Winning and Losing
Last night my scene partner and I did an extended improvisation. We are preparing for our scene from A Streetcar Named Desire. An extended improvisation entails taking your character out into the real world. Blanche and Mitch had dinner and walked around Seattle Center. As in all the work in our Meisner class I can't go into any detail other than my personal experience and observations as they reflect on me. It is a matter of confidence and trust. Robin told us early on, that what we hear and see stays in the class. I can't imagine anyone in the class wouldn't respect each others privacy. It is still good to have the reminder, so you don't get carried away in your enthusiasm while going on about your experience.
In concept this was a pretty intimidating exercise for me. I think my southern dialect is the thing that worried me the most. It has not been my highest priority for this work, though I've striven to be consistent in my vowel and consonant replacements, and worked especially hard to avoid the over the top over-exaggeration of southern dialects that is so easy to fall into, which I find take away from the work. I tried to pick attributes that were closer to the Gulf coast. For a non-academic show I'd have spent more time nailing down a smaller region, and finding or putting together a specific tutorial.
Once I met Blanche all was okay. There were a couple moments in the back of my mind, where I wondered what our waiter was thinking. Happily I was able to let go, and the moments were fleeting. I was Mitch, on a date with Blanche. It was easier than I thought. I wasn't thinking about being Mitch, mostly I was just living through Mitch. I responded in what are now surprising ways, felt rebuffed, complimented, bored, excited, awkward, dull, clever, etc. It was much simpler than I thought, and more comfortable.
It was surprising to find being in character offstage felt so natural. I think it was really helpful. I have been struggling with this scene, and the exercise created history, ease, and a connection with Blanche. It also helped with my own history, and which will make much the homework in the next few days more productive.
Today we had dress rehearsals with Robin for our final class. Trina and I had our 45 minute session at Noon. I felt good during prep and going in, then I got lost. There were moments where I felt really connected, but they didn't play; it/I wasn't hanging together. I have a lot of notes. Tonight I need to read the entire play again, and do copious homework. I have the fear I won't have time to do the homework and pull off a decent performance. I am looking forward to it at the same time, because the scene is moving forward.
Robin made some new suggestions, which I really liked and made absolute sense. It is a very common superstition that a crappy dress rehearsal makes for a good for the performance (and vice versa). You get all the things out of the way which don't work. I sure felt like I didn't let anything good get in my way today. : ) So, with enough work I hope to get it together for Thursday. Tonight's goal is to get lots of homework done, get a good night's sleep, and be ready for tomorrow.
In concept this was a pretty intimidating exercise for me. I think my southern dialect is the thing that worried me the most. It has not been my highest priority for this work, though I've striven to be consistent in my vowel and consonant replacements, and worked especially hard to avoid the over the top over-exaggeration of southern dialects that is so easy to fall into, which I find take away from the work. I tried to pick attributes that were closer to the Gulf coast. For a non-academic show I'd have spent more time nailing down a smaller region, and finding or putting together a specific tutorial.
Once I met Blanche all was okay. There were a couple moments in the back of my mind, where I wondered what our waiter was thinking. Happily I was able to let go, and the moments were fleeting. I was Mitch, on a date with Blanche. It was easier than I thought. I wasn't thinking about being Mitch, mostly I was just living through Mitch. I responded in what are now surprising ways, felt rebuffed, complimented, bored, excited, awkward, dull, clever, etc. It was much simpler than I thought, and more comfortable.
It was surprising to find being in character offstage felt so natural. I think it was really helpful. I have been struggling with this scene, and the exercise created history, ease, and a connection with Blanche. It also helped with my own history, and which will make much the homework in the next few days more productive.
Today we had dress rehearsals with Robin for our final class. Trina and I had our 45 minute session at Noon. I felt good during prep and going in, then I got lost. There were moments where I felt really connected, but they didn't play; it/I wasn't hanging together. I have a lot of notes. Tonight I need to read the entire play again, and do copious homework. I have the fear I won't have time to do the homework and pull off a decent performance. I am looking forward to it at the same time, because the scene is moving forward.
Robin made some new suggestions, which I really liked and made absolute sense. It is a very common superstition that a crappy dress rehearsal makes for a good for the performance (and vice versa). You get all the things out of the way which don't work. I sure felt like I didn't let anything good get in my way today. : ) So, with enough work I hope to get it together for Thursday. Tonight's goal is to get lots of homework done, get a good night's sleep, and be ready for tomorrow.
3 Comments:
Perhaps Equity spaces like Intiman and Seattle Rep get better reviews and funding because they're just plain better. I see a lot of small town attitude in your posts. What I don't see is respect for critics who have to suffer through fringe productions with actors bitter they can't be cast in Intiman and Seattle Rep shows; I find it funny that you go after theatreseattle.com for actually saying what everyone else is afraid to or unable to say. I worked for that wonderful website for its short but memorable history and none of the writers went into a single show with anything but the highest hopes that is great. Critics, at least not the ones I know personally, never wish a show to do poorly but once you've seen high quality shows like Intiman's Homebody/Kabul, a review I wrote for theatreseattle btw and Intiman called it "the only review that 'got it right'", p(robably why you didn't hear back from them), you loose all any ounce of credibility you had. Your post come off as a bitter actor who can't reach the level as some of the more solid artists in town. Seattle is a city that gets better for theatre each year. I stopped seeing non-Equity shows because I was seeing bad habits by the same, sorry to be harsh, amateur actors month after month. Perhaps this is the reason Intiman, Seattle Rep, ACT, etc are still standing. They have high standards and honor criticism, encourage it even because they know the only way they can function on a national level is to continue to improve. And improve they have. This year, 2008, four years after your rather clouded post, I am seeing the best theatre I have in years. But organizations like Seattle Public, Book-It, and a host of fringe houses (hanging onto their last $) continue to employ nice actors who lack the poise and professional quality of those seen at the better theatres in town. I have never gotten a single ounce of hate mail for a bad show I've seen at Intiman, Seattle Rep, ACT, or any of the Equity spaces. Even The Children's Theatre. And trust me, I've given all those spaces what you'd call bad reviews. I didn't enjoy Imaginary Invalid at Seattle Rep, several things at Intiman, the list goes on, but they've never sent me a single ounce of hate mail. But fringe houses, even ones I've given good reviews too, still manage to send off bitter 3am drunken hate mail, even when I've done my best to explain why I didn't like something. I spent many years in New York seeing bad theater that still managed to always be professional. And Seattle is getting there but some houses need to fight for Equity wavers. I adored Capitol Hill Arts Center and Union Garage when they were around because they weren't afraid to cast an Equity actor here and there. And it showed! Most recently I enjoy King John at CHAC (employing pro and quality non-pro actors) and Doubt at Taproot (non-equity again). I'm not saying that non-equity actors can't be good from time to time but it is rare to see an actor who is really good without his Equity card (and really, its not hard to get in this town). I encourage you to have an open mind and realize that not all critics are bitter actors. In fact, we love theatre, at least I do, and would love if every show were good, but sadly, that isn't always the case.
Well, I'd written a long polite response, and tossed it. I figured this was a one time vent on an ancient post.
Also, I'd assumed you weren't the person who wrote the review for the fringe festival production of The Trestle at Pope Lick Creek at Hugo House. I realized I coulnd't make that assumption. It was the talk about that review which got me looking at TheatreSeattle. As I recall there were 3 or 4 reviewers, and I didn't think the Intiman review for Homebody was written by the same person, but that was a while back. If you indeed wrote that attack piece on Pope Lick Creek I find it ironic you took umbrage at my meager criticism and action after the appalling personal attack made in that review. It is the reason a few of organizations stopped comp'ing your reviewers, and many more discussed doing so. I've been a board member for a fringe theatre, and am friends with people who are/were on the boards of equity houses, so I know it garnered a lot of attention.
The small town thing you snarked on, was probably more a function of having been in the military for nearly ten years. Accountability. TheatreSeattle did not do any oversight for W (I don't remember his name), so he represented you, and as such TheatreSeattle was accountable for and passively supportive of his actions.
W gave TheatreSeattle some notoriety, and everyone I talked to agreed that most of the writers were fair and decent. I would support a reviewing service that was completely professional in their approach, and other than W types TheatreSeattle could have done that.
FIrst of all, and I don't know where you get your facts from, but Theatreseattle was never denied an invitation to a single show we wanted to review. Not once and I did all the scheduling for us. So that, is not so much true. By the time we closed shop, we were starting to be picky about what shows we saw, at first wanting to push out fringe shows, our choice not theirs, because lack of quality. We were sick of sitting in uncomfortable charis watching boring theatre that nobody wanted to read about. We did much tracking of our readers and found those reading the fringe shows were in the show. Our real reader base wanted to know about musicals and major productions. We have great relationships with all of the press agents in town.
As for MY review of Pope Lick Creek, I stand by it. It was an awful show part of a great festival. It to this date remains one of the worst show I've ever seen. Sexist, pretentious, pointless. Perhaps I was a bit colorful in my language, which I reserve for choice shows that are beyond redemption, and to my defense, I can say I was experimenting with personal style. Still, I stand by it, and actually got a good amount of email when the director decided to try to spit in my face at a fringe party. I sat with him and went through his show with him-scene by scene-something I have never done before or after but I felt he was lost-and maybe my review pushed him overboard-I don't know. What I saw was an angry boy who got called out on his mistakes and bad directing habits for the first time in print.
Again, I wrote for a site that had an editor. He screened everything we wrote. WHile I do stand by my work, I always rely on my editor to bring reason or feedback to anything he/she feels is out of line. Many of the fringe artists from that festival have no problem quoting ALL of us for things we loved-on their personal websites. But fighting back against critics, in some foolish mission to change the way we write, is as lame an attempt as me trying to teach acting to the 100's of fringe artists intend on mugging and parading about stage instead of finding the truth in their art.
As for your military = accountability excuse. I grew up in a military family and find it odd that you learned your so called accountability from a Military that continues to discriminate against people of color and gays. A military that can't supply proper equipment for their troops, treats a sexual minority like second class citizens despite the large amount of gay men and women fighting in Iraq as we speak, and goes after young African-American men with flashy tales of glory and education only to ship them off to a war we should have never gone into. So try again, because I think the only thing the military tought YOU was to think small and hold grudges. Growth is something I honor. I don't see growth anywhere from 2004-now for you. To deny Intiman a donation because of their posting a positive review after we trashed a show that obviously had people you KNOW in it. Again, I think seeing theatre with people you know personally, trying to say you're objective, is a big error as an artist.
Again, theatre criticism falls into the category of opinion. Much like the opinion you have on your blog. But critics don't write I think/I feel before every opinion, so people often mistake opinion for an assumption of fact. Again, I think TheatreSeattle pushed a lot of buttoms but I think they needed to be pushed. People got pissed, maybe, because they'd never gotten anything other than the usual plot summary that the Times and PI tend to favor. I used to let things like this bother me but the pros and praise I've had as a critic bear rewards deeper and more important that a few select group of people who are really mad because they can't get the solid reviews that honest, exciting artists grab. That's what I see.
It can go on forever, the Seattle isn't New York argument. But I've seen theatre criticism and theatre as a whole change. We're a sought out location for Broadway-tryouts and the bar is being raised each day. I just don't see the really tiny fringe houses getting the praise worthy of regional attention. If its really genius-audiences and funding will come.
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