.

Vera Brumley plays Nina; the one woman who challenges all of Wallace's preconceived notions about women. It is entirely necessary that the character of Nina should stand out from the rest of the women in Wallace's life, so Brumley is dressed differently from the other girls in a very obvious way, and does not participate in any of the aforementioned action of the other four women. She gives a solid, mature performance, and it is no wonder that Wallace should eventually be stopped in his tracks by her.

One of the reasons (besides the talent of the actors of course) that this production is so effective is the script itself. It is funny and poignant without being pretentious at all. Any of the obvious references and symbols one might draw from the content are put into the script itself and addressed (i.e. Freud, Oedipus complexes, etc.) candidly.

The other reason is the team behind this production. Director Cody Lucas deserves high praise for his unique and fun (and often funny) staging and use of the female ensemble and the boxy set pieces.

There is constant action and entertainment even during the
scene changes and, while nobody is credited for the sound
design, I'm willing to venture a guess that he had a lot to
do with the soundtrack to this production, which I enjoyed very much.

In his Director's Notes, Lucas mentions that he felt an instant connection with Sherman's script the first time he read it. Lucas's understanding of the material is very clear in his directorial choices. Everything has a purpose, the action is fast-paced and energetic, and there seems to be symbolism ingrained in every piece of staging, every song choice, every movement made onstage.

The themes created and chosen by Lucas are carried throughout the design elements of the show. The oversized and cartoonish props made out of cardboard (designed by Tiffany Hillan and Lucas) seem indicative of the child in Wallace that remains prevalent in the years following his mother's death.

The costume and makeup design by Candace Cockerham is simple and effective: the members of the female ensemble wear all black when they are not playing a specific character, and pieces are added to these basic costumes as they take on the roles of specific women.

Nina's character, by contrast, is dressed primarily in white. She does wear black leggings, tying her in with the female ensemble, but with pink accessories that accentuate her sweetness and set her apart from all the rest. Wallace is dressed in jeans, but changes shirts to indicate the progression through his life and his mental state at the time – from cartoony pajamas at age six to a bare chest and jeans when he is at his most vulnerable.

Perhaps my very favorite element of the production, however, is the scenic artistry of Andrew K. Currey. I mentioned before that the set pieces are utilitarian blocks and columns painted black, but this is only upon first glance. As the vignettes of Wallace's life are presented and the scenery is shifted for each, snippets of color and bits of phrases are shown as these set pieces are turned at different times. One might think that these little bits of color and words shown in specific scenes are arbitrary, but I would put money on there being a purpose and reason for each piece shown at any given time. Lucas doesn't appear to have done anything accidentally in this production.

I won't give away the final statement and picture shown (it is much better in person anyway), but it truly is a beautiful piece of art punctuating Wallace's final realization in the last scene of the play.

I give major kudos to Sundown Collaborative Theatre for being, in this critic's opinion, the epitome of what an upstart theatre company should be. They choose edgy and thought-provoking material and present it in a creative and compelling manner on a low budget. This company knows exactly who they are and what they want to accomplish, and it seems they are doing just that.

So, instead of going to see your run-of-the-mill, sappy romantic movie for Valentine's Day, take a walk on the cynical and realistic side and go see WOMEN AND WALLACE while you still can.

REVIEWED by Mandy Rausch
ASSOCIATE THEATRE CRITIC for John Garcia's THE COLUMN

___________________________________________
WOMEN AND WALLACE, February 4, 5, 6, 11, 12, 13 and 14
at the Hydrant Café, 208 W. Oak Street, Denton TX 76201.

Ticket prices $8-10; www.sundowntheatre.org for more info.

Outside the Box

"Talking of Michelangelo" image (originally uploaded to FightBoy Theatre)

Due to the recent surge in some of my closest friends and colleagues encouraging me to step outside the box, leave my comfort zone, try something new, etc., last week I went to two auditions that pretty much scared the hell out of me. But, due to the strong desire to have something other than the two (wonderful!) Denton musical theatre companies on my resumé, I swallowed my fear and got my audition materials ready for the week.

The first audition was for a concert version of Show Boat at Lyric Stage in Irving, TX, which will not even begin rehearsals until January of 2010. Lyric is a highly respected company in this area, due to their diligence in producing beautiful productions with full, lush orchestras. The thought of working with a theatre of this caliber, especially after performing my last role to a recorded orchestra, was too wonderful to pass up. I don't have high expectations for this one, especially due to it being my first audition outside of community theatre, well,....ever. I just wanted to feel as though I did my best and gave a good audition. I think that I achieved that. The jury is still out on casting, as far as I know, but overall I'm pleased with the experience and am very glad that I got my first audition for an equity theatre out of the way. It will only get easier, right?

The second audition was for a straight play, which I have not done since high school. I won't even tell you how many years ago that was, but suffice it to say, I'm a little rusty and anxious when there is no big musical number (or several) for me to fall back on! The play is called Talking of Michelangelo, and it is an original work by FightBoy Theatre founder (and friend of mine) Joshua Scott Hancock. This audition was so much more intense - but relaxed at the same time - than most musical theatre auditions, and I really had to step outside my comfort zone a few times. It was incredibly fun - and liberating! - and the eclectic group of talented people that showed up to auditions made me feel very comfortable, and not quite as vulnerable as I was afraid of feeling.

I ended up getting cast as an ensemble role in the play, and our first rehearsal/read-through is this evening. This will be a very short and intense rehearsal process - the show opens on October 21st - and I'm very much looking forward to it.

Finally, I'd like to say congratulations to another of Denton's indie theatre companies, Sundown Collaborative Theatre. They opened Nina Raine's Rabbit this past weekend and have been receiving great reviews so far, both from my colleague Gina Robertson of The Column as well as Mark Lowry from Theater Jones. I hope to catch a performance this weekend, and I encourage you to do the same and support the indie theatres!