FINALLY a Glass Menagerie recap

I know, I know!  I've been a terrible theatre blogger lately.  You know why?  BECAUSE I HAVE BEEN DOING TOO MUCH THEATRE. 

Also more tweeting, more Tumblr-ing (tumbling?) and less full-scale blogging. It's just awfully difficult to sit down and write a full blog sometimes.

But I owe it to you all to have a recap of The Glass Menagerie, because a) I always recap shows and b) it was just so very special to me to perform the role of Laura. 

So, the show?  Was an amazing experience.  It was just so very different for me as a performer to not rely on my singing ability (not meant to sound arrogant, of course, just know where my strong points are) to carry me through a show.  And Tennesee Williams is kind of the meat and potatoes of theatre, so I had to really put my Literary Pants on for this one.  I really wanted to do it justice, and make Mr. Williams proud as well as do my cast and director a solid and make them glad they cast a newbie in such a heavy show/role. 

Every single night, after the show, I would just be exhausted while driving home.  Playing Laura was an emotionally draining experience, and I feel like that may be some testament to how much I cared about it and how hard I worked.  It certainly wasn't physically demanding.  But baring myself emotionally like I tried to do every night was exhausting.  Luckily I had an amazing cast around me and one hell of a support system from them, the production team and crew  (David, Doug, Faye, Cody, Paul) and all the other LCT Volunteers that just made me feel so welcome (Johnny, Donna, Deborah, Keith...all of you). 

Rather than post a million production photos, I decided to make a video slide show.  All photos were taken by Deborah Roche, and the music is a song called "Au Milieu" by my friends in the band Manic Bloom:

Now to my cast:

Keegan -- I so much loved meeting you and getting to play your sister.  I really feel like we honored the relationship between Tennessee Williams and his sister, and our scenes together were my very favorites in the whole show.  I really hope we get to re-create that awesome onstage chemistry together some time soon, and I hope we get to work together LOTS more.

Victoria -- I can't believe it's seriously been 10 years since the one and only other time we worked together, and I am so glad that we got to both put on our Serious Actor Pants again with this beautiful show.  I'm still not quite over the post-show blues from this one, and you're a big reason for that.  I miss talking to you and sitting next to you getting ready for each show and rolling our eyes at how "stupid" Dave and Keegan are.  MUST WORK TOGETHER AGAIN SOON.

Juan -- I am so very proud of the work you did for this show.  As the Gentleman Caller, it's probably easy to feel like you're not as important a part of the show, but you allowed me to show a completely different, lit-up and alive side of Laura as that scene grew (before you totally crushed her heart, of course...LOL).  Thank you for opening yourself up to some potentially awkward first time stage kisses...I hope they weren't too gross.  ;) 

Dave -- O Captain, my Captain!  Thank you so much for casting me as Laura.  I absolutely loved working with LCT, and you were an amazing director.  Thanks for trusting all of us so much and letting us explore and then gently and subtly guiding us into the characters you had dreamed of us becoming...and also for trusting us when we maybe caused you to re-think some things.  You're amazing, and I can't thank you enough for the opportunity.

The Play is a Memory

This weekend was the opening weekend for The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams at Lakeside Community Theatre.  AND IT WAS AWESOME.  I have just really enjoyed working with this cast and with LCT in general.  I said in a previous post that it's been really nice to step outside of my comfort zone both with this material as well as with the venue/company, and really....it's true.  My castmates are cramazing (that's crazy + amazing, in case you were wondering):

cast of The Glass Menagerie -- Top: Benjamin Keegan Arnold as Tom Wingfield, Victoria Irvine as Amanda Wingfield; Bottom: Juan Perez as The Gentleman Caller, Mandy Rausch as Laura Wingfield

I haven't even missed singing in this production, and I've loved getting to really sink my teeth into this role and the beauty and depth of Tennessee Williams's writing. In a perfect world, we could do a "talk-back" after one of the productions so that we could talk to the audience about all the beauty and symbolism and autobiographical elements of this play with regards to the author's own life, and then have them watch it AGAIN and really appreciate all those things, just like the cast has come to do.  But, even without doing that, I feel like if the cast understands all these things and applies them to their individual performances and really commits to the beauty of the play, then it will be enjoyable to even the audience members who haven't ever read or seen the play.

Another thing I've really enjoyed about this whole process is understanding my own process as an actor a little bit better.  If there's one thing that's to be said for having a decent amount of roles under your belt it's that you hopefully learn a little bit about yourself as a performer each time: what memorization technique(s) work best for you, how you research a character/role, and, at least for me with this role in particular, how to really let yourself be vulnerable onstage. 

Having done only musicals, and musical comedies at that, I haven't really ever had to expose and bare myself to an audience really before now.  I don't want to give away any spoilers (though, if you haven't ever read The Glass Menagerie, I am wondering how you got through your education without being forced to at least once and I worry for you...), but there is a scene where I really just cannot care how bad I look, and just releasing myself to the emotion has been really freeing. 

I would REALLY, REALLY like for my friends and family to come see me in this show, if nothing else but to come and see me because you love me and want to see me try something new...but also to see what I feel like is a pretty darn strong production with some fine acting in it. 

You have the following remaining opportunities, so DON'T MISS IT:

Friday, February 25th at 8pm
Saturday, February 26th at 3:00pm
Friday, March 4th at 8pm
Saturday, March 5th at 8pm

In the meantime (notice how I didn't say "downtime") between show weekends, I'm starting rehearsals for my next project:

I'll be playing Peppermint Patty in Denton Community Theatre's production of SNOOPY!!! which will run in mid-April.  I'm a part of a spectacular cast with a lot of old friends and a couple of new ones, and a really unbelievable production team.  Just last night I attended my first rehearsal (they started last week while I was in Hell Week for GM), and it was a 3-hour tap rehearsal!  Whew, I am already sore today, but this is going to be a really fun show.  So it's back to being busy for Mandy! Let's go!

Show Update and Why I Shouldn't Read on Airplanes

So remember how in my last post (which was LAST YEAR, YOU GUYS!) I talked about how I had been auditioning for some non-musical plays and didn't want to talk about it because I was supersitious about talking about auditions? Well...I kept going to auditions and ended up getting cast...

...as Laura in Lakeside Community Theatre's production of Tennessee Williams's beautiful play, The Glass Menagerie!

I couldn't be more excited, and for several reasons. For one thing, I'm starting the non-musical part of my "career" with a classic. It's like starting off your musical theatre path with a Rodgers & Hammerstein musical, or even a Sondheim. Basically, it's solid theatre with excellent storytelling in a (generally) clear-cut and traditional setting. Starting with the basics. Secondly, I absolutely love Tennessee Williams. In my undergraduate career, I took a class that was centered on Southern American authors (Williams, Faulkner, Flannery O'Connor, etc.) and I just fell in love with all of them. It's actually a subject that I'd like to do more work/research in if I ever get an inclination to go back to school for a master's degree. And finally, I'm just really excited to be working with a new theatre, in a new space, and with a new group of people. The Campus Theatre and the companies that use that wonderful facility will always hold the key to my theatre-heart, but sometimes it's nice to step out and try something new. It's like....always getting the 7-layer burrito from Taco Bell, but ONE DAY you decide to try a Crunch Wrap Supreme. Something like that.

The cast is small; there are only four of us. So we're really getting a chance to do some cast-bonding and have a great time talking about the play, the themes, and the characters. And what a great group of people LCT has. I don't think this will be my last time working with this group...or at least I hope it's not.

So yeah. We open that show on February 18th, so you should definitely try to come out and see it! Even if it's for no other reason than to come and giggle at me trying to be all serious and "act."

So what else has been going on with me? I'm so glad you asked.

Really, besides GM rehearsals and a VERY busy time at my day job, not a whole heck of a lot...and it's been really nice. I've done a LOT of reading, both of scripts and of library books. Yes! Library books! I finally got myself a Denton Public Library card and I have been a readin' fool ever since the holiday break.

(side note: if you're on Goodreads, check me out and add me as a friend!)

Just this past weekend I took a trip to Nashville, Tennessee to spend the weekend with my very BFF of 20+ years, Shelly, and we saw a FANTASTIC band play while we were there: Manic Bloom.


I went to church with the keyboard player, Jeff, back in high school, and now that I've seen these guys play twice I can tell you two hard and fast FACTS:

1) They are EXCELLENT musicians and they put on an amazing show, and
2) They are a great group of solid, good guys.

Please go check them out, follow them on Twitter, and seriously, go buy their album, In Loving Memory on iTunes. Seriously, it's only $6 so just do it.

Anyway, back to the trip and part of the title of this post....

When I read, I tend to really delve into the storyline of a book. Or at least I will if it's well-written and captivating. The only problem with this is that I truly feel void and strange when I'm taken out of the story, either by having to stop reading for time's sake (meaning I need to get things done and stop reading) or just finishing a book. I literally feel like I've been yanked back into real life, and normally I'm none too happy about this.

Let me tell you, faithful readers, that this is even worse when I finish a book on an airplane. I already feel like a (Wo)Man Without a Country when I'm on an airplane, because I'm not really anywhere when I'm flying...at least not for very long. I'm thousands of feet above the ground and hurtling through the air with a bunch of strangers. Combine that with the aforementioned world I create for myself while reading a good book and my slight anxiety of flying in general...and when I finish a book with time left on my flight...well, I just feel really strange and empty and, to be completely melodramatic...lost. I don't like it. I was very thankful to have my GM script in my carry-on bag to read so that I couldn't get too deep into self-reflection and melancholy for the rest of my flight.

So what does that have to do with theatre? Nothing. It's just the dramatic artist in me, I suppose. I've always got my emotional and artistic antennae up, whether I really want to or not, but I guess I wouldn't have it any other way.