When my son decided to go to MSU, I immediately went online and ordered an MSU garden flag. Out of character for me — I’m a minimalist and hardly even decorate the interior of my house, let alone the landscaping — but for this, I would make an exception. I can see this flag inContinue reading “Spartan Strong”
Category Archives: Musings
I Often Repeat Repeat Myself
One of the less visible aspects of preparing a stageplay is the number of times a director reads the script in advance. Over the past several months of preparing for “Flung”, I have been reading. One for pleasure, two for critique, three for story, four for arcs. Five, six, seven, and eight for production dilemmasContinue reading “I Often Repeat Repeat Myself”
You Can Observe A Lot By Watching
“Quantum physics teaches us that the art of observation alters the thing observed. To observe is to disturb. ‘To observe’ is not a passive verb. As a director I have learned that the quality of my observation and attention can determine the outcome of a process. Under the right circumstances the audience’s observation and attentionContinue reading “You Can Observe A Lot By Watching”
Art Votre Service
“Art serves us best precisely at that point where it can shift our sense of what is possible, when we know more than we knew before, when we feel we have — by some manner of a leap — encountered the truth. That, by the logic of art, is always worth the pain.” T.S. EliotContinue reading “Art Votre Service”
Set Design: The Terrifying Beginning
“Many young directors make the big mistake of assuming that directing is about being in control, telling others what to do, having ideas and getting what you ask for. I do not believe that these abilities are the qualities that make a good director or exciting theatre. Directing is about feeling, about being in theContinue reading “Set Design: The Terrifying Beginning”
Always Look on the Bright Side of Life
“Over the years I have developed and employed a variety of such coping mechanisms, mostly focusing around a philosophy I call, “Live Because.” “Live Because” is in contrast to what I’ve termed “Live Despite,” which is the idea that people can live rich, full lives in spite of their physical or emotional barriers. “Live Because”Continue reading “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life”
Art Isn’t Easy
“Art, like life, is understood through experience, not explanations. As theatre artists, we cannot create an experience for an audience; rather, our job is to set up the circumstances in which an experience might occur.” Anne Bogart, “A Director Prepares” Told ya there’d be more of this.
The Art of Making Art
“I want an artistic explosion. Our present high-technology lifestyle demands a theatre experience that cannot be satisfied by video and movie screens. I want acting that is poetic and personal, intimate and colossal. I want to encourage the kind of humanity on the stage that demands attention and expresses who we are and suggests thatContinue reading “The Art of Making Art”
Repetition is a form of comedy. Repetition is a form of comedy.
When the student is ready, the teacher will appear. Buddha Siddhartha Guatama Shakyamuni A truly bizarre phenomenon occured in my life in my mid-20s: practically overnight, the strollers in my neighborhood had spawned. Seemingly hundreds of them had suddenly shimmered into existence, everywhere: in my pharmacy’s parking lot, in restaurants, on every city sidewalk. I’dContinue reading “Repetition is a form of comedy. Repetition is a form of comedy.”
Flung: Announcing … Auditions!
If you build it, they will come. Such is the mantra of a theatre artist trying to recruit actors to the try-outs. It’s an insane delusion which directors must sustain, especially in these beginning labor pains of putting a play together. The delusion that people are going to give their time, without pay. That they’llContinue reading “Flung: Announcing … Auditions!”
Muttering Retreats 