 |
|
Lighting designer Greg Sullivan distressing the set
|
|
|
|
Last night we had a final dress rehearsal for a few of the staff and some actor friends including the wonderful Larry Paulsen. It was a much needed breath of fresh air to have some outside eyes see Dresser’s play because it tells us that we are most definitely on the right track. Tonight is the first preview and based on last evening we are excited to have a house full of folks joining our process. They are the missing cast member and we have spent 3 plus weeks preparing for them. We are ready.
Previews are nearly my favorite time and perhaps it’s the actor in me because by listening to a house full of people I know what we need to work on. I find the discoveries both exhilarating and informative. Then we get to take it back into rehearsal adjust the word to make it clearer, truer, and more meaningful. We will work today and look at two confrontation scenes, one at the end of Act 1 and one in the 2nd Act. This is so much fun and I love the process.
Today I stop into a class at Cornish. It’s a senior studies class headed by Richard E.T. White and I am excited about talking with them. They are the future of American Theatre and I want to pick their brain about where they want to be going. Who are their audience and how they will converse and engage them? Every era has their own entertainers, theatrical visionaries, social and political artists who reflect their times and challenge their audience. How will they go about it? Will their peer group pay for subscriptions? Will they give them the financial resources to do this for a living so that they can follow their artistic muse and live a quality of life that informs their humanity, which will enrich their art? It is a compelling conversation and one I am anxious to engage in.
One of my younger colleagues in
Chicago
holds that by 2025 theatre as we know it will be gone, replaced by singular performance artists appearing on the odd night. I may be gone by then, but I for one want to engage with as many people as possible through this art form, live theatre. Though I have been in film and a lot of TV, theatre is my performance form of choice. I won’t reach as many people in the theatre but the experience is intimate, nearly sexual, and therefore both dangerous and personal.
It’s a privilege to work in this art form. Everyone thinks they can do it and so few really can. The sacrifices one has to make in order work in this field are huge. I can’t tell you how many holidays, birthdays, children’s dance recitals, volleyball games, wedding anniversaries; I have missed because of my job. I will be here in Seattle for Easter and my three children and their dogs are home and giving me grief about missing Easter dinner. It’s hard to explain to them the passion I have about wanting to watch the preview that night and continue to hone our work. Fortunately Candy my wife is an actress and gets it, or at least is used to it, so I am not in that doghouse. Can’t wait to hear this conversation at Cornish.
First Preview tonight!
More Anon…
Beej
|
