Jessica's Blog

Howdy? I am back, as promised. I’ve already been very busy, even though the regular semester has not yet begun.

I am taking an intersemester class, which is a whole semester of material squeezed into the last two weeks of break… Yeah… four hours a day, three chapters of reading a night and two exams- in eleven days. I like it though. I did it last year and it’s proven to be a good way to get Gen Ed classes out of the way to be able to focus on theatre stuff during the regular semester. Of course, I would love to be able to travel during the breaks but being involved in shows definitely limits the time one can spend working. The term “starving artist” is not quite yet applicable, but almost… :)

I am also spending time on the script for Le Liasions Dangereuses. Our first readthrough with the cast is on Monday, so I’ve spent some time in the library doing research. I am reading up on the time period, trying to get an idea of what it was like back then. I am planning on checking out some books written then to see what my character may have been reading at the time. I’ve already found out some fascinating things about that period (the 1780s), which was called the Enlightenment and was right before the French Revolution.

I am very excited to be instructed in movement and etiquette of the time. It will be the first time I am playing something that takes place that far back but I have always dreamt of it. I mean what little girl didn’t think about putting on one of those dresses and drinking tea out of dainty cups?! Rumour has it that in a previous show when the girls were in corsets one girl actually passed out… I’ve been told it has a lot to do with making sure you’re breathing right, which I’m sure we’ll be instructed on, too.

And call me a nerd but I am also very excited about classes starting again. I love learning and especially as an actor you can never know too much about the world and the people in it.

Wish me luck on my final exam tomorrow and then: let the games begin!!

Posted by Jessica at 05:57 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Hey! So this is my first blog. I have been lured out my cave where I have been hibernating and refueling for next semester to write a few lines about the life of a theatre student. I love the hectic and demanding world of an acting major, but let me tell you, doing nothing for a few days is amazing too…!
So last semester was one that definitely pushed me to my limits. It’s hard enough to be a fulltime student and balance that schedule with work and other things, ask anyone on campus. Now add almost daily rehearsals, sometimes running until eleven at night and a two week run of a musical like ‘The Rocky Horror Show’. Dance rehearsals, singing rehearsals, fittings, hours and hours of preparation that demands your full focus and energy at the end of a long day, before you even get around to your homework. But it was a wonderful experience to work with a group of people who were all absolutely passionate and devoted to the project, all trying to make it the best it could possibly be.
Ironically, this semester I got better grades than my previous two at Buff State. I think the discipline we learn on stage carries over into other parts of life, including schoolwork.
Next semester it starts all over again. This time with ‘Dangerous Liasions’. So, instead of dancing and singing in lingerie, I will be learning proper etiquette for France in the 1890s, corsets and all! You gotta love theatre!
This is the end of myy first blog, but don’t worry, I’ll be back soon, with more details of the thrilling, joyful, exhausting and painful life of a theatre major. Every day I learn something new about life or myself or my art through my work. It’s incredible and I hope to be able to fully share it with you!

Posted by Jessica at 11:59 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack