I'm spending the day writing and watching Slings and Arrows. For those of you haven't seen it, you really should. Especially if you're Canadian! An incredibly honest take on what theatre is and what effect it should have on audiences. I've seen the series from beginning to end so many times that I actually just have it on in the background as I work. Occasionally, I'll catch one of my favourite quotes, or switch screens so that I can watch my favourite scenes. It's helping me write my logbook for class.
We have to write these reflections on our creative process, and I actually love doing it. It helps organize my thoughts and re-realize what I'm doing here. It puts things in perspective; for me, it's just as much about the rehearsals as it is about the performance. Sure, the adrenaline rush that comes with an audience is unbeatable, but it's also all about the rehearsals, where you put all the tools of the trade into practice. As I write, I'm reliving the improvisations that we did, remembering justifications for my backstory and replaying experiments that led to what my character ended up being. God, it's fun. Hell, it's play!
I've been feeling really inspired and creative as of late. I'm officially on spring break now, away from the classroom and the practice, but I'm still fueled. It's stimulating. I'm anxious to start my next project, and until then, I'm just writing. Non stop! It's like one art leads to another. Acting is on pause, and writing comes in to keep me stimulated. Quote from season one Slings and Arrows: "The theatre is an empty box, and it's our responsibility to fill it with anger, ecstasy and revolution." When you don't have a theatre, as an actor, I think you have to find other ways of keeping the revolution going so that when you get back to it, you're ready to roar. For me, I'm keeping it up through writing. I'm sure most of it is coming out as rants and raves, but it's all ultimately just exploring human nature. I think of the past and how it differs from the present, and wonder what it would be like to live in say, Ancient Greece.
A few days ago, I went to the British Museum and sat amongst ruins of the Parthenon and statues of the gods. Playwrights would write in honour of these gods, and would pray to the the muses for inspiration. It was all celebration of the human spirit, and lessons of morality disguised in piety. And these plays would keep audiences engaged, and leave them questioning. What a powerful thing. Theatre has the power to change. I think the challenge today is that it now has to compete with television, work, nightlife, the exhaustion of daily life... But if you can change people for even the little while right after a show, when they gush about what they had just seen, isn't that a triumph?
Last night, I went to see Once. Compared to the film, they played the love story a lot more. By the end of it, I left the theatre feeling that incomparable feeling of being loved. To translate what you feel to the audience and so to change them, even for a little bit... that's what it's all about, isn't it?
Happy World Theatre Day! Take a minute, and think of a production that has been unforgettable. One that you can remember, and start to feel the chills of comedy, romance or tragedy that it may have inspired.
We have to write these reflections on our creative process, and I actually love doing it. It helps organize my thoughts and re-realize what I'm doing here. It puts things in perspective; for me, it's just as much about the rehearsals as it is about the performance. Sure, the adrenaline rush that comes with an audience is unbeatable, but it's also all about the rehearsals, where you put all the tools of the trade into practice. As I write, I'm reliving the improvisations that we did, remembering justifications for my backstory and replaying experiments that led to what my character ended up being. God, it's fun. Hell, it's play!
I've been feeling really inspired and creative as of late. I'm officially on spring break now, away from the classroom and the practice, but I'm still fueled. It's stimulating. I'm anxious to start my next project, and until then, I'm just writing. Non stop! It's like one art leads to another. Acting is on pause, and writing comes in to keep me stimulated. Quote from season one Slings and Arrows: "The theatre is an empty box, and it's our responsibility to fill it with anger, ecstasy and revolution." When you don't have a theatre, as an actor, I think you have to find other ways of keeping the revolution going so that when you get back to it, you're ready to roar. For me, I'm keeping it up through writing. I'm sure most of it is coming out as rants and raves, but it's all ultimately just exploring human nature. I think of the past and how it differs from the present, and wonder what it would be like to live in say, Ancient Greece.
A few days ago, I went to the British Museum and sat amongst ruins of the Parthenon and statues of the gods. Playwrights would write in honour of these gods, and would pray to the the muses for inspiration. It was all celebration of the human spirit, and lessons of morality disguised in piety. And these plays would keep audiences engaged, and leave them questioning. What a powerful thing. Theatre has the power to change. I think the challenge today is that it now has to compete with television, work, nightlife, the exhaustion of daily life... But if you can change people for even the little while right after a show, when they gush about what they had just seen, isn't that a triumph?
Last night, I went to see Once. Compared to the film, they played the love story a lot more. By the end of it, I left the theatre feeling that incomparable feeling of being loved. To translate what you feel to the audience and so to change them, even for a little bit... that's what it's all about, isn't it?
Happy World Theatre Day! Take a minute, and think of a production that has been unforgettable. One that you can remember, and start to feel the chills of comedy, romance or tragedy that it may have inspired.