A Midsummer Night's Dream Official Quote List
Storefront Shakespeare, Summer 2010
Is it gonna be a wall? Like, a wall wall... I am so tired. Proceed.
I will sacrifice my body if I need to.
-- But we need your body!
So there's a frog and an alcoholic chainsaw-wielding princess.
There will be audience everywhere. You'll be tripping over them. But don't actually trip over them.
I have anointed an Athenian's eyes. And so far I am glad I did... sort.
Believe me, King of Shadows... What's happening? Oh, I'm scared of him.
Ho, ho, ho!
-- Santa?
Tim, be gentle with her hair.
-- It's my real hair.
-- It's her nice clean real hair. Look how shiny it is.
I have a reasonable good ear in music. Let's have some Ace of Base.
You look so awkward.
-- Maybe that's because I'm 17 and she's 24.
The rite of May is basically to fornicate.
-- Fornicate among the flowers.
-- It's midsummer, so they're a little late.
Take a moment. Say, "Hi! Hi! Hi! I'm not a donkey!"
-- You jerk. You didn't even call!
And ladies, take your places.
-- Take your places, ladies.
-- Take your places, ladies. Get steppin'!
We don't have time to explain it to the audience.
-- You're dead. Shut up.
Racole will be here soon, and she's bringing toilet paper, and paper towels, and a dog.
-- One of these things is not like the others.
I thought we were getting a robot dog.
-- This is the understudy.
Doesn't a regular warm-up include ice cream?
This tulle presenteth Athens.
Were we just having fun?
Do not interrupt the Duke macking on the future Duchess.
Come, my Hippolyta. What cheer, my love? Where art thou?
On whom I might approve this... What?
You're enjoying this too much. She's hitting you. Stop smiling.
-- Oh.
-- Is there something we should know, Demetrius?
Look how I go, swifter than arrow from Tartar's bow! You guys are in my way!
Do I need to go get ice?
-- No, it's okay.
-- Can you fall on me without hurting yourself?
With Bottom around, I need a drink, man!
We're using Bandit because he's such a quiet dog.
-- A very gentleman-like dog.
To make our sides lit... Oh, that's not it.
Believe me, King of Shadows, you should slap me.
No throwing against the wall, or you'll plaster it.
-- I will!
-- Do you know how to plaster?
-- I'll figure it out.
Manly man.
-- Put a stick up your butt.
-- Yeah, that's basically what I mean.
-- I got a stick.
And crowned with one -- I have a question. Can they be somewhere else?
Okay, go back. Start picking up your monologue.
-- Oh, jeez.
No, that part was acting. I was fine until he stepped on my hair.
And then you storm off.
-- Aww.
-- No, wait! Let me change something!
Merry and tragical? Tedious and brief? Did I just fuck that up?
How many characters can the stage manager play tonight?
I'll try not to almost grab your thingy.
Why are you walking away? I'm talking to you! You don't love me!
This tickles my funny... funnily.
Thou! Thou! Thou hast no cause to break character!
Stand forth... *beat* *beat* Demetrius.
Messengers of strong...
-- Prevailment?
-- Prevailment.
Slowly. Very slowly.
-- Until you feel like an idiot.
-- I'm way past that point.
-- That's acting. If you feel stupid, you're doing it right.
I am a really bad stripper. I get paid in quarters.
We were out there and we were trying to sell ourselves. But, y'know, not literally.
Gina. Gina. Gina. Gina. Gina. Gina. Gina. PUCK!!
I'm like the Girl Scout from Hell.
-- Buy my cookies or die! You will eat these Tagalongs and you will like them!
-- But I'm allergic to peanuts.
-- I DON'T CARE!
What's the sugar for?
-- It has fun in fire.
S'mores in five.
-- Ooooh. Sugar and fire.
-- The perfect combination.
It's an air cannon. It's not dangerous.
-- That comes under famous last words.
-- Or a challenge, if you're the MythBusters.
To eat makes our speaking English good.
The bacon! MY the bacon!
I can't disobey Nora. She's the director. That would make me a diva.
-- Aren't you already one?
Russell, where's your lightsaber?
Ossifer, I'm home. Take me drunk.
Can we paint on my abs?
The counselor was like, "When he flexes you can see his abs?" Oh. Awkward silence.
X is for Ecstasy, which I smoked before I did this show.
-- You smoked Ecstasy?
Okay, why does the bathroom have a sign that says Careful, there may be a squirrel in here?
Lisa used to make me scream like a girl, and I liked it.
-- I think that's too much information.
-- I was Christmas Past.
-- I had to wake up with her in my bed and pretend I didn't like it.
Gina, you need to stop hitting on your stage manager.
-- Stop looking so sexy!
Ben, I love you! Why can't we be together?
-- You know why!
-- I'll turn you straight!
It's not recognizing your face. It's recognizing your boobs as a face.
No one's judging you. Put your clothes on.
Theatre in the round. More like orgy in the round.
-- Promenade theatre: Where the actors touch you. And you like it.
What did I say? Did it make sense?
I'm not coffee-smart.
-- What kind of smart are you?
You found a Walgreens?
-- I found a 7-Eleven. Gotta love the quality of a 7-Eleven. I think I'm bleeding.
I'm smelling that menthol.
-- I don't have to cough anymore, but I want a cigarette.
You've got sticky stuff all over your pants.
-- That's what they all say.
Agh! You're fifteen. Stop looking like you're not!
Nadia, I promise not to injure you today.
It should say Fairy Blaster 9000, because Hippolyta would totally have one of those.
-- Be vewy, vewy quiet. We'we hunting faiwies.
Armed. And legged as well.
-- Especially in those boots.
Tim, there's a bunch of people that look like you outside.
That's okay. You can't break character if I accidentally shoot you while you sleep.
You have to suffer for your art.
-- I did! I got dropped!
Dog crushed by stripper boots. No, sorry, dominatrix boots.
-- No, remember, I got them at a store that caters to drag queens.
Be careful on the ladder.
-- Jackie Chan does some of his best stunts on ladders!
-- Jackie Chan has broken every bone in his body multiple times.
-- I'm not Jackie Chan!
We should really do the fairy free-for-all dodging of the cars.
-- Storefront Shakespeare. In front of the store.
I do have multiple personalities. No, I don't.
Danielle, would you like a sucker?
-- Ooh! Caramel apple apple stuff!
Gina, you have to do the play naked.
-- Then it's A Midsummer Night's Wet Dream.
-- That's the after-show.
I dare you to put that whole wad of noodles in your mouth.
-- It's bigger than your head.
-- It's bigger than Bandit.
-- Can you eat the dog in one bite? If not, don't try it.
My greatest altruistic act is not having children and not cloning myself.
-- I have yet to meet a child who made me regret my vasectomy.
Marky, you should totally ask Nora if you can wear that in the show.
-- Uh, hi, Nora.
Okay, now they're having a slap fight over the hot dog costume.
I call everybody sweetie, honey and dear, which half of them haven't realized is code for dipshit, moron and asshole.
-- And the other half don't care.
Are you bringing sexy back?
-- Honey, I brought it. I used it. I'm tossing it aside.
-- Oooh, sloppy seconds! I'll take it!
Has anyone seen my clothes?
-- That sounds like me after too many wild nights.
-- Sounds like something you'd hear after Rocky.
I haven't slapped you!
-- Yet.
Russell, there are no more naked women, so you can get out your computer.
-- Why would you let the naked women stop you?
I've got ice in my butt.
I don't want to leave when I hear farting problems.
Man, if I were a klepto, this place would be awesome.
Karma!
-- Yeah, I think there might be a lightning bolt. Or a bus. Or it might pull a My Name Is Earl on you.
Russell, did you spend the night?
-- Not intentionally.
Guess what? I just took, like, a ten-hour nap.
Hippolyta, I wooed thee with my hot dog and won thy love --
-- Doing thee... Those weren't injuries, dear. It was a cocktail weenie.
-- It was cold out!
I have Tourette's that comes and goes when it's convenient.
What did you do to Tinkerbell?
*koff* Hey, babe. *koff*
It's harder to storm upstage.
What the ever-loving fuck is going on out there?
-- I don't know. I was there, and I don't know.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
One night to get it right
In which our Diva is a snarky waitress named Sheila
The feature I worked in last summer, One Night
, is now available on DVD! I've seen my scene, but not the whole film, and I'm excited to check it out. I really loved the script.
It's a sort of postmodern romantic comedy in the vein of Garden State
or The Pompatus of Love
, and was very much a labor of love for the writer/director, Sebastian Howley, who's a great guy with all kinds of big dreams. I hope he achieves them all.
The feature I worked in last summer, One Night
, is now available on DVD! I've seen my scene, but not the whole film, and I'm excited to check it out. I really loved the script.It's a sort of postmodern romantic comedy in the vein of Garden State
or The Pompatus of Love, and was very much a labor of love for the writer/director, Sebastian Howley, who's a great guy with all kinds of big dreams. I hope he achieves them all.
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Going, going, gone!
Last chance to see Midsummer tonight!
It's been a wild ride sometimes, but I wouldn't have missed it. I do rather miss our Geneva space, but yoga studio (which is where we are now) = amazing bower.
The quote list is EPIC.
It's been a wild ride sometimes, but I wouldn't have missed it. I do rather miss our Geneva space, but yoga studio (which is where we are now) = amazing bower.
The quote list is EPIC.
Friday, July 9, 2010
Babes With Blades beginner workshops!
In which our Diva encourages you to get violent
For anyone who's wanted to dip their toe in without committing the time/money/risk-of-intimidation for a full college course or what-have-you, the ever-awesome Babes have just the ticket!
Stage Combat Basics For Adults
Sunday, August 1
10 am - 1 pm
Interested in playing with swords onstage, but never had a chance to take a stage combat class?
Well, here's your chance!
We're going back to the basics - all beginners (over 15) welcome!
$30 - minimum age 15.
Under 18 - signature of parent/guardian required for participation.
Stage Combat Basics for Kids
Sunday, August 8
10 am - 12 pm
Beginner class for kids - $25 - open to ages 10-16.
Signature of parent/guardian required.
If parent/guardian cannot be present the day of the workshop to sign the permission form and waiver, give us a call - we'll try to work something out!
Both workshops will be at Chase Park
4701 N. Ashland Ave.
Chicago, IL 60640
Call to register: 773.904.0391
or go to http://www.brownpapertickets.com/ev
Questions? Want to hear about the next one? Please email workshop@babeswithblades.org
Song for today: "Cross the Line" by Superchick, because it makes me want to get my swords out and play!
For anyone who's wanted to dip their toe in without committing the time/money/risk-of-intimidation for a full college course or what-have-you, the ever-awesome Babes have just the ticket!
Stage Combat Basics For AdultsSunday, August 1
10 am - 1 pm
Interested in playing with swords onstage, but never had a chance to take a stage combat class?
Well, here's your chance!
We're going back to the basics - all beginners (over 15) welcome!
$30 - minimum age 15.
Under 18 - signature of parent/guardian required for participation.
Stage Combat Basics for Kids
Sunday, August 8
10 am - 12 pm
Beginner class for kids - $25 - open to ages 10-16.
Signature of parent/guardian required.
If parent/guardian cannot be present the day of the workshop to sign the permission form and waiver, give us a call - we'll try to work something out!
Both workshops will be at Chase Park
4701 N. Ashland Ave.
Chicago, IL 60640
Call to register: 773.904.0391
or go to http://www.brownpapertickets.com/ev
Questions? Want to hear about the next one? Please email workshop@babeswithblades.org
Song for today: "Cross the Line" by Superchick, because it makes me want to get my swords out and play!
Sunday, July 4, 2010
The history books will clean it up
In which our Diva celebrates independence in a musical way
Love this movie so, so much. Of course, TCM is starting it fifteen minutes after I have to leave for the theatre! Only a matinee today, so that we can grill and gawk at fireworks with our families. (Remember, six more performances of A Midsummer Night's Dream!)
Yes, it's about a bunch of landholding white men squabbling amongst themselves. Make no mistake, what they made in that hot room in Philadelphia was a beginning. It's still a work in progress.
And so long as that work continues, it's worth celebrating. Have a safe and happy Fourth!
Love this movie so, so much. Of course, TCM is starting it fifteen minutes after I have to leave for the theatre! Only a matinee today, so that we can grill and gawk at fireworks with our families. (Remember, six more performances of A Midsummer Night's Dream!)
Yes, it's about a bunch of landholding white men squabbling amongst themselves. Make no mistake, what they made in that hot room in Philadelphia was a beginning. It's still a work in progress.
And so long as that work continues, it's worth celebrating. Have a safe and happy Fourth!
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Canada Day!
In which our Diva wishes a safe and happy one to north-of-the-border friends
Last time I was there for the occasion, it was in this form (in the Windsor parade).
Needless to say, the blue spangly outfit doesn't fit anymore. But I can still twirl my tiny baton for you!
Last time I was there for the occasion, it was in this form (in the Windsor parade).Friday, June 25, 2010
Titania's tunes
In which our Diva shares her musical inspiration
The playlist I compiled for this rehearsal process...
1. Invocation ~ Loreena McKennitt
2. Love And Anger ~ Kate Bush
3. Summerland
~ Gypsy Nomads
4. Beauty Has Her Way
~ Mummy Calls
5. Stolen Child ~ Loreena McKennitt
6. Sweet About Me
~ Gabriella Cilmi
7. Elan
~ Secret Garden
8. Siren
~ Sarah Brightman
9. Endless Dream
~ Conjure One
10. The Mummers' Dance ~ Loreena McKennitt
11. Possession
~ Sarah McLachlan
12. Moon Dance
~ Enaid & Einalem
13. Gorgeous
~ Idina Menzel
14. La Luna
~ Sarah Brightman
15. Bard Dance
~ Enya
16. Into The Fire
~ Sarah McLachlan
17. Beyond Imagination
~ Opera Babes
A Midsummer Night's Dream opens TONIGHT! Visit Storefront Shakespeare for details and to buy tickets online. Hope to see you there!
The playlist I compiled for this rehearsal process...
2. Love And Anger ~ Kate Bush
3. Summerland
~ Gypsy Nomads4. Beauty Has Her Way
~ Mummy Calls5. Stolen Child ~ Loreena McKennitt
6. Sweet About Me
~ Gabriella Cilmi7. Elan
~ Secret Garden8. Siren
~ Sarah Brightman9. Endless Dream
~ Conjure One10. The Mummers' Dance ~ Loreena McKennitt
11. Possession
~ Sarah McLachlan12. Moon Dance
~ Enaid & Einalem13. Gorgeous
~ Idina Menzel14. La Luna
~ Sarah Brightman15. Bard Dance
~ Enya16. Into The Fire
~ Sarah McLachlan17. Beyond Imagination
~ Opera BabesA Midsummer Night's Dream opens TONIGHT! Visit Storefront Shakespeare for details and to buy tickets online. Hope to see you there!
Friday, June 4, 2010
I am a spirit of no common rate
In which our Diva outlines the particulars of how this summer doth tend upon her state
Storefront Shakespeare presents
A Midsummer Night's Dream
228 S Third St, Geneva, IL:
I know I'm usually Babbly McPosterson during theatre rehearsals but haven't been this time around, and I'm not sure why that is. This Monday I'll see the Geneva space for the first time, and our set will be coming together in it over the next couple weeks. Very excited about that!
Song for today: My Titania-inspired playlist is just about where I want it to be, and I'll be posting it here and sharing it with my castmates soon. I missed doing this for Pride & Prejudice, but for that the purpose was really served by the music in the show, especially since I was involved in two of the dances. The right mix of music really helps get my head and heart in the right starting place before a rehearsal or performance.
This Midsummer has a contemporary fantasy sensibility, and that's reflected in some of the decidedly contemporary songs that felt right to put in the playlist. Idina Menzel's "Gorgeous" is one of them -- a great fit for Titania and Oberon's tempestuous relationship!
A Midsummer Night's Dream
228 S Third St, Geneva, IL:
- Friday June 25th at 7pm
- Saturday June 26th at 3pm and 7pm
- Sunday June 27th at 3pm
- Thursday July 1st at 7pm
- Friday July 2nd at 7pm
- Saturday July 3rd at 3pm and 7pm
- Sunday July 4th at 3pm
- Monday July 5th at 7pm
- Friday July 9th at 7pm
- Saturday July 10th at 3pm and 7pm
- Sunday July 11th at 7pm
I know I'm usually Babbly McPosterson during theatre rehearsals but haven't been this time around, and I'm not sure why that is. This Monday I'll see the Geneva space for the first time, and our set will be coming together in it over the next couple weeks. Very excited about that!
Song for today: My Titania-inspired playlist is just about where I want it to be, and I'll be posting it here and sharing it with my castmates soon. I missed doing this for Pride & Prejudice, but for that the purpose was really served by the music in the show, especially since I was involved in two of the dances. The right mix of music really helps get my head and heart in the right starting place before a rehearsal or performance.
This Midsummer has a contemporary fantasy sensibility, and that's reflected in some of the decidedly contemporary songs that felt right to put in the playlist. Idina Menzel's "Gorgeous" is one of them -- a great fit for Titania and Oberon's tempestuous relationship!
Monday, May 31, 2010
If I had a million dollars
In which our Diva displays her preference for experiences over stuff, though stuff is nice too
If I had a spare few hundred bucks lying around:
When I designed costumes for Barnum a few years back, I got to participate in one of the circus workshops arranged for the cast at The Actor's Gymasium. A. Maze. Ing. I've wanted ever since to do a full session of their aerial class. I'm still determined to get the knack of wrapping my feet in the Spanish web so I can actually climb up to the loop and play. I did have a great time on the lyra, though, and also discovered that I do in fact still have my 180-degree split -- by being hoisted seven feet off the floor that way! They're also affiliated with Lookingglass Theatre, one of the companies at the vanguard of physical theatre in Chicago.
If I had a spare grand or so lying around for airfare and lodging, I'd be headed to London in October for the UK premiere of Cyrus: Mind of a Serial Killer at the Gorezone Film Festival. (Despite the topless promo photo of one of the emcees at the top of their webpage.) I love a good horror weekend anyway, it'd be all kinds of fun to do the whole red carpet thing, and I could visit with friends in the UK. My role in that is, of course, too minor for them to send me anywhere, but I'm still holding out hope that there will be some kind of event Stateside that I could go to. Apparently it's already out on DVD in Australia (a couple blog reviews have popped up on my Google Alert), and I'm hoping to get a copy of it soon.
If I had a spare three or four grand, and the ability to take a month off besides, I'd finally go to Shakespeare & Company's full Intensive program. I learned so much just in the couple weekends of theirs I've done -- one in 1995 and another in 2001 -- that's still very much at the core of my actor's toolbox.
Of course, spare cash lying around is, as for pretty much everyone else these days, not so much something I have. I'll just have to make do with playing one of my dream roles in an exciting production with a brand-new theatre company. Darn. ;-)
Song for today: Been running through my head, and inspired this post. Which, considering I've been neglecting this blog for a couple weeks for lack of inspiration, is a darn good thing.
Gotta say, though, I have several real green dresses, and I don't think there's anything cruel about them. ;-)
If I had a spare few hundred bucks lying around:
If I had a spare three or four grand, and the ability to take a month off besides, I'd finally go to Shakespeare & Company's full Intensive program. I learned so much just in the couple weekends of theirs I've done -- one in 1995 and another in 2001 -- that's still very much at the core of my actor's toolbox.
Of course, spare cash lying around is, as for pretty much everyone else these days, not so much something I have. I'll just have to make do with playing one of my dream roles in an exciting production with a brand-new theatre company. Darn. ;-)
Song for today: Been running through my head, and inspired this post. Which, considering I've been neglecting this blog for a couple weeks for lack of inspiration, is a darn good thing.
Gotta say, though, I have several real green dresses, and I don't think there's anything cruel about them. ;-)
Friday, May 7, 2010
That kind of woman
In which our Diva has a Song for Today and a challenge to meet
Brought to my attention by our Midsummer director, who also happens to be an Old Hollywood aficionado as well as the host of the "Sunday Standards" radio show. Quoth she, "Titania is very much that kind of woman."
Clearly I'm going to have to check out more of this Emma Wallace person. Love the song. And love how many times Cyd Charisse in that green flapper number from Singin' in the Rain keeps popping up in the vid.
I hope my Titania achieves half the glam of these ladies!
Brought to my attention by our Midsummer director, who also happens to be an Old Hollywood aficionado as well as the host of the "Sunday Standards" radio show. Quoth she, "Titania is very much that kind of woman."
Clearly I'm going to have to check out more of this Emma Wallace person. Love the song. And love how many times Cyd Charisse in that green flapper number from Singin' in the Rain keeps popping up in the vid.
I hope my Titania achieves half the glam of these ladies!
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Cannes do
In which our Diva has a signal to boost
Melissa Silverstein at Women & Hollywood has been tracking developments in the lineup at this year's Cannes Film Festival, at which not a single film directed by a woman is in competition for the Palme d'Or. (If this doesn't immediately strike you as a problem, W&H is a great place to start reading up on why it is.)
She's by no means alone, and now British-based filmdirecting4women is organizing a petition to point out to the festival powers-that-be that this is a pretty appalling state of affairs.
Please take a moment to check out their website and the cool T-shirts they're selling, and if you feel so inclined help spread the word on your blog/Twitter/etc. I know it's "just movies," but it's also part of the larger conversation about the value of women's work. And that conversation isn't going to be over any time soon. I hope you'll join in.
Melissa Silverstein at Women & Hollywood has been tracking developments in the lineup at this year's Cannes Film Festival, at which not a single film directed by a woman is in competition for the Palme d'Or. (If this doesn't immediately strike you as a problem, W&H is a great place to start reading up on why it is.)
She's by no means alone, and now British-based filmdirecting4women is organizing a petition to point out to the festival powers-that-be that this is a pretty appalling state of affairs.
As people who care about and are interested in films we must protest the lack of female directors in competition for the 2010 Cannes Film Festival. Women make up over half of cinema audiences and we demand a fairer representation of female directors in the main competition.
We are raising our voices in protest in hopes that in the future this will never happen again.
We are watching. We will not be silent.
Please take a moment to check out their website and the cool T-shirts they're selling, and if you feel so inclined help spread the word on your blog/Twitter/etc. I know it's "just movies," but it's also part of the larger conversation about the value of women's work. And that conversation isn't going to be over any time soon. I hope you'll join in.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
When in doubt, cute
Busy week, no time to write a proper blog post. (And when I do, I owe Travis a guest blog about Raymond Did It.)
But I get antsy if I go more than a week (OH NOES THEY WILL THINK I AM DED!!!11!!), so in lieu of a proper post, I give you forty-eight seconds of a snoring duckling. I am not even kidding. We are talking lethal levels of cute here.
But I get antsy if I go more than a week (OH NOES THEY WILL THINK I AM DED!!!11!!), so in lieu of a proper post, I give you forty-eight seconds of a snoring duckling. I am not even kidding. We are talking lethal levels of cute here.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
To dance our ringlets to the whistling wind
In which our Diva takes on one of her dream roles
That audition I was all cagey about the other day? Turned out very well indeed, and I shall be playing Titania in A Midsummer Night's Dream, the inaugural production of Storefront Shakespeare.
I'm excited about this for a number of reasons, not least because I've wanted to play Titania for ages. Fourth... possibly fifth? Time's the charm. The first opportunity was for Actors' Theatre of Columbus way back in 1995, and though I was ultimately not cast in that production, it was in reading the "forgeries of jealousy" speech at the callbacks that I fell in love with the role. It was just after I had done a weekend workshop with Shakespeare & Company, at which I learned more in three days than I would ever have thought possible, and I was all afire with the possibilities in the language. I also got a lovely handwritten notecard from the director thanking me for coming out, which is pretty darn cool as consolation prizes go.
There are all kinds of reasons I love that speech, which for me is the heart of the character, but one absolutely critical one is also the easiest to explain. It starts out as a bitter complaint about how everything is All Oberon's Fault, that no sooner does she light somewhere with her court,
"It's your fault, your fault, your fault... our fault." From childish petulance to mature responsibility in under two minutes.
Of course, this is a fairy we're talking about, so the latter doesn't necessarily stick. But I love that she's capable of it if she chooses, and the message that we share both power and responsibility for this world of ours. Even if we're not supernatural royalty whose mood swings literally affect the climate.
I've had quite a long Shakespeare drought. Except for understudying the Widow in The Taming of the Shrew a couple summers ago (when my attention was far more on designing the production's costumes), it's been almost eight years, since... Hey, what do you know? Another Midsummer at Actors'. In which I was really hoping for Titania, of course, but Mustardseed was fun, and I had a great time hanging out with a great company while getting eaten alive by mosquitoes.
I'm also thrilled by the energy and vision behind Storefront's genesis, as described on their website:
And the timing is also great for pointing out that this Friday, Shakespeare's 446th birthday, is once again Talk Like Shakespeare Day, as declared by Chicago Shakespeare Theatre and Mayor Daley. Toss in a "forsooth" or two for me!
That audition I was all cagey about the other day? Turned out very well indeed, and I shall be playing Titania in A Midsummer Night's Dream, the inaugural production of Storefront Shakespeare.
I'm excited about this for a number of reasons, not least because I've wanted to play Titania for ages. Fourth... possibly fifth? Time's the charm. The first opportunity was for Actors' Theatre of Columbus way back in 1995, and though I was ultimately not cast in that production, it was in reading the "forgeries of jealousy" speech at the callbacks that I fell in love with the role. It was just after I had done a weekend workshop with Shakespeare & Company, at which I learned more in three days than I would ever have thought possible, and I was all afire with the possibilities in the language. I also got a lovely handwritten notecard from the director thanking me for coming out, which is pretty darn cool as consolation prizes go.There are all kinds of reasons I love that speech, which for me is the heart of the character, but one absolutely critical one is also the easiest to explain. It starts out as a bitter complaint about how everything is All Oberon's Fault, that no sooner does she light somewhere with her court,
But with thy brawls thou hast disturb'd our sport.The catalog of nature gone awry that follows is some of the most vivid imagery in the canon, but somewhere along the way she reaches the conclusion that
this same progeny of evils comes
From our debate, from our dissension;
We are their parents and original.
"It's your fault, your fault, your fault... our fault." From childish petulance to mature responsibility in under two minutes.
Of course, this is a fairy we're talking about, so the latter doesn't necessarily stick. But I love that she's capable of it if she chooses, and the message that we share both power and responsibility for this world of ours. Even if we're not supernatural royalty whose mood swings literally affect the climate.
I've had quite a long Shakespeare drought. Except for understudying the Widow in The Taming of the Shrew a couple summers ago (when my attention was far more on designing the production's costumes), it's been almost eight years, since... Hey, what do you know? Another Midsummer at Actors'. In which I was really hoping for Titania, of course, but Mustardseed was fun, and I had a great time hanging out with a great company while getting eaten alive by mosquitoes.
I'm also thrilled by the energy and vision behind Storefront's genesis, as described on their website:
We live in a fast-paced, mobile society, accustomed to interactive media, in which our phones are computers and through our computers we can interact with people in real time on the other side of the world, and in which children grow up playing interactive video games. To truly engage a modern audience, theater can no longer be a completely passive experience. Our plays are staged with the audience right in the middle of the action so the people will feel that the play is happening to them. No longer passive observers, they are now eye witnesses to the story.I've been friends with artistic director Nora Manca for a couple years now. I first met her at a cast party for a show I was in with her now-husband, and several months later we were cast as sisters in an ill-fated project I refer to as the slowest-motion train wreck in theatre history. It doesn't matter what the show was, because it never happened, but I met some terrific people through it. Nora's one of those people you can tell, after about five minutes of conversation, is going to do something really special. I'm delighted and honored to be part of its beginning.
And the timing is also great for pointing out that this Friday, Shakespeare's 446th birthday, is once again Talk Like Shakespeare Day, as declared by Chicago Shakespeare Theatre and Mayor Daley. Toss in a "forsooth" or two for me!
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Stages and stages
In which our Diva is all along the continuum
This weekend is like a microcosm of the various stages (in the first sense) of what I do. Yesterday during the day was all about shooting another student film, which was a lot of fun because this one was all improvised within a relatively loose structure. I thought it was going to be mostly nonverbal, which as you may have read before I'm kind of ambivalent about these days. On the one hand, I love that aspect of the work, whether doing it myself or watching it in others, and I'm actually kind of proud that I'm developing something of a reputation for specializing in it. On the other hand, though, there's a lot of it on my reel, and the industry and audiences at large still put a high premium on how you deliver dialogue. So I'd kind of like to do more of that, please! (With some cool nonverbal mixed in. That'd be awesome.)
So it was a nice surprise to get on set and find that the director actually wanted me and another actor to talk to one another much more than either of us had expected. The conversation evolved from one thing at the beginning of the day to something really quite different by the time we wrapped, with various takes and angles. I'm looking forward to seeing how it ends up cut together. So much of how your character comes off in a film is almost as much about the editing as about your acting -- just a completely different way to go about telling a story!
Speaking of editing, I went from that shoot to a low-key cast & crew screening of Tasting the End, which looks fantastic. It's a story that certainly could be told in a straight line, and still be effective. But that's not the way Ken chose, and the results are dynamic but still flow and make sense. It's a terrific example of what a filmmaker can do these days with next to no money, and I'm crossing my fingers that it'll get some festival play. It definitely deserves to be seen.
Today I'm delving into my theatre past on various stages (in the second sense), converting some old videos with an eye toward maybe uploading a clip or three to my YouTube account, just for fun. Stay tuned.
And looking toward my theatre future: I've been itching a bit to get back onstage, and have an audition today for one of my dream roles. Won't say any more until I know whether I get it -- not superstitious, that's my story and I'm sticking to it, but there are so many auditions I'd never get anything done if I posted in detail about the stuff I won't get to do! So again, stay tuned.
Song for Today: "The Mummers' Dance" by Loreena McKennitt, just because I was listening to it in the car last night and it's running through my head. It's associated in my head with all sorts of amazing images, mostly because it was used for the theatrical trailer for Ever After. I'll never forget being halfway up the aisle to see a movie that spring, hearing a few bars of the song, and turning around to stand and stare openmouthed at all the gorgeous on the screen. The movie did not disappoint, and is still one of my all-time faves.
This weekend is like a microcosm of the various stages (in the first sense) of what I do. Yesterday during the day was all about shooting another student film, which was a lot of fun because this one was all improvised within a relatively loose structure. I thought it was going to be mostly nonverbal, which as you may have read before I'm kind of ambivalent about these days. On the one hand, I love that aspect of the work, whether doing it myself or watching it in others, and I'm actually kind of proud that I'm developing something of a reputation for specializing in it. On the other hand, though, there's a lot of it on my reel, and the industry and audiences at large still put a high premium on how you deliver dialogue. So I'd kind of like to do more of that, please! (With some cool nonverbal mixed in. That'd be awesome.)
So it was a nice surprise to get on set and find that the director actually wanted me and another actor to talk to one another much more than either of us had expected. The conversation evolved from one thing at the beginning of the day to something really quite different by the time we wrapped, with various takes and angles. I'm looking forward to seeing how it ends up cut together. So much of how your character comes off in a film is almost as much about the editing as about your acting -- just a completely different way to go about telling a story!
Speaking of editing, I went from that shoot to a low-key cast & crew screening of Tasting the End, which looks fantastic. It's a story that certainly could be told in a straight line, and still be effective. But that's not the way Ken chose, and the results are dynamic but still flow and make sense. It's a terrific example of what a filmmaker can do these days with next to no money, and I'm crossing my fingers that it'll get some festival play. It definitely deserves to be seen.
Today I'm delving into my theatre past on various stages (in the second sense), converting some old videos with an eye toward maybe uploading a clip or three to my YouTube account, just for fun. Stay tuned.
And looking toward my theatre future: I've been itching a bit to get back onstage, and have an audition today for one of my dream roles. Won't say any more until I know whether I get it -- not superstitious, that's my story and I'm sticking to it, but there are so many auditions I'd never get anything done if I posted in detail about the stuff I won't get to do! So again, stay tuned.
Song for Today: "The Mummers' Dance" by Loreena McKennitt, just because I was listening to it in the car last night and it's running through my head. It's associated in my head with all sorts of amazing images, mostly because it was used for the theatrical trailer for Ever After. I'll never forget being halfway up the aisle to see a movie that spring, hearing a few bars of the song, and turning around to stand and stare openmouthed at all the gorgeous on the screen. The movie did not disappoint, and is still one of my all-time faves.
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Extra, Extra!
In which our Diva has finally posted a new video diary
I've been saying for years I should write up an "extra's survival guide," assuming someone hasn't beaten me to it. In the meantime, here are some top tips from my fellow background players during a recent four-day stint on the ABC pilot Matadors.
I've been saying for years I should write up an "extra's survival guide," assuming someone hasn't beaten me to it. In the meantime, here are some top tips from my fellow background players during a recent four-day stint on the ABC pilot Matadors.
Friday, April 2, 2010
In the pattern of the grand design
In which our Diva spins a whole post out of her Song for Today
This time of year, you see The Ten Commandments on a lot of TV stations' schedules. For about a decade now, my tradition has been to bypass Charlton Heston in favor of The Prince of Egypt. It didn't make the money Dreamworks wanted, but it's a gorgeous and heartfelt movie that deserved far better attention than it got. If it had gotten its due... nah, they probably still would have abandoned hand-drawn animation. But the couple of flicks they turned out its wake might have been less forgettable.
The art -- hand-drawn, digital, and groundbreaking sequences blending the two -- is stunning. The voice cast is jaw-dropping, with dialogue spoken by Val Kilmer, Patrick Stewart, Michelle Pfeiffer, Sandra Bullock, Danny Glover, Jeff Goldblum, Ralph Fiennes, etc. etc., and singing duties entrusted to the likes of Broadway powerhouse Brian Stokes Mitchell (who created the role of Coalhouse Walker in Ragtime and currently serves as president of The Actors Fund) and the late Israeli superstar Ofra Haza. And the whole is held together by Stephen Schwartz' songs, Hans Zimmer's orchestral score, and a humanity of storytelling that is by turns heartrending and incredibly inspiring.
One of the most memorable sequences -- the portrayal of the final plague, the death of the firstborn -- is nearly silent, and simultaneously terrifying and tearjerking. But what I always go back to is the musical number "Through Heaven's Eyes," sung by Brian Stokes Mitchell as Jethro. The high priest of Midian, who takes in a fugitive Egyptian prince, welcomes him as husband to his eldest daughter, and sees them both away with his blessing to fulfill a mission from the Hebrew God.
In my book? That's a guy with his head screwed on straight.
For some, this is the midpoint of Passover. For others, Good Friday. For still others, it's sacred in the way that any day is that sees warmer winds blowing through and tiny, tender bits of green beginning to unfurl on the trees and bushes. For some, it's just another day.
Whatever it means to you, any day is a good day for what this one has to say.
This time of year, you see The Ten Commandments on a lot of TV stations' schedules. For about a decade now, my tradition has been to bypass Charlton Heston in favor of The Prince of Egypt. It didn't make the money Dreamworks wanted, but it's a gorgeous and heartfelt movie that deserved far better attention than it got. If it had gotten its due... nah, they probably still would have abandoned hand-drawn animation. But the couple of flicks they turned out its wake might have been less forgettable.
The art -- hand-drawn, digital, and groundbreaking sequences blending the two -- is stunning. The voice cast is jaw-dropping, with dialogue spoken by Val Kilmer, Patrick Stewart, Michelle Pfeiffer, Sandra Bullock, Danny Glover, Jeff Goldblum, Ralph Fiennes, etc. etc., and singing duties entrusted to the likes of Broadway powerhouse Brian Stokes Mitchell (who created the role of Coalhouse Walker in Ragtime and currently serves as president of The Actors Fund) and the late Israeli superstar Ofra Haza. And the whole is held together by Stephen Schwartz' songs, Hans Zimmer's orchestral score, and a humanity of storytelling that is by turns heartrending and incredibly inspiring.
One of the most memorable sequences -- the portrayal of the final plague, the death of the firstborn -- is nearly silent, and simultaneously terrifying and tearjerking. But what I always go back to is the musical number "Through Heaven's Eyes," sung by Brian Stokes Mitchell as Jethro. The high priest of Midian, who takes in a fugitive Egyptian prince, welcomes him as husband to his eldest daughter, and sees them both away with his blessing to fulfill a mission from the Hebrew God.
In my book? That's a guy with his head screwed on straight.
For some, this is the midpoint of Passover. For others, Good Friday. For still others, it's sacred in the way that any day is that sees warmer winds blowing through and tiny, tender bits of green beginning to unfurl on the trees and bushes. For some, it's just another day.
Whatever it means to you, any day is a good day for what this one has to say.
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Insta-mom
In which our Diva has acquired a teenage son
Casting has just been announced for a couple more roles in Raymond Did It, including Alex Smeltzer as my character's son Edgar. I had a great time reading with all the young actors at callbacks, and was very glad I didn't have to choose among them! I remember a couple points of really "clicking" with Alex in our reading, and I'm looking forward to being his onscreen mom. (Even if it is a little weird to suddenly have a teenager the first time I really play a mom!)
It's always exciting when the words on the page get attached to a living, breathing person, and you can really start working on creating the relationship between characters. Especially with Edgar's dad out of the picture in the movie -- just having a face for our kid gives me all kinds of new insights to work with in figuring out who he was and what our lives were before the movie.
Song for Today: "Sink 'n' Swim" by Plumb. I know this is the third song of hers I've plugged, but I've been listening to her a lot lately, and it's just what's in my head today so I thought I'd share.
Casting has just been announced for a couple more roles in Raymond Did It, including Alex Smeltzer as my character's son Edgar. I had a great time reading with all the young actors at callbacks, and was very glad I didn't have to choose among them! I remember a couple points of really "clicking" with Alex in our reading, and I'm looking forward to being his onscreen mom. (Even if it is a little weird to suddenly have a teenager the first time I really play a mom!)It's always exciting when the words on the page get attached to a living, breathing person, and you can really start working on creating the relationship between characters. Especially with Edgar's dad out of the picture in the movie -- just having a face for our kid gives me all kinds of new insights to work with in figuring out who he was and what our lives were before the movie.
Song for Today: "Sink 'n' Swim" by Plumb. I know this is the third song of hers I've plugged, but I've been listening to her a lot lately, and it's just what's in my head today so I thought I'd share.
Friday, March 26, 2010
Drive-by book plug
J.A. Cummings now has book 2 of her "Clans" series available in e-format.(Full disclosure compels me to point out that this particular author happens to be my college roommate, maid of honor and one of my best buds. This does not make her books any less awesome. It does, however, mean I can testify that she used "clans" before White Wolf did. *g*)
Go forth and read.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Read this. Now.
In which our Diva is blown away on so many levels
Text of Theresa Rebeck Laura Pels Keynote Address (over at Melissa Silverstein's consistently must-read Women and Hollywood blog):
For the record, I will also happily answer to either of those. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go get my hands on every play this woman has ever written.
Text of Theresa Rebeck Laura Pels Keynote Address (over at Melissa Silverstein's consistently must-read Women and Hollywood blog):
As an aside let me add, I would rather be called a witch than a man hater. Honestly ‘man hater’ really does need to be simply off the table... Someone actually called me that at a party a couple of weeks ago and I wanted to hit him. BUT I DIDN’T. Anyway, if you need to call me a name, the preferred insult would be “witch,” or “madwoman in the attic” is also acceptable.
For the record, I will also happily answer to either of those. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go get my hands on every play this woman has ever written.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Happy Cartoon Leprechaun Day!
In which our Diva is at least half kidding about that subject line
I wore my green today, in the form of a nice comfy soft wrap sweater that I barely needed. It's over 60, sunny, and amazing, and I will soon be taking a walk to take advantage of it!
For those at my primary day job, it's also Free Lunch Day. (Benefit of the company being owned by a first-generation Irish-American. We won't talk about the Dublin expat in the office next to mine, and how I sometimes have to check that my mental switch hasn't flipped to the accent that got drilled so successfully into my head for my very first professional play 20 years ago.) In the spirit of the day, and with Solàs on the BigBossLady's laptop, I attempted to teach a coworker sevens & threes and the Gay Gordon (yes, I know it's Scottish, sshhhh!), with hilarious results.
Continuing in that spirit (and speaking of Solàs, to which I once literally danced until I couldn't walk -- barefoot, dirt baseball diamond, live folk festival, blisters over the entire soles of my feet, we shall discuss it no further), I'm going to cheat and turn today's blog over to the incomparable Jean Butler and Colin Dunne in their take on the Graìnne and Diarmuid legend, Dancing on Dangerous Ground. I wish the show had been more successful so I could have seen it live, and I still think that kind of evening-length story ballet is the next logical step in the stepdance-fusion trend that started with Riverdance.
Also, if you'd told teenage me that hardshoe would someday be rendered screen-meltingly sexy, I would have laughed in your face. But, well, guh.
I wore my green today, in the form of a nice comfy soft wrap sweater that I barely needed. It's over 60, sunny, and amazing, and I will soon be taking a walk to take advantage of it!
For those at my primary day job, it's also Free Lunch Day. (Benefit of the company being owned by a first-generation Irish-American. We won't talk about the Dublin expat in the office next to mine, and how I sometimes have to check that my mental switch hasn't flipped to the accent that got drilled so successfully into my head for my very first professional play 20 years ago.) In the spirit of the day, and with Solàs on the BigBossLady's laptop, I attempted to teach a coworker sevens & threes and the Gay Gordon (yes, I know it's Scottish, sshhhh!), with hilarious results.
Continuing in that spirit (and speaking of Solàs, to which I once literally danced until I couldn't walk -- barefoot, dirt baseball diamond, live folk festival, blisters over the entire soles of my feet, we shall discuss it no further), I'm going to cheat and turn today's blog over to the incomparable Jean Butler and Colin Dunne in their take on the Graìnne and Diarmuid legend, Dancing on Dangerous Ground. I wish the show had been more successful so I could have seen it live, and I still think that kind of evening-length story ballet is the next logical step in the stepdance-fusion trend that started with Riverdance.
Also, if you'd told teenage me that hardshoe would someday be rendered screen-meltingly sexy, I would have laughed in your face. But, well, guh.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
The nose knows
In which our Diva spoke too soon
Want something to blog about? Post that you have nothing to blog about!
Not that I regret the bunny, mind you, but almost no sooner had I made my previous post than the hot-off-the-editing-suite trailer went up on the Facebook page for Tasting the End, the black comedy short in which I play a hospice home-care nurse. Check me out in my stylin' scrubs!
Tasting the End Trailer from Ken Cohen on Vimeo.
Want something to blog about? Post that you have nothing to blog about!
Not that I regret the bunny, mind you, but almost no sooner had I made my previous post than the hot-off-the-editing-suite trailer went up on the Facebook page for Tasting the End, the black comedy short in which I play a hospice home-care nurse. Check me out in my stylin' scrubs!
Tasting the End Trailer from Ken Cohen on Vimeo.
Bunnied!
In which our Diva is hibernating, sort of
It's been solidly above freezing for several days here in Chicagoland, and only scraps of snow remain on the ground. I can smell spring, and oh, I can't wait. Meanwhile, there have been auditions and a bit of writing and a couple of not-entirely-disastrous cooking experiments, but nothing to really hang a blog on.
Therefore, thanks to a heads-up from an old friend from our Columbus days, I bring you one minute and forty-seven seconds of a baby bunny eating a dandelion.
You're welcome.
It's been solidly above freezing for several days here in Chicagoland, and only scraps of snow remain on the ground. I can smell spring, and oh, I can't wait. Meanwhile, there have been auditions and a bit of writing and a couple of not-entirely-disastrous cooking experiments, but nothing to really hang a blog on.
Therefore, thanks to a heads-up from an old friend from our Columbus days, I bring you one minute and forty-seven seconds of a baby bunny eating a dandelion.
You're welcome.
Friday, March 5, 2010
A few of my favorite things
In which our Diva has been neglecting her blog again. Bad Diva. No cookie.
Watch: Being Human, the BBC series that sounds like the setup for a joke -- a werewolf, a vampire, and a ghost share a pink house in Bristol -- but is in fact one of the more brilliant things to hit my TV in years. Anyone who knows me knows that my favorites list has always included various supernatural dramas, but the main thing that sets this one apart is its intimate scope. No Chosen Ones, no cosmic prophecies, no apocalypse-of-the-week. Just three people who happen to have some extraordinary problems, building their own weird little family. Even when they do inevitably get caught up in larger circumstances, the focus remains on protecting that family. Saving the world is a bit out of their league, just as it is for the rest of us.
Like all good fantasy, it isn't really about monsters. It's about how life is frequently and drastically unfair, but we find ways to make it worthwhile anyway. And how what really matters is looking out for the people we love. The three mid-twenties stars -- Russell Tovey, Lenora Crichlow, and Aidan Turner -- are individually superb, and collectively a perfect storm of ensemble chemistry. And creator/writer Toby Whithouse (who has written, among other things, the milestone "School Reunion" episode that reintroduced Sarah Jane Smith to the revived Doctor Who) has a knack for defying cliche, and for acknowledging the absurdity in dramatic situations without lessening their impact. For those on this side of the pond, BBC America has already aired the first season, and has announced plans to run the second (which has just finished in the UK) and third (which will be starting production soon).
Eat: It's the time of year again for my two greatest vices: Cadbury's Creme Eggs and Thin Mint Girl Scout cookies. I've already stocked up on the former, stashing boxes in odd corners of the freezer to be rediscovered throughout the year. The latter have thus far eluded me. At this rate I'm going to have to start going from grocery store to grocery store until I spot a table of earnest little girls. I need my fix!
Read: Currently I'm in the middle of Derek Parker's lively biography of Nell Gwyn, the most famous mistress of the famously randy Charles II. It's unpretentious, full of all kinds of cool incidentals about Restoration theatre, and generally a very enjoyable read.
Listen: The other day, my mental soundtrack randomly started running Clara and Fabrizio's soaring duet that closes the first act of The Light in the Piazza, so I've been playing the cast album a lot. Still bowled over every time by the heartfelt performances and the utter beauty of the score. Still cry at two or three points every single time. If there's a "the" Broadway composer of this generation, Adam Guettel is probably it.
Watch: Being Human, the BBC series that sounds like the setup for a joke -- a werewolf, a vampire, and a ghost share a pink house in Bristol -- but is in fact one of the more brilliant things to hit my TV in years. Anyone who knows me knows that my favorites list has always included various supernatural dramas, but the main thing that sets this one apart is its intimate scope. No Chosen Ones, no cosmic prophecies, no apocalypse-of-the-week. Just three people who happen to have some extraordinary problems, building their own weird little family. Even when they do inevitably get caught up in larger circumstances, the focus remains on protecting that family. Saving the world is a bit out of their league, just as it is for the rest of us.
Like all good fantasy, it isn't really about monsters. It's about how life is frequently and drastically unfair, but we find ways to make it worthwhile anyway. And how what really matters is looking out for the people we love. The three mid-twenties stars -- Russell Tovey, Lenora Crichlow, and Aidan Turner -- are individually superb, and collectively a perfect storm of ensemble chemistry. And creator/writer Toby Whithouse (who has written, among other things, the milestone "School Reunion" episode that reintroduced Sarah Jane Smith to the revived Doctor Who) has a knack for defying cliche, and for acknowledging the absurdity in dramatic situations without lessening their impact. For those on this side of the pond, BBC America has already aired the first season, and has announced plans to run the second (which has just finished in the UK) and third (which will be starting production soon).Eat: It's the time of year again for my two greatest vices: Cadbury's Creme Eggs and Thin Mint Girl Scout cookies. I've already stocked up on the former, stashing boxes in odd corners of the freezer to be rediscovered throughout the year. The latter have thus far eluded me. At this rate I'm going to have to start going from grocery store to grocery store until I spot a table of earnest little girls. I need my fix!
Read: Currently I'm in the middle of Derek Parker's lively biography of Nell Gwyn, the most famous mistress of the famously randy Charles II. It's unpretentious, full of all kinds of cool incidentals about Restoration theatre, and generally a very enjoyable read.
Listen: The other day, my mental soundtrack randomly started running Clara and Fabrizio's soaring duet that closes the first act of The Light in the Piazza, so I've been playing the cast album a lot. Still bowled over every time by the heartfelt performances and the utter beauty of the score. Still cry at two or three points every single time. If there's a "the" Broadway composer of this generation, Adam Guettel is probably it.
Friday, February 19, 2010
En-title-ment issues
In which our Diva probably should have done better than that pun
Oops, nine days since my last post. I'm basically over being sick, so I think I'll blame the Olympics. Who wants to blog when they can watch Evan Lysacek? (YAY LOCAL BOY YAY!)
In the midst of the sick, I had a very busy January, and one of the projects I shot during it was Ken Cohen's Tasting the End, which is slated to be released this spring. When I auditioned for my role as a home hospice nurse, the title on my sides was Smelling Anosmia. By the time we shot, that had been truncated to Anosmia, which was evocative but perhaps a bit literal? With the new title, Ken has hit on a memorable ring, and I can't wait to see the finished film. I've done several offbeat comedy projects lately; this one probably fits most properly in the "black comedy" category. I shot one day on it, and had a great time.
Movies commonly go through several title changes even after they're wrapped, for a variety of reasons. A little birdie told me last week that business wheels are turning behind the scenes, and there should be release news on Cyrus before too terribly long. Since a comedy by the same name got a fair amount of attention at Sundance, I'm guessing that news will come with a new title. I'm curious to see what it will be!
And then there's Raymond Did It, the first feature from horror writer/director (not to mention comics writer and RPG designer) Travis Legge, which I'll be shooting in Rockford this summer. One of my audition sides came with the draft title The Revenge of Ray-Ray still attached, but Travis had moved on to the punchier title by then. It's already getting attention in the horror blogosphere, and you can get in on the ground floor of support and news at its IndieGoGo page.
Looking forward to that one, as I get to play my own age for a change -- the mother of a teenager! Plus, how can I not love the first-ever design for a real movie poster with my name on it?
Oops, nine days since my last post. I'm basically over being sick, so I think I'll blame the Olympics. Who wants to blog when they can watch Evan Lysacek? (YAY LOCAL BOY YAY!)
In the midst of the sick, I had a very busy January, and one of the projects I shot during it was Ken Cohen's Tasting the End, which is slated to be released this spring. When I auditioned for my role as a home hospice nurse, the title on my sides was Smelling Anosmia. By the time we shot, that had been truncated to Anosmia, which was evocative but perhaps a bit literal? With the new title, Ken has hit on a memorable ring, and I can't wait to see the finished film. I've done several offbeat comedy projects lately; this one probably fits most properly in the "black comedy" category. I shot one day on it, and had a great time.
Movies commonly go through several title changes even after they're wrapped, for a variety of reasons. A little birdie told me last week that business wheels are turning behind the scenes, and there should be release news on Cyrus before too terribly long. Since a comedy by the same name got a fair amount of attention at Sundance, I'm guessing that news will come with a new title. I'm curious to see what it will be!
And then there's Raymond Did It, the first feature from horror writer/director (not to mention comics writer and RPG designer) Travis Legge, which I'll be shooting in Rockford this summer. One of my audition sides came with the draft title The Revenge of Ray-Ray still attached, but Travis had moved on to the punchier title by then. It's already getting attention in the horror blogosphere, and you can get in on the ground floor of support and news at its IndieGoGo page.Looking forward to that one, as I get to play my own age for a change -- the mother of a teenager! Plus, how can I not love the first-ever design for a real movie poster with my name on it?
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Nature has her say
Woke up about 4 am to what sounded like a semi-nearby explosion or crash. Turned to hubby, whom it had also awakened, said "WTF?" Briefly considered looking out the windows to see if someone had driven a car into a house or if there was smoke rising somewhere, then decided I didn't want to leave my nice warm bed and there'd be sirens if it were something like that anyway.
Which there weren't, because generally people don't call the police or fire department for earthquakes.
In all the places I've lived and visited, I've been present for exactly two earthquakes. Both were 4-point-something, within the last five years, in Illinois. Gotta love our crazy planet.
So, we have earthquake instead of Snowmageddon 2. We shoveled about 6 inches last night to keep it from getting out of hand, which of course means there's barely another inch this morning. Mind you if we hadn't done that, Murphy's Law dictates there'd be another foot or something, so I'll deal with my sore back and the fact that we're not shoveling it today in the sunshine.
Meanwhile, I'm still steadily getting better from The Ick, and have a couple new projects in the pipeline that I need to post about. Soon, I promise!
Which there weren't, because generally people don't call the police or fire department for earthquakes.
In all the places I've lived and visited, I've been present for exactly two earthquakes. Both were 4-point-something, within the last five years, in Illinois. Gotta love our crazy planet.
So, we have earthquake instead of Snowmageddon 2. We shoveled about 6 inches last night to keep it from getting out of hand, which of course means there's barely another inch this morning. Mind you if we hadn't done that, Murphy's Law dictates there'd be another foot or something, so I'll deal with my sore back and the fact that we're not shoveling it today in the sunshine.
Meanwhile, I'm still steadily getting better from The Ick, and have a couple new projects in the pipeline that I need to post about. Soon, I promise!
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Just breathe
Quickie post, as I need to get to bed. I'm still trying to get 9-10 hours sleep (or at least being in bed; I tend to lie awake a lot on this particular antibiotic) until the rest of the ick clears out of my chest.
And there is plenty of ick -- I made it through Monday and Tuesday by the great good fortune of their both being short shooting days for me, and kept getting worse until I landed at the doctor's office Thursday morning with a verdict of bronchitis, laryngitis, and sinus infection. Yay me?
Five days and lots of pills later, I'm about a thousand percent better but still barely talking almost normally and feeling pressure with every breath. Scary. Especially with an opera concert this Saturday night (thankfully, I'm only singing in one relatively easy ensemble number) and a long shooting day tomorrow, playing a home hospice care nurse in a quirky little film called Anosmia.
My relationship with my instrument -- my body -- begins with two things: My spine and my breath. Most of the techniques in my actor toolbox that get used the most have breathing at their core. Heck, when I was a kid, I had a recurring nightmare about drowning. So it's always scary when I can't breathe as freely as I'm accustomed to, especially when it lasts for any amount of time.
I marked through rehearsal tonight and managed to hit all the pitches, so I should be able to pull off Saturday night more or less sounding like I should, even if it feels all wrong. But I'll be much happier when it feels right again.
And there is plenty of ick -- I made it through Monday and Tuesday by the great good fortune of their both being short shooting days for me, and kept getting worse until I landed at the doctor's office Thursday morning with a verdict of bronchitis, laryngitis, and sinus infection. Yay me?
Five days and lots of pills later, I'm about a thousand percent better but still barely talking almost normally and feeling pressure with every breath. Scary. Especially with an opera concert this Saturday night (thankfully, I'm only singing in one relatively easy ensemble number) and a long shooting day tomorrow, playing a home hospice care nurse in a quirky little film called Anosmia.
My relationship with my instrument -- my body -- begins with two things: My spine and my breath. Most of the techniques in my actor toolbox that get used the most have breathing at their core. Heck, when I was a kid, I had a recurring nightmare about drowning. So it's always scary when I can't breathe as freely as I'm accustomed to, especially when it lasts for any amount of time.
I marked through rehearsal tonight and managed to hit all the pitches, so I should be able to pull off Saturday night more or less sounding like I should, even if it feels all wrong. But I'll be much happier when it feels right again.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Around the next corner
In which our Diva did not see that one coming
Was supposed to do a fun vintage-style photoshoot today. Unfortunately, my body had other ideas, as I woke up with a hacking cough, pounding headache, and 101.3-degree fever. Didn't I just do this a month ago?? Photoshoot duly rescheduled, fingers crossed that I'll be better in the morning to start shooting My Cousin Radu.
This post, however, is not to complain about my health. It's to remark upon The Audition, the absolutely captivating documentary about the finalists in the 2007 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions that ran on PBS the other night.
All the singers are amazing, of course, and you absolutely root for all of them. But one tenor, Ryan Smith, stood out as a bit of an underdog. At 30, he was several years older than most of the others, and had given up on an opera career for a while before returning to give it one more shot. Early in the film, he explains that he told his mother he was going to give it two years full-out, and if it didn't happen by then, he'd go back to finish his doctorate and teach or whatever.
It happened. He knocked the judges' collective socks off, brought tears to the eyes of the Met vocal coach watching from the booth, and went home with one of the six $15,000.00 prizes and a huge heartwarming grin.
As so often happens with this sort of documentary, there's a "one year later" montage at the end, outlining how each finalist's career is taking off. In the midst of this parade, the text notes that Ryan Smith made his Met debut in a featured role, and "is now fully committed to an opera career."
Then comes the sucker punch. At the very end, there's one more screen, with a still of him with that wonderful grin, and text dedicating the film "in loving memory of Ryan Smith, who died in November 2008 after a year-long battle with cancer."
I already can't breathe very well today. Bursting into tears did not help. Nor, particularly, did wailing "Not fair!" for the next three minutes.
And it's not. He will never have the career and life that every instinct says he should have.
But this is also true: He sang on the Met stage, with the Met orchestra, and a happier human being was never captured on film.
Seize your dream. It may not happen quite the way you envision, but you will make something magic happen. Recognize and cherish it when it comes, and then reach for the next.
Do it now.
Was supposed to do a fun vintage-style photoshoot today. Unfortunately, my body had other ideas, as I woke up with a hacking cough, pounding headache, and 101.3-degree fever. Didn't I just do this a month ago?? Photoshoot duly rescheduled, fingers crossed that I'll be better in the morning to start shooting My Cousin Radu.
This post, however, is not to complain about my health. It's to remark upon The Audition, the absolutely captivating documentary about the finalists in the 2007 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions that ran on PBS the other night.
All the singers are amazing, of course, and you absolutely root for all of them. But one tenor, Ryan Smith, stood out as a bit of an underdog. At 30, he was several years older than most of the others, and had given up on an opera career for a while before returning to give it one more shot. Early in the film, he explains that he told his mother he was going to give it two years full-out, and if it didn't happen by then, he'd go back to finish his doctorate and teach or whatever.It happened. He knocked the judges' collective socks off, brought tears to the eyes of the Met vocal coach watching from the booth, and went home with one of the six $15,000.00 prizes and a huge heartwarming grin.
As so often happens with this sort of documentary, there's a "one year later" montage at the end, outlining how each finalist's career is taking off. In the midst of this parade, the text notes that Ryan Smith made his Met debut in a featured role, and "is now fully committed to an opera career."
Then comes the sucker punch. At the very end, there's one more screen, with a still of him with that wonderful grin, and text dedicating the film "in loving memory of Ryan Smith, who died in November 2008 after a year-long battle with cancer."
I already can't breathe very well today. Bursting into tears did not help. Nor, particularly, did wailing "Not fair!" for the next three minutes.
And it's not. He will never have the career and life that every instinct says he should have.
But this is also true: He sang on the Met stage, with the Met orchestra, and a happier human being was never captured on film.
Seize your dream. It may not happen quite the way you envision, but you will make something magic happen. Recognize and cherish it when it comes, and then reach for the next.
Do it now.
Friday, January 22, 2010
Super-dog to the rescue!
In which our Diva continues to have a very busy January indeed
I should theoretically be exhausted and/or stressed, but all the stuff going on is under control and it's all stuff I love. And one of the keys to this game of Schedule Tetris that I often find myself playing is to make the most of the pockets of downtime. I always have a dozen projects I could be chipping at when I have a couple hours, but sometimes the wisest thing to do is just plunk on the couch and, say, watch
Bolt, which I hadn't seen before. And which is very cute, funny, and occasionally sniffle-worthy. If you're a sap, anyway, which I freely admit I am. I'll sit there with tears welling up through the most blatantly manipulative stuff and thank you for it, as long as there's an ounce of sincerity. What's the point of a story if I'm not going to ride the ride where it takes me? (Without wanting to give too much away, though, I have to say the ending is maybe a little ironic coming from Disney, the biggest child-star factory on the planet.)
It's funny to say, but sometimes popcorn entertainment can function as meditation, which to me is anything that clears the mental sinuses and sets me back to center. Other times, what's called for is a nap, or dancing, or housework. Seriously, just vacuuming and letting my mind wander its way over whatever? Love it.
After the movie, I got around to pulling out a bunch of clothes (possible wardrobe for a shoestring-indie feature I'll be shooting at the end of February) and snapping pictures of them to email to the director. Which I had known all day I needed to get done, and which just loomed as this huge, complicated undertaking in my head, until a couple hours of animatey goodness recalibrated the meter. The mind is a weird and wonderful thing.
Off to make an early night of it now, before a marathon callback tomorrow, for a play I very much want to do. Need body and mind ready for movement, fight work, and reading. No matter what the outcome, it's guaranteed to be an amazing day.
I should theoretically be exhausted and/or stressed, but all the stuff going on is under control and it's all stuff I love. And one of the keys to this game of Schedule Tetris that I often find myself playing is to make the most of the pockets of downtime. I always have a dozen projects I could be chipping at when I have a couple hours, but sometimes the wisest thing to do is just plunk on the couch and, say, watch
Bolt, which I hadn't seen before. And which is very cute, funny, and occasionally sniffle-worthy. If you're a sap, anyway, which I freely admit I am. I'll sit there with tears welling up through the most blatantly manipulative stuff and thank you for it, as long as there's an ounce of sincerity. What's the point of a story if I'm not going to ride the ride where it takes me? (Without wanting to give too much away, though, I have to say the ending is maybe a little ironic coming from Disney, the biggest child-star factory on the planet.)It's funny to say, but sometimes popcorn entertainment can function as meditation, which to me is anything that clears the mental sinuses and sets me back to center. Other times, what's called for is a nap, or dancing, or housework. Seriously, just vacuuming and letting my mind wander its way over whatever? Love it.
After the movie, I got around to pulling out a bunch of clothes (possible wardrobe for a shoestring-indie feature I'll be shooting at the end of February) and snapping pictures of them to email to the director. Which I had known all day I needed to get done, and which just loomed as this huge, complicated undertaking in my head, until a couple hours of animatey goodness recalibrated the meter. The mind is a weird and wonderful thing.
Off to make an early night of it now, before a marathon callback tomorrow, for a play I very much want to do. Need body and mind ready for movement, fight work, and reading. No matter what the outcome, it's guaranteed to be an amazing day.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
That was the week that was
In which our Diva waves on her way by in a bit of a blur
Whew! Since I last posted here:
And of course there was still day jobs and electronic housekeeping (updates on my website...um...soonish) and actual housekeeping (life is never entirely out of control if you're caught up on laundry). With a couple hours' breather carved out for the Sanctuary season finale and penultimate Dollhouse episode, as well as the unaired pilot of the latter. (Which is way talky, and showed way too much of its hand too soon. The gradual and ambiguous way the true horror of the Dollhouse came to light may have made a lot of people very very uncomfortable -- because it took a long time for the show to be overt about saying yes, what is happening here is a horror -- but I don't think it would have been nearly as effective otherwise.)
The upcoming week includes more rehearsals and a callback I've been looking forward to, which will involve fight work as well as reading. The prospect of playing with swords remains the most reliable motivation for getting my behind out of bed and getting that morning workout in!
Song for today: "Do You Wanna Date My Avatar?" by Felicia Day and the cast of The Guild. Just 'cause it's the earwormiest earworm that ever earwormed (seriously, I dare you to get it out of your head), and the video is hilarious if you know even a little bit about online roleplaying games.
Whew! Since I last posted here:
- Three auditions, one of which scored me a fun day-player part in an indie feature, shooting the end of February (more info soon)
- Rehearsals for two projects (My Cousin Radu, which shoots next week, and Elgin Opera's upcoming gala)
- One rush web promo video -- I submitted on it this morning, and shot it this afternoon! That last also means my first paid gig of 2010 is in the can, yay!
And of course there was still day jobs and electronic housekeeping (updates on my website...um...soonish) and actual housekeeping (life is never entirely out of control if you're caught up on laundry). With a couple hours' breather carved out for the Sanctuary season finale and penultimate Dollhouse episode, as well as the unaired pilot of the latter. (Which is way talky, and showed way too much of its hand too soon. The gradual and ambiguous way the true horror of the Dollhouse came to light may have made a lot of people very very uncomfortable -- because it took a long time for the show to be overt about saying yes, what is happening here is a horror -- but I don't think it would have been nearly as effective otherwise.)
The upcoming week includes more rehearsals and a callback I've been looking forward to, which will involve fight work as well as reading. The prospect of playing with swords remains the most reliable motivation for getting my behind out of bed and getting that morning workout in!
Song for today: "Do You Wanna Date My Avatar?" by Felicia Day and the cast of The Guild. Just 'cause it's the earwormiest earworm that ever earwormed (seriously, I dare you to get it out of your head), and the video is hilarious if you know even a little bit about online roleplaying games.
Friday, January 8, 2010
Bump that grind
In which our Diva ruminates on a form that is more than the sum of its feathers, rhinestones and g-strings
I love Netflix recommendations. Sometimes they disappoint, but more often they bring my attention to a gem I would never have heard of otherwise.
Such was the case with A Wink and a Smile: The Art of Burlesque. Which, from the synopsis, I expected to focus on the rise of neo-burlesque, the revival and evolution of old-school burlesque that has enjoyed a mini-explosion the last few years. Not only in straight-up burlesque shows, but in influence on other arts. (Some more successfully than others. I don't have anything against groups like the Pussycat Dolls, but I'm not a big fan of their rather surfacey quasi-burlesque. OTOH, Emilie Autumn's show -- in part because one of her "Bloody Crumpets" backing group, Veronica Varlow, is a burlesque artist in her own right -- has a lot of burlesque in its mix, in a way that recognizes not just the raunch but the humor and irony.)
I first became aware of the movement in 2004, when I was costume designer for a play set in the 1950s that featured a classic striptease. In fact, that's pretty much how I ended up designing the show -- the actress doing the strip number was in another show with me, and was talking backstage one night about researching classic burlesque. I gave her a couple website leads (I don't even remember now why I knew about them, though I suspect it branched off from my love of Moulin Rouge), touched on a couple of the primary engineering issues, then interrupted myself in midsentence to ask, "Do you guys have a costume designer?" Turns out that, as often happens with newer small theatre companies, they didn't.
I had a blast working on that show, and the thrift store gods smiled on me with some fabulous vintage finds. I also learned that I still had a lot to learn about burlesque costume engineering, the most important thing being NOT to line the strapless gown with shiny lining fabric. Next time, a nice cotton broadcloth that won't threaten to slide right off the poor dancer! (I also should have gone ahead with a zipper instead of snaps down the side seam, but that was less of an issue.)
The choreographer for Jenn's number was Michelle L'Amour, one of the leading lights of the burlesque scene I didn't even know Chicago had. She's a founder of The Lavender Cabaret, which has been producing shows and teaching burlesque since 2003. I've thought about taking one of her classes a hundred times, but there always seems to be too much going on. (Same goes for the circus aerial training I'd dearly love to do at the Actors Gymnasium, or even just going to ballet class regularly again. Or a dozen other things. A lot of the reason I'm an actor in the first place is that I tend to look at people doing something cool and go "Oooh, I want to try that!" But I can still really only do one of them at a time. *wry g*)
So it was a surprise and delight to find that this little documentary I'd rented was less about the burlesque scene as a whole, and more focused on Miss Indigo Blue's "Burlesque 101" class in the fall of 2007. The ten "ordinary" women are as varied as they can be in age, background, personality, and of course what they're looking to get out of the class. The interviews with the students and with Blue and her co-teacher are unflinchingly honest and insightful, illuminating the complexities and power (and yes, empowerment) of an easily-dismissed form. There are tears, laughter, and life-changing explorations from the students, and exceptionally intelligent and educated nuggets of history from Blue, who clearly knows her stuff and then some. If you never thought much about burlesque before, or even if you're somewhat familiar with it like me, you'll come away from this film knowing a whole lot more.
It's worth knowing.
I love Netflix recommendations. Sometimes they disappoint, but more often they bring my attention to a gem I would never have heard of otherwise.
Such was the case with A Wink and a Smile: The Art of Burlesque. Which, from the synopsis, I expected to focus on the rise of neo-burlesque, the revival and evolution of old-school burlesque that has enjoyed a mini-explosion the last few years. Not only in straight-up burlesque shows, but in influence on other arts. (Some more successfully than others. I don't have anything against groups like the Pussycat Dolls, but I'm not a big fan of their rather surfacey quasi-burlesque. OTOH, Emilie Autumn's show -- in part because one of her "Bloody Crumpets" backing group, Veronica Varlow, is a burlesque artist in her own right -- has a lot of burlesque in its mix, in a way that recognizes not just the raunch but the humor and irony.)
I first became aware of the movement in 2004, when I was costume designer for a play set in the 1950s that featured a classic striptease. In fact, that's pretty much how I ended up designing the show -- the actress doing the strip number was in another show with me, and was talking backstage one night about researching classic burlesque. I gave her a couple website leads (I don't even remember now why I knew about them, though I suspect it branched off from my love of Moulin Rouge), touched on a couple of the primary engineering issues, then interrupted myself in midsentence to ask, "Do you guys have a costume designer?" Turns out that, as often happens with newer small theatre companies, they didn't.
I had a blast working on that show, and the thrift store gods smiled on me with some fabulous vintage finds. I also learned that I still had a lot to learn about burlesque costume engineering, the most important thing being NOT to line the strapless gown with shiny lining fabric. Next time, a nice cotton broadcloth that won't threaten to slide right off the poor dancer! (I also should have gone ahead with a zipper instead of snaps down the side seam, but that was less of an issue.)The choreographer for Jenn's number was Michelle L'Amour, one of the leading lights of the burlesque scene I didn't even know Chicago had. She's a founder of The Lavender Cabaret, which has been producing shows and teaching burlesque since 2003. I've thought about taking one of her classes a hundred times, but there always seems to be too much going on. (Same goes for the circus aerial training I'd dearly love to do at the Actors Gymnasium, or even just going to ballet class regularly again. Or a dozen other things. A lot of the reason I'm an actor in the first place is that I tend to look at people doing something cool and go "Oooh, I want to try that!" But I can still really only do one of them at a time. *wry g*)
So it was a surprise and delight to find that this little documentary I'd rented was less about the burlesque scene as a whole, and more focused on Miss Indigo Blue's "Burlesque 101" class in the fall of 2007. The ten "ordinary" women are as varied as they can be in age, background, personality, and of course what they're looking to get out of the class. The interviews with the students and with Blue and her co-teacher are unflinchingly honest and insightful, illuminating the complexities and power (and yes, empowerment) of an easily-dismissed form. There are tears, laughter, and life-changing explorations from the students, and exceptionally intelligent and educated nuggets of history from Blue, who clearly knows her stuff and then some. If you never thought much about burlesque before, or even if you're somewhat familiar with it like me, you'll come away from this film knowing a whole lot more.It's worth knowing.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
More to listen than watch
In which our Diva's little video recorder is not equal to low-light cabaret conditions
A good time was had by all at last night's "Holiday Leftovers" variety show. Thanks, n.u.f.a.n. ensemble! Hope we can do it again sometime.
I'm not afraid of anything... even singing in the dark!
A good time was had by all at last night's "Holiday Leftovers" variety show. Thanks, n.u.f.a.n. ensemble! Hope we can do it again sometime.
I'm not afraid of anything... even singing in the dark!
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Holiday Leftovers
In which our Diva is a little behind with her shameless plugging
For some reason I was thinking I already posted about this one, but I realized this morning I had only updated my website. Oops!
Chicago folks, if you want to hear me sing without trekking out to the suburbs, this Tuesday, January 5, is your chance! I'll be doing a couple numbers as part of n.u.f.a.n. ensemble's "Holiday Leftovers" variety show at the Holiday Club in Uptown, from 7-9 pm. This is the same dynamic group that brings you "Seven Plays in Seven Days" twice a year, along with full productions and a smorgasbord of other creative offerings. There's no cover for the Holiday Club show, and it's half a block from the Red Line -- economical and convenient!
For some reason I was thinking I already posted about this one, but I realized this morning I had only updated my website. Oops!
Chicago folks, if you want to hear me sing without trekking out to the suburbs, this Tuesday, January 5, is your chance! I'll be doing a couple numbers as part of n.u.f.a.n. ensemble's "Holiday Leftovers" variety show at the Holiday Club in Uptown, from 7-9 pm. This is the same dynamic group that brings you "Seven Plays in Seven Days" twice a year, along with full productions and a smorgasbord of other creative offerings. There's no cover for the Holiday Club show, and it's half a block from the Red Line -- economical and convenient!
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
A little witch in every woman
I have Practical Magic on DVD -- it's been one of my standard comfort movies for years -- but right now it's on ABC Family in my living room because the hubby happened across it as background noise for both of us working.
Different things jump out at me when half-watching something (especially something familiar) than when I'm giving it my full attention. Tonight I happen to particularly notice how much I love Stockard Channing in this movie. I love her in general, and I love pretty much everyone in the movie, but for whatever reason it's Aunt Frances who's getting the love tonight. That no-nonsense attitude, completely at odds with how most people would approach such a fanciful character... love it. The delivery when she asks Sally, "Do you have any friends?" Just kills me.
This is one of two movies where the book disappointed me when I read it later. That doesn't happen very often, but it does happen. (The other, for the record, is Girl With a Pearl Earring, and one of these days I should post about why. The short version is that the movie is much more complex and interesting than Yet Another Romance, and the novel... is not.) I've tried for years to articulate why. The closest I got was that I didn't really like the characters in the novel, so I had trouble rooting for them. But I don't know that the movie characters are really any more likable. Gillian is still needy and self-destructive, Sally is still hiding from everything... I don't know. It just didn't grab me the same way.
Maybe one of these days I'll read it again and see if I can figure out why. :: ponders To Be Read pile :: But probably not any time soon.
Different things jump out at me when half-watching something (especially something familiar) than when I'm giving it my full attention. Tonight I happen to particularly notice how much I love Stockard Channing in this movie. I love her in general, and I love pretty much everyone in the movie, but for whatever reason it's Aunt Frances who's getting the love tonight. That no-nonsense attitude, completely at odds with how most people would approach such a fanciful character... love it. The delivery when she asks Sally, "Do you have any friends?" Just kills me.This is one of two movies where the book disappointed me when I read it later. That doesn't happen very often, but it does happen. (The other, for the record, is Girl With a Pearl Earring, and one of these days I should post about why. The short version is that the movie is much more complex and interesting than Yet Another Romance, and the novel... is not.) I've tried for years to articulate why. The closest I got was that I didn't really like the characters in the novel, so I had trouble rooting for them. But I don't know that the movie characters are really any more likable. Gillian is still needy and self-destructive, Sally is still hiding from everything... I don't know. It just didn't grab me the same way.
Maybe one of these days I'll read it again and see if I can figure out why. :: ponders To Be Read pile :: But probably not any time soon.
Thursday, December 24, 2009
And I heard her exclaim as she drove out of sight
In which our Diva wishes a merry Christmas to all and to all a good night
I would be headed up to my brother's house right now to meet my Shiny New Niece. Unfortunately, the common cold had other ideas -- I'm coughing and sneezing WAY too much to be anywhere near a nine-day-old baby!
Instead, I'll be spending Christmas Eve snug at home with my hubby, then my parents will arrive tomorrow afternoon. It'll be a low-key one, but I'm planning to enjoy the heck out of it. Sunday night I'll be singing at Elgin Opera's annual holiday party. Then next week starts a fresh round of busybusybusy, with more auditions, then gearing up for the Holiday Leftovers variety show and the pilot for the new webseries My Cousin Radu, from 812 North Productions.
I hope you're enjoying your holiday season, and will leave you for the moment with the latest gem from Muppet Studios:
I would be headed up to my brother's house right now to meet my Shiny New Niece. Unfortunately, the common cold had other ideas -- I'm coughing and sneezing WAY too much to be anywhere near a nine-day-old baby!
Instead, I'll be spending Christmas Eve snug at home with my hubby, then my parents will arrive tomorrow afternoon. It'll be a low-key one, but I'm planning to enjoy the heck out of it. Sunday night I'll be singing at Elgin Opera's annual holiday party. Then next week starts a fresh round of busybusybusy, with more auditions, then gearing up for the Holiday Leftovers variety show and the pilot for the new webseries My Cousin Radu, from 812 North Productions.
I hope you're enjoying your holiday season, and will leave you for the moment with the latest gem from Muppet Studios:
Sunday, December 20, 2009
The puzzle of "plain"
In which our Diva does not think Miss Lucas so very plain, but then she is our particular friend
When playing a historical or literary character, there's both a blessing and a curse in the easy availability of other people's opinions about that person. I understand -- intellectually, at least -- why many actors avoid those opinions. (Some with a fervor generally reserved for, say, Barney the purple dinosaur.) Especially when there's a breadth of opinion available, it takes a little doing to take them objectively, with particular care needed to deal with the most thoughtful and the most forceful.
Even before my recent few months of living with Charlotte Lucas, I'm pretty sure I would have rolled my eyes at some of the criticism I've seen. I've always had a soft spot for Charlotte. But that little pang of taking it a bit personally, that's new. Kind of fun, though, if you keep it in its place.
In my various reading around for that show, I rediscovered something that I really already knew: Even more than "the one who marries Mr. Collins" (whether out of simple pragmatism or outright gold-digging selfishness depends on whom you ask, and I'm not even going to touch the blog post I ran across that accused her of duping Collins into thinking she loved him -- as if love and marriage had any bearing on one another in HIS thinking!), she's always "the plain one." Not quite so repetitively as Mary Bennet, perhaps, who has the misfortune to be lost in the middle a sparkling set of sisters. But it's certainly a defining characteristic fixed in people's minds, giving rise to perennial debates as to, for instance, whether Lucy Scott in the 1995 miniseries is "too pretty" for the role.
Which is why one of the first things I noticed about Christina Calvit's script is that the word is not used to describe a person even once.
The closest thing to it in reference to Charlotte is Mrs. Bennet's dismissal of Bingley's having danced first with Charlotte at the Meryton Assembly: "But he did not admire her at all -- nobody can, you know." Nor is her age -- twenty-seven, the Austen point-of-almost-no-return that she has in common with Persuasion's Anne Elliot -- specifically mentioned, though that "She will finally be married!" near the close of the first act is crystal-clear. "The only recourse for a young woman of small fortune" was nearly out of her reach... why?
By the same token, I've seen praise for versions like the Keira Knightley film for showing Charlotte as "actually plain" -- which apparently means dowdy clothes and careless hair. Which, to me, makes very little sense. It seems to me to be projecting onto her the modern idea of an intelligent woman who rejects the trappings of beauty as frivolous. It seems to me, though, that her very intelligence and pragmatism dictate that she make herself as attractive as possible. She's the firstborn daughter of a man with a title but relatively little wealth, and her stated and confirmed goal is to secure her future by marrying well. She's not going to accomplish that by looking like she's given up, and she's too smart not to know that.
My Charlotte, then, was perhaps a little awkward. A little self-conscious of being not as pretty as Lizzy or Jane. Whether that self-image is factual or not doesn't matter. Red hair wasn't terribly popular then, so that was to my advantage, as was the simple expedient of using less makeup than I normally would for stage, resulting in a generally washed-out impression. I didn't have to be a mess for the audience to believe the eligible male attention would be fixed on those younger friends.
So that solved my approach to what "plain" meant for this particular role. But the expression itself? That's a bigger question.
I remember studying the illustrations in fairy-tale editions of my childhood, searching for the oddly elusive meaning in context of that very simple word: Plain. While its usage in the stories told me it was some sort of contrast to the "beautiful" heroine, it was obvious even to my eight- or nine-year-old mind that there were nuances I found murky, which were probably crystal clear to the readers/audiences of the time in which the tales were written down.
That time, I know now, was mostly the late eighteenth to mid-nineteenth century, and sure enough, it's in the literature of that age -- Austen, the Bronte sisters -- that I found more instances of this linguistic enigma to ponder.
During rehearsals for P&P, out of curiosity, I took an informal poll of my online friends and acquaintances. What emerged was a pretty equal balance of two basic interpretations, with a third clocking several votes as well:
One, that it's genteel code for "ugly," reserved for people (mostly, but not entirely, women -- Austen in particular applied it to several male characters) whose class and/or breeding made it taboo to openly describe them as such.
Two, that it refers to someone who's neither beautiful nor ugly, but somewhere in between. There's division within this one on whether it means that the person is entirely nondescript, or that they could have some distinctive features that would disqualify them from "beautiful." (Which merges at the edge into the first interpretation, depending on how narrowly the standard of beauty is defined and how little deviation is tolerated before a person is considered outright ugly. Told you this was complicated, didn't I?)
The third, less common interpretation had less to do with a person's actual physical structure, and more with their demeanor and style -- that a "plain" person was one who did not stand out, but with more glamorous trappings and confidence they might be considered beautiful. One answer in this category equated it with "Hollywood homely," and there's another word -- "homely" -- that one could puzzle over for ages!
Though the first two are the ones that have always played tug-of-war in my head when I ran across a "plain" character in a story, it's this third one I find intriguing me the most. And the one that just might be the most accurate after all. Even if you've never heard that "Hollywood homely" phrase above, I'm betting you knew immediately what it meant: Take a perfectly attractive (if not outright gorgeous) woman, add insecurity and an unfashionable hairstyle and/or clothing, play down every feature a makeup artist is trained to play up, and top off with optional glasses. Boom! Instant "plain."
Real-life women who don't consider themselves attractive (which is, sadly, the vast majority in our society) are then supposed to identify with this creature, but there's a problem: They see right through it. Or they think they do. It's a trick, they say. Under all that stereotype is just another knockout actress.
Sometimes they're right. Sometimes -- usually in cases where the character in question goes through an ugly-duckling transformation (or, as they call it over at TVTropes -- which I will warn you right now is one of the most time-suckingly fascinating sites on the entire Internet, so proceed with caution! -- "Beautiful All Along") -- the actress in question is someone with the kind of flawless physical structure that might make her jump at the chance to have a different image (however silly we all pretty much think it is these days) for part of a movie, in hopes of eventually, somewhere, getting something that will allow her to stretch the chops she's trained for.
(Yes, I know drop-dead-gorgeous-without-a-speck-of-makeup actors -- even guys -- who have to live with that. No, I will never, ever say, "Gee, we should all have such problems." I've seen how much harder they have to work to be taken seriously, especially if they were *gasp* models first. But that's mostly another topic.)
An awful lot, though, I see the "Hollywood homely" label applied to people like Judy Greer or Janeane Garafolo, who've spent much of their career playing best friend to one freakishly gorgeous lead or another. (Yep, we're totally talking about my type here, so I probably think about this more than most people.) And so often I see comments to the effect of "Yeah, but she only looks plain next to THAT. She's perfectly attractive by the standards of the real world."
Which is true as far as it goes... except when it comes from women who I would consider to be equally so, but they don't believe that. They may or may not have realized that, with the careful styling, makeup and lighting going into every frame of film we see, we would ALL look that good. And even if they do, chances are good that they wouldn't be able to see themselves in that light if they tried. Thank you, modern Western culture! *raspberry*
Meanwhile, on the other side of that equation, a lot of the stars I think of as "acknowledged gorgeous" weren't always considered so. Not everyone who captures the public imagination is a flawlessly structured freak of nature. An awful lot of them weren't regarded -- or even cast -- as All That early in their careers, but as they became bigger stars and appeared in more glamorous images, the established opinion shifted. Don't believe me? Look at Jennifer Aniston. Gillian Anderson (the glamorization of Scully over the seasons as The X-Files gained audience is a textbook case). Cate Blanchett. Brittany Murphy.
Not a one of them started out as a bombshell. Now the captions on the red-carpet photos sanction every one of them as gorgeous.
This isn't anything new, of course. Raise your hand if you guessed this winding path would eventually lead back to Lizzie Siddal. (Hey, at least I'm consistent!) Who was, contrary to the romanticized version of the story you run across a lot, discovered because Walter Deverell wanted a Viola for his Twelfth Night painting who could look like a boy. Early letters and other papers of the Pre-Raphaelites indicate that most of them initially regarded her as -- you guessed it -- plain. Her height, angularity, red hair, all worked against her according to the standards of mid-nineteenth-century England.
(I crack up every time I read William Holman Hunt's description of her as "like a queen, magnificently tall." Dude. It's 1851. Your queen is FIVE FEET TALL.)
But the point is, fast-forward a couple years, and Rossetti and the boys have established Lizzie as the archetypal "stunner," and basically nobody admits ever thinking she was anything but amazingly beautiful.
I don't know exactly what the magic formula is of style, confidence, good press, and the herd mentality of the public. But at the end of the day, an awful lot of it really is smoke and mirrors. (Even before the spectre of the airbrush figures into the equation!)
I've wandered rather astray from the "plain" question, though of course it's all related and interlocking and scrambled. One thing that did strike me in the course of this little quest was, while I had assumed it was basically an archaic usage, people actually do still use it! And not just in historical romance novels! I'm suddenly noticing it in movie reviews, casting breakdowns, even several times on that TVTropes pages I linked earlier. People use it like any other word, with the implicit assumption that people reading it will understand it to mean the same thing the writer is thinking.
And the thing that still interests me is that I'm not sure that's ever been the case.
When playing a historical or literary character, there's both a blessing and a curse in the easy availability of other people's opinions about that person. I understand -- intellectually, at least -- why many actors avoid those opinions. (Some with a fervor generally reserved for, say, Barney the purple dinosaur.) Especially when there's a breadth of opinion available, it takes a little doing to take them objectively, with particular care needed to deal with the most thoughtful and the most forceful.
Even before my recent few months of living with Charlotte Lucas, I'm pretty sure I would have rolled my eyes at some of the criticism I've seen. I've always had a soft spot for Charlotte. But that little pang of taking it a bit personally, that's new. Kind of fun, though, if you keep it in its place.
In my various reading around for that show, I rediscovered something that I really already knew: Even more than "the one who marries Mr. Collins" (whether out of simple pragmatism or outright gold-digging selfishness depends on whom you ask, and I'm not even going to touch the blog post I ran across that accused her of duping Collins into thinking she loved him -- as if love and marriage had any bearing on one another in HIS thinking!), she's always "the plain one." Not quite so repetitively as Mary Bennet, perhaps, who has the misfortune to be lost in the middle a sparkling set of sisters. But it's certainly a defining characteristic fixed in people's minds, giving rise to perennial debates as to, for instance, whether Lucy Scott in the 1995 miniseries is "too pretty" for the role.Which is why one of the first things I noticed about Christina Calvit's script is that the word is not used to describe a person even once.
The closest thing to it in reference to Charlotte is Mrs. Bennet's dismissal of Bingley's having danced first with Charlotte at the Meryton Assembly: "But he did not admire her at all -- nobody can, you know." Nor is her age -- twenty-seven, the Austen point-of-almost-no-return that she has in common with Persuasion's Anne Elliot -- specifically mentioned, though that "She will finally be married!" near the close of the first act is crystal-clear. "The only recourse for a young woman of small fortune" was nearly out of her reach... why?
By the same token, I've seen praise for versions like the Keira Knightley film for showing Charlotte as "actually plain" -- which apparently means dowdy clothes and careless hair. Which, to me, makes very little sense. It seems to me to be projecting onto her the modern idea of an intelligent woman who rejects the trappings of beauty as frivolous. It seems to me, though, that her very intelligence and pragmatism dictate that she make herself as attractive as possible. She's the firstborn daughter of a man with a title but relatively little wealth, and her stated and confirmed goal is to secure her future by marrying well. She's not going to accomplish that by looking like she's given up, and she's too smart not to know that.
My Charlotte, then, was perhaps a little awkward. A little self-conscious of being not as pretty as Lizzy or Jane. Whether that self-image is factual or not doesn't matter. Red hair wasn't terribly popular then, so that was to my advantage, as was the simple expedient of using less makeup than I normally would for stage, resulting in a generally washed-out impression. I didn't have to be a mess for the audience to believe the eligible male attention would be fixed on those younger friends.So that solved my approach to what "plain" meant for this particular role. But the expression itself? That's a bigger question.
I remember studying the illustrations in fairy-tale editions of my childhood, searching for the oddly elusive meaning in context of that very simple word: Plain. While its usage in the stories told me it was some sort of contrast to the "beautiful" heroine, it was obvious even to my eight- or nine-year-old mind that there were nuances I found murky, which were probably crystal clear to the readers/audiences of the time in which the tales were written down.
That time, I know now, was mostly the late eighteenth to mid-nineteenth century, and sure enough, it's in the literature of that age -- Austen, the Bronte sisters -- that I found more instances of this linguistic enigma to ponder.
During rehearsals for P&P, out of curiosity, I took an informal poll of my online friends and acquaintances. What emerged was a pretty equal balance of two basic interpretations, with a third clocking several votes as well:
One, that it's genteel code for "ugly," reserved for people (mostly, but not entirely, women -- Austen in particular applied it to several male characters) whose class and/or breeding made it taboo to openly describe them as such.
Two, that it refers to someone who's neither beautiful nor ugly, but somewhere in between. There's division within this one on whether it means that the person is entirely nondescript, or that they could have some distinctive features that would disqualify them from "beautiful." (Which merges at the edge into the first interpretation, depending on how narrowly the standard of beauty is defined and how little deviation is tolerated before a person is considered outright ugly. Told you this was complicated, didn't I?)
The third, less common interpretation had less to do with a person's actual physical structure, and more with their demeanor and style -- that a "plain" person was one who did not stand out, but with more glamorous trappings and confidence they might be considered beautiful. One answer in this category equated it with "Hollywood homely," and there's another word -- "homely" -- that one could puzzle over for ages!
Though the first two are the ones that have always played tug-of-war in my head when I ran across a "plain" character in a story, it's this third one I find intriguing me the most. And the one that just might be the most accurate after all. Even if you've never heard that "Hollywood homely" phrase above, I'm betting you knew immediately what it meant: Take a perfectly attractive (if not outright gorgeous) woman, add insecurity and an unfashionable hairstyle and/or clothing, play down every feature a makeup artist is trained to play up, and top off with optional glasses. Boom! Instant "plain."
Real-life women who don't consider themselves attractive (which is, sadly, the vast majority in our society) are then supposed to identify with this creature, but there's a problem: They see right through it. Or they think they do. It's a trick, they say. Under all that stereotype is just another knockout actress.
Sometimes they're right. Sometimes -- usually in cases where the character in question goes through an ugly-duckling transformation (or, as they call it over at TVTropes -- which I will warn you right now is one of the most time-suckingly fascinating sites on the entire Internet, so proceed with caution! -- "Beautiful All Along") -- the actress in question is someone with the kind of flawless physical structure that might make her jump at the chance to have a different image (however silly we all pretty much think it is these days) for part of a movie, in hopes of eventually, somewhere, getting something that will allow her to stretch the chops she's trained for.
(Yes, I know drop-dead-gorgeous-without-a-speck-of-makeup actors -- even guys -- who have to live with that. No, I will never, ever say, "Gee, we should all have such problems." I've seen how much harder they have to work to be taken seriously, especially if they were *gasp* models first. But that's mostly another topic.)
An awful lot, though, I see the "Hollywood homely" label applied to people like Judy Greer or Janeane Garafolo, who've spent much of their career playing best friend to one freakishly gorgeous lead or another. (Yep, we're totally talking about my type here, so I probably think about this more than most people.) And so often I see comments to the effect of "Yeah, but she only looks plain next to THAT. She's perfectly attractive by the standards of the real world."
Which is true as far as it goes... except when it comes from women who I would consider to be equally so, but they don't believe that. They may or may not have realized that, with the careful styling, makeup and lighting going into every frame of film we see, we would ALL look that good. And even if they do, chances are good that they wouldn't be able to see themselves in that light if they tried. Thank you, modern Western culture! *raspberry*
Meanwhile, on the other side of that equation, a lot of the stars I think of as "acknowledged gorgeous" weren't always considered so. Not everyone who captures the public imagination is a flawlessly structured freak of nature. An awful lot of them weren't regarded -- or even cast -- as All That early in their careers, but as they became bigger stars and appeared in more glamorous images, the established opinion shifted. Don't believe me? Look at Jennifer Aniston. Gillian Anderson (the glamorization of Scully over the seasons as The X-Files gained audience is a textbook case). Cate Blanchett. Brittany Murphy.
Not a one of them started out as a bombshell. Now the captions on the red-carpet photos sanction every one of them as gorgeous.
This isn't anything new, of course. Raise your hand if you guessed this winding path would eventually lead back to Lizzie Siddal. (Hey, at least I'm consistent!) Who was, contrary to the romanticized version of the story you run across a lot, discovered because Walter Deverell wanted a Viola for his Twelfth Night painting who could look like a boy. Early letters and other papers of the Pre-Raphaelites indicate that most of them initially regarded her as -- you guessed it -- plain. Her height, angularity, red hair, all worked against her according to the standards of mid-nineteenth-century England.(I crack up every time I read William Holman Hunt's description of her as "like a queen, magnificently tall." Dude. It's 1851. Your queen is FIVE FEET TALL.)
But the point is, fast-forward a couple years, and Rossetti and the boys have established Lizzie as the archetypal "stunner," and basically nobody admits ever thinking she was anything but amazingly beautiful.
I don't know exactly what the magic formula is of style, confidence, good press, and the herd mentality of the public. But at the end of the day, an awful lot of it really is smoke and mirrors. (Even before the spectre of the airbrush figures into the equation!)
I've wandered rather astray from the "plain" question, though of course it's all related and interlocking and scrambled. One thing that did strike me in the course of this little quest was, while I had assumed it was basically an archaic usage, people actually do still use it! And not just in historical romance novels! I'm suddenly noticing it in movie reviews, casting breakdowns, even several times on that TVTropes pages I linked earlier. People use it like any other word, with the implicit assumption that people reading it will understand it to mean the same thing the writer is thinking.
And the thing that still interests me is that I'm not sure that's ever been the case.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)