Warbles in the dark.
Showing posts with label Oleanna. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Oleanna. Show all posts
Thursday, October 25, 2012
Now the work begins.
My cast is, I think, a little freaked out when I say this. We are rehearsing Oleanna, a very, very difficult show and we have been working very hard. We have the show blocked, including fight choreography, which we are practicing every night. But when I say: 'now, the work begins', I mean that we have lines to learn, intents and needs to remember, moments to craft until they are ready. Not until they are perfect, mind, but until they are ready. So we can put the book down and really listen. That, as far as I am concerned, is the hardest part.
'But, we have been working very hard already!' My poor cast. 'This is difficult.' They have been excellent about trying listen and stay connected to each other even though the books are in hand. I think, however, even they will be surprised at how much of a leap the show will take when the book goes down and they really start to play. I can hear parts of it already getting closer but we still have ways to go and never enough time to get there. Never enough time.
So, they are freaked out because it's been such a journey already. I am sure they are wondering when it gets easy. When it gets fun! I think this one will be fun at the bar after and not before. If we are doing this show well, it should never be easy. Never. I think I am a little freaked out about this as well. But one could argue that this is always true. Regardless of what show you are doing, it should be hard.
So, onward. We will be presenting Oleanna as well as any could, I expect. If you are coming to see the show, you will not be disappointed. But, bring along someone you like to argue with because it surely ain't fun. It's work, even for the audience.
Except for, maybe, at the bar after.
Jacqui Burke is a freelance director, writer, and theatrical teacher living in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. She is currently directing and producing Oleanna by David Mamet for a two week run at the Red Sandcastle Theatre, prepping and leading her Shakespeare is Boffo! theatre arts camps for active kids, directing Love Letters for Encore Entertainment, and directing Lend Me A Tenor for Scarborough Theatre Guild. She is, also, serializing The Pretender, her first novel, online at http://thepretender-amarcienoelnovel.blogspot.ca/.
Jacqui Burke
talk/text: 647-292-0210
twitter: @jaybird01
skype: Jacquiburkecell, jacqui.burke
www.wordsnimages.com
www.jaybirdproductions.ca
www.shakespeareisboffo.ca
http://jacquiburke.blogspot.ca
http://thepretender-amarcienoelnovel.blogspot.ca/
http://jaybirdproductions.blogspot.ca/
Ask me about Shakespeare is Boffo! Premium Summer Camp for Kids. The Homeschoolers` Version: 11:00 am – 3:30 pm, August 13-17, 2012 for only $150. Quiet supervision available from 8:30 am for only an extra $50 a week. Spots are going fast. Register, now at www.shakespeareisboffo.ca
Friday, October 5, 2012
On toilet paper and underpants.
Don't worry. It's safe to read on.
When I was in my early thirties, I started working professionally as a stage manager. Stage managing is a very challenging, time consuming, hyper-responsible job which I handled with reasonable success and even some humour. But it could, at times, be difficult. Over the course of a few years, I started to notice signs - I am sure distinct to me - that told me I was trying to do a tad too much.
First, the toilet paper would run out. This initial clue was almost invariably ignored because of the ubiquitous box of kleenex. Then a few days later, I would reach into my top dresser drawer and pull out the last pair of gotchies. Now, if I dealt with the latter problem by doing some laundry, all was well. But if I dealt with the lack of underwear by stopping by Zellers to buy new ones on the way to the theatre for yet another 18 hour call, I knew I was in trouble.
Well fast forward fifteen years. Haven't stage managed in a very long time but here's me, trying to do too much, again, in a completely different role. This time I am directing and producing Oleanna. We are well in the swing of things and I am dealing with all the great moments and the 'gah!' of dealing with problems. It's getting intense.
I know because the toilet paper ran out a couple of days ago and I have been to the Zellers. Even getting this blog out (and I like to write -- I really do), has been challenging. I've been quiet for a whole month. Just can't wait to see if I can beat the Nanowrimo challenge next month (which means writing 2,500 words a day) while getting the show on its feet. I won't have a stitch of clean clothing left.
But, you know: I wouldn't have it any other way.
Jacqui Burke is a freelance director, writer, and theatrical teacher living in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. She is currently directing and producing Oleanna by David Mamet for a two week run at the Red Sandcastle Theatre, prepping and leading her Shakespeare is Boffo! theatre arts camps for active kids, directing Love Letters for Encore Entertainment, and directing Lend Me A Tenor for Scarborough Theatre Guild. She is, also, serializing The Pretender, her first novel, online at http://thepretender-amarcienoelnovel.blogspot.ca/.
Jacqui Burke
talk/text: 647-292-0210
twitter: @jaybird01
skype: Jacquiburkecell, jacqui.burke
www.wordsnimages.com
www.jaybirdproductions.ca
www.shakespeareisboffo.ca
http://jacquiburke.blogspot.ca
http://thepretender-amarcienoelnovel.blogspot.ca/
http://jaybirdproductions.blogspot.ca/
Ask me about Shakespeare is Boffo! Premium Summer Camp for Kids. The Homeschoolers` Version: 11:00 am – 3:30 pm, August 13-17, 2012 for only $150. Quiet supervision available from 8:30 am for only an extra $50 a week. Spots are going fast. Register, now at www.shakespeareisboffo.ca
When I was in my early thirties, I started working professionally as a stage manager. Stage managing is a very challenging, time consuming, hyper-responsible job which I handled with reasonable success and even some humour. But it could, at times, be difficult. Over the course of a few years, I started to notice signs - I am sure distinct to me - that told me I was trying to do a tad too much.
First, the toilet paper would run out. This initial clue was almost invariably ignored because of the ubiquitous box of kleenex. Then a few days later, I would reach into my top dresser drawer and pull out the last pair of gotchies. Now, if I dealt with the latter problem by doing some laundry, all was well. But if I dealt with the lack of underwear by stopping by Zellers to buy new ones on the way to the theatre for yet another 18 hour call, I knew I was in trouble.
Well fast forward fifteen years. Haven't stage managed in a very long time but here's me, trying to do too much, again, in a completely different role. This time I am directing and producing Oleanna. We are well in the swing of things and I am dealing with all the great moments and the 'gah!' of dealing with problems. It's getting intense.
I know because the toilet paper ran out a couple of days ago and I have been to the Zellers. Even getting this blog out (and I like to write -- I really do), has been challenging. I've been quiet for a whole month. Just can't wait to see if I can beat the Nanowrimo challenge next month (which means writing 2,500 words a day) while getting the show on its feet. I won't have a stitch of clean clothing left.
But, you know: I wouldn't have it any other way.
Jacqui Burke is a freelance director, writer, and theatrical teacher living in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. She is currently directing and producing Oleanna by David Mamet for a two week run at the Red Sandcastle Theatre, prepping and leading her Shakespeare is Boffo! theatre arts camps for active kids, directing Love Letters for Encore Entertainment, and directing Lend Me A Tenor for Scarborough Theatre Guild. She is, also, serializing The Pretender, her first novel, online at http://thepretender-amarcienoelnovel.blogspot.ca/.
Jacqui Burke
talk/text: 647-292-0210
twitter: @jaybird01
skype: Jacquiburkecell, jacqui.burke
www.wordsnimages.com
www.jaybirdproductions.ca
www.shakespeareisboffo.ca
http://jacquiburke.blogspot.ca
http://thepretender-amarcienoelnovel.blogspot.ca/
http://jaybirdproductions.blogspot.ca/
Ask me about Shakespeare is Boffo! Premium Summer Camp for Kids. The Homeschoolers` Version: 11:00 am – 3:30 pm, August 13-17, 2012 for only $150. Quiet supervision available from 8:30 am for only an extra $50 a week. Spots are going fast. Register, now at www.shakespeareisboffo.ca
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Small Detail. Big Picture.
I am fussing about pens, and water. Forms and script printouts. And I can only describe it as fussing, though this kind of behaviour is really not like me. I have taken on the two jobs of Directing and Producing this time out and, because of a twist of fate, might have to stage manage the piece as well.
For those of you who don't know what that means: The Director is in creative charge of the big picture. She will make large and small decisions, including what pens go on the desk onstage, but she will not fuss over the pens and pencils we use in rehearsal. Or the coffee, or whether we need tea or milk or whether the signs are up or... She will, instead, focus on the talent and the creative. In auditions (we are starting them tonight), the Director's full attention aught to be on the actors coming in, on assessing their abilities and deciding whether they can play the parts on offer. It's the Producer who wants to worry about whether there is an audition secretary, whether there are signs, and who wants tea.
Preparation seems to be the key word for the day -- and will be, I think, for the rest of the production. I am pretty sure I can stay weeks ahead of deadlines as long as I am clear what they are - assuming I remember everything. Tall order being a lady of a certain age. Ha! So this is probably why I am fussing.
I was worried, I have to admit, that immersion in detail might affect my enjoyment of the process. Funny from someone who used to live for the detail. I was a professional stage manager for a very long time. Lists, lists, lists. Think, think, think. Safety, safety. For me, productions were like one huge puzzle of thousands of pieces. Each piece fit together or I made it fit together and, by the time we opened, the whole machine would work. And work well, for the most part. But, now, I worry that too much attention to detail might get in the way.
As a Director, I feel I need to keep my mind and heart open to express truthfully, listen simply, and respond honestly in the hope that we can, as a group, develop a piece that makes absolute sense, resonates emotionally, and tells the story extremely well. Now, don't get me wrong. I do my due diligence, my research, make my lists, know what I want, and read, read, read the text. It's all about the text. But, when I get into rehearsal, I am capable of throwing out the lot if we start moving down a new path that really works. That's fun for me. To discover. And, it looks like this process works judging from how folks tend to respond to the work.
So I wonder: will I be able to stay open while fussing over what time it is? We shall see. This production marks my first return to sorting detail in years. Years. I think I was staying away from the minutia on purpose, actually, in order to more fully become what I am now without falling back on behaviours that were comfortable or easy. Because making a list is dead easy. Honesty is hard.
So, onward with my new theatrical experiment. Perhaps I will find that handling the small details won't get in the way of the creation of the big picture. Who knows? But I will, definitely, find out.
And, oh shoot, I'd best print out that signage.
Jacqui Burke is a freelance director, writer, and theatrical teacher living in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. She is currently directing and producing Oleanna by David Mamet for a two week run at the Red Sandcastle Theatre, prepping and leading her Shakespeare is Boffo! theatre arts camps for active kids, directing Love Letters for Encore Entertainment, and directing Lend Me A Tenor for Scarborough Theatre Guild. She is, also, serializing The Pretender, her first novel, online at http://thepretender-amarcienoelnovel.blogspot.ca/.
Jacqui Burke
talk/text: 647-292-0210
twitter: @jaybird01
skype: Jacquiburkecell, jacqui.burke
www.wordsnimages.com
www.jaybirdproductions.ca
www.shakespeareisboffo.ca
http://jacquiburke.blogspot.ca
http://thepretender-amarcienoelnovel.blogspot.ca/
http://jaybirdproductions.blogspot.ca/
Ask me about Shakespeare is Boffo! Premium Summer Camp for Kids. The Homeschoolers` Version: 11:00 am – 3:30 pm, August 13-17, 2012 for only $150. Quiet supervision available from 8:30 am for only an extra $50 a week. Spots are going fast. Register, now at www.shakespeareisboffo.ca
For those of you who don't know what that means: The Director is in creative charge of the big picture. She will make large and small decisions, including what pens go on the desk onstage, but she will not fuss over the pens and pencils we use in rehearsal. Or the coffee, or whether we need tea or milk or whether the signs are up or... She will, instead, focus on the talent and the creative. In auditions (we are starting them tonight), the Director's full attention aught to be on the actors coming in, on assessing their abilities and deciding whether they can play the parts on offer. It's the Producer who wants to worry about whether there is an audition secretary, whether there are signs, and who wants tea.
Preparation seems to be the key word for the day -- and will be, I think, for the rest of the production. I am pretty sure I can stay weeks ahead of deadlines as long as I am clear what they are - assuming I remember everything. Tall order being a lady of a certain age. Ha! So this is probably why I am fussing.
I was worried, I have to admit, that immersion in detail might affect my enjoyment of the process. Funny from someone who used to live for the detail. I was a professional stage manager for a very long time. Lists, lists, lists. Think, think, think. Safety, safety. For me, productions were like one huge puzzle of thousands of pieces. Each piece fit together or I made it fit together and, by the time we opened, the whole machine would work. And work well, for the most part. But, now, I worry that too much attention to detail might get in the way.
As a Director, I feel I need to keep my mind and heart open to express truthfully, listen simply, and respond honestly in the hope that we can, as a group, develop a piece that makes absolute sense, resonates emotionally, and tells the story extremely well. Now, don't get me wrong. I do my due diligence, my research, make my lists, know what I want, and read, read, read the text. It's all about the text. But, when I get into rehearsal, I am capable of throwing out the lot if we start moving down a new path that really works. That's fun for me. To discover. And, it looks like this process works judging from how folks tend to respond to the work.
So I wonder: will I be able to stay open while fussing over what time it is? We shall see. This production marks my first return to sorting detail in years. Years. I think I was staying away from the minutia on purpose, actually, in order to more fully become what I am now without falling back on behaviours that were comfortable or easy. Because making a list is dead easy. Honesty is hard.
So, onward with my new theatrical experiment. Perhaps I will find that handling the small details won't get in the way of the creation of the big picture. Who knows? But I will, definitely, find out.
And, oh shoot, I'd best print out that signage.
Jacqui Burke is a freelance director, writer, and theatrical teacher living in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. She is currently directing and producing Oleanna by David Mamet for a two week run at the Red Sandcastle Theatre, prepping and leading her Shakespeare is Boffo! theatre arts camps for active kids, directing Love Letters for Encore Entertainment, and directing Lend Me A Tenor for Scarborough Theatre Guild. She is, also, serializing The Pretender, her first novel, online at http://thepretender-amarcienoelnovel.blogspot.ca/.
Make
a donation to Raising
Oleanna, a fundraiser in support
of Jacqui's production of
Oleanna by David Mamet.
Jacqui Burke
talk/text: 647-292-0210
twitter: @jaybird01
skype: Jacquiburkecell, jacqui.burke
www.wordsnimages.com
www.jaybirdproductions.ca
www.shakespeareisboffo.ca
http://jacquiburke.blogspot.ca
http://thepretender-amarcienoelnovel.blogspot.ca/
http://jaybirdproductions.blogspot.ca/
Ask me about Shakespeare is Boffo! Premium Summer Camp for Kids. The Homeschoolers` Version: 11:00 am – 3:30 pm, August 13-17, 2012 for only $150. Quiet supervision available from 8:30 am for only an extra $50 a week. Spots are going fast. Register, now at www.shakespeareisboffo.ca
Friday, September 14, 2012
Can't thank everyone enough, so far, except...
I have been working away, working away trying to raise funds for Oleanna by David Mamet, my production opening in November, for the last few months. It's been my primary focus. I have had to stretch myself quite a bit and embrace behaviours that I previously would have found difficult. I have put certain things aside (like the blogging) as I learned about how to address social media platforms, assessed different marketing strategies, weighed options, and did the bookkeeping (bleck).
This project has been good for me. And the show has done well. We have not raised the lot but we have more than enough money to keep going and for that I am thankful. Never felt luckier to have this opportunity. And, once again, I want to thank those who were able to support Oleanna thus far. Can't thank you enough.
In fact, there are folks that have been so supportive for the last couple of years that I have been wracking my brain to try and figure out appropriate ways to thank them. I bet you know who you are. There is great food and wine in your future... But, after really pondering this problem, I think I understand the best way to thank everyone.
I have to do not only a good but an amazing job on this show. The absolute best I can do.
That's it. Nothing more to say.
Jacqui Burke is a freelance director, writer, and theatrical teacher living in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. She is currently directing and producing Oleanna by David Mamet for a two week run at the Red Sandcastle Theatre for her own company Jaybird Productions, directing Love Letters for Encore Entertainment, and directing Lend Me A Tenor for Scarborough Theatre Guild. She is, also, serializing The Pretender, her first novel, online at http://thepretender-amarcienoelnovel.blogspot.ca/.
Make
a donation to Raising
Oleanna, a fundraiser in support
of Jacqui's production of
Oleanna by David Mamet.
Jacqui Burke
talk/text: 647-292-0210
twitter: @jaybird01
skype: Jacquiburkecell, jacqui.burke
www.wordsnimages.com
www.jaybirdproductions.ca
www.shakespeareisboffo.ca
http://jacquiburke.blogspot.ca
http://thepretender-amarcienoelnovel.blogspot.ca/
http://jaybirdproductions.blogspot.ca/
Ask me about Shakespeare is Boffo! Premium Summer Camp for Kids. The Homeschoolers` Version: 11:00 am – 3:30 pm, August 13-17, 2012 for only $150. Quiet supervision available from 8:30 am for only an extra $50 a week. Spots are going fast. Register, now at www.shakespeareisboffo.ca
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