Robin Vacek's Posts - Albright College

Well hello there! Summer is finally here!

2009-05-30T16:10:57.000Z

Alaina and I just began our administrative internships at Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theatre in Cape Cod. Things have been great so far and we are learning lots and lots. Too bad the pay is not higher but everyone knows that internship equals bad/zero pay. At least everyone is really friendly and we have met everyone from the actors to the production crew. We even get to see the shows for free and they are good!!!

What have we done so far: organized the break room and a shelf, typed a thank you letter to donors, learned how to work the box office, confirmed mailing addresses, and created a poster display.

Right now we are training to become house managers by shadowing current house managers. A couple nights ago, Julie Harris, the actress who donated money to build the Julie Harris Theatre here at WHAT, came to see our current show. Julie Harris is a big deal! She is an American stage, screen, and television actress. She has won five Tony Awards and three Emmy Awards, and was nominated for an Academy Award. She is a member of the American Theatre Hall of Fame. She also received the 2002 Special Lifetime Achievement Tony Award. She even dated James Dean for a while after she filmed East of Eden with him.

So far things are good but, we have been told that this was an easy week. Joy! But, I am happy because the sun finally came out today and Alaina and I only have to work until three! We will finally get to visit a sunny beach today! I hope everyone else’s summer is going wonderfully!

There's No Such Thing As Relaxing!

2009-05-05T19:00:27.000Z

NOPE! Does not exist!

Let's start with good news! I got into the Moscow Art Theatre Program which means that I will be in Russia, instead of at Albright in the fall. But, I will be hanging around Albright for the first two weeks of school..reading my long assigned reading list. AWESOME! Also good news! Four of my friends, Alaina, Justin, Melonie, and Lauren will also be studying abroad in the fall. EPIC WIN!

The Laramie Project had its first weekend of performances which went super well! So far we have had a great response from our audiences. However, we are all super exhausted and I love performing but, it was a relief to have yesterday and today off. We have to rest up and finish our homework to prepare for another weekend of performances, followed by our student playwright showcase, Green and Growing.

Hopefully I will get some free time to just hang out with my friends and take advantage of all the fun end of semester activities..oh right..finals and packing up my dorm room! This is where packing parties come into good use.
I can't wait for the therapy dogs and enda semesta fiesta!

I hope you guys are all enjoying your last few weeks/days/ ? of high school and I can't wait to meet ya'll this August!

:)
Robin

Half Way Through!

2009-04-01T13:20:18.000Z

Half way through the semester and spring is on the way! I cannot wait to wear shorts again!

Spring Break was excellent. It was cold in Cape Cod so we couldn’t go to the beach. Instead there was plenty of cooking, reading, TV watching, and walking in parks!
Alaina and I made a trip to Waterford, Connecticut to visit the National Theatre Institute. The place is beautiful but not exactly what I expected. The place is filled with wonder and magic. So many great actors, writers, and theatre artist in general have spent time there. Above the doors of the rooms, in the Administration Mansion, there are small signs saying things such as, Danny DeVito slept here. The whole place is right next to the ocean! We got to sit in on an acting class and talk to the students and faculty and I got to see my friend, Jason, who is currently in the program. Our friend Lauren came later so we got to see her too!
I am still waiting to see if I have been accepted for NTI's Connecticut and Russia programs.

I now know what I am doing with my summer! Alaina and I are Marketing/Development interns at The Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater, in Cape Cod! Our first job with a professional theatre! Woohoo!!! AND I have been told that we will probably get tickets to see all the shows and MONDAYS OFF! Monday = beach day :) I will also get to help run the front of house and work in the box office!

Laramie Rehearsals are underway and man is it a challenge! I am playing a total of 8 characters and it can be super overwhelming. Right now, I am trying to discover each character’s unique physicality, memorize my plethora of lines, and memorize blocking! Charlie, our guest director, has been really wonderful about helping us along the way though. This is week two of rehearsal and we will have the second act blocked by the time we leave rehearsal tonight!

Jeff and Cocol are leaving at the end of this week for Buenos Ares. Jeff is performing in an opera called The Rake’s Progress which is so exciting! I am going to miss them so much, but they will be back the week of finals!
All for now!

In the Swing of ...things?

2009-02-25T14:53:53.000Z

It is only five weeks into the semester and I am ready for spring break! So what has happened...The Threepenny Opera that’s what! It opened last weekend with three wonderful performances and will continue this Thursday through Saturday with three more. I have been learning the ends and outs of Front of House Management because, for once, I actually get to be running it and organizing it at the same time.

What new things have I learned/figured out (Three out of many):
1. In my modern art class, I learned the differences between German Expressionism and French Expressionism and how awesome they both are. Man those German painters were intense!
2. I have figured out where and when I want to study abroad and how I think I can accomplish it. The goal is National Theatre Institute at the Moscow Art Theatre in Russia for Fall 09' and NTI in Connecticut for Fall 10'. My application is finally in!
3. The Hot Herbal Tea at Jake's Java is the best.

Exciting things to come (Six out of 1,000):

1. The controversial artist, Sue Coe, is coming to campus Thursday and will be speaking to my Modern Art class and then to the rest of the campus. (Her art is currently displayed in the Freidman Gallery at Albright.)
2. What am I doing this summer?
3. Spring Break in Cape Cod and job searching.
4. Meeting prospective students at Open Houses!
5. Auditioning for the Laramie Project
6. ?

ps! I promise I will blog more often!

New Fun

2009-01-24T20:14:41.000Z

Christmas break and interim have certainly flown by!
Texas was great and warm..something that I am missing right now in Reading. It was so nice to get to see all of my old friends, my family, and just the state in general. I can't tell you how much barbeque and tacos I consumed in 2.5 weeks.

It was fun to get back to the snow and to the theatre!
Love's Labour's Lost was selected to perform at the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival Region 2 in Philadelphia. We remounted the show in a week and got on the road. Festival was a great time. Imagine a hotel filled with college theatre students. :)

Performing at the Merriam theatre, in front of an audience of theatre lovers, was one of best theatrical experiences I have ever had. First, it was exciting and challenging to perform in such a large space. I definitely had to step up my vocal projection and make my acting larger. It was so crazy and energizing to have to build the set, get used to the theatre, perform, strike the set and then, walk to our response. The audience was one of the most generous I have ever had. They laughed at lines we had forgotten were funny which really helped us make it through the show even though we were tired. The response, given by two directors from other colleges, was very informative. We were able to get a different perspective on our show and find out what was really good and what did not work so well.
Begin able to watch the work of other students from our region was also a great experience. I was able to learn about theatre by watching what worked for a show or a performance and what did not. My favorite show by far was called Violet Sharp. Even though I had problems with the set, it had the best acting out of any of the shows.

Once we got back there was only one week of interim back and it was time to start thinking about the semester. I am an assistant designer for The Three Penny Opera and I spent every day this week photocopying and then cutting smaller pictures which will be put together to form larger pictures which will become movable set pieces. It is definitely tedious and tiring but, I am working with two of my favorite people and taking the time for an occasional candy or dance break really slices the tension in half.

So now the semester is staring and I go back to a hectic schedule..not to mention finding out what the heck I am doing this summer!

Thanksgivingssssendfunnessss

2008-11-27T19:01:57.000Z

Good Afternoon!
Our run of Love's Labor's Lost is over but, does that mean the rest of the semester will just breeze by? Of course not! Many many exciting events are yet to come! Namely our student director showcase performs the week we get back from Thanksgiving break. (Dec. 2nd and 4th at 8:00 pm in the Wachovia theatre! be there! its freeeee!) Myself and three other students from the advanced acting class are performing most of the scenes from David Mamet's Sexual Perversity in Chicago.
After that is our holiday choir concert, a production of Matt & Ben (also free), and our Domino Player Christmas Party!!!

Right now, after a road trip with some friends to New Jersey, spending the night in Queens, running through Canal Street, and hoping on a China Town bus, I am in Boston with three of my friends whom I grew up with in Texas. Daniella, Vito, and Niall. I have not seen Niall in a whole year and I rarely get to see Vito and Daniella. Needless to say this is all very exciting. Since last night we have been cooking an epic Thanks Giving feast with a very small and smoky oven. I have never actually been involved in the cooking of the meal so this is a new and exciting experience! Tragically, I have realized that I cannot use a peeler. :( I am ready to eat all this deliciousness!
Tomorrow I make my journey all the way back to Reading to do all my homework and prepare for the week ahead!

No more sickies!!

2008-10-22T13:33:35.000Z

As told to my by the Health Center last Thursday, I am officially mono free!
Le me see...
For Fall Break I visited my friend Daniella in NYC for her birthday and did A LOT of walking on our search for cheap BWAY tickets We saw The Fantasticks, a darling musical that has been running forever. That only cost $21.50! In the evening we braved the crowds in China Town to find some food. It has been forever since I had some really good chinese..or maybe it was just good because I was starving!

The next day we went back into the city to see a preview of Speed The Plow by David Mamet. It was AWESOME even though it was still in previews! The best part was a technical screw up! The handle fell off both the front and the back of the door but, the actors did some of the best covering I have ever seen. They made up lines, on the spot, that sounded like they were straight out of the script.

After the show, we waited around the stage door to see the actors Jeremy Piven, Raul Esparza, and Catherine Moss, but mostly Raul Esparza. After Jeremy Piven came out the rest of the actors were taking FOREVER. Suddenly, a little man in a plaid coat and Harry Potter glasses walked out and headed for the street. He seemed so familiar....then I realized who he was. He was David Mamet! Now you must understand that David Mamet is one of my favorite writers and probably one of the best writers in America. He is famous for writing dialogue the way people actually speak. Needless to say, being able to exchange the few words that I did with him was one of the coolest things that will ever happen to me.
Then Raul Esparza came out. He was really nice and much shorter than I thought he would be. He gave a better performance than the other two actors but, he does have more experience on stage than they do.

I came back from Fall Break to bunches of work for midterms which are over, thank goodness.

I have an important announcement...for the first time ever I am homesick. Not bad homesick..I just feel myself missing the comforts such as, having a kitchen and supplies so I can bake whenever I want, spaghetti and turkey bacon, my moms curry, REAL Mexican food, a big backyard, watching TV with my parents, and my dogs and cats.
Alas..it costs around $500 for a roundtrip plane ticket so I will have to wait for Christmas.

Adventures with mono!

2008-09-12T19:28:49.000Z

1st week of school: One side of my mouth is swollen...
2nd week of school: Swolleness has departed but, a nasty sore throat and swollen glands have replaced it. I get a blood test and..yes IT IS MONO! The dreaded mono......I sleep for two days and then get medical steriods which work wonders. I am now best friends with the Gable Heath Center.

Mono is absolutely no fun because I am tired all the time and because I cannot do any real physical activity for six weeks... yes that means no gym and no Russian Movement in Actor's Studio. ;(

Sleeping for up 10 or more hours a day may sound great but, it is a FEAT to get anything done!

The steroids are amazing except they are little tricksters! They make you feel so much better which makes you feel like you should be doing things but, you really are not better so you can't. ULTIMATE FRUSTRATION!

I'll survive..my teachers have been great about it! But YOU! take my advice! DO NOT GET MONO!

Oh HEY! Everyone should come to Domino Player Production, You Are Here, written and directed by our very own Jeff Lentz and Cocol Bernal! The Dates are......Sept. 25-28 Thurs, Fri, and Sat. at 8:00pm and Sun. at 2:30 pm.
I won't be acting in it anymore due to the Mono but, I will be there every night as Assistant Director!
I am pretty excited about it and any prospective students interested in theatre should definitely come check it out!

I am even more excited because my best friend/soulmate from back home, Daniella, goes to Sarah Lawrence now and is going to come visit me the weekend of the show and she is bringing friends! Talk about promoting "existential" college relations! Sorry if I used "existential" wrong.

Questions about theatre or conquering mono....leave me a comment

A Spring Awakening

2008-07-10T14:00:00.000Z

Last weekend, after an exhilarating evening of fireworks and food, three of my friends and I departed for Bayonne, New Jersey. Early in the morning we caught a bus to NYC to stand in line for student rush tickets to Spring Awakening, a Tony Award winning musical. We arrived early enough to get the tickets. Since our top goal was completed, the next objective was to find out what to do for the rest of the day. We wandered around Times Square taking in the sights and photo opportunities with a duck, Minnie Mouse, and Pluto! It felt amazing to be able to simply walk aimlessly and chat with the girls with no priorities or commitments besides a 2:00p.m. date with the show.
I don't really need to say it but, the show was AWESOME!! The staging, the acting, the music....EVERYTHING! We also got to meet most of the cast afterward which was great because many of them are our age. Seeing all of those young performers has lit a little fire under me to think more about my future and what I want to accomplish here at Albright. First thing I have to do is find a monologue for my Actor's Studio class!

It RAINED!

Kyle Raibko played Melchior in Spring Awakening

We were all tuckered out!

Summer Adventures!

2008-06-20T17:29:41.000Z

After three weeks at home in Texas, I triuphantly returned to the AC two weeks ago with a tan from the beach and the desire for a break from the heat!

The Big Question: Why am I back at school?
I came back to work the Summer Conferences and so far I am having a blast! The 12 conferences assistants, as well as our boss Lois Kubinak, have become like a family, Since we basically see each other all day, there is plenty of opportunity for hiding each other's belongings, scaring each other with YouTube videos, and coming up with crazy games. Right now we are in the middle of a game called Assassins during which we have to "kill" each other in funky ways such as throwing a bagel at their chest and hitting them in the head with a wet paper towel. I lasted until yesterday afternoon when Zeke got me with the paper towel. Assasins is not even the craziest thing we have done. Last night, before we went to half priced appetizers, we had an impromptu dance party in the mohn parking lot!

Being here for summer also means that I get to be involved in an exciting theatrical process. Our artist in residence, Jeff Lentz, and our designer, Cocol Bernal, are writing and designing our first show of the season. From what I have seen so far, I know it's going to be a great show.

To sum it up, this summer is great and is only going to get better!

:)
Robin