Warbles in the dark.
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
Monday, October 15, 2012
Uneasy.
As we work more and more on the script of Oleanna, we are all a little uneasy. The script is difficult. Facing it is difficult. Playing it honestly even harder still.
And I, as the director, am not pretending it's easy or even trying to make it easy for them. I am not giving my darlings 'emotional marks' to work toward. I am not indulging in the safety blanket of technique. If they get hung up, I keep asking them (if my ego doesn't get in the way, dammit): What does he want right now? What does she need, right now? What is she trying to do? How is he trying to do it? How high are the stakes?
I'm not even telling them where to stand or, specifically, what to do - unless we get really lost. Then, I'll get us out of it by shaping the moment loosely (all the while telling them that I am happy for them to adjust as they get to understand the moment better).
Why? Why am I trying to ask questions more than tell (although, jeez, my ego - you gotta believe I catch myself lecturing in rehearsal)? Why am I trying to faciliate more than impose my 'vision'?
For this show especially, and just about all shows really, I just want my actors to be present and honest for the hour and a half they are on stage. There is no sure and easy way to this end. There are techniques and ideas and such; there is conversation and there are concepts and agreements but in the end we, as artists, need to strip ourselves even of that and just be present and responding honestly.
Now, this is a path of thin ice, a tiny thread across which we must walk the gorge. This is leaning too far off the ladder to reach what we need. This is running into the fray to save someone we love. It's dangerous. Why? Because being present and responding honestly betrays the actor's soul. By definition. By necessity. In front of everybody.
It makes us all uneasy because it's scary. It should feel uneasy. If we were swaddled in technique and concept, vision and method, we would feel safe. But I am very sure we wouldn't be as truthful.
It's a lot like life. There is no quick trick to get us to a valued goal. If we are safe, we are not pushing ourselves. If we are swaddled, we are probably watching TV. One of the greatest challenges in life is to be there for people. To be present, to listen, and to respond honestly. But you do have to bare your soul and that makes you feel unsafe, uneasy. So few folks are willing to do that - except for actors. Except for actors.
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
And I, as the director, am not pretending it's easy or even trying to make it easy for them. I am not giving my darlings 'emotional marks' to work toward. I am not indulging in the safety blanket of technique. If they get hung up, I keep asking them (if my ego doesn't get in the way, dammit): What does he want right now? What does she need, right now? What is she trying to do? How is he trying to do it? How high are the stakes?
I'm not even telling them where to stand or, specifically, what to do - unless we get really lost. Then, I'll get us out of it by shaping the moment loosely (all the while telling them that I am happy for them to adjust as they get to understand the moment better).
Why? Why am I trying to ask questions more than tell (although, jeez, my ego - you gotta believe I catch myself lecturing in rehearsal)? Why am I trying to faciliate more than impose my 'vision'?
For this show especially, and just about all shows really, I just want my actors to be present and honest for the hour and a half they are on stage. There is no sure and easy way to this end. There are techniques and ideas and such; there is conversation and there are concepts and agreements but in the end we, as artists, need to strip ourselves even of that and just be present and responding honestly.
Now, this is a path of thin ice, a tiny thread across which we must walk the gorge. This is leaning too far off the ladder to reach what we need. This is running into the fray to save someone we love. It's dangerous. Why? Because being present and responding honestly betrays the actor's soul. By definition. By necessity. In front of everybody.
It makes us all uneasy because it's scary. It should feel uneasy. If we were swaddled in technique and concept, vision and method, we would feel safe. But I am very sure we wouldn't be as truthful.
It's a lot like life. There is no quick trick to get us to a valued goal. If we are safe, we are not pushing ourselves. If we are swaddled, we are probably watching TV. One of the greatest challenges in life is to be there for people. To be present, to listen, and to respond honestly. But you do have to bare your soul and that makes you feel unsafe, uneasy. So few folks are willing to do that - except for actors. Except for actors.
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
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