Plotting My Next Move

11:17 PM / Posted by Ashley / comments (0)

I’m a creator of excessive lists. At the beginning of the summer, when I made the commitment to pursue the business of acting (I never actually stopped performing, I just wasn’t actively in the pursuit of acting work) I plotted my return plan of action carefully in a list that now looks somewhat like this:

June:

Research Acting Classes

Start Diet and Exercise Routine

Pick 3 Killer Monologues

July:

Narrow Down Acting Classes

Start Researching Headshot Photographers

Make schedule at the beginning of the week that includes dance class (don’t skip it!)

August:

Audition/Sign Up for Acting Classes

Narrow down Headshot Photographers

Submit for every role I’m right for

Audition, Audition, Audition

I keep my lists. I cross tasks off as I finish them and then I file them neatly, if they aren’t already in one of the notebooks I’d never be caught dead without. I’m also an excessive note taker. I write everything down from general observations of people I see in the streets and favorite quotes to ideas for new plays. If there are no words to express it, I draw pictures or take photography. My notebooks end up looking like that of a mad scientist or artist, which I guess we theatre types are both.

I often have to remind myself that this business is a marathon, not a sprint. There’s always so much work to be done at all times and I am the type who will happily forego a night out with friends to finish the tasks on a list. (Have you read Emily Kinney’s blog entry on Back Stage Unscripted http://backstage.blogs.com/unscripted/2010/09/what-its-like-to-be-a-flake.html, “What It’s Like To Be a Flake”… I identify) I don’t think of it as flakey though (I’m probably in denial)… rather, I tell myself I’m a recluse by choice. Though recently I’ve written this proverb on the top of my white board “All work and no play makes Jack a boring boy”. Next month’s list looks a bit like this:

October:

Find the Balance

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Radio COTE is Coming!

11:14 PM / Posted by Ashley / comments (0)


I'm debuting 2 new radio plays in COTE's 2010-2011 Season Kick-off called "Radio COTE" on October 6th, "Live from Pod 305" and "Standing in Front of 9/11 Waiting for the End of the World", a collaboration with my creative partner, Robert A.K. Gonyo. It's going to be a fun night filled with some of COTE's favorite performers and playwrights. Check out the info below and meet the cast here, http://www.theateronline.com/PB.xzc?PK=25817.

****

Co-Op Theatre East presents:

Radio COTE
New Radio Plays on Current Events
(with a Revisionist Twist)

Written by
Jacob Dickerman, Robert A. K. Gonyo*, Ashley Marinaccio* and Mariah MacCarthy

Directed by
Andi Cohen, Robert A.K. Gonyo, Veronique Ory and Katherine Sommer

Featuring
Hannah Rose Barfoot*, Kerrie Bond*, Mike Callahan*, Tyrus Cucavac*, Theresa Christine*, Jacob Dickerman, Jessica Greer Morris, Tony De Meglio,Robert Gonyo*, Alex Herrald*, Ashley Marinaccio*, Lauren McCullough, Todd Meredith, Michael Rehse, Anna Savant*, Lynn Spencer*, Laurence Waltman, Ruis Woertendyke

* member of the COTE Ensemble

Admission is free but there is a suggested donation of $5. All donations collected at the door will go to the Stefanos Tsigrimanis Memorial Fund established at NYU’s Department of Performance Studies, to sponsor future projects by departmental students that embody the spirit of Stefanos’s own work. Contact Laura Elena Fortes at the Department of Performance Studies at LF65@nyu.edu for any questions regarding the fund.

About the Plays

Live from Pod 305
Written by Ashley Marinaccio and Directed by Andi Cohen
Featuring Anna Savant, Ashley Marinaccio and Jacob Dickerman

At the Bedford Hills Correctional Facility for Women, two pod mates discuss the concepts of revisionism and escape through a nightly grassroots radio broadcast from Pod 305.


Bachelor/Bachelorette
Written by Mariah MacCarthy and Directed by Katherine Sommer
Featuring Hannah Rose Barfoot, Lauren McCullough, Theresa Christine,
and Tyrus Cucavac

On the eve of her wedding at her bachelorette party, Dani is torn between an androgynous stranger and a call from her future wife.

Conference
Written and Directed by Robert A. K. Gonyo
Featuring Kerrie Bond, Mike Callahan, Alex Herrald and Todd Meredith

In the midst of delicate negotiations for a new health-care bill, a seasoned Congressman learns that his re-election campaign just got alot more complicated— voting has been made mandatory. Over a conference call, he & his campaign staff strategize through this turn of events, and weigh the costs of winning on Election Day.


Unus Populus Fidens (A Nation Without Fear/A Confident Nation)
Written by Jacob Dickerman and Directed by VĂ©ronique Ory
Featuring Lynn Spencer, Laurence Waltman, Jessica Greer Morris, Ruis Woertendyke, Michael Rehse and Tony De Meglio

In the wake of alterations to the Texas Social Studies curriculum, the US of A realizes the freedom that can be had when we subjugate our reason to our desires.

Standing In Front of 9/11 Waiting for the End of the World
Written by Ashley Marinaccio and Robert A.K. Gonyo
Performed by Ashley Marinaccio and Robert A.K. Gonyo

Toby and Rachel are professional disaster tour guides in need of some quick cash. While standing in front of the World Trade Center site they attempt to create a business plan that will demolish the competition of the surrounding street vendors and 9/11 memorabilia peddlers.

***

About Co-Op Theatre East
Founded in April of 2008, Co-Op Theatre East (COTE) believes in the power of art to foster a dialogue for social change. COTE provides an entertaining performance forum in which to ask evocative, challenging questions of artists and audiences on our way to creating collaborative answers. www.cooptheatreeast.org

About the COTE Ensemble

The COTE Ensemble are the resident artists of Co-Op Theatre East. The company membership exists to develop and expand both the performance technique and social consciousness of the individual artist, provide a supportive and safe atmosphere to create new work, and present new theatre that challenges the stories being told in dominant culture.

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The Two Constants In My Life ...

4:00 PM / Posted by Ashley / comments (1)



A special friend of mine in Seattle reminded me on September 10th that it's been 17 years since The X-Files debuted on television in 1993. Here's to one of my favorite shows ever and to the two constants in my life ... theatre and The X-Files.


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He is Missed

1:03 PM / Posted by Ashley / comments (3)









Stefanos Tsigrimanis
1980 - 2010

We've lost a beautiful soul, brilliant scholar and creative force to be reckoned with. You will be missed.

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