Posted on by Melissa Rose Bushey: Author

Almost Show Time..

It’s almost show time! After weeks of rehearsing it’s finally almost here. Starting Tuesday thru the 28th I will grace the stage for this crazy/intense/fun experience. The rehearsals have been going okay for the most part but of course there are some things that are bothering me. For example they put someone who is outrageously huge in front of me. Not that she’s overweight, she’s just really tall. you would think from the directors point of view they would be like, okay that person is way too short to be behind that big person. We mentioned it them but they don’t care. So I guess I’ll deal with it. Other then that it’s going really well.

However I can’t wait to get my time back. I don’t know how actors/actresses do it. All their time is consumed doing this and leaving little to no room for family or friends or a social life. The actors you are performing with become somewhat of a family for that time. You spend all your hours with them.  I think it would be tough after awhile but hey more power to them. That’s what they love and that’s what they’re passionate about. The working for me full time and then rehearsals 6 days a week and fitting the time to write my novel it’s just so time consuming haha but I’m happy! This is a wonderful experience.

In other news my allergies are on the fritz. I have a love/hate relationship with this time of year. It’s warm but everything is growing and pollen is flying everywhere. My eyes constantly burning and watering. My nose is always running and my throat is kinda raw. I’m ready for Summer so we can pass all that. Okay I just wanted to vent with the allergies as someone is mowing the lawn right now next to the window.

Thanks for the support everyone I hope you find my blogs entertaining 🙂

M.

Posted on by Melissa Rose Bushey: Author

Some fun..

Hey there everyone! So I wanted to let y’all know that I decided to try something with my book on Amazon which is called Braver Than Yesterday. I decided for a limited time to do a promotion where the kindle version is free. So if you want to take a look at it please do! This is my very first novel and I’m so excited about it.

I finally wrapped up my second novel but I didn’t put it out there yet because it’s still in the process of editing and also I’m trying to look for an agency that will take me under their wing, which let me tell you is not easy. My second novel is very different then the first one but I absolutely love it. Right now I’m actually working on the sequel to the second novel and while writing that book I’m currently gathering ideas and writing a completely different book. So the thoughts and ideas are coming at me and it’s been a lot of fun.

In other news: rehearsals are still going on and it’s a lot of work but it’s interesting. We finally received the schedules for when we will be on. There are a total of 16 shows and I will be in 12 of them because there are A and B casts. I am really busy these days but that’s a good thing. Just have to make time for working out in between.

So anyway please check out my novel Braver Than Yesterday on kindle for a limited time for free!! I would appreciate it. If you read it please leave a review, it helps! Thanks y’all!

M.

Posted on by Melissa Rose Bushey: Author

Down..

I know it’s been a few days since I wrote about my rehearsal experience. Thursday night was canceled so I didn’t have anything to report and my weekend was just crazy. So I’ll start with Friday night:

So I’m really excited because they started placing people in spots and where they put me was directly in center. I’m like okay this is great, I’m where all the action is. They didn’t tell me what I should be doing, so I just sat there. You would think they would be like, “Hey can you look at the actors that are talking on stage or hey can you act like your the stenographer,” which that’s what was I assigned. So we go through the rehearsal a few times and finally it’s time to go home and I was beat. Granted I did have a glass of wine before rehearsal because hey it’s Friday and I worked all day and wanted to have some downtime. Anyway I was excited because I was down in the center. Until the next day…

Saturday comes and we have rehearsal from 2 to 6. I’m kind of excited because you know my part is in the front where all the action is. So we sign in and we get started and they told us to get in our places and we do. We sit down and all of a sudden they say, “I want to make some changes. You get in the back.” Which they were referring to me. I was so disappointed and pissed off. They never gave me a reason why they moved me. So I went from front row to all the way in the back where you can’t even see me. Needless to say I was feeling pretty pissed off and it hurt a little but I guess that shit happens.

Sunday comes and I’m dreading to go. We have to be there from 11-6 and it was going to be a long day. I knew going in there that it was going to blow. A million times I wanted to get up and walk out and thought hey they is BS. Oh I forgot to mention, Saturday night I emailed the assistant director asking why I was moved and he never emailed me back. I was waiting on Sunday to see if he would say anything to me but nothing ever came. When lunch break came I was steaming, I needed a drink and yes I had one. Maybe I’m acting like a child I don’t know but I was just so mad. My husband was telling me that I’m making a big deal out of it and that it wasn’t personal, but to be honest it felt personal. Especially if they didn’t even give me a reason. If I was doing something wrong I really would’ve liked to know so I could’ve fixed it. But hey maybe that’s the acting world.

After that weekend I’ve been feeling depressed. My book isn’t selling and I haven’t heard from any agents regarding my book. I try to not get discouraged but come on, I feel like I’m having all these bad things that aren’t going my way so it’s hard to stay positive. I love to write it’s my passion but sometimes I sit and think why am I here on this earth, is there a purpose? Sorry I’m just venting. I’ll stop here. Thanks for listening!

M.

Posted on by Melissa Rose Bushey: Author

Rehearsal Day 3

Hey all are you ready to hear about day 3 of rehearsal? Okay here goes:

We had to be there an hour early because my mom had to get a head shot done. I already sent mine in so I wasn’t worried about that. So we parked the car and walked up the sidewalk and looked over at the theater and saw some of our group in there, but didn’t think too much about it so we continued to walk to the studio and when we got there there was a note on the door to head to the studio. We turned around and walked to the theater unsure of why we had to go there instead. We opened the door and we saw the ensemble sitting around waiting for the rehearsal to start. There was a man there waiting for people to come in and get their head shot. My mom went to meet with him and I took a seat. After about a half hour the rehearsal got under way. The asst. director came in along with the dialect coach. We were learning our British accent tonight. I was pretty nervous but excited because I never did anything like this before.

We did a few exercises with her and she showed us how to enunciate the words. An hour went by and they gave us a sentence to read from the play. The woman told us how to read the sentences in the British accent. The women had to do the woman juror part and the men had to do the foreman speaking part. We took a little break so we could practice the lines and then we were called back. They told us that all the women had to stand up one by one like it was an audition and walk to the center of the room and do the line in their best accent. I’m like oh boy in front of all these people. The same thing with the men, they had to read their line and stand in the center of the room. So one by one everyone introduced themselves and said the line. By the time they got to me I was pretty nervous but ready (or so I thought). I honestly can’t even remember how it went, I know I read it but I know it definitely could’ve been better. I was just nervous I think and it went to my head. When everyone read the lines they decided to call it a night.

And that ladies and gentleman sums up rehearsal day 3. Who knows what to expect for tonight. I believe they will decide who gets one of those parts and I betcha it won’t be me haha…stupid nerves.

M.

Posted on by Melissa Rose Bushey: Author

Rehearsal Day

Yesterday was my first rehearsal for the show. It was an experience. We pulled up and parked the car and walked up to the studio and opened the door. The heat whipped me right in the face. I swear it had to be like 95 degrees in the green room and we were forced to stay there for a good 15 mins along with a group of about 30 people. I thought I was going to die. Finally the door opened to the rehearsal room and we all piled in and this room was much cooler (thank God). Every chair was lined up in rows and that was for the ensemble. The chairs in the middle which were shaped like a square, were for the main actors. Our chairs all had folders on them with our names on them so we took a seat and waited for whatever was going to happen next. The director came out and said to us “you need to move your chairs so you can form around the actors” and so we did. After that was finished we sat down and we had to go around the room and introduce ourselves. Then the readings began, now I forgot to mention the asst. director came up to us and assigned some of us parts for the play just for temporary. So we’re sitting there listening to the actors do their lines and they are wonderful. Their accents are spot on and it seemed like they were doing this forever.

An hour flew by and we took a break. We were told to go over to the actual theater which was literally a skip, hop, and a jump. We arrived and there are a lot of people there. There was the cast, the people who run the whole thing and people off the street that dedicate their lives to seeing the shows and meeting the cast. They call this the meet and greet and it was very interesting. I didn’t even know that these things exist. I’m talking to people and it’s enjoyable, I have a glass of wine which made it a little more enjoyable. Then all of a sudden they tell us to go inside the theater and take a seat. The director says a few words and then we’re told to stand up and stand in front of the stage. We had to introduce ourselves to everyone which I was little nervous about but I managed. We did a Q & A session where the crowd could ask questions. 10 minutes later we went back to the rehearsal studio and sat down reading the rest of the script. I’m waiting for my turn to speak and the part never comes. I’m thinking what the hell, I thought they gave us a part. But no nothing of the sort. I was kind of pissed because I sat there for all that time and nothing. I wasn’t expecting a huge part or anything but it was almost like what am I even doing here then. It felt kind of pointless. I guess I’ll find out what happens tonight. We actually have to meet with a dialect coach because we have to learn a British accent. Don’t worry tomorrow I will continue and tell you the details of this experience. I really want to share with all of you.

9 o’clock finally came and we were allowed to depart. I was happy to finally getting out of there, I think I was freaking out all the way home to my mom. Today I’m trying to remain positive and that this will last only for 6 weeks. I have to keep that in mind. It’s just taking a lot of time. Which means no yoga, working out, cleaning my house, etc. I feel like life is put on hold for now until this is over. My writing is even put on hold which I hate to even think about it. It just gives me so much pleasure but in between work and rehearsals I don’t have the time. Anyways I will talk to you all tomorrow about tonight’s adventure.

M.

Posted on by Melissa Rose Bushey: Author

Workshop pt. 2

So day two of the workshop was a success. It was just so completely different then anything I ever experienced. It’s almost like theater life is a different reality.

Day 2:

My mom and I arrived not really knowing what to expect. We pulled up at 10 in the morning and I have to be honest I was a wreck. I slept awful and I just wasn’t feeling it that morning but I had to drag my butt there. When we went to workshop 1 we were told to bring in an object that meant something to us, which I will explain in a little bit. So we walk in and it seems like everyone is wide awake and talking and laughing. At first I’m like okay I don’t know if I can do this, here I am yawning trying to keep my eyes open and everyone else is acting like it’s 3 in the afternoon. So we walk in and enter the rehearsal space and we’re told once again to grab a seat. We grab the seats and make another circle just like workshop pt. 1. We take our seats and the asst. director tells us the plan for the day, which is going around the room and telling everyone what the object we chose was and what it meant to them. Then he told us that we would be fitted for our costumes which we will find out tonight what we’ll be. So we started going around the room and I could feel myself getting so nervous. My palms were sweaty and my heart rate was starting to rise. I’m looking at other people and at my mom and thought that they’re probably feeling the same way as me. I know my mom is because her and I are just alike. Her foot is bobbing up and down because yes she is nervous. About 5 people in, the woman that takes the measurements comes in, the asst. director is like ‘okay we can stop for now, everyone relax.’ So I’m like YAY break time. Note that it’s only been about 40 mins since we’ve been there. So the asst. director calls each one of us one by one and while we were waiting we were getting to know everyone. It was a pretty cool experience, I mean we were all there for the same reason so we had that in common. They called my name and I went out there and they did our measurements which was fun and then I returned to the rehearsal room.

About an hour later that was finished. I was happy because that put a huge dent in our time. Our workshops last only for 3 hours, so at this point we had about an hour to go, actually now that I’m thinking about it we had about a half hour left. So it took a lot longer then expected. I was thinking hey maybe they won’t get to me but they did. My mom was first and she brought her yoga mat, yoga is her favorite thing of all time. She was nervous but she did great. Then it was my turn and I chose my flash drive, yes a flash drive. Everyone had these momentum’s that meant something to them like when a relative died and it reminded them of that person. I chose a flash drive because honestly I never really had someone close to me die so I didn’t have anything like that. Anyways I chose my flash drive because it’s everything to me. It has all my books on their and anything that I’ve been working on. If I lost that I would be devastated. I know it may sound silly but if you’re a writer or someone that saves things of high importance then you know what it’s like.

By the time we were finished it was time to leave. Now that the workshops are over now we have to do the actual rehearsing. Tonight is the first one so I will let you know how that one goes.

It was fun talking to you about this! I’ll talk to you soon 🙂

M.

Posted on by Melissa Rose Bushey: Author

Workshop Pt. 1

So I decided that I’m going to write about my experiences at the theatre since I never did something like this before. 

Workshop part 1:

I went there full of nerves because I had no idea what to expect. I was super exhausted already from working all day and then went there at night but I had enough adrenaline running through me to pick up a car. So anyway we get there and we stand around until they tell us what to do. There is a room full of people in this so called “green room” when in reality it looks like a little living room. It has a couch and a few chairs surrounded by a yellow wall. There is a small kitchen in this room as well as a refrigerator. I was confused when they said “green room” but I guess it was a theatre thing. 

They handed us a paper and we had to fill it out letting us know what our schedules were like and when we could be at the rehearsals. After that was finished we finally entered the rehearsal studio and stood there like chickens with our heads cut off. Now kind you there are about 30 of us standing around. Then the assistant director says oh please grab some chairs. Over in the corner were chairs that were stacked on top of each other and get this the back folded down. I never saw chairs like that haha. So anyway we grabbed the chairs and made a huge circle. We sat down and we listened to what the asst. director had to say which was basically explaining everything that will be going on. Then he had each one of us tell everyone our names and tell them why we were there. I explained that I drank a glass of wine and that made me get up the nerve to audition which of course everyone laughed. 

After about an hour or two, the asst. director told us to get in three rows so we could do an exercise. He pulled out two chairs and had them face each other and he asked for two volunteers to come up and sit down. One person had to close their eyes and lower their head while the other person just sat there. When the asst. director snapped his fingers the person lifted their head and opened their eyes and had to say something that came right to their mind about the person. This exercise lasted for awhile and they took turns doing it. It was pretty interesting to say the least. 

After that workshop 1 came to a close. I was beyond tired but excited to see where this journey was going to take me. Tomorrow I’ll talk about workshop 2. 

Thanks for listening! 🙂

M.