Missy M

9/23

Hi! My name is Melissa Metz but I am known as Missy. I will be playing the character of Anna. I am a junior English and CATA major with a minor in secondary education. This is my 4^th theater production at MC and I am extremely excited. This week began the rehearsal process. During the first read through I began to get a little overwhelmed with all the lines I will have to memorize. I began to think up ways to start the memorization process. I think that my best idea was to create a tape of my lines and listen to it constantly. I think repetition would be the best process for me. Also this week we watch the movie The Third Man, I thought the movie was good and it gave me a better understanding of the other characters I am involved in throughout the show. During the first rehearsal I became aware that my character will take a lot of work. I will need to identify her motivation in a lot of the scenes. Also I will need to understand her throughout the stages if her acceptance of death. I have come to the conclusion that this character will take a lot of work but the result will be beneficial to me as an actress. I look forward to the next weeks of rehearsal and becoming more comfortable with my character.

10/1

What a stress filled week. The second week of practice sure has been a rough one. Through this weeks practice I am finally beginning to actually understand the play. Through all of the cast’s source week we are beginning to see the real message that the play is trying to convey. I absolutely love rehearsals, in the start of all this I was extremely overwhelmed but now I’m just having so much fun. The cast is really bonding well together and rehearsals are serious but we are still able to have some good laughs. I am also starting to enjoy my character a lot more. Before the play began I was scared of the things that Anna focused her lifestyle on but now I am able to embrace the differences between my character and I. I realized that this is a once in a lifetime chance to play such a vibrant and carefree character like Anna. She does some crazy things…… but I don’t want to ruin it for anyone (they will shock you!). In the next week I look forward to my character really developing a relationship with the other characters that she interacts with one the stage. Anna really pushes a lot of people’s comfort level throughout the play and I look forward to working with Prof West to bring those strong feelings to life on stage!

10/6

Hey Everyone! So it’s the third week and I’m freaking out! I have so many lines to memorize and I just can’t find the time to memorize. Being a student and an actress is a tough job! This week has been pretty regular. We have blocked the show and are now focusing on memorizing and transitions. I really love the cast and we all seem to get along greatly. I am beginning to develop my character and I’m pretty excited! Running from class, to dinner(rarely), and then practice I have really began to appreciate sleep. One thing this play is teaching me is how to push that snooze button on my alarm clock. I am realizing that all my energy is being thrown into this show. I have some future goals ahead of me: memorize my lines, attend class, pass my classes, eat, and SLEEP! Basically, from here on out I will eat, drink, and sleep Baltimore Waltz. What an exciting life to live! Until next time …..

10/19

Hello Everyone! It was off book week this week! Scenes 1 – 15 were to be completely off book! How nerve racking. Well the week started off with Mark and I working on how to get mad at each other, both of us are pretty timid when it comes to screaming. Then Tuesday came around and I found myself freaking out over my lines. I had a very busy week the week before so I was unsure of my memorization. So I went to practice and to my surprise Prof West took us to Dairy Queen. What a stress reliever and an energy booster. Tuesday’s practice was so much fun. The cast was consumed by sugar, so of course practice was a little sillier then usual. It was a great time to bond with the cast and to goof around for a little bit. But Wednesday was back to work, we went through the last 15 scenes and through the blocking. Thursday and Friday were a bit of a shocker to the cast and me. We sadly found out that Mark would be replaced in the play because of personal reasons. Now this shocked me and the first question that came to my mind was: how am I supposed to do this play without Mark? I was pretty upset about this cast change. Mark and I work well together and the whole brother and sister relationship was not hard for us to accomplish. We found out Brandon will be taking his place and I’m excited to get to know him. I realize that it will take a lot more time and effort to create a great relationship with Brandon but I’m ready for the challenge. It will be hard to imagine doing this play without Mark but I know Brandon will do a great job and I’m excited to start practice with him. I want to thank Mark for all his hard work the past few weeks and for helping me understand my character, Anna, a lot better. So the next few weeks will really be an exciting journey. Keep reading I know my life is sooo exciting …… Until next week!

Missy

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So its week five and we are getting down to crunch time. It has been an exciting week Brandon has become a great addition to the cast and we are starting to really develop our characters. I am off book for the most part but stumbling a little bit with a few monologues but I will get it. I can’t wait for next week when everything comes together. We are currently less then 2 weeks from tech week so I’m getting a little nervous … well I’m getting extremely nervous! Between tons of homework and memorizing lines my biggest fear is getting sick. I am taking my vitamins and drinking a lot of orange juice... gotta get my vitamin C. I am completely ready for this play to be fully memorized and ready for an audience. I can wait for next week and the deadline of no call. Hm… I’m making myself nervous just talking about it. Until next week…

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WOW! The show is a week away. I never thought this time would come. I’m getting excited but there are still those butterflies in my stomach. This week was stressful I had many due dates for projects in my classes as well as the terrifying realization that this Wednesday was NO CALL! Between those two stressful factors you could guess that I was sleep deprived and not your happiest cast member. I am currently off book! Yes you heard it her first I AM OFF BOOK! It’s kind of weird saying that because I never could have imagined actually being fully memorized. Now there is still room for improvement… I drop a few lines or stumble over a monologue or two but I’m getting the words out of my mouth that’s important right?! Now Sunday will begin our tech week and I’m pretty excited. I want to see how this whole play comes together and I can’t wait to be under the extremely hot lights! What a crazy journey this play has been; I think I have learned a lot from the experience. Thanks to everyone who has read my crazy blogs like I said in one of my first entries: “my life is pretty boring”. So I guess I will see you all on the stage! See you this weekend!