The (For)Play Series is an experiment (one that's going really well, I think). And this blog is a bit of an experiment, too. We'd love to have audience feedback - if you're interested in posting a comment, just email Angie Flynn-McIver, and she'll add you to the contributors list. Don't be shy!
Angie's email is angie@ncstage.org
Friday, November 9, 2007
Audience Approaches...
Working as a cast alongside an audience these past few days has been a really cool new way to approach a script. Kevin Kline discusses self-consciousness for an actor: "on the one hand it can paralyze you- everyone is watching me, on the other hand, you can reveal yourself because it's not you..." (see the bottom of the this post for the full quote). Going about this process of discovery in rehearsal with the audience has taken them on the journey with us each step of the way. It hasn't ever been about who's watching who. They are participating in our discoveries and our struggles. They are allowed into the sacred space of creation. That may come across as high and mighty, but bringing a script to life is sacred, delicate, amorphous- and jagged.
We, the (For)players are building a relationship with this audience from day one where we know that they are there, but we combine forces and choose to focus on the task at hand- honoring this play and bringing life to it.
We'll see how tonight goes, but I think it will be a different experience for most of us than we know. I've done "staged readings" before- I've done two in NYC Off-Broadway for potential producers. Producers deciding if they should put tens of thousands of dollars behind this product. Did they care if they were "on the journey" with us? "Participated in our discoveries"? Maybe. Certainly they were there in the hopes of finding something they could stand behind, be proud of, and make money on.
But- this weeklong event- (For)Play, is much more than its name! It's (For)Work, (For)Discovery, (For)TheJourneyTogether. Okay, that sounded a little cheesy, but I think you'll find that this cast (although certainly class clowns at times) is one of the most professional ever assembled at NC Stage and our audience(s) this week has also raised the bar.
I look forward to continuing the work (and play) tonight as we move into the theatre and onto the stage. Let's make sure we bring the audience with us because they've been beside us all along and we don't want to leave behind some of the people that got us this far.
See you tonight! -JF (Joe, Prior 1, and Eskimo)
Here's the complete Kevin Kline quote regarding self-consciousness. This quote has been with me for 14 years. My Dean of Drama, Gerald Freedman from the NC School of the Arts, still has it taped to the door of his office (he's directed Kevin Kline several times). I am constantly reminding myself of this wonderful quote.
“Self-consciousness is interesting. On the one hand, it can paralyze you– “Everyone is looking at me.” On the other hand, acting is a mask– you can reveal yourself because it’s not you. Part of performing is knowing what impression you’re creating every second, and part is being completely ignorant of it as well, so open and vulnerable you forget what it is you’re going to say next. You submit, but you submit egocentrically. Of course you know how you look- you’ve just spent an hour making up, looking at yourself in the mirror– but paradoxically you then completely forget it. Both things are going on simultaneously and in harmony. Some actors spend years trying to overcome self-consciousness, but acting isn’t a matter of overcoming self-consciousness, it’s a matter of heightened and informed self-consciousness. You take it to its ultimate limit– and then you try to transcend it.”
We, the (For)players are building a relationship with this audience from day one where we know that they are there, but we combine forces and choose to focus on the task at hand- honoring this play and bringing life to it.
We'll see how tonight goes, but I think it will be a different experience for most of us than we know. I've done "staged readings" before- I've done two in NYC Off-Broadway for potential producers. Producers deciding if they should put tens of thousands of dollars behind this product. Did they care if they were "on the journey" with us? "Participated in our discoveries"? Maybe. Certainly they were there in the hopes of finding something they could stand behind, be proud of, and make money on.
But- this weeklong event- (For)Play, is much more than its name! It's (For)Work, (For)Discovery, (For)TheJourneyTogether. Okay, that sounded a little cheesy, but I think you'll find that this cast (although certainly class clowns at times) is one of the most professional ever assembled at NC Stage and our audience(s) this week has also raised the bar.
I look forward to continuing the work (and play) tonight as we move into the theatre and onto the stage. Let's make sure we bring the audience with us because they've been beside us all along and we don't want to leave behind some of the people that got us this far.
See you tonight! -JF (Joe, Prior 1, and Eskimo)
Here's the complete Kevin Kline quote regarding self-consciousness. This quote has been with me for 14 years. My Dean of Drama, Gerald Freedman from the NC School of the Arts, still has it taped to the door of his office (he's directed Kevin Kline several times). I am constantly reminding myself of this wonderful quote.
“Self-consciousness is interesting. On the one hand, it can paralyze you– “Everyone is looking at me.” On the other hand, acting is a mask– you can reveal yourself because it’s not you. Part of performing is knowing what impression you’re creating every second, and part is being completely ignorant of it as well, so open and vulnerable you forget what it is you’re going to say next. You submit, but you submit egocentrically. Of course you know how you look- you’ve just spent an hour making up, looking at yourself in the mirror– but paradoxically you then completely forget it. Both things are going on simultaneously and in harmony. Some actors spend years trying to overcome self-consciousness, but acting isn’t a matter of overcoming self-consciousness, it’s a matter of heightened and informed self-consciousness. You take it to its ultimate limit– and then you try to transcend it.”
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Great first rehearsal
It was a good rehearsal last night. I really wish I had more time with this play--the script is remarkable, and the cast is just great. I was worried that having an audience for the rehearsal would affect the cast, but I don't think it did. Everyone stayed in the rehearsal mode, continuing to work on the objectives and main drive of each scene, regardless of the audience watching. I am looking forward to seeing how the reading progresses over the course of the three performances.
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
What an amazing opportunity to delve into a brilliant piece of theatre without the pressure of a full production to weigh it down. I saw this play in NYC in '93 or '94 ... there were some seats available for $20 if you got to the box office by 6AM or something. I remember waiting by myself with a group of others and we were all so excited to be there. There was something in the air about this play. Seeing the show that night was incredible. I am looking forward to being in rehearsal, hearing the play, reading the play, exploring the play, meeting some new people. This is a wonderful idea...thank you NCSC and away we go!
Monday, November 5, 2007
Here We Go!
It's an exciting day. I always get a little nervous before starting a new show, and even though this is a reading, not a full production, the nervousness showed up right on time anyway. Maybe it's because this play is...well, it's overwhelming. It's huge, it's literally epic, even though there are only 8 actors, they cover an enormous amount of theatrical territory. I know that this cast is going to bring a terrific amount of experience, talent, and passion to the project, and that assuages the nervousness somewhat!
Angels has everything we look for in a play: interesting, evocative language, dynamic relationships between the characters, and that magical evanescent something that comes to life most vividly and effectively in the theatre. I'm glad to get to play with this great work, even if only for a week.
Angels has everything we look for in a play: interesting, evocative language, dynamic relationships between the characters, and that magical evanescent something that comes to life most vividly and effectively in the theatre. I'm glad to get to play with this great work, even if only for a week.
Sunday, November 4, 2007
seven years later...
I first saw Angels in America at Charlotte Rep in, I think, 1995. It was one of those rare, actually life changing events, and a real turning point in my thinking about the possibilities of live theatre, and my potential place in it.
About five years later, I got to play Louis Ironson at my alma mater, Guilford College, a year after graduating--it was a hugely terrifying and rewarding nine-month process. Last night, while looking through my script in preparation for this reading, I realized that I still had some notes from the director of that production in my script as a bookmark.
Re-reading them was interesting for a lot of reasons, not the least of which was that the dates of the notes were exactly seven years ago: the final days of October and first of November, 2000. We were about a week away from opening the play, and only a few days from the night we got out of rehearsal and breathed a huge collective sigh of relief upon hearing that Al Gore had won the presidential election. Of course, the next morning everything had changed. We kept on going, of course, despite the gloom that has suddenly descended, trying to face Bad News like the most generous of the characters we were playing on stage, with varying degrees of success.
Now, seven years later, Bush is somehow still president, pessimism and cynicism abound, and here we are about to spend a week sinking our teeth into this nearly twenty year old play set during the Reagan administration. I think Kushner's insistence on hope and beauty in the face of destruction and despair still offer a powerful tool to all who ache for change and realize that (as Amanda points out above) for better or worse, the world only spins forward. I'm sorry I will have to miss the WNCAP discussion on Monday evening. I'm glad it is happening.
One final thing: on a personal note, it is remarkably easy for me to see some good in the last seven years, and to wonder at the tricks of universal timing. The final performance of Millennium Approaches at NCSC will be on November 11th, seven years to the day since a casual acquaintance of mine saw me in the same play at Guilford and decided, at some point during the performance, to call me up for a date. This November 11th, she will again be in the audience - this time not as a relative stranger, but as my closest partner; my wife. And I will again be on stage, feeling so very grateful for the opportunity to work on this play that has helped mark some of the most important personal and professional milestones in my life thus far, as well as national and global ideas, events, and confrontations.
I am super excited about being part of this reading. I've wanted to work with many of these actors for a long time, and some of them were involved with that first Angels I saw in Charlotte twelve years ago. I'm glad that these words will again be spoken aloud, and will again challenge and encourage each of us to find the good, to hold stubbornly to truth, and to actively, aggressively create Hope.
About five years later, I got to play Louis Ironson at my alma mater, Guilford College, a year after graduating--it was a hugely terrifying and rewarding nine-month process. Last night, while looking through my script in preparation for this reading, I realized that I still had some notes from the director of that production in my script as a bookmark.
Re-reading them was interesting for a lot of reasons, not the least of which was that the dates of the notes were exactly seven years ago: the final days of October and first of November, 2000. We were about a week away from opening the play, and only a few days from the night we got out of rehearsal and breathed a huge collective sigh of relief upon hearing that Al Gore had won the presidential election. Of course, the next morning everything had changed. We kept on going, of course, despite the gloom that has suddenly descended, trying to face Bad News like the most generous of the characters we were playing on stage, with varying degrees of success.
Now, seven years later, Bush is somehow still president, pessimism and cynicism abound, and here we are about to spend a week sinking our teeth into this nearly twenty year old play set during the Reagan administration. I think Kushner's insistence on hope and beauty in the face of destruction and despair still offer a powerful tool to all who ache for change and realize that (as Amanda points out above) for better or worse, the world only spins forward. I'm sorry I will have to miss the WNCAP discussion on Monday evening. I'm glad it is happening.
One final thing: on a personal note, it is remarkably easy for me to see some good in the last seven years, and to wonder at the tricks of universal timing. The final performance of Millennium Approaches at NCSC will be on November 11th, seven years to the day since a casual acquaintance of mine saw me in the same play at Guilford and decided, at some point during the performance, to call me up for a date. This November 11th, she will again be in the audience - this time not as a relative stranger, but as my closest partner; my wife. And I will again be on stage, feeling so very grateful for the opportunity to work on this play that has helped mark some of the most important personal and professional milestones in my life thus far, as well as national and global ideas, events, and confrontations.
I am super excited about being part of this reading. I've wanted to work with many of these actors for a long time, and some of them were involved with that first Angels I saw in Charlotte twelve years ago. I'm glad that these words will again be spoken aloud, and will again challenge and encourage each of us to find the good, to hold stubbornly to truth, and to actively, aggressively create Hope.
Friday, November 2, 2007
Monday discussion with WNCAP
I just talked to Michael Harney from WNCAP, who has agreed to be our special guest at the Angels discussion Monday night. WNCAP stands for WNC AIDS Project, which is a non-profit that advocates, counsels, and provides assistance of all kinds for people living with AIDS. Michael is an Educator with WNCAP's education outreach program. Check out the WNCAP site at www.wncap.org.
We'll be talking about the context of Angels in America when it premiered in 1991, and now. Some things have changed, some haven't. In planning the discussion, I found this quote from Angels - might be a neat jumping-off place:
Prior: "We won't die secret deaths anymore. The world only spins forward. We will be citizens. The time has come."
Discussion is Monday November 5 at 7:00pm, in the theatre.
Can't wait!
We'll be talking about the context of Angels in America when it premiered in 1991, and now. Some things have changed, some haven't. In planning the discussion, I found this quote from Angels - might be a neat jumping-off place:
Prior: "We won't die secret deaths anymore. The world only spins forward. We will be citizens. The time has come."
Discussion is Monday November 5 at 7:00pm, in the theatre.
Can't wait!
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