“I met a Russian actress once who said, ‘The job of the actor is to direct the role.’ I found this simple trope profound and revolutionary. In our present theatre environment, too many actors expect the directors to direct their roles and too many directors assume that their job is to direct an actor’s role. … More actor v. director
Posted by Matthew in for us Photo by Sophia. I’ve been having an insightful shuffle through Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s book Creativity: The Work and Lives of 91 Eminent People. Mihaly is a seminal professor of Psychology and Management, and is the Founding Co-Director of the Quality of Life Research Center at Claremont. He writes: “I have devoted … More Why Creative People Sometimes Make No Sense
Chalk Pastel on Fabric Rendering This was actually from my undergrad final art project. I was allowed to pick a project and I chose to design a single show two different ways and in two different styles. So, trying to be super creative and artistic (this was for the art department; not the theatre department) … More Costume Renderings: Mistakes, Mishaps, Failures, and Flubs – Part 3
Sometimes it’s just the little moments away from the stage that one appreciates the most. I’m remembering a time when I was an Actor/Techie. Rehearsals and builds were always fun in their own way, but it was the time away in which we really bonded. In high school we’d head to dinner after rehearsal or … More Bonding
This is part two of my series on mistakes in costume rendering. I think there will be three to this series … pending my ability to find the examples I’m looking for in my mass of renderings. Collaged Rendering + Colored Pencil Rendering (because I combined them myself) Collage and Colored Pencil Rendering This was … More Costume Renderings: Mistakes, Mishaps, Failures and Flubs – Part 2
“For most actors, characterization means chiefly what their characters won’t do. As soon as an actor puts such a limitation on his work, he’s being less than himself, imprisoned in a straightjacket of don’ts… make choices that give you the maximum possible involvement. If there’s a possibility, however unlikely, however remote, that you might love … More a straightjacket of don’ts
“Many times when I ask an actor what his goal is in a scene, he will tell me, ‘I want to get away from this person. I want to run out of this room.’ I then ask, ‘Why don’t you run? What keeps you there?’ The answer to these questions is what makes the actor … More why don’t we run?
Recently, I was accused of being an “art snob.” I will agree that I like certain styles more than others, but I think my real fault is that I am an art perfectionist. This is one of the reasons that I don’t often include my renderings in my design portfolio. Despite years of working on … More Costume Renderings: Mistakes, Mishaps, Failures and Flubs – Part 1
“I’ll never understand why funding for the arts is the first thing to get cut. Music is math. Theatre is English. Tech is science. Dance is physical education. The arts are everything.” – Jay Armstrong Johnson
Act Out 