Adult Theatre Camp

So this summer I will be in the Berkshires living and breathing theatre as I join the directer corps at Williamstown Theatre Festival!

Prepare yourself for some adventures at Adult Theatre Camp! Oh yes, such a place exists, I am living it, and you are all jealous.

Settling in at Willstown.
Will update soon!
Kosmo

Theatre projects!

I have been meaning to write this for quiet sometime! I am currently working on three theatre projects all of which are very exciting and very different from each other.

The Grunt Work

Since January I have been interning with Ensemble Studio Theatre working as the assistant to the season producer, Annie Trizna. I have been learning how the administrative end of a theatre runs and making lots of connections. Of course it is not all producing, I get to take out the trash, make copies, and run lots of errands but I am learning a lot.

It is a part time internship so I don't get paid but I do get a three hour class once a week in return for my services. Our class is based around the needs of the interns. Some weeks it will be a master class with a member of the company, while other weeks we will have a lecture on managing an Off-Broadway theatre. It all depends on what we want more of and want to learn more about. Also, as an intern class we are developing our own theatre piece. Each intern has a hand in writing, directing, producing, and performing in the piece. At the end of our internship we will present it as a showcase for the company and friends.

Trying Something New

A close friend of mine, Jessica Pearson, a director residing in DC and founder of the Hobo Jungle Theatre Company, has written a play that is going to premier at this summer's Capitol Fringe Festival in Washington DC. She was looking for artists to get involved in anyway possible. So I tossed my hat into the ring! I am going to be her head of marketing!! Marketing is something I have not done before but would love to try it out. My sister has offered to give me pointers being an experienced PR agent. And since I work close to the head of Marketing at EST, he has also offered guidance on my endeavor. I am planning on really diving into this project later in the month.

Directing... as I tend to do!

A couple artists who work at the Henry Miller Theatre with me have been itching to do some work. I asked around and found a great script written by a good friend of mine Steven Spotswood. The play is called Fire Burn and follows three spirits who are closely connected to the fabric of time. These characters are first presented as the three weird sisters from Macbeth. It is a interesting and fun script, SO much to play with! We are going to try to present a reading of it before the end of March. If not we will then try to present it at some point over the summer.

Still more

I have been interviewing, auditioning, and applying for a whole mess of things for the summer and next year. Everything is kind of up in the air at the moment but I will keep everyone informed as I go.

All the Best,

Kosmo

The Show

Fallen Angels went up again last week. It was really amazing to have another chance to put it up. We didn't have as many rehearsals this time but the ones we had were so much more productive. I think that I was in a better place this go around. Only having two and a half weeks plus having to wrangle up an audience to meet my minimum was very stressful. For the first performance I felt like I had to rush to put on something that looked complete, so the emphasis was on blocking that worked and could be remembered by my actors without fear of train wreck. The first time around we barely had time to discuss, I hated that I was telling them to do things instead of asking questions and arriving at something together. I enjoy collaboration and without it I feel like I am doing a disservice to the scene, my actors, and my self.

Leading up to the November 18th performance we had time to delve into the script. On troubled areas I got to ask questions and the actors were able to dig into their characters and the situation. We also had more time to just have fun and enjoy the scene. Half of one rehearsal I had Anna and Melissa just play actor games. Noel Coward made this play fun; it's silly and fast paced and completely melodramatic! We all knew that but we had to really experience and remember that it's ok to go on stage and just have fun with it! And my ladies did! They just went with it and the scene became something new and exciting. It was a true performance, completely ready for an audience.

You have one last chance to see it! Our last encore production is Dec 2nd and 3rd, once again at the producer's club at 10pm. You can purchase tickets online (since we are a special guest scene we are not listed on the purchasing website so just click any other scene for that evening) click here and scroll down to the correct night!

Megan Kosmoski, Professional Theater Director

Last week I made my Off-Off Broadway debut with Noel Coward's Fallen Angels at the Producer's Club in Midtown Manhattan. It went so well! Thank you, everyone who could come out and see it! Actually we were asked to come back for their Festival Favorites of the season. Due to a conflict we can only perform one of the nights, so if you missed it we will have another performance Weds November 18th! Also we have been asked to perform again in December, however, I haven't had a chance to discuss it with my cast so who knows. Tickets are up on TheaterVision's website here.

My last week has been networking central. I feel like mostly all I do is exchange business cards, send out resumes, and go out for drinks. Last Friday I spent my morning with Clubbed Thumb Theater Company sending out mailers. I think I am loosely considered an intern for them now. For the past month I have been sending out resumes and letters of interest for spring and summer jobs/internships/productions and the due dates are all finally approaching, which means I should hopefully be contacted soon.

Speaking of being a professional please check out my professional website all about me being a director: http://megankosmo.webs.com/

~Kosmo out

Directing, Modeling, and Shmoozing!

Directing Angels
I am directing a scene for the Coward's Morality Evening Festival with TheaterVision- Playtime. My roommate found the ad on Backstage.com and I sent in my resume and proposal; in a weeks time I was contacted to arrange a series of interviews. Following the interviews with a stipulation of audience requirement, I was offered the job. I choose the scene, I choose the actors, I am responsible for rehearsals, and personal marketing, a lot to do but I am up for the challenge. The tagline states: An Evening of Noel Coward’s Smart, Sophistication and Convention Defying Morality. The two women in my scene are torn between their better and worse selves. These two parts of them are divided by content love for their husbands and passionate lust for a foreign lover. The scene is smart, quick witted, and driven by sex, manipulation, and desire. Never a dull moment! I would love for everyone to come check it out... I do have that audience requirement!

Click here to purchase tickets! The tickets are $20 but you get a full evening: four scenes, four stand up comedians, and $3 beer and wine! At The Producer's Club in midtown Manhattan Oct 28& 29 10pm.

A Model Citizen
I have been applying for some modeling jobs since I moved to NYC. I modeled over the summer for some local photographers and built a portfolio, so I thought why not! I applied for a Sears Print ad two weeks ago and was called this morning for a phone interview. The company organizing it fully submitted my portfolio for consideration for the shoot and asked me if I wanted to join their website to get information on regional GoSees! It's kind of cool. I am going to wait to see if I hear anything back before joining... Scams happen often but here is to hoping!

The Shmooze fest that is my life!
So last week was the opening of Bye Bye Birdie (we don't need to discuss reviews here). Along with the rest of Front of House, I was invited to the Opening night Party!! It was the sweetest party I have ever attended. The party took place at the Hard Rock in Times Square and we had the entire downstairs: six rooms, a plethora of bars, tons of food all catering to celebrities and Broadway socialites! I partied with the cast of The Understudy, Sal from MadMen, and everyone from the show! It was a lot of fun. The ushers all bonded as did the HMs! We had a FOH dance party. Finally, to end the night, myself and two other ushers had a conversation with Bill Irwin who promised to come and hang out with us before the show sometimes.

And now...
I am currently spending my time looking up internships and fellowships for the spring, summer, and next year. If I truly want to direct I need to meet directors, once I meet directors I need to get them to give me AD jobs, then I can convince theaters to actually let me direct a full show on my own. Also I need to train with more places before I start to look at grad schools.

Life is crazy and fast-paced. I am just trying to keep up!
Kosmo out!