I am in blood stepped in so far that should I wade no more, returning were as tedious as go o'er.
This may be my favorite line in the play. (The blood thing above). I think before every really terrible decision I made in my life, I felt this way and said something like it. "Fuck it, I've already gone this far." This line also occurs to me every day as I make my epic journey from the South Bay to Hollywood to do the show. There is a point after I've finally reached the 405 from south Torrance, and exited onto La Cienega, and made my way over to La Brea that I hit the half way point. About 45 minutes in. I say...what the hell I may as well go do the show instead of stopping at a bar to drink.
Anyway, I did want to continue talking about Shakespeare's Army because I will never write that book (if you are asking "what book" go back and read my last blog, you bastards) and I didn't get very far into the list of those who serve in this Army.
Lots of people have commented on how cool it is to have a female Banquo. (And I think the gender-bending aspect of our production is perfect. It matters, and yet it doesn't matter. In exactly the same way that gender does. Come see it and you'll see what I mean.) Susan plays Banquo. She and I are the only two besides Jack who did Macbeth a million years ago together at the Odyssey. She was Lady Macduff and a witch. I was many things, including a dead body that she chopped the thumb off and a killer who killed her. She's one of the best actors I know. And people. The relationship between Banquo and Macbeth is really cool in general. And then you throw her into the mix and it adds a whole new layer to it. Some of my friends have wondered if Macbeth and Banquo were lovers at some point? It's certainly an interesting question.
I am also really happy that in June when I play the role for SBTS, my Banquo will be one of my other favorite people--my dear Olivia. If you've read any of my SBTS blogs, you will know that she's my Hermia/Celia/Emelia/Life Saver in H4. And she is dope with stage combat, so my inner fight choreographer has plans for her death scene...
SBTS is spilling over into this blog about New American. I have recently claimed to be King of compartmentalization. That will be put to the test later this week, when I am doing tech on "Dinner With Friends", having the company meeting and first reads of "Macbeth" and "Shrew", and then driving to Sacred Fools for "Revisited"...in the same day. (Reading this back I think it reads like a humble-brag, but I am sort of freaking out that I will be able to do it all...especially "Dinner Wtih Friends" which opens on the 10th.. Want to see if I survive? www.littlefishtheatre.org).
Compartmentalizing for a moment-- The witches in Revisited are awesome in concept and performance. My friend Greg (who will be playing Ross with us this summer...damn it...compartmentalize) came to see the show and literally picked up on every nuance that Jack and John and the talented weird sisters have brought to it. There is little as gratifying as having people you respect seeing, understanding, and liking your work. Jordan, Brendan, and Dennis are creepy AF. The witches may be the toughest nut to crack in this very hard show (aside from the dagger speech, which I am terrified of doing, and which I haven't been able to see Jack do...so I can steal it...damn it compartmentalize..) but what they have come up with is really great. I've mentioned Dennis being new to us. He's a talented and dedicated man. So glad to work with him. Jordan I have known for a decade. We did Caesar together and a couple of one-acts. He is a uniquely talented actor. He also leads a great and fun warm up.
Brendan is a lot like a younger me. Fiery, smart, off-book first! He is another that I have been able to witness begin to master the craft over the years. Literally every actor that works with Jack gets his all and gets better. Seeing this young man grow over the past 8 years is indication of that. But, when I came back from Alabama, he and his wife (then girlfriend) Chelsea were already integral parts of the company. I found that Brendan had filled my niche as De-facto dramaturge of studio. --When working on a scene or monologue in studio, Jack will be reacting to what he just saw and sometimes when there is a question look over his shoulder and ask me (or now, Brendan) what scholarship says of whatever point we are talking about. Two things I can tell you about these moments--Jack is almost always absolutely right about these moments--and Brendan is far better than I am at finding this info either way. But I wasn't jealous of Brendan usurping this position. I was so happy to find somebody else who thinks like me. I think I've mentioned this in another blog (one of my four readers will undoubtedly know) but I consider my ability to learn lines quickly a gift and a curse. And meeting Brendan and talking with him confirmed this. When things stick in your head, you generally don't spend time on them. But with Shakespeare, you always have to go deeper. So actors who struggle to learn their roles may actually have the benefit of doing all the work in a more sensible order than Brendan and I do. It takes work ethic to go back to a script you already know to find secrets you may have missed (especially when you rarely miss anything). Also hubris is part of this trait we share. Chelsea doesn't seem to show any signs of hubris, but over the years as I've gotten to know and work with her (and love her dearly because she is saint-level awesome), I've realized that she "gets it." Chelsea plays the lady to Lady M who tells the Doctor that shit is going down. And she's great. (A noble Shakespeare Army performance.)
Elise plays my wife, (Lady Macduff) in maybe the saddest marriage in Shakespeare. We have no scenes together. Lady Macduff is enraged that Macduff has left and even tells one of her kids (Frannie as Macduff Jr.) that his father is dead before the entire family is slaughtered. If I could write (other than blogs...and the jury is out on that) I would write a play about the Macduffs. Because they are badasss. Tough, principled Scots. I'd love to envision their "meet cute." Elise is a dear friend and long member of the company, also a film director and film coach. She directed me in Seduced at New American. She also directed some really fun pieces we did on Nickelodeon called "The Wisdom of Children." (I got to do a soliloquy on poop!) Elise is a genius actor/director/artist. She also made the head (if you've seen the show you know what head I'm talking about). My wife, Annie, commented on how truly powerful that scene stands out in this truncated production.
Speaking of Frannie. My son in the play. And also Fleance. I love this kid. She's so talented and smart. I also just saw the one-acts that we are doing on Sundays at Sacred Fools (only two more shows) and she is hilarious in them. Anyway, she has been in studio for a little bit I guess, but my vagabond ways have kept me away from class for far too long (seriously every time I am able to go to studio I feel like I can breathe again for awhile and then I take and hold a deep breath until I can go back...also if you aren't studying, you should study with Jack, or if you are but are stuck...seriously...I am not exaggerating when I say that Jack taught me how to act. So if you like my work--and I assume that the four of you that aren't in this show and are reading this blog do, you can do what I know how to do by sitting over Jack's right shoulder for a decade). I got super lost in the parenthetical, so I will start anew. Frannie is so talented that on the second day I knew her I asked to do a scene with her...and when I am able to return to studio, that scene will be awesome.
There's another "kid" in the cast. My buddy "L'il Messy." Jenny plays Donalbain. She is also awesome in the one acts (go see them). When I speak of being a proud member of Shakespeare's Army, I am speaking of Jenny and Frannie who are in the trenches where I live. These roles may seem thankless, but they really aren't. One actor not living believably in the world of a play can destroy it. Look, these roles are the hardest in the canon. I've been in about 50 Shakespeare productions, and the times I've really struggled are the times that I've played smaller roles. Because Shakespeare gives the people who talk a lot everything they need. Jenny owns her moment in the show. She's a scared kid whose father was just murdered. For me, when she comes out of that chamber not knowing her dad is dead and I have to deliver that news to her and Malcolm is heartbreaking. I also got to meet her family last night. They are delightful. Her father is an a great actor that I have followed for years, and having him tell me that he liked my work was really awesome.
Cesar plays much of the track that I played when we did this play before. Although he plays it much more handsomely. He is now a member of our army. The army of people who deliver the news! Shakespeare didn't make it easy on non-title characters. He sat there and wrote some of the most important plot points to be delivered by characters who are never seen again. Cesar has to come and tell Lady Macbeth that the King is coming. Tell Lady Macduff that the murderers are coming. Tell Macbeth that the English are coming. Exposition and stakes all rolled up in a few lines to a character that we never get to really know. I had friends who commented on how great it was to have the same dude be the guy who tells Macbeth that Macduff has gone to England be the same guy who goes to tell Lady Duff to run away because he knows what's coming. I'm sure Shakespeare's troupe doubled this role, but only because it makes so much sense. I am also sure many people don't double it, and leave the question as to how this servant knows so much unanswered. Cesar is great in this. (And also great in the one acts which you have two more chances to see).
Mark plays Lennox. Man, Lennox is like the captain of Shakespeare's Army. He's that guy in every Shakespeare play that is always there (A Decius Brutus, if you will, which I played four years ago with NAT). The level of concentration and commitment it takes to play a role like this is epic. Fortunately, Mark is a rare fellow. He is a genuinely good human being, a super talented actor, and dedicated to the craft. This is the first time I've had the chance to work with him. I hope that there will be many more to come. I don't know how to say this without making it seem like lots of actors are idiots, but I have found over the years that there are about 10% of actors that I would trust to do anything offstage. Whether that is setting a prop, paging a curtain, making an offstage noise, just being in any given place other than onstage when necessary. Most of those ten percent are in this company, and Mark is at the top of that. As a founding member of Shakespeare's Army, this is the Highest Honor I give among my troops.
I can't believe we only have 4 performances left. It's been such a joy for me to work on this. I have introduced you to all the actors in the play now, and you can see why. And two people who work behind the scenes who make this all happen I haven't even talked about. Jeannine Stehlin produces the shows for New American. She and Jack are the "partners in greatness" of this company. I met her when I auditioned for the company back in 2002. (That's how long these wonderful people have been in my life). She was the face of the company for me. She called me up awhile later to invite me into Jack's Monday class. (I so miss that class. That was the greatest time). But here's the thing...I am terrified of talking on the phone. I have a legit phobia. But Jeannine is one of maybe 6 people I can talk to on the phone without a panic attack. I was so delighted to be welcomed into the New American (then Circus Theatrical) family! And I was so honored to have her and Jack attend my wedding a couple of years later.
Also Jonas is our Stage Manager. I hesitate to tell you how great he is, because I am already afraid that the big houses will gobble him up and we will lose him. But he is everything you want in a stage manager, and also everything you want in a human being. I wish I could say that I was over-selling him to keep the vultures away, but I sincerely love everything about this dude.
Get your tickets soon. I'm sure the final week will sell out. Come on out this weekend!
Anyway, I did want to continue talking about Shakespeare's Army because I will never write that book (if you are asking "what book" go back and read my last blog, you bastards) and I didn't get very far into the list of those who serve in this Army.
Lots of people have commented on how cool it is to have a female Banquo. (And I think the gender-bending aspect of our production is perfect. It matters, and yet it doesn't matter. In exactly the same way that gender does. Come see it and you'll see what I mean.) Susan plays Banquo. She and I are the only two besides Jack who did Macbeth a million years ago together at the Odyssey. She was Lady Macduff and a witch. I was many things, including a dead body that she chopped the thumb off and a killer who killed her. She's one of the best actors I know. And people. The relationship between Banquo and Macbeth is really cool in general. And then you throw her into the mix and it adds a whole new layer to it. Some of my friends have wondered if Macbeth and Banquo were lovers at some point? It's certainly an interesting question.
I am also really happy that in June when I play the role for SBTS, my Banquo will be one of my other favorite people--my dear Olivia. If you've read any of my SBTS blogs, you will know that she's my Hermia/Celia/Emelia/Life Saver in H4. And she is dope with stage combat, so my inner fight choreographer has plans for her death scene...
SBTS is spilling over into this blog about New American. I have recently claimed to be King of compartmentalization. That will be put to the test later this week, when I am doing tech on "Dinner With Friends", having the company meeting and first reads of "Macbeth" and "Shrew", and then driving to Sacred Fools for "Revisited"...in the same day. (Reading this back I think it reads like a humble-brag, but I am sort of freaking out that I will be able to do it all...especially "Dinner Wtih Friends" which opens on the 10th.. Want to see if I survive? www.littlefishtheatre.org).
Compartmentalizing for a moment-- The witches in Revisited are awesome in concept and performance. My friend Greg (who will be playing Ross with us this summer...damn it...compartmentalize) came to see the show and literally picked up on every nuance that Jack and John and the talented weird sisters have brought to it. There is little as gratifying as having people you respect seeing, understanding, and liking your work. Jordan, Brendan, and Dennis are creepy AF. The witches may be the toughest nut to crack in this very hard show (aside from the dagger speech, which I am terrified of doing, and which I haven't been able to see Jack do...so I can steal it...damn it compartmentalize..) but what they have come up with is really great. I've mentioned Dennis being new to us. He's a talented and dedicated man. So glad to work with him. Jordan I have known for a decade. We did Caesar together and a couple of one-acts. He is a uniquely talented actor. He also leads a great and fun warm up.
Brendan is a lot like a younger me. Fiery, smart, off-book first! He is another that I have been able to witness begin to master the craft over the years. Literally every actor that works with Jack gets his all and gets better. Seeing this young man grow over the past 8 years is indication of that. But, when I came back from Alabama, he and his wife (then girlfriend) Chelsea were already integral parts of the company. I found that Brendan had filled my niche as De-facto dramaturge of studio. --When working on a scene or monologue in studio, Jack will be reacting to what he just saw and sometimes when there is a question look over his shoulder and ask me (or now, Brendan) what scholarship says of whatever point we are talking about. Two things I can tell you about these moments--Jack is almost always absolutely right about these moments--and Brendan is far better than I am at finding this info either way. But I wasn't jealous of Brendan usurping this position. I was so happy to find somebody else who thinks like me. I think I've mentioned this in another blog (one of my four readers will undoubtedly know) but I consider my ability to learn lines quickly a gift and a curse. And meeting Brendan and talking with him confirmed this. When things stick in your head, you generally don't spend time on them. But with Shakespeare, you always have to go deeper. So actors who struggle to learn their roles may actually have the benefit of doing all the work in a more sensible order than Brendan and I do. It takes work ethic to go back to a script you already know to find secrets you may have missed (especially when you rarely miss anything). Also hubris is part of this trait we share. Chelsea doesn't seem to show any signs of hubris, but over the years as I've gotten to know and work with her (and love her dearly because she is saint-level awesome), I've realized that she "gets it." Chelsea plays the lady to Lady M who tells the Doctor that shit is going down. And she's great. (A noble Shakespeare Army performance.)
Elise plays my wife, (Lady Macduff) in maybe the saddest marriage in Shakespeare. We have no scenes together. Lady Macduff is enraged that Macduff has left and even tells one of her kids (Frannie as Macduff Jr.) that his father is dead before the entire family is slaughtered. If I could write (other than blogs...and the jury is out on that) I would write a play about the Macduffs. Because they are badasss. Tough, principled Scots. I'd love to envision their "meet cute." Elise is a dear friend and long member of the company, also a film director and film coach. She directed me in Seduced at New American. She also directed some really fun pieces we did on Nickelodeon called "The Wisdom of Children." (I got to do a soliloquy on poop!) Elise is a genius actor/director/artist. She also made the head (if you've seen the show you know what head I'm talking about). My wife, Annie, commented on how truly powerful that scene stands out in this truncated production.
Speaking of Frannie. My son in the play. And also Fleance. I love this kid. She's so talented and smart. I also just saw the one-acts that we are doing on Sundays at Sacred Fools (only two more shows) and she is hilarious in them. Anyway, she has been in studio for a little bit I guess, but my vagabond ways have kept me away from class for far too long (seriously every time I am able to go to studio I feel like I can breathe again for awhile and then I take and hold a deep breath until I can go back...also if you aren't studying, you should study with Jack, or if you are but are stuck...seriously...I am not exaggerating when I say that Jack taught me how to act. So if you like my work--and I assume that the four of you that aren't in this show and are reading this blog do, you can do what I know how to do by sitting over Jack's right shoulder for a decade). I got super lost in the parenthetical, so I will start anew. Frannie is so talented that on the second day I knew her I asked to do a scene with her...and when I am able to return to studio, that scene will be awesome.
There's another "kid" in the cast. My buddy "L'il Messy." Jenny plays Donalbain. She is also awesome in the one acts (go see them). When I speak of being a proud member of Shakespeare's Army, I am speaking of Jenny and Frannie who are in the trenches where I live. These roles may seem thankless, but they really aren't. One actor not living believably in the world of a play can destroy it. Look, these roles are the hardest in the canon. I've been in about 50 Shakespeare productions, and the times I've really struggled are the times that I've played smaller roles. Because Shakespeare gives the people who talk a lot everything they need. Jenny owns her moment in the show. She's a scared kid whose father was just murdered. For me, when she comes out of that chamber not knowing her dad is dead and I have to deliver that news to her and Malcolm is heartbreaking. I also got to meet her family last night. They are delightful. Her father is an a great actor that I have followed for years, and having him tell me that he liked my work was really awesome.
Cesar plays much of the track that I played when we did this play before. Although he plays it much more handsomely. He is now a member of our army. The army of people who deliver the news! Shakespeare didn't make it easy on non-title characters. He sat there and wrote some of the most important plot points to be delivered by characters who are never seen again. Cesar has to come and tell Lady Macbeth that the King is coming. Tell Lady Macduff that the murderers are coming. Tell Macbeth that the English are coming. Exposition and stakes all rolled up in a few lines to a character that we never get to really know. I had friends who commented on how great it was to have the same dude be the guy who tells Macbeth that Macduff has gone to England be the same guy who goes to tell Lady Duff to run away because he knows what's coming. I'm sure Shakespeare's troupe doubled this role, but only because it makes so much sense. I am also sure many people don't double it, and leave the question as to how this servant knows so much unanswered. Cesar is great in this. (And also great in the one acts which you have two more chances to see).
Mark plays Lennox. Man, Lennox is like the captain of Shakespeare's Army. He's that guy in every Shakespeare play that is always there (A Decius Brutus, if you will, which I played four years ago with NAT). The level of concentration and commitment it takes to play a role like this is epic. Fortunately, Mark is a rare fellow. He is a genuinely good human being, a super talented actor, and dedicated to the craft. This is the first time I've had the chance to work with him. I hope that there will be many more to come. I don't know how to say this without making it seem like lots of actors are idiots, but I have found over the years that there are about 10% of actors that I would trust to do anything offstage. Whether that is setting a prop, paging a curtain, making an offstage noise, just being in any given place other than onstage when necessary. Most of those ten percent are in this company, and Mark is at the top of that. As a founding member of Shakespeare's Army, this is the Highest Honor I give among my troops.
I can't believe we only have 4 performances left. It's been such a joy for me to work on this. I have introduced you to all the actors in the play now, and you can see why. And two people who work behind the scenes who make this all happen I haven't even talked about. Jeannine Stehlin produces the shows for New American. She and Jack are the "partners in greatness" of this company. I met her when I auditioned for the company back in 2002. (That's how long these wonderful people have been in my life). She was the face of the company for me. She called me up awhile later to invite me into Jack's Monday class. (I so miss that class. That was the greatest time). But here's the thing...I am terrified of talking on the phone. I have a legit phobia. But Jeannine is one of maybe 6 people I can talk to on the phone without a panic attack. I was so delighted to be welcomed into the New American (then Circus Theatrical) family! And I was so honored to have her and Jack attend my wedding a couple of years later.
Also Jonas is our Stage Manager. I hesitate to tell you how great he is, because I am already afraid that the big houses will gobble him up and we will lose him. But he is everything you want in a stage manager, and also everything you want in a human being. I wish I could say that I was over-selling him to keep the vultures away, but I sincerely love everything about this dude.
Get your tickets soon. I'm sure the final week will sell out. Come on out this weekend!
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