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!
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
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.
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