Novel Ideas

Literally. For though this blog is not about my writing adventures, I did think it was particularly appropriate to mention this piece of writing news here on my acting blog.

For you see, loyal blog readers, for the last 15 months, or thereabouts, I have been writing the rough draft of a novel that takes place inside a community theatre production. And by the next time you read a post from me on Always Off Book, it will at long last be completed! It is exciting and hard to believe news all at the same time.

My story revolves as I said around a community theatre production of a fictitious play. It has it's ups and downs, this production. Until really weird encounters begin to take place. And maybe some messages from above are being delivered to certain people. So it's theatre, it's magic, it's passion. Actually theatre is nothing without a lot of passion and a little magic, as I have been recently reminded. It's also about redemption, in a way, which is often a thread in the good stories.

And I have been amused at how often the same muscles of imagination or flexed when writing as when acting. Being a writer doesn't make you an actor and vice-verca, don't get me wrong. I am just one of the people crazy enough to be both. But the process of delving into a character, giving them nuance and habits, finding ways to reveal their inner workings and their history without spelling everything out for everyone. It may be like comparing arena football with the NFL, but the similarities between acting and writing are undeniable. Only in writing, you are in fact performing every character, and not just one. And usually at the same time.

And of course an author acts as director, set designer, costume person, and so on.

So it has been a very interesting, frustrating, but rewarding and at times even eye opening experience, honing my writing craft while drawing on my knowledge of my theatre adventures and passions.

And not just the knowledge, but the feelings and emotions and thoughts of various kinds of actors in the midst of a rehearsal and a show. If in the end this novel manages to adequately describe to a third party how it sometimes feels to be involved in theatre, my job will be half done already.

Tonight I will write the final chapter, and that too will be familiar to actors; something into which a lot of emotion and time have been poured will be suddenly over. Though of course unlike the stage that is just the first step. There is second revisions. And third revisions. Not to mention the long road to publication. But first things first, and nothing will ever feel quite so visceral as the creation of a first draft, where you breath new life into a story, ex nihilo. And as I said, that aspect comes to an end tonight, and I thought I would share that with you, my loyal blog readers of Always Off Book.

"The Play's The Thing", (And Not the Text?)

Here in this article, Helen Mirren takes exception to having school children read Shakespeare, as opposed to being introduced to it via a live performance, or at least a film.

I agree in principle. Certainly introducing Shakespeare strictly as text has its advantages. I'll never deny that. And once students get to high school, it can and probably should be a large part of studying the Bard.

Even then, if one's only goal is to introduce textual analysis and iambic pentameter and other linguistic subjects to a student. And while there is nothing wrong with that approach, (I study such things myself informally, I think as an introductory approach, it misses a great deal of the point.

Shakespeare's plays are scripts. Intended from the very beginning to be performed. They existed for the benefit of actors, and not readers. That is not to say that English scholars have no business dissecting them,  but if one's ultimate goal is to introduce Shakespeare itself to young people, as opposed to merely introducing the literary devices he may (or may not) have employed in his story telling, there is a great advantage to having a performance be one of the first exposures to the Bard a student experiences.

I say "one of" because I wouldn't rely 100% on a "cold viewing" in order to introduce students to Shakespeare. A primer on his language and vocabulary would be in order before exposing them to an actual production. A brief discussion of how we believe his plays were staged originally would not hurt either. For I do not, as many do, believe that a "perfect" performance of a Shakespeare play will make all of the unfamiliar language suddenly clear to the totally uninitiated. The Bard was brilliant, but he was not magical. Those four centuries between his time and ours cannot simply be ignored. (Though many companies believe Shakespeare is only ever confusing because it is not performed properly, and that's bogus.)

Still, I favor de-emphasizing textual analysis in favor of viewing of performance for the earliest of Shakespeare exposure. I am, after all, an actor, and Romeo and Juliet first and foremost is in fact a script, not a novel.

And if Helen said it, it can't be that off the wall of a concept, can it?

Striking Out On Ones Own?

I just wanted to post a quick link here this morning. This article talks about starting up one's own theatre company. Loyal blog readers here at Always Off Book know that I have pondered and planned to do this very thing for a while now, and I am getting closer to taking the first step. Perhaps sometime in 2011.

But as for the article, i admire the drive and passion of those involved. But I have to say each of the companies profiled seemed to be rather well plugged into something before they started. The piece starts off as though it will explore how people came from nothing at all to creating successful companies, in both the profit and non-profit sector. I was especially hoping to learn about how to secure venues.

Yet it really was about fund raising in the modern theatre world. Which of course is important, if you have the grandiose visions that some of these companies had. (Along with the highly debatable assertion made here that "modern theatre is dead.") But I have a far simpler vision, and have not yet written traditional theatre's eulogy. Plus my network is nowhere near as exquisite as those in the article.

Yet I did take away something from this piece; confirmation that passion to get something done in the arts can and will eventually lead to some form of success. My hope is that it will hold true even for my humble plans.

You can read about my overall plan for how I, or anybody, should start their own theatre company with minimal resources to get a better idea of what I am talking about.

In Russia, Theatre Goes to YOU!

That only made a little bit of sense, if any. I understand that. But you try coming up with a catchy title for a post dealing with a dark comedy based around the embalming of Vladimir Lenin's corpse.

No, it isn't something I made up. As this article states, it comes from the mind of Canadian playwright Vern Thiessen, and it is called, (little shock here), "Lenin's Embalmers".

Ever had a play that you just know you'd want to see based on the title alone? Ever heard just the briefest description of a play and just somehow sensed that you would make a good fit as a performer IN that play? Welcome to one such moment to me. I haven't read a word of the script, and it seems very unlikley that I would find myself at the Ensemble Studio Theatre to see it before it ends it's run. But it just sounds like something bizare I would both go see and be in. Perhaps in years to come the public will be able to perform it. I'll certainly know what to suggest to my local community theatres if that day ever comes.

The weird thing is, I have already played  Leon Trotsky in a dark comedy. ("Variations on the Death of Trotsky", by David Ives. I loved being in that. Maybe I have some sort of vibe for dark comedies centered around dead Soviets.

If anyone reading this has actually seen this play, I very much want to hear from you! Do drop me a comment or an email and tell me if it is delightfully weird as it sounds.