I Hear My Voice
The performance of All That Jaws went, well, swimmingly!
The Out of Bounds Improv Festival was the perfect place to give a "sneak preview" of the show. Lots of theaters attended and expressed interest in debuting the show, from hole in the wall venues in the valley to major stages like The Ahmanson.
My character stole the show, but I don't think it's something I can really take a lot of credit for. The character is just so "out there" and dynamic that it's, again to draw the comparison, a lot like watching Tim Curry in Rocky Horror. When he's not on the screen, you're really just waiting for the next time he shows up. I hope to have photos and maybe a video clip posted soon.
Next up we're going to record a cast album at the studios in Wrightwood and then it will be a lot of staging, choreography and tech before our first full run, wherever that may be, in the late Summer. I'll keep you posted at my mainstream site: www.JasonSechrest.com
I also had a week packed full of auditions and even a few callbacks inbetween back-to-back rehearsals for the show so I was grateful for the three-day weekend to be able to hang out with friends, sleep in and just breathe.
But I must confess, now after the three-day weekend, I am anxious to jump right back into it.
Looking back, the majority of my month was spent reading scripts and plays, going on auditions and callbacks, working in acting class, rehearsing, performing in my acting showcase, performing stand-up... just being your stereotypical up and coming Hollywood performer.
And I've never felt more alive.
My friends have noticed. Someone said to me this week, "Even when you're talking about bombing on an audition or not getting a role that you may have wanted, you're still full of more life than you are any other time."
Part of that is because it's finally become fun. I credit that to finding my voice and I mean that in every sense of the term. I think that, for so long, I was so afraid of being me, both in my personal life and on stage. There's so many great artists out there, I felt like how could I compare? I would rather watch them than watch me, right?! So when singing a Liza song, I had to sing it like Liza. When singing a Tori song, I had to sing it like Tori. When hosting a crazy show, I wanted to host it like Jimminy Glick. I am always so inspired by other artists, but there's a big difference between being inspired and putting on clothes that don't belong to you -- and they usually won't fit your body so perfectly.
The same goes for people's beliefs and opinions that, as I mentioned in an earlier May entry, I came to accept I'd been applying like tattoos to myself from as far back as I can remember. I have excellent instincts and a very good sense of who I am and what I believe, but until now I have always looked to other people to confirm it for some reason. And unfortunately, as we all know, not everyone always has your best interest at heart and they're not always on your side.
I just never had enough faith in myself to let go and be me until now and that has changed everything. It's changed my singing voice, as it is now my own for the first time. It's changed the way I approach characters in acting, as they all come through me. And it's changed me just as a human being. There's not as much effort, you know? Doesn't always have to be "on." And I am finding people like it and relate to it, connect to it, a lot more. That's really important to me these days too.
With the mass library of Tori Amos songs I love and adore, I never thought in a million years something as standard as her staple, "Silent All These Years," would be my song of the week. But I hear it with new ears these days. I feel like I'm living the song.
Little story about the song and why it's making me cry like a baby these days...
She wasn't always Tori Amos. Back in the late 1980's, she allowed record companies to talk her into ditching the piano altogether in exchange for some slutty clothes and a guitar-driven band called Y Kan't Tori Read. The leather-clad rock chick with big hair was really "in" that year, you know? Well, let's face it: Sex is always in. It's just what's considered "sexy" that changes. And so, in a desperate search for fame and acceptance, she took what they gave her and wore their character as best she could.
But it wasn't her and the popularity never skyrocketed because of it. "You can't be something you're not," she said, reflecting on it a few years ago. "You just can't. That's all there is to it. You will only go so far."
"Silent All These Years" was one of the first songs she wrote for her debut album as Tori Amos and when I decided I wanted it to be my song of the week, I looked up how old she was when all of this happened to her. I assumed maybe 20 or 21. You know, most artists launch their careers very young.
I got chills when I did the math and discovered she was exactly my age, 27 years old, when she finally found her voice, wrote this song and launched the career she was destined for and has had ever since.
27 years old when she finally just sat down for a second and sang, "Yeah I can hear that... but sometimes, I hear my voice... I hear my voice... "
The Out of Bounds Improv Festival was the perfect place to give a "sneak preview" of the show. Lots of theaters attended and expressed interest in debuting the show, from hole in the wall venues in the valley to major stages like The Ahmanson.
My character stole the show, but I don't think it's something I can really take a lot of credit for. The character is just so "out there" and dynamic that it's, again to draw the comparison, a lot like watching Tim Curry in Rocky Horror. When he's not on the screen, you're really just waiting for the next time he shows up. I hope to have photos and maybe a video clip posted soon.
Next up we're going to record a cast album at the studios in Wrightwood and then it will be a lot of staging, choreography and tech before our first full run, wherever that may be, in the late Summer. I'll keep you posted at my mainstream site: www.JasonSechrest.com
I also had a week packed full of auditions and even a few callbacks inbetween back-to-back rehearsals for the show so I was grateful for the three-day weekend to be able to hang out with friends, sleep in and just breathe.
But I must confess, now after the three-day weekend, I am anxious to jump right back into it.
Looking back, the majority of my month was spent reading scripts and plays, going on auditions and callbacks, working in acting class, rehearsing, performing in my acting showcase, performing stand-up... just being your stereotypical up and coming Hollywood performer.
And I've never felt more alive.
My friends have noticed. Someone said to me this week, "Even when you're talking about bombing on an audition or not getting a role that you may have wanted, you're still full of more life than you are any other time."
Part of that is because it's finally become fun. I credit that to finding my voice and I mean that in every sense of the term. I think that, for so long, I was so afraid of being me, both in my personal life and on stage. There's so many great artists out there, I felt like how could I compare? I would rather watch them than watch me, right?! So when singing a Liza song, I had to sing it like Liza. When singing a Tori song, I had to sing it like Tori. When hosting a crazy show, I wanted to host it like Jimminy Glick. I am always so inspired by other artists, but there's a big difference between being inspired and putting on clothes that don't belong to you -- and they usually won't fit your body so perfectly.
The same goes for people's beliefs and opinions that, as I mentioned in an earlier May entry, I came to accept I'd been applying like tattoos to myself from as far back as I can remember. I have excellent instincts and a very good sense of who I am and what I believe, but until now I have always looked to other people to confirm it for some reason. And unfortunately, as we all know, not everyone always has your best interest at heart and they're not always on your side.
I just never had enough faith in myself to let go and be me until now and that has changed everything. It's changed my singing voice, as it is now my own for the first time. It's changed the way I approach characters in acting, as they all come through me. And it's changed me just as a human being. There's not as much effort, you know? Doesn't always have to be "on." And I am finding people like it and relate to it, connect to it, a lot more. That's really important to me these days too.
With the mass library of Tori Amos songs I love and adore, I never thought in a million years something as standard as her staple, "Silent All These Years," would be my song of the week. But I hear it with new ears these days. I feel like I'm living the song.
Little story about the song and why it's making me cry like a baby these days...
She wasn't always Tori Amos. Back in the late 1980's, she allowed record companies to talk her into ditching the piano altogether in exchange for some slutty clothes and a guitar-driven band called Y Kan't Tori Read. The leather-clad rock chick with big hair was really "in" that year, you know? Well, let's face it: Sex is always in. It's just what's considered "sexy" that changes. And so, in a desperate search for fame and acceptance, she took what they gave her and wore their character as best she could.
But it wasn't her and the popularity never skyrocketed because of it. "You can't be something you're not," she said, reflecting on it a few years ago. "You just can't. That's all there is to it. You will only go so far."
"Silent All These Years" was one of the first songs she wrote for her debut album as Tori Amos and when I decided I wanted it to be my song of the week, I looked up how old she was when all of this happened to her. I assumed maybe 20 or 21. You know, most artists launch their careers very young.
I got chills when I did the math and discovered she was exactly my age, 27 years old, when she finally found her voice, wrote this song and launched the career she was destined for and has had ever since.
27 years old when she finally just sat down for a second and sang, "Yeah I can hear that... but sometimes, I hear my voice... I hear my voice... "
posted by Jason Sechrest at 11:41 PM
5 Comments:
"My character stole the show, but I don't think it's something I can really take a lot of credit for"
If one put efforts in, even a character of a standing tree for entire 2 hours can still steal the show. Your credit is putting efforts in this project, because this is who you truly are. (I think that pretty much explained why Jennifer Hudson's role in Dreamgirls became a smash hit, overshadowing Beyonce.)
Jimmy - You're right in that the role is close to me in a lot of ways. I have definitely had times in my life where my idea of "giving affection" was considered "death" to others. lol ie. having my first love be a straight guy at 17. Maybe that's why I cry so easily during the death scene. xo L, J.
"And I've never felt more alive." Because your having fun, it's so obvious. I have not been away just busy Jason. I still check your blog's weekly to see what you have been up to. I'm happy for you after last summers "rough patch" you seem uh "reborn" ;) Then I read your comment to Jim about your first "Straight" love and I burst out laughing! Why well it was better than crying in sympathy! My first love was a football player (who liked me) who was straight as an arrow! Oh God how I hated his GF! SIGH Why do we always DESIRE what we can NEVER have! night Jason Dewayne
I assume your eyes are like tap water that one turns on it just can't stop falling? I'm always amused by actors/actresses who have that ability for doing that. :)
Jimmy - I WISH I had that talent. It has to be a really clear space for me to be able to cry. And I mean head space. I have to not try at all and not think at all -- and then it happens. If the slightest effort or thought goes into it, it won't come. It's really really weird. Hard to explain. xo L, J.
Dewayne - Funny you should bring that up. I've been thinking about that a lot lately. Where I was a year ago at this time... as my entire perception of reality began its slow, tumultuous tumble. It feels like everything has changed and it feels like nothing has changed. I feel reborn and I feel I am who I have always been. It suddenly no longer feels strange, the void of individuals left behind and that in and of itself is the strangest thing ever. It has all been so very neccessary. I would say so very unfortunate but unfortunate becomes fortune, as I've discovered the line between the two to be more thin than we can usually see in a moment. The #1 thing I have learned in the past year is that everything finds its way in time and nothing can ever be forced. Life keeps happening for living every day but the details right down to emotions take their precious time to arrive when they see fit. One can not be something they are not meant to be and the greatness of what one is meant to be is found within more than anywhere else on this physical plane. ... *sigh* You can expect this copy and pasted into a future entry, DeWayne. lol As always, you bring out the introspection in me for some reason. xo L, J.
Post a Comment
<< Home