Theatre Ventoux

OK, this is in response to a number of people recently asking me which books I would recommend that an actor read. I’m never really sure how to answer that question, because what lights my fire might not light theirs. What I’ve decided is that there are three distinct answers to the question, so I’ll present them all here.

Answer One
I suppose that there is a canon of sorts that every serious theatre craftsman should be familiar with just in terms of history, major movements, styles, etcetera. I have no doubt that such canonical lists abound on the internet so I won’t reproduce them here. Check out any online course syllabus from any drama class at any major university, or look at the reading lists on amazon.com. Don’t get me wrong; I’m not trying to suggest that these works are without value to the individual actor. They have great value and are canonical for just that reason. However, like so many things canonical, if not approached in the right way, they become merely relics of old ideas, read just because they happened to survive rather than to plumb their depths. I know far too many actors who have read Quintillian, and Aristotle, and Craig, and Stanislavski, and Artaud, and Brook, and Grotowski, and whoever else you might care to name, in the former manner and are no better for it except to be able to say that they have read them. By all means, read them, read them all, but read them with a drive to learn from them, not simply because someone says they’re important. Life’s too short for that.

Answer Two
Read anything and everything that fuels your individual fire. It doesn’t matter what it is: literature, genre fiction, non-fiction, comic books, bubble gum wrappers, or Congolese midget porn…whatever fuels you creatively as a human being fuels your craft and your art. Never let anyone tell you differently. If someone does, refer them to me. Better yet, just tell them what I would tell them: “Sod off!”

Answer Three
These are specific books that have directly influenced my thoughts on theatre and acting, or have had a direct influence on my acting. They are all theatre related and in no particular order.
The Actor’s Eye by Morris Carnovsky: An artistic treasure trove that so clearly crystallizes what we are trying to so as actors. Unfortunately out of print.
The Intent To Live by Larry Moss: An excellent, if somewhat indulgent, primer on the basics of Stanislavski, and much more accessible than the translations of Stanislavski.
The Actor and the Target by Declan Donnellan: Provides some nice refinements to the System’s basics as well as proposing some provocative new ideas.
Stanislavski in Focus by Sharon Carnicke: Clarifies a number of misconceptions and places them in their histroical context. Makes one wish for newer translations of Stanislavski’s work.
The Empty Space by Peter Brook: The only book listed in everyone’s canon that really did anything for me.
Playing Shakespeare by John Barton: Indispensible if you’re planning to take on the Bard (and if you’re not, what the hell’s the matter with you?)
Speaking Shakespeare by Patsy Rodenburg: See above.
Improvisation for the Theatre by Viola Spolin: The introductory material alone is worth the cost of the book.
Book on Improvisation by Stephen Book: Takes everything you ever knew about acting and turns it inside out. The ideas and the work are immediately applicable and up the stakes like nothing else I have come across. My Bible.

The following books, also in no particular order, are not theatre specific, but I cannot emphasize enough their impact on what I belive and do.
Freedom from the Known by Jiddhu Krishnamurti: Just when you thought you knew what inspiration was….
Zen in the Art of Archery bu Eugen Herrigal: This is what training is like.
The Book by Alan Watts: Will teach you everything you ever need to know about being part of the whole.
Living Without a Goal by James Ogilvy: Will teach you everything you need to know about being in the moment.
Dune, Dune Messiah, etc by Frank Herbert: Not the stories, the epigrams.
No Boundary by Ken Wilber: Blows away all of the excuses.
Finite and Infinite Games by James P. Carse: Nothing is the same after this….
The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran: The most sublime statement of Love and Divinity ever penned.

So there it is.
Happy reading.

etonne-moi!

This Flattering Glass closes tomorrow, and we cannot even begin to put into words how honored, humbled and proud we feel about the whole experience. We’ve never worked with a group of people more dedicated to excellence than this cast and crew.

But Da Count today is for another group of people: those who have supported us. Chris and Julie Ann for faith and space and lights. Marcel for advice, video tape, and just being there. Nora for being president of our fan club. Suzanne for being a treasure beyond value. Mike, Nancy, Kate, Patrick, Will, Donald, Jessi, and Charles for congratulations, encouragement, and very kind words. Everyone who has seen the show for taking time out of their lives.

Vive le bullshit!

www.fresnobeehive.com

I just wanted to extend my most sincere thanks and gratitude to Greg and Lisa and the rest of the cast and crew. Without any of you we would not be able to play and WOW the audiences!

Hey, let’s get together and crank this thing out 4 more times! Yay!!!!

Thank you!!!

Viva la Bullshit!

Alais!

Well, we’re finally here! It’s the week of opening and tonight and tomorrow night we are previewing the show.

Dress rehearsals are always a bit tempestuous… new playing space, costumes, hair/make up, lights, props, etc. Mondays are always the worst, Tuesdays are 10,000 times better and by Wednesday/Thursday you are just ironing out the final wrinkles and the show gels nicely.

We are at that place in time where our show will reach the beauty it is meant to be. There are always 6 more changes and I have seen some new things from the cast mates even now. It is exciting and I can’t wait for there to be an audience and to feed off their response.

This show kicks! I love performing in it, I love working with this group of people and I can’t wait to share that love with all of you!

Thank you to all!

Break legs!!!!

Alais

Our actors…those amazingly gifted and wonderfully beautiful people that we have been blessed to spend the last four weeks with: Renee “Alais” Newlove, Dave “Bushy” Otero, Hal “Edmund” Bolen, Stephen “Edward” Torres, Jessica “Eleanor” Reedy, Ron “Gaunt” Blackwell, RJ “Henry” Blak, Arthur “Hotspur” Koster, Melissa “Isabel” Geston, Julia “Joan” Reimer, Rene “Mowbray” Lastreto, and Matt “Richard” Otstot.

You rock our world.

as of last night we concluded the first major phase of our rehearsals for “this flattering glass.” the language, relationship, emotion, action, and character exploration is done (inasmuch as those things are ever truly “done.”) and, while i had absolute faith in the ventoux process , it was always the actors themselves who would prove my faith warranted.

and i now find it “all unpossible” to voice the humility and honor that i have felt in their presence for the last three weeks. they are Actors! each of them, renee, dave, hal, stephen, jessica, ron, rj, arthur, melissa, julia, rene, and matt, in their own way and to their own degree, have taken what i was confident would be a workable and useful tool for actors, and demonstrated, nightly, what Will and Dedication can accomplish when melded with Craft.

as we enter the final shaping phase of rehearsals, let me simply thank you for all you have done, and for all that i know you will continue to do.

and to alissa: thank you for joining our merry troupe and for your enthusiasm, professionalism and dedication. hell, girl, you scare me…and that’s just what a good stage manager should do.

and my darling lisa, my partner, my touchstone, my wife, my Love: none of this is possible without you. more importantly, without you, none of it matters.

etonne-moi
gt

a few random thoughts that i had during the course of last night’s rehearsal (in no particular order): oh yes…GOOD!…i told you NOT to play with the guns…YES…i really need to learn my lines…hm, it doesn’t fall out when i have it…YESYESYESYESYES…i’m so happy…damn

Exciting is when you can’t wait for the rest of your day to go by so you can go to rehearsal…. This play is exciting; this theatre company is exciting!

In our “focus ups” GT has lead us through a particular exercise that I find to be the most helpful. It’s the Space Ball exercise. Now this is no ordinary ball, this ball can be any shape, size and it changes on a whim. This ball emotes too.

The hardest part for me is to get the Space Ball out on my head. I can picture a ball, you can say “think of a volleyball,” and my mind will picture a volleyball. This is not the Space Ball exercise. The Space Ball is made of the space in front of you. It’s up to you to make the Space Ball real and to play with the ball. We play with the Space Ball on our own and sometimes we combine Space Balls and play with a partner or a group. It’s interesting to see what the other cast members come up with, new way to play with the Space Ball, different games to play with the Space Ball, it’s all individualized and real.

Last night we played with the Space Balls as we were feeling different emotions. We were experiencing different feelings in regards to our relationship with the Space Ball. I feel bad for my Space Ball because I was more aggressive with it and it went through some abuse.

After our exercise is completed, I can feel my palm tingle as if I can still feel the ball, my arms are warm from the movements and playing, my legs tingle from focusing on moving to get the ball, and I’m a little out of breathe (because I am out of shape) from playing with the ball. My whole entire body is so focused on playing with the Space Ball, it is that real. And it’s totally trippy to experience.

I love this exercise because it not only focuses my mind but my entire body too. I can put that energy into playing on stage with the actors and the space. Placing emotions into our Space Ball exercise raises the stakes and makes the playing that much more intense.

I have to say thank you to the ensemble for letting go of inhibitions, for following the exercises and for giving 100% to the space… the ensemble makes the environment open and welcome to be free to play! Thank you!

Alais