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Post by MALCOLM XERXES™ on Aug 14, 2004 6:35:46 GMT -5
SAT. AUG. 14/2004/06:42 E.S.T.
A former colleague of mine with whom I had worked on a brace of plays once made a gift to me of an antique, illustrated edition of THE TRAGEDY OF MACBETH™ (The New Temple Edition), with introduction by SIR LEWIS CASSON, & illustrated by MICHAEL AYRTON with actual production lithographs.
Re-reading it of late, I was pleasantly surprised to find THE THANE OF ROSS to be a far more substantial role than I had recollection of it being from previous readings & from various Theatre productions (most of which have been truly awful), & from various Film productions, including what I think & feel to be The Definitive MacBETH to date, that of MACBETH™ (1971) as directed by MR. ROMAN POLANSKI.
I find myself stirred by the possibility of becoming involved with this play again, but careful not to fantasise about what I would like to essay in the roles offered.
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Post by TOPPER on Aug 14, 2004 9:18:56 GMT -5
MX, Have you ever seen Orson Welles version? It's more stage play than film (and very dark) but you might find it interesting.
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Post by MALCOLM XERXES™ on Aug 14, 2004 10:33:41 GMT -5
SAT. AUG. 14/2004/10:40 E.S.T.
TOPPER,
As it happens, I have seen that particular version, several times.
He took rather an unorthodox approach to it by first having the cast record all their dialogue in a studio, then mouthing their dialogue in Real Time on the set to their own recorded voices.
I cannot determine why he thought that might be advantageous, but what stood out most for me in that particular production was that people actually attempted Scots accents, a practise which is generally anathema in current North American interpretations, unless one has been cast in either STAR TREK™ or STARGATE: ATLANTIS™.
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Post by ladytass2001 on Sept 1, 2004 17:51:58 GMT -5
UGH, I only have one thing to say about the doctor in Atlantis and that is he needs lessons in the actual dialect he is attempting to re-create,I loved Scotty,I will alway's love Scotty,but James Doohan had a flair that the Atlantis doctor is missing,that and he tries to mix too much Dr. McCoyin with the character,he needs to find a niche for the character he play's without using idea's that have already been done.
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Post by MALCOLM XERXES™ on Sept 2, 2004 6:48:33 GMT -5
UGH, I only have one thing to say about the doctor in Atlantis and that is he needs lessons in the actual dialect he is attempting to re-create,I loved Scotty,I will alway's love Scotty,but James Doohan had a flair that the Atlantis doctor is missing,that and he tries to mix too much Dr. McCoyin with the character,he needs to find a niche for the character he play's without using idea's that have already been done. THU. SEP. 2/2004/07:50 E.S.T.
LADYTASS,
You are not the first person whom I have heard say those things, although you have been the most detailed in your criticism.
How much responsibility do you think the writer(s) bears?
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Post by ladytass2001 on Sept 2, 2004 10:44:45 GMT -5
I think the writer's have a good share of the responsibility in the way the doctor is,I also think the producer might have to share in the responsibility, but ultimately it falls to the actor,to get the character across to the audience.I do agree it probably is not all the actor's fault but he needs to "step up to the plate" as we say and really improve the image of the doctor--he started to do that with one of the last episodes but then they reeled him back in the episode after that.
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Post by MALCOLM XERXES™ on Sept 2, 2004 14:17:34 GMT -5
I think the writer's have a good share of the responsibility in the way the doctor is,I also think the producer might have to share in the responsibility, but ultimately it falls to the actor,to get the character across to the audience.I do agree it probably is not all the actor's fault but he needs to "step up to the plate" as we say and really improve the image of the doctor--he started to do that with one of the last episodes but then they reeled him back in the episode after that. THU. SEP. 2/2004/15:19 E.S.T.
LADYTASS,
Are you referring to the episode wherein the alien culture was practising germ warfare against The Wraith?
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Post by ladytass2001 on Sept 2, 2004 14:47:52 GMT -5
Yes but I know how you feel about spoilers so I was trying to make refrences without giving away any spoilers
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Post by MALCOLM XERXES™ on Sept 2, 2004 15:04:18 GMT -5
Yes but I know how you feel about spoilers so I was trying to make refrences without giving away any spoilers THU. SEP. 2/2004/16:06 E.S.T.
Much appreciated, as always. ;D
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Post by MALCOLM XERXES™ on Sept 13, 2004 7:00:00 GMT -5
MON. SEP. 13/2004/08:02 E.S.T.
I reported for duty @ 14:30 on SUN. SEP. 12/2004 for my audition, which had been scheduled for 14:40.
There, I was greeted by the Artistic Associate of the company, who shook my hand & said that he & I had met 9 years ago when first I had been auditioned for MacBETH™, but that I “probably don’t remember”.
I assured him that on the contrary, I remembered *everything* about that audition, particularly since it was the most unusual theatrical audition process I had ever undergone.
I then regaled him with details of how it had unfolded @ that time, which caused him some measure of embarrassment, as he reddened visibly.
When first we had met, he had given me the very strong impression that he had taken a personal dislike to me, & made several snide comments to me & about me to the Artistic Director during the audition about what he perceived to be my over-reliance on Proper Voice Technique, saying that I did not have the “ethereal” quality he felt was more important to MacBETH™ than the visceral boldness I brought to it.
@ that time, I had been surprised, since I had not yet become accustomed to getting told that I was “too masculine” or did not have “the right energy” for various roles in that play & others by MR. WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE.
As well, I was callow enough think that I had a chance to be cast as MacBETH, himself, ignorant to the true politics of Theatre, wherein people are offered the lead roles by directors who know & like them personally, then have casts built around them by the process of audition.
He re-introduced me to the Artistic Director, who shook my hand by clasping it firmly between both of his, & said virtually verbatim what the other bloke had, then was interrupted by his revelation that not only did I recall them both, but I recalled what I had been asked to do @ the audition.
This time, they both looked sheepishly @ each other, then told me to wait in the lobby while they went to see whether the dancers warming up in the studio theatre were finished yet, & I told the Artistic Associate that I would sit on 1 of the benches, which he acknowledged.
After a few minutes, he returned, ushering me into the studio theatre, a space I had not entered before in this particular Arts complex.
The seats were arranged in a V formation that created the effect of a thrust stage, even though I was on a flat, non-elevated floor, so I knew exactly what kind of acoustics to expect from the place.
Both blokes positioned themselves in various seats throughout the course of the audition, & @ the beginning, the Artistic Director made a big point of saying that I had been doing “a lot of Film work”, something I had been hearing a lot @ theatrical auditions of late (& which was making me a bit browned off, as the implication seemed to be that I had become a lesser actor), to which I replied that, since I am not independently wealthy, I must take the work that is given me to do & travel wherever I have to go in order to do it, since that is what makes me a professional, as opposed to a bitter, unemployed amateur.
“Besides, it’s not that I haven’t been auditioned for theatrical productions; I just haven’t been landing those gigs, whereas I *have* been landing the Film/Television gigs….”<br> He seemed quite pleased by my answer, so he asked what I would be showing them.
@ this question, I experienced a flashback to when they had first asked me that question, nearly a decade ago, & how I had seen a sneer on the Artistic Associate’s face when I had told them which soliloquy I would be essaying for them, & how that reaction had informed my negative experience of the audition to come.
This time, I had selected a speech rather than a soliloquy, from a scene in a well-known Shakespearean play that is normally played & directed innocuously, in a rather boring way.
I presented the speech as I had conceived & perceived it in my own head, then was told that although they had both been impressed by my original interpretation, they wanted to “workshop” my interpretation to see & hear it again, as the Artistic Director wanted me to essay the speech again, but with utter physical stillness, relying only upon the words themselves, not gesticulating in any way, & making no eye contact whatsoever with other characters in the scene, keeping my eyes focused upon a point he assigned me.
I had anticipated this particular direction, as it was what they had asked of me when last I had been auditioned by them for MacBETH™, & which I had been given since in various other auditions for, & rehearsals of, SHAKESPEARE plays, & it had always been a direction that my own aesthetics rejected from the perspective of audient, since I have never cared for the SIR JOHN GIELGUD style of “great acting from the neck up” (although I thought him brilliant as CASSISUS in JULIUS CAESAR™!)
I played the scene as they wanted it played, & found it enjoyable, for, unlike the other audition, the direction actually complemented my own interpretation of the role & my physicality.
During this particular delivery, my voice was modulated differently, pauses placed differently, but not because I was pre-planning them to be so, because I was very much “in the moment”, as all my training aspires toward, & everything was proceeding naturally from my breath, which condition becomes far more elusive when one is dealing with choreography, a full house, counter-intuitive costumes designs, properties, sound cues, staging, et cetera.
That experience was an epiphany for me on several different levels @ once.
Next, they conferred with each other again, saying that they would not do “the red silk scarf thing this time” because they were too embarrassed to make me do the same thing I had done 9 years ago, & did I remember “the football player thing?”
I said not, & he turned to the Artistic Director, saying, “Good, he doesn’t know *all* our tricks!”<br> However, this was because I boycott shows that I have not been cast in, but I kept that to myself.
This time, the Artistic Associate wanted me to hunch over “like an NFL™ football player”, pumping my feet up & down as though engaged in the tyre-training exercise, but pumping my arms slowly, as if the upper half of my body was in a different dimension, all the while travelling s-l-o-w-l-y forward, then stopping in tableau to deliver a few lines, resuming travel “when it feels right”, then repeating the process.
Again, another flashback set in as I recalled that this was the point last time when I knew I was not going to be cast, as this physical posture & action was not conducive to efficacious breathing for delivery of dialogue.
However, this time, I found that it was easier than I had pre-judged it would be, partly because I was committed only to carrying out orders rather than asking myself what connection these contortions had to the beautiful diction & poetry of MR. WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE, partly because I had not come into the audition with any agenda beyond vindicating myself as an actor.
However, I was interrupted mid-speech by the Artistic Associate, who approached me again & asked me to start again from the top, but e-v-e-n m-o-r-e s-l-o-w-l-y t-h-a-n b-e-f-o-r-e.
Flashback time, again, as it was he who had made me jump through hoops repeatedly 9 years ago, seemingly without purpose, giving me no direction that served me in any way, which made me feel as though I was being given an especially arduous “hazing/initiation” ritual to keep me out of a Secret Society that I had been keen to join, the ultimate goal seeming to be that I would give up on ever becoming involved with another play, ever again.
This time, though, I concentrated upon the physicality alone, not attempting to deliver the verses until I was firmly grounded in tableau, which anchored my voice in yet another way, this time declamatory, which was what he had apparently wanted of me in the first place, since he told me to stop after 3 or 4 orations, a big grin on his face that told me he had been impressed beyond his expectations.
They looked @ each other grinning broadly, the Artistic Director satisfied that I could speak Shakespearean dialogue clearly & comprehensively, the Artistic Associate satisfied that I was both willing & capable insofar as making the words heard & understood while executing choreography that was utterly alien to that purpose in my own mind.
“So, do you need to hear him do it again, differently?”<br> “No, I got everything I needed, what about you; do you need to see him do anything else?
“I’ve seen everything I needed to see; I’m satisfied.”<br> They were both visibly excited & thrilled, but neither was willing to offer me the job on the spot for whatever reason(s), so the Artistic Director said that they would be seeing other actors after me that day, but that he was unsure about informing people about whether or not they had been hired 3 days after the audition, or a full week afterward, so that they would not be sitting by their telephones on tenterhooks.
As I knew he would, the Artistic Associate said a week, then they continued talking to each other, but had not dismissed me, so I was unsure about whether or not I should attempt to leave.
Apparently, this is their standard mode of address, so I thanked them both for what had turned out to be a lot of fun, having my hand shaken by both blokes in his own fashion, then scarpered, stopping off @ SHOPPERS’ DRUG MART™ on the way home for some fresh grooming supplies.
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Post by ladytass2001 on Sept 13, 2004 9:08:30 GMT -5
It sounds as if you had a good time and you must have made an impression on both of them for them to have remebered you. Good Job!!
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Post by MALCOLM XERXES™ on Sept 13, 2004 13:53:38 GMT -5
It sounds as if you had a good time and you must have made an impression on both of them for them to have remebered you. Good Job!! MON. SEP. 13/2004/14:56 E.S.T.
LADYTASS,
Aye, fun was had by me on that day, which is my litmus test for whether or not I am approaching life & work correctly.
I must confess that I was quite surprised by the telephone call from the Artistic Director inviting me to be auditioned for MacBETH™, since my own Subjective Perception of our last encounter had been what it was, & @ that time, he had appeared to defer to his Artistic Associate to orchestrate the audition, which made me wonder whether there was a language barrier or an unusual power dynamic between them that I had been unable to grok.
Apparently, “a first impression is a lasting impression”, so it was good to have vindication of my aesthetic judgement nearly a decade later.
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Post by MALCOLM XERXES™ on Sept 16, 2004 17:34:21 GMT -5
THU. SEP. 16/2004/18:37 E.S.T.
I received an Email from the Artistic Associate of the Theatre company @ 17:19 E.S.T., today, which reads as follows:
Hi Malcolm, It's a no unfortunately, but [ARTISTIC DIRECTOR] and I enjoyed very much the contact with you. There was a fellow who did as well as you with the text, and his movement background was more advanced we felt. Our productions are not all as movement based as this Macbeth is. I hope that we will see you at more auditions and not every ten years when we do Macbeth in Toronto. Please stay in contact and I hope you will come and see the show. Kind regards, [ARTISTIC ASSOCIATE]
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Sirona
Junior Member
Posts: 98
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Post by Sirona on Sept 16, 2004 20:26:43 GMT -5
Egads Malcolm,
These buffoons have no concept of quality when, it is before their eyes.
For supposed followers of Shakespearean dialect as well as other thespian genres; someone should donate a book on grammar- their writing is atrocious.
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Post by MALCOLM XERXES™ on Sept 16, 2004 23:15:47 GMT -5
Egads Malcolm,
These buffoons have no concept of quality when, it is before their eyes.
For supposed followers of Shakespearean dialect as well as other thespian genres; someone should donate a book on grammar- their writing is atrocious.
FRI. SEP. 17/2004/24:18 E.S.T.
SIRONA,
That is very good & kind of you to say; thank you.
“Listen, bub, WOLVERINE™ don’t jump through hoops fer nobody!”
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