Meixi Ng's Immersion Experience Weblog
For the summer of 2009, Meixi Ng has received an Immersion Experience Grant to complete an internship in Bangkok, Thailand with the United Nations Inter-Agency Project on Human Trafficking in the Greater Mekong Sub-region (UNIAP). UNIAP conducts field research and implements anti-trafficking interventions at multiple levels (from psychosocial to legal, and from local to national). Meixi’s Immersion Experience project will work with the UNAIP to research the impact of the recent global economic crisis on regional human trafficking and exploitation, in particular along the Burmese- Thai border. She is currently working on issues concerning Burmese - Thai cross border migration and the human trafficking occuring there. Shortly, she will go to the field to conduct interviews with victims and potential victims of human trafficking and collect data from regional and state agencies on the monitoring of exploitative labor situations and cross-border migration. For Meixi, the Immersion Experience with the UNIAP connects academic field research with policy interventions and recommendations and will create a dynamic blend of action and intellectual pursuit - an experience that is directly in line with her ultimate career goals and dreams. Read her blog HERE.
The purpose of this blog is for Meixi Ng to recount her experiences in connection with the Immersion Experience Grant. The views expressed in this blog are solely those of the author and not those of Northwestern University or any of its trustees, officers, agents, or employees. The author is solely responsible for the content of this blog, and Northwestern University does not review, edit, or endorse any of the information contained herein. If you have questions or comments about this blog, please contact its author directly.
Leslie Hart's Immersion Experience Weblog
With Immersion summer grant funding, Leslie participated in the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey's 2007 Summer Professional Training Program. For writings and photos from Leslie's Immersion Experience, please see her blog entries below and her in-depth, photo-rich summary presentation.
Weeks 9 & 10
Whew – ten weeks after my arrival at the Shakespeare Theatre, I suspect that I will need several weeks to recuperate fully from my apprenticeship, as well as gain needed perspective on the Immersion Experience I have just completed.
The last two weeks commenced with a masterclass on commedia dell’arte taught by Northwestern alum Craig Carmichael. I leapt at the chance to build upon the basics of mask work I learned last summer at the British American Drama Academy , and I was first to volunteer as Harlequin. I had great fun interacting with the audience in the guise of the clever servant, and watching Craig embody both Harlequin and then Pantolone was illuminating.
Apprentice performance opportunities then came in a fast and furious succession, beginning with the Shakespeare scene night. We started with a crazy movement piece to Barclay’s “Crazy” and then transitioned directly into scenes from Othello , King Lear , and a large portion of As You Like It. Although I feel I gave a strong performance as Goneril, the audience seemed largely perplexed by the evening as a whole.
Night at the Fights came next, as we all choreographed a fight scene with a partner to present for the entire company. My partner Dan and I destroyed two LP records in our rehearsal process to portray the volatile Amanda and Elyot of Noel Coward’s Private Lives . We also incorporated a blanket, couch cushions, a tie, and newspaper as found objects for combat. Although we had limited time to finesse our fight, we got a hugely positive response following our performance.
Finally, following lengthy daytime and evening rehearsals, the apprentice company presented King Henry VI Part One for family, friends, and the company of The Shakespeare Theatre. Yet again, our tech rehearsal process precluded a proper dress rehearsal, but regardless, we presented clear storytelling and detailed characterization along with rousing battle scenes and a dynamic epilogue for our Friday evening performance.
The most rewarding aspect of the program came in the very last week, as the artistic director of the theatre was finally able to work with us individually in a masterclass setting. Although not all of our daily instructors seemed perfectly attuned to her vision for our program, this esteemed woman gave us her no-nonsense assessment of our group performances and individual needs as actors. She then called up our Shakespeare scenes and worked through them with us, providing specific direction for the characters in the scene as well as the actors as students. Her advice to me was very much in keeping with what I am working on at Northwestern, and her suggestions immediately elevated my performance. I was most impressed by how she was able to exactly articulate the objective choice I made for the scene and subsequently kept to myself. She steered me in another direction which ultimately turned out to be more appropriate to the character.
Leaving my fellow apprentices at the end of the program was a sad occasion as we had all lived, studied, performed, socialized, and suffered together for the past ten weeks. I will absolutely follow their careers as we all enter the professional theatre world. It will be most exhilarating to work with these talented performers and theatre artists as colleagues in the future.
I look forward to reflecting further on my Immersion Experience over the next few weeks as I prepare my final project to bring back to Northwestern, but I need a bit more distance from the apprenticeship right now, and I plan to spend the next week or two catching up on some well-earned sleep.
Weeks 7 & 8
A new British author has entered the mix at The Shakespeare Theatre – J.K. Rowling. With cast lists up and the rehearsal process underway, the sole topic of conversation amongst the apprentices was the release of the seventh Harry Potter book. With our unrelenting schedule of classes, crew, and rehearsal, finding time to read the epic conclusion was difficult indeed, but somehow we all managed the feat at varying paces. (I read mine in the very first weekend so I could move on with my life).
The Directing Scene night was well received by our customary audience of company members, however the technical rehearsals leading up to the evening performance were some of the most painful I have endured. All of the scenes rehearsed independently with one of the five directing interns, so each was ready on its own, but when the interns finally had all thirty-one apprentices in the same room, they decided to add tableaux for each scene and as transitions as well. This process took so long we were denied a dress rehearsal. Furthermore, combining the individual aesthetics of the directing interns was a complex drama of personalities, egos, and leadership styles. My scene got laughs – which is always exhilarating, and in my case, quite unexpected since the scene had never seemed funny in rehearsal, despite its Molière provenance.
As the week moved on, we had our first staging rehearsals for Henry VI Part One, as well as required attendance at the LateNite performance of The Rosalind Project , a forty minute adaptation of As You Like It . The weekend brought haphazardly scheduled rehearsals for the LateNite cabaret as well as the annual costume ball – “The Great Nocturnal Happening.” The theme was “something blue” in honor of the theatre’s forty-fifth “sapphire” season, and I scrambled to put together an ensemble based on Vermeer’s masterpiece, “The Girl with the Pearl Earring.” I was pleased with my costume, although I was thwarted in my bid for the “most artistic” award by the scenic painting intern who arrived wearing a dress depicting Picasso’s “blue period.”
In terms of the LateNite Cabaret, my most rewarding performance and artistic experience at The Shakespeare Theatre to-date, I performed a treatise on “Gender Differences in the Work of Shakespeare” adapted from Disney’s Mulan. I sang and danced along with five other talented young women into a performance of “I’ll Make a Man out of You” in which we decided to cross-dress in order to get cast in a mainstage, because at The Shakespeare Theatre, “it’s the only way.” We even incorporated aspects of our stage combat stance training. The audience members leapt out of their chairs from the very first laugh line. Even the casting director had to admit the number was a showstopper.
This artistic triumph was immediately followed by a day spent in Irvington beating inches of dust out of every chair in props storage and taking a picture for inventory purposes. The unpleasant experience was compounded by the fact I was sent to drive there alone and managed to get lost on my morning and afternoon commutes as I didn’t know exactly where I was going and the highway signs were quite confusing.
At the moment, I’m just trying to hang onto this rollercoaster of an immersion experience – where the heights are high indeed and the plunges are intense and often unforeseen.
Weeks 5 & 6
For the past two weeks, the sole topic of conversation among the apprentices of The Shakespeare Theatre has been the Final Apprentice Project. An audition date was announced, preparation instructions were posted, feedback sessions based on our initial audition were finally held, and thus began the process of inserting thirty-one college theatre majors into one epic fifty minute production. The chosen play? King Henry VI, Part I. Number of female apprentices: twenty-six. Number of female roles in King Henry VI, Part I? Three.
The audition process provided plenty of fireworks on a very rainy Fourth of July, and callbacks were held the following Monday and Thursday. An entire packet of audition “sides” was distributed to accompany the extensive callback list, with the instructions to prepare the role(s) expected. Each actor was also encouraged to familiarize themselves with every other role and scene. For a relatively obscure and extremely dense history play, keeping all the Dukes of England and cities of France clear in my head was admittedly a chore, but I certainly feel better acquainted with British history as a result. (This dramaturgical research will intensify as rehearsals start in earnest.) My initial callbacks were for the role of the Duke of Somerset, an army general who picked a red rose in the Temple Garden scene to represent the House of York as a precursor to the War of the Roses, as well as an argumentative soldier named Vernon.
After researching and preparing these two supporting characters, I was instructed to prepare the side for the Duke of Gloucester instead, at that time the Protector of England due to the young age of Henry VI. After presenting my callback, I was delighted to be asked to glance over the role of the Countess of Auvergne and return in a few minutes to read for that part as well. Due to my height, I have experience playing male roles, so I was secretly excited to be given a chance to claim one of the three female parts. Although I felt good about my callback, I was ultimately cast in the supporting role of the French Duke of Alençon. As far as I can tell from the script at this point, I will be spending much of my time onstage fighting alongside three male apprentices. All of my new stage combat skills should come in most useful!
Rehearsals for my scene as Armande in Molière’s The Learned Ladies are progressing nicely, and I am very much looking forward to presenting the scene for the entire theatre company this Wednesday night. In acting class, I have been reassigned (for the third time) to the role of Goneril in the opening scene of King Lear , which I suspect is a much better fit for me right now than the Nurse in Romeo and Juliet , but I was just starting to get very attached to my role. Luckily, the acting teacher is allowing me to work on both roles in class, along with an Imogen monologue from Cymbeline. Working with new scene partners is always a joy, and as always, the more Shakespeare, the merrier! The next four weeks will become more and more intense to prepare for at least one public performance in the LateNite series each week. My fellow apprentices and I will finally have our chance to shine and demonstrate our growth as actors.
Weeks 3 & 4
Life at the Shakespeare Theatre became totally INSANE over the past few weeks.
For one thing, I’m starting to lose track of time as the schedule for each week’s classes and crew assignments does not get posted until practically the night before and is subject to change at any moment.
Following the apprentice scene night, we had nearly two entire weeks of waiting for some news, ANY news from the powers-that-be in terms of what our casting would be for the Directing Interns’ projects, as well as what our next group of scenes would be for acting class.
Waiting for cast lists is agony for any actor – even when you KNOW your name will be on the list. As horrible as it may sound, the politics of who your scene partner is, who your director is, and what you will be working on are prime fodder for the almighty gossip mill. Speculation runs rampant and half-truths are disseminated amongst the performers in outrageous fashion.
I got caught up in the fray of no rehearsal and unpredictable crew hours, and I’m only now starting to settle back into a reasonable pattern.
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F.M. Kirby Shakespeare Theatre |
For me, week three was a complete immersion in viewing productions from the perspective of an audience member, since I had no scene rehearsals to plan around. Beginning Thursday night, I was fortunate to get off of my crew assignment just early enough to drive into New York City with a few fellow apprentices and snag tickets for a Broadway show. Although we were hoping for student rush seats to see Christopher Plummer in Inherit the Wind , we missed out on the last four seats in the back row of the theatre, and I instead ended up in the fourth to last row of Curtains , the final collaboration of songwriting team John Kander and Fred Ebb. We didn’t even have time to eat dinner as we sat down in our seats literally as the orchestra played the opening chords.
I thoroughly enjoyed the performances and choreography, and ultimately the production as a whole. It was a real treat to have a night away from the un-airconditioned dorm.
Friday night I planned to see the final dress rehearsal of The Shakespeare Theatre’s outdoor mainstage, A Midsummer Night’s Dream . At the very last minute, however, I was called upon to drive three other apprentices to the outdoor stage down the road, and stay to help usher myself. These spur of the moment crew calls are becoming more and more common. At enjoyed taking tickets at the entrance, but I would have liked more than an hour of advance warning. I was able to stay and enjoy the spectacular show, and then have a basis for conversation with the actors the next evening at their Opening Night party.
The opportunity to walk up the box office ten minutes before the show starts and request a complimentary (“comp” in theatre-speak) seat is a true pleasure, and on Saturday night I returned alone to watch and take notes on the indoor production of The Play’s The Thing . Although the audience laughed at practically every line, and I had an entirely different perspective from the balcony, I was disheartened by the plethora of empty seats on the side aisles. For a show which received rave reviews and never failed to delight an audience, there was a rather disappointing turnout.
Sunday night I received another last minute phone call to usher outdoors, and I was able to view an encore performance of Midsummer, this time treating my parents to complimentary seats (well, the theatre did interrupt a family dinner). I got a thrill from being able to watch the marketing director greet the attending critics, including a writer for The New York Times . Yet again, the production received near-unanimous raves. I am familiar with a large percentage of the Midsummer text, having worked on multiple roles in various classes, but last weekend was the first time I was able to see the production live, and I found the play within the play (a re-telling of Pyramus and Thisbe), to be an unexpected delight. Furthermore, I am now fully confident in my ability to play the role of Helena, one of the four lovers running about the forest.
Acting, movement, voice, and stage combat classes continued to enrich my skill set - we are even moving into our own combat choreography in pairs to present as a midterm.
Week four proved to be an immersion experience in the uncertainty of life in between jobs and the audition lifestyle. Monday night brought auditions for the annual LateNite Cabaret, and after entering into discussions with three different groups (I knew I wanted to be in the show and I wasn’t sure which acts would actually pull through or not), I wound up auditioning in a top-secret, and highly prepared group of six girls singing about gender politics within the theatre, as a solo singer, and with two other female tap dancers doing a routine I started to choreograph to “Too Darn Hot” from the Shakespearean spoof Kiss Me, Kate . I had three auditions within the space of an hour and a half – and I had a different outfit for each! Despite a few technical difficulties with a tape recorder, my auditions went well, although I was told, as forewarned, that each apprentice could only appear in one scene, therefore I am performing with the group of six singing “Be a Man. ”
Finally, Wednesday brought a casting decision – my next scene will be a duet of verse from The Learned Ladies by Molière in which I will play the older sister Armande. I am extremely excited, as I have always wanted to work on French farce and it appears as though I will not have that opportunity in my Northwestern acting class in the fall.
After my Shakespeare acting teacher changed his mind no less than three times, I have also been assigned to play the Nurse from Romeo and Juliet in a broadly comic character role. Even before my feedback session, the teacher told me how I would make a great Rosalind in As You Like It (the primary project), and then he told me I’d be doing a Juliet monologue, and later alluded to a scene from Two Gentlemen of Verona , but in this case he explained I was so well suited to be a leading lady he wanted me to develop my skills as a character actress. The Nurse is a great role and a fabulous challenge for me to tackle.
I have another feedback session on my initial audition tomorrow, and based on that advice I must prepare feverishly for our final project auditions this July 4 th . I just finished a brief stint as wardrobe crew for the final weekend of The Play’s the Thing, followed by three and a half hours of dismantling the set for the mainstage screw by screw and plank by plank.
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Pre-set for The Play’s the Thing |
Meanwhile, I am having a blast interacting and working alongside the other thirty apprentices and permanent employees of The Shakespeare Theatre. As an added bonus, we sometimes head to downtown Madison to indulge in Hershey’s ice cream at possibly the best ice cream parlor ever – McCool’s!
Week Two
My second week at The Shakespeare Theatre started with a trip to see the Sunday evening performance of the current mainstage, Ferenc Molnar’s The Play’s the Thing .
Featuring a cast of seven Equity actors (six men and one female), and directed by the associate artistic director, the production reinforced my reasons for seeking out this apprenticeship. The design elements were exquisite, the script witty, and the players were seasoned veterans. The audience could not stop laughing. I even got to see two fellow male apprentices up on stage earning their first Equity points as servants.
The male to female proportion proved disheartening however – this enormous disparity between men and women onstage extends through the entire theatre (though it is likely a symptom of a lack of female roles in Shakespeare). However, the Apprentice program features 25 actresses and 6 actors. By the end of the summer, all six men will have appeared on the mainstage, and only 2 women. Alas, I will not be one of them, but I am eagerly anticipating the casting announcement for the directing scenes.
I had the opportunity to attend a talk-back/symposium with the actors of The Play’s the Thing on Tuesday evening, and the leading man had a most unusual reaction to my question about whether or not he was addressing the audience within the theatre during his monologue work throughout the show. Even the director got involved in the discussion that followed, and I have since heard that my question sparked great debate backstage.
Classes continued to be fascinating! In stage combat, I tried my hand at hair pulling, ear pulling, and choking techniques. In movement, I explored the different possibilities of spatial extension. Voice class consisted of more yoga-based exercises to free up the breathing apparatus and loosen tension in the muscles which aid speech. I was particularly pleased with the continuous feedback I received after running my acting scene in class. The detailed notes helped refine my scene and enabled me to find more details within my character as our first Apprentice scene night approached.
Speaking of the scene night – the entire staff and company of actors of the theatre showed up, including the artistic director and casting director. The audience was a bit dead at first – as I stood backstage waiting for my cue, I heard very little audience reaction to the scenes which preceded mine. As soon as my scene partner started with the first line of our segment, however, the audience erupted in laughter and never let up. As far as I could tell, our hard work paid off. I must admit - hearing laughter from an uncharacteristically well-informed audience is a huge thrill.
I continued with my crew assignment in the production office, fulfilling tasks ranging from setting up job interviews with external designers, submitting receipts through expense software, to traveling about North Jersey to buy food for a picnic, and then rescuing that picnic from the flash thunderstorm.
I already feel like part of the larger theatrical community here, and I have found my classes, performance experience, and crew assignments highly educational. So far, so good!
Week 1
On the afternoon of Sunday, June 3rd, 2007, I arrived in Madison, New Jersey with two suitcases and a few laundry baskets of snack food in the middle of Tropical Rainstorm Barry. After wheeling my belongings through a carpet of dead caterpillars and up three leaning flights of stairs, I discovered a pleasantly large room and a pleasantly friendly roommate who had just arrived the day before. I learned of the existence and theatrical eminence of Wright State University, and proceeded to pack and label my food staples in the communal refrigerator. After a final dinner with the parents at an authentic (read: chrome plated) Jersey diner, I returned to finish unpacking and run my monologue a few times. (The director of the program was kind enough to move back the monologue presentation to the Monday for the late arrivals). I was promptly invited to join a monologue prep session with my fellow “yellow” group members in the lounge downstairs. My first glimpse of my fellow apprentices proved enlightening – each of us were coming from very different training systems and acting styles. I cannot wait to see how the faculty shape our individual talents over the course of the summer.
Monday morning, I woke up early because of the strict late/attendance policy. The apprentice program operates on a system of three strikes, much like many conservatory policies. I find this stressful, as we are expected to be ten minutes early to every appointment, but ultimately, this rigor will serve us well as we transition into the profession as members of the union, Actor’s Equity.
The moment I walked into my acting class, taught by Shakespeare Theatre company member and Stella Adler Conservatory teacher Benard Cummings, I was handed a contemporary scene and assigned a scene partner. To further my abrupt initiation into the program, my partner (also just arrived) and I were first up to do a cold reading of the scene (read: running through it for the first time with script in hand, with only a minute or two to glance through ahead of time). We got laughs the first time out as we read through “Dates and Nuts” by Garry Lennon.
After lunch and a speech about how a first impression is enduring, all thirty-one apprentices were required to audition for the Artistic Director, program director, and all the Directing Interns, as well as the fellow apprentices. I selected one of Queen Margaret’s speeches from King Henry VI Part 2: The First Part of the Contention – a rather obscure choice. I felt I showcased myself well in a strong audition, and was further intrigued to see a range of experience and styles among the other performers. A course in Text Analysis (scanning and analyzing Shakespeare’s verse), completed the day.
On Tuesday I reported to my “crew call” at the Shakespeare Theatre to learn the ropes of my production and administrative crew assignment. I soon found out that my responsibilities would include everything from waxing the interior of the theatre seats to prevent squeaking to learning specific software to keep track of reimbursement and company correspondence.
Wednesday started with a class in unarmed stage combat. In the course of an hour and a half I learned how to fake a faint, recoil from a punch to the jaw, and do a forward shoulder role. Our training also included various martial arts stances to increase strength and endurance.
Later in the day I had my first movement class, in which our instructor Cheryl Clark uses graduate-level Laban theory to increase flexibility and strength and discuss principles and ground rules of movement.
Voice class also proved highly physical. We used elements of yoga to help release our voice from the torso and learned that the transverse abdominis is the most important muscle for breath support.
I had a great experience in all five classes, and I look forward to working with my scene partner to prepare for our LateNite scene showcase on June 15th.
Instead of seeing the mainstage production of The Play’s the Thing on Friday, I was called in to help load props for the upcoming Outdoor Stage production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream across the street at The College of Saint Elizabeth’s. After loading and unloading a club van, I attended a LateNite production of Julius Caesar by the theatre’s professional touring ensemble, Shakespeare Live!
Saturday night, I signed up to work the opening night party so I could attend the events later in the summer. I stepped up to the plate in terms of pursuing tasks, and ultimately was given more responsibility than most other apprentices. To begin with, I was sent to the local supermarket to pick up the donated fruit trays. During intermission, and directly following the show, I helped the house manager by running trays of food in and out of the theatre, lighting votive candles for ambiance, breaking down, carrying, and setting up tables, and pouring more wine for the guests.
Sunday afternoon featured a masterclass in ballroom dancing taught by my supervisor from the Production Office. After learning the waltz, foxtrot, and various styles of swing, I was ready for a few hours off in the afternoon to catch up on sleep, considering I was still working to finish my last Northwestern exam each night of my first week.
So far, I love meeting other actors who share my passion for the craft and learning about their various college training programs. I am also enjoying the opportunity to learn the inner workings of the theatre and studying with a new set of theatre professionals. I hope week two proves just as exciting! |
