The pic is of lovely Chad Johnson proclaiming himself a "Slave of Duty" at Glimmerglass' "Pirates of Penzance." I've been reading the relatively favorable reviews on line and am happy that the run seems to be going well even without my presence. I always have this unreasonable fear that my leaving will be the catalyst for all sorts of problems. It's never the case, but makes me nervous with every show I walk away from regardless. It did, however, happen that the only time anyone injured themselves during "Fanciulla" was when I left the auditorium to walk around in the fresh air one night during the end of the second act. Way to feed my fears I say.
John and I went to see "Mother Courage and Her Children" at the La Jolla Playhouse last night. I'm in the middle of adapting Brecht's "Seven Deadly Sins" for the fall, and thought I'd better start getting into a Brechtian mood. This experience did it like gangbusters. I loved every minute of the bare stage, chalk drawings up one bare wall and down the next, stark, harsh lights, anachronistic costuming, cabaret numbers bursting out over the Forum audience. I was especially enamored with the way the Mother Courage character was adapted with a certain tough-minded humanity that made you hate her and love her all at once. Also Hilary Ward, who pulled off a beautifully mute Katrin, very much in touch with her physical self and more expressive in her eyes and posture than most people are with every ounce of their voice.
It was good for me to see Lisa Peterson's work with this piece, as it reaffirmed the way that I am wanting to take "Sins." The more I reread the translations I've got, the more stark and dirty I see the piece.
In other news, I am teaching two very talented groups of young people: twenty of them singers, and twenty actors. They all suffer from similar physical issues and it is a joy to see them discover their kinesthetic sense as we move forward with movement work. For the next two weeks I am spending the most time with my singers at the San Diego Opera. We are learning the Polka tomorrow and I am ecstatic to get them up and bouncing around. The more skills you have as a performer, the more marketable you are.
1 comment:
I hope you can remember the summer you learned the polka and many other ethnic dances at the State Ballet Summer School in Webster Groves, MO. You were so nervous about getting all those dances perfect.I thought I would just jog your memory! Enjoy!
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