Blog Action Day - Topic: Poverty

So today is Blog Action Day and the topic this year is Poverty.

As of yesterday I had no idea what I was going to write about. None. I thought maybe I would write about a play that deals with poverty, like Odets' Awake & Sing! or something like that.

Then I realized something when I stumbled upon Americans for the Arts Action Fund tally on where the candidates stand when it comes to arts funding. Suddenly the idea of poverty hit closer home.

I have friends who are working artists; my goal is eventually to be a working artist. When I took a look at the Arts positions of the 2008 candidates, I got scared for the future of arts funding in America.

Like a good democrat, Obama supports funding the arts. His campaign has put out an official policy proposal on arts funding that focuses on combining education and arts. At least from his position statement, he see the value of the arts. But will he really follow through on all this or is it an attempt to capture the already leftist artists? Why would he need to do that though, most artists I know would automatically vote left, purely because the Democratic Party has a history of supporting social programs, including the arts.

What scares me though is McCain and Palin. I was in Virginia on Monday, driving through a neighborhood and I forgot what it was like to be in a “red” state. In the course of two long blocks I saw probably 10 McCain/Palin signs, it was scary, mainly because of her, but that’s not what this blog post is about.

McCain doesn’t have published policy proposals on arts or arts education.

He hasn’t made a statement on federal support of the arts, though he has about arts education.

The Republican party platform does not include a statement on arts and/or arts education.

McCain himself has voted to cut funding or terminate the National Endowment for the Arts .

I know I’m not talking about the world’s poverty issue and I didn’t really set out to be political when I wrote this, but I’m concerned about where my country is going and whether or not I will cross that poverty line to pursue my dreams.

I’m not a huge fan of Obama, in fact I gained more respect for the ticket after I heard Biden speak. But McCain scares me and Palin scares me even more. It's the lesser of two evils situation, per usual.

I just ask that when you go to vote in less than a month, you consider what choice you make and how that will affect those you love.

Thanks to Abigail Katz's Katzeye Report for bringing to my attention the candidate's positions on arts funding.

An Essential Tool for the Actor

So this has never happened to me before... I lost my voice. Yep it went bye, bye and left me with little to work with.

This took me back to my first day of orientation at Cornish and the Freshman voice teacher Ellen Boyle (who later became a good friend and mentor) had lost her voice because she had spent the weekend protesting against the killing of Canadian Geese in one of Seattle's many parks. So she had been screaming at the top of her lungs trying to scare the geese away so they wouldn't be killed. Honestly, when she first told the story I thought it was a little weird, but she was passionate about her cause and I respected that. She told us about how profound it was to lose her voice, since as a voice teacher she relies on it so much. I really didn't understand what she meant until this week.

I mentioned how last week I was experiencing the "Death Plague" and it's reach was farther than just the fever, chills, cough and phlegm. The cough was so powerful that I seriously damaged my vocal folds and it was very hard for me to talk. I was not fully "on-voice" for a few days. All you got out of me what whispy sounds that resembled words.

What made it a profound experience for me was when I was in rehearsal with the Watch cast. Normally if I'm talking about an actor using their voice is a weird way I will demonstrate, because a visceral experience is always more informative than me just telling them about it.

Well I couldn't demonstrate at all. What a punch to my gut!

My voice and speech has always been there for me, it was something I excelled at in school (with the exception of keeping my soft palette lifted) . And, no, I can't sing; just for the record. I always took for granted that my voice would be there, even if I hadn't warmed up fully, it was there and usable. I had control over this, my vocal choices were always the first choices I made as an actor once I learned how to harness my tool. Learning about my voice and exploring and using it made me a better theatre artist.

Well I'm on the mend and my voice is slowly but surely coming back, I'm not trying to baby it, but I'm also trying not to overwork. I just hope things didn't change too much in the past week.

Your voice is how you let the world know you're there. I don't know what I'd do if I lost it.

Why Do They Leave Their Socks On?

Is porn art?

Background: Flipping through the HBO channels I come across Thinking XXX, a film by Timothy Greenfield-Sanders about shooting portraits for his book XXX: 30 Porn-Star Portraits.

One of the subjects, Sean Michaels, likened his work to art. My first reaction was, what the fuck? They get paid to fuck. How is that art?

Mr. Michaels said his work was an expression of the art of fucking. Made me think...

Porn Stars get paid to fuck on film. Actors get paid to act on film. (I won't make this distinction between art and entertainment in this post, though it could be valid)

Porn Stars get paid for their pornographic still shots. Models get paid for their photographs.

Porn Stars film soft-core scenes of simulated sex. Actors simulate sex scenes in movies all the time.

These are just some parallels that I've come up with off the top of my head. Though that also brings to mind the actors are like prostitutes, we are paid to perform.

Art & Sex have always crossed paths. Artists push the boundaries. Was the Marquis de Sade's work smut or literature?

What is the link between sex & art? Can sex be art? When does sex cross that line where it is no longer art?

Brief Update: Watch, A Haunting

So it's getting down to crunch time, we open 2 weeks from today. Yikes!

Also, I've been fighting what I'm referring to as the "Death Plague" the past couple of days. No fun, for sure.

Last night we took full-on production photos (minus the few props we still need to get). I'm excited to see how they will turn out. Don't get me wrong, it was a little slice of hell sitting through photos last night, but not because it was boring (it wasn't). Nope, purely because I'm fighting a bad fever and a nasty cough.

Did I mention how much more I love the way we took the production photos last night? Not yet. Well, I did. We would practically run through the scenes, and photographer would make adjustments in blocking to help suit the pictures. Much more organic, way more my style.

Well we have rehearsal tonight and I know some of the cast wants to see the VP debates tonight as well. Sure I'd love to see it too, but we gotta get down to some real work tonight. Next week is run-thrus, then tech next weekend. Keep your fingers crossed, it's going to be a wild ride!

P.S. I'll post the pictures when I get them.