Best Kept Secret

One of my appointments on my trip east was with the Atlantic Theater Company. Of course I know their reputation as a producing company with Tony Award winning productions such as Spring Awakening, The Beauty Queen of Leenane, and The Lieutenant of Innishmore. Of course I know some of their award winning founding members. Artists like Felicity Huffman, William H. Macy and David Mamet. None of that is a secret. It's not a secret that they've garnered Tony Awards, Drama Desk Award Nominations, Obie Awards and the list goes on. It is not a secret that they serve as an acting studio for New York University Tisch School of the Arts undergraduate program.

What then is the "best kept secret?" Their own excellent conservatory program. It is a comprehensive two year training program taught by some of the best dedicated faculty anywhere. Why do I say it's a secret? Because in talking with some of my colleagues, who certainly should know better, they kept insisting that I was making a mistake. They were certain in their contention that the Atlantic Theater Company is an ensemble company made up of fine actors who sometimes teach in the Tisch program. They had that part right but when I arrived for my appointment with Mary McCann, School Executive Director, I found a school teeming with the energy of emerging artists. I observed students rehearsing with honesty and generosity and I knew there was good work going on. It is a school clearly focused on the process of the craft. My bet is their graduates come out ready to work. Remember this is the school that gave us Spring Awakening!

Mixed Reviews...Mixed Emotions

I was in New York last week. There is theater everywhere and I'd been invited by my friends at The Kennedy Center to attend the Friday night performance of Pygmalion at the American Airlines Theater. In my busy round of meetings on Friday I had the occasion to mention my evening schedule several times and each person had a different "review" to give me of what I was going to see! It certainly was a verbal rendition of mixed reviews and the people I was meeting with were very definitely knowledgeable theater people. It was disconcerting because there were so many great shows I wanted to see that I didn't want to spend an evening at a show that wasn't "worthy." All of a sudden I realized that I was prejudging a performance that if nothing else had the opportunity to entertain with its droll wit. Surely this rendition of Shaw's play would be a verbal tour de force if nothing else. And, without a doubt, it would beat an evening of predictable television formatting.

As always live theater didn't let me down. The Roundabout Theater Company, the producing company, has really found a niche on Broadway with its limited runs of revival productions. I thoroughly enjoyed my evening of Pygmalion and from their reactions so apparently did the rest of the audience. Claire Danes is not the Liza Doolittle of My Fair Lady but again I don't believe Shaw wrote her that way. Ms. Danes appears to still be getting her Broadway sea legs, which I have no doubt will strengthen with each performance. She is surrounded by a strong Tony Award winning cast such as Jefferson Mays as Henry Higgins and Boyd Gaines as Colonel Pickering, Tony nominee Helen Carey as Mrs. Higgins and a wonderful caring Mrs. Pearce played by Brenda Wehle. The costumes are elegant and the set is wonderfully designed (Jonathan Fensom). Director David Grindley who received the Tony Award for Best Revival of Journey's End in 2007 gave me a lovely night at the theater with no mixed emotions!

GOOD MORNING, BALTIMORE

I missed the Friday post of my Blog. I was having computer issues with the internet access in my New York City hotel room. Instead of being relieved about leaving the computer keyboard for things "more fun," I found that I felt both guilty and sad. Guilty because I have promised myself that I would write daily during the work week and sad because I enjoy the writing and the connection with you! So now instead of writing chronologically about my trip I am going to write about an idea that came as a result of a meeting I had today in Baltimore.

My morning started at 4:45 a.m. with my hotel wake up call. I met Robert Pullen, the Producing Director of The Kennedy Center and our Producing Director of our east coast programs, at Penn Station where we boarded our train for Baltimore, MD. We had been invited to talk to the annual meeting of the Tips on Trips advisors. Tips on Trips is a summer camp and specialty programs referral service. They have often referred students to our programs and although some of their representatives have visited one or two of our sites, most of us hadn't met. It was a good opportunity to explain what makes US Performing Arts unique among summer programs and to point with pride that we are the largest network of performing arts and media summer programs partnered with and recruiting for the colleges and universities we represent. And what better place to talk about theater, film and dance than the city that spawned the creation of Hairspray?

Some of the questions that came up made me realize we never talk about is how we got started. The concept and mission statement, "to represent the best in performing arts and media education" came from an idea I had when I was teaching in a small liberal arts college. As a faculty member who was responsible for interviewing potential incoming freshman, I became acutely aware that many high school students had little knowledge what the college they were interested in actually offered in the way of a major in their field of interest. Most of their information was based on perception and hearsay. They were about to make some big decisions and their parents were going to pay large tuition bills based on this perception of knowledge. On the other side of the coin, college faculty was going to have to make admissions decisions often based on barely two minutes of meeting a student and in some cases viewing their audition. Being familiar with college athletic recruiting I thought that the entire process could be rectified by bringing students to the college to work in intensive summer programs with the actual faculty they would work with if they attended the university in a mirror of the type of classes they would take as a student. They would also have an opportunity to live in the dorms and eat the dining hall food!

As I began to research the program I met with the CEO of an experienced network of sports camps and although recognizing our differences I tried to find the similarities for a learning experience. During this process of fact gathering my son heard about my idea from the sports program CEO at a social event they both attended. He too saw the potential of helping students hone their craft with professionals while concentrating on the process with less emphasis on the product. He challenged me to start the company by becoming my co-founder and sharing his expertise in marketing and his visionary business skills. Our programs grow each year. Our faculty is enormously invested in their teaching and their students. They are among the "who's who" of the American stage and screen and they share their expertise in what they call their "give back" time. As we add sites and programs we want to continue to share information with students that will help them prepare for their future. We intend to give them choices to explore for both their college choices and their professional choices. We want our students to know why they are making their decisions and we want to help them find the right path for their unique self.

How Much Does School Matter?

Recently I received a communication from a parent saying that their daughter had been told that if she really wanted to act school doesn't matter. The red flags went up for me immediately. Education is the cornerstone for an actor. It is the well that an actor draws from for all their work. That education comes in many different forms and makes up the background that we call "life experience." No, not all actors will choose to go to college just as not all high school graduates choose to go to college immediately after graduation.

An actor benefits from formal education in research, history, art, science and math. Actors are expected to be disciplined and part of that discipline is investing in the job at hand. For a high school student the immediate job at hand is successfully completing their high school studies. To "blow off" those studies because you don't think they 're important is to diminish your growth. For one very important thing is that schooling isn't just a means to an end it is an educational process in itself and therefor very beneficial.

The truth is unfortunately that Hollywood, particularly television, is a young persons' town. The prime age for actors is between approximately 16-22. If a student asks the "right" question of one of our faculty those statistics will come up. But that's not the whole message and the path will be different for different people. However, our message is that acting is a craft. It's study takes a lifetime and its foundation is a good liberal arts education. It is important to be an educated and erudite actor in order to be able to deliver a good performance and to have longevity in your career. If you want, do a little research, how many child actors go on to successful adult careers? Childhood is a very short span of years. Adulthood is the rest of our life. Everyone who works for us at US Performing arts as mentors/counselors has at least an undergraduate degree and most have or are in the process of receiving their graduate degrees. These are all talented "20 something" actors, dancers, filmmakers and writers who value their craft enough to engage in the discipline of their education.

The Big Apple

The past few weeks have been very busy putting the final touches on our 2008 season. And, like yesterday's blog said, it's been necessary to really be in the moment as we make decisions on website design, marketing campaigns, catalog image, and the additions of new sites and programs. I've been multi-tasking to the max and sometimes not too well. Everyone who knows me knows that I am a tough taskmaster, holding the bar high for everyone but even higher for myself. So the days are often long but the rewards are great.

My biggest reward right now is my business trip east. Traveling on business is never my my idea of seeing the world,
and in the press of the moment, I admit that not a lot of attention has gone into looking ahead at my travel plans. In fact, the only "travel plan" is my flight to JFK . I haven't yet connected the dots to the rest of my journey. I don't even have a flight booked for home yet! I actually do have friends who think that all the travel I do must be very glamorous. I would love to have them "walk in my shoes," so to speak sometime. Getting anywhere in this day of airport security and air traffic control delays is a nightmare, but the pot of gold at the end of the journey is always worth it. This trip is filled with "perks." Lots of evenings at the theater which I will write about later. My meetings are with people I admire and who always invigorate me and stir my creative juices.

I'll be in NYC for about four days which is plenty of time to go to Lincoln Center, Radio City Music Hall, Carnegie Hall, and several Broadway theaters. Many of my meetings involve meals and I'm hoping to find time to stop in at my new favorite dessert spot. Last year when Craig and I were in New York and walking and talking the smell of fresh stirred vats of chocolate drew us in...only to find out it was their opening day. A true NY find. Then it's off to Baltimore, MD and Washington, DC. By this time next week I will have earned my way back home and hopefully will have some exciting stories to tell.

A Glorious Day is Dawning

The alarm didn't go off this morning. Not that I needed it to. My internal clock went off as usual at 5:30 a.m. There was a touch of annoyance at my husband for not setting the alarm as I laid in bed assembling my agenda for the day. As the "to do" list mentally grew so did my passion for the day and my eagerness to see what it would bring.

I have the most wonderful job tucked into the most wonderful life. Life's path takes such interesting jogs and turns as you journey through it if you are only willing to allow it. It's a lot like getting on a ride at a theme park. You know it's going to be wonderfully exciting so just get on and go with it. That's what I was thinking about this morning as I headed out to work. I thought about my path and the many twists it has taken with each new experience building on the previous one. Could I have been a director without having been an actress first? Would I have produced if I hadn't directed? Certainly my life as a dancer experiencing the masterful choreography of George Balanchine and then the fledgling work of Jerome Robbins prepared and prompted me to study acting. Could I have been a college professor if it hadn't been for the path already traveled? Are not all of these pieces, together with the parts my co-founder and other team members bring to the table, the fabric that makes up US Performing Arts?

I speak a lot about passion. I love what I do. I love working with our directors and faculty and customer service representatives, our designers, and most of all our students and parents. I am grateful to be on this journey of life, taking from the past and building to the future. It is from the present that the future springs. Actors are taught to live in the moment. To experience each action on stage or before the camera as if it were happening for the first time. To listen with fresh ears so that each response comes from an instinctive place. So this morning I stopped on the way to work to "live in the moment." I stopped to photograph the sunrise and watch the white pelicans fish for breakfast.

Theater Exists Everywhere

Last Thursday I had spent a pretty busy day putting together a business trip to New York City, Baltimore, MD and Washington, DC. for later this week. The business part of the trip means coordinating the schedules of many people and its always tricky. Phone tag seemed to be the order of the day. The social part of the trip promises to be lots of fun with a number of trips to the theater with friends and to see friends. As I was adding and subtracting from my calendar I started thinking about the opportunity to see theater...good theater...all around the country and in many venues.

Seeing theater, whether it's straight theater, musical theater, dance, opera, comedy or drama is a treat to be relished. Somehow there has been a hue and cry in recent years that theater is too expensive so it's a treat the average theater-goer must forgo. But there is lots to see with wonderful casts that are affordable and there are seats in the big commercial houses that will fit the pocketbook if you are willing to buy same day half-price tickets (available in all major cities) or sit in seats other than the orchestra or dress circle. In New York, nothing is more fun than discovering a wonderful play at an off-off Broadway theater and being the first to see it before the producers take it on up to Broadway.

What about really being adventurous? After all, what is theater? Isn't it a dynamic art form that involves the audience both aurally and visually that becomes a collective experience between audience and performer? So when Karen, of our office, invited me to a performance in her church of a group called Rhythm Village, I eagerly accepted. Rhythm Village is a drumming group featuring West African music and founded by Gabriel Harris. Gabe is not only an accomplished performer but he is an innovative educator and I was eager to see how he would combine his talents to engage an audience. What an experience!

First of all, the audience was made up of people from 2 to 82. They clapped to the beat of the African drums with a primal sense of rhythm. The little children unabashedly danced at the front of the stage only giving way when one of the performer's choreography happened to take them off the stage and down into the audience. The audience learned the echoing chants of the African songs. They sang with a sense of joy that you can see mirrored in the face of Naby Bangoura, above. Naby is the choreographer and cultural liaison and I felt transported to another land and another place, and yet so keenly present, as I watched the masterful dancing of the troupe. The group was occasionally joined by Gabe's wife, an exquisite dancer, who would arise from the audience to join in. This was true theater...an absolute at-one-ment between performers and audience. I am looking forward to my trip to New York this week. I know I will see good theater, but I will always continue to look for theater that is "off the beaten track" and I hope you will too because the rewards are great.

Where Will Your Passion Lead You?

Where do the scenic, lighting, sound and costume designers come from? How does someone decide to be a director or a producer, or a casting agent? What about a stunt person? How does one decide to become a fight choreographer? How about someone who specializes in marketing for film or the theater? Does someone wake up one day and say, "I think I'll go into craft services." (on set food catering)

I think it starts with seeing a play or movie that pulls at your heart and gets under your skin. Or maybe it starts when you're a child and you perform a song or a dance or make up a play that gets a reaction that makes you feel good. Perhaps it starts when you and your friends decide to make a movie or your teacher casts you in a play or you become one of Mother Ginger's children in The Nutcracker. I do know that if the first embers take hold and are fanned until the fires of passion ignite there is no stopping. One door will lead to the next where another door will open and before you know it you have to be involved somehow somewhere in this great world of magical make believe. The more you stay involved the more you understand how important every piece, every nuance, weaves together to make whole cloth. Your passion finds its place where it can best shine...and sometimes it's in the audience seat as a passionate viewer.

College Bound

Senior Year in high school is supposed to be a time of excitement with the promise of things to come but somehow it has become a time of great stress. Students are faced with a mound of applications and due dates. Decisions have to be made about whether to opt for a gap year or even to go to college at all. For the students in the arts there is the addition of auditions and portfolios and interviews and trying to decipher which schools require what. Students are confused, parents nag about essays and personal statements, and what should be a joyous journey becomes agony.

There is help available but often in the quest of getting into the "best" school instead of finding the "right" school parents don't know where to look until it's too late. There are two organizations that are helpful to know about. The National Association for College Admissions Counseling (NACAC) sponsors a series of Performing and Visual Arts College Fairs beginning this week. The other is the IECA (Independent Educational Consultants Association) where you can find helpful information and a list of independent unbiased and knowledgeable consultants to advise you.

The path to college is a process just as education is a process. The arts are definitely a process, and as I often tell students, you need to learn to love the process because that's where you find the art.

Where Were You When The Paper Was White?

My father was a great man. He was an early broadcaster who began his career in radio at CBS in New York. Always looking for new frontiers and exciting opportunities he migrated from radio into television as a pioneer in that "new" industry, eventually becoming an Executive Vice President for ABC. In that capacity he gave a lot of speeches and one in particular I have never forgotten. He spoke to an association of film and television critics and he really took them to task. The title of his talk was Where Were You When The Paper Was White? The thrust was: "It's easy to criticize after the work is done, but who among you has the courage to risk sitting down in front of the white paper?" "Who among you will write first?" He wasn't criticizing the critics. He was only championing the creative artist.

That talk made an impact on my life. That's when I realized that it wasn't enough just to have a dream. A dream is only as good as the passion behind it. The passion helps the dream to unfold until it becomes a realization. It drives us to hone our craft and it pushes away the fear that would allow us to stand in the shadow of another's' work. It obviously made an impact on the listeners that evening because two of them went on to write successful screenplays and one became a television series writer.

I am in awe of the writer. It all starts with the writer and the white sheet of paper and an idea. I love seeing a story evolve through its characters as they take life and I love watching the process move from the page to the director, to the actor and to the audience.

Digital Filmmaking - The Future is Here

George Lucas has been touting the efficiency and creative power of digital film making for some years now. He is a strong believer that technology allows the artist to think differently - more creatively. He has led the industry as a pioneer in new technology but it is because he is first and foremost a good storyteller. Every few years he convenes a group of top filmmakers who are actually shooting their "big" films digitally and then he adds to the mix another group of filmmakers who would like to shoot in a digital format. The numbers are growing on both sides.

Every young filmmaker I have met is very comfortable in the digital world. They have grown up with computers and mastering new software is nothing for them. In recent years they've added IPods to their arsenal of technology and have archived incredible music libraries. They are talented "visual manipulators." The one thing I see that is often lacking is the ability to work collaboratively, and most important, to tell a good story. Good stories become classics. They last for generations, entertaining and provoking thought. No one, no matter what any ego would like to think or say, makes a movie by themself. Movie making is a collaborative art form. Just look at the credits as they roll by the next time you're in the theater.

When we think of filmmaking as not only an expression of art but as a craft, it's inevitable that the tools become an integral part of the form. The creative part comes in selecting the right tool for the job at hand and once the vision, the story and the team is put into place the right tools become obvious. That's also the time when the execution might call for the creation of new tools and once again we look to the future. It just might be that our student filmmakers are on the edge of creating the "new" technology now. Hopefully it will allow film artists to think more creatively and enhance their visual storytelling.

Mark Your Calendar

Actors, writers, directors, designers learn not only from their own work but from going to the theater to see the work of others. Those who want to work in the film industry do the same with film, seeing all genres of film from big commercial films to small independent films and even student films. Since all of our faculty are established working professionals it's fun to see what they're doing with their professional non-teaching time.

Last week I tuned into the television show Without A Trace and saw Dinah Lenney in a guest starring role. I knew she had shot the show but I didn't know the air date so I was pleased to catch it. The remarkable thing for me was watching her solid work, seeing her put into play all the things I hear her telling her students. I realized as I watched that we need to let our students know when their faculty is doing work they can view...or read! So many of our faculty write books and articles that I know we be interesting to our students. Dinah's a good example of that. With her friend and colleague (and another of our faculty) Mary Lou Belli
she co-authored Acting for Young Actors:The Ultimate Teen Guide. Dinah's newest book is a memoir entitled Bigger Than Life, A Murder, A Memoir. It's not only a wonderful read but it is a great insight into a lovely actress. Now she not only teaches acting, but she is also teaching writing in the graduate writing program at USC. But as I said, mark your calendar. This Wednesday night, October 17 Dinah's next guest starring role is in Private Practice.

...Just Another Day

There is never "just another day" at USPA. No matter how busy we get we're interested in each others' achievements, as well as those of our campers. Lucie is my assistant this year. I say this year because as much as I don't want it to happen I know that she will leave us one of these days. She's a great assistant but more than that she is incredibly talented.

I first met Lucie when she attended our programs at UCLA about four years ago. A year ago she applied and was accepted for an internship position in our office and has continued on working with us. Lucie had applied and been accepted to college for the fall of this year but after attending the College Audition Workshop last summer she decided to defer her acceptance, work for a year and apply to some schools she hadn't thought about prior to the workshop. She's put together a very full year of study (acting classes, acting classes, acting classes), work and auditions. She has already mapped out the schools that she now feels are a better fit for her and she plans to go back to work next summer with the UCLA faculty that so inspired her. But what made today not "just another day?" Lucie asked for the morning off to audition for an agent. She felt confident and enjoyed the process and received excellent feedback. I don't think it will be long before you see Lucie on the screen. She's still heading to college though!

Do Dancers Go To College?

When I was training as a dancer the answer to that question was always a resounding no, but today I would say, "You bet they do!" Dancers not only go to college to continue their training but many professional dancers are simultaneously performing and going to school too.

I think there are many reasons for this trend. Not all dancers are ready to audition at age 17 and some want to continue their serious training while pursuing a degree. Universities are beginning to see the value of dance as an art form and hire top faculty to teach and choreograph. They have also "moved" their dance departments and divisions to their academic and artistic arenas. Colleges now offer a dance minor or BA, BFA, and MFA degrees and many schools allow students from outside the department to take classes and audition to perform. Some schools have built magnificent performance spaces which attract students.

Another attractive thing for dancers is the opportunity to explore genres of dance that they have not yet discovered. In fact, many modern dancers discover this form of dance in their college environment. Another popular realm of college dance is in world arts and culture.

The best way for a dancer to find a college program that will benefit them the most is to look for a solid summer program taught by the college faculty in the disciplines that represent their course of study for their undergraduates. That way the dancer can answer the question,"Do dancers go to college?" for them self.

Website Changes

Craig has been hounding me for sometime to make some changes to our website. He has wanted us to change our navigation to make it easier and quicker for people to find what they want. He also really wants a more interactive site that gives people a reason to be there besides just registering for a program. It's not that I've resisted, I'm actually in 100% agreement, but somehow there's always been another priority or we just haven't felt it was the right time. Well, the time is NOW and the priority has become number 1!

Jay, our IT chief (that's him in the photo above pondering the screen) and David our chief web developer and architect, have undertaken the task with gusto. In the past few days they've added links, pictures, video and more. Soon they will be creating a merchandise store and from what I hear there will be a place for students to connect with their artist peers, announce their own projects, and upload their work, whether it be a film or a script or a scene from a play or musical. I'm excited...I hope you will be too!

The Right Kind of Community

I was a very early proponent and user of MySpace feeling that it was, and is, a great way to connect and build a community. I look back now and laugh at the summer of 2004 when I was telling our campers about this great new website and showing them how to create an account. Now the website and its applications has grown way beyond my knowledge of use. I'm still a big proponent of MySpace and Facebook but I also have the usual concern about how we use those sites.

As an employer I know that I look up new prospective hires on MySpace to see how they represent themselves to the public and I certainly form judgments based on what I see and read. About a year ago in a conversation with some admissions' counselors I became aware that colleges and universities are checking out their applicants for inappropriate behavior by viewing their MySpace pages. Recently I received some information on a new site called admish.com. This site is being touted as THE site to be networking on when you are applying to college. Yesterday an excellent article by Joannne Levy-Prewitt appeared in her Campus Notebook column in the San Francisco Chronicle. I highly recommend reading it to all our college-bound students and their parents.

Office Buzz - The Excitement of New Programs!

Everywhere I look someone in the office is on the phone! Registrations for 2008 are coming in and we're not even through posting all of our new sites and programs.

This is a busy time of the year. Craig and I are working on developing the final sites and programs for the coming summer. There's a lot of telephone conferences, travel (more about that at another time), and ideas being batted back and forth with our directors.

Take a look at this picture. UCLA's School of Theater, Film and Television is being true to its entrepreneurial reputation. The UCLA Arts Camp is offering a Puppetry Workshop for only 20 students. Last summer we experimented with some puppetry in the Musical Theater Conservatory because of the trend in using puppetry as character driven entities. Just take a look at Avenue Q, The Lion King, and the films Men in Black I and II. It was a huge hit with our students and more than that the faculty could see important growth in the students' craft. Professor Myrl Schreibman has secured Greg Williams of the Puppet Studio in Hollywood and a TFT alumnus. Myrl and I both have a history of working with puppets so we keep comparing notes and I am convinced that what Greg and he have planned is going to make this one of our top workshops.

When I was a student at UCLA I was required to take a class in puppetry. As I remember most of us went into it kicking and screaming. Puppets just weren't very "cool" then but within a couple of classes we were all believers in the importance of the character within the fabric. The funny thing is that without realizing it I was preparing for an audition that became an important part of my career. About four years later I successfully auditioned for a television show where the only other characters were puppets. Charlie Horse and Humphrey Hambone and their friends earned me some important honors over the years...and became some of my best friends!

Are You a Camp or an Educational Program?

I take the "overflow" calls in our office and I do it
on purpose. It keeps me close to our customers and helps me understand their interests and needs even though it sometimes interrupts my train of thought or a project.

Yesterday a caller asked, "Are you a camp or an educational program." Good question! In fact, it's one I often ask myself and discuss with our directors. In our catalog last year I touched on it. I wrote, "Webster defines the word 'camp' as a 'group of people who share the same ideas, beliefs, or aims.' In this way US Performing Arts is in part a camp. Our goal is for you to experience the wonders, excitement and FUN of a comprehensive conservatory-style summer program." I went on to explain to this mother that we are much more. We want you to find us so we have to start with words that will help you search and since we are a summer program many people start their search with the word camp. Our programs do fulfill Webster's definition, but there is even a greater benefit, and that's the life-long learning skills that are bolstered and rewarded through the experience. It is the pre-college experience that readies a student to enter college with confidence, not to mention the honing of a student's craft, giving them the potential to embark on a professional career. So what is the answer? Yes! We are a camp...and an important educational program.