Jason's Show

Yesterday I woke up around 11:45 (I have been getting in the very bad habit of sleeping quite late--it's a show habit, prompted by lots of going out after performances). I dawdled in front of the computer for awhile and eventually realized that Jason's matinee was today (Sunday), not Saturday, so if I hurried I could make it. I took a taxi downtown (the theater was just south of Chinatown), called Duncan to let him know I was coming, and got there just a few minutes into the prologue.

The play was a long and self-indulgent allegory about 9/11. There was some interesting stuff there in the first section, some very specific stuff about how people first reacted. Jason had some good scenes where he played a kid whose brother was a bike messenger who went missing. I got annoyed at the director during Jason's scene though--Jason is a good actor, very talented with great instincts and extremely directable, and it was clear he lacked guidance in that scene. The enormity of 9/11 is a difficult thing to portray as an actor, even for those of us who were there, and the even greater enormity of playing someone who lost an close family member is that much harder. There are so many layers through which to guide the actor--denial mode, and "practical mode," and obsessing about details mode. I felt annoyed on Jason's behalf, seeing his talent not being well-served.

That said, the director didn't do a bad job of staging the show. Some of the staging was quite ingenious, especially in the second act. But again I got very frustrated with the director for casting so poorly--apparently the main requirement for the show was to have attended Rutgers. Jason and one other cast member aside, the cast was unexceptional, and one actor was awful. Naturally he had a long monologue at the end of the play--I hated his acting at that point, and had to restrain myself from yelling "Get off the stage!" a la Zack from A Chorus Line. I literally didn't know where to look--because I just didn't want to watch him, but I thought it would be rude to look away, so I compromised by blurring my eyesight to look at him. Ugh. He was just. So. Bad.

I liked the space very much, though. It's a big airy space with white walls--I told Duncan he should stage Eternity Without End there.

After the show, Jason, Duncan and I went out to get bubble tea (mmm...). I'd intended to go to church after the show but it lasted long enough that I wouldn't have been able to get there in time, and I figured, I can go to church tomorrow or Tuesday--I don't get to hang out with Jason every day. We deconstructed the show endlessly--bottom line, Jason has nothing to be ashamed of and was in fact one of the best things about the production.

(no subject)

Oy. Tired today. Doug came to see my show last night, as well as an online friend of mine (hey, djeber!). We went out for drinks at the Xth Avenue Lounge where Doug fended off attentions from male patrons, and both of them got to experience the wonderful bathrooms there (floor-to-ceiling mirrors, fresh flowers, blue and pink lights). Got home late, went to bed later, they called me in to work this morning. Unhhh.

(no subject)

Tom freaked me out last night. Our scene occurs about 10 minutes into the second act, and usually right after intermission, he goes off away from me (he enters a couple of minutes before me). Sometime last week, I'd made the comment that we shouldn't see each other before our scene, so we felt more distant. So last night he was still in my section of the dressing room, and I wasn't sure what he was doing--he seemed to be pushing against the wall. I went over to say something funny to him, about an article I saw in Backstage and he slapped the paper away and said "Get the fuck out of here." My eyes got huge. I said "Are you okay?" Understand, Tom has never treated me with anything but the utmost respect. He shook his head and said "Tell me later."

So, I'm thinking he's pissed at me for something (this was especially noteworthy because there was yet another ugly incident with Suzanne before the show, directed toward Tom and me, one involving foul language). I was a little distracted during our scene, wondering if I'd done something wrong. (His acting was pretty good in that scene, though, perhaps because I'd given him extensive notes on his opening monologue--"Ah, splendor of sunburst breaking forth this day whereon I lay hands once more upon Helen, my wife." Among other things, I told him to think about Menelaus's indecisiveness and how that defines the scene; in the first monologue he goes back on himself twice--"to kill...or not to kill" and "take her out--no, drag her out" and of course our entire interaction is about whether or not he kills me. From what I heard, it sounded much better.) After we exited, he smiled at me like "that went well." I pulled him aside and said "why did you get so pissed at me before the scene? That really upset me." He was surprised and explained how it was this whole Meisner preparation technique, and how he was psyching himself up emotionally for the scene--he needed to hate me (Helen) for the scene. I dunno. I guess I'm not that kind of actor. Tracy and I discussed that--she said I'm more technical than that. I need a little preparation but not that kind, and I generally snap right out of character as well (highly emotional scenes are of course an exception--I had a rough time getting out of character for the Ophelia stuff I did for the Shakespeare showcase, especially that one night when I burst into tears during the scene). It's all in the lines--I act on the line. Just listen to what you're saying, and act on the line (of course, this is easier with classical text).