| co op auditions |
Subject: co op auditions by Anonymous on 6/14/2004 20:46:10 Hi Htownactor, Yes, the SHSU actors stood out. They had the quality that you rarely see in university trained actors but used to see in serious New York actors, which is they knew how to combine their personal truth with the step by step inner action of the play's events and with the thought logic/objects of the lines. More importantly, they knew how to grasp the true intent of a scene or character and build their work upon that spine. They did not just treat the play and acting as things there for the individual to use to show off and substitute performing for acting. I was mightily impressed. It is ashame that they will all be scattered to the 4 winds and will never know the wonder that comes -- NOT JUST FROM A HIRED RESIDENT COMPANY -- as is found today, but the magic a group of actors make who do all truly share the same basic approach and craft and who are dedicated to the aesthetic values behind that basic approach and then create productions out of that unity -- which is how art works. You cannot get art with a jobbed in cast or even seasonal company. You cannot get it from a resident company. Theatre has to grasp what the innate nature of a real permanent company is. I was sitting there imagining just what kind of company those young actors could build if they stayed together as one and spent the next 10 years creating work and real experience (on stage in their acting and off stage for their lives)as a true company. It is a shame Houston does not have the environment like Chicago where graduating classes can stay together and come and create theatres and build a real creatively alive community and not just a collection of several different seasons of shows by established houses or experimental work focused on issues of writing, style and form. There has to be a way to get Houston theatre to move beyond the quest for professionalism and newness and move toward a great big field of manure encouraging things to stay and grow. It was sad watching all the talent and knowing alot would not be used as Houston theatre still primarily runs on producing theatres hiring actors for shows rather than actors, directors, designers and writers who share an aesthetic and craft coming together to build work and company themselves. I wonder how you get the workers in theatre to risk staying and to build and create on their own rather than think and act like day labor waiting to be hired their whole lives. It seems you are right, the man you mentioned at SHSU and a man named Mark Ramont who was at SHSU and at Rice a bit were the training behind the excellence of the SHSU and to a real degree Rice actors. I wish Rice would do for theatre what they did for the Shepherd School of Music. It was a wonderful experience overall. The seats were butt killers but not the experience. Acting, even bad acting, never bores me. I learn something new in every experience. Bobby |
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