Monday, July 18, 2005

My Method (of) Acting

Part One: Paperwork



Yep, that's the first thing I do: enter the production schedule, cast and crew information, and other relevant data into my PDA. (My Treo 650 will be very nice to have because it's an all-in-one deal.) What does this have to do with acting? Little, I suppose. But since I am an amateur at this point in my theatrical life, I have to balance the show with work and home. Most of the time, this presents few problems. But conflicts do arise, and I do occasionally put in long days at the office. So having the whole schedule entered ahead of time helps me concentrate on the artistic stuff.

A few observations from this activity:

  • This is a good production crew. I personally know the Producer, Director, Set & Costume Designer, and the Properties Designer. Their work is splendid as a whole.
  • The cast is also top notch. I personally know four out of the seven cast members, including the woman playing my wife. This sometimes makes work on intimate moments easier. The other thing I noticed is that this is an older cast, maybe one of the older ones I've worked with in a while. I'm hopeful that this means less time wasted at rehearsals.
  • The schedule is ambitious. We are rehearsing in reverse-order (to accommodate some conflicts) and we're expected to get off book pretty quickly.

Next up, gathering information!

6 comments:

Hugh said...

"Rehearsing in reverse order"? Does that mean you come to the first rehearsal off-book, and then gradually forget the play over time, so that by opening night, you're really excited that you've gotten cast in a play?

tommyspoon said...

Precisely! Hopefully by September 30 I will have completely forgotten my name, my wife's name, and yours as well. Nice knowing you, whoever you are!

lemming said...

(laughs at Hugh and Spoon)

I like your commenst about age of cast and experience - you're right, that does seem to bode well.

Joe said...

I don't think it has little to do with acting. It speaks to your respect for the process. As far as I'm concerned, I don't care how much God-given talent you (think you) have if you can't remember to show up for rehearsal on time.

It's like Nuke LaLoosh's shower shoes in Bull Durham... do the little things right, "think classy, you'll be classy."

Not that anyone's ever doubted that you're classy, Spoon!

Anonymous said...

I'm hopeful that this means less time wasted at rehearsals.

It sounds like you know these people well, so you're probably right on this. However, when I sung for a community chorale a few years ago, the group was comprised of folks older than me...who saw this as a social outlet. I don't know how many times I had to lean over and say "shh! The director is trying to do her job."

tommyspoon said...

I hear ya, Angel. Yes, we artistic types can be oh so chatty...