24 Hour TheatreFest: Conclusion

Yesterday was the day, and it was a success. I covered how it went over on my regular blog, so forgive the laziness of this, but I will just link to that from here, so you can get an idea of how it went, and what it meant for me.

Honoring Ten Years of Always Off Book!

That's right, this month marks the ten year anniversary of this humble theatre blog of mine.

In all that time, I have been in many shows, lived a few places, tried a few experiments, published a novel about the theatre, tried to start my own company, wrote produced and performed (for very few people) my own one man show, helped found a small arts center, wrote another stage play I hope to have performed sometime, and generally continued to participate in and celebrate the stage in my life.

Through all of that there has been this blog. True, it has over the last few years had less content on it than it did in its early years. This is due mostly to my not being in someone elses show for quite a while. As regular readers know, most of what I write about here on the blog is how any given show I am in is progressing. I write about other theatre thoughts sometimes as well, but a general over view of my success and that of the production has always been the meat and potatoes of always off book, with general theatre advice columns coming in a decent second place in terms of frequency.

One of my first posts ever, about stage kissing, continues to get responses even all of this time later. I am proud of that, and happy to advise anyone who come to the piece by way of a Google search. (where the post is in the top ten, first pages returns sometimes.)

That early post is, however, in general the exception. I rarely get feedback on my thoughts here on the blog, even when I'm in a show. Outside of that kissing post from 2005, I've not gotten any comments on anything I've posted here in a very long time from the perspective of cyber space, despite my best efforts to involve any readers our there in the conversation.

Does that bother me? Honestly, yes. Perhaps not as much as it did in the earlier years, but the lack of connection I have made with fellow artists on this blog is discouraging and sad. That was and remains that only reason for Always Off Book- to share my thoughts and experiences on acting in the theatre with others who share my deep interest in same. I have hoped for years that a niche would build around this blog and it never has.

Blame promotion, or luck, or something else for that, heaven knows I don't know. I have the same problem with my regular, somewhat more business focused blog, TyUnglebower.com. The fact is that with that one exception, this blog, after ten years of my trying, (ten years!) reaches and touches, it would seem, nobody. I am not even certain if any of the posts get read, though I have, in theory, a few following via blogger, according to the stats.

I'll allow myself a tiny bit of self-indulgence here when I ask, would it have killed any of you guys to have answered and shared your thoughts on something I posted over the last decade, when I asked?

Now that I've put the disappointment front and center, I won't dwell on it. I will say that despite all of this, the blog is vanishing. I may have less frequent original content so long as I'm not in a show, and it would seem I am writing for basically nobody but myself here, year after year. But just as I won't allow myself to give up on the desire to do more acting and directing on my life even during the inexplicably dry periods, I will continue to keep this blog. Like the creative life, it will have eras of high and low points, much activity, and virtually none. But the words remain. My reflections, advice, perceptions and temporary memoirs-in-miniature from productions continue to have value to me, and, I maintain, still have value for others in theatre who should happen to come across it.

So despite the crickets, for now, it stays. And to celebrate ten years of blogging, I will be reposting some of my "greatest hits" on a regular basis throughout the next year, as time allows. Posts of all kinds that I think have defined this blog in its many stages, and posts that I think, or at least hope, can be of service to my fellow actors. Short of that, I hope the posts are interesting.

I'll continued to post original context throughout the tenth year, as it comes to me. But I'll have blasts from the past mixed in as well.

So, happy anniversary, Always Off Book.

It's About Respect.

When you get down to it, performing theatre, like so many other things, is about respect. The best productions are small, short lived communities, and communities are founded upon respect. That isn't always to say you must love everyone else, and enjoy the company of all theatre people. That's silly, of course. But if we remain honest to why we're in a show, and give respect where it is due, the theatre can be a crucible for not only culture and art, but dignity and perhaps for a special few, spiritual enlightenment.

So where does your respect lie, and how is it shown in a production?

-We need to respect our responsibilities in a production. Cast, crew, director. It doesn't matter what your job is. Respect it. Be dependable. Do your work. Show enthusiasm for what you are creating. Be on time. Go beyond your obligations. This is respecting your position in a production.

-Respect the others in the production. That should be obvious. Yet we often fail in this one. Not by intentionally showing specific disrespect for others, but by forgetting that there are others. By believing that we are the only aspect of the production to which we owe anything. If you come in late for rehearsals, leave your props all over the place, make yourself unavailable to help others out when needed, and other such things, you are being just as disrespectful. It doesn't matter how good you believe yourself to be, you are never the only concern, or even the most important concern in a production. So don't act like it. There are others involved in making this show possible. Help them do their job when you can, and treat them as they deserve.

-Respect the venue. Theatre is anywhere people invoke characters to tell a story. You may never find yourself performing in a large, posh, high capacity theatre. It may be a small black box, a school auditorium, or a converted storefront. How easy to conclude that a venue is unworthy of your respect as an actor. Track mud into the green room, (if there even is a green room). Leave your trash laying around. The place is just a little dump, right? Someone will come along and pick it up, and after all, you can't be bothered. You have your own problems, and this isn't Broadway.

Yet you are here. And others are here. Nobody put a gun to you head and forced you to be in a show. So if being in one is that important to you, consider the fact that performing is an art, as well as a responsibility. To some, a sacred responsibility. Not because anybody involved is superior to the world, but because decent human beings have opted to give of their time and energy so that others can lay down money to be transported somewhere else by your efforts. And it's been that way for for a few thousand years. Perhaps that alone makes any theatre venue worthy of your respect.

You don't have to feel this way about theatre, but if you don't, you are free to go do something else. While you are there, show respect for the craft itself by treating the any venue with respect.

-Respect the audience. I often say that the audience is the unseen character in any production. They come in all types. And sometimes there are cold audiences, and audiences that are asleep. Sometimes the cast will be barely bigger than the audience. Some audiences will never laugh at the comedy, and barely clap at the end of the show. And that can be obnoxious, I won't lie to you. But still, they are an audience, and in most cases a paying audience, and they deserve your best any given night. Unless they are heckling, (which no actor should tolerate), we mustn't pick and choose which audiences will get our best and which will not.

Nor should we try to trick them, or milk them for more. They will give what they feel moved to give. That isn't always as much as we, the actors, want, but it is beyond our control. Don't mug, or overact to try to get them to respond more than they are. Just perform, and receive what they offer.

-Respect the script. As a writer myself, I understand somewhat how testy playwrights can get about every aspect of their scripts. They want them performed exactly a certain way, down to every teardrop shed. Yet as an actor, I feel playwrights sometimes get too testy about their scripts. I like scripts that allow for broad interpretations of a play, instead of those who try to direct the production from the page. Most playwrights disagree.

Yet following lock-step every nuance that a playwright is demanding of the actor still does not show de facto respect for the script. Respect for a script, rather, has to do with internalizing it, and making every effort to understand the intentions of the piece. That means viewing the entire arc of the story, and not just your lines. That means seeking to understand the bits you don't follow. Don't try to blow it over, or hide it as you perform, but actually dig into the material to find what you can find. In a good script the answer is usually there somewhere. Contrary to popular playwright belief you are not a mindless drone on stage. But you do at least need to read a map. The script is your map. Don't rewrite the show. (Which is much different than interpreting.)

-Respect the director. This can be one of the most difficult, because directors often come down with a God complex. You don't have to look far in this blog to realize I am very much against autocratic theatre direction. Leave that to the movies where it belongs. Taken too far, someone barking orders and rude comments at performers doesn't deserve respect. No more than people in other positions that treat colleagues poorly deserve it.

And a good director is your colleague. You work together to put on a good show. You have your scenes and your lines to worry about, but they have the entire show, on stage and off, to tend to. They have to gather things together in a coherent whole. This doesn't afford them the right to establish a dictatorship, but it does mean their job is difficult in a different way than yours is, and you should remember that. If you have a problem, approach them in private, like a civilized human being. Avoid the temptation to confront them while rehearsing. It's a challenge sometimes, but you'll be better off for it, and most directors will appreciate it.

-Respect props and costumes. Yes, there are so many fun objects in a theatre. But it isn't your stuff, and quite often, it takes a long time and/or a lot of money to secure such things for a collection. Don't eat in your costume, and don't play around with props. If you ruin something, the whole theatre suffers. Don't be that person.

-Most importantly, respect yourself. Whatever your skill level, whatever show you are in, whether you make any money or not, respect yourself. When you are in a show you are involved in a tradition that is in some ways part of the bedrock foundation of Western culture. That isn't to say you ought to feel self-important, or ponder the complexities of this statement every time you are in a show. But if you stop and think about it once in a while, it's at least kind of cool, isn't it?

Think of all the others that have done it before you, just on the stage you are on today. Then multiply that by all the stages over time. Lots of people have done what you are doing in this show. Don't let people tell you it's pathetic, a waste of time, or simply, "playing dress up". It's none of those things, if you don't want it to be. It's art, and when you do it, you're an artist, worthy of your own respect.

Thoughts on Being an A.D.

I mentioned that I would share a few stray thoughts here and there about how my adventures as an AD would be going. A week from opening night I thought would be a good time to offer a few thoughts.

It has gone well, for the most part. I have had to run two rehearsals and part of a third myself. When not doing so I am paying particular attention to the needs and questions of actors as best as I can.

And I think that is the big thing here. There are those who would conclude that the actor and the director are two different beasts, and never the twain shall meet. But I have never agreed with this, and I still don't. I am on stage far more often than I am off for a show, but every time I step into a directorial type of situation I learn more about myself as an actor. I observe how actors respond to notes or instruction. I think about what I would like to hear in their situation and how I would like to hear it. And it causes me to ask myself what it is about the nature of my acting that would make me more responsive to that type of approach.

And I would certainly hope that my experience as an actor informs me as to how to better approach the situations and difficulties the actors in this, and any cast I oversee are going through. I believe honestly that it has. It is not as easy to asses one's effectiveness as a director as it is as an actor. But if I had to guess, my instinct tells me that I have been able to offer thoughts and approaches that otherwise not be able to offer, had it not been for my on stage experience.

Directing also requires one to delve into a scene from a different angle. A broader, more thematic conception of a scene or a play is necessary than it would be in cases wherein I am responsible for just one character. Yet every time I direct I become, I dare say, better at that sort of broader conception. And while that sort of conception is too broad to be utilized when I act, there is no doubt in my mind that being able to do so assists me in script analysis as an actor.

In other words, when directing, there is a great deal of observation. Observation, observation, observation. And if you read this blog regularly you know that it is observation, paying attention, that remains my number one piece of advice for the performer.

Showbiz Radio Post for December 15, 2010

One thing I have decided to do more regularly here on the blog is to provide a link, and brief commentary on my regular pieces for Showbizradio.net. This is my latest column.

In it I talk about the luxury that community players have over where and with whom they will be working on a show. Particularly, directors. A martyr complex sets in with some people when they do community theatre which convinces them they must work for "the good of the art", even if that mean being around a director they cannot stand. I argue that community players can and should be picky about which directors they audition for. 6-8 weeks is a long time to spend with someone you cannot stand.