Tag Archives: Theatre

Meeting Lin-Manuel Miranda

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On my first ever trip to New York, I met Lin-Manuel Miranda. Seriously.

I was 21 years old, freshly blonde from a modeling gig, and dating a guy whose mother happened to be a Broadway darling. Hal Prince was putting up a new show with her in it, and we were going to opening night. It was so many dreams coming true at once my head was spinning.

(Side note- thank you, always, Huck, for expanding my worldview past the Midwest and the “supposed tos” of life, and to Annie and Blake, who I am positive paid for most if not all of that trip for me. I owe you so many dinners!)

So, Lin-Manuel Miranda. During the days we were in NYC, we had Broadway shows lined up every night. I don’t really know how, but things seemed to just happen magically. We went to a Cinco de Mayo party backstage at a theatre. We had late night pizza with Donna Murphy and met James Lipton, Hal Prince, even (rude but she’s earned it) Lauren Bacall. We saw Audra Mcdonald perform (thanks David Shine!) We watched Spring Awakening in total awe, which I thought nothing could ever top. It was amazing.

BUT- there was a little Off-Broadway show everyone was talking about. This little musical “In the Heights.” It was created by this pretty talented guy who was also starring in it, which happened to be what Huck planned to do with the musical he was writing. Even though it wasn’t on Broadway, we thought we should go check it out. Huck wanted to meet the guy, maybe talk to him a little about putting your own show up.

Why not? I

still remember the feeling, sitting in that theatre, waiting with excited anticipation in the dark, then….

“LIGHTS up on Washington HEIGHTS up at the break of day…”

I still get chills thinking of it. We were both dancers, and I had never, ever seen choreo like that. Never in my life. We are used to that sing-songy rap now, thanks to Hamilton and more, but this guy brought this to the stage. No one was doing anything like this. The songs were so powerful. The story was amazing. There was hardly a moment to catch your breath.

We waited outside to meet Lin-Manuel. As far as we were concerned, he was just another dude who wrote a show and made good. We wanted to tell him how inspiring it was. Huck told him a bit about his musical. He was exhausted but polite, and we let him off the hook quickly.

We didn’t think to ask for a photo. Why would we?

I remember thinking, “I wonder if he’ll do anything else. I doubt he could top this…” Can you imagine?!

Watching “In the Heights” in the theater recently was such a crazy experience. It took me right back to being barely old enough to drink, to having my eyes opened WIDE to the possibilities of the world, to what we can make and do and who we can be. NYC was a place where no one tried to talk you into smaller, more reasonable dreams or put you to bed before 3am. A magical world where anything could happen at anytime with anyone. Where I knew I had to be someday.

I ended up in LA first and I’ll always be grateful, but the plan is most certainly to end up bicoastal, and we will. In the meantime, I’m so grateful for opportunities to visit (and even perform there!) and for all these amazing musicals coming to the big screen- a little Broadway fairy dust to sustain.

If you haven’t yet- GO SEE “IN THE HEIGHTS.” Incredible for so many reasons! It was perfect that my first time back in a movie theater was to see this film. I was already so excited to just be in that room, then the lights went down, and I got goosebumps as…

“LIGHTS up in Washington HEIGHTS up at the break of day….”

Ann Morrison, me, Huck Walton, Blake Walton
With Donna Murphy before I learned how to act remotely chill

A Blogger in Ecuador: Technology Wars

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Ok, I have SO many blog drafts started, but I’m having some major technical issues, so I wanted to give you a quick update from Mindo! Many more posts to come, with details and photos and stories and joy, I promise. Hang with me, friends! 

Things I Want to Share Quickly: 

1. At orientation, we were told it is best not to bring laptops. I am a rule follower, so I listened. I sincerely regret that decision! (If you are googling and searching the internet, as I did, for tips on traveling with Dramatic Adventure Theatre, here is one: if you want your laptop, bring it!)

2. I brought my iPad with a keyboard case thing as a compromise. Day 1, I plugged the keyboard in to charge, and it never, ever came back to life. Considering it only cost $20 on Groupon, I consider it a win that it lasted a year or so. Still, its untimely death was truly unfortunate, because….

3. It’s impossible to find most things at most stores in Ecuador. I certainly haven’t stumbled across an electronics store yet. It was an epic journey just to find a bag of nuts and some curl creme. (Mine exploded in the bag on the way over.) 

4. This trip has without a doubt been one of the most challenging experiences of my life. More detailed blogs to follow, but let’s just start by saying I’m being stretched and pushed and challenged in terrifying ways ALL the time. They say a DAT day = three regular days, as far as how much happens. I have to agree. 

5. Ecuador is so beautiful all the time. I can’t take it. 

6. The kids we have been working with in the different communities, from mountains to island, are more amazing than words can express. I will definitely try to find the words for future blog posts, I promise.

7. I’m really, really proud of the work we’ve done so far. 

8. I miss home like crazy, even though I love it here. 

9. There was no phone connection and only the tiniest, weakest wifi the entire 11 days I was in the Galapagos. The wifi on the mainland is super hit or miss- mostly miss. My phone connection comes in and out, but it isn’t cheap to keep that turned on! 

10. I really, really want to post some photos in this post, but I’ve learned the hard way they when writing a blog post on my phone, the pics take SO long to load over this connection, it freezes the post and I’m lost in no man’s land. 

11. I have a couple of friends with laptops here I am certain are kind enough to share, because all the other actors I’m traveling with are absolutely amazing, wonderful human beings. Talented, brilliant, loving, open….I’m so happy to be a part of this group.

12. Worst case scenario: If I can’t organize a laptop, blogs start rolling in when I reach NYC in a week. 

13. I’m exhausted. 

14. I am grateful. 

15. We have SO, SO, SO much in our country. So much opportunity, so much convenience, so much stuff, so much food, so MUCH. 

I haven’t forgotten about you. But the internet gods DID forget about ME. Stay tuned…. 

(We can still accept donations, and they are, in fact, badly needed! Please click below for more info and, if you are able, share the link! Thank you!)

https://www.gofundme.com/SabrinaInEcuador

When You Feel You’re “Missing Out” on the Bigger Things

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Being the age

I dropped out of college after about two and a half years. I say “about” because I sort of just stopped showing up somewhere during my fifth semester. I wasn’t being lazy or giving up- quite the contrary. I was working several jobs to make ends meet, so when I started booking paid acting and modeling work, I didn’t have time to fit in everything. I figured I didn’t need a theatre degree for my career as an actor if I was working as an actor, so I let the need to finish school go.

(Side note- I am not advocating the idea that one should take dropping out of school lightly. However, I also don’t think anyone should finish college and get up their eyeballs in debt if it doesn’t make sense for their lives. Another blog post for another day.)

Since I left school before most people I knew at the time who were pursuing the acting life, I suddenly had this feeling that I was a little bit “ahead.” Not as a person, or an actor, definitely not in experience or financially, but just as far as time was concerned. It was like I had two “free years”, where all acting credits and experience were “bonus”, where I could slack off or not, and it didn’t matter. Continue reading →

Volunteer Trip to Ecuador!

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action Ecuador

I have amazing news- an upcoming project I’m incredibly excited about!!

I’ve been cast with a group of actors and artists going to Ecuador this summer. We will be living there for 30 days, participating in a series of workshops, lectures, and incredible experiences.

The BEST part is that we get a chance to give back and make a real difference. Our group will work within disenfranchised communities and with indigenous people, empowering the local youth with theatrical education. We will help them find their voices through the magic of acting and playwriting, giving them the tools to tell their stories.

This will all culminate with the creation and performance of our own original pieces inspired by our experiences in Ecuador. Our casts will preview these works in Quito before performing them in a festival in NYC the following week. Continue reading →

On Being (and Not Being) Carol in Mamet’s “Oleanna”

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From time to time as an actor you find yourself truly falling in love with a role. There are certain ones that just speak to your soul in a way you can’t undo. You become woven into the fabric of each other, and you come to care for them in a strange way- strange only because, by nature of being a “character”, they are fictional.

These characters don’t truly exist, and they are subject to the opinions of those artists playing and directing them. Of course. We know this….

Still, I can always tell when I’m head over heels for a character I want to play because the same thing happens to me every time: I become desperately protective of them. I’m suddenly worried that no other artist in the world could possibly understand them the way I do, and that, out of my control, they will become terribly misunderstood by the entire world.

More often than not, it is the nature of our business that we do lose those roles. There are vast numbers of actors feeling this way, and just the one role.

Such it has gone for me. In a few weeks time I met, studied, deeply understood, became wildly obsessed with and overly protective of, auditioned for, went to callbacks for, and subsequently lost the role of Carol in a production of David Mamet’s Oleanna.  Continue reading →

Acting Basics- 3 Things to Bring to an Audition

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Getting started in the world of acting can be intimidating. There are a lot of skills, terms, practices, and tools you need to know to put your best foot forward. In this “Acting Basics” series, I’ll introduce you to some easy tips, explanations, and checklists to help navigate the overload of information out there.

If you choose to study acting in a college or conservatory setting, you will of course learn a lot of the basic things you need to know right away. That’s a major benefit of choosing to pay for school, as well as starting out with a network of fellow artists before you get moving on your professional path. However, you don’t need a degree to be an actor, and this can be an expensive way to obtain these things.

So here, free to you, is my blog. I plan to load this baby up with great resources for actors. I’ve been a professional actor for many years now, and have worked across theatre, film, television, etc, at all different levels, in many different locations. Through this blog, I’d like to pay forward some of what I’ve learned, as so many have for me over the past decade and a half!

Let’s start with the very, very basics. A few things you will need to go to an audition without looking like you have no idea what you’re doing.  Continue reading →