Summer is Here and I am Inside.

Hey,

Despite the depressing vibe emanating from my entry title; I am very well. I was outside for most of the morning showing a good friend of mine the lay of the land and some of my favourite spots in Montreal. She is here on her "Grad Trip" and wanted to see some of the city, and seeing as it is beautiful out I leapt at the opportunity to show her around!

There is officially one week of school left, and even if I couldn't read a calendar, I can feel it in the air. It's the time of year where things start to pick up and change, the days become longer and productivity seems possible again, because not only do I feel like getting more done but I can be outside doing it! I was talking to a friend of mine last night about how things are changing, because we have come to the end of an era. Most people anticipated that 2012 was the end, and that there wouldn't be anything after that, but thankfully there is and I am so excited to see what the rest of this year brings for me personally and artistically.

I was filling out a form for a scholarship and it asked for the the start and finish dates of the program I intend to use the money for. As I wrote out May 2014 for the end date, it struck me that the end is so close. This part of my life that seemed so far away two summers ago, is one year from now. Life is slowly creeping up, and as much as I don't want to wish away the time, I feel so ready for my final year at NTS.

Last night, I went to see the New Words Festival Shows which are the efforts of all the third year graduates of the Playwriting, Production, Set and Costume Design, and Acting programs and I really enjoyed myself. The first, You Can Do Whatever You Want, was written by Jesse Stong and chronicled the lives of three generations of women in a small town. It was beautiful. I love stories about families and the struggles of reality. The second, Model Wanted, was written by Step Taylor and was so fascinating, I thought each character was deeply interesting and well developed, and the ending left me with this raw exposed nerve feeling that I love having. These experiences made me so excited to see what we will be working with next year.

As time goes on here, I realize how my classmates and I are continually changing and discovering who we are, what we like and don't like and what our futures may hold for us. And since the start of meeting them all I knew our journeys here and in our futures would be so different and I am thrilled to see where we all go after this time together. Life is remarkable and as many struggles that I have had over the last two years, I know that every one of them was necessary for me to be where I am right now. I am slowly discovering clarity over what I want for myself artistically and that is a good feeling.

My summer is shaping up to be quite full of plans and arrangements and I am really excited for the experiences that lie within them. I need to start packing, but it comes down to what do I really need? I really want to indulge in simplicity this summer, and truly live in the present rather than constantly searching for what is coming down the tubes. The more serene my summer is the more time I can dedicate to my work being the best it can be. And really, I would rather it be the best, then be almost the best but then I got distracted with this new project that I really like.

I think that wraps up my thoughts for the day. Bring on the final week.

Jeremy Webb is the meanest director in Halifax (I hope this brings a smile to your face.)

Night Abyss.

Gos-Wiig Week

Hey Abyss,

This week has been an interesting one, as it always seems to be.

The theme of my life: interesting. 

I need to find less stale and more enticing words to preface my entires.

Seriously.

This week I have been inspired by Kristen Wiig and the Gos, as per usual. The unusual one, the operative word being unusual, is Andy Kaufman. You see, my parents bought me the first season of Saturday Night Live for Christmas and I have, clearly, been watching it. Andy Kaufman was a guest star for a little bit at the beginning of the show and he really interested me and so I started to search around and read about him a bit. He was an interesting, er, fascinating guy. I watched the Golden Globe winning film Man on the Moon with Jim Carey about Mr. Kaufman's life last night and was so engrossed with the career this guy had. Truly remarkable. It's a shame that he died so young.

I was telling my girlfriend today, before I went to see Gangster Squad tonight (which I enjoyed very much), that I have these 6 people in my life that consistently inspire me but the limelight fluctuates each week; Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy, Johnny Depp, Ewan McGregor, Ryan Gosling and Kristen Wiig. I truly admire them all so much as not only actors but what images and associated art accompanies them.  I feel that they embody everything that I want to be as a person and an artist.

My class and I have been working with the world renowned director Lazlo Marton (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/László_Marton_(director)) this week and will continue for the next two. I have been truly enlightened by him, he is so remarkable and I walk away from the class being both frustrated and knowing what I need to do. He is very much about teaching us how to be prepared actors for our futures and how we can develop our minds by ourselves and the questions and practices we should be integrating into our daily work as actors.

He is teaching us how to be prepared for rehearsal and to use our own experiences and emotions to fuel our individual interpretations of characters. His broken english almost provides more clarity in situations because of the blunt nature that it spoken. He is such a kind man and only wants the best for us as young performers and I feel truly honoured to be working with someone who is humble enough to come and bestow his knowledge on us.

Someone said to me once that, " To become a better artist, you need to surround yourself with inspiring art..." or something like that. And I have truly been enjoying just that, no matter how simple it is. I get such gratification out of seeing and listening to things that I enjoy, which seems obvious, and on some level I grow from them into a more self directed artist and that is a really wonderful feeling.

This last week has provided me with many epiphanies and I am just revelling in them.

Night Abyss.

Forward into the New Year!

Hey Abyss,

I am back from a wonderful and much needed vacation. I learned to never underestimate the feeling of simplicity.

If there was one thing that I am coming back with from my break it is that.

I am normally a pretty self-stressed person and find that I usually pass by the things that I truly enjoy for things that I think need to be done, such as watching a TV show or listening to an album that makes me happy. Speaking of TV shows I am currently watching American Horror Story: Asylum and Mad Men.

I received the first season of Mad Men for Christmas and am throughly enjoying it, which doesn't come as much of a surprise since 3.54 million viewers also share that opinion.

School starts back up on the 8th, but I am presenting some more work on my Solo Show on the 6th to Adam Lazarus and Jodi Essery. I am looking forward to making some more headway with the character I am working on. So far most of my "work" on the piece has been character development, specifically over the last few days. I have spent way too much money on it so far, so here is hoping that something good comes out of our meeting on Sunday.

Other than research and watching TV, not a whole lot has happened since my return to Montreal.

But there is nothing wrong with that.

I am looking forward to what lies ahead for me in 2013. I feel truly blessed for the amazing year that was 2012. My family and friends have honestly been a wonderful source of support throughout the year.

Over the break I had the opportunity to go back to my high school and talk to some of the students in Grade 11 Drama, it was a really wonderful experience to see the desire in some of their faces. I hope that I was able to provide them with valuable information. I really wanted to encourage them to do what they loved and not be trapped in the walls of the small town that we come from. My home town is what is making me the artist that I am becoming, but it is easy to get trapped there and not look outward for the things you love.

I have a few resolutions for myself this year, and I want to work hard on making them a reality rather than another list that is shoved to the back of a desk drawer. I am also going to work really hard this semester on cementing a process for myself with script work. I feel as an artist the process is continually changing, but I want to have some staple things that I always do with the script I am working on at the time.

When we get back we are working for three weeks with Lazlo Martin on Three Sisters, specifically working particular scenes from the play rather than the whole piece. Then we head into rehearsal for The Seagull with Tanja Jacobs. I have been cast as Shamraev (for those of you who know the play that will mean something haha), it is a smaller role but I plan to make the best of it. I am looking forward to being in rehearsal again. I like the process of working towards a larger product.

Anyway, it is getting late so I am heading to bed.

Night Abyss.