Workshops, workshops, workshops, OH AND WORKSHOPS!

Last year I took I think 6 workshops at States, and my goal for this year is 8! With my schedule already packed with performances and troupe bonding events I don't think I'll be able to attain this goal but oh well. Today I got to make time for two workshops: "Sing it Like You Mean it" with Laura Belle Bundy and "Acting Through Dance" with Charlotte D'Ambrose.

Laura Belle Bundy is the original Elle Woods in Legally Blonde the musical! I used to watch the show (yes. I sometimes watch bootlegs. It's not my fault I can't afford to fly to the city and see every Broadway show ever so DON'T JUDGE ME) online pretty often in eighth grade. Oh eighth grade, what a time. Anyways, meeting her in person was pretty surreal. Everyone at the workshop was really  just singing basic overdone music theatre songs that every thespian knows, and I didn't have all my repertoire with me so I kind of went with the flow and sang "Astonishing" from Little Women, which I kind of really regret. I haven't worked on this song in years but it's the karaoke handy with me so i thought it'd be fine, but since i haven't done it in so long I kind of just sang it without the meaning i used to put behind it, and it wasn't as meaningful as it could have been. Either way it was just a workshop and not an actual performance so it doesn't really matter, and I completely agree with the feedback she gave me. Tomorrow I have my Senior Scholarship audition and I've practiced my pieces for it pretty extensively and I am comfortable with my personal truths that I connect them to, so I'm ready to kill that tomorrow! Nevertheless, this workshop was still fun and it was an important reminder to always always always deliver the truth of the story I'm telling. I think a lot of people confuse acting with being over the top, when really it doesn't even require that much "acting". The best way to have your audience understand your performance is to just deliver it truthfully. My performance here is pretty mediocre because I decided to volunteer for fun last minute and didn't think about the truth I was putting behind the piece, but here it is down below! This is basically an example of what not to do as a performer, and I will make sure to apply this philosophy to my final project. I will use this video as a reminder of what to stray away from for my personal performances and to remind the actors in my final project of the importance of staying true to themselves and their technique. My vocal quality is also icky in this because I ate a pub sub right before. Enjoy a honey mustard clogged throat and mediocre performance of a kind of (really) cheesy song in the musical theatre world: