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stephenmhunt
Member
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Posted: Tue Apr 8th, 2008 11:44 am |
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Good news: a London fringe theatre is so "..fascinated.." by a new play of mine, they are (effectively) hosting a rehearsed reading of it in the summer.
Bad news: having recruited a professional cast and director who are sufficiently interested in the project to work on it for expenses alone, all reserve the right to withdraw at any time should paying work come their way - something to do with having to make a living.
This leaves me trusting to luck that my cast and director will stay with it right up to the date of the reading. Even if only one doesn't, I'm back at square one in the same predicament.
Any advice greatly appreciated!
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Proboscisbunny
Member
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Posted: Tue Apr 8th, 2008 12:58 pm |
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Cast two understudies, one male and one female...just in case :)
Vanessa
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in media res
Member
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Posted: Tue Apr 8th, 2008 01:06 pm |
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First, this is great!
Second, your situation happens all the time. It happened to me two years ago. Got another actor. Not as good for the part but sufficed. And I have to pull out of shows for MRE "More Remunerative Employment." That is what understudies are for, and when I have had to drop out of a reading, I always have referred an actor to replace me.
Pity of your situation is you have to wait so long. When a reading happens quickly, chances of losing someone diminishes. Talk to the theatre about it NOW and then relax and have a good time.
in media resLast edited on Tue Apr 8th, 2008 01:07 pm by in media res
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stephenmhunt
Member
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Posted: Tue Apr 8th, 2008 04:16 pm |
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| Good of you to reply Vanessa, thanks. And if the understudies are also professionals who want to keep their options open...?
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stephenmhunt
Member
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Posted: Tue Apr 8th, 2008 04:24 pm |
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Thanks for your good wishes.
Love the idea of an actor coming up with their replacement! Well see. The theatre don't want to get involved with casting issues. In fact, the theatre is closed now for a refit, the reading of my play reopens the place. So they're giving me quite a lot and I'm reluctant to ask much more of them.
You're right, I just have to relax and wait to see how it works out. Thanks for your contact. Best, Steve
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Proboscisbunny
Member
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Posted: Tue Apr 8th, 2008 06:43 pm |
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I had to do a reading of one of my plays when the actress got the flu...thankfully I'm also an actor, so I didn't totally suck.
I did a play once with two male understudies and one female. When one male understudy got to on he didn't know his lines! He totally flubbed his monologue, he even said "LIGHT CUE" to get it over with...the booth did not comply...it was painful for all involved.
Don't worry too much about it...if it happens it happens. It may suck at the moment, but it's not the end of the world.
Vanessa
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stephenmhunt
Member
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Posted: Wed Apr 9th, 2008 09:48 am |
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My last "performance" was delivering a day-long course called "Rejoining Society" for patients emerging from mental health issues.
At the end, an elderly lady rushed forward eager to shake my hand. Grinniing widely she said, "I didn't understand a word of that dear, but you did it very well!"
Best, Steve
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Will Kemp
Member
| Joined: | Thu Feb 14th, 2008 |
| Location: | Kentucky USA |
| Posts: | 76 |
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| Mana: |   |
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Posted: Thu Apr 10th, 2008 03:48 am |
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| Hi. Wish you'd tell us more about this play. . .If people are willing to do it without remuneration, it must be good. If you have time, I hope you'll post a few pages for us to read.
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stephenmhunt
Member
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Posted: Thu Apr 10th, 2008 11:37 am |
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Hello Will - thanks very much for your interest.
The "new slant" page on our website http://www.madtigersandbears.webeden.co.uk contains info about the play, why not take a look?
There's a form on the same page which can be used to get even more info, including a part of the script, or all of it. I prefer to know who I'm sending my material to so please provide some relevant info about yourself.
For now I'll say that in keeping with the experimental character of London fringe theatre, the play is meant to be a humourous and dramatic challenge to our powers of perception and then links that to madness and its treatment. Reversing Plato's principle in The Republic, the subtext is that the State's frequently self-defeating efforts to be in the world can be seen in the mess individual's get into trying to do the same thing.
Consistent with the role language and mindset has in all this, the play opens with a middle aged female American tourist in Rome who has her natural way of thinking and speaking challenged by an old Italian man. Some have read this as a comment on American foreign policy.
Despite the woman's witty and feisty resistance, the old man piles challenge upon challenge, until the woman's grasp on reality becomes unhinged. Juxtaposed with this exchange is a young couple whose relationship is falling apart for seemingly more mundane reasons. Or is there some telling overlap here? Eventually, the worlds of all protagonists collide raising the questions of whose sanity will survive and whether gender mindset has a bearing?
Can a few questions unravel understanding of who we are, of others and of the world? And what is the old man's motive? Does the play say anything of interest about a State's understanding of itself and its relating to the rest of the world?
Hope to hear from you, further. Best, Steve
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