Rededication

It's been over a month since my last real blog post. And even that entry was sort of half-hearted. I was feeling guilty for not having posted in 10 days and just wanted to get something on the page. To keep interest up, and keep hits coming to the blog, and to keep you all reading. That's what the blog had turned into, for me, in the last few months. Just a thing I have to do to keep the company moving forward.

I went back a couple of days ago and read over the posts in the last month (made by Kenny and Erika) and my brain really stuck on the short mention Kenny made of having reached our one year anniversary of blogging.

One whole year. I kind of couldn't believe it.

And that got me thinking about why we started the blog in the first place and how into it and energized by it I got. It is a tool to serve our community first and foremost. Not me as a performer. Not the CoLab as a company. But you our readers and even those members of our community who don't read or follow us (which is still most everyone, I know ;-) ). It is a place to discuss issues we're having working in Boston, or to highlight a really fantastic show, or speak up against the things we think missed the mark, and celebrate the victories (and defeats) that come in this kind of work. It does work as self promotion, a nice perk of using a blog, but it's not why we started it.

I speak for myself now in saying that despite some frustrations and doubts I'm battling in my own abilities and goals, I am rededicating myself to this blog in the New Year. I don't want to think of it as a resolution. The connotation of that brings on too much pressure. I know now I can't always get my entry up on time, sometimes I just can't find the topic or the words. But as we go into our second year it's important to reevaluate what we have accomplished and rededicate ourselves to the things we do well and are proud of.

And I am proud of this blog.

I am proud of the CoLab. Even though we may not know exactly what our path is yet, we have set some mighty solid stepping stones along the way. And our keystone principle is to serve the theatre community by talking about what's going on, including everyone who wants to be included, and creating theatre with and focused on artists working in Boston right now.

And so I am rededicating this blog to you our readers and Boston in general, and to making theatre.

Cheers.

*M-L

Kenny Collaborates with Local Non-Profits!

Here at The CoLab, we have days jobs. Some glamorous (MI5 Operative, Gourmet Pastry Chef), some not so glamorous (Barista), and some for non-profit organizations that do really great work.

I've been working part time at The Jewish Women's Archive the past month or so, and a co-worker of mine (whom some of you may recognize if you went to or taught at Brandeis, as I knew some of the readers did) recently asked me to help out with a "telethon" concept video appeal she was planning.

Some brainstorming happened... Here are the results:



Thanks to Leah over at JWA for asking me to collaborate! And also, consider checking out the Jewish Women's Archive website or their blog, Jewesses with Attitude!

The mission of the Jewish Women's Archive (JWA) is to uncover, chronicle, and transmit to a broad public the rich history of American Jewish women.

We're in the middle of our Annual Appeal, so if you or someone you know may be interested in making a donation, mosey on over here! I'm up to my neck in checks to process, but we could always use more!

Best,
K

A Reader Review of "Tron"

Here at the CoLab, we welcome guest blogs, tips and reviews of the arts from anyone who cares to share! Normally, we look to share insightful, controversial or inspiring words...

But instead, here's a brief review of the recent remake of "Tron", written by a former classmate of mine who shall remain anonymous:

so i went to see tron this weekend and did a bunch of cocaine afterwards. true story. it reminded me why i've only done it once before. it's just too much work. and then you're so thirsty the next day. although, it did keep me up until 6am drinking... so i guess that was the plus side? so yeah, i don't think i'll be doing that again. but tron was awesome. 4 stars.

This review was unedited to preserve the integrity of this blog.

K

Kenny Looks Back On One Year of Blogging

Things have been so crazy in our lives that we actually forgot to acknowledge a major milestone...

It has been more than one year since we debuted The CoLab blog!

There will be a more proper end of the year, New Year's post in the future, but for now I just want to reminisce for a moment, the year that was...

Being threatened with legal action...

A flame war with an anonymous hater of Diane Paulus and the direction of the A.R.T. (Part II) (Part III)

The Soska Sisters, producers of "Dead Hooker in a Trunk" mention and link to us on their blog... despite getting the wrong blog name (I still think they're brilliant!)...

And I asked the world to call me out on my BS and tell me exactly how much I suck.

And finally...

Actually, nothing beats being threatened with legal action. Read it. Seriously. It was hilarious.

Those are just some of the posts I'm the most proud of. What other posts did you enjoy? Or did you enjoy writing the most (ML and E, I'm looking at you!)?

Best,
K

Who Wants A Cookie?

The CoLab is having a Bake-Sale!!!!

Come and support two companies at once THIS SUNDAY at 11:11's Her Red Umbrella.

What it is: The CoLab will be selling concessions and home-baked goods at the intermission of the 3pm matinee performance of Her Red Umbrella! We are raising money to buy a StageSource Membership, apply for fiscal sponsorship, and support our first workshop of Dearly Beloved. Come support two companies with one ticket (and see Erika perform in the process).

Where it is: The Factory Theatre, Sunday December 12 @ 3pm.

About the show:

Her Red Umbrella
By: Brian Tuttle
Directed by: Robyn Linden

What if you had one semester to win the girl of your dreams?
Patrick is in love. But Patrick has a problem: he can’t really talk to girls. What Patrick does have is an eccentric Harvard professor as an ally in romance. He also has a hidden talent for writing. By the time a semester abroad in Europe comes to an end, Patrick must use every resource at his disposal to impress, romance, and win the one girl to whom he can’t seem to say a single word.

Tickets and Information:
www.1111theatre.com/her-red-umbrella.html

December 10, 11, 16, 17, & 18 @ 8pm
December 12 @ 3pm - CoLab Bake-Sale
$17 adults; $15 students and seniors; general admission

The Factory Theatre
791 Tremont Street
Boston, MA
www.thefactorytheatre.org/

The Economics of Acting

There's been an article circulating the internets entitled Ten Things Theatres Need To Do Right Now To Save Themselves by Brendan Kiley. This blog post is not about the list of ten things, however. We've all read the article (if you haven't, do it) and had some reflection on the concepts within. However, my reading of this article inspired a completely unrelated train of thought on a really important topic.

How much is our work worth?

Point 9 reads:

Expect poverty. Theater is a drowning man, and its unions—in their current state—are anvils disguised as life preservers. Theater might drown without its unions, but it will certainly drown with them. And actors have to jettison the living-wage argument. Nobody deserves a living wage for having talent and a mountain of grad-school debt. Sorry.

So let's talk about this... And I warn you readers, that I'm going to be doing my best to discuss this point as an artist and not as a Libertarian Socialist... That would be a rant for another blog.

I'm not sure how many actors feel entitled to anything simply "for having talent and a mountain of grad-school debt." Have you ever heard that argument? I certainly haven't. What we do have are artists and actors who wish they could work for a living wage. There's a big difference here. The statement as written seems to imply that demanding a living wage is symptomatic of some sort of entitlement culture. Moreover, most actors I know don't have grad school debt. Most actors I know don't even have grad school degrees. But you know what I have? Undergraduate debt. I have a ridiculous amount of debt from a four year school, which I sought to attend based on the information I was drilled with as a child that "Education is the key to success" and that getting a college education would increase my value of my labor.

Evidently, the invisible hand has decided otherwise. There was once a time when you could support an entire family with a single income source without a college degree. Now, having a Bachelor's from a prestigious, private college can't stop you from working retail and temp jobs to make ends meet. How many underemployed law school grads are out there, while we're at it?

The fact is, no one class of person is entitled any sort of wage. However, can't we consider the idea that anyone willing to work hard is entitled to a "living wage"? Since when did this become an unreasonable demand? Yes, I believe I am entitled to a living wage, as a 40+ hour a week worker with two jobs (three, if you count theatre/film). Just as I believe a janitor, fruit picker or Wall Street executive is entitled to a living wage.

Fuck the invisible hand. We are constantly being told that our labor is worth only as much as we are willing to work, and that we have choice. No one forces us to be working poor, working class, we can lift ourselves by the bootstraps, all that crap. The fact is that our labor is worth more than we're willing to work for and we need to have higher standards. The choice between being evicted and working shitty job you hate IS NOT A CHOICE. Liberty depends upon the power to choose, and a rock and a hard place is not a choice.

I'm not saying I want to be wealthy. But we've accepted that certain careers are known to be low end. And that's the way it is, and if you don't like it, get a different job. "You don't have to work, you know." It's the same for a waiter. It's the same for an actor.

Imagine a world without waiters? That would kinda suck now, wouldn't it? Now imagine a world without actors? How boring would that be... We'd all have to start reading again... ::shudder::

So the logic implies that if you are willing to work for nothing, then that's what your labor is worth. By that logic, actors who love the work that they do should be paid nothing. Eventually, there'd be some people who left that labor force, but many would stay. Why are there some actor jobs and day jobs that pay and some that don't? Because we have some standards and some things we aren't willing to compromise. And that's a good thing.

So Mr. Kiley, while I really enjoy your article and think everyone should read it...

Don't preach about living wages. That my friend, is an insult to workers of all classes and occupations. Maybe there's an argument to be made, but that is not a very good one. "Expect poverty"? Who doesn't do that? Name me one serious actor who thinks they're going to make good money doing what we're doing.

But I refuse to accept poverty.

K

It's a Marathon, Not a Sprint

I recently ran my first 5K. In case you were wondering, that's 3.1 miles. In case you were wondering, I ran it in 25 minutes and 35 seconds. That's a pace of ~8.2 min/mi. I didn't run a marathon, but this was a huge accomplishment for me. An accomplishment that I mentally and physically trained to achieve.

A career in the arts is a marathon, not a sprint. You start by deciding to accomplish something. My goal? Ultimately, I would like to support myself using only arts-related activities. Was this my original goal? Absolutely not. When I was sixteen, I wanted "to be an actress" but I had no conception of what that actually meant. Sure I had visions of Cosmo covers and E! interviews, but those weren't real aspirations, they were simply all I knew of the acting world. Now that I'm actually part of that world, I have a better understanding of what it means and where I'm headed.

So I started with The Warm Up: Warming up for a race is just as important as warming up for a career. I hold a BA in Theatre Arts from Brandeis. I spent a semester in London studying Shakespeare, Noel Coward, and other British greats. I participated in as much college theatre as I could. I learned about my craft in as many ways as possible.

The First Quarter Mile: After graduation, I chose a location - BOSTON. After that, it was a matter of time before I started making connections. I joined StageSource, I went on auditions, I saw theatre.

The Next Quarter Mile (AKA The First Half Mile): I got into my stride, my pace for the run - I found my niche. The fringe theatre scene. Kenny, Mary-Liz, and I started The CoLab and I started to meet more and more people who were interesting in bringing the same sort of theatre I was to the Boston area. This led to more and more auditions which led to...

Three Quarters of a Mile Down: Getting cast. During a run, the first mile and a half is the toughest to get through. My body sometimes isn't ready for it. It is the point in the run where my brain kicks in and says, "you know you can do this. Don't give up this easily." After that I get into my stride, and the roles that I've been cast in so far have helped me get into a stride in the Boston area. I've made a number of connections, friends, and I've been able to push myself as an actress. This is all part of the training, the marathon.

The Completion of the First Mile: I haven't hit this point yet in Boston. For me, it will be when I get paid for a role. (Actually paid, not just a stipend.) This had yet to happen, but I know it will some day. For now, I'll keep up my training schedule. A training schedule filled with 5k roles to help me train for marathon roles. (This is not to say that the first time I get paid will be for the role of a life time, but it will be a stepping stone.) My marathon role will be the role I've trained for my whole life. Or at least, it will feel that way. Hopefully I'll experience several marathon roles in my lifetime. But I know that won't be for some time.

And like the road, the stage is somewhere to head where things in "real life" get messy or sad or boring. My 5k training came out of a little heartbreak and little spare time. And here I am running an 8 minute mile. Like running, a career in the arts also requires your brain to train. To remember that even if you're having a tough first mile or a dry spell from getting cast, if you push just a little harder, run just a little further, it will happen for you.

So for today, I'll take my first race as a great accomplishment and I'll use this knowledge to push myself towards longer races and faster miles. And I'll do the same with the stage. With each role, I know that I'm headed toward the future. Each role builds on itself, telling me something about myself as an actress and as a human. I'm never going to run a 5 minute mile for 3 miles in a row. I'm just not. And I'm never going to be on the cover of Cosmo. But that's not what's important to me either. I don't know where I'll end up, but the journey is what's most important. Not the finish line.

A photo of my dad, brother, and I after the race!