10/28/13-11/1/13

This week was the week of my directing debut (yay.) I spent all of this week preparing for it, which turned out to be way harder then I expected. I'm starting to learn how to direct, as well as the ups and downs of it

Well, for starters, after weeks of asking for them, I finally got everyone's pieces and was able to put together a script for the workshop

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1EYEy8UQ1ApRFZCSPyNNBqrjKDKdgQxvbjqlZ5TOmffE/pub

This process was a little difficult for many reasons
-None of the girls showed up to workshop on the same day
-We all live in different states (NJ, NY, CT, ectc.) So an outside rehearsal was not an option
-I had asked for their pieces in an email since we started the project a month ago, and the day I had a full script was the afternoon of the show
-When I did call for a rehearsal before our show call time (which I sent over and over again a week in advance) I got yeses from 3/4 of the girls, and only one showed up on time.

In the end, our reading wasn't a complete disaster. However, if we would have had a more clear communication process during it, I think it could have moved much more smoothly then it did.

I learned a lot in these few weeks. It was the first time I had the title of a director. As an actor, you get those pre-show butterflies and nerves. What if I forget my lines? What if mess up my blocking? I didn't expect to feel that as a director, but oddly enough I felt it more as a director.

10/21/13-10/27/13

I was sick for the majority of this week, so it was a little difficult for me to get much done. However, I did accomplish a little bit, and I have a lot to reflect on in terms of the beginning of my directing career


I was faced with a few issues this week. Ont op of being really sick, my team for Estrogenius failed to meet this weeks requirements that I set for them.

After last Sunday's great rehearsal, I sent all of the girls this message:

My personal goal for the week was to get an official script for all of the girls. Even though they know their own pieces, I thought it would be helpful to see the entire performance out on paper. Unfortunately, the only response I got was from Ayanda:

To add to my continuing luck, nobody but Ayanda and Tiffany Amber showed up to rehearsal today. Tiffany Amber was not at last week's rehearsal, which I figured would not be too much of an issue if all of the girls showed up today. We could have just changed a few lines around and added her accordingly. It was a little difficult to get anything done at today's rehearsal with only two girls, so we had Tiffany Amber write her piece.

My other goal for the week was to do blocking. It isn't complicated at all, but it is necessary before Saturday's performance. I worked out a plan with the Stage Manager to have a rehearsal before the company call time on Saturday. I sent a message to all of the girls today: 

I haven't gotten an answer from anyone yet. This directing thing is a little harder then I expected. 

This has been a good learning experience thus far. This the first time I have led a group completely, and me being a very take charge person, it is hard when people aren't putting in the effort that you are. If we can get into the space earlier that day, I have no worries that the performance will go smoothly since it is workshop style and not completely off book. However, if the blocking isn't where it needs to be, we may have a problem.

10/14/13-10/18/13

This week, I made a lot of progress with my Girl Be Heard piece.

I started out with a completely different idea then what I have now. Actually, I bounced from a million different ideas. But today, sitting down with all of the girls on my team helped a lot. Our ideas bounced off one another and we have a complete idea of what we are doing. We are beginning and ending with 4 lines of a song. We finished composing the beginning of it:

After this, each girl will recite their monologue. What I did to make each of them tie together is assigning them the first line and last line of their monologue. The last line of the monologue will be the first line of another girls', and so on (if that makes sense.) 

We have a 10 minute time slot, so here is my layout of how the performance will go

Start: 4 lines of song (30 seconds)

Shaquilla's Piece (2-3 minutes)

Halle's Piece (2-3 minutes)

Hazel's Piece (2-3 minutes)

Ayonda's Piece (2-3 minutes)

End: 4 lines of song (30 seconds)

I will have a precise plan of the time once I get the finalized drafts of each girl's piece (which I am waiting on now) 

Today, we performed a rough run-through of our piece and I have to say, I am very happy with it and know for a fact we will be prepared by November 2nd. 

10/7/13- 10/11/13

This week was mostly focused on my Girl Be Heard work. I spent wens and thurs writing my piece for Saturday's International Day of Girl performance. 

I also ushered for Cake Production's The Learned Ladies Saturdy night.

I am going to have to spend my blogs working on my Girl Be Heard work. I just got word today that my first piece that i will be directing will be at Estrogenius (a festivel for Women's theatre) on November 2nd. I will also be co-writing it with a few other girls in the program. My next piece will be shown at my Girl Be Heard open mic on December 15th

9/30/13-10/4/13

This week, I continued working on my shot sheet as well as new storyboards.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1GHkuHXedsFe9IbhXd3u9RUuMpUHPPDHwiaitj8nT-SQ/pub

After looking back at the storyboards I attempted last week, I realized, well, I am the worst sketcher on the planet. They looked worse than cartoons, and I can't believe my hands produced something that horrifying. I started with basics this time, which I probably should have done in the first place by using basic circles and adding on from there. I will never be able to produce masterpieces, but the storyboards are for myself and I at least need to know what it will look like in live action. Doing the shot sheets first is helping a lot. I am no longer aimlessly scribbling until something seems kind of right.

Everything seems to be on track as of now, but the more I think about it, I don't have much time. I want to film exactly a month from now, and my schedule is only getting more and more packed. My to do list is as followed

-Pick a clear shooting day, get conflicts
-Get permission for using school (or change last scene all together)
-Confirm with Brett about borrowing his camera/editing software
-Confirm with costume designer

These all seem simple on paper, but depending on how busy I get with Girl Be Heard, I may have to put this project on hold.

9/23/13-9/27/13

This week, I began the first drafts of the story board and shot sheet for Agnus Sleeps Over.

http://docs.google.com/document/d/1GHkuHXedsFe9IbhXd3u9RUuMpUHPPDHwiaitj8nT-SQ/pub

(I'M PUTTING THIS IN ALL CAPS SO I MAKE SURE THAT YOU SEE THE LINK ABOVE IS THE LINK TO THE BEGINNING TO MY SHOT SHEET.)

I forgot how difficult and how focused you have to be to do a storyboard (After my lovely experience during last years film) I forgot how much I suck at drawing, and I also forgot that storyboards are much easier to do when you have a shot sheet. I put down the storyboard for now, and I am going to put my time into perfecting the rest of the shot sheet next week. Once I have a very clear idea of what I want for each shot, I will attempt to *shivers* draw. 

I figured out that the best time for shooting would be during November break. I will work with Brett on editing during that week because he has premiere and I do not. I do admit, I slacked off a little bit this week when it comes to blogs because of my SAT classes, schoolwork, and Girl Be Heard, but prioritizing my time better is something else I need to work on this year. I do believe, however, that I am in a good place, and will be prepared to shoot even before my shooting day.

9/16/13- 9/20/13

This week, I completed writing the entire script for episode 2 of Angus (web series)


https://docs.google.com/document/d/1DhlVTg0jyEskFdL1OZPArVHkJz8foi-aJMiZBXfV0yw/pub


From Monday- Tuesday, I did my sloppy pre-writing that was in the same doc as the actual script, so it ended up getting deleted. I know for next time to put in a different doc so I have my process. On Wednesday I spent an hour writing, and on Thursday I spent 2 hours.  Friday was the day that I planned to look over it and do re-writes, but as of now, I am very happy with the script. It has been emailed to the actors. I am using mostly the same actors as the first episode, and as of now everyone is on board.

I think that I got everything that I needed done thus far, plus more. I thought I was going to have to spend at least 2 weeks writing the script, but I was able to cut that time in half. I may make edits as problems start to come up, but I am confident with what I have. I unofficially have a makeup artist for the eyebrow portion of the filming. She's in cosmetology and I have seen her makeup work in the past. I also have ideas for location, which would be my house, outside of my house, a playground/park in Old Bridge, and the school. The only issue I see with the script is getting clearance to use the school hallway after hours, but I am going to wait until I figure out scheduling to ask about that.