Guest Post: Acting and Accents and Costumes, Oh, My!

This week’s continuing guest post series from Shanna Sartori and Katelin Dickson as they become first-time Theatrepreneurs in the Big Apple.

            Our Indie Gogo Campaign ended this week, and we far exceeded our goal of $3,000. In the end we raised $3,545 through the site. That number doesn’t include all of the private donations we received as well. The process of fundraising proved very rewarding and I was genuinely touched by how generous people were. If not for all of our lovely family and friends, this show wouldn’t be possible.

             Week two of rehearsals has come to a close. To save money we have been alternating rehearsals between my apartment and The Producer’s Club. Our costumes have been ordered. We are using a place called The Costumer, located in upstate New York.

            Kate and I have been finding it difficult sometimes to focus during rehearsals. Our minds have been in a million places, costumes, fundraising, and stage manager duties to name only a few. We were both leaving rehearsal feeling like we weren’t making the best use of our time. To resolve this issue, we gave our director Loring more of the stage manager’s responsibility until we have someone for that role. During rehearsal, that means we don’t have to worry about staying on schedule, ect. As a cast, we also began doing group warm ups. This not only helps build ensemble, but it also helps Kate and I leave the rest of the shows duties at the door and focus on the next three hours as actors only.

            I realized that doing a British period piece is a big undertaking, especially when it’s the company’s first show. With a contemporary piece, accents, movement, costumes, set, would most likely not be quite as big of a focus. Since we decided to perform Earnest true to the script and time, we have a lot to work on as actors. It’s proving challenging, but also exciting. I don’t mind putting countless hours into all aspects of this show because I love the play so much and am so passionate about our production. I know after all is said and done, I will leave this experience feeling very proud.