The first time...

Some are unable to take criticism well and if you are one such person and find yourself within this writing, then I give mild apology. I have just reached the point where I need to say something, yet it is not my place to say it to anyone within the group I am working with. So, instead I will say it here to get it off my chest and hopefully just get rid of some frustration. If I manage to offend and ostracize myself from the group, well, such is the risk I take.

Do you know how many days until we open? Not two weeks, but NINE days. Come two days from now it will only be a week. To say that I am a little nervous is an understatement. This is one of the first times that I have truly wondered if a show will work or simply crash and burn. Show me why, you ask…. ok, just listen.

So, here goes… The story of the show is a serious one. It is a tale of one man's depravity and how he takes from the world, yet never acknowledges his wrong doing. There is murder, rape, deception, coercion, vengeance, demons, and eventually a descent into hell. Needless to say this is intended to be serious material. Now, within any show of such depth there is always at least one character that is intended to bring a bit of levity so as not to let the audience wallow in how heavy and depressing the show can be. Understandable? I feel so, but we have descended into the land of shtick. All that seems to be missing is a little slapstick and, as mentioned to me earlier, the inclusion of the Keystone cops. Every time where subtlety would be appropriate it seems that we are simply slapping the audience in the face with a humor stick. Each time that happens all the tension in the scene disappears and it gives the audience a reason to disengage from the story.

And then there is focus. How hard is it to simply listen to directions, follow instructions, do your part, and when the director says "focus" to shut the fuck up? I have spent the past ten years working with ten year olds and my average class of 30 can get quiet and remain so far better than 17 adults on a stage can. Really? If your intention is to put on a professional show then….. ACT LIKE A PROFESSIONAL! I am all for play. Hell, you can frequently find me messing around (when the time is appropriate), but if it is time to work, then let's just work. There is little enough time to put the show together if we are on task, let alone if half of our time is wasted by diddling around on stage. When a scene ends, stop. Wait. Listen for commentary from the director. Reset if needed and go on. Do not assume that just because you are no longer "acting" that it gives you license to flap your mouth, flail your arms, and otherwise be a distraction. If the scene is continuing then pay attention. Watch the other actors. Support them. As soon as your mouth opens you are telling them that you really don't give a crap about what they are doing.

Really it all comes down to respect. Have respect for the stage. Have respect for the director. Have respect for the time. Have respect for yourself as an actor. But mostly, have respect for the show. It is a brand new piece that needs to be put together carefully, not just thrown together haphazardly. Make it work, make it fun, make it amazing. Create. Be artists. Don't waste your time, or my time, or the director's time, or especially the audience's time. That is my fear. I am afraid that people will come and say, "Why did I bother?"

That's pretty much it. Those are my main gripes. Again, if I offend I am sorry, but if you don't like my opinion I truly don't care. It is what it is.

It's not junk mail

Dear reader,

   Hi. My name is John. I've been around for a while. As a matter of fact you see me in so many places. I've seen you in the grocery store, the library, on the street. Sometimes I'll see you at baseball games or just standing in line outside your favorite little Mexican food snack truck. It's funny because I feel as if I have been taken for granted for so long. And there are times that I have kept you entertained while reading the newspaper. But then again, I'm sure there are times that I have also pissed you off too. Remember that last time you were on the freeway and that guy in the sports car zipped by you just a little too fast and then cut in front of you? Yeah, that was me. I'm pretty sure I gave you the bird too when you honked your horn. (You should have heard the words I chose to yell, too.) Oh, and that person at the convenience store who pays for everything in change? You guessed it... me.


   Yeah I'm pretty much everywhere these days and no matter how hard you try it is very difficult to keep from interacting with me. There are times when I will agree with everything you say. We will have the best conversations and get along fabulously, almost as if we have known each other for years. But then there will be days when I am a perfect stranger who feels that every word that comes out of your mouth is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard. On those days we will probably argue or at least just storm off in different directions thinking that the other is the biggest damn idiot in the world. Meh. That's life.


   I'll be honest with you here. On the whole I don't much care about you. It's not that I dislike you, I just don't really care one way or the other. To me, you are just another person in the world whom I interact with periodically. You are the random person in the adult bookstore, the checkout clerk at the pharmacy, or the bicyclist who I am sometimes tempted to swerve and hit because you are riding in the middle of the lane instead of staying on the side where the little pictures of the bicycles are painted. I really don't want to hear your opinions on life, the universe, and everything else that goes on in your brain. If I ask you directly, please feel free to tell me. And if you ask me, I'll do the same. However please don't be offended by what I might say, as it is my opinion. I don't ask to be berated because my opinion differs from yours. And I cannot promise I will be very friendly if I am attacked for thinking the way I do. Our views on religion will probably be different (as no two people will ever interpret life the same way). I'll let you have yours if you do the same. However, watch out if you choose not to. The funny thing is, we probably do have a lot in common. We all essentially come from the same place. We are all residents of this spinning blue and green orb in space. We are are born naked and without directed thought of our own, and we all tend to learn our basic views and ways of functioning from the ones who came before us.


   So, I'll see you on the street, in the store, or perhaps at work. You live your life. I'll live mine. Keep in simple. Be honest. Be tolerant. We're all stuck together here so perhaps we should learn that nobody is the exact same as us. And if you can't... well, be really careful the next time you are riding that bike of yours.


Sincerely,


John Q. Public