Mast Class with Alan Rickman

Alan Rickman's career had only been known to me through his work in film as Sheriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Hans Gruber in Die Hard, roles in Love Actually and Galaxy Quest, Judge Turpin in Tim Burton's Sweeney Todd, and of course Severus Snape in the Harry Potter films, but also through his directing of August Strindberg's Creditors at the Donmar Warehouse in London.  The Donmar Warehouse is a company that produces older work which proves to be topical and important today.  Friday he came to BADA for a Q&A session before going to again support the work of his actors in Creditors.  He is a frequenter of BADA, and usually does a mast class, but only had time for a quick session.  

Sometimes viewing an actor's work gives us an indication of what the actor is like in his personal life.  This is not true with Rickman.  I asked him about all his work in all its different forms, and how me might summarize his ambition as an artist.  He said that he only does work that he finds interesting and worth producing because of it's central goal for change.  His career has taken him through theatre and film, visual arts, and writing/producing/acting/directing.  He is a man committed to raising questions through his work, which I found so refreshing in an age group who currently doesn't perhaps currently the importance of producing work for change, rather than producing work for yourself.  (This ends up being the case regardless, just in a different order).  He said that he's attracted to lots of different kinds of work, and is never hesitant to produce controversial work because, according to him, there are no right wing playwrights, so one doesn't have to fear producing work that isn't influential to the mind.  He's an optimist and has a great heart, (this is often perceived as the opposite from the characters he plays).  

He stands to me as a person who produces work because of his interest in human nature and loves being able to make people think differently about our world, and I very much relate myself to his ambitions.  He wrote and produced a work entitled My Names is Rachel Corrie in 2005 which was very controversial because it was based on a real life story that showed Isreal in a rather negative light.  There were demonstrations outside the Royal Court Theatre, and it also had a rocky road in New York, but he won tons of acclaim for the production, and it's currently being produced all over the world.  

As artists producing work for others to see, the goal being to change minds, we must always dare to fail, dare to be controversial and cause a stir, for what else is art meant to be?  

Nathan Allen and BADA

Schooling to become an actor isn't enough when one wants to become a serious artist.  In David Mamet's book True/False, Mamet compares the benefits of attending university after high school vs. throwing yourself right into auditions.  He believes most strongly that gaining real world experience is more important than what schooling can provide.  In some ways I agree with him that finding work allows one to study how the real world works and how one can learn from working with professionals, but this doesn't necessarily establish a wholistic and healthy view of one's own existence.  In my experience, seeking out real world opportunities provides one with the schooling needed to base judgments off informed speculations concerning one's ambition for a craft, while being at university.  I've been blessed to have had the opportunity while at school to work for a number of summer theatres, gaining valuable professional experience as well as observing the politics that govern my craft.  But one experience stands out to me the most, and that was working with Nathan Allen of the HOUSE Theatre in Chicago to produce the nationally acclaimed production Rose and the Rime.

I always knew that studying abroad is what I wanted and needed, especially after living in

 bubbly conservative Holland MI for three years.  London was always tops on my priority list as being a place to find a culturally informed artistic community.  Nathan drew my attention to a school called the British-American Drama Academy.  After discussing it with him, researching the other abroad programs in London, and discovering that some of my extended friends had experienced the program, I decided it was the right one for me.  So after auditioning and months of paper work, I was accepted to the program of which there are only 45 from around the world.  What drew me to this particular program was what Nathan had absorbed and used to create his immensely successful company in Chicago: training that empowers actors to produce highly effective work within an ensemble.  With this idea, the individual is showcased through through the support of the group's efforts to invent new ways of looking at old styles.  The training at BADA is primarily classically based, but we are shown how valuable classical work such as Shakespeare is still incredibly important and relevant in our modern world.  What Nathan did was take these ideas and brought them to the HOUSE ensemble (his closest friends from SMU and BADA) to produce original work geared toward "the average joe."  Don't mistake this as being primitive work, for it is highly intellectual but presented in a way easily understood and accessible for all, and most of all, FUN!  Rose and the Rime is the perfect example for this kind of work.  This is difficult work to produce, and it is rarely achieved successfully by a group of people who call themselves an ensemble.

Last week I saw the Tricycle Theatre's production of Twelfth Night, which was in association with a group called Filter and the RSC.  The advertisement suggested that it's aim was to create an interactive, fusion version of Twelfth Night.  Upon entering the theatre and seeing the actor's setting up the space themselves, being conversational with audience members, and allowing for general admission, I felt as if I were in Chicago at the HOUSE.  I was so excited to be in this inclusive environment again, that I found myself part grinning with glee and getting teary with reminiscence.  The production's success lay within the actors who cut the play down to 1hr 30min and having only 6 actors represent all the characters, along with some crafty help from several electronic devices.  The stage was set up as a rock concert with instruments strewn throughout the space, along with the stage manager upstage center calling all the cues.  As the play progressed, pizza was sent through the audience, Velcro balls were thrown between the actors and audience, and the movement spilt fluidly throughout the theatre; all of which were welcomed by the crowd.  However, I found myself concerned and upset at the production within the first five minutes.  It failed because the play lacked a central world, and a reasoning for the decisions that were made.  Sometimes as actors we think we're so funny that we joke about charging admission for our rehearsals rather than the actual production, but we're never completely serious.  This group was, and did just that.  Casual performing, if there can be such a thing, can be achieved when actors remain within the space of the audience throughout the show, but NOT as a featured observer without a purpose.  Merit can be granted to the company for selling out the theatre and having it contain 80% young people, and for some progressive ideas on presenting Shakespeare.  The problem herein was that they just didn't dig deep enough as collaborators to tell the story not only in a new way, but a highly effective and inventive way.

It is needless to say that Nathan Allen has been a tremendous influence in my life as a growing artist, and that his ideas have inspired me to take a similar road with the work that I do through my art form.  Theatre can be a gift when, if done for a group of strangers, can transform minds and define a community within a two hour performance and at a low ticket price.  Nathan achieves this individually, but only with the support of his great community.  That is what Nathan and BADA are teaching me, and this is how theatre will continue to thrive as long as people continue to experiment and invent new ways of doing things that provoke thoughts and encourage community.

The next time you're in Chicago, please look into seeing a production at the HOUSE Theatre.  You'll thank me and yourself for doing so.  You can access them at thehousetheatre.com.  Rose and the Rime will receive it's Chicago premiere in late February at The HOUSE.

Stratford Upon Avon

Stratford is the home of William Shakespeare (1564-1616), and also the Royal Shakespeare Company which dates back to 1879 but wasn't established as a permanent company until 1959 by Peter Hall.  Known to have the best Shakespeare in the world, every major British stage actor has and continues to be ever present in the theater.  Everyone from Patrick Stewart to Judy Dench, Ian McKellen, Ian Holm, Toby Stevens, Kenneth Branagh, you name it.  The company lives on to produce and tour Shakespeare that caters to everyone.  The city of Stratford itself is very beautiful, and has stayed relatively small.  Similarly, the Stratford in Canada is in the middle of nowhere, but consistently sells out every performance and attracts millions of people.  In the city you can find the home of Shakespeare, Trinity Church where Shakespeare is buried, and also Anne Hathaway's cottage.  You can walk down the street and walk into a tavern such as the Old Thatch Tavern which has been around since 1638, or the lately named Ophelia dated back to 1452.  The major roads of the city have been in existence since Romans occupied it, dated 72 A.D.  My day was spent seeing these sights, drinking a lot of beer, eating a lot of fudge, and seeing the most beautiful piece of work I've ever witnessed on stage.  

A Midsummer Night's Dream has always been a play overdone by High Schools, community

theaters, some universities, and the professional theatres that know it will attract a lot of people.  It's a very accessible show because 

of it's easier dialogue and it's straight-forward plot.  It's a show that has become cliche in a way due to it's obvious fantasy-like quality and it's unforgettable characters, specifically Puck and Helena.  In this production, I was transported to a place where deep colors of night dance around the stars, and creatures keen to darkness dance about the earth causing mischief to anyone who might cross their sacred ground.  The world is a very different place at night, often feared for it's lack of light and lack of psychological comfort.  But it was in this world that I experienced the most beautiful and delightful creatures who captured me with their play and guise.  There are so few times where I have been able to lose myself in a production and not care about anything else in the world, and this was perhaps the best of those times.  There were times where I couldn't even pay attention to words spoken, because I was focused on the beauty of the world I was in.  Everything was perfect in this believable world of make-believe; images that will stay with me forever.  Notable actors were Joe Dixon who played Bottom whose acting was so different, so true, so geniusly humorous that I couldn't help but shoot out of my seat for an ovation at the end of the show.  

Gregory Doran's portrayal of Theseus forced me into this world of make believe, making me believe anything he did from his magic, to his dancing in the air.  This production affirmed for me why Shakespeare is so extremely important still TODAY in this world.  It proved that Shakespeare is not something to be left in history, but rather something that is still alive, still present, still breathing into the depths of our mortal souls calling us to come and play in a world of make-believe.  I couldn't be more excited and grateful for gift that Shakespeare gives us even today.

Master Class with Julian Glover

This past Friday we had a master class with Julian Glover who you may know from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and Star Wars.  He has tons credits from the RSC, Globe, and National Theatre.  He most recently played Lear in the Globe's production of King Lear.  Glover has been involved with anything of interest for him, appearing most in British Television and doing a lot play readings on radio as well as on tape.  For his master class we rehearsed one of the final scenes in Julius Caesar where Brutus and Antony make their final speeches to the crowd to rally them against the conspirators.  With a group of about 43 who go in seconds from loving Caesar to hating him, to loving him, to hating Cassius, to loving Brutus, to loving Antony, to hating Brutus, to killing an innocent citizen on the street.  This all happens within about 10 minutes.  This part of the play says a lot for how motivational speaking can instantly change people's minds about their control over the world around them, (as they are played upon by one individual).  What we got was a unique experience of being in a believably sized group of citizens set on fire by the powers that be.  In theatre there is never the budget for such a large group, so usually a "crowd" consists of anywhere from 5-10 people.  I played Brutus and had to convince the citizens of Rome that I killed Caesar for the betterment of the people.  What a trip.  It was great.  Glover had a lot of insight to give us as young artists and was very supportive of the life I gave to Brutus.  

The Theatre Scene in London

I have never lived in or experienced a community that supports the arts at the magnitude of people in London.  With countless theatre companies, the British Film Institute, the Royal Opera House, hundreds of art galleries as well as an unsatisfied appetite for music and dance, this place stands alone in it's love for art.  I've been finding it difficult to get tickets for theatre because it's always sold out, (that's everywhere where you go).  Fortunately, there are always tickets reserved for students and standing room, so I'm still able to see virtually anything I want.  Unlike our country, there are student discounts for just about everything, not just for the arts, but for the entire city.  The city makes it easy for students to live without spending an arm and a leg each time they want to experience the city.  I'm quickly falling in love with this place for support in everything that is new and fresh, especially in the theatre.  I simply couldn't be happier right now, or wish for anything greater than what I'm experiencing.  Thank you for this.

BADA Update

School remains interesting and provoking.  My voice and movement classes revolve around each other as they both help the actor to find his proper alignment and best vocal positioning.  I have experienced similar training with professors Sean Dooley and Daina Robins at Hope, but these two professionals really know how to get the best out of each individual while in the context of a group.  The classes are focused on ensemble building within each of the areas, and how the power of the group gives power to the individual.

Acting Shakespeare is a class that I've already experienced at Hope.  We began with sonnets, are currently working on solos, and will soon work with scenes.  What is different about this class is the professor, Sheila Allen, who has built her career on playing Shakespeare at the RSC, Globe, and National Theatre, as well as doing other important work in both Theatre and Film in London.  Her view on speaking Shakespeare is to always allow for endings of each line in verse speeches, (something always debated upon in the U.S.).  Her technique allows the actor to free himself of trying to make sense of the line by completing the sentences, but rather gives the actor a chance to pause and listen to himself during the speech.  What seemed unnatural at first has now become a major ally for myself in delivering a speech honestly by letting the words in each line motivate the emotion.  Too often Shakespeare teachers tell actors to move quickly through the phrases rather than taking time to account for each word, each image created, each important moment in the context of a large body of work.

Modern Physical is a class that influenced Nathan Allen, (who came to write Rose and the Rime at Hope), to build his company, The HOUSE Theatre of Chicago.  It is obvious how Mick Barnfather of Theatre de Complicite in London influenced Nathan while he was at BADA.  The classes are all about group building and devising to create new and imaginative work.  We are still in the early stage of this, so more to come later.

High Comedy is instructed by Annabel Leventon who was in the original production of Hair and the film The Rocky Horror Picture Show.  (How great is that, right)?  Her credits are endless in London and the U.S., and has so much to give us.  We're currently working on the play The Relapse by John Vanbrugh which will be performed at the end of the first 8 weeks for everyone wanting to see it.  I play Lord Foppington, (the name will give you an indication of this character), who recently bought his right of nobility and makes it his goal to bed the wife of a man named Loveless.  It's a beautiful piece of Restoration comedy, and will be very entertaining to rehearse and perform.

We're also learning intense Stage Combat.  I don't have many positive speculations on this one as the teacher is a bitter 30-something who obviously couldn't get work as an actor or dancer and so reverts to her training as a stage combat instructor (you may know the type).  Nonetheless, the fights are frickin sweet and I'll be a deadly force when all is said and done.

Theatre History and Theatre Criticism are both taught by Christopher Cook, a very articulate and accomplished theatre critic in London.  Every week we have a school funded production that we see for Criticism, and a play we read for History.  The challenge in these classes is to become more articulate about how we understand a play and a production.  We keep a theatre journal which accounts for every theatrical experience we have in London.  Cook then gives us feedback on our entries, and soon to be papers, as we become more enlightened through out craft.  I've always wanted classes like this.  Cook empowers us to know exactly what we are seeing, thus we are able to put our experiences into words more clearly.  So hopefully these posts will get better as my experience continues!

The Globe Theatre

One of the most historically important gifts in London is the Globe Theatre, a space still in use that housed so many original Shakespearian productions.  Today the space has remained the same in design, but has been updated for today's standards but is still true to the original use of the space: meaning a couple hundred people standing in front of the stage while the actors move through you and play to you.  I would argue that my $5 ticket was the best place in the house compared to the $40 tickets to sit.

The first production I saw was The Merry Wives of Windsor, a production rarely produced due it's seemingly Brechtian style and almost soap-opera-like quality, meaning that there are several storied happening at once, and we as the audience are able to look at the story subjectively rather than emotionally, (unlike the rest of Shakespeare).  The Show itself was written in response to Queen Elizabeth's request to create a show revolving around the timeless character Flastaff, who was in Henry IV part 1 and part 2.  The character, universally loved by everyone is not the same person in this play, but rather the same character: a large bellied drunken fool who also happens to be the wisest and generally knows more about life than anyone else in the show.  Here Falstaff attempts to woo two wives of Windsor to go to bed with him.  This never happens of course, as the wives outwit him in his attempt, but the production says much about class distinction and has much to say about societal issues even today.  The production was fairly organic in terms of costume, but very loud in style; the style being almost sitcom in nature which became problematic.  Some actors played too much into a character which sacrificed the honesty of their performance, while others rejected the style thus lacking connection to the other actors.  Perhaps not the best Shakespeare I've seen, but it was the experience that made it unforgettable.  The stage had a runway that ran circularly from stage left to stage right which encased about a hundred audience members who were quite literally were in the middle of everything.  It was very similar to my Rose and the Rime days where two pits were in the middle of the performance space so the people could be in the middle of all the action.

The second production was Timon of Athens, a production done even less than The Merry Wives of Windsor.  This production was unforgettable because of the immense talent of the actors and the concept of the show.  There was a spider web that stretched from the top of the stage in the open air theatre to the back rooftop of the audience.  The actors would crawl on harnesses and drop through holes into the audience to #1 make entrances and #2 to scare the crap out of us.  The message of the play was quite clear from the beginning: you cannot buy friendship, and the entire second act consisted of Timon rolling and defecating in a pile of dirt as his status of ruler became the status of a penniless street rat.  Very moving, very beautiful, and very brilliant.

The Globe, like many of the the other theaters in London is subsidized, meaning it receives financial support from the government to produce it's high valued productions.

Master Class with Fiona Shaw

Every Friday is a master class with someone prominent in the theatre and film field to come and do some work with us.  Fiona Shaw was our first.  You might most immediately recognize her at Aunt Petunia from Harry Potter, but was also in My Left Foot, Persuasion, The Black Dahlia, Catch and Release, and Fracture, (just to name a few).  But it is her theatre career that is most impressive.  She played Richard II in Shakespeare's Richard II at the Royal Shakespeare Company, a production which was very controversial, but endured due to it's non-traditional casting and original concept.  She also played Medea in the West End, and took it to Broadway in 2003.  

She came and worked monologues with us, very much in a style Daina Robins (my acting professor at Hope) would do.  This means several things: first and foremost getting the actor to find for himself how the text directly relates to his life.  Secondly, we in the audience would give feedback throughout the monologue in support of the actor; support like being the audience of a Jerry Springer show, which meant the actor had to work extra hard to get the audience on his side to gain approval.  I found her to be very personable and very intelligent when it came to her work, and she was a joy to learn from.

The British-American Drama Academy

The school is located right next to Regents Park, aka- my favorite place in London.  The gardens consist of acres and acres of breathtaking flower gardens and greenery.  It's just a 15 min bus ride from my flat at the Landward, so many people walk everyday to and from BADA through the park.  Just down the road from BADA is Camden, a very young and vibrant community with tons of entertainment and great restaurants.  (It's also where an H&M happens to be).  Classes so far have a very conservatory feeling including: Acing Shakespeare, Voice, Dramatic Criticism, Theatre History, Movement, Stage Combat, Movement for the Theatre, and several others.  My Shakespeare professor is the spitting image of Julie Andrews, except she's hard on hearing, so she didn't hear the walls shaking the other day when we practically had an earthquake.  I feel I'm given a good amount of individual attention as the class sizes are around 15 people, and I have private tutoring with the Dean of the school.  All the professionals are very bright in the London and U.S. theatre scene and are a joy to learn from.  And Laura, ah Laura.  She's a wonderful Columbian who cooks the most exquisite meals for us at lunch.  I may or may not have an affair with her.

Day One in the Foggy City

After long, delayed flights from Washington Dullus to London I arrived last night and found myself traveling through customs hoping to God that I had a frickin place to stay that night.  After beating around the bush with this Australian who traveled with me on all my flights and stayed at the same Hilton, I finally introduced myself.  Upon my introduction, the girl in front of him shot around when I revealed the fact that I was studying Theatre in the city.  Luckily we were both members of BADA who were arriving late on the same flight.  After successfully figuring out where the heck out flat was, I entered my flat to find my three mates in bed.  Crap.  But just as I put my stuff down, this chick knocked on our door and asked to see Chris, (apparently one of my mates).  She raced into the bedroom to greet him, and everyone awoke to say hello.  Harrison, my roommate, is this really cool chap from New York who goes to school at UPenn (not to be confused with Penn State).  The other two bros are Pat and Chris, and the four of us make up the three musketeers (plus Chris O'Donnell).  

Getting to bed was hard, but we slept well considering we got up at noon.  The day was spent meeting other cool people, forming a group, and seeing some of London.  Us "Bros" went to a potluck that Sam, the "bro-ho," put on which gifted us the opportunity to meet some other really cool mates.  Following an exciting potluck, we then gathered in the Bro Palace (our flat) for an evening of Garrison Keillor and Prairie Home Companion!  (the usual Saturday night tradition).  Thank you mom and dad for making me a Midwesterner.  Tomorrow we will meet our BADA faculty and find out what the heck we'll be doing this semester.  

Thank you for all you love, support and prayers as I travel through this wonderful new chapter in life.  More to come.  Cheers.