2017 has come to an end. What a year! My first full year post-undergrad, my first year navigating the world of professional theatre and a year of growth. As I look back over this year, I am most satisfied with the personal and professional growth made in 2017. I started 2017 with an adventure I'd never thought I'd take. I spent a month on the other side of the country away from everyone I knew to study and train in Shakespeare. I was so afraid. I had never done anything on my own like this before. I knew deep inside that I could do it, but I was terrified daily by the negative thoughts running through my head trying to beat down my confidence. I felt so unprepared and so green to the whole intensive. I thought I was in way over my head. I was doing a great job of standing in my own way. What I accomplished that month was much more than the new knowledge of acting techniques and new way of looking at Shakespeare's text. I gained knowledge about my self. I found my voice. I felt and claimed my body and vowed to express myself and my voice in a new way. I was awakened. This is not to say that I never doubt myself or stop myself from my full potential, because I do. My head gets in the way of the natural impulses my body wants to make, but I continue to work on my craft and my own personal growth. Well all I can say is, this training changed my life. That was a highlight this year that I am ever grateful for. I told myself that I want to blog much more than I actually did, so in 2018 I strive to be much better at it. I love having an outlet to reflect things I've been working on and to also have a place for friends and family to take a peak into my work.
So many things have happened since my last blog! This winter I participated in another Shakespeare & Co. intensive. I went to the Portland Weekend intensive in November with 10 other actors. It was taught by Dave who was also one of the teachers at the month-long intensive I was at in January. It was so great to see him again and it felt so good to get back into the work that I had started in January. I always tend to feel sad and unmotivated in the fall, so I was so thankful to have this intensive to wake me up and get me moving again. It's so nice to take a weekend away to reconnect to my body and voice. Everyday life, especially when you have a dull day job like I do, can make it to have creative outlets to fuel my mind and body. At the intensive got to work on a new monologue and got to meet so many amazingly talented new friends. Shortly after that I shot two commercials for a chocolate company call Marich. (The chocolate is delicious by the way.) There were a few short internet ads that will be used in an internet based advertisement campagin for the company, two of which I am the feature in! Shortly after shooting those I was hired for a a job with Portland Spirit River Cruises as an actor on the Cinnamon Bear cruises. These are kids cruises that ran from Thanksgiving weekend until Christmas Eve where I was a Christmas fairy called Snowflake. It was so magical. The kids loved all of the characters and it was so fun to play a fairy from the magical land of "Maybeland", where anything was possible. The work was two cruises a day, all weekend with a few weekday cruises close to Christmas. This along with my day job kept me very busy and exhausted. It was great experience in children's theatre, but I am so glad to have this last weekend of 2017 off to rest and enjoy time with my husband and family.
Snowflake. Cinnamon Bear Cruise Winter 2017
Cheers to 2018! Thank you to everyone who has read my blog or who has supported me in other ways. I look forward to many new projects this upcoming year. I will be updating my website to reflect these projects with blogs and photos. Up next : a Reader's Theatre performance of "Boy" where I will be playing Jenny, happening at the end of January. Other than that it is time for me to gear up by working on new material for the many auditions I have planned in 2018.
Wishing you all a Happy New Year!
Love,
Kels