BWW Blog: Gillian Abbott - Juilliard Junior

Third year at Juilliard marked the beginning of my "Morning Pages". My close friends and family know that I've spent almost every morning for the past two years with my green smoothie, tea and journal. Julia Cameron's book, "The Artist's Way", taught me morning pages, which are three pages stream of thought to begin the day. This has been my tool for creativity, my weapon against my ego and my mirror reflecting my soul. I came back from summer holidays feeling good, and I wanted to protect the confidence I had gained, not letting the pressures of school take over again. I was much more in touch with my heart and I wanted to continue hearing myself clearly.

Between morning pages and my new found passion for acting, I managed to take the pressure off dance as the sole thing that defined me and suddenly found dance classes a lot more fun. The better I felt mentally and emotionally, the less my plantar fasciitis and back issues flared up. I truly believe our thoughts are directly related to how we feel and was fascinated to see proof in action through myself. I also believe that the energy we emit to the universe is what we receive back. I must have been emitting energy about my desire to act, as less than two months into the semester I was asked to audition for a major role in an independent full-length feature film. My dad's cousin Maria Kennedy Mazzotta is a film producer and although we hardly knew each other she contacted me about the film her husband, a film director, and her were working on. She thought I would fit the role physically and knew I had performed with Cirque du Soleil so figured I must have done some acting too! Little did she know how eager I was to truly pursue the art. After a wonderful conversation I not only felt connected to a long lost artistic sister among my family members of investment bankers, lawyers, doctors and nurses, but I also felt like this film was something I had to be part of. The character they wanted me to audition for was a sixteen year old, non-verbal autistic girl. I asked a dear friend of mine who graduated from the composition program at Juilliard to share his experience living with Asperger syndrome, a high functioning autism spectrum disorder. He generously shared his life's journey with me and admitted that he was rarely asked. I learned quickly that the research which goes into character development might be one of my favorite parts of acting. It was absolutely fascinating to hear his story. I sent in an audition tape and during winter break I received the good news that they wanted me for the part.

Second semester was one of my richest at Juilliard. I worked with a wonderful student choreographer named Spencer Dickhaus who is now dancing for Nederlands Dans Theater 2. He created a quartet on myself and three other dancers who I greatly admire, for a concert called Senior Production. Spencer's process was so different from anything I had ever experienced and has completely inspired the way I create on myself. His use of necessity and simplicity have stuck with me the most.

During my spring break I came back to New York a week early to intensely rehearse Sondheim's "A Little Night Music". My friend Claire Karpen, a drama student, had asked me to partake in her independent project of bringing this musical to life by collaborating with all three Juilliarddivisions: dance, drama and music- something that rarely happens at the school due to everyones hectic schedules. Our cast included actors, opera singers, and classical musicians and with Claire as the director, our friend Evan Fein, a doctoral student in composition, as the music director/ conductor, and myself as the choreographer, we had had all three divisions well covered. It was an absolute joy working with everyone and I was so proud of the end result. I hope it is only the beginning of collaborations with Claire and Evan.

Lastly, I was incredibly blessed to be cast in Jose Limon's "Waldstein Sonata" for our Spring Repertory Concert. Risa Steinberg, the Associate Director at Juilliard as well as a legendary Limon dancer and teacher, was an integral part of the process and I cannot begin to explain how much I learned from her about the technique and performing. She has been a mentor of mine since day one of school, however this was a rare opportunity to work with her much more intimately. It was probably the hardest process I've ever been through as the technique requires complete release while in control and demands a humility that must come from the inside out. I am so grateful to have had this opportunity and feel forever changed by the things I've learned from Risa.

The summer brought me first to Toronto, Canada to film "The Picco Incident", which is due to come out in 2014. I then returned to New York to move into my first studio apartment which has a window looking out onto Broadway! I sit in front of it every morning to write my morning pages. I enrolled in another acting program- this time in Meisner technique at Maggie Flanigan's studio. It was one of the most humbling experiences I have ever had and in the moments I "came alive" as they say, I felt myself become more and more inspired and addicted to the world of acting.

In August I went home to Calgary, Alberta to help my classmate and great friend David Norsworthy run FRESH Dance Intensive, a project he started when he was 15 years old! The intensive started with the incentive to give young, up and coming teachers and choreographers a platform to teach with the hopes that their youthful hunger and passion would inspire the students who could relate to them more easily then someone years older. I am so honored to be the Western Canada Director of FRESH.

I ended the summer with an incredible trip to Edinburgh, Scotland to perform with The Juilliard Ensemble at the Edinburgh International Festival. I got to perform "Waldstein Sonata" for Scottish relatives I have never met before, my parents and family friends. It was so special.

Next week I will graduate from Juilliard, and just before I do I will share my last precious moments at the school. Tune in next Wednesday!

Love, Gillian

To post a comment, you must register and login.