Theatre Company Progress

A few small, but important, developments for the theatre company. Yesterday, we had our first reading. It was just a private table read of a play by Jerry Lieblich, a friend of mine from college ... but good to get things rolling artistically. Afterwards, we had our first theatre company drinking session. Important steps.

Also, I got a certificate back from the Dept of State, so we officially have the name "The Well Theatre Group, Inc." reserved. I'm sending in the articles of incorporation tomorrow, so we will officially be a corporation very soon!!

Theatre Company Project: Name and Mission Statement

It is official. Today, I sent in an application to the NYS Dept of State to reserve the name "The Well Theatre Group, Incorporated." I imagine we will probably go by simply "The Well," but that is our name, for official purposes. I should get a certificate back in the mail sometime soonish. The next step is to put together Articles of Incorporation, send it in to the Dept of State, and then we will be an official corporation. Small, but exciting, steps.

Also, the name application required a $10 fee ... see we are now officially $10 in the red. Hurray!

Resurrecting the Blog ... For Realz This Time

Projects for the Summer: Restart the piano project where I left off, Workout, Start a Theatre Company

The ball is official rolling with the soon-to-be-named theatre company. We had our first meeting a couple weeks ago, and we will have a finalized name and mission statement by the end of this week. Here's the mission statement as it stands:

[] Theatre Company produces engaging work, with an emphasis on developing and staging work by emerging artists. We are interested in substance over style; in leaving the audience with something truthful and thoughtful. We are a home for driven, passionate artists looking to find personal fulfillment by creating work that excites seasoned audiences and ignites a new generation of theatre-goers.

It will probably not change much ... maybe a couple words here and there. I'm pretty happy with it. People have been very supportive and right now I'm very excited.

Blog is Back in Business

So, as you can see, this is my first blog post in over a month. In that month a fair amount has happened: I presented 20 minutes of "Theatre of Blood" (the musical I've been developing in the BMI Workshop for the last year), I performed in a show at the Red Room, I started a website (www.bixbettwy.com), and I've been very busy with tutoring leading up to the final standardized tests of the school year.

There's a lot to discuss, but I want to focus on a new project of mine in this blog post: I've decided to start a theatre company.

Now, I am not known for having excellent organizational skills or good business sense, so maybe this is incredibly foolhardy ... but I'm very determined to make it happen, and I feel like I have a lot of good people interested in getting on board.

The first time I ever thought about doing this was a few months ago. I was watching an interview with one of the creators and stars of "Always Sunny in Philadelphia" ... the interviewer asked him to give advice to young people starting out in the industry, and he recommended writing and producing your own material (Always Sunny started as a homemade demo/pilot).

After 2 years in New York, the obvious has been made even more obvious to me: acting is hard. Work is hard to get. So, why not make your own work? Not to mention that, as I have found out through BMI, making your own work is generally more rewarding than working for other people.

Suggestions for company names?

Acting Update

Just wanted to write a quick update on the reading I did last weekend in Hudson with HRC Showcase. I think I mentioned this a couple posts ago, but just to refresh your memories ... it was a play called Johnny Has Gone for a Solider written by William di Canzio, who, interestingly, is a Yale Drama School grad (for playwriting) and was Dean or Master (can't remember which one) of Trumbull from 1990-98. I thought the play was quite good, and the other cast members (four other actors) were fun to work with. The whole process was very fast and furious. We started at 10am (had to start driving from the city around 7am), and rehearsed until around 6pm with only a 30 minute break for lunch. We performed the whole deal for an audience at 8pm. I had gotten literally no sleep the night before because I had to finish a song for BMI, so I was in a bit of a haze all day, but I think I was able to pull it together and do a good job (at least the feedback was positive). It seems to be a place that likes to use the same actors for several projects, so hopefully this will not be the last thing I do up there ... very unique and enjoyable theatrical experience.

New piano update should come within the next couple weeks. This current piece is not easy ... they keep getting harder.

PROJECT 1: Piano

Finally, here's the next part in the Piano project. This is the Aria from Bach's Goldberg Variations. It's harder than it sounds; there are a lot of little details that don't necessarily come across because the recording quality isn't that great. It's a very beautiful piece, so it's kind of a shame to play it on an electric piano. Doesn't really do it justice. But I'm glad to have it done. Moving on to Variation 30 of Goldberg next, which is also going to be difficult.

Aria from Goldberg Variations by Bach from Bix Bettwy on Vimeo.

Yoga and Theatre

I did my first Yoga class last week. I came to the painful realization that I need to get in better shape and am not very flexible. But it was very good for focus and physical awareness.

I'm going up to Hudson, NY, on Saturday to do a reading. The play is called "Johnny is Gone for a Soldier," and I'm playing a community college student who's called up to Iraq. I'll write a post about how it goes when I get back on Sunday.