March Break!

Hey Abyss,

It's finally March Break, I am so excited to finally have a break!

This last week has been a whirlwind; we did 5 shows of The Seagull and I also had my Solo Show Tutorial. That doesn't sound like a lot but it is, I can promise you.

Looking back on the experience, despite my initial hesitations about it, it was truly amazing and I am so grateful to have worked with Tanja on this wonderful show. It challenged me in so many ways and her supportive and blunt ways only made it more successful. Thank you :)

The weeks leading up to now have been rather introspective for me and I have solidified a lot of my personal and artistic goals. I have also started to understand that everything takes time and although I am becoming aware of the things that will help me grow, I have to give them the time to flourish in myself. Instead of demanding growth and beating myself up for it not happening right away.

Tanja called me on owning my wins today in our "end of project interview" and it has never rang more crucial. I am very reliant on the opinions of other people when it comes to my work and life. This trait is extremely deadly in myself and I am glad that she put it out there for me. I am learning how to feel confident in my choices regardless of how people react, or how they feel. It is about me and my choices and how I choose to express myself.

This seems elementary, but I have always struggled with feeling good about my ideas. Especially here at NTS due to the massive amounts of talent that abound. In order for me to become stronger in myself as a young man and artist this issue needs to be resolved.

I have had a few people come into my life lately that have shown me what my life could be like without my insecurities, and it is far better. So, my mission to myself is to continually do what I love and work towards that positive and brave person that I know I a capable of being.

Life is so funny sometimes.

I am truly blessed.

When I take the time to actually listen to what's around me, as well as myself, I learn so much. This week is going to be about me. I have started a cleanse of my mind and body and really want to enjoy and learn this March Break.

I am going to see Montreal this week, finally, and focus on my Solo Show.

That is a promise. (I am full of promises today...)

And on that note I am going to take a shower and begin with going to see Twelfth Night at the Monument - Nationale!

Here is a goofy photo of my character from The Seagull.

Night Abyss

50 cents and the Super Bowl.

Hey Abyss,

It is Sunday, which means that I have a number of things to do. Namely homework, laundry and cleaning the rest of my apartment. I have this tenancy to only clean my bathroom and living area, and avoid my kitchen completely. I am not entirely sure why I do this, perhaps I will come to the conclusion one day.

I also need to accomplish these things before the Super Bowl starts at 6:30, so this will be a challenge in itself.

Oh, and I need to find 50 cents before I can do all of my laundry.

#Studentproblems.

Yes I just did that.

This week has been an interesting one. I have a tenancy to anticipate a lot in my life. I think of all possible outcomes of situations and usually like to endow new experiences with excitement. Unfortunately most times my ideas of how situations will play out is not exactly how they do.

We started rehearsal on The Seagull with Tanja Jacobs this week, and it has been different than I anticipated.

Not bad, just different.

We have spent the last 6 days doing explorative table work, which Tanja kept reminding us is really effective in knowing the script inside and out. It was interesting because I have never spent that amount of time simply writing down facts and questions. But she is right, I feel like I know the content of the play very well now. The hardest part of this week was not delving into my developing process, which is very character based, instead it was mostly spent reading and writing.

I now see the value in this process, and understand that the beauty of the school is that every person that works with us is going to bring something new and we have the option to carry that through our lives as actors or abandon it completely. We are consistently filling our utility belt as young performers and we get to build a process for ourselves with the tools that we have been given. I also have to take into account that regardless of what process I develop for myself, depending on the director I may work with, I will have to change it to accommodate their desires.

A hard pill to swallow when I am still figuring out what works for me.

As time goes on at the school, I figure out what contributes to good acting and makes actors strong. The school is filled with people who are talented. But its finding out how to use your talent in the strongest way possible which comes through in a variety of ways. Second semester, this year, has been showing me how hard you have to work behind the scenes to bring it on the day. This "working" aspect is something that I am relatively bad at, and so the opportunity to explore different ways to jump in has been challenging but exciting.

Things are still very early in the process of The Seagull, so I may have more details down the road. For now this is what I have been thinking about. I am off to find some quarters and clean my bathroom again in avoidance of my dishes.

Night Abyss

Up and Down We Go

Hey Abyss,

This week has been an interesting one.

I received some good news on Friday about finally getting rid of my old apartment in Montreal, which has been a dark cloud over my unprotected head for about 3 months. Now, all I have is the one place and I am stoked, because three apartments is far too much for a actor/student to have!

I went back to Halifax on the weekend and had a great dinner with my girlfriend and our friends, which was a much needed relaxation time. It was great to just come back and not worry about anything. The downside is that since I was in such a carefree and positive mood I spent far too much money and am kind of in a pinch this week.

H&M was/continues to kill my bank account.

I felt I owed it to myself to buy at least a shirt due to my lack of spending this summer.

So I caved.

Then to my disappointment I found out today that I am not receiving the paycheque amount I anticipated from All The Wrong Reasons, and there is not as many kids at my camp as there was supposed to be. So, I am in a 'financial' pickle at the current moment, but nothing that isn't still considered a first world problem.

Today I also found out that my character isn't being brought back on Mr. D with lines, I am really only being brought back as a glorified extra. This was disappointing to me as I thought that I was going to have some more interactions, like last season.

Apparently not.

I still get paid the same, but it is honestly the coverage that makes me happy. Now, the show is very much improvised on the day and so there may be opportunity to create some dialogue, and I am all about opportunities,  but I am not holding out for anything. At this point I am just grateful to be making some extra money.

This is kind of a depressing and pathetic post, alas, this is all I have right now.

Remember to follow me on twitter @wayne_burns and check out my IMDB I added pictures!!

Night Abyss