Less Waiting and More Creating
It's a bit annoying to hear a big-time actor interviewed and they say that one of their parents was a "frustrated actor living in (name a city)." We live in cities we love and bring our "A" game to each performance or creation. Perhaps appreciation will come from one of the coasts or Chicago, but if it doesn't, that doesn't mean that we were frustrated in creating something to the very best of our ability. Our art is fleeting, but so is everything in this temporal universe. W
Finding the Theatre that Fits Your Play
After a few years of submitting plays to theatres and contests I've been rethinking my approach. A little bit of research along with some instinct tells me that I'm running out of time to try and win a competition. :-) It seems most successful playwrights have a relationship with a theatre that produces the kind of plays they write. I have two plays that I believe are ready for production. Each is is geared toward the elderly and those of retirement age. Glenda Mace and Gordo
Memorizing Lines
I've always used a tape recorder to learn my lines. (I guess the word "tape" is becoming obsolete. "Audio recorder?") I usually record my lines and the cues separately. I strive to know my lines fairly well by the first rehearsal. It helps if the director has set a date to be off book and a date for no further prompting. It also helps if the director adheres to the deadline. When I taught, I can recall a student telling me that I'd have to prompt every word. "So be it," I sai
My First Produced Play!
https://www.facebook.com/events/347201428997814/ Cloud9 Memphis, specializing in plays produced by and about, ahem, the more seasoned among us, has agreed to produce my play Some Day for a Crown. I plan on putting a pdf of the play back on this site as soon as I've worked out the details for the spring and summer productions.
Nailing a Long Speech
I learn a long passage in several steps. First I make certain I understand exactly the meaning of the words I'm saying. For the audience or the other actors to understand what I'm talking about I must understand it. Second I sit in a chair, turn off all distractions, take my glasses off and start memorizing the lines. Once I can say them sitting in a chair rapidly I get up and start pacing while saying the line. Then I begin doing other routine tasks while saying the line. Fi
