Leaden Wings

What can I say? For whatever reasons, my updating on the progress of Glengarry Glen Ross has crawled to a stand still. One reason I think is how I started it in the first place. If you recall I mentioned then that due to a (probably absurd) concern that the lawsuit-happy David Mamet people might stumble on to some kind of commentary I made, and decide it was against the playwright's intent, and go to town. Paranoid maybe, but it just sort of feels like the type of ridiculous thing yours truly would manage to stumble into. So I've said less about character and line delivery and such for this play than I have for most of them.

Also, the production has felt different in some ways, not all of which I can articulate even here on the blog. There have been certain issues, yes, but I can't say this show has had more than any other of my shows. To some extent the issues, (which I am keeping to myself) have impacted some of what I have wanted to do with my performance. I've not been able to sink as deeply into the character as early on as I am used to.

But I can't shake the possibility that the deep cynicism of the play isn't where America needs to be now. Or in the very least isn't where I need to be now, in light of what is happening with the country. I don't mean to suggest that theatre should go dormant in time of national crisis. God forbid I should appear to be endorsing that. I'm not even suggesting that dramatic, even dark subject matter is off limits for theatre in these trying times. But it should be making a specific statement that perhaps this play is not, and was never intended to do.

A play of greed, of vice, dishonesty, deception. Characters that are never what the appear, self-serving, and who take pleasure in their smoke screens and stiffing people. Little to no loyalty even among those within the office setting. Sounds and feels a bit too much like another office shaped like an oval.

I first agreed to be in the play before the election of 2016, when they show was supposed to go on in early February. As I have mentioned on this blog before, quite a bit has changed in the world since then, and I'm sure you know what I mean. As a result, I think that Mamet's dialogue, (which I admit is near-virtuoso in some places in this script) rings somewhat more hallow than even it is intended to. There is steak along with the sizzle in this play, but I think the sizzle sells this one, and the world needs steak.

Tomorrow is in fact our final rehearsal before we open on Friday. Tech week, which we are in the midst of, has gone well for the most part. There are still some places to polish, for me and for others, but I'd put the production on solid ground. Despite my lack of delving as deep into John Williamson in the ways I wanted to earlier on, I am satisfied with my portrayal on the whole, even if not blown away by what I'm doing.

Still, as a whole, the show isn't propelling me into opening night with as much anticipation as I am used to. I'm sure by the time the audience is there and we are off the ground, it will feel different, to at least some extant. But some of the wings of the show feel leaden, and I can't dismiss the possibility that world events contribute to that. I have been, and will continue to be professional about this play, as that is what I do. Yet part of me cannot help but wonder if this play I am in is what the community, any community truly needs right now.