I’ve started a new job and a new blog. You can check out both here.
I also teach privately, and have all that information on my lessons page.
Here is just another reason to sing: BBC News says singing helps stroke patients recover their speech.
We have some production stills from the final dress rehearsal for the opera The Waiting Room nearly one month ago. It was a wild ride, and I miss everyone involved. My “lover,” Ryan Harper, is pictured with me below. He is particularly missed for his ability to drink a pint while holding good conversation. Thanks for the ‘your mom’ jokes, man. And the jokes about Roy’s mom. Those were good too. Good like… you know.
"Dora & Teodoro, mythical lovers or biblical if it's needed."
more available on flickr.
It’s snowing outside. That’s the typical weather on a early-November afternoon in Banff, Alberta, Canada. You might think that because I was born here I might be more prepared for the cold. I’m not. I brought wellingtons in place of snow boots, and hope that my jeans and cuddle-duds will fight against the chilly winds. I’m sure that I’m over reacting. It’s only -1 C.
Ok. So the news: we finished the blocking today for the opera: The Waiting Room. We have one week to pull it together with orchestra, conductor, dancing and tech. Easy peasy, maybe. There might be some complications along the way (there always are), but I think it will work out amazingly. You can look for a video and audio recording in about a month.
The evening is a double-bill, and from what little I’ve heard from Sebastian Hutchings’ opera The Agony of Mrs. Stone it’s incredibly beautiful and complex. Based on a true story about a couple that was climbing Mt. Eon, this story follows Mrs. Stone after her husband falls to his death. It’s heavy and crunchy and heart breaking. I can’t wait to see the full piece.
In other news, I was cast in a short student film called “Your Heart is my Piñata.” It’s shooting in December. I’m playing the friend of the female romantic lead. But this isn’t your mother’s rom com, I’m a performance artist and compulsive masturbator. Suck on that.
Also, I’ll be playing female ensemble for the musical Jekyll & Hyde in late January at Wings Theater. It’s a Sponge Theatricals production and my first fully-staged musical in the city. (I did readings last summer of Lesbian Love Octagon and Us: A Peter Gabriel Musical.) I’m stoked to not be carrying a score.
That’s the news from Canada. Here’s what’s happening in your neck of the woods:
Here’s another taste of the opera that’s coming up in under a month now (shiver of fear and excitement).
The Waiting Room – Press
And while I’m still auditioning for projects here, I’m preparing myself for the cold winter that awaits up north. I bought new boots. I have an angora coat. I’m rehearsing the opera while jogging naked in the snow. uphill. backwards (both the singing and the jogging). I’m taking all necessary precautions…
I, like millions of 20-somethings out of college, have a wanderlust the size of… really big things. So naturally, traveling abroad (Canada is abroad!) is a meeting with destiny. I have been waiting for the right moment to abandon all security and travel the slightly-foreign cultures of Europe, using only my intuition, my cunning and my GPS to guide my path. Luckily, I don’t have to destroy that fantasy, yet. Instead I’m being paid to go to Canada. Wait. Let me repeat that. I just like the sound of the words. I’m being PAID to travel, sing, enjoy people’s company, and live in the uncomfortably-silent Canadian Rockies for 2 weeks! What did I do to deserve this? I want to dance the song of victory. Um pa pa. Um pa pa. Pow. Slap. Swoosh. Ja-Jormppp.
Out takes from The Jogger.
Keith edited these jewels out of the final cut, but here they are for your enjoyment.
Fall. Autumn. Automne. Trees changing colour. Back to school shopping. Blazers and sweaters and coats, oh my! If I were into superlatives, it might be my favourite season.
Last night I made a delicious beef stew with a friend of mine in Carroll Gardens. We sat and ate it while watching Sons of Anarchy and Secretary, drinking hot toddies with whole clove. I had to refuel. I’ve been working on learning this opera for a little while now and had to stop when I picked up a gross cold. The stew and toddies soothed my sore throat and cleared the congestion that prevented me from pronouncing nasal consonants. With a cool breeze from outside, and the anticipatory television ads saying new episodes are coming soon (!), I felt a “hills are alive” excitement. The seasons are changing, and the slow drudgery of August is behind us. It’s almost fall.
I also received news this morning that I’ll be working on a new project, filming in October. It’s called The Crab and I’ll be playing Goth Girl. It’s a small role, but a decidedly sexy one and something I have yet to explore on film. And when I read the synopsis (haven’t received the full script), this movie seems right up my alley. A certain hilarious cynicism. That (dare I say) edgy hipster vibe. “Part modern day monster movie, part dysfunctional romantic comedy.” Oh, it’s on. It’s on like DK.
So, as the summer winds down, I have to remind myself of all the things I’ve accomplished in these few months. A short list will suffice.
– I began this website–thanks to the help of a Mr. Jordan Winick. And I started writing a blog.
– I got great business cards from Moo.com. (Thanks for the recommendation, TONY!)
– I was in 3 short films with the 12films12weeks production team. They’re what I call reel friends. (wah wah.)
– I was hired for my first opera: The Waiting Room. It takes place this winter in Banff, Alberta, Canada, and I will be playing one of the 6 main parts. I’m nervous and stoked and nervous. It will be great.
– I’ve been in so many stage readings: Lesbian Love Octagon: A Musical Comedy about Dyke Drama (Twice! After the first reading we got invited to The Hot! Festival.), Us: A Peter Gabriel Musical, All-American Genderf*ck Cabaret, and Charles Mee’s Trojan Women 2.0 (with TBG).
– I’ve made new friends and allies in the industry. Friends who are veteran working actors are incredibly valuable. I’ve not only received great guidance, but I have a living example of what I’m working to do. Filmmakers are great allies. Watch and learn. DIY is the future. And ultimately, people are people and I’ve appreciated the ones that have had faith in me but who were also demanding of me. Thanks guys.
– I started new jobs (The Breslin and The John Dory) and have new skills like bartending, filleting a sea bream, and appreciating the taste of fish eyeballs. Oh, it’s a skill.
– I continued to teach voice and find it incredibly rewarding.
– And I discovered some new & old favorites: Spaced, Warehouse13, Wesley Willis, India.Arie’s The Heart of the Matter (I love a good breakup anthem!), and outdoor Pilates in DUMBO.
In the fall, I have a graduation to look forward to (TBG showcase), an opera, as well as more filming, more shows, more work, and a great many adventures. Thank you, box of chocolates… you never know.
I first met Mike Lavoie and Keith Boynton of 12in12 in an audition earlier this summer. (Thank you actor’s access.) The audition was one of the most fun I’ve ever been on, and at the time I had no idea what to expect. I didn’t think I was cast. Weeks had gone by, but then I get a call from Keith out of the blue asking me if I can be in a movie on Saturday. I’m totally in. That was Sublet. The 3rd of 12 films they wanted to shoot in 12 weeks. 12 in 12. It was only the beginning. I was a PA on their 5th film: Captivated. And then was back in front of the camera in a supporting role on their 9th film: Moving Pictures. And now I present to you the 12th film of 12in12: The Jogger. Tell me what you think.
Film 12: “The Jogger” from Mike Lavoie on Vimeo.
Film 9: “Moving Pictures” from Mike Lavoie on Vimeo.
Film 3: “Sublet” from Mike Lavoie on Vimeo.
See all 12 films made this summer on 12films12weeks.com.
Early press on the opera I’m doing in November in Banff:
Two chamber operas written and performed by local artists, The Agony of Mrs. Stone by Sebastian Hutchings and The Waiting Room by Lorena Orozco, will debut on November 13 and 14 at 7:00 and November 15 at 4:00 at the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies. The Agony of Mrs. Stone, written for three voices plus choir, is inspired by true events that took place at Mt. Eon near Banff National Park in 1921, and adapted by Banff poet Jon Whyte. After her husband falls to his death while the couple is attempting to make the first ascent of Mt. Eon, Margaret Stone is stranded near the top of the mountain for seven days without food or water. In the opera, she is accompanied in her entrapment by two poets, each commenting on the unfolding drama from two separate periods in time, and by a ‘Greek’ chorus that describes the creation of the mountains themselves. The music juxtaposes lyrical singing with a range of musical textures that depict the slow passage of time, the tension of Mrs. Stone’s growing peril, and the interaction of the four physical elements: earth, water, fire, and air. The libretto is an original text written by Sebastian with quotations from the poem of the same name.
The Waiting Room is a tale of human weakness, joy and passion that could take place anywhere in the world. The opera is set in a palliative care ward and explores the interactions of eight characters—six patients, a nurse and a doctor—living under the shadow of terminal disease. But when a cure is miraculously found, these characters show surprising aspects of themselves, faced suddenly with the continuation of life rather than the inevitability of death. For both characters and the audience alike, the opera probes: if life is a waiting room, what are we waiting for? The libretto was written by famed Mexican playwright Emilio Carballido, and is sung in English translation. A fusion of opera and musical theatre, The Waiting Room uses popular idioms such as jazz, habaneras and tangos, as well as classical forms, such as Bach-like fugues and chorales, to outline the engaging tale. The operas star local divas Nan Hughes and Karen Minish, joined by Roy del Valle, Chris MacRae, Susan Lexa, Dylan Bandy, and musicians from throughout the Bow Valley.
