TGIF, Charlotte!

Ahhhh, Friday! Don't you love the weekend, folks? It's such a great feeling to know that you have Saturday and Sunday in front of you and you can do whatever you like. Now, two whole days is a lot and you might be thinking, "What should I do with all my free time?" Lucky for you, I'm here with exciting and fun suggestions!

Awesome Weekend To Do List:

1. Eat pizza! Pizza is the signature food of Friday night - it says "Calories be damned! It's the weekend!" For those of you in Charlotte, I highly recommend Fuel Pizza - it's awesome and you can buy it by the slice. More specifically, I recommend the Fuel Pizza on the corner of North Tryon and East Trade Street. When you're done with your dinner you can stroll across the street and come catch tonight's performance of Incorruptible! Nothing helps the digestion like a little dark comedy.

2. Do your laundry! This one might seem lame, but the laundry's got to get done! As a reward for being a responsible, hygienic adult, once everything is folded and put away, you can pick out a snazzy looking outfit to wear and come on down to the Saturday night show of Incorruptible!

Ooooh - so glamorous! She must be going to see Incorruptible!

3. Go out dancing! After a week of the daily grind, sometimes you just need to let loose. What's that you say? You can't dance? Never fear, internet friend! It just so happens that in Collaborative Arts' current production of Incorruptible, I perform a very hip, sensual dance that you can use on the dance floor at any club. Come see any of this weekend's shows and before you know it, people will be calling you John Travolta! Don't believe me? I have evidence from the amazing folks at CaineDalke Photography:

WORK IT.

4. Rake the leaves! Alright, I know, another chore, but those leaves aren't going to rake themselves. And when you're done you can treat yourself to the matinée showing of Incorruptible! Come laugh, cry and be out in time for Sunday dinner.

Alright, I'm going to level with you guys: I made this Awesome To Do List with an agenda. I know you feel tricked, betrayed and hurt - but I did it for a good reason! We have a really wonderful show on our hands, people, and only three more chances for you to see it! You can forego pizza, wear stinky clothes, never dance again and let the leaves decompose and create a layer of slime on your front lawn, but PLEASE come see the show! Need a second opinion? Check out our review in Creative Loafing here.

See you in the theatre!

Leap frog photo: State Library of New South Wales

Sweet model photograph: State Library of Queensland, Australia

Production photo of me dancing: CaineDalke Photography

It's time to play the music! It's time to light the lights!

It's here, everyone: PRODUCTION WEEK! What does that mean!? THAT means that you don't have to wait very much longer to see Collaborative Arts' presentation of Incorruptible.

We open tomorrow night! It's kind of hard to believe that tonight is final dress rehearsal ... time always seems to fly by when I'm doing a play and then BOOM: it's show time! And what a show we have, ladies and gentleman! Check out this preview story by Larry Toppman in today's Charlotte Observer.

As if that wasn't enough to convince you, I've compiled a list of reasons why YOU, Charlotte Arts Patron, should come see the show!

• You could see a miracle.
• You will see Chaz Pofahl and I put on a show complete with magic, singing and dancing - all with only 3 eyes between the two of us!
• Monk robes are sexy. So, we've been rehearsing for weeks now and I love all of the male actors in our cast, but when they came out in their costumes for the first time, I had a total "Hellooooooo, Nurse!" moment (complete with an "AWOOGA" and eye pop). I don't really know what this says about me/the parochial issues I need to work through, but I DO know that Joe Copley, Lee Thomas, Tom Scott, Chaz Pofahl and Matthew Corbett are looking GOOD.

HOT.

• Mike Collins says you should. (Go to minute 35 of the Monday, 11/1 post to hear an interview with the playwright, Michael Hollinger and our director, Peter Smeal!)
• Have YOU ever seen a "nun from hell"? Didn't think so.
• The show is in the round! It's an exciting, rare way of performing - come see!
• Wouldn't you feel badly if you didn't? (That's right, I'm using Catholic guilt on you guys, my momma taught me well.)

I'm sure you're asking yourself, "Where can I get tickets?!" The answer? RIGHT HERE. Come on down to the theatre and bring a friend! Or seventeen!

What's a girl to doodle?

Hey! Sorry for the internet silence - I fell victim to an actor's worst enemy last week: (no, not crippling insecurity) THE COMMON COLD. But! After lots of sleeping, tea and vitamins, I'm feeling almost as good as new! Week two of rehearsal went swimmingly - we're up on our feet, blocking and getting a chance to play with our characters.

Those of you read my other blog know that I like to doodle. Now, when you put me in a room with a talented director, stage manager and a cast of crazy characters played by wonderful actors you are going to get some doodles, yo. I've decided to share some of my "work" as a way of introducing you to some of our Incorruptible characters! First off, we have the Peasant Woman played by Joanna Gerdy, who you might have recently seen in The Credeaux Canvas. The Peasant Woman is smart, scrappy and nobody's fool. Here, she's holding a penny (the cost of a prayer to St. Foy).

Next up, we have Jack, played by Chaz Pofahl. He's a one eyed minstrel with a heart of gold! He dances, sings and tells offensive jokes like a pro! You never know what tricks might be up his sleeve, so you should definitely keep an eye on him...get it? An...eye...?

Finally, I present a rendering of Brother Felix (known in the real world as Lee Thomas), a novice monk with a "weakness for the fairer sex."

I know what you're all asking yourselves, "What in the world could make a monk ride a donkey that hard?!" Well, there's only one way to find out: come see Incorruptible! Oh, look! A handy link to tickets! And stayed tuned this week for more Incorruptible updates!

An actor prepares...to blog!

Greetings, internet! Welcome to the Collaborative Arts Blog: Incorruptible Edition! To get us all up to speed, my name is Glynnis and I'm an actor in the upcoming production of Incorruptible. I'm here to provide a special sneak peek into the world of acting, theatre and Collaborative Arts! Any questions? No? Good! Off we go!

We have just finished our first week of rehearsal and I'm full of thoughts and feelings! Starting a new show is always exciting and always (for me) a bit nerve-racking. It actually reminds me a lot of how I used to feel before the first day of school when I was a younger Glynnis. The night before the big day, I lay in bed thinking the kinds of thoughts we all did:

• This could be AWESOME!
• What if it's not?!
• I'm going to learn so much!
• What if nobody likes me!?
• What if I get a bad teacher?
• I will NOT get caught eating glue this year!

And now, as an adult, I feel the same kinds of feelings and have the same kinds of thoughts before I begin a creative process. (Well, except for glue. I kicked that habit when I was 6...ok, 7...FINE! I was 8!) Luckily, during this past week, all of these concerns and questions were answered as soon as I got in the room with the cast and crew of Incorruptible:

• This is going to be AWESOME, y'all! As soon as we sat down for our first read through of the script, all my fear/anxiety morphed into a giant ball of AWESOME. I just get good vibes from our group/project and I've learned to trust those feelings.

• What if it's not? Psshht - haters gonna hate.

• I am already learning so much! Watching other actors/directors has always helped me grow as a performer, so I'm soaking up all the talent around me. Plus! The show takes place in the Middle Ages, so there's a lot of research to be done. And! Not all my knowledge is strictly theatre related. During Friday's rehearsal, Peter taught Chaz and I what the word apivorous means!

• What if nobody likes me? Well, I can't speak for my cast/crew members, but I sure like them, both as people and theatre professionals in Charlotte. They have all done wonderful work around town and I am so excited to be surrounded by so many talented people. Plus, they all make me laugh.

• Bad director!? Peter Smeal is kind of my hero. He clearly knows what he's doing, but also allows us to play, explore and question. In the past week he's said the following: "There is no right or wrong." "You can do whatever you want." It's incredibly liberating as an actor to have a director who values improvisation, impulse and fun in a rehearsal process. The other day we played a game of keep away during rehearsal...and I was the football! THAT wouldn't happen in school without serious consequences.

So yeah! One week down, three to go! I'll be blogging about rehearsal, the show, anything that pops into my head - you should totally stick around. And it's never too soon to get your TICKETS for Incorruptible!