The End of An Era...

3 months after I promised to update my blog post-Showcase, here I am. I seem to have lost my superstar blogger status and relinquished the title to Mimi & Philip. I'm OK with it, it's time...

Well, October 3rd saw the East 15 MA Acting Showcase at the Criterion in the West End come and go (Picadilly Circus to be exact). It was an early morning for all of us and an exciting afternoon! It was amazing to be able to stand, let alone act, on a West End stage. It is an experience that I will never forget. Everyone did so well and it was a proud time for all of us. Here's a look at the Criterion from the audience and from the stage. And here are Miranda & I treading those boards! So thrilling!



So, after shmoozing my little tush off with the agents, directors, etc after the Showcase finished, I was approached by 3 agents. It was an incredible and nerve-destroying all at once! So, that was finished and a few days later we had a little graduation ceremony in the Corbett Theatre at East 15. It was a lovely little celebration to mark the end of an incredible year.

I've made it through this insane program and ended up the other side of it a better and more confident actor and a person who understands who she is once and for all. I feel like it's taken me nearly 30 years to get here and I have loved the journey. I have learned so much about acting and about people from my year at East 15, some good, some bad, but all useful. I will walk away from this program with my head held high, proud of what I accomplished and focused on my life as an actor. Before I left for London, my friend Erika gave me a card with a quote from Thoreau - "Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you've imagined." I will...

This picture sums up my time at East 15 with my best gal pals (L-R: Jenni, Niki, Miranda, Olivia & Moi) - genuine smiles and a true joy of being together at the end of it.


I then flew back to Odessa, Texas and the Globe Theatre once again to rehearse for All My Sons. I was there for one more month and it was a wonderful experience! The show turned out beautifully and I was so honored to take on the role of Ann Deever and thank Cynthia for yet another amazing opportunity. The cast deserves a special nod, they were stellar to work with and made me smile every day. Ophelia and Ann back to back was a dream!

Now, I am back in London...I've moved into a lovely flat in North London with Olivia, signed with an agent, recorded my voiceover demo CD, been temping and auditioning. That's my life now. At least for the next year it will be. I'm applying for my year-long work visa and will give this crazy business a shot in this country until then. If I am soaring and I find a sponsor, I will stay, but if I don't have a sponsor, I can't stay, even if I want to, and it's back to the States to pursue this career of mine. We shall see. It's an exciting and unsettling time but I will give it my all with gusto and heart like always.

I want to thank you for staying on this long and winding road with me. I know it was insane at times, and it was, but your support and good thoughts out there in the world helped me through. I love you all and hope that wherever your adventures take you in life, you'll carry a little bit of me with you...

Signing off.

xoxo
Eli :)

A Return...

So, after 2 months away from my lovely little blogger world, I have returned. For all of you faithful readers (yes, Cherri - here you go!), I apologize for the long absence, but you will understand why...I hope.

I am back in London to finish up my Master's program after being in Odessa, Texas for the past 2 months playing Ophelia in the Southwest Shakespeare Festival production of Hamlet (in case you were wondering). It was a rough start for me there. I was a bit lonely after being surrounded constantly by insane drama school students! However, I settled in and, perhaps it was the meteor shower in August that changed it all, I really began to enjoy myself in the Lone Star State. My cast was wonderful (a special shout out to all who are reading this!), I was really proud of the production and the work that I did and the people in West Texas embraced me with open arms. I will never forget that.

During all of this, I had to create my portfolio for my degree. As you recall, the University let me go to America to do this role as substitution for my MA Graduation Project. So, my thesis and my portfolio all had to do with Ophelia. I turned in (TODAY!!!) an enormous binder with all of my work, including my rehearsal diary, essay, DVD's of the production, newspaper articles, photos, script, scene breakdown, word list, fight choreography (yes, I ended up choreographing the armed and unarmed fight sequences because we lost our fight choreographer. go east 15 gold star in stage combat!), schedules and I think that's it. It was a whole heck of a lot of work but I got it done and am thrilled with how it turned out. I worked my butt off along with trying to make this role my own and I think I came out a better actor, student and person for it.

So, I apologize for not updating this on a more regular basis. I was simply swamped. I flew back into London in Saturday morning and it's nice (albeit a little odd) to be here. I saw all of my friends and classmates back at school today and was caught up on all of the gossip from the past month and their projects. I am sad to have missed them. :( We began rehearsing for our Showcase today. It's next Wed., Oct. 3rd at the Criterion Theatre in the West End in London. So exciting! We get about 3 1/2 minutes for a scene with a partner and a group song. That's it. Hopefully, the agents and directors see enough of a glimpse of something they like to talk to you. We shall see! My friend, Miranda, and I are doing a scene from a Maxim Gorky play called Philistines. It's fantastic and we are thrilled to work on it.

One more bit of news...I am returning to Odessa, TX on the 7th of October to take on the role of Ann in Arthur Miller's All My Sons. It is a fantastic part, Cynthia is directing again and many Hamlet-ites are returning. So, it's a great opportunity for me and I am looking forward to it. Then it is back to London to make a real go of things. Ah, the uncertainty! ;)

Thanks for catching up and I will write after the Showcase to let you know how it went and wrap up this year. It certainly has been an adventure, thanks for joining me on it...

A parting shot of "Crazy Ophelia!!!" I mean, look at that hair!

There's no place like home...

Just a quick update for all of you faithful readers out there...

Hamlet rehearsals are going really well. I am loving this part and it is a real joy to sink my teeth into. Odessa, Texas isn't really my cup of tea. It is so different than growing up in the Philadelphia area, I can assure you of that! And it has made me appreciate where I came from and where I live now to such a great extent. Texas is a whole different ballgame as I have come to learn. This ain't no Jersey, I tell ya!

Love...

Here are a few more pictures:
1-3. The marquis for the theatre - I am a superstar! ;)
4. A tortoise in the cats' food bowl with cat food in its mouth. I love it! :)

Texas Pictures - As Promised...

Pictures:
1) My bedroom (I have my own bathroom too! Woohoo!)
2) The entrance to the theatre.
3) Inside the theatre (sorry it's a bit dark).
4) Also insidee the theatre (ditto for the darkness).
5) My Hamlet, Jeremy Tow. :)

Enjoy!
xoxo Eli :)

Hamlet in Texas!!!

Hey Y'all! Just checking in from the Lone Star state. I have no internet in the house where I'm staying but I do have access at the theatre's office. I hope to pop in here often to check email, etc. but don't know how often that is possible.

I am staying at the house of the couple that runs the theatre, Anthony & Kathryn. They are very sweet and I have my own room and bathroom too! My Hamlet, Jeremy, and I are both staying there and it's a great deal. We had our first full-cast read-thru on Sunday night and apparently have Monday's off, so we started rehearsals, in earnest, yesterday. I'm really looking forward to it. Yay! Ophelia in Odessa, it's good times indeed.

I wanted to post some photos but that's proving to be a bit of a challenge at the moment. I hope to put some up soon...

I miss you all and would love to hear from you. My contact info is:

If calling from the UK - 001 432 853 5225
USA Callers - (432) 853-5225

Moi
2803 Eastover
Odessa, TX 79762
USA

Love you all...xoxo

Dead Cell Phone!!! :(

So, my fancy shmancy phone died on me and with it, all of my contacts. So, if you could please email me your phone number(s) that would be grand and much appreciated!

elikatz13@hotmail.com

Thanks y'all!

xoxo
Eli :)

The Post-Laramie Down-Low

Well, before you scream, I know this is the longest I've gone without posting. I have a myriad of excuses, but I'll just sum them up with: hell week before production, production, aftermath, working on my group's MA graduation project (for which I won't be here to perform), working on my own graduation project (Hamlet) and packing up my year of living here before I leave on the 28th of this month for Texas. Stress...is the word you're looking for and the word I've found.

So, The Laramie Project was a huge success! It was so beautifully received by audiences and we, as a cast, really cared about our work and about telling the story with integrity. Performing that show was a real honor and I loved every minute of it. It's one of those rare moments in theatre when you realize that it is possible to actually make a difference with your art. Really, really cool.

Here are a few pictures from the show. Our set was just what you see (along with another table and one more chair). Each of the 51 moments (scenes) in the show was illustrated by a projection on the infinity screen behind us. First, as you can see, is "The Laramie Project" followed by "Moment: A Definition" and so on. Simple and effective.

The marquis outside the entrance of The Corbett Theatre at East 15 Acting School.

Damian, the Aussie, as a member of Tectonic Theatre Company of NYC. So cute.

Something that was so cool that happened was on the Thursday night of the run, one of my former Youth Theatre Northwest kids and her mom came out to see the show. It just so happened that they were vacationing in London and spent their last night coming out to see my show. It was so wonderfully sweet of them and I don't know if they realize just how much it meant to me. To be able see some familiar faces and remind me that not everyone back in Seattle has forgotten about me was incredible. My thanks to Shannon and mom Ginny for their love and support. *warm fuzzies*

Shannon Kane - all the way from Seattle! And boy were her arms tired!

After the show closed it was down to working on MA graduation projects. As I've mentioned before, the University of Essex is allowing me to use Hamlet as my qualification but I am still working with my group in a "creative consultant" capacity, I suppose. My group, composed of Miranda from Wales, Linda from Sweden, Norman from Ireland, Ben from Bath, England and Jeanne from Essex, England (cool, huh?), are working on a treatment of the play Festen based on the Danish film of the same name. It is worth a rental if you can find it. It's great! They are being judged on their creativity in basing a new production based on an existing text.
It's a tough road to hoe, to be honest. For me, I try to give them as much input as I can in the three days a week I am with them. The other two days I am on my own, working on Ophelia and general Hamlet business. We are all to keep a diary, tracking the work we are doing on our projects. As an idea of the kind of work I am doing at the moment, here is my first entry. It's exciting stuff...

5 July 2007

1. The Beginnings

The idea of tackling a role like Ophelia is a daunting one. It has been, I think, both a blessing and a burden in these early stages. It seems as if everyone has his or her opinions on how this iconic role should be played. I’ve been hit from every direction with “don’t do this” or “make sure you do this” reactions to my taking on this part and it’s been a challenge in itself to tune those voices out and focus on what I want my Ophelia to say.
She is an underwritten character. She is talked of more than she speaks for herself; however, this intrigued me. After a closer reread of the version that we are using, I came to understand that Ophelia is a woman on the verge of her adult life. She has all of the pains and excitements of youth behind her and all of the joys and tests that being a woman in love and in transition invites. Ophelia is a character fraught with unrequited love, an over-bearing father and brother and the weight of two scorned hearts on her shoulders – hers and Hamlet’s. This makes for exhilarating and tricky shoes to fill but I am up for the challenge with tremendous amounts of heart and gusto behind me!

So, that's the scoop on the poop, as my brother would say. I hope to post before I leave for Texas but I am not making any promises. For all interested, I will be acquiring a US phone number when in the Lone Star State and will get everyone the number when I get it. I'll leave you with an image of Sully really doing all he could to aid my packing...xoxo