Stephanie's Weekly Spotlight: My Summer with The Rep

It is truly incredible how fast time can pass when you are having fun. I feel as though it was just last Monday that I arrived at Temple for our first weekly management team meeting. In reality, it has been 10 weeks since that initial gathering. This week is a very bittersweet one, as we are in the final stretch of our season. This coming Wednesday, I leave for my first real vacation of the summer, but before that happens, I will have cleaned out my desk and house managed my final show for the 2014 season. Before we move forward into the final days of summer, I look back at what the season has given me. Here are my top five favorite experiences from my first year with Nebraska Rep.

5. Jazz in June
Every Tuesday in June, members of our management team took turns working at the NRT table at Lincoln's Jazz in June festival. It hardly ever felt like work, though! We were being paid to do what we love, while enjoying the beautiful (for the most part) weather, delicious food, and the vibrant sounds of jazz. It doesn't get much better than that!

4. The Company Party
From the planning to the actual party, everything about this event was a blast. You can't go wrong with a tropical barbeque theme and custom flavored ice cream from Ivanna Cone! A huge thanks to our Executive Director Paul Steger, and his wife Sara for hosting the party at their beautiful home.

Grill Master, Brad Buffum

3. Office time shenanigans
Our management team is made up of successful, dedicated, and organized people. We love what we do, and we do it well. But when you put four undergrads and a graduate in one office for extended periods of time, crazy things are bound to happen.

Bryan Howard wins for Most Photogenic. 

Desiree's attempt at being the "little n" for an "n-r-t" group photo

2. Meeting the Guest Artists
Working with new actors, actresses, and technicians was like a breath of fresh air. I have been involved in school and community theatre programs in Lincoln from age 13, so I've been around the same group of students and adults for nearly my entire theatre career. While we've grown and learned together, nothing beats working with a fresh group of strangers. I've listened to countless stories about their theatrical experiences in every city from New York to Los Angeles, to even Beatrice, Nebraska. I am thankful for the valuable advice each of them has given me, and for the time I was able to spend with them as friends.

"Barrymore's is closed?! On to the next!" Post-Circle Mirror opening, a night out with the company.

1. Opening Nights
Opening nights are what you live for as a company member. The set is complete, the cast is ready, and the management team is…cooking? Yes, for the post-show reception of course! Nothing beats the atmosphere of these celebratory gatherings. Food and drinks and delightful conversation. The lobby is abuzz with chatter about the show. The company members are content, yet proud. And finally, we breathe easy and relax, because we opened another successful show.

Our first and second opening nights.

It's been a pretty wonderful ride, and I couldn't have asked for a better first-year experience at the Nebraska Rep. Thanks for the memories!

Stephanie's Weekly Spotlight: On the Set of Circle Mirror Transformation

You still have four more chances to see Circle Mirror Transformation before we close our season on August 10th! If the charmingly humorous plot and appearances by guest artists aren't enough to convince you, perhaps the unique set design is.

Circle Mirror is performed in our studio theater, with a thrust seating arrangement. Such an intimate playing space can be both a blessing and a curse to directors and designers. How do you convey all that you want to with limited room?

"When set designer, Michaela Stein, and I first met in April, we decided that Circle Mirror Transformation takes place in a space designed and loved by Marty," says Director Virginia Smith of her collaboration with Stein. "Marty is the main teacher at the art center and she is committed to awakening the creative spirit of each person who enters her space. Because most of her students are children, we wanted to fill the space with art projects and supplies, bold colors, and an invitation to play. We wanted to make a safe space for these individuals to see themselves more clearly."

Circle Mirror stage

Special touches help to engage the audience, such as this community center bulletin board in the entrance way to the theater.

Fellow Assistant General Manager, Bryan Howard, and I channeled our inner child when we explored the set last week. 

You can join in on the fun here at Nebraska Rep by getting your tickets to one of these final Circle Mirror Transformation performances: 

July 30, 31 at 7:30pm

August 9 at 7:30pm

and 

August 3 at 2:00pm

We'll see you there!

Stephanie's Weekly Spotlight: Catching Up With Kristie

Although our last production, Unnecessary Farce, opens this Wednesday, our season is far from over. You still have eight more opportunities to see either of our other shows, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, and Circle Mirror Transformation. And should you choose to see one (or both!), you will be introduced to the lovely Kristie Berger. 

Berger plays Masha in Vanya and Marty in Circle Mirror. 

Kristie is one of several guest artists in our company this season; she traveled here from Chicago. She has worked in such theaters as The Goodman, Steppenwolf, Victory Gardens, Touchstone, and Center Theater. She is no stranger to the Rep, however. She joined the company for the first time in 2005, where she played Grace in Bus Stop and Priscilla in Resident Alien. We are thrilled to have her with us again! Check out my interview with her below. We discuss the challenges of repertory theatre, and she gives advice to aspiring actors.

SK: What projects have you completed at home in Chicago since you were last with the Nebraska Rep?
KB: Hmm.....let's see. I did a couple of shows, a myriad of staged readings, worked in commercials, voiceovers, industrials, print ads, and did an independent film. I started my own business so I could work from home and have a flexible schedule so I can control the "feast or famine" part of being an actor.

SK: What do you do to prepare before going onstage?
KB: I'm going to answer that as if you mean before a curtain goes up as opposed to all the work I do preparing for a role. I'm anal about checking my props and walking the stage, so I make sure I walk every inch of the stage, open and close every door I go through, sit on every piece of furniture I sit on in the show, check my personal props and make sure everything is where it needs to be prop-wise. I make sure I stretch my body so I'm limber enough to move the way I want. I warm up vocally, usually starting with humming and then singing and hit all the notes I can hit. I like to dance a little to get the blood flowing and my energy up. I also try to yawn quite a bit before going on stage to open up my voice and chest and feel relaxed.

SK: What's the biggest challenge of performing in a repertory setting?
KB: Making sure you're giving 100% to each show, keeping your energy up and committing fully to every rehearsal. Being prepared for each show by knowing your lines, your blocking, and making sure you're the least of the director's problems. And for me, getting enough sleep is always an issue because I replay each scene in my head when I'm trying to go to sleep, trying to figure out how to make moments work that didn't seem to work in rehearsal or performance.

SK: What's the best thing about repertory theatre?
KB: There's no one best thing, but I love the challenge, especially this summer, of working on two such different roles. I love working with all the wonderfully talented and creative actors, directors, designers, stage managers, crew, and all of us coming together and creating this living, breathing show that we get to share with an audience who then adds the energy that makes it all come together. There's nothing like doing shows in rep. It's exciting, challenging, exhausting, exhilarating, and such a treat for an actor to be a part of.

SK: If you weren't an actress, what do you think you would be doing?
KB: I love photography and I would love to drive from coast to coast across the USA, taking side roads and state roads and taking pictures of people, places, and whatever caught my eye, so being a photojournalist is something that really appeals to me -- being a mixture of Margaret Bourke-White and Ansel Adams. At one time, I also thought I'd like to be a forest ranger because I love being outdoors.

SK: Could you share some advice for aspiring actors?
KB: Read and see plays, see movies, watch TV, listen to commercials on the radio, take classes, read books. Take care of yourself -- eat well, exercise, get enough sleep. Don't be on time to auditions or rehearsals -- be early. Be nice to everybody you meet along the way -- interns, production assistants, secretaries, crew. Everyone involved on the job or at an audition is important. This is a small community and word spreads fast about you. If you have to have a day job, try to think of other skills you have that are marketable so that you can support yourself the way you want to. Being an actor can be a difficult way of life. A good support group -- friends, family -- who believe in you who you can turn to when you need them is vital. Research the places where you want to work and the directors you want to work with. Knowledge is power. And don't be afraid to fail. That's the only way to succeed.

Don't miss your chance to see Kristie onstage! Get your tickets to the following performances:

Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike

August 1 and 8 at 7:30pm

July 27 at 2:00pm

Circle Mirror Transformation

July 25, 30, and 31 at 7:30pm

August 9 at 7:30pm

August 3 at 2:00pm

Stephanie's Weekly Spotlight: The Fantastic World of Farce

Yesterday marked the start of week two for the cast and crew of Unnecessary Farce, a hilarious slapstick comedy about a police sting set up in a cheap motel. With two cops, three crooks, eight doors, and an accountant who can't seem to keep her clothes on, chaos ensues as police try to expose the mayor's dishonest behavior via videotape.

Does this sound crazy? It is! As the title states, the play is a farce. Farce is a type of comedy that entertains the audience through highly exaggerated and extravagant situations. Plot twists galore, combined with lots of physical comedy keep audiences pleasantly confused and entertained. One quality that makes farce a unique genre is that audiences are actually encouraged to not follow the plot too closely, as to not confuse themselves further. The joy of watching a farce is being surprised with each turn the plot takes!

A 2011 production of Unnecessary Farce, presented by the Norris Community Theatre in Naples, FL

The term farce was first used in 15th century France, to describe the use of clowning, acrobatics, caricature, and indecency together in a single work of art. Farce quickly spread through Europe where it influenced famous playwrights, such as Shakespeare and Molière. The genre survived through the 19th and 20th centuries with plays such as Charlie's Aunt (1892), and entertainers including the Marx Brothers and Charlie Chaplin. A more modern example is the classic television show I Love Lucy, which aired from 1951 to 1957. 

One of the most well-known episodes of I Love Lucy, "Job Switching", 1952.

You won't want to miss your chance at seeing this delightfully hilarious style played out on Howell Stage. Unnecessary Farce opens July 23rd. Get your tickets today!

Stephanie's Weekly Spotlight: What's on the Menu?

Though it may feel like we are approaching the middle of summer, it officially began on Saturday. And nothing says summer like relaxing in your yard, at the lake, or even in the comfort of air-conditioned home with a good drink or snack. For my weekly spotlight, I selected a recipes inspired by the plots and characters of our three plays. For your next summer party or quiet night at home, try one of these delicious treats!

Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike

Siblings Vanya and Sonia are living in their Pennsylvania family home, bemoaning their unfufilled potential. Enter movie star sister Masha, and her her boy-toy. Successful and sassy, Masha does little to help Vanya and Sonia's situation.

Mango Passion Fruit Smoothie (inspired by the character of Masha):

Ingredients:

2 cups 1/2-inch cubes peeled mango 

2 cups crushed ice

5 tablespoons strained passion fruit juice (from about 8 passion fruit seeds)

1/4 cup coconut water

1 teaspoon 

Combine all ingredients in a blender and process until smooth. Divide between two glasses and serve.

Circle Mirror Transformation

A delightful comedy set in an adult creative drama class, where our characters explore their lives through the use of theatre games. 

Chocolate Peanut Protein Balls (a perfect on-the-go snack):

Ingredients: 

1 cup unsalted peanuts

1 1/3 cup tightly packed, pitted medjool dates

2 tablespoons raw cacao powder

2 scoops chocolate protein powder

Pinch of sea salt

1) Grind all ingredients in a food processor till they're evenly and finely ground. When you can take a small handful and squeeze it in your palm and it holds together well, you're ready to roll.

2) Roll the mixture into 1 or 1 1/2" balls.

Store in an airtight container in a cool place for up to two weeks.

Unnecessary Farce

In this hilarious slapstick comedy, a police sting takes place while the mayor meets with his accountant in the other room. But nothing goes right, amidst the confusion as to who's occupying which room, who's watching the video, who's taken the money, and who's hired a hit man. 

Cinnamon Carrot Chips with Yogurt Honey Dip (quirky but delicious!):

Ingredients:

2 large carrots, preferably organic

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

Cooking oil spray

1/2 cup plain or plain greek yogurt

1 tablespoon pure honey

Arrange the oven racks in thirds. Preheat oven to 400°F.

Wash, scrub, and dry carrots. With a vegetable peeler, peel the carrots entirely into strips. Place the carrot strips into a bowl and toss with cinnamon and ginger.

Being careful not to overlap, lay carrot strips on two baking sheets that have been lightly sprayed with cooking oil spray. Place in the oven on the top and bottom racks and bake for 10 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through. Turn the oven off and crack the door. Allow to sit in the oven for 8 minutes. Keep an eye on it while the carrots are in the oven as oven temperatures vary and some ovens are hotter than others. Remove from the oven if they begin to brown. Carefully, transfer the carrots to a cooling rack or plate and allow to cool. The chips will crisp while they cool.

In a bowl, combine yogurt and honey; stir.

Once the chips have crisped up, serve the carrot chips with the dip and snack away.

Stephanie's Weekly Spotlight: Party Time at the Rep

Yesterday was a big day for NRT. It marked the start of rehearsals for Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike and Circle Mirror Transformation, and for some out-of-town company members, it was their first official day in Lincoln. So what better way to end it than with a get-together! Last night, the management team hosted the annual company party. The theme was Tropical Barbeque, complete with grilled kabobs and RumChata flavored ice cream courtesy of Ivanna Cone! It was a long day of preparation, but the end product was well worth it. Take a look:

A special thanks is extended to Paul Steger and Sara Bucy for hosting the party at their beautiful home. Thank you to all of the company members who attended and made the evening a great one. Here’s to a fantastic upcoming season!