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Joy. The not sleeping continues.
Last night we went to see RainMaker. It's a classic piece of '40s theater that was made into a movie with Kate Hepburn and Burt Lancaster in '56.
I wasn't expecting a lot. It's half a century old, and there are parts of it that don't age well. But it was really well done. Starbuck in his lilac shirt and slacks was a little too slick and, as Cari said, 'used car salesman', but this team took the script and worked it.
I have a soft spot in my heart for this show, because (way back when I was in high school) the first scene I ever worked was the tackroom scene. When we finished, my drama coach (who was not especially big on compliments and who, I don't think, especially cared for me) sat up and said "You know, students have been doing this scene for years, and this is the first time in a long time I've actually watched it." I took that to mean that we'd done okay.
But I didn't come here to tell you that story. I told you that story so I could tell you this story.
A few years later, my scene partner from high school and I ended up in the same college drama course. And we were paired up again to do scenework. We looked at the book-o-scenes and we didn't like any of them. We wanted something different, maybe something folks hadn't seen over and over. So I transcribed the 'have you ever retired a human by mistake' scene from Blade Runner. And at the end of it, my drama coach (who was a completely different person) said "I hope you guys were watching that scene. Too many beginning actors are afraid of silence. And that was some very effective use of silence."
I was thinking about that while I was watching the show last night. To some extent, I got the feeling watching Sweeney Todd last month or even in Ashland, but last night I really missed walking the stage. I haven't done any significant acting since I moved to California. It's a lot of time and energy to commit, and I'm kind of afraid to find out I can't hack it any longer. And I really don't want to go through the process of building my reputation again in a new place.
But I may not have a lot of choice in the matter. We'll see what happens in the next couple of months. I obviously still think of myself as an actor. I mean, I even have the icon.
Last night we went to see RainMaker. It's a classic piece of '40s theater that was made into a movie with Kate Hepburn and Burt Lancaster in '56.
I wasn't expecting a lot. It's half a century old, and there are parts of it that don't age well. But it was really well done. Starbuck in his lilac shirt and slacks was a little too slick and, as Cari said, 'used car salesman', but this team took the script and worked it.
I have a soft spot in my heart for this show, because (way back when I was in high school) the first scene I ever worked was the tackroom scene. When we finished, my drama coach (who was not especially big on compliments and who, I don't think, especially cared for me) sat up and said "You know, students have been doing this scene for years, and this is the first time in a long time I've actually watched it." I took that to mean that we'd done okay.
But I didn't come here to tell you that story. I told you that story so I could tell you this story.
A few years later, my scene partner from high school and I ended up in the same college drama course. And we were paired up again to do scenework. We looked at the book-o-scenes and we didn't like any of them. We wanted something different, maybe something folks hadn't seen over and over. So I transcribed the 'have you ever retired a human by mistake' scene from Blade Runner. And at the end of it, my drama coach (who was a completely different person) said "I hope you guys were watching that scene. Too many beginning actors are afraid of silence. And that was some very effective use of silence."
I was thinking about that while I was watching the show last night. To some extent, I got the feeling watching Sweeney Todd last month or even in Ashland, but last night I really missed walking the stage. I haven't done any significant acting since I moved to California. It's a lot of time and energy to commit, and I'm kind of afraid to find out I can't hack it any longer. And I really don't want to go through the process of building my reputation again in a new place.
But I may not have a lot of choice in the matter. We'll see what happens in the next couple of months. I obviously still think of myself as an actor. I mean, I even have the icon.