It's been a busy week in Lake Wobegon...
I begin with this Garrison Keillor reference (The News from Lake Wobegon is the last segment of every Prairie Home Companion broadcast, for those who don't know this great public radio show) because this week has been about listening.
By this week of a process (Week 3), actors have a strong sense of most of the basics: Who they are, Who they are talking to, What they want from the other person, How they are going to get what they want, Where they are, What happened in the moment before the scene, etc. What we're talking about here are two of the key things that make us who we are in any given moment: 1) Point of View and 2) Need or Objective. The way I see another person (my Point of View on that person) dictates my behavior around and toward that person. That is, I generally behave differently toward my mother than I do my best friend (unless, of course, my point of view in a particular scene is that my mother is my best friend!). My Point of View on a place figures into my behavior therein (a church, a bar, my apartment, a dark alley late at night, etc) just as importantly. Need or Objective (as seminal theatre artist, teacher, and theorist Konstantin Stanislavski called it) shapes much of human behavior and is worth examining and revisiting throughout a process. Tactics, finally, are the ways in which--the HOW--I will get what I want in a scene.
So those choices are all settling in nicely at this point. Scripts are almost completely absent from the stage now--that is, the words are in the actors' heads and are in the process of dropping more deeply into their bodies. Most scenes have been worked through on their feet at least twice and blocking is becoming more specific. What we're doing now is listening work. James is listening for the clearest possible and most worthy story. The actors are listening to each other from a more informed perspective and, as a result, the words people are saying mean more.
This is the stage that separates the pros from the hobbyists. An actor must strive to UNDERSTAND the character and not JUDGE or play the idea of the character. Giving the character the respect and dignity to make him/her a full person--yes, even in wild comedies--is what will make the AUDIENCE listen, sit forward, and be moved. The trick is, it costs something to go that far. It takes time. It takes patience with oneself to get it wrong, to look foolish, to kick at one aspect of a character's point of view for awhile, to dare to care so much, to risk being "all in", so to speak.
The great voice teacher Patsy Rodenburg calls this the Power of Presence, or being in Second Circle--a place of genuine presence and contact with others and the world around you. First Circle is being within oneself/thinking about oneself and not fully available or present to others and the world--as we are in the morning, stumbling to the coffee maker, thinking about how you feel and what you have to do today. Third Circle, essentially, is a place of talking AT someone or someones. It's almost a form of bullying. I want results and not relationship, therefore I talk AT you. Second Circle is where it's at.
At a workshop I was in with her, Patsy told a story about when she was a kid. She was thinking about the story of Adam and Eve hiding after they had eaten of the forbidden fruit. God said to Adam "Where are you?" Patsy thought "What kind of God doesn't know where he is? Isn't he supposed to be all-powerful and all-knowing or something?" Years later, it hit her. God and Adam, prior to the disobedience of eating the forbidden fruit, had RELATIONSHIP--Second Circle style--full presence relationship wherein they were both all there, really listening to one another. That was broken now. Adam left the Second Circle, causing God to ask "Where are you?" Thanks for that, Patsy.
Patsy also says that our kids want nothing more than for us to get down into Second Circle with them--be all there with them, really in play, really listening to them. My kids want that. My wife wants that. My friends want that. And...my scene partners want that. Being fully present, all in, all there. It's risky and it costs something, but there is no other way to bring a character to full life.
As the Russian said "It should be like in life."
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Monday, July 11, 2011
The Beating Heart
Monday, the Theatre's day off!
Here Libby and I sit in a local treasure: The General Store in Spring Green. The place is a friend to APT, and beloved by APT employees and patrons alike. Good food, fun sundries (everything from Japanese decorative masking tape to local beer and cheese!), community news, and good coffee (so Libby tells me)--a real community joint. I love places like this.
In today's installment, I'll share a bit about a key part of the theatre-making process: shaping and protecting the story.
James is a great shepherd of story. In my own rehearsals, I call this the beating heart. Close reading, listening, and more reading, and kicking the play around with the design team and the actors will reveal the beating heart of each play. Some plays take more time and more reads to reveal the beating heart. The beating heart is the clear journey on which you want to guide the audience--making sure there are no moments wherein the audience gets lost (healthy disequilibrium is good, lost is deadly). It's been rich watching James subtly nudge the actors to heighten this moment or that so as to keep the story clear and actively and compellingly moving forward (and deeper).
For example...
A week ago, during tablework--the several days of reading and discussing each scene while seated at table (hence the term tablework)--we paid particular attention to the storyline of the relationship between Prospero and Caliban. The team agreed that, after Prospero and Miranda landed on the island and found Caliban (a native misshapen creature whose dead mother was a witch and whose father may have been the devil), took him in and tried to nurture him--this is one of the places from which colonialist interpretations of this play spring. Caliban and Miranda existed happily together like brother and sister, playmates, as they grew. Miranda taught Caliban language, Caliban taught Miranda (and Prospero) about the island and all was good.
One day (and we have decided that this day was very recent--which is most dramatically interesting), Caliban "noticed" Miranda in a new way, and tried to take sexual action based on what he noticed. An unfortunate choice, indeed. Paradise lost. This is the stuff of Act One, Scene Two--when we learn of the attempted rape--which results in Caliban being removed from living with Prospero and Miranda and moved into something like a cave ("...here you sty me in this hard rock..." Caliban says). There is hurt, confusion of emotion, and broken relationship. Really hard and beautiful human story.
Fast forward to yesterday. We are staging/blocking (deciding where, when, how, why people move so as to physically tell the clearest and most interesting story) the last scenes of the play. We're near the end of Act Five, Scene One when Caliban's plot to kill Prospero has been foiled--he had enlisted the aid of his new "gods": the drunken butler Stephano and jester Trinculo. Prospero admonishes Caliban, but clearly (in our production anyway) still cares about him. He tells Caliban
"...Go, sirrah, to my cell;
Take with you your companions; as you look
To have my pardon, trim it handsomely."
In this moment, Ken (our Prospero) offered his hand, took Steve's (our Caliban's) hand, gently pulled him up, put his hand on his shoulder, and spoke to him like a father who was guiding a prodigal son back into grace. I fought back tears--and am doing so even now--as I watched the beauty of a carefully sculpted piece of Act One story come into full bloom in Act Five. The beating heart revealed. This is a play about choosing forgiveness over vengeance.
For those of you who don't know THE TEMPEST, the Prospero/Caliban story is only one thread of the forgiveness theme--I'll discuss more threads in future posts.
We are hard-wired to respond to story. In my view, the forgiveness (and the journey to it), that is brought to life in THE TEMPEST is a mature exploration of humanity tapping our divine family tree.
His heart softened, Prospero says "the rarer action is in virtue than in vengeance." And he chooses forgiveness of his various enemies.
Fellow prodigals, I wish you the joy of forgiving and being forgiven. My heart beats because of it.
Here Libby and I sit in a local treasure: The General Store in Spring Green. The place is a friend to APT, and beloved by APT employees and patrons alike. Good food, fun sundries (everything from Japanese decorative masking tape to local beer and cheese!), community news, and good coffee (so Libby tells me)--a real community joint. I love places like this.
In today's installment, I'll share a bit about a key part of the theatre-making process: shaping and protecting the story.
James is a great shepherd of story. In my own rehearsals, I call this the beating heart. Close reading, listening, and more reading, and kicking the play around with the design team and the actors will reveal the beating heart of each play. Some plays take more time and more reads to reveal the beating heart. The beating heart is the clear journey on which you want to guide the audience--making sure there are no moments wherein the audience gets lost (healthy disequilibrium is good, lost is deadly). It's been rich watching James subtly nudge the actors to heighten this moment or that so as to keep the story clear and actively and compellingly moving forward (and deeper).
For example...
A week ago, during tablework--the several days of reading and discussing each scene while seated at table (hence the term tablework)--we paid particular attention to the storyline of the relationship between Prospero and Caliban. The team agreed that, after Prospero and Miranda landed on the island and found Caliban (a native misshapen creature whose dead mother was a witch and whose father may have been the devil), took him in and tried to nurture him--this is one of the places from which colonialist interpretations of this play spring. Caliban and Miranda existed happily together like brother and sister, playmates, as they grew. Miranda taught Caliban language, Caliban taught Miranda (and Prospero) about the island and all was good.
One day (and we have decided that this day was very recent--which is most dramatically interesting), Caliban "noticed" Miranda in a new way, and tried to take sexual action based on what he noticed. An unfortunate choice, indeed. Paradise lost. This is the stuff of Act One, Scene Two--when we learn of the attempted rape--which results in Caliban being removed from living with Prospero and Miranda and moved into something like a cave ("...here you sty me in this hard rock..." Caliban says). There is hurt, confusion of emotion, and broken relationship. Really hard and beautiful human story.
Fast forward to yesterday. We are staging/blocking (deciding where, when, how, why people move so as to physically tell the clearest and most interesting story) the last scenes of the play. We're near the end of Act Five, Scene One when Caliban's plot to kill Prospero has been foiled--he had enlisted the aid of his new "gods": the drunken butler Stephano and jester Trinculo. Prospero admonishes Caliban, but clearly (in our production anyway) still cares about him. He tells Caliban
"...Go, sirrah, to my cell;
Take with you your companions; as you look
To have my pardon, trim it handsomely."
In this moment, Ken (our Prospero) offered his hand, took Steve's (our Caliban's) hand, gently pulled him up, put his hand on his shoulder, and spoke to him like a father who was guiding a prodigal son back into grace. I fought back tears--and am doing so even now--as I watched the beauty of a carefully sculpted piece of Act One story come into full bloom in Act Five. The beating heart revealed. This is a play about choosing forgiveness over vengeance.
For those of you who don't know THE TEMPEST, the Prospero/Caliban story is only one thread of the forgiveness theme--I'll discuss more threads in future posts.
We are hard-wired to respond to story. In my view, the forgiveness (and the journey to it), that is brought to life in THE TEMPEST is a mature exploration of humanity tapping our divine family tree.
His heart softened, Prospero says "the rarer action is in virtue than in vengeance." And he chooses forgiveness of his various enemies.
Fellow prodigals, I wish you the joy of forgiving and being forgiven. My heart beats because of it.
Thursday, July 7, 2011
My hat, what a picnic!
The title for today's entry comes from THE MAGICIAN'S NEPHEW, the first book in the Narnia series by C.S. Lewis. We read a chapter most nights at bedtime. Upon taking in the fullness of a bizarre scene, one of the characters, Digory (the nephew in the title), remarks "My hat, what a picnic." My children (and I) think it is a hilarious phrase. Luca, our youngest, improved on the phrase by coining "My hat, there's a picnic in it!". Gales of laughter. Not a quiet bedtime. Joy.
My days making theatre in rehearsals for THE TEMPEST have been nothing short of exquisite picnic. APT does things right. I have not met a single person here who does not take the greatest pride in doing the job well. As promised, I will continue to touch on each of the director's tasks. So, back to the preparation conversation...today: editing and critical thought.
I have grown mightily in the quality of my pre-rehearsal preparation over the last six years. I have also continued to hone my abilities in reading, teaching, interpreting, coaching, and acting from the folio edition (the 1623 first printed version of Shakespeare's plays), but nothing prepared me for the Lion of Preparation that is James Bohnen. In my last entry, I proudly mentioned my great liking of and insistence on using the Arden edition of Shakespeare's plays when doing preparatory reads. Yes, well, in addition to offering great thoughts from Mark Van Doren, Coleridge, Montaigne, and others into the tablework conversation, James assured me that the most recent Arden editors of THE TEMPEST, Mr. and Mrs. Vaughan, were good, very smart, indeed, but the generally recognized authority is Frank Kermode, who edited the Arden edition of THE TEMPEST prior to the current one. Of course, you all knew that, didn't you.
My copy should arrive tomorrow and will be tucked IN FRONT OF the Vaughans in my bag.
Then, I learned that the Penguin edition of THE TEMPEST (which I had always small-mindedly dismissed as lesser simply because it wasn't the Arden) was certainly not worth dismissing! Oh, not because of the editing of the play, necessarily, but because of the enormous worth of the introduction written by Anne Barton. Anne Barton who is a Fellow in English at Cambridge. Yes, Anne Barton who is married to John Barton...John Barton of RSC fame...John Barton who led the Playing Shakespeare series the RSC filmed back in the early 1980's. I wonder what dinner conversation is like at their house? Did I mention that this is the Penguin Classics edition from 1968? That's right, not the current edition, silly.
I ordered that one at the same time. Anne and Frank will keep each other company in my bag.
I'll be ordering the New Variorum edition of THE TEMPEST (I did know about this one! It's the edition that contains nearly three centuries worth of critical thought on each of Shakespeare's plays) when we get back home.
And so I am happily humbled by the reminder that--if I know where to look--I can stand on the shoulders of giants when I engage the making of a new production of a Shakespeare play. But where do I look? Needless to say, I'll be e-mailing James every time I begin work on a new play, in addition to going down blind alleys and making mistakes of my own. Wisdom comes from experience, after all. James is, as his wisdom suggests, 25 years older than me. Thank you James Bohnen for being a living example of discipline and relentless pursuit of all thoughts and things that might bear fruit down the road when you could easily rest on the fact that you're a smart and experienced dude. That's just plain righteous.
We e-mailed and spoke today about how he prepares for these first two weeks and, by implication, why he reads and reads and reads... He had this to say "...reconnecting to research done months before and only half remembered, is all so crucial to creating an energy in the room of constant probing and exploring and stimulation....if you get all that working reasonably well, then good actors will see into the play and individual scenes more deeply than I ever could....THAT is when the tiny miracles of insight happen and everyone benefits and feels great about themselves...which is our only REAL job as directors."
My hat, what a beautiful picnic, indeed.
My days making theatre in rehearsals for THE TEMPEST have been nothing short of exquisite picnic. APT does things right. I have not met a single person here who does not take the greatest pride in doing the job well. As promised, I will continue to touch on each of the director's tasks. So, back to the preparation conversation...today: editing and critical thought.
I have grown mightily in the quality of my pre-rehearsal preparation over the last six years. I have also continued to hone my abilities in reading, teaching, interpreting, coaching, and acting from the folio edition (the 1623 first printed version of Shakespeare's plays), but nothing prepared me for the Lion of Preparation that is James Bohnen. In my last entry, I proudly mentioned my great liking of and insistence on using the Arden edition of Shakespeare's plays when doing preparatory reads. Yes, well, in addition to offering great thoughts from Mark Van Doren, Coleridge, Montaigne, and others into the tablework conversation, James assured me that the most recent Arden editors of THE TEMPEST, Mr. and Mrs. Vaughan, were good, very smart, indeed, but the generally recognized authority is Frank Kermode, who edited the Arden edition of THE TEMPEST prior to the current one. Of course, you all knew that, didn't you.
My copy should arrive tomorrow and will be tucked IN FRONT OF the Vaughans in my bag.
Then, I learned that the Penguin edition of THE TEMPEST (which I had always small-mindedly dismissed as lesser simply because it wasn't the Arden) was certainly not worth dismissing! Oh, not because of the editing of the play, necessarily, but because of the enormous worth of the introduction written by Anne Barton. Anne Barton who is a Fellow in English at Cambridge. Yes, Anne Barton who is married to John Barton...John Barton of RSC fame...John Barton who led the Playing Shakespeare series the RSC filmed back in the early 1980's. I wonder what dinner conversation is like at their house? Did I mention that this is the Penguin Classics edition from 1968? That's right, not the current edition, silly.
I ordered that one at the same time. Anne and Frank will keep each other company in my bag.
I'll be ordering the New Variorum edition of THE TEMPEST (I did know about this one! It's the edition that contains nearly three centuries worth of critical thought on each of Shakespeare's plays) when we get back home.
And so I am happily humbled by the reminder that--if I know where to look--I can stand on the shoulders of giants when I engage the making of a new production of a Shakespeare play. But where do I look? Needless to say, I'll be e-mailing James every time I begin work on a new play, in addition to going down blind alleys and making mistakes of my own. Wisdom comes from experience, after all. James is, as his wisdom suggests, 25 years older than me. Thank you James Bohnen for being a living example of discipline and relentless pursuit of all thoughts and things that might bear fruit down the road when you could easily rest on the fact that you're a smart and experienced dude. That's just plain righteous.
We e-mailed and spoke today about how he prepares for these first two weeks and, by implication, why he reads and reads and reads... He had this to say "...reconnecting to research done months before and only half remembered, is all so crucial to creating an energy in the room of constant probing and exploring and stimulation....if you get all that working reasonably well, then good actors will see into the play and individual scenes more deeply than I ever could....THAT is when the tiny miracles of insight happen and everyone benefits and feels great about themselves...which is our only REAL job as directors."
My hat, what a beautiful picnic, indeed.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow...
FIRST REHEARSAL IS TOMORROW!
Funny how those kindergarten musings never quite go away."Will the other kids like me?" Yep, I've wondered it a few times today and it still matters. In non-totally social situations, however, they tend to like you more if you deliver the goods. And I am, after all, here to do a job! So, back to preparation.
I'll speak to preparation in installments, dealing with what I do as a director, what I'm learning, and how I prepare as an actor.
There is no substitute for solid preparation.
This goes for everything from preparing to take your on-the road test to get your driver's license--a major part of my preparation was my dad teaching me to drive on country roads in a stick-shift 56' Chevy with no power steering--to preparing to be a family leader when we go camping by watching my dad start magnificent campfires for years--I can now design and start a fire with one match nearly every time. Happy belated Father's Day, Dad.
I am still learning what the best pre-rehearsal process preparation is for a director (and I plan to learn much more this summer), but there are many steps I currently take that pay off every time. I have learned what follows from practice, from mistakes, from successes, from reading William Ball's A Sense of Direction, Jon Jory's Tips: Ideas for Directors, and Peter Brook's The Empty Space, and from working with and watching many talented directors, designers, actors, stage managers, teachers and mentors.
Many books (some of them good) have been written on the subject of directing. I certainly don't pretend to offer a formal treatise here; rather, I offer what follows as a skeletal summary of my current work on THE TEMPEST at this preparation stage of the journey. Enjoy.
1) READ THE PLAY. There is no better first step than reading the play several times, many times, when possible. I read first to let the story wash over me, to ascertain and understand the central conflict and theme(s), identify the climax of the play and the major turns along the way to the climax, to meet the characters, the setting, the world of the play. In the case of THE TEMPEST, I read the play first in the Arden edition. The individual Arden editions of Shakespeare's plays are the best, hands down, for preparation as a director or actor. Each page of the play is half-full of the play's actual text and half-full of notes and scholarship pertaining to that page of play text. The Arden editions also include scholarship and essays on the play's themes, historical context, noteworthy productions, problems and challenges, and other useful information. After a nice, slow Arden edition reading, I have a strong sense of the items mentioned above. I am ready for a second read.
Earlier today, I met with James to talk about first steps and possible areas where I might be of particular use. Great conversation. He's a dude. He is wise and easy-going, yet intense and passionate when that's what the moment needs. He's got so much experience. We spoke about some of the physical challenges of the play and how I may play a role in shaping/preserving/refining physical vocabulary of Caliban and a few others. We spoke about the challenge of physicalizing the storm at the beginning AND protecting the text so it can be heard and followed. A great challenge. I am excited to kick that one around.
We spoke about the director's job. He quoted a director who said that the chief job of a director is to be entertaining enough so the cast will come back to work tomorrow. He was joking, of course, but there is much truth there. Keeping the atmosphere positive, encouraging, safe, challenging, collaborative, etc. will keep the actors coming back to really work the next day.
After much quality conversation with James, I am sure of this: I will be back tomorrow!
As I look at the clock right now I realize it IS tomorrow! The time has come!
Funny how those kindergarten musings never quite go away."Will the other kids like me?" Yep, I've wondered it a few times today and it still matters. In non-totally social situations, however, they tend to like you more if you deliver the goods. And I am, after all, here to do a job! So, back to preparation.
I'll speak to preparation in installments, dealing with what I do as a director, what I'm learning, and how I prepare as an actor.
There is no substitute for solid preparation.
This goes for everything from preparing to take your on-the road test to get your driver's license--a major part of my preparation was my dad teaching me to drive on country roads in a stick-shift 56' Chevy with no power steering--to preparing to be a family leader when we go camping by watching my dad start magnificent campfires for years--I can now design and start a fire with one match nearly every time. Happy belated Father's Day, Dad.
I am still learning what the best pre-rehearsal process preparation is for a director (and I plan to learn much more this summer), but there are many steps I currently take that pay off every time. I have learned what follows from practice, from mistakes, from successes, from reading William Ball's A Sense of Direction, Jon Jory's Tips: Ideas for Directors, and Peter Brook's The Empty Space, and from working with and watching many talented directors, designers, actors, stage managers, teachers and mentors.
Many books (some of them good) have been written on the subject of directing. I certainly don't pretend to offer a formal treatise here; rather, I offer what follows as a skeletal summary of my current work on THE TEMPEST at this preparation stage of the journey. Enjoy.
1) READ THE PLAY. There is no better first step than reading the play several times, many times, when possible. I read first to let the story wash over me, to ascertain and understand the central conflict and theme(s), identify the climax of the play and the major turns along the way to the climax, to meet the characters, the setting, the world of the play. In the case of THE TEMPEST, I read the play first in the Arden edition. The individual Arden editions of Shakespeare's plays are the best, hands down, for preparation as a director or actor. Each page of the play is half-full of the play's actual text and half-full of notes and scholarship pertaining to that page of play text. The Arden editions also include scholarship and essays on the play's themes, historical context, noteworthy productions, problems and challenges, and other useful information. After a nice, slow Arden edition reading, I have a strong sense of the items mentioned above. I am ready for a second read.
Earlier today, I met with James to talk about first steps and possible areas where I might be of particular use. Great conversation. He's a dude. He is wise and easy-going, yet intense and passionate when that's what the moment needs. He's got so much experience. We spoke about some of the physical challenges of the play and how I may play a role in shaping/preserving/refining physical vocabulary of Caliban and a few others. We spoke about the challenge of physicalizing the storm at the beginning AND protecting the text so it can be heard and followed. A great challenge. I am excited to kick that one around.
We spoke about the director's job. He quoted a director who said that the chief job of a director is to be entertaining enough so the cast will come back to work tomorrow. He was joking, of course, but there is much truth there. Keeping the atmosphere positive, encouraging, safe, challenging, collaborative, etc. will keep the actors coming back to really work the next day.
After much quality conversation with James, I am sure of this: I will be back tomorrow!
As I look at the clock right now I realize it IS tomorrow! The time has come!
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Oh yeah, that real life stuff before a trip...
Dear Reader,
In addition to the joyful, tearful, thrilling, soul-searching work of an artist I've done over the last three weeks preparing both TEMPEST and RAGTIME, We've also had to prepare our home for our absence and a house-sitter's presence for six weeks.
The short list of jobs that mostly fall under my purvey:
Clean out all gutters
Clean out all cat areas (we have a great 14 year old cat named Cole)
Clean the turtle tank (we've recently adopted a cool ten year old Red Eared Slider named Constantine)
Weed the patio area
Cut down/root out all unwanted plants, small saplings and beginnings of saplings from nearby maples and rose of sharon
(I get all the crap jobs)
(But I secretly love being able to do them and make my wife happy)
(Don't tell her that)
(Shoot, she's a follower on this blog)
Snake out a recalcitrant clog in the basement plumbing that caused a washing machine overflow
(THAT was a crap job)
Install new elbow to accommodate washing machine drain hose
Scrape down 5' X 8' and 5' X 5' sections of foundation in the southeast corner and northeast side of the basement where a few pinhole leaks had sprung, caulk with appropriate gear, and cover with two coats of powerful white basement paint.
(Crap job, but I still feel enormous pride from that one)
Completely swap the contents of our room and the boys' room so they can have more room to play and their toys will not make a daily pilgrimage down to the living room! It worked! We have a living room!
Finally, and this was our family's special time together last night...move a mountain of mulch the size of the body of a minivan (I'm not kidding) to various locations about the yard. Libby took advantage of the city's free mulch system when trees are being trimmed in one's neighborhood. The dude said the load would be the size of a small pickup truck. Yeah, we thought he meant the size of load a small pickup truck could carry. Nope. He meant the truck...oh, and the giant tree trimming truck couldn't really turn in our driveway. That meant the giant load was dumped right in the middle of our driveway. Our SHARED driveway with our elderly neighbors who go out for EARLY breakfast each day. We had to clear it last night. And we did it!
CRAP JOB!
BUT! All five of us worked like dogs with shovels, garden rakes, and brooms and bested that beast in four hours! Libby was a champ. All the kids worked hard, but my oldest son, who happens to be all of six years old, worked his shovel like a man for three of those four hours. I told him so. He continues to beam.
Now it's time to pack!
C _ _ P J _ B!
Next up: a report on preparation (which has been rich) when we get to Spring Green!
In addition to the joyful, tearful, thrilling, soul-searching work of an artist I've done over the last three weeks preparing both TEMPEST and RAGTIME, We've also had to prepare our home for our absence and a house-sitter's presence for six weeks.
The short list of jobs that mostly fall under my purvey:
Clean out all gutters
Clean out all cat areas (we have a great 14 year old cat named Cole)
Clean the turtle tank (we've recently adopted a cool ten year old Red Eared Slider named Constantine)
Weed the patio area
Cut down/root out all unwanted plants, small saplings and beginnings of saplings from nearby maples and rose of sharon
(I get all the crap jobs)
(But I secretly love being able to do them and make my wife happy)
(Don't tell her that)
(Shoot, she's a follower on this blog)
Snake out a recalcitrant clog in the basement plumbing that caused a washing machine overflow
(THAT was a crap job)
Install new elbow to accommodate washing machine drain hose
Scrape down 5' X 8' and 5' X 5' sections of foundation in the southeast corner and northeast side of the basement where a few pinhole leaks had sprung, caulk with appropriate gear, and cover with two coats of powerful white basement paint.
(Crap job, but I still feel enormous pride from that one)
Completely swap the contents of our room and the boys' room so they can have more room to play and their toys will not make a daily pilgrimage down to the living room! It worked! We have a living room!
Finally, and this was our family's special time together last night...move a mountain of mulch the size of the body of a minivan (I'm not kidding) to various locations about the yard. Libby took advantage of the city's free mulch system when trees are being trimmed in one's neighborhood. The dude said the load would be the size of a small pickup truck. Yeah, we thought he meant the size of load a small pickup truck could carry. Nope. He meant the truck...oh, and the giant tree trimming truck couldn't really turn in our driveway. That meant the giant load was dumped right in the middle of our driveway. Our SHARED driveway with our elderly neighbors who go out for EARLY breakfast each day. We had to clear it last night. And we did it!
CRAP JOB!
BUT! All five of us worked like dogs with shovels, garden rakes, and brooms and bested that beast in four hours! Libby was a champ. All the kids worked hard, but my oldest son, who happens to be all of six years old, worked his shovel like a man for three of those four hours. I told him so. He continues to beam.
Now it's time to pack!
C _ _ P J _ B!
Next up: a report on preparation (which has been rich) when we get to Spring Green!
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Auntie Mame or Uncle OTEFD?
Five of my favorite letters in the world of Bradley University are these: OTEFD. They stand for the Office for Teaching Excellence and Faculty Development. This office offers financial support in the form of grants to students, faculty and student collaborative efforts, and faculty research and professional development efforts.
As the work I will be doing this summer is most certainly both research and professional development, it seemed worth a shot to apply for support. I write up a proposal, lay out my action plan and timeline, gather the requisite letters of support from my chair and dean, and submit the application.
Then, I wait...
OTEFD has supported many of my department's projects in the past. It is for that reason that I am both hopeful and cautious. Will this be the time when they say "Alright you theatre people, no more!"? This project will help me grow as a director, as an actor, and as a teacher of acting, voice, and career preparation; it will grow the network and reputation of Bradley University. They have to support this, don't they?
In the meantime, we work our way through auditions for RAGTIME, which I direct in the fall, I plan for a Meisner Master Class, Libby performs her cabaret, and we attack final exams.
Auditions go extremely well. I'm as prepared for these as I've ever felt. I've wanted to direct this play since Libby bought me the Doctorow novel a few years ago. I'm seeing people in roles very easily. People are giving very strong and well-prepared auditions and call backs. I love this piece and can't wait to work on it. Every time I sit down to read, visualize, or listen I cry at least once. Granted, I am a fairly easy cry. When all is said and done, the cast of 35 emerges. The design and music teams are set and strong. I have an experienced senior stage manager. My daughter will play Little Girl. And guest artist Tommy Rapley of House Theatre of Chicago fame will choreograph and conduct a workshop in ensemble and physical/devised theatre. I know. Seriously. I am thankful for the chance to lead this journey.
Into finals. Again, the students deliver. Many of them playing with more heart and imagination than I've seen yet. The Chekhov final--a showing of act two and part of act three of THREE SISTERS--is particularly outstanding. These students came together as an ensemble and changed the air in the room that day. The weight of the given circumstances dropped in and people truly fought for what they needed. I was moved and proud.
Libby, my wife of fifteen years this summer, has created a cabaret called I'M HER BOOBIE: THE REALITIES OF NEW MOTHERHOOD REVEALED IN SONG. She performed it downtown last year at Peoria Cabaret Theatre and gives a brilliant, confident performance this time around as well as she performs for a women's gathering at The Journey Church in East Peoria. It is a joy to watch her do this show. The crowd is warm and responsive. Through her stories and fully-acted songs, I am reminded of the power of theatre as I watch the women in this room realize or remember that they are not alone as mothers. Her message is so important and she shares it with passion.
I get the student group set and begin to mentally prepare for teaching a two week Meisner Master Class after graduation. I love teaching the Meisner technique. This will be my fourth time leading this kind of workshop at Bradley. At it's heart, it is a series of structured improvisations that lead the student through personally meaningful experiences of each of the building blocks of a scene. Most importantly, however, it teaches actors to LISTEN. To listen with their blood. Legend has it that Sanford Meisner, member of The Group Theatre and longtime teacher of acting, was lying in a hospital bed, thinking about actors and what drives him crazy about them. It finally hit him: they don't listen! When onstage, they don't listen deeply enough to one another. They aren't as fully present and connected as they could be. Meisner then began to construct the exercises that would come to be known as his technique.
When the students are ready and earnest, the work never fails to deepen listening, strengthen imagination and will, and even improve the quality of relationships. The students have discovered that the most important person onstage is their scene partner. Translate that work to relationships and the result is better communication. The difference between trying to be interestING and being interestED. The latter makes for better acting and better relationships. Thanks, Meisner. I'll come back to you soon.
Life is so full that I actually forget, from time to time, that I am waiting to see if I have been awarded the grant that will provide enough support to cover room, partial board, and transportation for the American Players adventure. I think more deeply about the financial realities of summer if I don't get this grant--that is, Libby reminds me that we still don't know how we're paying for this!--and I remember to check my e-mail more frequently.
I open my computer while students are taking the written portion of one of the acting finals. I see the magic word in the subject line of an e-mail from OTEFD: AWARD!
Once again, God provides a way. Thanks to George, Jeff, and OTEFD, the award will support my work at APT to the tune of exactly what we need. Knowing that the finances are now in place, I can begin my preparations in earnest.
So, what exactly does that mean? How does a director prepare? How does an actor prepare?
Tune in next time as I strive to find my sea legs.
As the work I will be doing this summer is most certainly both research and professional development, it seemed worth a shot to apply for support. I write up a proposal, lay out my action plan and timeline, gather the requisite letters of support from my chair and dean, and submit the application.
Then, I wait...
OTEFD has supported many of my department's projects in the past. It is for that reason that I am both hopeful and cautious. Will this be the time when they say "Alright you theatre people, no more!"? This project will help me grow as a director, as an actor, and as a teacher of acting, voice, and career preparation; it will grow the network and reputation of Bradley University. They have to support this, don't they?
In the meantime, we work our way through auditions for RAGTIME, which I direct in the fall, I plan for a Meisner Master Class, Libby performs her cabaret, and we attack final exams.
Auditions go extremely well. I'm as prepared for these as I've ever felt. I've wanted to direct this play since Libby bought me the Doctorow novel a few years ago. I'm seeing people in roles very easily. People are giving very strong and well-prepared auditions and call backs. I love this piece and can't wait to work on it. Every time I sit down to read, visualize, or listen I cry at least once. Granted, I am a fairly easy cry. When all is said and done, the cast of 35 emerges. The design and music teams are set and strong. I have an experienced senior stage manager. My daughter will play Little Girl. And guest artist Tommy Rapley of House Theatre of Chicago fame will choreograph and conduct a workshop in ensemble and physical/devised theatre. I know. Seriously. I am thankful for the chance to lead this journey.
Into finals. Again, the students deliver. Many of them playing with more heart and imagination than I've seen yet. The Chekhov final--a showing of act two and part of act three of THREE SISTERS--is particularly outstanding. These students came together as an ensemble and changed the air in the room that day. The weight of the given circumstances dropped in and people truly fought for what they needed. I was moved and proud.
Libby, my wife of fifteen years this summer, has created a cabaret called I'M HER BOOBIE: THE REALITIES OF NEW MOTHERHOOD REVEALED IN SONG. She performed it downtown last year at Peoria Cabaret Theatre and gives a brilliant, confident performance this time around as well as she performs for a women's gathering at The Journey Church in East Peoria. It is a joy to watch her do this show. The crowd is warm and responsive. Through her stories and fully-acted songs, I am reminded of the power of theatre as I watch the women in this room realize or remember that they are not alone as mothers. Her message is so important and she shares it with passion.
I get the student group set and begin to mentally prepare for teaching a two week Meisner Master Class after graduation. I love teaching the Meisner technique. This will be my fourth time leading this kind of workshop at Bradley. At it's heart, it is a series of structured improvisations that lead the student through personally meaningful experiences of each of the building blocks of a scene. Most importantly, however, it teaches actors to LISTEN. To listen with their blood. Legend has it that Sanford Meisner, member of The Group Theatre and longtime teacher of acting, was lying in a hospital bed, thinking about actors and what drives him crazy about them. It finally hit him: they don't listen! When onstage, they don't listen deeply enough to one another. They aren't as fully present and connected as they could be. Meisner then began to construct the exercises that would come to be known as his technique.
When the students are ready and earnest, the work never fails to deepen listening, strengthen imagination and will, and even improve the quality of relationships. The students have discovered that the most important person onstage is their scene partner. Translate that work to relationships and the result is better communication. The difference between trying to be interestING and being interestED. The latter makes for better acting and better relationships. Thanks, Meisner. I'll come back to you soon.
Life is so full that I actually forget, from time to time, that I am waiting to see if I have been awarded the grant that will provide enough support to cover room, partial board, and transportation for the American Players adventure. I think more deeply about the financial realities of summer if I don't get this grant--that is, Libby reminds me that we still don't know how we're paying for this!--and I remember to check my e-mail more frequently.
I open my computer while students are taking the written portion of one of the acting finals. I see the magic word in the subject line of an e-mail from OTEFD: AWARD!
Once again, God provides a way. Thanks to George, Jeff, and OTEFD, the award will support my work at APT to the tune of exactly what we need. Knowing that the finances are now in place, I can begin my preparations in earnest.
So, what exactly does that mean? How does a director prepare? How does an actor prepare?
Tune in next time as I strive to find my sea legs.
Monday, May 30, 2011
A Sea-Change
Moving right along...
Christmas with our family. Libby and I lead a BU Theatre excursion course to London over J-term (a two and a half week long January Interim). We introduce students to the world of professional theatre in London and Stratford, see 10 shows, eat some amazing Neapolitan pizza, and we come back. We return and (three days later!) I collaborate with the Interactive Media Department to emcee and coach my students to perform in Rock Show--an interactive rock and roll show wherein 18 of my students play iconic rock stars from Stephen Tyler to Pink to Tina Turner. More than 1200 students attended the event. It was an enormous hit!
Check out some great footage the IM folks created:
http://www.bradley.edu/inthespotlight/story/?id=121618
I'm the one with the Russell Brand-ish dialect and the heroin-addict-like eye make-up (Libby's design).
From there, it's right into rehearsals for Moliere's THE LEARNED LADIES. It just doesn't stop. I am aching for time with my family. The production is extremely strong, some of the best work yet from many students. I miss my family...
My lottery ticket pays off! Sort of. I get an e-mail from Brenda DeVita saying that she sees possible opportunity for me as an assistant director. She wants to know if I'm interested and if she should go fishing to see if one of the directors is interested in having an assistant. But, because APT focuses on maximum impact for the artistic process and product by using its budget very responsibly, there won't be a budget line item for assistant directors because there has never been one. There is not budget room to create a new paid position. I would be volunteering for six weeks.
If I threw in for this, I would be putting my money where my mouth is when I teach my career prep students that sometimes you work to learn, not to be paid.
Further, since AD is an unpaid position, I would have to pay for my own housing... That's housing for my family. There's no way I'm going for six weeks without them.
Is this a test? Am I a fool? I have bills to pay! Mouths to feed! Libby reminds me of the enormity of the opportunity and I say YES! I am married to an amazing woman. We agree that we will figure it out somehow. God has always taken care of us.
OK. The ante has been upped. How will I afford this? We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. It's possible that there won't even be any desire for assistants. We'll wait and see.
In the meantime, our department enters into an exciting partnership with the Theatre departments of Loyola University of Chicago and Western Illinois University to create a three-university Shakespeare festival in spring 2012. Each school will create a production that will tour to the other institutions. The whole fest tours from Loyola to Bradley to Western over three weekends in February and March 2012. Bradley Theatre will create a production of THE TEMPEST. Love that play. Further discussions reveal that what was said months before as a passing comment from George Brown, my department chair, is going to happen: I will be working alongside my students by playing Prospero for our production. George and I spoke about making sure that the arrangement was the best one for our program, that I was not taking a role away from a student, but that we were creating an opportunity for the students to work alongside me and learn as actors have for hundreds of years--in the apprentice method. We searched our hearts and agreed that the idea was a good one. Prospero it is.
A few weeks later, I get a call while I'm in Chicago with some students--Brenda DeVita wants to talk with me about being involved with a production in the second half of the summer! We catch each other by e-mail and I am asked to submit a description of my movement training and experience. This could be amazing! A truly great company is interested in me joining their community! I send in my e-mail and wait to hear.
The answer comes...no movement work, BUT...
I am offered the opportunity to serve as assistant director to James Bohnen, founding artistic director of Chicago's excellent and award-winning Remy Bumppo Theatre Company, member of SSDC (now SDC--the director and choreographer union), and 15 year veteran director at APT! Will I take it? Let me see...Yes. YES! YES!!!!!
It gets better.
The production on which I will assist Mr. Bohnen: THE TEMPEST. Yes, THE TEMPEST.
I know. I still can't believe it.
We are going to Spring Green, Wisconsin for six weeks. How will we pay for it? You'll have to read my next post to learn that, dear reader.
As for me, I'll be spending a year in the storm.
Christmas with our family. Libby and I lead a BU Theatre excursion course to London over J-term (a two and a half week long January Interim). We introduce students to the world of professional theatre in London and Stratford, see 10 shows, eat some amazing Neapolitan pizza, and we come back. We return and (three days later!) I collaborate with the Interactive Media Department to emcee and coach my students to perform in Rock Show--an interactive rock and roll show wherein 18 of my students play iconic rock stars from Stephen Tyler to Pink to Tina Turner. More than 1200 students attended the event. It was an enormous hit!
Check out some great footage the IM folks created:
http://www.bradley.edu/inthespotlight/story/?id=121618
I'm the one with the Russell Brand-ish dialect and the heroin-addict-like eye make-up (Libby's design).
From there, it's right into rehearsals for Moliere's THE LEARNED LADIES. It just doesn't stop. I am aching for time with my family. The production is extremely strong, some of the best work yet from many students. I miss my family...
My lottery ticket pays off! Sort of. I get an e-mail from Brenda DeVita saying that she sees possible opportunity for me as an assistant director. She wants to know if I'm interested and if she should go fishing to see if one of the directors is interested in having an assistant. But, because APT focuses on maximum impact for the artistic process and product by using its budget very responsibly, there won't be a budget line item for assistant directors because there has never been one. There is not budget room to create a new paid position. I would be volunteering for six weeks.
If I threw in for this, I would be putting my money where my mouth is when I teach my career prep students that sometimes you work to learn, not to be paid.
Further, since AD is an unpaid position, I would have to pay for my own housing... That's housing for my family. There's no way I'm going for six weeks without them.
Is this a test? Am I a fool? I have bills to pay! Mouths to feed! Libby reminds me of the enormity of the opportunity and I say YES! I am married to an amazing woman. We agree that we will figure it out somehow. God has always taken care of us.
OK. The ante has been upped. How will I afford this? We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. It's possible that there won't even be any desire for assistants. We'll wait and see.
In the meantime, our department enters into an exciting partnership with the Theatre departments of Loyola University of Chicago and Western Illinois University to create a three-university Shakespeare festival in spring 2012. Each school will create a production that will tour to the other institutions. The whole fest tours from Loyola to Bradley to Western over three weekends in February and March 2012. Bradley Theatre will create a production of THE TEMPEST. Love that play. Further discussions reveal that what was said months before as a passing comment from George Brown, my department chair, is going to happen: I will be working alongside my students by playing Prospero for our production. George and I spoke about making sure that the arrangement was the best one for our program, that I was not taking a role away from a student, but that we were creating an opportunity for the students to work alongside me and learn as actors have for hundreds of years--in the apprentice method. We searched our hearts and agreed that the idea was a good one. Prospero it is.
A few weeks later, I get a call while I'm in Chicago with some students--Brenda DeVita wants to talk with me about being involved with a production in the second half of the summer! We catch each other by e-mail and I am asked to submit a description of my movement training and experience. This could be amazing! A truly great company is interested in me joining their community! I send in my e-mail and wait to hear.
The answer comes...no movement work, BUT...
I am offered the opportunity to serve as assistant director to James Bohnen, founding artistic director of Chicago's excellent and award-winning Remy Bumppo Theatre Company, member of SSDC (now SDC--the director and choreographer union), and 15 year veteran director at APT! Will I take it? Let me see...Yes. YES! YES!!!!!
It gets better.
The production on which I will assist Mr. Bohnen: THE TEMPEST. Yes, THE TEMPEST.
I know. I still can't believe it.
We are going to Spring Green, Wisconsin for six weeks. How will we pay for it? You'll have to read my next post to learn that, dear reader.
As for me, I'll be spending a year in the storm.
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