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!