FREEHOLD FORUM 2007 JULY ISSUE

This month the Freehold Forum is excited to feature the following:

• Amy Thone. Amy describes her "take" on Shakespeare's Cymbeline and her experience working with the amazing cast and crew on Freehold Theatre's Summer Tour production of Cymbeline.

• Kate Godman. INTIMAN's Casting Director and Freehold Faculty member Kate Godman shares her Top Ten Audition Tips for Actors.

• Elizabeth Heffron. Elizabeth reveals her insights upon having the incredible opportunity to work with the women at the Washington Correctional Center for Woman as part of the residency program of the Engaged Theatre Program.

• Robin Lynn Smith. Read Part Two of Freehold Artistic Director, Robin Lynn Smith's interview with Ronald Rand in the recently released book Acting Teachers of America.

• Freehold Faculty Member Spotlight: Tim Hyland.

• Freehold Faculty and Alum News/Shows. Get the most current news about the upcoming performances (and get them on your schedule now!) that Freehold Faculty and alums are performing in locally, nationally and internationally.

• Freehold Calendar Highlights. Read about upcoming exceptional Freehold events! And so much more!

We always appreciate your input. Please feel free to contact us at (206) 323-7499 x14 or kate@freeholdtheatre.org with story ideas, upcoming shows of alums and articles that you would like to see highlighted.  

Cymbeline? A weird late-in-the-career play by a Shakespeare that seems tired and occasionally bitter and potentially full of self-parody ... a play that defies genre (though classified as a late romance, it relentlessly refuses to sit politely in that category--Harold Bloom calls it a "mixed travesty") and easy reduction ... a geography that careens from Ancient Britain to Renaissance Italy to pastoral Wales and a plot that threatens to twist the most avid readers into knots ... cartoon villains and "mortal minerals" and descending gods and befuddled kings and headless corpses. One almost wants to laugh ... almost ... and then, suddenly, you are breathless with the play's beauty and aghast at its brilliant audacity and you want to take Imogen, the play's heroine, home with you and never let her leave because you know no one as generously, bravely, fantastically human as she ... and you realize, that once again, Shakespeare has done it ... he's pushed you too far and asked you horrifying questions that have no answer and teased you demonically, and you are mesmerized, confused, astonished, confronted, and awash in the genius of a man who could never, ever, leave well enough alone ... and you are grateful ...

more ...  

1. Assume that the director and casting director want you to be successful and to do well; it will give you confidence. But ...

2. Don't allow your confidence in the good will of the director and casting director to substitute for rigorous preparation. If you are well prepared, you give yourself an instant advantage over at least 50% of your competition. Make daily practice part of your own discipline as an actor and make research on the play and the character part of your prep.

3. Pick monologues that are active - i.e. that demand you to play actions on another (unseen) character. Soliloquies or narrative excerpts are difficult to keep active.

4. Pick monologues that represent your range.

5. Practice your whole presentation including your introduction and your exit.

more ...  

Meisner Progression Interviews

Students interested in applying to be considered for the 2007-2008 Meisner Progression can contact Freehold's Registrar, Jenny Schmidt at registrar@freeholdtheatre.org. The interviews will be held on Thursday, July 26th between 3:00 and 10:00 pm. For the interview, you are asked to bring a resume, to be prepared to talk about your intentions, why you want to take the class and describe your prior experience.

The Meisner progression is taught by Freehold's Artistic Director Robin Lynn Smith and runs Fall, Winter, and Spring Quarter lasting 12 weeks each quarter. For more information, go to our Training Section at www.freeholdtheatre.org or call us at (206) 323-7499.

New Performance Rental Space at Freehold

Freehold is excited to announce the opening a new performance space this coming August. The theatre will be equipped as a black box theatre with modular platforms capable of seating an audience of 49. It will be available to rent on Friday and Saturday nights. For more details contact the Facilities Manager at Freehold at rentals@freeholdtheatre.org.

Freehold Summer Performance Rental Discounts!

Freehold is offering a 15% discount on all performance rentals starting now through the end of September! Rent the East Hall for an entire weekend (Thursday, Friday, Saturday evenings) for $636! *This rental fee include 5 hours of tech rehearsal in the space.*

The East Hall Theatre holds 99 audience members and is centrally located on the second floor of Capitol Hill's Odd Fellows Hall. More information on the theatre can be found at www.freeholdtheatre.org and by calling 206.323.7499. To book the space, please contact Jason Gorgen, Freehold's Facilities Manager at 206.323.7499 ext 13.

Feel free to pass this along to anyone who may be interested!

Archived E-Newsletters

Missed a chance to read a previous Freehold Forum e-newsletter? Here is an easy way to access archived newsletters ... go to www.freeholdtheatre.org and click on the "newsletter" menu item for a full listing of previous issues.

Improv Showcases

Matt Smith's Summer Intensive Improv class is offering two opportunities to see the great work they have been doing this summer. Free Showcases (open to the public) on 7/26 and 7/27 at 7:00 pm at Freehold's East Hall Theatre. Questions: (206) 323-7499.

	Working with the Women by Elizabeth Heffron
The Engaged Theatre Program was created in 2003 and produces both a summer tour of a Shakespearean production for both the public as well as underserved populations. In addition, Freehold runs two residency programs including a pilot project at the Monroe Correctional Center for Men as well as a residency at the Washington Correctional Center for Women whereby local artists, over a five-month period, work with the inmates to generate their own original work. The final play is then performed for the public as well as their fellow inmates. Elizabeth Heffron and Robin Lynn Smith, along with other participating artists, crafted the women's stories into the final performance which this year was entitled Every Woman Souljah. On the days when I volunteer with Freehold's Engaged Theatre Project as a playwriting teacher inside the Washington Correctional Center for Women, I think about a number of small things I don't normally consider. I check to see that none of my clothes are ripped or have holes, and that I am wearing socks. I make sure I haven't squirreled away any phone numbers or paperclips in my pockets. I bring no money, no excess ID, just my driver's license. You shed things when you go inside, peeling away the baggage of your outside existence to the bare essentials of what you need to do your work. No Blackberries, no iPods, no laptops, just your mind, your body, pen and paper, and other people. more ...

 

	Freehold Faculty Snapshot - Tim Hyland
Tim Hyland has been a professional actor, director, and educator in Seattle for 17 years. As an actor he has performed at The Seattle Shakespeare Company, The Rep, ACT Theatre, Seattle Children's Theatre, The Bathhouse, CHAC, On The Boards, and Strawshop. As a director his work has been seen at ACT's Young Playwright's Program, Theater Schmeater, HOE Productions, The Bathhouse, AHA Theatre, One World Theatre, and 14/48. As an educator he has taught for Seattle Children's Theatre, One World Theatre, Seattle Public Theater, The Bathhouse, and Macha Monkey. He is a one-on-one acting and dialect coach. He has coached dialects for One World Theater, Driftwood Players, CHAC, and Theater Schmeater. He is the Artistic Director of The Street Playwright's Project, which couples Seattle's homeless youth with professional artists to create original theatre. Tim is a new faculty member to Freehold and will be teaching an Accent class at Freehold this summer. What are you working on currently that is exciting to you? What about it in particular has been exciting? I am currently working on The Indian Wants the Bronx. It has been particularly exciting because it was difficult to navigate the characters as written, as they do not do things for what seem like particularly linear reasons. While it was challenging, it was also exciting and the audiences are responding to it really well. What are you listening to? The Jackson Five. They are my favorite pop band ever. What are you reading? I am reading Brecht's Galileo in a couple of different translations because I am going to play the role in the fall. What have you seen recently that you liked? I saw the film Little Children on Video and really liked it. I've been so busy and have been unable to see theatre for a little while but am looking forward to seeing Uncle Vanya and Stuff Happens.

 

	Interview with Freehold Artistic Director Robin Lynn Smith - Part Two
Robin Lynn Smith is a founding partner and Artistic Director for Freehold Theatre. She has worked for the past twenty-five years acting, directing and teaching in Chicago, Boston, Seattle and New York. She has directed Off-Broadway and at regional theatres and is presently directing Freehold's Engaged Theatre program, which tours Shakespeare productions to prisons, projects and hospitals. She served as an artist-in-residence with Dan Sullivan at the Seattle Repertory Theatre and has directed in Seattle at the Empty Space Theatre, New City Theatre, On the Boards, ACT Theatre and Seattle Children's Theatre. She is the director of Freehold's annual residency in the development of new work with the inmates at the Washington State Correctional Facility for Women. Robin is presently on the faculty at the Cornish College of the Arts and teaches at Freehold Theatre. The following interview is from the newly released book "Acting Teachers of America: A Vital Tradition" by Ronald Rand and Luigi Scorcia (2007). Ronald Rand: How should an actor begin to work on a role? Robin Lynn Smith: By reading the play several times. At the beginning, the actor needs to find a way to place himself/herself in the circumstances. Look into the context of the world the playwright has created. The point is immersing yourself psychologically, politically, socially, economically, spiritually in that world. Whether it is Ibsen's realism or an absurdist play, the world has a set of specific rules. You have to look at the events, the actions, and their meaning. What does the character do, and how does he/she do it? What language is being used? How is it being used? Is it used to reveal or cover the truth of the moment in the character? The structure and intent of the language tells you how the person is functioning in interaction with his own inner life and with the larger community around him. Then, most essentially, you have to find a way to genuinely engage your heart in the circumstances, to identify with the character's crisis and to bring your soul to fight for him. You need to find what is at stake for him, what he needs in essential human terms, and then find where you personally connect with that. And then look at the relationships - what everything and everyone means to you in that context. more ...

 

	Freehold Faculty/Alum Shows and News
FREEHOLD FACULTY NEWS Daemond Arrindell Every Tues night at ToST in fremont, The Seattle Poetry Slam hosts a spoken word extravaganza. Open Mic, featured poet and THE SLAM - a competitive poetry reading with equal focus placed on content, originality and performance and judges by random audience members. 8pm, $5 cover, 21 & over ID required www.poetryfestival.org Tim Hyland is directing The Indian Wants the Bronx, opens at WET's Little Theatre July 6. Marya Sea Kaminski played Imogen and Amy Thone played Pisania in Cymbeline as part of Freehold Theatre's Engaged Theatre's Summer Tour. The production will be seen at Freehold's East Hall Theatre, Volunteer Park and will tour to underserved populations including Harborview Medical Center, New Futures and several Washington State prisons. The Summer Tour will open at Volunteer Park on Monday, July 9th and in the evenings on July 12, 13, and 14th at 8:00 pm at Freehold Theatre's East Hall Theatre. In addition to her role in the Summer Tour, Marya also will be playing the role of Hedda in WET's upcoming destruction of Hedda Gabler. Dates TBA. Timothy Piggee will be in The Mojo and the Sayso at ACT late this summer. Matt Smith has an interview with John Moe (KUOW) http://www.kuow.org/defaultProgram.asp?ID=12052 (last third of program) Preview of film Outsourced with Matt Smith: http://youtube.com/watch?v=LImhTTFu4b8 Annette Toutonghi will be in The Women at ACT (October 5-November 11). Kate Wisniewski will be in Comedy of Errors on San Juan Island for Island Stage Left. The play is scheduled Thursday through Sunday on the Roche Harbor Village outdoor stage July 12 to August 5 and Thursdays through Saturday at the Wold Road outdoor stage, 1062 Wold, August 9 to 18. FREEHOLD ALUM NEWS Mathew Ahrens is performing in ACT's current production of Stuff Happens running from July 1-22. Kristin Alexander will be performing with Last Leaf Productions, playing Adriana in Comedy of Errors and Sir Andrew in Twelfth Night beginning June 16th. For more information, go to http://www.geocities.com/lastleaf99/. Tom Churchill has a new play Blue Virgins which was workshopped at Freehold last summer, and which, in a one-act shorter version, was one of three winners of the New Playwrights award. It opens at Whidbey Children's Theater/Martha Murphy Mainstage/ on Sept 14, six performances, two weekends, closing on the 23rd. Lee Ann Hittenberger will be costuming Wooden O's Production of Merry Wives of Windsor opens July 11 and is choreographing Meet Me in St. Louis and playing the mother role out at Snoqualmie Falls Forest Theatre. David Kubiczky will be in Love, Sex and the IRS at Bellevue Civic Theatre (July 13-22) and Lightening in a Bottle at Theatre Off Jackson (August 2-18). Norman Bell, Seth Rosenbloom will be performing as part of Unicycle's upcoming Monolodge, a showcase of original solo theatrical work on July 20 and July 21 at 8 pm, $10.00 at Theatre Off Jackson. For more information, www.unicyclecollective.org. Craig Schieber is directing The Fantastiks with The Mountaineers Players in Bremerton in August at an outdoor amphitheater. No lights; shows at 2:00. Take a ferry and a picnic! The show is set in 1920s Kitsap. For more information, go to http://www.foresttheater.com/ Lance Spencer McQueen played Lucius and an Italian Gentleman in Cymbeline at Freehold Theatre. Loni Tipton is in As You Like It with Work It Productions at the Fremont Troll, Troll Avenue N. and N. 36th Street. Saturdays at 1 & 3 pm and Sundays at 1 pm through July 15th.

 

	Freehold Theatre Guild
Freehold Theatre Guild The Theatre Guild is composed of a group of Freehold students and alumni who have shared in the unique Freehold experience. Freehold Theatre Guild's (FTG's) stated mission is "To help members of the Freehold Theatre Guild make the transition from student to active participant in the greater theater community". For those interested in joining Freehold's Theatre Guild, email Andy Tribolini at atribolini@hotmail.com with your desire to join. You will receive confirmation of membership by receiving notices about monthly meetings and activities in which you are strongly encouraged to participate. The Theatre Guild would love to have you be a part of the group!

   

2007 Summer Quarter, July 2 - August 31, Registration starts May 21st

2007 Fall Quarter, September 24 - December 16, Registration starts August 13th

	Yahoo Your Way to Help Freehold Using www.goodsearch.com!
Here is a free, quick and painless way to contribute financially to Freehold! GoodSearch is a search engine (www.goodsearch.com) which donates 50-percent of its revenue to the charities and schools designated by its users. It's a simple and compelling concept. You use GoodSearch exactly as you would any other search engine. Because it's powered by Yahoo!, you get proven search results. The money GoodSearch donates to your cause comes from its advertisers - the users and the organizations do not spend a dime! To support Freehold, on the "Who do you search the web for?" type in Freehold and search away! Every time you do a search, money gets added to Freehold's account. Make "goodsearch.com" your home page and encourage your friends to do the same by going to: http://www.goodsearch.com/MakeHomepage.aspx. Thank you for your continued support!     About Freehold   A group of artists, who after years of professional work felt that the full potential of the theatrical event had yet to be realized, founded Freehold Theatre in the summer of 1991 when two prominent actor studios-the Pasqualini-Smith Studio (est. 1985) and the Mark Jenkins Actors' Workshop (est. 1985) joined forces. The founders, Robin Lynn Smith, Mark Jenkins and George Lewis, among others, are professional actors and directors whose credentials include recognized work on and off Broadway, as well as in major films, television, and regional theatre. They formulated the following mission: Freehold engages artists of all levels in training and experimentation so that they may become more innovative and heartfelt in generating theatre that has a lasting impact on the community we serve. As a center for the development and practice of theatre, Freehold Theatre is committed to art that embraces the full range of human experience and that inspires performers and audience to connect more deeply to themselves and to each other. We move toward this goal in four ways: Our Studio provides a place for actors, from inspired novices to working professionals, to train. Our Theatre Lab provides a forum for mature artists to research and develop new work and to re-interpret classics. Our Engaged Theatre Program reaches out to culturally under-served communities. Our rehearsal and performance facilities in the Oddfellows Bulding on Capitol Hill comprises of four rehearsal and performance studios, including a fully equipped 92-seat black box theatre. The facilities and equipment are available for rent at very reasonable rates. Here we strive to provide our artists with the tools necessary to make a deep and lasting impact on the community based on organic esthetics. Freehold has become an integral part of Seattle's thriving theatre community, having gained a reputation as the place for serious young artists to train and take the leap into performing and creating original work. In 2003 we developed an Engaged Theatre program in which we reach out to culturally under-served communities. The program comprises an annual tour to organizations that represent culturally under-served populations and a four-month residency at Washington Corrections Center for Women, in which the women create, rehearse and perform a theatre production. This year for the first time, George Lewis has developed a similar pilot program at the Monroe Correctional Center for Men. For more information about our programs and services see our website: www.freeholdtheatre.org.     What is the Freehold Forum?   The Freehold Forum E-Newsletter was born out of our desire to respond to requests from you, our Freehold community, to hear about the innovative and powerful work being done at Freehold Theatre by our incredibly talented and diverse faculty and alumni. The Forum will provide you with a wealth of information that will serve you in your work as an artist. The monthly Freehold Forum will include insightful interviews with talented actors, directors and playwrights, compelling articles on a wide array of topics to assist you in your artistic growth, cutting edge news on upcoming Freehold Faculty and alumni performances, highly newsworthy articles by Freehold's Theatre Guild and Freehold Calendar Highlights showcasing upcoming must-see Freehold Calendar events.     Become A Part of the Freehold Community!   Freehold is always looking for people interested in joining our team of committed and enthusiastic volunteers. Whether you have time, wisdom, strength, money, a desire to be involved in your community, or any combination thereof, we would love to have you join in our efforts. Here are some ways you can participate in our work at Freehold: Volunteer Opportunities Volunteers are highly treasured at Freehold!! We rely on and appreciate the invaluable and diverse skills our volunteers contribute which enable us to further our mission. We are currently seeking volunteers to help us with our administrative functions, staff performances and fundraising events!! If you have the desire to be part of a committed group of staff and other volunteers, please give us a call at 206-323-7499. Donations Freehold is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. We rely on philanthropic donations from the community to help us continue to be a part of the theatre community and to keep the cost of our classes affordable. Donations may be sent to: Freehold Theatre, 1525 10th Avenue, Seattle, WA 98122. back to top       The Wonders of Cymbeline So, that's the play I'm working on right now, with and for Robin Lynn Smith and Freehold and the Engaged Theatre ... and the people working on it with me are fantastic, hysterical, delightful, ssssssoooooooo hard-working, disciplined and crazy and wild and we are all grateful ... for the play, and for the chance to work on it with Robin Smith, who probably rolls up her sleeves and rips and challenges and laughs her way to the heart of these plays better than anyone I've ever met ... I'm playing Pisania (a male role that we've feminized, just too many boys in these darn plays), Imogen's loyal servant, Imogen is being played by the peerless and crazed Marya Sea Kaminski, one of the forces to be reckoned with in the theatre in our country, I kid you not ... the rest of the cast is typical of Robin Smith's vast network of friends and peers and students, full of talented nutcases from all over the country, people too wise to lose their passion or to young to know better ... I feel tickled and honored and pleased and delighted to share these words with these people. So, we're here spending the first part of our summer in one of the last bits of Shakespeare's canon, and we will all be the richer for it ... and maybe we'll even figure this play out, a little ... Or maybe it will re-figure us ... Seems more likely ... Ahhhh, Shakespeare ... Freehold's Cymbeline ran from July 9 through July 14th. Amy Thone has been grappling professionally with Shakespeare's plays for twenty-two years, as an actor, director, dramaturge and teacher. She is an Artistic Associate and Casting Director for Seattle Shakespeare Company, and faculty member of Cornish College of the Arts. Amy also teaches at at Freehold Theatre and will be teaching a Shakespeare Intensive class at Freehold this summer. back to top         Audition Tips: Some Thoughts on Auditioning by Kate Godman 6. Don't make eye contact with the auditor if you can help it. The auditor is trying to assess your skill and technique and that's harder to do if they are invited into a relationship with you as actor/audience. 7. If you're in a prepared reading audition, be open to adjustments from the director. 8. Really listen to what they are asking you to change and only make that change. Don't defend the original choice you made - they're not usually interested in whether that choice was right or wrong, but what you're like to work with and how quickly and effectively to respond to direction. 9. Be proud of the work you do - own it and commit to it. 10. If you're feel that you really screwed up your audition, you have 24 hours to torture yourself and then let it go. Mature reflection on what you can do differently next time is helpful. Beating yourself up isn't. Enjoy! Kate Godman graduated from the University of Kent at Canterbury. As a student, she worked with Neil Labute's Free Theater Company, performing in All Men Are Whores, The Actor's Nightmare, One for the Road and Passion; she has continued acting intermittently throughout her career. Locally, she has been seen in Book-It Repertory Theatre's production of HOWARD'S END (Dolly) and New City Theatre's MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING (Ursula). After graduating, she worked at London's Royal Court Theatre and was co-artistic director of the Dondie Rockett Theatre Company. She earned her Master's Degree in theatre studies at the University of Kansas with a thesis on the work of Monstrous Regiment. In 1998, Ms. Godman joined Intiman Theatre, where she serves as Associate Director: Casting and Artistic Relations. In addition, Kate teaches an Auditioning class at Freehold Theatre. back to top       Working with the Women by Elizabeth Heffron I remember the first time going in, hearing the precise, metallic clicks of the doors, seeing the height of the fence, the razor wire everywhere. To get to the rec center, you travel through three different fenced areas. With so many physical boundaries between inside and outside, it might seem reasonable there would be a similar sort of defensive maze around the women too; a kind of hardened, 'Oz'-like emotional detachment. But instead, each season, I meet 20 to 30 curious, remarkable individuals, looking to understand what theater can teach them about being human, our own actions, and one's place in the world. On one of our first days this past year, we split into groups of two, to portray two sides of a person of their choice, in a specific scene. Here are bits of what came from the group ... IN A CAR, DRIVING TO DAD'S HOUSE. A: I'd like to go with Dad. B: It's not just him. A: It is just him. I've brought him a present. B: He's not gonna like it. IN A LIVING ROOM. A: So, do we admit we're gay today? B: Let's wait one more day. A: They can already tell we're out. B: I don't want my family to be hurt. A: Would you rather keep hurting me, than your family? B: Maybe ... ON A ROCKETSHIP TO URANUS. A: Why did God make me this way? B: Well, he made you unique. A: But he made me a f-ing Cat-Dog! B: Let's go find God! IN A BAR. A: I really think she's the one for me! B: But you're gonna get tired lookin at her. A: But I really like her. B: Whatchu need is to get yourself one of those church girls. IN AN APARTMENT. A: I just wanna drink so bad! B: No! A: I need to calm my nerves. B: No. Remember the last time? A: Oh yeah ... the last time. Stripped to the same bare essentials, inside the fence, the world opens just as wide, and I'm always impressed by the landscape. Elizabeth Heffron is a renowned playwright. Elizabeth's plays include MITZI'S ABORTION, which won the 2005 ACT Theatre New Play Award and was produced by ACT in July, 2006, and NEW PATAGONIA, produced by the Seattle Repertory Theatre. She's a principal playwright at Seattle Dramatists, a member of the Dramatists Guild and a faculty member at Freehold Theatre. back to top       Interview with Robin Lynn Smith - Part Two RR: How much of a role does imagination play in the actor's work on a role? RLS: A thousand percent. How can you go to the place you need to go to inhabit, embody this life, and live spontaneously in imaginary circumstances without it? The imagination is enormously important. The visceral imagination inspires the subconscious. Even when starting from a physical place, you need to engage the imagination. RR: How important and valuable is your unique presence to the work that is actually occurring in the classroom? RLS: It's not about me. There is something that one does by creating a space, by creating the "crucible," so that people can risk and have extraordinary experiences. I try to create a space where actors are challenged to risk and grow. A space to facilitate those experiences. A place to go further. I feel that is what is important. I know that I am incredibly tenacious about seeking out a certain sense of truth and going after the organic core, encouraging the actor to come from a place of inspiration and deep imagination. As teachers, we must have faith that we can make the work better and change the world just a little bit. back to top