March 2012
16 posts
Parents Night
My mom was at the show on Thursday night. Eric Steele’s parents were there, with family friends. And Chris LaBove’s. My daughter, Barrett, and her squeeze, Clay Wheeler, were there, too. In fact, if it hadn’t been for family and friends, I think we would have had an audience of three.
I’m not complaining. These people all listened with such love and attention. Parents...
Acting is like...
There is a way that acting is always like whatever you happen to be doing at the time.
For instance, yesterday I was polishing an old brass bed and so I was thinking that acting is like polishing that bed.
For one thing, I had no idea what I was getting into. I thought I’d just pull a little Brasso out of the cabinet, wipe the thing down and be done. Thirty minutes. Tops. So I put the...
Loss
Mark Daves, husband of Dallas playwright Vicki Cheatwood, passed away this morning.
Tonight’s performance of Bob Birdnow’s Remarkable Tale of Human Endurance and the Transcendence of Self is offered in gratitude for Mark and Vicki, whose courage and commitment have reminded all of us in the Dallas theater community that the most important thing we do as actors or writers or...
Bloody Bob Birdnow
Sometimes we find ourselves connected to roles in strange and unexpected ways.
I don’t think it’s giving too much away to say that Bob Birdnow has some choices to make about sharp objects and throat cutting.
This is a photograph of my great-grandfather, who killed himself by slitting his own throat with a straight razor.
Really.
So it’s a dilemma that’s, literally, in...
The Kindness of Actors
No blog day before yesterday because I was too frustrated and embarrassed and — maybe — scared.
This was our last rehearsal before previews and an audience. At some point in the narrative I realized I had skipped a part of the story. I stopped and announced that I was going to start again. In the hall, I was discussing the restart with Stage Manager Ruth. There was no judgement or...
What To Remember When You Can't Remember, or A...
Part One: When You Can’t Remember
I went up in rehearsal tonight. With only one rehearsal left before our first preview. I did not just forget a line. I lost my place in the story. I stood in silence a long time and waited for the story to come back to me.
It felt terrifying and then humiliating. I was flaming out in the presence of people I respect and care about. People who are...
Better Bobs
This is a true story about the way the universe messes with the actor’s head.
First, some background:
When actors are having a tough time with a role — basically when their inner actor begins to scream “I-will-never-really-get-this” — they begin to make lists of other actors they are certain would get it and know exactly what to do with it. Generally, actors...
Actor-Speak, or That Sucking Sound is Me
Tech and first rehearsal in the theater.
Here’s the thing: Director Trull is an honest man. He pretty much can’t help himself.
Here’s what I hate: Director Trull says I sucked today.* (For the record, he did not use these words. But he and I both know what he meant, because we both speak “actor.”)
Here’s what I really hate: Director Trull is right.
...
Don't Ask. Don't Tell.
We attended Kitchen Dog Theater’s annual fundraising party, Hooch n’ Pooch, last night. Three hours in a room full of very smart and talented people. I could drop names, but in the interest of time will only say that any list of same would include Director Trull (and I mention that because we are now officially heading into Tech Week — not unlike what we knew in my fraternity...
Bob's Big Question
Yesterday we were working through the section of the play where Bob describes being stuck and injured — his legs, in particular. This morning, the CNN website features a story about a woman being stuck and injured during this week’s tornados — her legs, especially.
In case you missed it, you can click on this photo to link to the story.
For me, it’s a reminder of...
The Line Police (or, Keeping My Pants On)
Director Trull has decided that the proper way to approach the play is to assume that every choice Author Steele made was deliberate and somehow important to the playing of the piece.
This means that commas and periods and ellipses (and the absence of same) all mean something. That if Author Steele wrote “the” instead of “that” or “I have” instead of...
Conversation(s) with Director Trull
Director Trull: Last summer, we never really found the rhythm of the piece.
Outer Barry: (Smiling.) I know exactly what you mean.
Inner Barry: (Fretting.) What??? Never found the rhythm of the piece? What if you change it and people don’t LIKE you as much? What does Director “I’m an Equity Actor and You’re Not and I Get a Paycheck from DTC and You Don’t and...
The Actor's Mind
We began work on Birdnow again yesterday and I was really looking forward to it. But here’s the thing. The first time around I learned the lines during a week sitting with my scantily-clad wife on a beach in Mexico. So…as the rigors of self-reflection and self-honesty are the stuff that performance is made of (once you know the lines, that is) I have to ask myself: Am I really...
