And I don't mean the pizza.
I just discovered these roundtable discussions on youtube among film/theatre artists, and they're awesome.
Here's one of Robert Duvall, Ryan Gosling, Mark Ruffalo, Colin Firth, James Franco and Jesse Eisenberg discussing acting. Enjoy!
Monday, November 12, 2012
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
A bit of elderberry wine...
So, I've recently discovered that blogger is often blocked on my high school campus. Which is very silly. Occasionally, there's this weird window when I can access it, but I don't really understand how or why. I'm choosing not to question it. But that's the reason for the lack of frequent posts...I usually do them during planning hour, and they're intended for my students, who can't access them.
BUT, I want to keep this thing alive, so here's a little shout-out to G. Benson again. What can I say, the man's a genius. Here are some of his set designs for "Arsenic and Old Lace" at BYU-Idaho in the Fall of 2010. For full details in the words of the designer himself, go here.
The play is a slightly morbid and delightful comedy about two elderly sisters who feel it is their Christian duty to ease lonely old men into the afterlife by poisoning them. Their family has a history of insanity, and all the action takes place in their quirky Victorian home.
Here are a several of the images and ideas that they wanted to incorporate into the design, and some of the ways they were used.
The director had the idea of making the home actually look like a FUNERAL PARLOR. Dark wood, wall sconces, velvet curtains, potted plants, and gothic windows gave the set that funeral feeling.
In production meetings, the design team also talked about the idea of the aunts being like black widows. (This was incorporated into the costume design as well--their "funeral attire" consisted of all black dresses with a large blood-red brooch at each of their throats.) In the set, the designer tried to incorporate as many different things as he could to suggest SPIDERWEBS. The wallpaper, the windows, and lace doilies were all full of intersecting lines. (Check 'em out in the other photos as well.)
The other concept that informed the design is the FAMILY HISTORY OF INSANITY and EVIDENCE OF A QUIRKY FAMILY. Old and strange family portraits lined the walls (including doctored photos of BYU-Idaho faculty), and bizarre objects are nestled here and there throughout the house, some noticeable, some subtle. (And check out all that spiderweb-iness all over...)
That elephant foot umbrella stand is one of my favorite parts of the set. I saw the show twice before I noticed it. One of the character (Uncle Teddy) is under the impression that he's actually Teddy Roosevelt, and this elephant leg is kind of an homage to the whole "hunting expedition in Africa" thing.
May you be inspired! Great work, as always, Benson.
BUT, I want to keep this thing alive, so here's a little shout-out to G. Benson again. What can I say, the man's a genius. Here are some of his set designs for "Arsenic and Old Lace" at BYU-Idaho in the Fall of 2010. For full details in the words of the designer himself, go here.
The play is a slightly morbid and delightful comedy about two elderly sisters who feel it is their Christian duty to ease lonely old men into the afterlife by poisoning them. Their family has a history of insanity, and all the action takes place in their quirky Victorian home.
Here are a several of the images and ideas that they wanted to incorporate into the design, and some of the ways they were used.
The director had the idea of making the home actually look like a FUNERAL PARLOR. Dark wood, wall sconces, velvet curtains, potted plants, and gothic windows gave the set that funeral feeling.
In production meetings, the design team also talked about the idea of the aunts being like black widows. (This was incorporated into the costume design as well--their "funeral attire" consisted of all black dresses with a large blood-red brooch at each of their throats.) In the set, the designer tried to incorporate as many different things as he could to suggest SPIDERWEBS. The wallpaper, the windows, and lace doilies were all full of intersecting lines. (Check 'em out in the other photos as well.)
The other concept that informed the design is the FAMILY HISTORY OF INSANITY and EVIDENCE OF A QUIRKY FAMILY. Old and strange family portraits lined the walls (including doctored photos of BYU-Idaho faculty), and bizarre objects are nestled here and there throughout the house, some noticeable, some subtle. (And check out all that spiderweb-iness all over...)
That elephant foot umbrella stand is one of my favorite parts of the set. I saw the show twice before I noticed it. One of the character (Uncle Teddy) is under the impression that he's actually Teddy Roosevelt, and this elephant leg is kind of an homage to the whole "hunting expedition in Africa" thing.
May you be inspired! Great work, as always, Benson.
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Acting glamour
A few thoughts on acting today. This is something I wrote for my personal blog a while ago, and it seemed appropriate to repost it here.
Acting is usually billed as a glamorous profession. Red carpets, Dior gowns, cool drinks and personal assistants. And while that is part of the life for the 2% of the world’s actors who can demand six figures for every project, the majority of the time, acting is probably the LEAST glamorous job in the world.
Here’s what acting actually is:
Acting is wearing a spandex full-body suit for two hours while scales are being painted onto it. And then not moving while it dries.
It is putting on a wig-cap (which makes everyone look like a transvestite, regardless of their sexual/gender identity), then having bobby pins lodged deep into your skull for several hours.
It is wearing a gown made of three layers of upholstery fabric under 50 brightly focused lights.
It is saying the same words hundreds of times, and trying to make them sound new every time.
It is changing your clothes (and occasionally your entire identity) in less than 45 seconds, either in a darkened corner with three pairs of hands gropingly assisting you, or else while running through the restaurant below the theatre.
It is spending 20 – 30 hours per week (that’s a part-time job, people) for two months in order to receive 30 seconds of applause.
It is standing outside in the dead of winter in a light coat and being told not to shiver.
It is being told to stop what you’re doing every two minutes or less, for five to six hours a night, for one long long long week.
It is a mic-pack worn around your waist under your costume, with a mic thread pulled through your hair and taped onto your face with medical tape.
It is having a rib popped out of place by someone falling on you, and going on with the show anyways.
It is cleaning blood out of the inside of your character shoes.
It is being told, sometimes even by those that love you, either directly or indirectly, that your contributions to the world are not worthwhile and do not matter, regardless of how life-changing your experiences in that theatre have been.
It is bruised elbows, hyper-extended knees, ripped off fingernails, dislocated toes, and pulled muscles.
It is not getting home until midnight for weeks.
It is finding Ben Nye makeup (which I’m pretty sure is a combination of pottery clay and Crisco) in your eyebrows a week after a show has closed. (And fighting the zits from that makeup for months after the show has closed.)
It is having your hair wrapped in plastic wrap, straws stuck up your nose, a garbage bag put over your shoulders, and strips of plaster laid over your face. (And again, being told to not move while it dries.)
It is singing and dancing for six hours straight, six nights a week, in 103-degree weather.
It is looking into the eyes of one person some night, and knowing that you made some difference in their life. Maybe they learned something, maybe they felt something…something in their face tells you that you did something meaningful.
I’ve been in somewhere around 30 productions now. I’ve done tech for another 10 or so. (Tech is two hours of boredom interspersed with five minutes of sheer panic.) Every one of those things I mentioned up there I’ve personally experienced. I wouldn’t trade it for the world. I don’t mean for this to sound like bragging or anything, I’m just trying to share what I love.
I guess all I really have to say is that those who stick with acting DON’T do it for the glamour.
Acting is usually billed as a glamorous profession. Red carpets, Dior gowns, cool drinks and personal assistants. And while that is part of the life for the 2% of the world’s actors who can demand six figures for every project, the majority of the time, acting is probably the LEAST glamorous job in the world.
Here’s what acting actually is:
Acting is wearing a spandex full-body suit for two hours while scales are being painted onto it. And then not moving while it dries.
It is putting on a wig-cap (which makes everyone look like a transvestite, regardless of their sexual/gender identity), then having bobby pins lodged deep into your skull for several hours.
It is wearing a gown made of three layers of upholstery fabric under 50 brightly focused lights.
It is saying the same words hundreds of times, and trying to make them sound new every time.
It is changing your clothes (and occasionally your entire identity) in less than 45 seconds, either in a darkened corner with three pairs of hands gropingly assisting you, or else while running through the restaurant below the theatre.
It is spending 20 – 30 hours per week (that’s a part-time job, people) for two months in order to receive 30 seconds of applause.
It is standing outside in the dead of winter in a light coat and being told not to shiver.
It is being told to stop what you’re doing every two minutes or less, for five to six hours a night, for one long long long week.
It is a mic-pack worn around your waist under your costume, with a mic thread pulled through your hair and taped onto your face with medical tape.
It is having a rib popped out of place by someone falling on you, and going on with the show anyways.
It is cleaning blood out of the inside of your character shoes.
It is being told, sometimes even by those that love you, either directly or indirectly, that your contributions to the world are not worthwhile and do not matter, regardless of how life-changing your experiences in that theatre have been.
It is bruised elbows, hyper-extended knees, ripped off fingernails, dislocated toes, and pulled muscles.
It is not getting home until midnight for weeks.
It is finding Ben Nye makeup (which I’m pretty sure is a combination of pottery clay and Crisco) in your eyebrows a week after a show has closed. (And fighting the zits from that makeup for months after the show has closed.)
It is having your hair wrapped in plastic wrap, straws stuck up your nose, a garbage bag put over your shoulders, and strips of plaster laid over your face. (And again, being told to not move while it dries.)
It is singing and dancing for six hours straight, six nights a week, in 103-degree weather.
It is looking into the eyes of one person some night, and knowing that you made some difference in their life. Maybe they learned something, maybe they felt something…something in their face tells you that you did something meaningful.
I’ve been in somewhere around 30 productions now. I’ve done tech for another 10 or so. (Tech is two hours of boredom interspersed with five minutes of sheer panic.) Every one of those things I mentioned up there I’ve personally experienced. I wouldn’t trade it for the world. I don’t mean for this to sound like bragging or anything, I’m just trying to share what I love.
I guess all I really have to say is that those who stick with acting DON’T do it for the glamour.
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
La Vida Es Seuno
A bit of set design inspiration today. Today's post highlights the set designs for a show done at BYU-Idaho in the Fall of 2011. For more details on the show and the design process, and more pictures, visit the designer's website here.
Life is a Dream is a Spanish Golden Age play that highlights the philosophical questions of fate vs. choice, and certainty and morality. Since astrology and the movements of the stars play a big part in the plot, the designer and director wanted to incorporate this idea into the set. Designer Gary Benson began researching astrological instruments and maritime navigational equipment, and eventually created a final design of a circular raked stage with various revolving parts. Arches of gold were hung over the upper half of the set. The revolving of the various circles, combined with lighting choices, allowed this unit set to establish different locations. Pretty cool, no?
Life is a Dream is a Spanish Golden Age play that highlights the philosophical questions of fate vs. choice, and certainty and morality. Since astrology and the movements of the stars play a big part in the plot, the designer and director wanted to incorporate this idea into the set. Designer Gary Benson began researching astrological instruments and maritime navigational equipment, and eventually created a final design of a circular raked stage with various revolving parts. Arches of gold were hung over the upper half of the set. The revolving of the various circles, combined with lighting choices, allowed this unit set to establish different locations. Pretty cool, no?
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Tickling the ivories
A little old school comedy today. Man, I love the Marx brothers. (That's really them playing piano, too.)
Monday, September 24, 2012
Impressionism Extraordinaire
That George Clooney one blows my mind every time.
And who knew Kevin Spacey could do this? Has ANYONE ever impersonated Katherine Hepburn that well?
Monday, September 17, 2012
Five feet and five inches of awesome
I like to think that Daniel Radcliffe and I would be good friends. He's a delight. One day my husband and I will have him over for dinner, and the three of us will talk about acting and the History Channel.
Watch the whole interview here. Oh I love Inside the Actor's Studio.
Watch the whole interview here. Oh I love Inside the Actor's Studio.
Friday, September 14, 2012
Inspiration from James Dean
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Debbie Reynolds auction
Any vintage Hollywood fans out there?
Debbie Reynolds had an auction last summer of her ENORMOUS collection of Hollywood memorabilia. I know this is old news NOW, but it's still super-fun to look through the auction catalogue. There are some exquisite costumes and some iconic pieces from the world of film, spanning over the last century. This is true drama geekness at its finest, people. You can download the catalogue HERE.
Turn a page and gasp every four seconds for the next ten minutes.
Highlights include:
And that's just a start.
For the record, Marilyn's white subway dress sold for $5.6 million at the auction.
Debbie Reynolds had an auction last summer of her ENORMOUS collection of Hollywood memorabilia. I know this is old news NOW, but it's still super-fun to look through the auction catalogue. There are some exquisite costumes and some iconic pieces from the world of film, spanning over the last century. This is true drama geekness at its finest, people. You can download the catalogue HERE.
Turn a page and gasp every four seconds for the next ten minutes.
Highlights include:
And that's just a start.
For the record, Marilyn's white subway dress sold for $5.6 million at the auction.
Sunday, September 9, 2012
That's What Makes You Beautiful
Theatre people are awesome people. Even when they get to Broadway, they remain goofy theatre people.
(That Joel Grey sure is a card, ain't he? Adorable.)
Friday, September 7, 2012
War Horse puppetry
A TED talk on the puppetry used by the National Theatre in London for "War Horse." Brilliant. (I encourage you to watch the whole thing, even though it's long. But if you need a condensed version and just want to see the horses, skip to about 9:00.)
NOTE: The men giving this talk are homosexual life-partners, just to make that clear before you watch. If that makes you uncomfortable, please don't let that affect your thoughts and feelings about the artistry involved in this endeavor.
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