Musings of a Theatrical Moho

Still alive and awake~~I call this an achievement.  After 23 hours and 45 minutes (no joke, I counted~~it was just too ridiculous) sitting in the exact same spot in the library and working non-stop, I now have something beautiful to show for it:



Okay, okay, you can’t see the true beauty from the outside.  My editing skills are now extensive and magical.  

• There are multiple menus and extra features
  
  
• Seamless transitions
  
  
• Applause fades in and out
  
  
• Credits roll at the perfect speed
  
  
• Everything is pretty and aligned perfectly
  
  
• All the fonts and colors match what I used for publicity
  
  
• I inserted background music for the various menus and slideshows: each piece is different and the phrases in the songs perfectly match the photos as they appear in the slideshow
  
  
• The title text is purple, the subheadings white (on black), and options highlight in fuchsia when you select them.  ’Nough said.
  
  
• I made a freakin’ DVD, y’all!!!  Talent.  I’m on my way to becoming the next Oscar winner.  (Shhhh, don’t burst my bubble~~I’ve never wanted to be involved with film before.)

Update: I’m still here, in the same chair and at the same computer in the library.  I’ve been here since 11:00am…15.5 hours ago.  I am clearly not a normal human being, but somehow I’m still alive and awake.

Once I got the hang of video editing, I got really into it.  MUST.  BE.  PERFECT.  Go big or go home~~I’m gonna have a fabulous DVD of this show, complete with special features, including a slideshow and info about my creative process and artistic questions.  (For someone who only deals with live performance, this is a big deal.)  Yeah, I’m cool like that.

 

I just watched my show for the first time.  All I can say is:

FUCK YEAH!  I DID IT!!!!!







And iMovie is working the way I want it to.  And it’s not even 2:00pm.  Everything is perfect here.

I have officially finished all my classes for my undergraduate career.  Whoa.  My last (and only) class today was musical theatre dance~~very fitting, both because it’s my major and because it’s the course that I pushed to create during my first year, in my very first meeting with T (who became my advisor shortly thereafter).  I didn’t realize what a full-circle moment that would be until I was walking over to the dance studios this afternoon.  Wow.

Transitioning from Student to Alumna:

As my friend Kaley put it, it’s like the MHC admins and Alumnae(i) Association know that we’re all filled with despair at the thought of leaving, so they ply us with alcohol to ease the transition.  True story.  Last Thursday evening was the Senior Cocktail Reception.  It’s exactly what it sounds like: classy drinks and hors d’oeuvres with the president.



This afternoon was Strawberries and Champagne~~legit the best idea ever.  It’s part one of the Alumnae(i) Association’s lengthy “come join us, network, and be sure to donate in the future” welcoming process.  The senior class, faculty members, alumnae, and the pres come together for a champagne and dessert (fruit, cheese, delicious brownies) reception on one of the lawns.  I was worried that it wouldn’t be a very intimate event (think: 500 students plus others, all swarming Pageant Green with booze), but it ended up being completely lovely.  Cheryl (my music advisor) and some other music department faculty members were there, as well as friends and Pasquey (the pres; let’s be real: she’s my bff).  So classy.  So many photos.  I’m making my own yearbook, so I’m on a mission to capture everything.  (No, scrap-booking isn’t just for grandmas.  Cool kids like me do it too.  Duh.)

Tonight was the final senior pub night, which was actually excellent.  Props to the class board.

What’s theatrical in my life?

What’s not, really?  Come on.  This afternoon was my final dance showcase (at the end of each semester, there’s a showcase at which all of the dance classes present work).  The showcase always directly follows Strawberries and Champagne~~sheer brilliance, especially when you’re performing eye-high kicks.

Current project: turning the mini DV tape that contains my show footage into a DVD.  Even my baller origami skills aren’t gonna cut it here, so I’m actually relearning video editing.  I learned the basics in a theatre/film course I took sophomore year…we’ll see what I remember.  Right now I’m in the library, cords trailing around me, negotiating Final Cut Pro and iMovie.  So far, no disasters.  Let’s keep it that way and hope that I don’t need to be rescued by the real filmmakers…

Done.  I think it went really well.  At least, when I asked my advisor afterward if I’d been speaking coherent English, she said yes.  Several people told me I was poised and inspiring, so I guess Cheryl was right.  One of my first-year French professors was in the audience and she told me that the scope of my project was incredible and that I should put it on YouTube.

Now I get to sit back, look super profesh, and enjoy all the other fabulous work.  My outfit today makes me feel like Bette Porter, except without killing drunk biddies in my private backyard pool…

3.5 hours of sleep later…

Get thee to Reese 304!

I’ve been camping out in Reese (where my presentation will be) for the past 4 hours.  I meant to check out the space and work for an hour, then go to bed at 1:15am.

   

Now it’s 3:23am and I’m still here.  This building is creepy as fuck at night and I think I’m the only one around.  Birds just started chirping outside.

 

Whatev.  I finally finished and ran through my bamf presentation.  It’s supposed to be 12 minutes long.  Mine clocked in at *drum roll* 11:56.  So good.  

And now it’s bedtime. 

Current playlist: Stars’ “Take Me to the Riot”, Kelly Clarkson’s “Stronger”, and Katy Perry’s “Part of Me”.  (Yep, you know my situation is dire.)

To do:

• Finish writing presentation…oy vey
  
  
• Finish editing photos
   
•  Add photos to presentation
   
• Make notecards
  
  
• Practice presentation 
  
  
• Eat…?
  
  
• Sleep………?
  
  

Done/good things:

• Figured out the craziness/fanciness that is Prezi
  
  
•  Figured out what I’m wearing tomorrow (let’s be real~~this is what’s truly important)
  
  
•  Sent out email/FB notifications about my presentation
  
  
• Check out my fancy-shmancy abstract!
  
  

Y’all should come to my talk.  It’s at 9:15am in Reese 304.

I’l be talking about my exciting adventures and late-night escapades creative process, how I chose pieces, my goals in this project.  I’ll even sing for you!  No recordings~~this will be live.  As if those reasons weren’t persuasive enough, there will also be a fabulous array of cookies, courtesy of the Weissman Center and my time slot is early enough that you’ll be able to snag them all.  ALL OF THE COOKIES.  Besides, when else are you gonna see me awake and coherent before 11am?  Not to mention, I’m gonna look super classy.

Anonymous asked: Do you have any video of the show you'd care to share?

I will have a CD and DVD.  Right now all the video footage is raw and I probably won’t get around to editing it for a while.  I’m not planning to post the entire show online, but I may share a few clips in the future and I’ll definitely post some photos.  Are you looking for something specific?

Performance is over.  What??!  I had been working on this project since last March (the early planning stages) and now it’s done.  Wow.  

Brief summary of Sunday:  FABULOUS!!!

 

I was so pleased with how the show went and the wonderful crowd of friends, professors, staff mentors, family members, and other supporters who showed up to pack McCulloch.  Thank you all!!  More details to come, especially about one of my favorite moments of the show (no joke) in which there was a technical difficulty and I improvised and did semi-stand-up comedy for ten minutes.  Yeah.

With almost no lag time—I mean…I did spend yesterday lying on the grass in the sun—I’m already on to the next project: Senior Symposium.  On Friday at 9:15am, you’ll find me in Reese 304 with a bamf presentation.

Step 1: Conquer Prezi.

Challenge accepted.  I got this.  

carokingsley asked: hey im going to MHC next year and i love theater. I was wondering how theater works, like is it a 5 college thing, or only at mount holyoke?? Im very excited!

Hey Caroline!  Congrats!!  Mount Holyoke has a theatre department that puts on a season of shows each year, as do each of the 5 colleges.  MHC’s dept puts on 2 shows per semester, both of which have auditions toward the beginning of the semester.  There’s also a student org on campus, Project: Theatre, that puts on 3-6 shows per semester.  Those are entirely student-run (student directors, producers, performers, choreographers, publicists, musical directors, etc.).  P:T puts up a mix of plays and musicals; the dept mostly does plays, with the occasional musical.

You can also audition for shows (and music/dance ensembles, join clubs, etc.) at the other colleges.  Again, there are theatre dept and student-run options.  Check out their seasons.  This is a good rundown of what the various depts are doing: auditions and performances are posted.  You should search the various college’s websites for more info, if you’re interested in auditioning off campus.  There’s a ton happening in the area.  The five colleges collectively put on an opera once every four years that rotates between the colleges and specifically includes pretty equal representation from all the colleges.

Let me know if you have other questions!

See y’all in McCulloch!!

Me right now: 

So many emotions!  Currently feeling calm, but let’s give it an hour…