Theatre is silly, quite like life itself. Time is wasted on the small things. A task is accomplished, only to be undone soon enough. People have to communicate together, try to understand what vision is being shared.
We try to tame fate by scripting lines and preparing lighting and sound cues. When something goes wrong, we desperately attempt to cover the mistake. We think that, if we can get through the show, if we can make people laugh, or make people cry, it'll all be worth it. And it is, damn it! Those countless hours of intense work melt in the face of a smile, a gleam.
"Suspension of disbelief doesn't only apply to the audience" says Adam. And he's right. A comedian was sharing his (frightening) stories of sleep-walking on This American Life and mentionned that, to be a comedian, you had to be in denial, to a certain extent. You couldn't possibly keep on bombing every night at the beginning of your career and climb back on stage the next day if you weren't in denial.
Why do we even bother, again? No idea. But we bother, again. And again.
We had our last run of Dr. Horrible's Sing-along Blog at Touchstone today, only to bring the set to Moravian college, where the show will run for another week with student actors. That means I'm still stage-managing for a little bit. And that also means we performed a show, struck it and loaded-in, all in the same day.
And as Cathleen and I were moving the ladder foot by foot to secure a cable above the lighting pipes, we were reminded of Beckett plays: the tedious, repetitive and relentlessly comic gestures of characters focused on a simple task. It dawned on me: Beckett may have drawn his inspiration from theatre itself, from steady observation and practice of theatre. Because yes, I refuse to think of Beckett as some sort of abstract, brainy author. He was, in fact, quite the practionner, someone who lived in the active voice. Someone who very plausibly moved a ladder, foot by foot, to secure a cable above the lighting pipes.
lundi 25 octobre 2010
vendredi 15 octobre 2010
A few thoughts on theatre
It's been a ragged week. A hard tech, a complicated show. But we opened last night, and it worked, and the fudging qlab software system didn't crash in the middle of the show, which is good, because otherwise I would probably not be here to write this. I would still be sobbing.
But we opened. And audience came, and they liked it.
As I was going through this week as the stage manager, I was making a mental list of all the things I need to remember to make good theatre happen, possibly without going insane.
So what I'm starting to do is compile a set of tips for myself, as I learn different jobs. I haven't followed a lot of these tips, so that's why I'm putting them on here, in order to avoid saying to myself : 'Why didn't I do that?' next time. There are some jobs I have yet never had, but the nice thing about working at Touchstone is that you get to see first hand how many different jobs are done.
So, for future reference:
Tips for the actor:
- Make strong choices.
- Research your character. What consistency does the character have? How does he/she move? Laugh? Sing?
- Try different versions of the character. Try out shades and textures. Don't settle for something until the director says to settle. And then, explore the variations of the settled choice.
- Make big mistakes during rehearsal.
- Don't be afraid to act, to do "too much", to be over the top.
- Learn your lines soon in the process and get it over with.
- Drill lines and songs (if songs are involved) on your own, at home, in the shower.
- Don't doubt your ability (Ha! Can't believe I just said that - easier said than done).
- Believe in the power of relaxation. Bad things happen when stress levels are high. Good things happen when stress levels are - level.
- Be nice to the stage manager. Answer emails, be on time, don't be a needy annoying "actor-type".
- Have fun. Don't ever forget that you are a part of a PLAY, and that's pretty darn cool.
Tips for the stage manager:
- Ask questions to all members of the team. Never be afraid to ask questions, because you have to know all the answers.
- Make sure there are many production meetings scheduled, especially when the play involves a lot of tech.
- Keep the actors in the loop. Give them schedules, and rehearsal plans. They love those.
- Never show that you are stressed out (Ha! Can't believe I just wrote that either).
- Always go through cues before the show, do a dry tech. Ignore the world during that time.
- Keep an accessible small notebook to take notes (I have yet to figure out a good system for notes).
- Write tasks to do on post-its, and throw the post-it out once the task is done.
- Always be polite, but firm.
- If people offer help, take it. Delegating tasks to responsible people is a beautiful thing. Take advantage of assistant stage managers, if you ever have the priviledge of working with them.
- Don't be a control freak. Well, try not to be too much of a control freak.
- Be aware of time, make things moving if they are slow.
- Take care of the actors. Encourage them, smile.
- Do your very best to serve the director's vision.
- Do your very best not to give your personal opinion on artistic choices, because that is not your job.
Tips for the director:
- Have a vision and stick with it.
- Be specific when talking to actors. Remember that they can't see what they are doing and that they are therefore highly insecure that what they are doing is good.
- Tweak.
- Communicate what you need with the stage manager.
- Explain your vision to the design teams, specifically, so that they can go do their tasks with a clear idea of what they have to do.
- Welcome artistic input from actors and the designing team. They will often enhance the original vision.
More tips to come....
But we opened. And audience came, and they liked it.
As I was going through this week as the stage manager, I was making a mental list of all the things I need to remember to make good theatre happen, possibly without going insane.
So what I'm starting to do is compile a set of tips for myself, as I learn different jobs. I haven't followed a lot of these tips, so that's why I'm putting them on here, in order to avoid saying to myself : 'Why didn't I do that?' next time. There are some jobs I have yet never had, but the nice thing about working at Touchstone is that you get to see first hand how many different jobs are done.
So, for future reference:
Tips for the actor:
- Make strong choices.
- Research your character. What consistency does the character have? How does he/she move? Laugh? Sing?
- Try different versions of the character. Try out shades and textures. Don't settle for something until the director says to settle. And then, explore the variations of the settled choice.
- Make big mistakes during rehearsal.
- Don't be afraid to act, to do "too much", to be over the top.
- Learn your lines soon in the process and get it over with.
- Drill lines and songs (if songs are involved) on your own, at home, in the shower.
- Don't doubt your ability (Ha! Can't believe I just said that - easier said than done).
- Believe in the power of relaxation. Bad things happen when stress levels are high. Good things happen when stress levels are - level.
- Be nice to the stage manager. Answer emails, be on time, don't be a needy annoying "actor-type".
- Have fun. Don't ever forget that you are a part of a PLAY, and that's pretty darn cool.
Tips for the stage manager:
- Ask questions to all members of the team. Never be afraid to ask questions, because you have to know all the answers.
- Make sure there are many production meetings scheduled, especially when the play involves a lot of tech.
- Keep the actors in the loop. Give them schedules, and rehearsal plans. They love those.
- Never show that you are stressed out (Ha! Can't believe I just wrote that either).
- Always go through cues before the show, do a dry tech. Ignore the world during that time.
- Keep an accessible small notebook to take notes (I have yet to figure out a good system for notes).
- Write tasks to do on post-its, and throw the post-it out once the task is done.
- Always be polite, but firm.
- If people offer help, take it. Delegating tasks to responsible people is a beautiful thing. Take advantage of assistant stage managers, if you ever have the priviledge of working with them.
- Don't be a control freak. Well, try not to be too much of a control freak.
- Be aware of time, make things moving if they are slow.
- Take care of the actors. Encourage them, smile.
- Do your very best to serve the director's vision.
- Do your very best not to give your personal opinion on artistic choices, because that is not your job.
Tips for the director:
- Have a vision and stick with it.
- Be specific when talking to actors. Remember that they can't see what they are doing and that they are therefore highly insecure that what they are doing is good.
- Tweak.
- Communicate what you need with the stage manager.
- Explain your vision to the design teams, specifically, so that they can go do their tasks with a clear idea of what they have to do.
- Welcome artistic input from actors and the designing team. They will often enhance the original vision.
More tips to come....
dimanche 3 octobre 2010
dimanche 8 août 2010
Heathrow airport
Currently in London Heathrow airport - or, mall?
Closer to Royal Holloway than I have been in years. Not enough time to drop by, though. I tried to spot the castle while we were in the air, descending towards the aeroport. No luck.
Feeling the jetlag, but not wanting to sleep. Unlike when I had a layover in Lisbon the last time, after Christmas. I couldn't stay awake, despite my attempts at concentrating in front of the portuguese news.
Happy to be in Europe. Excited about being back in Paris, and Brittany. My sister mentionned how much she missed Brittany. We are hard-wired on that air, that light, that ocean. And no matter how far we go, we can't get le Finistère out of our systems. Tant pis, tant mieux!
Closer to Royal Holloway than I have been in years. Not enough time to drop by, though. I tried to spot the castle while we were in the air, descending towards the aeroport. No luck.
Feeling the jetlag, but not wanting to sleep. Unlike when I had a layover in Lisbon the last time, after Christmas. I couldn't stay awake, despite my attempts at concentrating in front of the portuguese news.
Happy to be in Europe. Excited about being back in Paris, and Brittany. My sister mentionned how much she missed Brittany. We are hard-wired on that air, that light, that ocean. And no matter how far we go, we can't get le Finistère out of our systems. Tant pis, tant mieux!
dimanche 25 juillet 2010
Dear Oh the Cheek
Dear Oh the Cheek,
I apologize for neglecting you, not writing and sharing my thoughts on you, and thinking you can exist without me updating any information. It's not that my life is boring these days, but the heat oppresses my brain and anytime I do not have urgent tasks to do, I fall asleep without, sometimes, even realizing it. I know, it's terrible.
And yes, yes, I'll admit, I have been hooked on podcasts these last few weeks, making me forget about you a little. No, it has nothing to do with you, Cheeky, I promise. It's just that podcasts are... so... great, you know? I had not listened regularly to the radio for a full year, which is very uncharacteristic of me. But then, I was presented with the 21rst century gadget known as the ipod. It was hidden underneath my cousin's couch, found, and given to me. I had vaguely heard of podcasts, wasn't sure how they worked, thought they cost money. How wrong was I. They are free, informative (at least the ones I've followed so far) and have brought talk radio back into my life. Currently, my favourite podcasts are This American Life, NPR's Fresh Air, Living on Earth, Stuff You Should Know, and the New York Times book review. I also discovered there were video podcasts too! I need to look into that. And this may mean I'll catch French radio, regularly, all the way in America. Oh, technology. Sometimes, you are just beautiful.
But back to you Cheeky, I still value you and your terrific readers. I'm just learning to adjust to this new form of podcast media to which I have just been introduced. But you are a faithful companion, and I will come back to you, and keep you strong.
Sincerely,
Anne
I apologize for neglecting you, not writing and sharing my thoughts on you, and thinking you can exist without me updating any information. It's not that my life is boring these days, but the heat oppresses my brain and anytime I do not have urgent tasks to do, I fall asleep without, sometimes, even realizing it. I know, it's terrible.
And yes, yes, I'll admit, I have been hooked on podcasts these last few weeks, making me forget about you a little. No, it has nothing to do with you, Cheeky, I promise. It's just that podcasts are... so... great, you know? I had not listened regularly to the radio for a full year, which is very uncharacteristic of me. But then, I was presented with the 21rst century gadget known as the ipod. It was hidden underneath my cousin's couch, found, and given to me. I had vaguely heard of podcasts, wasn't sure how they worked, thought they cost money. How wrong was I. They are free, informative (at least the ones I've followed so far) and have brought talk radio back into my life. Currently, my favourite podcasts are This American Life, NPR's Fresh Air, Living on Earth, Stuff You Should Know, and the New York Times book review. I also discovered there were video podcasts too! I need to look into that. And this may mean I'll catch French radio, regularly, all the way in America. Oh, technology. Sometimes, you are just beautiful.
But back to you Cheeky, I still value you and your terrific readers. I'm just learning to adjust to this new form of podcast media to which I have just been introduced. But you are a faithful companion, and I will come back to you, and keep you strong.
Sincerely,
Anne
samedi 26 juin 2010
Les médias français sous surveillance
Le 7 avril 2009, je m'étais fait du souci à propos de l'avenir de France Inter, et je m'interrogeais sur la réelle liberté de la presse en France. Et quest-ce que j'apprends aujourd'hui? Les deux humoristes irrévérencieux de la station - Stéphane Guillon et Didier Porte - sont virés!!!
Je m'y attendais, mais en même temps je suis quand même tristement surprise, navrée.
Voici la lettre ouverte envoyée par l'ensemble de la rédaction de France Inter aux auditeurs:
---------------------------------------------------------
La société des journalistes et la Société des producteurs de France Inter adressent une lettre aux auditeurs de la chaîne. La voici
Lettre ouverte aux auditeurs de France Inter
Chers auditeurs, C’est à vous que nous souhaitons nous adresser après l’éviction de Didier Porte et Stéphane Guillon. Evictions que nous avons apprises, comme vous, en écoutant l’antenne ce mercredi. Nous sommes sous le choc de ces annonces aussi brutales qu’incompréhensibles. Que se passe t-il dans notre radio, celle que vous aimez et celle que nous fabriquons ? Ce qui se joue à France Inter, au-delà même des personnes concernées, nous semble lourd de symbole quant à l’identité de votre, de notre radio. Nous vivons un tournant qui nous inquiète dans l’histoire de cette station. Nous, personnels de France Inter, partageons un attachement indéfectible à la liberté de ton, à l’impertinence, à l’exigence, à la différence et c’est ce que nous défendons tous les jours à l’antenne. Ce qui a fait le sel et la valeur de cette station depuis tant d’années ne peut devenir un simple argument publicitaire vide de sens. Ces valeurs dont nous sommes fiers et qui représentent l’ADN de France Inter, se trouvent remises en cause et gravement menacées. Avec le renvoi de ces deux humoristes se pose la question de la garantie de notre indépendance. De très nombreux membres du personnel de France Inter, techniciens, réalisateurs, attachés de productions et assistants d’édition, se joignent à nous, journalistes et producteurs pour vous adresser ce message. Etre une radio de service public a un sens. Vous auditeurs, nous personnels de France Inter, devons veiller à en garantir la pérennité !
24 Juin 2010
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Et ci-joint une excellente chronique de Guillon. Juste, dévastatrice et déprimante:
http://www.lepost.fr/article/2010/06/21/2122816_stephane-guillon-compare-les-bleus-au-gouvernement-un-tacle-bien-appuye.html
Je m'y attendais, mais en même temps je suis quand même tristement surprise, navrée.
Voici la lettre ouverte envoyée par l'ensemble de la rédaction de France Inter aux auditeurs:
---------------------------------------------------------
La société des journalistes et la Société des producteurs de France Inter adressent une lettre aux auditeurs de la chaîne. La voici
Lettre ouverte aux auditeurs de France Inter
Chers auditeurs, C’est à vous que nous souhaitons nous adresser après l’éviction de Didier Porte et Stéphane Guillon. Evictions que nous avons apprises, comme vous, en écoutant l’antenne ce mercredi. Nous sommes sous le choc de ces annonces aussi brutales qu’incompréhensibles. Que se passe t-il dans notre radio, celle que vous aimez et celle que nous fabriquons ? Ce qui se joue à France Inter, au-delà même des personnes concernées, nous semble lourd de symbole quant à l’identité de votre, de notre radio. Nous vivons un tournant qui nous inquiète dans l’histoire de cette station. Nous, personnels de France Inter, partageons un attachement indéfectible à la liberté de ton, à l’impertinence, à l’exigence, à la différence et c’est ce que nous défendons tous les jours à l’antenne. Ce qui a fait le sel et la valeur de cette station depuis tant d’années ne peut devenir un simple argument publicitaire vide de sens. Ces valeurs dont nous sommes fiers et qui représentent l’ADN de France Inter, se trouvent remises en cause et gravement menacées. Avec le renvoi de ces deux humoristes se pose la question de la garantie de notre indépendance. De très nombreux membres du personnel de France Inter, techniciens, réalisateurs, attachés de productions et assistants d’édition, se joignent à nous, journalistes et producteurs pour vous adresser ce message. Etre une radio de service public a un sens. Vous auditeurs, nous personnels de France Inter, devons veiller à en garantir la pérennité !
24 Juin 2010
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Et ci-joint une excellente chronique de Guillon. Juste, dévastatrice et déprimante:
http://www.lepost.fr/article/2010/06/21/2122816_stephane-guillon-compare-les-bleus-au-gouvernement-un-tacle-bien-appuye.html
vendredi 25 juin 2010
Two catch words : "Populaire" and "Community"
Summer! Warmth, heat, sweat, late sunny evenings, ice-cream, world cup... Now that I got myself a hat, I'm not fearing a heat stroke every time I set foot on the sidewalk, so life is good!
A week ago, the Southside Film festival happened in Bethlehem. 4 days of film screenings, parties, talk-back sessions, and opportunities to appreciate the creative and entrepreunerial drive present in the Bethlehem community. There, I said it. Community. That's one of those words I don't like to use too much. Because it's so full of political precedent. Everyone believes in community building, everyone wants people to live happily ever after together in the same neighborhood, blah blah blah.
But I have to say that the South Side fest is true to the core of the word. It's organised by local volunteer leaders, it uses the spaces of the town, from the Lehigh University campus to the local shops and coffee-shops. The general quarters are located at Deja Brew, the late night parties happen at the Wild Flower cafe, the opening party was at the decor-shop Home and Planet. People from Bethlehem made sure to come, there were auditoriums full of people watching documentary films, shorts and feature-lenghts, all non-mainstream films, part of the festival circuit. And yet, no snobbiness whatsoever. Just a love of film and a passion to make such a large-scale grassroots event work out. This is the festival's 7th year, and it's stronger than ever.
Touchstone also engages with community, working in local schools, bringing shows to kids during the summer, opening its space to artistic groups. The word "community" comes up a lot in our work, and yet we try to use it sparingly. Because it can quickly become stale, dishonest, hypocritical. And we don't want that.
I find similarities between the use of the word "community" in the US, and the word "populaire" in France. Maybe it's because the shadow of the Revolution follows French culture even to this day, but something that is "populaire" is very often seen as something good: Front populaire, fête populaire, bal populaire, soupe populaire, secours populaire, rassemblement populaire, etc.
And that word has been used SO MUCH by the political elite in France that it really is hard to stomach. To the extent that anytime someone says something is "populaire", I glance at them with distrust in my eyes.
But then, when a real "populaire" community event is set up, you can forget about the word, and revel in the beauty of being together. When the audience about to see an Ariane Mnouchkine theatre production is eating delightful food served by the crew in a tent on the outskirts of Paris, that audience is involved in what could be called a "dîner populaire", but all we're thinking about is how good the food is, and how nice it is to be there.
Same for the film festival in Douarnenez. Queues of people waiting to get into the cinema, dinners of sardines and fries made outside in a school courtyard... it might be called "populaire", but it's just a bunch of people having fun together.
So my question is: have we gotten to the point in our societies where we need to use catch words like "community" and "populaire" to bring people together? We must be pretty disengaged from our neighbors if we constantly have to find excuses and schemes to look at each other in the eyes and engage in activities. But since that seems to be the case, then it's all the more important for local leaders everywhere to show how natural it is to engage in community, and to have fun in a "populaire" kind of way. With no political agenda, just for the sake of being human.
A week ago, the Southside Film festival happened in Bethlehem. 4 days of film screenings, parties, talk-back sessions, and opportunities to appreciate the creative and entrepreunerial drive present in the Bethlehem community. There, I said it. Community. That's one of those words I don't like to use too much. Because it's so full of political precedent. Everyone believes in community building, everyone wants people to live happily ever after together in the same neighborhood, blah blah blah.
But I have to say that the South Side fest is true to the core of the word. It's organised by local volunteer leaders, it uses the spaces of the town, from the Lehigh University campus to the local shops and coffee-shops. The general quarters are located at Deja Brew, the late night parties happen at the Wild Flower cafe, the opening party was at the decor-shop Home and Planet. People from Bethlehem made sure to come, there were auditoriums full of people watching documentary films, shorts and feature-lenghts, all non-mainstream films, part of the festival circuit. And yet, no snobbiness whatsoever. Just a love of film and a passion to make such a large-scale grassroots event work out. This is the festival's 7th year, and it's stronger than ever.
Touchstone also engages with community, working in local schools, bringing shows to kids during the summer, opening its space to artistic groups. The word "community" comes up a lot in our work, and yet we try to use it sparingly. Because it can quickly become stale, dishonest, hypocritical. And we don't want that.
I find similarities between the use of the word "community" in the US, and the word "populaire" in France. Maybe it's because the shadow of the Revolution follows French culture even to this day, but something that is "populaire" is very often seen as something good: Front populaire, fête populaire, bal populaire, soupe populaire, secours populaire, rassemblement populaire, etc.
And that word has been used SO MUCH by the political elite in France that it really is hard to stomach. To the extent that anytime someone says something is "populaire", I glance at them with distrust in my eyes.
But then, when a real "populaire" community event is set up, you can forget about the word, and revel in the beauty of being together. When the audience about to see an Ariane Mnouchkine theatre production is eating delightful food served by the crew in a tent on the outskirts of Paris, that audience is involved in what could be called a "dîner populaire", but all we're thinking about is how good the food is, and how nice it is to be there.
Same for the film festival in Douarnenez. Queues of people waiting to get into the cinema, dinners of sardines and fries made outside in a school courtyard... it might be called "populaire", but it's just a bunch of people having fun together.
So my question is: have we gotten to the point in our societies where we need to use catch words like "community" and "populaire" to bring people together? We must be pretty disengaged from our neighbors if we constantly have to find excuses and schemes to look at each other in the eyes and engage in activities. But since that seems to be the case, then it's all the more important for local leaders everywhere to show how natural it is to engage in community, and to have fun in a "populaire" kind of way. With no political agenda, just for the sake of being human.
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