When I was 14, I was doing my first professional opera. I was the only person under 25. I remember my director was giving notes after rehearsal one night, and I was chatting away with a castmate. Suddenly, the director said my name sharply. She then gave me a piece of advice that I've adhered to for the last 17 years. "When the director's mouth is open, everyone else's mouth is closed."
The director deserves respect. Yet, I've seen some directors truly disrespected, especially in community theatre. Not so much in pro theatre; generally, if you're a problem, you get fired. It's not so easy when you're not getting paid. I think people often forget that the task of the director is monumental. One has to have a concept, a vision...one must find a set designer who will help that vision come to life. One must cast the right actors in the right roles. One must babysit the fragile ego of an actor. One must accept 90% of the responsibility if the show flops.
I have had my share of good directors, bad directors, directors who micro manage, and directors who don't direct at all.
I have directed exactly one thing. A one act that Brian wrote last summer for the NVTA festival. It was an easy experience all around...it was a good script, and there were only two actors...Brian & Greg Powell. Brian's obviously the playwright, an actor, AND my husband. Greg is a marvelous, intuitive actor. I knew that I could feel my way around this inaugural experience without worrying that I was stepping on anyone's toes. I came up with a concept and a set. We did some initial blocking. We talked about characterization. I then tweaked accordingly...remembering to make sure that what I usually bitched about while seeing a show didn't happen in mine...no static moments, no unnatural moves...we all had fun and it was a positive first experience.
TIPS FOR A DIRECTOR, FROM AN ACTOR:
-Go over the script on your own time and form a plan. Don't come to the first rehearsal without a game plan because otherwise your actors won't take you seriously.
-Have a rehearsal schedule that utilizes people without rehearsing them to death OR making them sit idly while others rehearse.
-Take into consideration the performance space, the resources financial & otherwise that are available to you, the crew, etc.
-Talk with the actors individually, even before rehearsal...ask them what they think about their characters...and how you see their characters. Get a feel for how they like to work in terms of rehearsal structures, methods, etc.
-If your show requires accents, ensure that everyone can do what is needed of them. If not, reconsider your casting choices, employ a local dialect coach, OR consider doing the show without them.
-Pick a great stage manager. It's one of the most important jobs in all of theatre. Remember that from tech week on, the SM is in charge. The director gives notes and fine tunes hell week, but the SM calls the shots. And after opening nights...no more notes unless they come from the SM.
-Don't be afraid to give notes. Don't be mean, or condescending. But know that your notes could be invaluable to the quality of your show.
TIPS FOR AN ACTOR, FROM AN ACTOR:
-Read the play before you audition. If for any reason you can't get a copy, read at least a plot summary and character breakdown online. Then get to auditions early and look over the available sides.
-Come with all of your conflicts. Put them down even if you think the director won't cast you because there are several. Trust me-if they want you they can work around most conflicts. And if you're not honest, get cast, and then start having to miss rehearsals, the director AND the other actors will be pissed at you.
-Get to rehearsal on time. Have your script highlighted. Come with a clear idea of what you want to do.
-Wear proper footwear at rehearsal. This may sound silly, but ladies...stilettos and flip flops have no place on a stage. UNLESS your character actually wears things like that. You don't have to wear character shoes unless it's a musical, but tennis shoes and flats are a much better idea. No one gets hurt. If you know you'll be in a dress for a show, start wearing a rehearsal skirt. It'll give you a much better idea of what blocking you can and can't do.
-Be quiet when the director is talking, or when other actors are onstage. It's rude to disrespect your fellow colleagues.
-Learn your lines as quickly as you can. It really helps the process move and for the actual acting to begin.
-If you don't like a note from the director, don't address it right there. It's a drag for everyone else standing there while you debate a point, and potentially humilating for you and the director. Wait until after rehearsal, then address the director privately. If he/she gives you blocking or a characterization that doesn't feel right, ask if you can try it two ways...their way and your way. Remember...it's always good to speak your mind if you have strong ideas about a character and why they may or may not move/talk/act in a certain way...but also remember that the director is your eyes & ears. They are the ones who can see the play from a different vantage point. It doesn't always mean that they are right, and actors should always trust their instincts. But if the director is any good, they will be willing to see reason. Usually a happy compromise can happen.
-Write down your blocking. And if a director gives you a note, remember it. Don't make them tell you more than once.
-You don't have to like all of your fellow actors, but give them respect onstage and avoid them in the Greenroom. No point in creating tension that doesn't have to exist. If you hear gossip, go right to the source instead of perpetuating the rumors by asking for more details or spreading it to another person.
-Be nice to your crew. Without them, the production becomes infinitely more difficult if not impossible. The crew has a thankless job. They aren't seen, and they don't get to bask in the limelight. They are volunteering their time selflessly to make you & the show look good...treat them well.
That's my brain dump for today. I'm sure I'll add more, but this is what's been on my mind lately. I've learned lessons the hard way in 19 years of theatre, and I've learned them well. Theatre is an art, a passion, a beautiful expression. It should be fun, joyful, a cathartic experience, respectful, and professional. That goes for all venues.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
My Favorite Plays/Playwrights
My top playwrights:
1. Brian Michael Doyle
2. Tennessee Williams
3. Arthur Miller
4. Edward Albee
5. David Mamet/Neil LaBute
6. Lillian Hellman
Brian's top playwrights:
1. Edward Albee
2. Tennessee Williams
3. David Mamet
4. Arthur Miller/Eugene O'Neill
5. Tom Stoppard/David Lindsay-Abaire
Similar, but not quite the same. That's why we're such a good match. :)
For me, Tennessee Williams has always just had this gripping style and unique ability to catapult me right back to the era, to the South, to the life that the characters lead. A Streetcar Named Desire is my favorite play of all time, even before I went to college in New Orleans. It is closely followed by Glass Menagerie, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, and Summer & Smoke. He writes about families, and heartbreak, madness and betrayal. And it's hot. I want to be all of his heroines and more.
Arthur Miller is poetic and convicted all at once. The Crucible is never dated to me. It's as relevant to anything today as it was when it was written to represent McCarthyism...and still rings true for the Salem Witch Trials way back when. His male characters are his best, but he still manages to make them all count. There are no throwaway roles in Death of a Salesman or All My Sons. They have to be done well to be good, but I never tire of seeing them performed.
Albee sure can turn a phrase. His plays are so unusual in content and format...I mean, he goes from wealthy characters with a spiteful daughter in A Delicate Balance...to three major time periods in one woman's life in Three Tall Women...and then he has a middle aged couple chatting with a couple of sea monsters in Seascape! That's some versatility. And don't even get me started on The Goat, or Who is Sylvia? That play covers a fairly typical ailing relationship...except that instead of another woman, the husband falls for a goat. There's homosexuality, bestiality, and betrayal. Albee has a lot of balls, and a lot of heart. His plays are beautifully constructed. I think that's why Brian loves him especially.
Ah, David Mamet. You fucking genius, you. ;) I know my hubby with his potty mouth worships Mamet for the right reasons, but I know that he especially admires his limitless use of profanity. Gratuitous, yes, but also apt. I first saw Speed the Plow when I was about 16 and after that I knew that I wanted to play Karen, and that I didn't want to be in Hollywood. :) He has an uncanny knack for getting to the nitty gritty, and exploring and exploiting the complexities of relationships. Like Miller, he also focuses his best attentions on men, but unlike Miller, his female characters often fall short. His best attempt at a great female role is definitely Carol in Oleanna. I also love American Buffalo, and of course, Glengarry Glen Ross.
And the other playwright who often makes me want to take a shower to take off the layer of grime after reading/seeing one of his works...LaBute. My absolute favorite-The Shape of Things-is reptilian in its coldness and shocking twist...Fat Pig delves so deeply below the surface of modern society and is hysterically funny and blatantly sad. Even his raw one acts, like Coax, are mind blowing. They are simple, and yet extremely deep. LaBute says what people think but never say. He uses his "out loud" voice. And it is something fierce and something real.
The masterful works of top female playwright, Lillian Hellman...are wonderful. The first play I ever stepped onstage with was The Children's Hour. It was one of the few times in my acting career that I got to play someone mean and twisted (Mary)...The Autumn Garden is another marvelous play that give such life to seemingly ordinary people. I loved the taboo buttons that Hellman pushed, especially for the times, and the thought-provoking characters she created.
Did I mention how much I love Ibsen & Chekov, too? Feminist works and Russian "comedies" (very closely resembling Russian tragedies) were ground breaking and so well done.
I also have a great fondness for Irish playwrights...Conor McPherson & Brian Friel write beautifully. McPherson can write a chilling little ghost story (The Weir, Shining City) with amazing clarity...Friel tugs at the heartstrings of poor and hard Irish family life (The Lovers, Dancing at the Lughnasa)...what can I say? I'm Irish. I love the country, the customs, and their blunt sentiment.
I do have a playwright who puts everyone else to shame. My husband, Brian Michael Doyle. And guess what? It ain't just because I love him. Love him I do, but I am even more critical of his works that I am of others. Brian has only been a playwright for two short years, but he has already created an impressive body of work. His one act plays are creative, quirky, hilarious, and inspired. His full length plays are nothing short of awe inspiring. Brian's plays to me are like a Tori Amos cd. No other artist makes me feel the way she does...fully of joy and sorrow all at once...feeling like I can fly one minute and drown the next...she makes me feel everything. Brian's plays make me feel... everything. I have had the biggest honor of originating roles in two of his full length plays, The Inconceivable and Buried in the Attic. And this summer, the most amazing excitement of playing a role he wrote just for me, in The Duet. Come see it at the NVTA Festival on 6/27/09! He writes such versatile and dazzling plays...high comedy and slapstick stuff, family dramas, and deeply moving and sensitive works of art that string all those styles together. He has 5 full length plays under his belt, and at least 8 one acts...writing comes so naturally to him, and I cannot wait to see all of these works performed worldwide someday. And as always, I can't wait to read what comes next. It's a little intimidating to be married to someone with this great a gift...just another of my many blessings. Keep writing, my love...the world will know your works someday in the not too distant future. :)
The point of all this? I love theatre. I love reading it, seeing it, discussing it, and most of all, being a part of it. Onstage and offstage, it's in my blood. Life's circumstances took me from the ragtag gypsy life I always thought I'd lead...but the fire and passion of it all has never stopped consuming me. I am grateful for every play I get to read, and every show I get to see (even when they aren't so fabulous), and most of all, I am grateful every time I have the honor and joy of setting foot on a stage, speaking lines elegant and brilliant to a rapt audience, who wait in breathless anticipation.
1. Brian Michael Doyle
2. Tennessee Williams
3. Arthur Miller
4. Edward Albee
5. David Mamet/Neil LaBute
6. Lillian Hellman
Brian's top playwrights:
1. Edward Albee
2. Tennessee Williams
3. David Mamet
4. Arthur Miller/Eugene O'Neill
5. Tom Stoppard/David Lindsay-Abaire
Similar, but not quite the same. That's why we're such a good match. :)
For me, Tennessee Williams has always just had this gripping style and unique ability to catapult me right back to the era, to the South, to the life that the characters lead. A Streetcar Named Desire is my favorite play of all time, even before I went to college in New Orleans. It is closely followed by Glass Menagerie, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, and Summer & Smoke. He writes about families, and heartbreak, madness and betrayal. And it's hot. I want to be all of his heroines and more.
Arthur Miller is poetic and convicted all at once. The Crucible is never dated to me. It's as relevant to anything today as it was when it was written to represent McCarthyism...and still rings true for the Salem Witch Trials way back when. His male characters are his best, but he still manages to make them all count. There are no throwaway roles in Death of a Salesman or All My Sons. They have to be done well to be good, but I never tire of seeing them performed.
Albee sure can turn a phrase. His plays are so unusual in content and format...I mean, he goes from wealthy characters with a spiteful daughter in A Delicate Balance...to three major time periods in one woman's life in Three Tall Women...and then he has a middle aged couple chatting with a couple of sea monsters in Seascape! That's some versatility. And don't even get me started on The Goat, or Who is Sylvia? That play covers a fairly typical ailing relationship...except that instead of another woman, the husband falls for a goat. There's homosexuality, bestiality, and betrayal. Albee has a lot of balls, and a lot of heart. His plays are beautifully constructed. I think that's why Brian loves him especially.
Ah, David Mamet. You fucking genius, you. ;) I know my hubby with his potty mouth worships Mamet for the right reasons, but I know that he especially admires his limitless use of profanity. Gratuitous, yes, but also apt. I first saw Speed the Plow when I was about 16 and after that I knew that I wanted to play Karen, and that I didn't want to be in Hollywood. :) He has an uncanny knack for getting to the nitty gritty, and exploring and exploiting the complexities of relationships. Like Miller, he also focuses his best attentions on men, but unlike Miller, his female characters often fall short. His best attempt at a great female role is definitely Carol in Oleanna. I also love American Buffalo, and of course, Glengarry Glen Ross.
And the other playwright who often makes me want to take a shower to take off the layer of grime after reading/seeing one of his works...LaBute. My absolute favorite-The Shape of Things-is reptilian in its coldness and shocking twist...Fat Pig delves so deeply below the surface of modern society and is hysterically funny and blatantly sad. Even his raw one acts, like Coax, are mind blowing. They are simple, and yet extremely deep. LaBute says what people think but never say. He uses his "out loud" voice. And it is something fierce and something real.
The masterful works of top female playwright, Lillian Hellman...are wonderful. The first play I ever stepped onstage with was The Children's Hour. It was one of the few times in my acting career that I got to play someone mean and twisted (Mary)...The Autumn Garden is another marvelous play that give such life to seemingly ordinary people. I loved the taboo buttons that Hellman pushed, especially for the times, and the thought-provoking characters she created.
Did I mention how much I love Ibsen & Chekov, too? Feminist works and Russian "comedies" (very closely resembling Russian tragedies) were ground breaking and so well done.
I also have a great fondness for Irish playwrights...Conor McPherson & Brian Friel write beautifully. McPherson can write a chilling little ghost story (The Weir, Shining City) with amazing clarity...Friel tugs at the heartstrings of poor and hard Irish family life (The Lovers, Dancing at the Lughnasa)...what can I say? I'm Irish. I love the country, the customs, and their blunt sentiment.
I do have a playwright who puts everyone else to shame. My husband, Brian Michael Doyle. And guess what? It ain't just because I love him. Love him I do, but I am even more critical of his works that I am of others. Brian has only been a playwright for two short years, but he has already created an impressive body of work. His one act plays are creative, quirky, hilarious, and inspired. His full length plays are nothing short of awe inspiring. Brian's plays to me are like a Tori Amos cd. No other artist makes me feel the way she does...fully of joy and sorrow all at once...feeling like I can fly one minute and drown the next...she makes me feel everything. Brian's plays make me feel... everything. I have had the biggest honor of originating roles in two of his full length plays, The Inconceivable and Buried in the Attic. And this summer, the most amazing excitement of playing a role he wrote just for me, in The Duet. Come see it at the NVTA Festival on 6/27/09! He writes such versatile and dazzling plays...high comedy and slapstick stuff, family dramas, and deeply moving and sensitive works of art that string all those styles together. He has 5 full length plays under his belt, and at least 8 one acts...writing comes so naturally to him, and I cannot wait to see all of these works performed worldwide someday. And as always, I can't wait to read what comes next. It's a little intimidating to be married to someone with this great a gift...just another of my many blessings. Keep writing, my love...the world will know your works someday in the not too distant future. :)
The point of all this? I love theatre. I love reading it, seeing it, discussing it, and most of all, being a part of it. Onstage and offstage, it's in my blood. Life's circumstances took me from the ragtag gypsy life I always thought I'd lead...but the fire and passion of it all has never stopped consuming me. I am grateful for every play I get to read, and every show I get to see (even when they aren't so fabulous), and most of all, I am grateful every time I have the honor and joy of setting foot on a stage, speaking lines elegant and brilliant to a rapt audience, who wait in breathless anticipation.
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