#casting woes

[clockways]

Oh my god weekend. Why did you have to warming up? WHY? I have two gallons of silicon to use and time to use it and you have to be warming meaning 78% humidity.

Give me a break weather, please?

[clockwaysarts]

Contacting smooth-on is proving entirely unhelpful. Apparently the cause of the issues is among the following:

My clay was still wet.

WTF is Tamiya.

My primer was still wet.

My primer was too heavy.

OBEY THE TEMPERATURE GUIDES

Which are fine questions, but in the original ticket I had made it clear to them that I have used this same process before with success. Since the product was made in January it is not a shelf life issue and to them must be on my end. Part A is like a thick honey which is very much not low viscosity (it is seriously thicker than both my syrup and my honey- I walked into the kitchen to see after pouring the test recommended) and this is thicker than I remember it. I wouldn’t of contacted them if I didn’t honestly feel something was amiss but I feel as if they checked a lot date and then dismissed all issue on their end. We’ll see though.

Edit: The test yielded the same results- it is riddled with holes. Since it is not my finishing of my master and they say it is not their product, then it I am left with it being my environment. I will use up the silicone I have, as it will go bad before I can make any major move, with some attempts to force out the humidity in a more extreme manner and see about the feasibility to invest in a pressure pot set up.

Unless something happens with my next few rounds, expect the owl to sadly be shelved again till mid-end of May.

[clockwaysarts]

My mold is officially Swiss cheese. You can see a cross section in the top photo and in the bottom all those dark and tan looking spots are bubbles right up against the surface of my object.

I suppose.. I’m just in a climate that makes casting impossible without expensive equipment. Humidity (while barely what it will be in a few weeks) is on the rise and the temp is climbing. Maybe if I had gotten to this a week or two ago, but who would of guessed we’d have summer already in mid March? Not that I had the time to cast then- I’m working the equivalent of a a full time and part time job right now.

I’ve had a very sweet offer from afar to help with my mold that I have to consider. Being able to cast myself isn’t a point of pride but a point of longevity for this medium.  It might mean investing a sizable chunk of the extra income I’m getting right now but that’s such a risk. I’ll try freezing out my place to bring down the humidity, since I have to use up the silicone anyways, and see if it does any good. Later though- right now I’m.. ya. No more right now.

[clockwaysarts]

It officially wasn’t my resin, my mold is full of tiny holes. u_u

[the--write--way]

A Sylphide here, a Sylphide there, a Sylphide everywhere

I have no idea who's dancing what roles in the upcoming La Sylphide anymore. Everyone is posting videos and pictures of everyone and seem to be at all the different rehearsals. Susanne Grinder is definitely dancing the Sylph with Marcin Kupinski as James and, I think, Femke Mølbach Slot as Effy? - a trio I condone fully and whole-heartedly. Sebastian Kloborg also seems to have been cast as Madge and whatever cast he's paired with that is just GOLD. Score! Gregory Dean is the James to Amy Watson's Sylph again which makes me happy. Today Jonathan Chmelensky posted a video of a reel rehearsal where Dean seemed to be dancing with Stephanie Chen as Effy (looked like Stephanie to me, at least) and if that's so, maybe they're going for the same combination as last time with her as Effy and Sebastian Haynes as Madge (I've seen him in rehearsal pictures with Kupinski, though)? Again, I'd be very pleased. I loved Stephanie as Effy and I loved, loved, loved Haynes as Madge, he was amazing. However, I have no idea if they're going to switch the casts around more than they already have or if people are just randomly rehearsing together, depending on who's available at a given time... Nevertheless, if these are the people that are dancing La Sylphide on the other side of New Year (and they only have two casts this time rather than three), I couldn't be happier. It's perfection!

 Now I'm just left to wonder where that leaves Ida Praetorius, after seeing her tagged here and there, plus the picture of her, Caroline Baldwin and Hilary Guswiler that was posted to Facebook yesterday, I thought she might have been cast as Effy... A casting choice I'd love, as well. Argh. All this guessing, it's driving me insane.

 Also, Alexander Bozinoff as Gurn, it seems... The plot thickens!

[theatreducation]

Just emailed out casting decisions for the season, as well as emails to those who didn’t get cast. As a rule, I hate emailing out this kind of “rejection” stuff (I know how much it can hurt to get), and this is no exception. Especially for one of the shows, there were a lot of older people coming out, some of whom hadn’t done theater in high school but were excited to get involved again. (This is community theater.) This one woman was so nervous and excited and talked to me about how much fun she was having and how she hoped to get in nearly the whole time she was waiting for her callback. The email she just sent in response to being told she wasn’t getting cast is heart-breaking- because it’s so damn positive. She talked about how much fun the experience of auditioning was and how she was grateful for the chance, and understands there were a lot of talented people.

I hate this sooo much

[stovetuna]

I made myself laugh.

[letstalkimprov]

commitment

I've been involved in some improv projects lately where other participants have treated rehearsals, responsibilities and even performances at best as optional and at worst unnecessary. And I will be the first to admit, I have been guilty of this in the past.

I suspect a link between the myth that improvised theatre is easier/requires less work than scripted theatre, and this attitude.  

Our performance is spontaneous. Our preparation is not. It requires commitment and dedication. If you have signed up to a show or a workshop group, workshops need to be prioritised. If you are cast in a show, turning up to perform is not optional. 

Yes, a skilled director/MC can make a different/smaller cast 'work'. But they should not have to. It is disrespectful to your fellow players to turn up late or not at all, and to not fully engage in the workshop process. Be considerate, engaged, and fully committed.