I had thought to have let in some of all professions that go the primrose way to the everlasting bonfire.
Time is flying. Time is fleeting. Time is precious.
Our second week of Macbeth Revisited has come and gone. Doing a play two nights a week is the norm in LA theatre. But that doesn't mean that it is easy. We had such a great run up leading to opening weekend. We have been rehearsing 5 nights a week for like a month and a half. We were living in the world of the play nearly every day. And then we open and...see you in a week. It's jarring. Especially in a piece like this where there are so many of us who have been breathing the same air, getting on one another's nerves, getting over it and coming together.--And then there was tech.
Speaking of so many of us, I wanted to take a moment to talk about some of the other people in the play. Don't get used to it...if they want to be talked about they can write their own blogs. But I do love them all.
David Purdham, who is an absolute treasure of a human being and genius actor (playing Duncan and the Porter) is new to us-- A friend of a friend, if you will. He and I were warming up the other day before the show and he wanted to make sure I knew how special this experience was. He's a true professional actor, in every sense of the word, and has done it all. And I was so glad to hear him say it. There are only two actors in the show who haven't been with NAT for long. David and Dennis (one of the witches is the other, although he was in--brilliantly-"Tempest Redux," so he knew the score). As you have undoubtedly gathered by reading my blogs, I am a bit of a zealot for the way we work. And it's not for everyone. Because it is a lot of work. And it is all about the work. To those of us that practice it, there is only the story. And the pursuit is intense. But that's what we love. That's our joy. Pursuing the story and telling it to the best of our ability, and then telling it better next time, and the next...there is no end to it. There is no arrival at a place where we are done. There can't be, but we pursue it as if it can be realized...until we close. And then we wake up the next day and regret not achieving it perfectly. So, having David recognize how special this work is was a real lift for me. Because he is a great actor. If you want to know what an actor is (at his best) watch him in rehearsal and performance, and then notice his care and love for his cast mates. Working with him is a master's class in being a professional actor.
Somebody else that I share the stage with, and known for like 14 years is Jade Sealey...(which if you know Jade, seems like 80). I love her dearly. But in all honesty, I would be hard pressed to name a handful of people that I trust or care for more than her. She is Malcolm to my Macduff. I often bemoan the death of theatre companies simply because there is so much lost time in creating chemistry with new actors coming together to do a play. There simply is no bullshit, or fear, or ego that gets in the way of the work when you work with people who are already in your heart. We worked our asses off on the scene that supposedly always kills this play. With Jack and on our own. I think we solved it. I think we've created a vital piece of the play (especially given the temperature of the political landscape in which we live). I'm so glad we got to tackle it together.
Vanessa Waters Kassir plays Lady Macbeth. I've known her for maybe ten years. But we connected instantly. We also played husband and wife in the wonderful short play where we had a stuffed animal as our stand in child while we fought infertility. His name was Nigel, and Jack gave him to me after we did the show for my daughter and Olivia sleeps with him to this day. (We also began working on "Dinner with Friends" together along with Francesca and Joseph which we were trying to put up with NAT). But life got in the way of that.--Lucky for me that I still get to do the show (albeit the other role that I was working on at Little Fish opening on May 10th). Vanessa was a very good actress when she showed up to studio, and she has only gotten stronger over the last decade. As happens with literally everybody who studies with Jack. Me especially. The work she is doing as Lady M. is great! Standing toe to toe with Jack can be a daunting task. The first rehearsal I saw her grab Macbeth and put him in his place gave me chills. It was so fierce. I'm glad that she's getting the recognition that she is for playing this role. Everybody has an idea of what Lady M is. It's one of those roles, like Macbeth himself, Hamlet, Falstaff and a few others that people have very specific opinions about. Vanessa makes it her own and is beautiful in it.
Varda Appleton is relatively new to the company. I say that about everybody who hasn't been there for ten years or so. She plays Ross, so I spend a lot of time listening to her give everybody bad news...me especially. I have loved getting to know and work with her, and she will continue to spend time in this story with me after this show closes. She came out to audition for Shakespeare by the Sea and will be playing a Witch and Lady Macduff with us all summer. I will keep you updated on how both of us hold up living in this brutal story for so many months. She will likely hold up with more sanity than I will, although it will be her first time with SBTS, and that is a lot of a different kind of work.
Ok, I had hoped to talk about everybody, but there are too many and this place is too cold for hell. I will likely write more about some of the other lovely people in the show in my next blog...unless I have some epiphany that just has to be shared, which will clearly be more important than talk of other people...am I right?
Thanks to all my friends who have already come out to see the show. The support has been wonderful, and the reaction has been off the charts. I've heard the phrase "Best Macbeth ever" many times. For those of you who haven't made it yet, you won't regret coming. It's such a vital story right now.
And to you, my 12 readers, thanks as always for taking the time to peruse these words.
Our second week of Macbeth Revisited has come and gone. Doing a play two nights a week is the norm in LA theatre. But that doesn't mean that it is easy. We had such a great run up leading to opening weekend. We have been rehearsing 5 nights a week for like a month and a half. We were living in the world of the play nearly every day. And then we open and...see you in a week. It's jarring. Especially in a piece like this where there are so many of us who have been breathing the same air, getting on one another's nerves, getting over it and coming together.--And then there was tech.
Speaking of so many of us, I wanted to take a moment to talk about some of the other people in the play. Don't get used to it...if they want to be talked about they can write their own blogs. But I do love them all.
David Purdham, who is an absolute treasure of a human being and genius actor (playing Duncan and the Porter) is new to us-- A friend of a friend, if you will. He and I were warming up the other day before the show and he wanted to make sure I knew how special this experience was. He's a true professional actor, in every sense of the word, and has done it all. And I was so glad to hear him say it. There are only two actors in the show who haven't been with NAT for long. David and Dennis (one of the witches is the other, although he was in--brilliantly-"Tempest Redux," so he knew the score). As you have undoubtedly gathered by reading my blogs, I am a bit of a zealot for the way we work. And it's not for everyone. Because it is a lot of work. And it is all about the work. To those of us that practice it, there is only the story. And the pursuit is intense. But that's what we love. That's our joy. Pursuing the story and telling it to the best of our ability, and then telling it better next time, and the next...there is no end to it. There is no arrival at a place where we are done. There can't be, but we pursue it as if it can be realized...until we close. And then we wake up the next day and regret not achieving it perfectly. So, having David recognize how special this work is was a real lift for me. Because he is a great actor. If you want to know what an actor is (at his best) watch him in rehearsal and performance, and then notice his care and love for his cast mates. Working with him is a master's class in being a professional actor.
Somebody else that I share the stage with, and known for like 14 years is Jade Sealey...(which if you know Jade, seems like 80). I love her dearly. But in all honesty, I would be hard pressed to name a handful of people that I trust or care for more than her. She is Malcolm to my Macduff. I often bemoan the death of theatre companies simply because there is so much lost time in creating chemistry with new actors coming together to do a play. There simply is no bullshit, or fear, or ego that gets in the way of the work when you work with people who are already in your heart. We worked our asses off on the scene that supposedly always kills this play. With Jack and on our own. I think we solved it. I think we've created a vital piece of the play (especially given the temperature of the political landscape in which we live). I'm so glad we got to tackle it together.
Vanessa Waters Kassir plays Lady Macbeth. I've known her for maybe ten years. But we connected instantly. We also played husband and wife in the wonderful short play where we had a stuffed animal as our stand in child while we fought infertility. His name was Nigel, and Jack gave him to me after we did the show for my daughter and Olivia sleeps with him to this day. (We also began working on "Dinner with Friends" together along with Francesca and Joseph which we were trying to put up with NAT). But life got in the way of that.--Lucky for me that I still get to do the show (albeit the other role that I was working on at Little Fish opening on May 10th). Vanessa was a very good actress when she showed up to studio, and she has only gotten stronger over the last decade. As happens with literally everybody who studies with Jack. Me especially. The work she is doing as Lady M. is great! Standing toe to toe with Jack can be a daunting task. The first rehearsal I saw her grab Macbeth and put him in his place gave me chills. It was so fierce. I'm glad that she's getting the recognition that she is for playing this role. Everybody has an idea of what Lady M is. It's one of those roles, like Macbeth himself, Hamlet, Falstaff and a few others that people have very specific opinions about. Vanessa makes it her own and is beautiful in it.
Varda Appleton is relatively new to the company. I say that about everybody who hasn't been there for ten years or so. She plays Ross, so I spend a lot of time listening to her give everybody bad news...me especially. I have loved getting to know and work with her, and she will continue to spend time in this story with me after this show closes. She came out to audition for Shakespeare by the Sea and will be playing a Witch and Lady Macduff with us all summer. I will keep you updated on how both of us hold up living in this brutal story for so many months. She will likely hold up with more sanity than I will, although it will be her first time with SBTS, and that is a lot of a different kind of work.
Ok, I had hoped to talk about everybody, but there are too many and this place is too cold for hell. I will likely write more about some of the other lovely people in the show in my next blog...unless I have some epiphany that just has to be shared, which will clearly be more important than talk of other people...am I right?
Thanks to all my friends who have already come out to see the show. The support has been wonderful, and the reaction has been off the charts. I've heard the phrase "Best Macbeth ever" many times. For those of you who haven't made it yet, you won't regret coming. It's such a vital story right now.
And to you, my 12 readers, thanks as always for taking the time to peruse these words.
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