I am going through old e-mail messages, choosing what should be kept and what should be deleted. Here is a portion of a message sent to my daughter on 8 June 2006, with the names of the theatre company, role, and play deleted:
I have decided that actors are crazy. Why would anyone put himself or herself through the audition process, then the rehearsal process, to spend a handful of evenings on stage? Absolute lunacy. You have to be able to handle rejection, knowing that sometimes it doesn't matter that you are the best actor who has auditioned if you don't fit the director's vision for the show. Sensible people do not subject themselves to a process that so often results in rejection or disappointment when you are not cast at all--or not cast in the role you want. Insane--actors have to be insane.
The latter paragraph is the result of the call I received concerning the ******. I know that it was the best audition I have ever had. The call was left on my voice mail that I am being offered the part of ****** in ******. Let's just say the disappointment was such that I didn't have the energy to take out the trash (or continue pulling the weeds in the backyard, which was supposed to be my project last night). I'm almost over it now and thinking ahead into what I can do with that role--a person who exemplifies how money can ruin lives. It will be challenging to do it well. I guess I can look on the bright side: at least I have lines, and memorization should not be difficult because I don't have too many of them.
As it turned out, I enjoyed the show because I was able to develop the character in a way I had never seen done before, be part of a crowd scene that was really a lot of fun, and work with very talented people.
Friday, August 24, 2007
Thursday, August 9, 2007
Quirky characters in community theater
Among the quirky characters I have portrayed in community theater:
Janet McKenzie, housekeeper for the murder victim, in Witness For the Prosecution
Miss Witherspoon, superintendent of Happy Dale Sanitorium, in Arsenic and Old Lace
Mrs. Ethel Chauvenet, a wealthy old friend of the Dowd family, in Harvey
Apothecary, purveyor of fine poisons, in Romeo & Juliet
And, in a production of Cyrano de Bergerac opening next week, the Duenna, Roxanne's governess and companion.
The Duenna is secretly in love with Cyrano after watching his masterful duel in rhyme. She is never seen without her fan. The secret love interest is not in the script but when I mentioned it to the director, he said that if that is the motivation I need for my character, that is fine by him. He has not mentioned the fan, which is neither in the script nor in any version I have seen of Cyrano.
That is my point. I like to add characteristics and motivations outside the script to make my character come alive and be different from what may have been done before. I create a back story for any character I portray, regardless of the size of the role.
As the adage says, "There are no small parts, only small actors."
In crowd scenes, I refuse to be just walking scenery. My character must be there for a reason. In a recent production of Julius Caesar in which I was part of the company, I decided that my character was a middle-class woman named Decima Curia Laenata who was trying to find a suitable husband for her 18-year-old daughter and who had the same sort of feelings for Julius Caesar that a lot of people today have for our president--that they do not like him very much but would engage in a public display of grief if he were to die.
Here is a listing of theater groups with whom I have enjoyed working in the past few years:
Fictitious Theatre Company of San Bernardino http://ftcsb.org/
Redlands Footlighters http://www.redlandsfootlighters.org/
Redlands Shakespeare Festival http://redlandsshakespearefestival.com/
Rialto Community Players http://www.rialtocommunityplayers.org/
Janet McKenzie, housekeeper for the murder victim, in Witness For the Prosecution
Miss Witherspoon, superintendent of Happy Dale Sanitorium, in Arsenic and Old Lace
Mrs. Ethel Chauvenet, a wealthy old friend of the Dowd family, in Harvey
Apothecary, purveyor of fine poisons, in Romeo & Juliet
And, in a production of Cyrano de Bergerac opening next week, the Duenna, Roxanne's governess and companion.
The Duenna is secretly in love with Cyrano after watching his masterful duel in rhyme. She is never seen without her fan. The secret love interest is not in the script but when I mentioned it to the director, he said that if that is the motivation I need for my character, that is fine by him. He has not mentioned the fan, which is neither in the script nor in any version I have seen of Cyrano.
That is my point. I like to add characteristics and motivations outside the script to make my character come alive and be different from what may have been done before. I create a back story for any character I portray, regardless of the size of the role.
As the adage says, "There are no small parts, only small actors."
In crowd scenes, I refuse to be just walking scenery. My character must be there for a reason. In a recent production of Julius Caesar in which I was part of the company, I decided that my character was a middle-class woman named Decima Curia Laenata who was trying to find a suitable husband for her 18-year-old daughter and who had the same sort of feelings for Julius Caesar that a lot of people today have for our president--that they do not like him very much but would engage in a public display of grief if he were to die.
Here is a listing of theater groups with whom I have enjoyed working in the past few years:
Fictitious Theatre Company of San Bernardino http://ftcsb.org/
Redlands Footlighters http://www.redlandsfootlighters.org/
Redlands Shakespeare Festival http://redlandsshakespearefestival.com/
Rialto Community Players http://www.rialtocommunityplayers.org/
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
"But Never Jam Today"
"It's very good jam," said the Queen. "Well, I don't want any today, at any rate." "You couldn't have it if you did want it," the Queen said. "The rule is jam tomorrow and jam yesterday but never jam today." "It must come sometimes to 'jam today,'"Alice objected. "No it can't," said the Queen. "It's jam every other day; today isn't any other day, you know." Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking Glass.
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