Hello all. Apologies for the lateness of this post. I got sucked into last night's Academy Awards and fell down on my blogging duties. Mea culpa. Mea maxima culpa. I think I should take this moment to celebrate, however, that I've been doing this project for EIGHT WEEKS, that's TWO MONTHS. Yay! I feel like I should celebrate somehow. Maybe you guys will have some suggestions for a proper way to celebrate (besides looking at my growing stack of plays).
This week's play is called And The Winner Is. And yes, it's about the Academy Awards. I was struck while watching the Oscars how few movies I had actually seen this year. I don't think I'm alone in this. A lot of bloggers and writers have been talking about how the Oscars are out of touch. That's kind of what happens when the voters who decide who should win are almost unanimously white males over the age of 50. It's pretty much the same demographic that makes decisions about women's health in this country. Oh my. It's funny 'cause it's true. Anyway, my play examines what would happen if the Academy Awards didn't turn out as planned. I guess we can all hope, right? It sure would be more interesting than the snorefest that happened last night.
Showing posts with label actors. Show all posts
Showing posts with label actors. Show all posts
Monday, February 27, 2012
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Week 1 - The Shakespearean Actor's Nightmare
The first week, and I've made my deadline with a few hours to spare. My first play of 2012 is The Shakespearean Actor's Nightmare. As I alluded to in my first post, I am a graduate of the M.Litt/MFA program in Shakespeare at Mary Baldwin College, which is associated with the American Shakespeare Center. You can find out more about the MBC / ASC here: http://www.americanshakespearecenter.com/v.php?pg=69.
The ASC begins every year with a three month season called the Actors' Renaissance Season. As the website explains “In the Actors’ Renaissance Season, the ASC goes even further than we normally do into the staging practices of the English Renaissance, cutting out the directors, designers, and the months of rehearsals that Shakespeare’s company never knew….all in productions mounted with very few rehearsals and with the actors making the production choices. The special experimental season offers five productions running in rotating repertory.” Interns from Mary Baldwin College’s graduate program in Shakespeare and Performance are often used as prompters during the season. If an actor forgets their line, they are instructed to say “prithee” and the prompter will let them know the correct line. The ARS is one of my favorite things about the ASC - the productions are always exciting.
My play is about what happens when a production of Richard III falls apart. What would happen if an actor forgot their line and it was one of the most famous lines in the canon? And what would happen if the prompter refused to give the actor the line? Obviously, this has never happened at the ASC, but it was fun imagining what might happen and what the actor and the prompter would do, when a production's success is on the line.
My intention is for this play to serve as a humorous, yet loving tribute to the actors of the ASC ARS and to the students in the M.Litt/MFA program, and it is therefore dedicated to them.
The ASC begins every year with a three month season called the Actors' Renaissance Season. As the website explains “In the Actors’ Renaissance Season, the ASC goes even further than we normally do into the staging practices of the English Renaissance, cutting out the directors, designers, and the months of rehearsals that Shakespeare’s company never knew….all in productions mounted with very few rehearsals and with the actors making the production choices. The special experimental season offers five productions running in rotating repertory.” Interns from Mary Baldwin College’s graduate program in Shakespeare and Performance are often used as prompters during the season. If an actor forgets their line, they are instructed to say “prithee” and the prompter will let them know the correct line. The ARS is one of my favorite things about the ASC - the productions are always exciting.
My play is about what happens when a production of Richard III falls apart. What would happen if an actor forgot their line and it was one of the most famous lines in the canon? And what would happen if the prompter refused to give the actor the line? Obviously, this has never happened at the ASC, but it was fun imagining what might happen and what the actor and the prompter would do, when a production's success is on the line.
My intention is for this play to serve as a humorous, yet loving tribute to the actors of the ASC ARS and to the students in the M.Litt/MFA program, and it is therefore dedicated to them.
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