Showing posts with label Theater. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Theater. Show all posts

17.6.14

Museum Review: Bacchus/Silenus Statuette from the Hill Collection (at the Frick)

A review of the Frick Collection's bronze statuettes collected by Janine and J. Tomilson Hill.
Attributed to Adriaen de Vries, Bacchus/Silenus, c.1579-80, bronze, 89.5 cm, private collection, USA, photograph by Maggie Nimkin.

Visited the Frick Collection on Sunday, the last day the museum exhibited bronze statuettes collected by Janine and J. Tomilson Hill.

14.3.12

Theater Review: Performance of "The Skin of Evil"

My friend and colleague Steve Ewaschyn directed and adapted the play the Skin of Evil with a group of wonderful young people at the Radha Govinda Hare Krishna Temple in downtown Brooklyn on Friday, March 9th. The play recounts the wrath of a malevolent demon who is destroyed by the help of Krishna and the deep faith of several village folk. Here are some pictures.
Anupa presented the divine role of Krishna with grace and majesty.
Music and dance preceded the performance to pay homage to the deities manifested on the altar.
Malika and AJ evoke the god.
This boy was rushing through the crowd of dancing women.
PDF Copy for Printing 

28.8.11

Quote from Auntie Mame: "Life's a Banquet"

Movie Still from Auntie Mame (1958)
Rosalind Russel as Auntie Mame (1958)
Life is a banquet and most poor sons of bitches are starving to death. ~Auntie Mame 

What is so great about Auntie Mame's advice to her young nephew is not so much the hedonism that it espouses, but the grim observation that most of would not know pleasure even if it hit us smack dab in the face.

24.4.09

10 Notes on Being a High School Director

Being a High School Director:

Photo by Kal Visuals on Unsplash
1. Never underestimate your actors' potential.

2. Always try to find SOMETHING an actor is doing well even if everything they are doing seems destined for failure.


3. During rehearsals, the actors perform for you so make them KNOW you are paying attention to them. During the show, they still perform for you
even though the audience believes they are performing for them and the actors believe they are doing it for themselves.

4. Allow actors to feel out their roles. BUT some people need more coaching. Be flexible and intuit what an individual needs. Be specific in giving hooks. (I am working on getting better at this).


5. I have not figured out rehearsal pacing yet. When do I tell them to be off book? When do I yell at them for not knowing their lines? What is the fine balance between sternness and generosity?


6. When there is little less than one week before showtime, work with what you got. Don't add anything more.


7. SHOW the LOVE


8. The actors internalize your comments so choose your words carefully.


9. When directing use VERBS. For example: "Look Angry" is a bad stage direction: instead: "Prowl around the stage like you are a tiger in a cage" is more specific and doable.


10. It will all come together (albeit, a few SNAFUs)

23.11.08

La Troupe De La Salle Presents The Sword in the Stone

Click the image for a larger view:
That time I directed a high school play  — Frank Levy and Bonnie Bess Wood's adaptation of The Sword and the Stone.
Update!!! 
To all my Blogger and Facebook friends: I have been working with a cast of twenty-five young people for the last two months. We are performing The Sword in the Stone. The story tells the tale of how the young boy Arthur grew up and became the legendary king of England. Frank Levy from Stories in Motion wrote the play. He adapted the story from the ancient legend for a contemporary audience. The show is funny and poignant and full of energy. We had our opening night this week and the show was a success. If you all could make it to tonight’s performance through Saturday (doors open at 7:00 and the show starts at 7:30) it would be great! Tickets are five dollars at the door at De La Salle High School on the third-floor theater in the Brother Arsenius Student Center. Parking is in the school parking lot on Leontine Street and St. Charles Ave. between the Jewish Community Center and the school. The show runs an hour and a half with a fifteen-minute intermission.