#backstage

riddle-of-the-model:

people who use tiktok are like “I hate theatre kids.” meanwhile their favorite sound on that app is from a musical

I like to explain to people that all the actors they love and admire and thirst over are literally just ascended “theatre kids” and watch their faces fall.

The whole reason adaptations of Romeo and Juliet don’t work is wrapped up in the first line of the show.” 

“Two houses, both alike in dignity –”

That’s it. That’s the entire point. The Montagues and the Capulets are both rich, noble families. They’re on equal footing with each other. Both are frivolous and careless in that specific manner that only the generationally wealthy can be. The show and its message only work if both parties are equally rich and careless. If you try to translate it into any other context (Juliet is an heiress and Romeo is a punk, etc) you may have a good story, but you lose the entire point that Romeo and Juliet hinges upon. You may have a perfectly good story in its own right, but that story is no longer Romeo and Juliet. 

The buildings are old and need constant repairs, so something is always under construction. Despite this, you have never seen anyone working on the roped off parts of the buildings. They simply shut down for a month and then re-open, fixed. Odd.

The movement teacher won’t stop talking about “The Work.” There is no clear definition, but it involves The Self and also The Body.

No one sleeps. At all. Not the professors, not the students, not the administrative team, and definitely not the resident company members. Your chances of passing someone in the hall are the same at 4 AM as they are at 2 PM.

Someone says the word “Macbeth” and the room goes dead quiet. The whole floor goes dead quiet. You don’t hear a word spoken in the whole building for the rest of the day. The offender isn’t in class the next day, or the day after that. Eventually, you forget their name.

During midterm week, you dream fitfully about “The Work.” You wake up in a cold sweat, almost certain that you’ll figure out what it is next time.

Your movement final is to “encounter yourself.” You don’t know what this means, but now you keep catching glimpses of yourself in crowds of people. The date of your final draws nearer. You don’t know what you’re going to turn in. Your reflection in the mirror has started lagging a bit. You get the feeling you will be encountering yourself very soon.

“The Work,” says a man on the subway. You clench your hands in your pockets. You have to stay on alert.

The alumni list is long and lofty. The teachers refer to it constantly. “This could be you, right?” You run into one of the alumni on your way downtown. Their eyes are empty. They will not look at you.

You sit down to watch a company show. You come to an hour and a half later during the bows, program still in hand. Everyone else agrees it was a brilliant show. You are not sure what happened to you during it. You may never be sure.

bastardbvby:

what movie do y’all know front to back like it doesn’t even have to necessarily be Good,, it’s just something you’ve seen so many times that the dialogue is printed into the very core of your being

I’m a professional actor and also very gay so what I’m saying is that it’s Rocky Horror Picture Show

One of my dearest held principles that I share with as many actors as possible is actually quite simple: read poetry. This is even more applicable if you’re also a playwright, writer, director, or composer. The overlap between theatre and poetry is huge, and not just with the classics. Music and poetry are inextricably linked. Reading poetry, both casually and out loud, can really help you grow as an actor and give you the skills to better understand text and subtext when it’s presented to you. Below are some of my very favorite poems for actors. Enjoy.

Megan Married Herself– Caroline Bird

Snow and Dirty Rain– Richard Siken

Ode to the Women on Long Island– Olivia Gatwood

The Kindest Thing She Almost Did – Blythe Baird

May We Raise Children Who Love the Unloved Things– Nicolette Sowder

Preface to a Twenty Volume Suicide Note–Amiri Baraka

Good Bones – Maggie Smith

14 Lines From Love Letters or Suicide Notes– Doc Luben

I have more, but these are some favorites.

If you’re a dramatic (gay) arts person and the pandemic has ruined your potential for cinematic angst, consider doing what I’ve been doing since I was 16 and edgy and looking at The Unsent Project.