Kathleen Kellaigh 11/20/22 Kathleen Kellaigh 11/20/22

AN ACTOR'S THANKSGIVING... (Full Version).

Reprinted from our Nov. 2018 blog entry…

An Actor's Thanksgiving List

To all creative folks--ATC celebrates you and is thankful for the gifts you bring to the world.

I am thankful for the gifts of imagination and compassion that allow me to step into another’s shoes.

I am thankful for my body, which allows me to bend it and exhaust it as I create new characters and commit to exercises, productions and projects.

I am thankful for my voice, which I can manipulate, creating speech and verbal characteristics and communication for my characters.

I am thankful for the world and people around me for providing all the inspiration I need to create a multitude of new people in any situation.

I am thankful for family, friends, co-workers, fellow actors, and the strangers I meet daily, for teaching me about relationships.

I am thankful for eyes, which allow me to see past appearances, and into hearts.

I am thankful for ears that are learning to truly listen.

I am thankful for the smells around me and those remembered and those imagined, for they help me create truth for my characters.

I am thankful for hands (and skin) that “remember” what things feel like, and can create in league with my imagination things I’ve never encountered.

I am thankful for new tastes, for any new experience can help me to create anew.

I am thankful even when life deals me terrible challenges, for I grow in my understanding of the human existence, which will help when I create a new human existence (a character).

I am thankful for the wonder of discovering who I am while finding out who my characters are.

I am thankful for the opportunity to touch others’ lives with joy, sadness, laughter, tears, inspiration, understanding, entertainment, challenges to the status-quo, doubt, certainty, frustration, peace, darkness, light (and the list goes on)…and most of all, with love.

BE THANKFUL FOR WHO YOU ARE.

THERE IS NO ONE ELSE WHO BRINGS YOUR GIFTS TO THE WORLD.

Kathleen Kellaigh

Kathleen Kellaigh 10/9/22 Kathleen Kellaigh 10/9/22

LIGHTING

LIGHTING AND SELF TAPES - Matt Locker

If you are using a “ring light” for home auditions, you may not doing yourself any favors. As they strike the face head-on, you lose all contours and definition of your facial structure. For the competitive edge, we suggest falling back on television's classic 3 point lighting. This will enhance your facial features.

The first lamp goes as far behind and to the side of you as possible, while keeping it, and light flare our of the lens. Aim to light up the back of your hair. Some will spill on your shoulders. Both with separate you from the background.

Next, is the keylight. This is just off the side of the camera by a foot or two, and then the fill light on the opposite side, but further away from you and the camera. Be sure the lights are high enough to not cast shadows on your background. You may need a diffused fourth light on your rear wall.

As for the rear wall, anything plain beige, grey, even orange will do; BUT as skin tone is 180 degrees out of phase from skintones (of all colors), if you dedicate and paint a wall with a paint called “Chroma Key Blue”, you will have a very flattering look. “Chroma Key Blue” is NOT available at paint stores, you need to order from a video supply house. IKEA at one time sold a proper blue by the yard, if you prefer fabric.

As for that ring light you bought, as long as you use 3-point lighting, feel free to play with it.

Kathleen Kellaigh 11/22/20 Kathleen Kellaigh 11/22/20

AN ACTOR'S THANKSGIVING... (Full Version).

Reprinted from our Nov. 2018 blog entry…

An Actor's Thanksgiving List

To all creative folks--ATC celebrates you and is thankful for the gifts you bring to the world.

I am thankful for the gifts of imagination and compassion that allow me to step into another’s shoes.

I am thankful for my body, which allows me to bend it and exhaust it as I create new characters and commit to exercises, productions and projects.

I am thankful for my voice, which I can manipulate, creating speech and verbal characteristics and communication for my characters.

I am thankful for the world and people around me for providing all the inspiration I need to create a multitude of new people in any situation.

I am thankful for family, friends, co-workers, fellow actors, and the strangers I meet daily, for teaching me about relationships.

I am thankful for eyes, which allow me to see past appearances, and into hearts.

I am thankful for ears that are learning to truly listen.

I am thankful for the smells around me and those remembered and those imagined, for they help me create truth for my characters.

I am thankful for hands (and skin) that “remember” what things feel like, and can create in league with my imagination things I’ve never encountered.

I am thankful for new tastes, for any new experience can help me to create anew.

I am thankful even when life deals me terrible challenges, for I grow in my understanding of the human existence, which will help when I create a new human existence (a character).

I am thankful for the wonder of discovering who I am while finding out who my characters are.

BE THANKFUL FOR WHO YOU ARE.

THERE IS NO ONE ELSE WHO BRINGS YOUR GIFTS TO THE WORLD.

Kathleen Kellaigh

Kathleen Kellaigh 9/14/20 Kathleen Kellaigh 9/14/20

Group Poetry

Creativity will not be stopped. We had a marvelous occasion to gather at the studio to celebrate a staff member’s birthday, and to share our talents. Spontaneously, we decided to create a group poem— Sitting in a socially distanced circle, armed with a single piece of paper and pencils, one person began the poem, writing one line, then passed it to the next person, who, without discussion, added a line. And so it went, around the circle, handed back to the birthday person to finish it. The following is the result!

OUR CREATION

Baptism Blue Eyes

Se acercaron a mi

And I fell face first through the Rabbit Hole

Colors flashing past my curious eyes

Whirring down toward Endless dark

Where I felt Nothing and Everything

My Heart spinning in acceptance and encompassing peace

My Soul bursting through unseen barriers in joyous dances of ecstasy

I feel Everything and Yet I feel weightless, knowing that all will be well

Because it was then that I knew I was alive, I was Born again

And had only the one task of Sharing Love.

Sept. 4, 2020

Creatives: Mariah Ayscue, Paul Carrazzone, Tara Haight, Kathleen Kellaigh, Steph Mangioglu, Javier Molina, Chris Robertson, Cara Ruggiero, Clara Rut Tristan.

Kathleen Kellaigh 8/24/20 Kathleen Kellaigh 8/24/20

Why Are You Here?

No this isn’t an existential question to ponder. One of my creative colleagues expressed a few weeks ago that she was experiencing what amounts to survivor guilt. Why were friends and relatives passing from COVID-19 complications and she is here and healthy?

Perhaps a better way to put the question is “Why are you still here?

I would say to anyone who is feeling that way, the answer may be because you are needed right now. You are needed to remember. You are needed as we are picking up the pieces and moving forward into a new reality. Whether you have remained healthy during this time, or had the virus and recovered, you are needed.

Artists have a particular role to play. We are the reflectors of society. We are innovators. We are storytellers. We are healers of the human spirit. We are creators. We are needed.

I do not diminish the deaths of those who lost—or will lose-- their lives to the virus. It is especially sad that it took their sacrifice for the alarm to be sounded. It is up to us to wake up now, and do something different

We are asked to never forget where this has brought us… and how the Earth itself celebrated during the time much of the world’s population was sheltering at home and grieving. We are encouraged to look around and embrace the incredible forging of new ways to communicate and create.

As we move forward, we must not only remember but we must move to act so we never go back to where we were. I sincerely hope that we do not return to what was ”normal.”

Normal compromised our world’s–– our Home’s––air, water, wildlife, even its shifting tectonic plates. Normal was us just going through each day on auto-pilot, for the most part, taking for granted the little things, like hugging our friends and relatives not living in our home. The little things, like being able to attend a house of worship, or gather for classes, or social events, or go for a walk in a park, or along the beach. The little things, like being able to pay for food, our rent and mortgages.

Normal was not appreciating the clerks and stocking people in our grocery stores, our mail delivery person, restaurant workers, sanitation workers, our kids’ teachers. Normal was laboring under the impression that our healthcare system was exemplary; that our doctors and nurses were just doing the jobs they chose to do. Normal was thinking that our economy was worth more than our lives. Normal was taking films, television, and live entertainment for granted, believing these outlets will always be available for our enjoyment. Normal was not paying attention the birds’ song, to the blue skies, to our very breath that brings us life.

We must not go back to “normal.”

Why are you still here? To move forward with strength, courage, love and wisdom. To adapt, invent, create in all aspects of life, sharing your encouraging vision of “what can be.” To use who you are to make a difference to yourself, your circles, and even to the world. To adopt a new paradigm that cherishes each person, respects the Earth, and continues to find ways to help each other.

Why are we here?

To remember.

To create.

To act.

Kathleen Kellaigh 11/21/18 Kathleen Kellaigh 11/21/18

Actor's Thanksgiving List

An Actor's Thanksgiving List

To all creative folks--ATC celebrates you and is thankful for the gifts you bring to the world.

I am thankful for the gifts of imagination and compassion that allow me to step into another’s shoes.

I am thankful for my body, which allows me to bend it and exhaust it as I create new characters and commit to exercises, productions and projects.

I am thankful for my voice, which I can manipulate, creating speech and verbal characteristics and communication for my characters.

I am thankful for the world and people around me for providing all the inspiration I need to create a multitude of new people in any situation.

I am thankful for family, friends, co-workers, fellow actors, and the strangers I meet daily, for teaching me about relationships.

I am thankful for the eyes, which allow me to see past appearances, and into hearts.

I am thankful for ears that are learning to truly listen.

I am thankful for the smells around me and those remembered and those imagined, for they help me create truth for my characters.

I am thankful for hands (and skin) that “remember” what things feel like, and can create in league with my imagination things I’ve never encountered.

I am thankful for new tastes, for any new experience can help me to create anew.

I am thankful even when life deals me terrible challenges, for I grow in my understanding of the human existence, which will help when I create a new human existence (a character).

I am thankful for the wonder of discovering who I am while finding out who my characters are.

BE THANKFUL FOR WHO YOU ARE.

THERE IS NO ONE ELSE WHO BRINGS YOUR GIFTS TO THE WORLD.

Kathleen Kellaigh

Kathleen Kellaigh 3/4/18 Kathleen Kellaigh 3/4/18

BEGINNINGS

With a new website, spring around the corner, and an age of transformation surrounding us, it seems only appropriate that the first blog should be on beginnings.

Sure, we have had an internet presence for about 25 years. (ATC is going to be 28 this June, and we were not on the web in our early days). So it cannot be said that this is a full-out “beginning.” But anytime we do something new, you can also be pretty sure, something else is ending. In this case, the website I’ve been updating for the last dozen years or so, is no more.

Now, don’t misunderstand. I am thrilled with the new site. I thank Matt Locker for taking the reins and igniting the drive in both of us to stick with this daunting task and get it done. But, I have been experiencing anxiety over letting that old website go. A mountain of “what ifs” rose up and almost paralyzed me from pushing that re-direct button. First of all, I didn't want to end our webhosting relationship with friend and tech-wizard Matt Perosi and his company, PsiPrime/Sapphire Collaborative--i am so grateful for all he and his company have done for ATC. And what if some obscure bit of information was overlooked? What if we missed a photo that we don’t have anywhere else? What if we didn’t catch some nuance or turn of phrase that was particularly clever? Never mind that it described a class we no longer offer… I might want to use it again someday. And… this is HISTORY!

Oh yeah. I can find a multitude of reasons not to let go. But I know I must.

Letting go of the old; embracing the new. Ending; beginning. Releasing the past; opening to the future. Leaving a comfort zone (even if you’ve grown to despise it, it is still a comfort zone); taking a risk, and doing something you haven’t done before. Leaving the known road; blazing a new trail. Putting down the familiar; taking up the foreign.

Beginning is messy. Beginning is scary. Beginning is exciting. Beginning brings change. Beginning starts with a clean canvas. Beginning is magic. Beginning allows for all things to be possible. Beginning begs the question, “What happens next?’

I welcome you to this journey. Let’s begin it together. Look back to the previous paragraph and let’s replace the word “Beginning” with “Acting ” Acting is messy. Acting is scary. Acting is exciting. Acting brings change. Acting starts with a clean canvas. Acting is magic. Acting allows for all things to be possible. Acting begs the question, “What happens next?’

And guess what? You can also substitute “Creating”.

A new ABC: Acting. Beginning. Creating. Ready to explore the rest of the alphabet?

I can’t wait to find out what happens next.

--Kathleen Kellaigh

Blog entries will be posted as written, and SHACK members are encouraged to submit entries as well! Send them to atcstudios411@gmail.com and make sure BLOG is in the subject line! We look forward to hearing from you!