#youngartistproject2018

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2018 Blog - Day 12

The pressure in on and the nerves are kicking in! Even though we’ve felt it since day 1, the finish line is so much closer. Yesterday was the hardest day for me, creatively. There were ideas in my head, but for some reason I couldn’t put on paper. It was a combination of tiredness and the pressure Aaron and I were putting on ourselves.

Today, we made our way to the warehouse from noon to 3 pm. There was no wasting time. We went straight to accomplishing our tasks. Aaron and I revisited the script from the night before and added some more scenes to strengthen our story and characters. Thanks to Steve’s advice, we could create more relatability with our characters and give them all purpose. Until about 6 pm we were scripting out our scenes. Although there were still weak parts of the script, we wanted to pitch it to Steve to make sure we were going the right direction. We were happy to not hear any drastic flaws with our script, but it was nowhere close to being ready.

Aaron and I decided to split up to accomplish more. I took the notes that Steve gave us and revised the script. Now, it was about piecing everything together. Most of the songs and raps were ready. Celeste did a very good job of infecting my brain with the songs she wrote, which is a good sign. The goal was to get the script done and printed by 9:30 and for the first time we came close to hitting that goal! Unfortunately, we put too much faith into Kinkos for printing our script and that delayed our process.

Steve helped us out greatly by sitting in as a director and as an audience. We went through all the scenes with blocking, while editing the script. By doing this, we all had a better understanding of the story and were rapidly filling in the plot holes we had before. We spent a couple hours doing this and by 5 am we weren’t even halfway done, but Steve decided we’d call it a night, since we had another long day ahead.

In the creative world, feedback is probably the most crucial thing to becoming better and the worst thing to do is take it personally or not seek that advice. While we went through the script with Steve, I learned a lot. He mentioned a lot of things that I’ve heard before and new things that I’d never thought about. Although almost every line of the dialogue written was adjusted, I wasn’t discouraged by it because the intentions of the scene remained. By the end of the session, we had the same story, but with a different approach that I liked a lot more.

This is the last blog I am writing for YAP and it’s very nostalgic. The thought of all of this being over in a few days leaves me with a multitude of emotions. It has been a roller coaster getting to the story we have now, but it’s been worth it. I can’t wait for the audience to experience our story and for the YAP cast to see our hard work come to life. For two weeks, we’ve made this warehouse our home, our office, and our playground. It is going to feel so weird to go back to our normal lives and to have a normal sleep schedule. I forgot how life was when I didn’t see Aaron, Celeste, and Katie every day. We’ve learned so much as a group and I know our inside jokes will live on as well as our friendship outside of the warehouse. Things probably won’t kick in until we take our final bow, so I will brace myself for that. I’m beyond grateful for the experience I’ve had at the Young Artist Project.

Written By: Chalisa Phiboolsook

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2018 Blog - Day 10

It’s the first time we’re meeting since Midnight Rehearsal and it was kind of difficult for the first part of the day. We all got to the warehouse around 9 am and began to discuss about our next steps. While we still liked our old concept and idea, we thought that it would be a good idea to put it aside for now and see if we can find something better. For the next couple of hours, we were back to square one: the idea board. Ideas were pitched left and right and one stood out enough for us to try and decide where it would go. Hours were spent on this idea until one of us took a step back and said that there isn’t a fire in their heart to tell this story. Ultimately, I was a little bummed out because we’ve spent so much time on this idea and I see all the potential where this idea could go, but no one else did. I was bummed.

            We table that idea and move onto another. The issues that were being voiced about the other storyline, I was beginning to see in the new one we were discussing. So, I voiced my opinions. And then onto a new story line, and another, and another. The most painful thing, for me, was spending so much time on an idea, and seeing all the possible ways it can go, but having someone else in the group to judge it before I can even explain where it’s going. It’s difficult when you’ve dedicated the better part of your college career to looking at stories critically and to see the potential of a good story, and have it be tabled by people who don’t see it through the lens that you do. I was extremely frustrated.

           The day progressed and we were tackling a story line and thought we found a good one. As a group, we thought that it’d be wise to voice what we wanted to contribute to the group, mine being that I wanted to write, as opposed to perform; We came to an agreement as to what our “roles” would be. We walked Steve through our plot map and he spoke to us about how whatever is “good material” will bleed into whichever material we write because it’s good material. He also offered his thoughts on what he liked from our scratched, past idea. The leading thought was that he liked the opening scenes and we all agreed, we did like the opening scene. From a playwright’s perspective, while the opening was good, it served the old story that we were trying to tell, not this one. And when everyone was so quick to jump to including that scene, I was trying to fight them say that there is a better way to do things with this new story line. The midst of arguing and my frustration throughout the whole day, mixed with the feeling of time breathing down our necks, I blatantly said “as the writer…” And in that split second, I knew that I had said incredibly stupid words because now I’m using my power against the group, as opposed to for it. It didn’t even matter what I said after that because it was framed in the worst way possible. I was quickly shut down and I definitely agreed because those words did not come from the heart, but rather out of insecurity. I excused myself afterwards.

           I came back and apologized for what I said, because we are a team that is supposed to tackle this project together. And in that one instant, I acted alone. There is no place for that in this Project. I apologized a good three of four more times after that, but words are not something you can erase once they’ve been said. And while everyone said that they have let the issue go, I haven’t, but rather as a detriment, I’m going to use this negative experience as a means of keeping myself grounded and on the same page as the rest of the team whenever I think that my words are better than someone else’s.

Written By: Aaron Cruz

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You’ve been able to see what the cast has been up to through their blogs but here’s a Video of Days 1-5 and the craziness that Young Artist Project is.

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2018 Blog - Day 8

Since the first day of the Young Artist Project, we pointed out the fact that we are all diverse in many ways and because of that, we’d be able to present a show that could speak to a wide audience. As of now, we know this is the only opportunity we have, as a four, to bust out a show for a huge theatre within two weeks. There’s nothing else like this and I think that that is why it is so important to us to write something we can resonate with and that we’d want to go watch. There are a lot of emotions going into today since it is our last hours before the midnight rehearsal. Although we are confident in the story we want to tell, we know that there are a lot of holes to fill and last minute additions that still need tweaking.

We decided to meet at 8:00pm today so we could be well rested through the midnight rehearsal. Aaron and I, however, came in at 2:00 because we had a couple songs and scenes to write that. As artists, we have moments where everything is working out very nicely, so you can imagine the excitement we had when we finished our rock song in one sitting. After we accomplished this goal, we set out on a mission to get boba and when we got back, Celeste and Katie arrived in good timing.

We spent the first hours polishing our scripts and songs. Then we had our first table read ever! Before doing this, it wasn’t as clear as to how everything in our story was connecting. Reading the script all the way through helped us see which parts needed improvement. There was a huge section of the story that I entirely changed yesterday because there wasn’t enough purpose. Even after rewriting and setting new intentions for the scene, I still knew it wasn’t ready, but the message in those scenes were present. There’s always time to edit scenes, but through scrapping it multiple times, it became clear that maybe this part of the story didn’t have a strong base to begin with and it was difficult to keep building up from it. As a writer, this taught me to not force writing just to have something present and the importance of knowing when to let go of an idea.

By midnight we began blocking some of our scenes. Concerns grew at this point because we realized we had spent most of our time writing and never really created stage directions. Although, we overcame our worries knowing we should focus on selling our story rather than our performance for the midnight rehearsal.

We are all so dedicated to this project and we all express how there is never a time when we aren’t thinking about it. The dynamic of our group is indescribable. Sometimes we joke about creating a story based on our actual journey in writing this show for YAP. No matter what notes are given to us at the midnight rehearsal, I will never stop being proud of the things we have accomplished as a team. We grow through constructive criticism and are ready for whatever may come in our way. Stay tuned to hear what happens in the midnight rehearsal!

Written By: Chalisa Phiboolsook

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2018 Blog - Day 7

We came in  later than we typically do. Mostly because We spent a lot of time individually on  separate projects.  We finished a little bit, but around 8:30pm we started writing our final scene. It was difficult. We said we wanted to leave at 11pm, then we changed it to 12am, 1am, and then 2am.  It started going well when we started putting ourselves in our characters. at one point  we just started writing what we where saying. I saw my fellow castmates truly embody their characters. There is some of each of us in this show. This kind of vulnerability is different than what I’m used to. Parts of my life are in this show, I think that’s going to make it a challenge to perform.

When we are alone in the warehouse at 2 am the world is quiet. But we are sitting in the warehouse laughing and creating. It occurred to me that I won’t see these people as much after next Sunday. There have been a couple times this week where I realized that the world is moving on outside without us. I’ve started to miss my fiancé and my puppy. But the intensity of the project keeps my brain turning every minute of the day. Only when I drive home and walk up to my apartment at 3 in the morning do I remember how much I miss them.

I’ve been thinking how much this project has changed my mindset about art. Through this project I realized how much I could put into creativity in the outside world. I’ve never thought I could dedicate this much time to art. Before I did this I wasn’t creating nearly this much. I realized I like being around other artistic people and diving head first into this world we are creating. I think I’m going to make a goal of hanging out with more artistic people. I’m planning on making changes  in order to peruse this story telling more often.

We have our 12-8 rehearsal tomorrow. I hope it goes well. I am so excited and proud of what we are doing.

Written by: Katie Kelly

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What is the Young Artist Project?

In case you’re unsure of what The Young Artist Project is and the pressure behind it check out this video from The 2016 Young Artist Project and take a look!

A cast of young artists are selected from a hundreds of applicants. They have just 14 days to create an original, riveting cross-disciplinary performance that is the exciting culmination of intense process for the performers, giving audiences the rare opportunity to not only see a fantastic collection of entertainment, but to get a firsthand glimpse of some of the brightest stars of tomorrow.