Start Where You Are, And Let Yourself Be Changed

1/10/2015

This was one of my favorite pieces of acting advice, given to me by a wonderful mentor of mine when I was struggling to fight the "editor" voice that haunts almost every actor, theater artist, and quite frankly, most human beings I've encountered. This advice is constantly at the back of my mind as I dive into the process of creating a theater company. All I can do is start with where I am today, right now, and allow myself to change, improve, make mistakes, learn from them and keep moving forward.

At 13, I fell in love with Jane Austen at a New Years Eve party...

While everyone was counting down to midnight, I was captivated by the elegance and grace of Joe Wright's beautiful film. So began my love affair with one of the greatest female novelists of all time. After years of devouring her novels again and again, watching every movie version of her work that I could get my hands on, and at the suggestion of my father, I started writing my adaptation of her most famous work, "Pride and Prejudice."

This decision promoted the forward momentum of a dream of mine that had been waiting for the opportunity to bloom: the creation of my own theater company. And so it is that I'm sitting here at my desk, on a foggy day in January, preparing to launch a Kickstarter Campaign, a theater company, and a brand-new show, all at the same time.

It's hard to believe that so much has happened in so short a period of time. And because things are happening so quickly, I wanted to journal this experience so that you can follow it with me. Because what is a crazy, transformative experience like starting a theater company if you can't share it?

Here is what I hereby declare, forthwith, that this blog shall be:

1. I promise that I will share with you our successes and our opportunities-for-learning, our moments of hilarity and clarity and everything in between.

2. I promise to make it not just interesting but engaging, because in my humble opinion, this world could use a little more interaction and less distraction.

3. And lastly, I promise to post as frequently as possible but I also promise to give myself a life and time to breathe when I need it; hopefully you can forgive me for that. :)

So come with me....and welcome to the Ensemble.

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Authors

Caitlin Lushington is the Co-Artistic Director of the Enso Theatre Ensemble, a teacher, director, and actress. Sometimes she works too hard, sometimes she forgets things, and she strives to put the car keys back in the same place every time. She drinks tea every morning from her TARDIS mug and "Mr. Tea" diffuser. She loves the morning and wishes she had a photographic memory, so she could remember the names of every person she meets.

Peyton McCandless is an actor, singer, teacher, and Global Somatics™ Practitioner who until recently hailed from St. Paul, Minnesota. Recent collaborations include: 105 Proof (or, the Killing of Mack “the Silencer” Klein), These Old Shoes, Ash Land (Transatlantic Love Affair); Twelfth Night, The Good Woman of Setzuan (Theatre Pro Rata); Silkworms (a nun play) (Theatre Unbound); and Jesus Christ Superstar (The Chameleon Theatre Circle). When she’s not onstage she teaches at Northwest Children’s Theater and School, reads her way through large piles of books, and impulse-buys her favorite pens.

Kylie Rose is a Portland-based actress, light lyric soprano, puppeteer, and dialect coach who hails from Kelso, Washington. Kylie received her training studying classical theatre and regional dialects in England for a year courtesy of the Dr. Betty Evans Shakespeare Scholarship and she graduated with her BFA in Theater Performance from Central Washington University. Notable collaborations include playing Liesl in Leavenworth Summer Theater's "The Sound of Music," Helena in Richmond Theater's "A Midsummer Night's Dream," Neddy Nederlander in Stage Works Ink's "The 3 Amigos... Live!,” and dialect coaching Defunkt Theater’s recent production of “Blasted." She looks forward to her future artistic adventures in the Portland area.

Helena Fisher-Welsh is a Portland native who has spent the last four years in Vancouver, British Columbia, where she earned her B.F.A. in acting from the University of British Columbia. Recent theatre credits in Vancouver include Why I Hate Utah (Rising Phoenix Theatre), Salt Water Moon, Chamber Music, The Bacchae 2.0 Twelfth Night, Little One, and The Seagull (all UBC productions). Her last performance in Portland was almost six years ago in Artists Repertory Theatre's production of Ah, Wilderness!. She's happy to be back and to be joining Enso Theatre Ensemble in this wonderful production!

What Our SUPPORTERS Are Saying

"...it’s a truth that ought to be universally acknowledged, that the Enso Theatre’s production of Pride & Prejudice is a must-see show, and that Caitlin Lushington as adaptor of classic stories is going to be a force to be reckoned with..."

~Jane Austen Society of North America

"Her energy, open-heart and boundless creativity makes Caitlin Lushington pure magic...I am so thankful she has created a place [Word Elf Theater Classes] where my son can let his imagination run free..."

~Parent

"I can confidently say [The R&J Project] was the best audition I have ever been to. I am incredibly inspired by your ability to seemingly get the best possible work from all the actors you work with..."

~Artist