uncertainties and dubious references...

With my last read of Streetcar I took note of some things that I didn't understand so that I could look them up.  Here's what I learned:

1. Scene One: Blanche makes a Poe reference in talking about her sister's apartment "Out there I suppose is the ghoul haunted woodland of Weir!"  I couldn't remember this reference from the Poe poetry I'd read so I had to dig for it...but found the reference in the poem Ulalume. So clearly this isn't a kind reference.       
2. Scene Two: Blanche sprays herself with and atomizer... which is exactly what I thought it was (an old fashioned perfume bottle)..but had to check to make sure (we don't see these much anymore).  
3. Scene Three: Blanche says: "Poker is fascinating. Could I kibitz?"  Kibitz apparently means to look on and offer unwanted advice! Haha...this made me laugh!
4. Scene Three: Mitch asks Blanche if she is French and she replies: "We are French by extraction. Our first American ancestors were French Huguenots." I guess this is just a different word for Protestant...so she's a Protestant I guess we have that in common (though I'm not French!)
5. Scene Four: Blanche has Stella look through her purse to find "Sixty-five measly cents in coin of the realm" I'm guessing this must be a money note? From Webster: 1 : the legal money of a country 2: something valued or used as if it were money in a particular sphere <information is the coin of the realm in the capital — Eloise Salholz et al.>
6. Scene Four: Blanche says: 'Money just goes--it goes places. Sometime today I've got to get hold of a bromo!" From Webster: 

   bro·mo

    noun \ˈbrō-(ˌ)mō\: a dose of a proprietary effervescent headache remedy and antacid
7. Scene Four: Blanche says: "Look who's coming! My Rosenkavalier! Bow to me first... now present them! Ahhh - Merciiii!"" This is a reference to a comedic opera written by German playwright Richard Strauss
   
   ...essentially Rosenkavalier is a young lover who presents the silver rose to another man's fiancé. 
8. ALL OF THE FRENCH SPEAK: Scene 6: Blanche says:
1. "I want to create joie de vivre!"- translates to: carefree enjoyment of life  
2. "Je suis la Dame aux Camellias Vous etes-- Armand"-- A line adapted from Alexandre Dumas’ (1824-1895) play “La Dame aux Camélias” The English translation of this French line means “ I am the lady of Camellias! You are Armand”.
3. “Voulez-vous coucher avec moi ce soir? Vous ne comprenez pas? Ah, quelle dommage! – I mean it’s a damned good thing.”--translates to: do you want to sleep with me tonight? you do not understand? Aw, what a shame! It's a damned good thing.
9. Scene Ten: Blanche says: "How about taking a swim, a moonlight swim at the old rock-quarry?" A rock quarry is an open-pit mine. These excavation areas are often used to gather useful materials that are not deep underground, such as limestone, gravel, marble, slate, and all manners of construction materials. Rock quarries were open, isolated areas during the night. They were also sometimes not so far away from cities, thus they are excellent private recreational areas. The excavation sometimes creates pools collected from rain, which could be swam in.
   
    Blanche is talking to "a group of spectral admirers". She is suggesting that they visit the old rock quarry for a bit of swimming, if "anyone's sober enough to drive a car", implying that the invisible group of admirers are drunk, perhaps from an imaginary party
10. Scene Ten: Blanche says: "Shall we bury the hatchet and make it a loving cup?" --A loving cup is generally a cup that is shared between friends at events such as large dinners etc.
11. Scene Ten: Blanche says: "I think of myself as a very, very rich woman! But I have been foolish-casting my pearls before swine!"  refers to "Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces." (Matthew 7:6). Of course, these words of Jesus are allegorical. I doubt that any were literally casting pearls before swine. The meaning is pretty simple to figure out; "Do not persist in offering what is sacred or of value to those who have no appreciation for it, because your gift will not only become contaminated and be despised, your generous efforts could also be rebuffed and perhaps even openly attacked." 
12. Scene Eleven: Blanche says "That cool yellow silk--the boucle." 
    
    A type of yarn that consists of patterns of loops. (Boucle)
    Whereas a working-class individual would have identified the article of clothing as a sweater, Blanche identifies is by its yarn.
    
    
    13. Scene Eleven: Blanche says "It's Della Robbia blue" Luca Della Robbia is a Florentine sculptor famous for his glazed terracottas. The blue he uses is light with a mixture of gray. (Della Robbia colours) I knew I recognized the reference...I studied Della Robbia and several of his terracottas when I lived in Florence.
    

    
    Once again, Blanche's upper-class upbringing is shown here as she identifies a color after a famous Italian sculptor. Her knowledge of the fine arts contrasts with the ignorance shown by Stanley.
    
    

Whew! I learned a lot!!!

It's Only a Paper Moon

The second song sung by Blanche in the Bath Tub...

Learning to use a handkerchief

There's much talk of handkerchief use by Blanche throughout Streetcar....
Having never grown up in an age when anyone ever used a hankie I've done a little bit of research about the many ways women would use a handkerchief.
I found this nice blog post about handkerchiefs which begins with a myth about the origin of handkerchiefs as printed in a 1940s women's magazine! I like to imagine Blanche thought romantically about her handkerchiefs in the same way.
Blanche mostly uses her handkerchief to apply perfume...but I would like to play around with her using one throughout the play to help emphasize her femininity, proper upbringing and to dab her temples when she's trying to remain calm.
I think I'll be purchasing a rehearsal handkerchief either at good will or on etsy. I like these with the initial "B" for Blanche on them:

The Land of the Sky Blue Water

Learning the first song Blanche sings in the bath tub...

Landing the Role...

When I saw the posting on Theatre in Chicago's audition website for A Streetcar Named Desire I nearly fell over with excitement.  It was only the second listing I'd ever seen for an open call of a Williams play in my 10 year career as a professional actress (the first posting was for The Glass Menagerie at Red Twist theatre which I submitted for but never got an audition).
As life goes in the Chicago theatre scene, submitting your headshot and resume does not always mean you'll get called in to audition so I tried to keep my excitement at bay and immediately submitted my material with my fingers crossed.
About a week after submitting I received an email that I had an audition slot for July 17th at 7:30pm!! Never mind that it was on my 9th wedding anniversary...it was a chance to audition for one of my favorite plays of all time! The email requested that we prepare 2 contrasting monologues from mid-century modern plays. I already had a monologue worked up from Arthur Miller's A View From a Bridge I just needed to find a second monologue so I decided to look for an obscure Williams' play preferably something comedic. I landed upon a book of shorts by Williams and found a perfect pieced together monologue in The Lady of Larkspur Lotion. I diligently re-read "Streetcar" and memorized this piece while driving back to Chicago from Virginia with my parents, son and two nephews in tow...it was not an easy task. By the time I had my 2nd piece memorized, I had no time to show it to anyone before the actual audition (an audition faux-pas, I failed to heed the advice I give to my acting students..."never try out a new monologue in the audition room, show it to someone, anyone first") but when the only human you see before your 7:30 audition is your two year old son...what choice did I have? It was solid, I was sure of that...I was going to be okay.
And then there was the problem of what to wear. I knew I wanted to give a glimpse of the time period, a nod to what I'd look like if they were to cast me in this play. I tried on 5 dresses...all seemed too short, or too modern, nothing seemed to be quite right...until my fingers landed on the beautiful green and white vintage dress I bought in Budapest...the perfect length...a great color, I zipped myself up and saw the southern belle in me I'd been looking for....it was PERFECT!!! And then I took a breath...and the zipper gave in from the middle...NOooo!!! But I was not going to let a broken zipper keep me from wearing this perfect dress so I grabbed a needle and thread and spent 45 minutes cricking my neck sideways, sewing myself into this dress!

I gave myself an hour and a half to get to the audition (it was all the way across town and I was leaving during the end of rush hour)...it was just enough time. I had enough time to sit in my car and run through my monologues a few times before heading in. When I signed in I was surprised to learn that I was next to audition (even though my slot wasn't for another 15 minutes) I asked if I could have a few minutes to use the restroom first which they graciously allowed me. My heart was racing, I splashed my face with water and used some breathing techniques to calm myself down...I was going to be fine. I walked in the room and introduced myself to Melanie and Chris and began with my Miller piece first...it went okay...I sat down and began my Williams piece perfectly with my Deep South dialect when I noticed Melanie give a glance to Chris...in that split second all of the words left my brain...I froze and tried not to panic but I could not find a single word to save myself. "I'm so sorry...just give me a second." and I tried to start over but could get no farther...I was stuck...an actor's nightmare..."I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry it's a new monologue and I haven't had a chance to do it for anyone...I think I'm just so nervous because it's Streetcar and I've never had the chance to audition for Streetcar before...I'm so sorry."
"That's okay, that's okay...you know what? From your first piece I already knew that I wanted to give you the sides for Blanche so don't even worry about it...we'll be starting the callback at 9."
He handed me the sides and I left the room in shock.
Blanche? He wants me to read for Blanche? HFS!
Oh. My. God....okay Kirstin...he's giving you a second chance...don't mess this up.
For the next hour and a half I studied those sides like it was my last and most important job on earth. And it paid off...no broken zipper, or botched audition could stand in my way from landing the role I never thought I'd have...by 2pm the next day she was mine.

The dress...only worn once at a friends wedding in Alaska.

Lessons learned:
1) Dressing the part for an audition is a good idea...even if it means you have to sew yourself in!
2) ALWAYS try a new monologue for someone else before you audition...even if he's only 2 yrs old
3) Make the most of a 2nd chance audition or callback.

Goodbye Chorus Girl...Hello Leading Lady

I always thought I was destined to be just a chorus girl or a character actress, filling in the small but crucial roles of plays and musicals was my destined career. I've never sought fame or fortune, only the opportunity to be a part of the art form that has continuously changed my views on life and challenged me to be a better person.

Perhaps I underestimated my worth as an actor. 

Perhaps I never understood that with time, passion and determination, even I had the potential of being cast in one of the most challenging and sought after roles of all time.

I have always admired Tennessee Williams. His plays are electric and full of truths, filled with rich characters who are all flawed and completely relatable. 

I have longed for the chance to portray one of Tennessee Williams characters...and I always thought if I were to play any of his characters it would most certainly be Laura in The Glass Menagerie. Laura is fragile, naive and lost, many see her as child-like even though she's nearly 30 years old. Maybe that's why I have always felt a connection to Laura. For the last 31 years I've been seen by most as child-like...and its the way I've always been cast, or at least until recently. Perhaps I've been cast this way because I'm small in stature, standing at a mere 5'1" tall, with my fair skin and doughy dimples, I can't really blame anyone for seeing the child in me...I see her too when I look in the mirror.

So you can understand my surprise when I finally got my first opportunity to audition for a Tennessee William's play and the role I got called back for was NOT the younger, milder role of Stella but of the vampy older sister vixen of Belle Reve, Blanche Dubois. How can this be? 

I wasn't sure but I was honored. 

I hadn't even thought about Blanche...assumed she'd never be mine to think about...I never thought she was on my "type" list...never thought I'd ever come close to playing this role of a lifetime. 

How could I, this dimple donned actress who has been playing children for the last 20 years, possibly be considered for this lead of all leading lady roles? 

I'm not sure exactly what they saw, but I'm ever so glad they saw it and beyond thrilled to have this opportunity to explore the role...I have less than 3 weeks before rehearsals begin....this blog is dedicated to my process in becoming Blanche DuBois in Tennessee William's Pulitzer Prize winning play A Streetcar Named Desire.