Back To School
My weekly entry? Not by plan, but by schedule. Last week was another busy one, though I'll have some breathing space this week.
I spent part of the morning with Chris Hulteng's 4th grade class at Alexander Graham Bell Elementary School, starting my active participation in the BookPals program. 10:00 - 10:30 AM. What a delightful group of children. It was not an earth shattering experience, rather a warm fuzzy. I enjoyed myself as did the children, though I was a little worried as I read and saw two or three kids looking out the windows or counting holes in the ceiling. Well, the gazers had some of the most incisive comments about Cinder Edna.
I've a feeling the weekly sessions will build in my heart. I said it was not an earth shattering experience, partly because I was almost expecting something like that and because I expect it to become so in a deeper slower manner. I recognize the beginning of a rich and loving experience. The last five years I have dedicated myself to pursuing richness and love, the essence of what art and theatre is to me. Five years ago this morning's experience would have floored me. This is an exercise, because at that time I wouldn't have had the experience and comfort to be able to read to kids in an engaging fun way. Now, I don't experience shock from a great experience, though it is appreciated no less. That is a gift, and I hope I never lose the awareness of it.
The kids? They are wonderful, and I am looking forward to building up a relationship. A beginning. A gift for all of us I hope. Work an extra hour in the week so I can come in late after reading to children on Mondays. Easy peasy. I was talking to someone this weekend, who wondered at the 'sacrifice'. I didn't and still don't consider it a sacrifice. It is something I want to do, and enjoy. Nothing terribly hard about that. Besides, I got to go into the faculty lounge and use the restroom. The only difference I noticed was porcelain mounted higher for grown-ups. Still, I got to go into the hallowed refuge I'd never seen as a kid.
Our Studio Series piece started Thursday and closed yesterday afternoon. The last two shows were especially wonderful, and satisfying because we had the most enthusiastic applauses. Maybe not better than the other seven pieces, but surely unsurpassed. They did a good job the first two nights, but really connected the last two. The audience response was tangible evidence my perceptions weren't skewed. It is hard to be unbiased when you're so close to a production. The two actors were both very good. One was experienced, professional, and generous. The other was not very experienced, but courageous and open. A challenge, but they worked together with neither getting visibly frustrated with direction that was too advanced or too basic for their needs.
Paula shared an interesting observation with the actors. She was explaining why there were what seemed to be inconsistent direction at times. "But you told us to try it this way yesterday?" As the actors improvise and try new things, what is possible and what will move the story in the desired way changes and evolves. She knows the story she wants to tell, and uses the actors to help fill and shape the picture, and heighten it. "Yeah, yeah, yeah," say the actors. Or at least I assume so. It was an intense rehearsal process the last several weeks, and there is only so much which really gets assimilated. However, the actor serving as td/stage manager/set and prop designer/fabricator got a lot out of it. My stints as crew and production staff have paid off, giving more insight into the artistic process, which makes me a better actor (I hope!) and certainly easier to work with.
So many of the actors I work with have taken a similar path to mine. They have pursued acting seriously, without going through a matriculating program. Talking to people who have gone through BFA and MFA programs I know they spend a lot of time working behind the scenes. There is incredible value to it. If you are truly serious about acting you better damn well work as a prop master, stage manager, tech director, etc. I think it is just as important for the crew and staff to do some acting as well, so they have an inkling of what the actors are doing.
So, you actors that don't want to do crew or production staff ever out of fear or disdain, get off your rear end and do it anyway. You can't seriously think of yourself as a serious or courageous actor if you don't know what the rest of the people are doing to support you. I have about as much patience with actors who refuse to ever lend a hand, as I do with the turds who turn their noses up at community theatre. Some of the very best productions I have seen were done by community theatres (where the cast usually serves in crew capacities as well), and some of the worst were done by professional companies.
Why do we have such a diverse and highly talented theatre community in the Seattle area? I believe it is the opportunities at all levels, allowing people to grow and get experience, and keep theatre accessible for all social levels. The very best actors (with regards to both talent and professionalism) and crew I have worked with, all have some cross training or experience. Hell, you might even surprise yourself and find you like doing behind the scenes stuff. I found I do, though my first and foremost love in theatre is being on the boards, and I would eventually lose interest in the rest without it.
I spent part of the morning with Chris Hulteng's 4th grade class at Alexander Graham Bell Elementary School, starting my active participation in the BookPals program. 10:00 - 10:30 AM. What a delightful group of children. It was not an earth shattering experience, rather a warm fuzzy. I enjoyed myself as did the children, though I was a little worried as I read and saw two or three kids looking out the windows or counting holes in the ceiling. Well, the gazers had some of the most incisive comments about Cinder Edna.
I've a feeling the weekly sessions will build in my heart. I said it was not an earth shattering experience, partly because I was almost expecting something like that and because I expect it to become so in a deeper slower manner. I recognize the beginning of a rich and loving experience. The last five years I have dedicated myself to pursuing richness and love, the essence of what art and theatre is to me. Five years ago this morning's experience would have floored me. This is an exercise, because at that time I wouldn't have had the experience and comfort to be able to read to kids in an engaging fun way. Now, I don't experience shock from a great experience, though it is appreciated no less. That is a gift, and I hope I never lose the awareness of it.
The kids? They are wonderful, and I am looking forward to building up a relationship. A beginning. A gift for all of us I hope. Work an extra hour in the week so I can come in late after reading to children on Mondays. Easy peasy. I was talking to someone this weekend, who wondered at the 'sacrifice'. I didn't and still don't consider it a sacrifice. It is something I want to do, and enjoy. Nothing terribly hard about that. Besides, I got to go into the faculty lounge and use the restroom. The only difference I noticed was porcelain mounted higher for grown-ups. Still, I got to go into the hallowed refuge I'd never seen as a kid.
Our Studio Series piece started Thursday and closed yesterday afternoon. The last two shows were especially wonderful, and satisfying because we had the most enthusiastic applauses. Maybe not better than the other seven pieces, but surely unsurpassed. They did a good job the first two nights, but really connected the last two. The audience response was tangible evidence my perceptions weren't skewed. It is hard to be unbiased when you're so close to a production. The two actors were both very good. One was experienced, professional, and generous. The other was not very experienced, but courageous and open. A challenge, but they worked together with neither getting visibly frustrated with direction that was too advanced or too basic for their needs.
Paula shared an interesting observation with the actors. She was explaining why there were what seemed to be inconsistent direction at times. "But you told us to try it this way yesterday?" As the actors improvise and try new things, what is possible and what will move the story in the desired way changes and evolves. She knows the story she wants to tell, and uses the actors to help fill and shape the picture, and heighten it. "Yeah, yeah, yeah," say the actors. Or at least I assume so. It was an intense rehearsal process the last several weeks, and there is only so much which really gets assimilated. However, the actor serving as td/stage manager/set and prop designer/fabricator got a lot out of it. My stints as crew and production staff have paid off, giving more insight into the artistic process, which makes me a better actor (I hope!) and certainly easier to work with.
So many of the actors I work with have taken a similar path to mine. They have pursued acting seriously, without going through a matriculating program. Talking to people who have gone through BFA and MFA programs I know they spend a lot of time working behind the scenes. There is incredible value to it. If you are truly serious about acting you better damn well work as a prop master, stage manager, tech director, etc. I think it is just as important for the crew and staff to do some acting as well, so they have an inkling of what the actors are doing.
So, you actors that don't want to do crew or production staff ever out of fear or disdain, get off your rear end and do it anyway. You can't seriously think of yourself as a serious or courageous actor if you don't know what the rest of the people are doing to support you. I have about as much patience with actors who refuse to ever lend a hand, as I do with the turds who turn their noses up at community theatre. Some of the very best productions I have seen were done by community theatres (where the cast usually serves in crew capacities as well), and some of the worst were done by professional companies.
Why do we have such a diverse and highly talented theatre community in the Seattle area? I believe it is the opportunities at all levels, allowing people to grow and get experience, and keep theatre accessible for all social levels. The very best actors (with regards to both talent and professionalism) and crew I have worked with, all have some cross training or experience. Hell, you might even surprise yourself and find you like doing behind the scenes stuff. I found I do, though my first and foremost love in theatre is being on the boards, and I would eventually lose interest in the rest without it.
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