Download a PDF - Stage Directions Magazine

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Dan Hernandez Editor’s Note Great Expectations . . . Or, what I dismissed. To my memory, I’ve only turned down a part once. It was at Playwrights Horizons, when I was studying acting there. They needed actors to help out some of their playwrights in a staged reading. With the best of synergy, they held auditions—playwrights, directors, actors, all learning together how to work through the process. I went, read, and was offered the part of the disaffected, surly teenage son. I forget everything about the play, except I didn’t think it was very good (it was a first reading, what did I want?) and even more than the script, I remember being absolutely unimpressed by the actors I read with. Yeah, who knew, an actor who thinks he’s better than everyone else? Stop the presses! I remember I was appalled that one actor didn’t know how to pronounce Austria-Hungary. So I turned down the part. I gave some excuse about not being able to fit rehearsals around my work schedule. It was close enough to the truth to work, but still just an excuse. I have no idea what happened to that play, but I do know what happened to other artists I dismissed. I used to volunteer a lot at the San Francisco Fringe Festival. This was when I was working with computers for a few years and volunteering was my only connection to practicing theatre. So I saw a bunch of troupes and performers, several of whom I dismissed as absolutely talent-less after seeing their acts. But I remembered their names, and saw them year after year at the fest. They kept at it. Do I need to tell you that they’re winning awards now, and performing to acclaim across the country? Charles Dickens finally told me what I was doing wrong. I was reading Great Expectations, where, in case you don’t know, the main character is blessed/cursed with “great expectations” and begins to feel above it all. He starts looking down his nose on his roommate. Late in the book, after having been knocked around a bit, he realizes his error: “I often wondered how I had conceived that old idea of his inaptitude, until I was one day enlightened by the reflection, that perhaps the inaptitude had never been in him at all, but had been in me.” So, at a certain point a few years ago, I decided to put ego aside, and just focus on craft. Do the work, and let go of results. Or, as I heard someone say today: “Left foot, right foot. Breathe.” Or, as Dori says in Finding Nemo “Just keep swimming, just keep swimming.” The work is hard enough. The art is fragile enough. Success is elusive enough. We don’t need to put up artificial barriers between us and the work. So, at the start of another fall season, another new school year, that is my goal: To not close myself off to opportunity thanks to my preconceived notions about what I’m “better than.” Or who isn’t worth it. I’m going to do the work, and help others do the work. Jacob Coakley jcoakley@stage-directions.com 4 October 2009 • www.stage-directions.com
Letters Kudos! I have been a fan of Stage Directions from its beginnings! I missed the old "Theatre Crafts" magazine format which was hands-on useable in my theatre arts classes. Stage Directions appeals to a variety of technical skill levels. I learn and my students learn from the articles because you include things which we can grasp within the realms of our limited resources and then you give us a look at how much more is available. I like the advertisements because they also give me direction. But, making the digital copy which I can download is even more exciting. If I could I would give you a Tony! Now I can share an issue with the whole class at the same time. I tried it for the first time today - Yeah! Thank you for this wonderful gift. Cynthia R. King Director of Theatre Arts Notre Dame Regional High School Cape Girardeau, MO [Thanks, Cynthia! Glad you like the book. Any reader can go green and change their subscription to the digital edition at www.stage-directions. com/subscribe. —Jacob] . . . And Correct Kudos I read with interest your “Sound Policy,” article by Lisa Mulcahy in the September 2009 issue about two of New York’s fine sound shops. I’ve had the pleasure of dealing with both Masque and Sound Associates many times over the past 30 years, and the depth of knowledge, the ingenuity, the attention to detail, and the support that their staffs provide always help ease the stress of doing production on a new show. I did notice some inaccuracies in the article that should be corrected: Sound Associates was started in 1946 by Richard Fitzgerald’s father, Tommy Fitzgerald, not in 1979. Scott Lehrer won the 2008 Tony Award for Sound Design of a Musical for South Pacific, not Masque Sound. Your article also leaves the reader with a mistaken impression of the extent of Masque Sound’s role in the Lincoln Center Theater production of South Pacific. All of the work in the theatre to realize Scott’s design concept was performed by Scott and his team of Leon Rothenberg (Associate Sound Designer) and Bridget O’Connor (Assistant Sound Designer), and by the IATSE Local 1 production crew of South Pacific consisting of Gary Simon, Julia Rubin and myself. This was the team that assembled the sound system in the shop, handled its installation in the Vivian Beaumont Theater, programmed all of the sound effects, performed all of the measurement and calculation of the 322 different delays, configured and programmed the DSPs with those delays, and programmed the 175 delay changes required to run the show. While Masque’s contributions to South Pacific should not be minimized, neither should they be overstated. Marc Salzberg Production Soundman South Pacific [Thank you for the correct date of Masque’s founding and especially for the correct credits for the South Pacific award. Printing the name of the company as winner and neglecting the names on the crew was a terrible lapse on my part. In our effort to write about Masque sound, we did not intend to minimize the efforts and skills of all the talented people involved. —Jacob] www.stage-directions.com • April 2009 0
Page 1: TheatreFace.com www.stage-direction
Page 8 and 9: SD CELEBRATING OPERATIONS General M
Page 10 and 11: theatre buzz Actors’ Unions Squab
Page 12: Tools of the Trade ADB Lighting Dom
Page 16 and 17: Light on the Subject What’s On th
Page 18 and 19: Sound Design | By Bryan Reesman Mik
Page 20 and 21: Sound Design The cast of 9 to 5 bal
Page 22 and 23: Feature | By Jacob Coakley Left Inv
Page 24 and 25: Feature A moment during one of Foun
Page 26 and 27: Feature | By Bryan Reesman Heather
Page 28 and 29: Feature Another moment from Walton
Page 30 and 31: Feature | By David Koteles The Abus
Page 32 and 33: Feature | By Marshall Bissett Honor
Page 34 and 35: Feature “We will soon be at the p
Page 36 and 37: Special Section: Education Go State
Page 38 and 39: Special Section: Education Andrew S
Page 40 and 41: Special Section: Education A moment
Page 42 and 43: TD Talk | By Dave McGinnis Off the
Page 47 and 48: Education DIRECTORY education DIREC
Page 56 and 57:
Education DIRECTORY education DIREC
Page 58:
Page 62 and 63:
Page 64 and 65:
education DIRECTORY Marymount Manha
Page 66 and 67:
education DIRECTORY Greensboro Coll
Page 68 and 69:
Page 70 and 71:
education DIRECTORY College Of Char
Page 72 and 73:
education DIRECTORY P: 832-813-6500
Page 74 and 75:
Page 76 and 77:
Classified Advertising
show all

Download a PDF - Stage Directions Magazine

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?