Second Year of Theatre School

I haven't written in such a long time because... Theatre School.

Now my last post was last May which was about the time I finished up my first year of theatre school. My first year of training was coming to an end and I was feeling good about the work I had created with my ensemble, but it was summer!!!!

I saw so much theatre, I worked a ton of hours at silly part time jobs, and I went to London, England with my best friend Jessica Goddard. So Summer 2013 treated me very well.

By the Autumn I started my journey in the dark tunnel of second year at Humber College's Theatre Performance program. I wrote in my journals throughout the year how it was not a dark tunnel and how the faculty should stop referring to second year like that because it was such a negative image... BUT SECOND YEAR WAS A DARK TUNNEL.

It was so dark, sometimes I didn't think I even existed or would make it to the exit. We just did so much through the semester, I'm surprise nobody evaporated from exhaustion. We trained in the studio to find the play with our vocal technique and electrify our dynamic alignment, physically.

But besides the training we stared workshopping pieces. We worked with:
Nancy Palk on The Machinal
Kelly McEvenue on The Beaux Stratagem
Alex McLean and Marissa Zinni on Orestia
Kennedy C. MacKinnon and Thomas Hauff on Twelfth Night and A Comedie of Errors
Marie Beath Badian on The Fight.

So yeah... we were basically working on an entire season as if we were part of a professional theatre company. But this is why I love my training at Humber, its practical. Its so similar to what to expect in the real world, from rehearsing classic shows from Shakespeare or Contemporary Dramas or devising as a collect collaborative.

Now that its summer and a full year has cycled through I am so happy to be moving on into my Third Year at Humber. Next year will be stressful and informative and fun, but before September arrives theres a lot that needs to be worked on and I've never been as excited to read, research, train and observe as I am right now.

This summer is going to be different then last. For instance I said goodbye to Walmart last summer and now I'm currently a Barista at Starbucks. I am also continuing my teaching at StageCoach and will be playing Mary Poppins alongside my beautiful head teacher and my rugrats. And this year, I'm excited to be part of Theatre Relay's project.

Its a collective collaboration among 8 artists who have each created solo work to be performed by another artist in the company. I'll post more information about it later, but this work is something that excites me and I'm so stoked to be part of.

And although I am not going to London, England with Jessica, or anywhere exciting this summer, I'm still seeing theatre across southern Ontario; venturing to Shaw and Startford to see some great productions and I'll also be digging through Fringe, Summerworks and Luminato to see some new works.

So I'm back and I'll be writing every Monday and Friday on various topics including Theatre, Music, Movies, Travel, Community and anything any of my followers may want to read.

With love,

Lisa Alves

The Great Anticipation for Gatsby

I am so excited for the 2013 premier of Baz Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Carey Mulligan and Tobey McGuire.

Here's the trailer - Gatsby Trailer

I love the book, even though I don't call myself a Gatsby Lover Fan Girl. I appreciate the heart wrenching story of Gatsby and Daisy. I am also enthralled by the lavish parties that are told in the story; they seem top notch classy!

I had a couple of concerns when I first heard that this film was in production. My number one worry was Baz Luhrmann himself... or more specifically his directing approach. Two years ago I really did not like his movies. Romeo and Juliette didn't make my heart weep, Moulin Rouge! made me roll my eyes, and I fell asleep through Australia. From those observations, I thought Baz Luhrmann was a cheap director (and I don't mean pinching pennies cheap). What I mean and what I thought was, he didn't understand the stories he was telling. I felt they were all over the place and out of touch with humanity. I mean in his past three prominent movies they all started farcical and ended the story in such a melodramatic way that it made my eyes roll. At the age of 15, I thought I knew how stories were to be told and I was certain that Baz Luhrmann had it all wrong.

UNTIL my very good friend Jessica Goddard went through her obsession with Ewan McGregor. She watched every movie of his and found all his sexy quilt pictures. When we discussed Moulin Rouge, being the open minded Libra that I am, I decided to give Moulin Rouge! one more shot. I kept in mind that Baz Luhrmann had a different approach, but I also followed the story, score and characters in detail.

After my viewing the film on my last attempt to understand where this director was coming from, I FINALLY GOT IT! Baz Luhrmann's films are not like Scorsese's, Spielberg's, Eastwood's, Lynch's, Polanski's (even though I know they are all very different, they are also all different from Luhrmann). Luhrmann isn't even on the AMC's top 50 directors list. But I feel he falls under all those classic film directors and directors that take the theatrics, music and details very seriously.

What I found after watching Moulin Rouge!, Luhrmann seems to be a director that hones in on the classic reason why film is made; to entertain. That's why music and theatre really hit it big at the turn of the century a hundred years back. People have always wanted to escape in the culture of the arts to be entertained, to realize something they might have or have not before, to revisit the times when they've smiled or cried, to follow a character's journey.

I've found a fond admiration towards Baz Luhrmann because he has brought a type of theatre to film. He has also has a keen ear for music and the story it can tell, by itself or woven within the movie. So I can definitely say I have found major respect to this director. My concern has flown out the window.

Check out this interview he had with Florence Welch in Interview - Baz and Florence

My one other concern was ... I hate to say it... Leonardo DiCaprio himself. Don't get me wrong, I've loved him in What's Eating Gilbert Grape?, The Basketball Diaries, Aviator and of course Titanic. But I find that in the majority of the roles he plays, it has always been Leonardo DiCaprio, not J. Edgar, not Frank Abagnale Jr., not Cobb. That's not to say he's a horrible actor, he is a very fine and crafted one. The thing is that he is recognizable, which is a good and bad thing. And when it comes to Gatsby, I'm nervous.

When I read The Great Gatsby I found myself forming a character that resembled Jude Law. Now give that a second if you know the story... now put Jude Law as Gatsby... It makes a lot of sense. SO MUCH.

BUT we have Leonardo DiCaprio as our Gatsby. I do like him and I hope he does a knock out job. I will keep an open mind when I watch the movie... I am just voicing my concern.

AND HEY! I changed my heart for Baz Luhrmann, it can happen again for Leo as Gatsby in my head.

What I am REALLY EXCITED about is Ms. Carey Mulligan as Daisy. To me, I think she's perfection and she is going to bring so much to the character of Daisy. When I ventured in the novel with my fellow peers, many people dislike Daisy and thought she was evil and vile and just a down right wrenched woman. But I found myself sympathizing for her and rooting for her because she's such a complexed character, just like Gatsby, and I think she's over looked. That being said, I hope and I do have a very good feeling that Carey Mulligan will bring a warmth and touch of humanity to the role of a not liked character.

I am also very excited to see what the rest of the cast has up their sleeves including Tobey Maguire, Joel Edgerton, and Isla Fisher. I feel like there is a great crew behind this production and its going to fly.

The last thing I want to mention is the soundtrack this movie has. Jay-Z, The XX, Gotye, Beyonce, Jack White, and Lana Del Ray have all collaborated with Luhrmann and Craig Armsrong to create a beautiful framework for the the story. AND DID I MENTION THAT FLORENCE WELSH ALSO WROTE A SONG THAT IS UNBELIEVABLY PERFECT FOR THE STORY? I think I'm more excited about Florence's Over the Love Song then the actual film... But you have to watch this to understand why - Great Music is Timeless

After a very long awaited premier, I shall be viewing this much anticipated film tomorrow with my friends as we sob and laugh and be the fan girls we tend to be. 

I'll post my thoughts of what I thought of the movie after in some form. 

I hope to hear from you what you think pre and post movie!

With love,

Lisa Alves

End Game: Soulpepper 2012

So you know when you do an assignment in high school on a book, movie, historical event and you beginning to hate everything about it because of the people you work with, your teacher pressuring you or even plainly the content got boring? Well, that's how I started to dislike Beckett. It didn't have anything to with my group members or my teacher, but more of the content becoming very over extended. I had to remount an edited version of Waiting for Godot and it wasn't my favourite unit, and Samuel Beckett's work made me a little uneasy until Soulpepper presented Endgame in 2012.

I quickly fell back in love with Beckett and apologized for my quick dislike of his work thanks to Soulpepper. This piece of theatre is bleak but so full of complexity and thought. Daniel Brooks direction was absolutely fabulous and was evident from beginning to end. Diego Matamoros played Clov to Joseph Zielger's Hamm, which has probably been one of the richest relationships I've seen in theatre. Eric Peterson also graced the stage as Nagg with Maria Vacratsis' Nell. The presence was so alive in all four of them even though two of them were in a garbage can for their performance. And even when characters weren't on stage their energy was still present. 

Julie Fox's dry walled set design appears as almost like a supporting character for the cast, give such a definite texture and feel to the piece. Richard Feren’s sound design and placement and everything he did with the echoes and faint wind sounds were the cherry on the sundae.

Kelly McEvenue also worked as an Alexander Technique coach with the cast to help them endure the slanted stage and unnatural physicality. And since she's been one of my instructors at Humber it was a pleasure to hear about the process and thoughts behind the piece.

It was such an engaging piece of theatre that I would have loved to see again and again to pick up on the things I missed. It was a knock out that made me appreciate Beckett more than I ever had. 

You can get a season subscription to Soulpepper's 2013 season through their website, if you want to see fabulous productions like Endgame

Soulpepper

Website http://www.soulpepper.ca

Twitter https://twitter.com/Soulpepper

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/SoulpepperTheatre?fref=ts

If you had a chance to see Endgame, let me know what you thought in the comments!

With love, 

Lisa Alves

Roz and Guild: What Shakespeare Missed... BIG TIME

Soulpepper has begun their 2013 season with a brilliant play by Tom Stoppard. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead (1966) is the piece of Hamlet Shakespeare missed. It's a comic masterpiece that follows Roz and Guild, two minor characters in Hamlet, as they wait to be summoned to the Danish court and then later this English King. It's intellectual writing weaves wonderfully through the pitiful story we know as Hamlet.

But the great this is, YOU DON'T NEED TO KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT HAMLET! I personally haven't cracked open my copy of Hamlet for five years, so I was relying on my Lion King knowledge to help me out; and I understood and followed the story perfectly. It's because Stoppard detracted the importance on Hamlet to Roz and Guild, so really it's a whole new story for audiences whether they are Hamlet fanatics or not. 

Joseph Ziegler's direction of this piece of theatre was evident with his wonderful style. Ziegler lead the the ship of this creation splendidly. Ted Dykstra and Jordan Pettle played the leading men. These actors played such great opposites with one being a bit more intellectual than the other and one being a little more carefree than the other. Dykstra played such an open role and was a pleasure to watch even when he was just listening to the craziness of the other characters. Pettle seemed like he approached his role the way his character naturally is, intellectually and dynamically. He was open and pleasure to listen to. Is was also great to be in the presence of Nancy Palk and Diego Matamoros once again, as they played Gertrude and Claudius. Kenneth Welsh and his group of traveling gypsy actor were the party of the show and added such a great tone to the performance. 

The stage was in the round and the set was mobile, allowing for me to feel as if I was part of Roz and Guild's world which had a reminisces feel of Beckett's Waiting for Godot. 

Speaking of Waiting for Godot, the play had that existential quality to it, dealing with the fate of these poor laughable characters, along with the confusion and oddity. 

If you want to get tickets, please do because it is a must see! Soulpepper has added three new performances, extending the run for your viewing pleasure!

Soulpepper

Website http://www.soulpepper.ca/performances/13_season/rosencrantz_and_guildenstern_are_dead.aspx

Twitter https://twitter.com/Soulpepper

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/SoulpepperTheatre?fref=ts

If you have seen it, comment here to tell me how you enjoyed it! :)

With love, 

Lisa

The One and Only, Bon Jovi

AH! So I went to see the Bon Jovi concert last night at the ACC. I really only went because my mother is a huge fan. But I must admit something... I kind of like Bon Jovi a little too.
I grew up listening to their music and it was very inspiration and fun. They are a great band, and just because their audience attracts women in their mid age range should retract from their great musical ability and amazing stage presence.

They sang their hits, they sang their new stuff, they shook their asses and they put on such a great show.
The tech behind the show was phenomenal! The lighting, sound and even the stage construction was so well structured. It complemented the band and their music so well.
I respect them so much as artists because they've made their own music and after 20 plus years they still continue to do make new music that people fall in love with.
Jon Bon Jovi is the mastermind behind the band owning the name and what not and I was so amazed to see how open he was as a performer. No lip-syncing and no back up singings except for Richie Sambora. Jon was a open and feeding off of the live audience in front of him which has energy to light up all of Toronto.

The four band members have been such honest performers and it so nice to see bands like them having such a long and fruitful career.
This was my second Bon Jovi concert thanks to my mom and it was just as good as the last. I hope to see them when they come the next time around because they never disappoint.

Do you guys have a favourite Bon Jovi song?
Which classic band is your favourite?

You can follow Richie Sambora on Twitter https://twitter.com/TheRealSambora
And you can follow the band on twitter https://twitter.com/BonJovi

Remember to follow me on Tumblr at http://laalvezz.tumblr.com

With love,
Lisa Alves