Happy Mardi Gras!! Hope everyone is stuffing themselves..I am so full that I am actually having trouble typing this right now. The translation of Mardi Gras is Fat Tuesday - it’s the day we ‘fatten up’ before the 40 days of Lent starts tomorrow (Ash Wednesday). During which we fast in preparation to share in Jesus’ Death and Resurrection on Easter Sunday. It is a process of cleansing and purification to be reborn in Christ as to be a member of his Mystical Body (the believers on earth). As we go through the Lenten Season we will talk more about it, but for today…..
Jorne and I are in Tech week for the Scarlet Pimpernel at Easton Area High School. I am playing Chauvelin, the French Revolutionary and antagonist in the show, and Jorne is playing Ozzy, one of the League of Merry Men (perfect for him, huh). It is going to be a powerful show and I am looking forward to presenting it to an audience. Anyone who has been in or around a musical knows that tech week (known by other not-so-friendly names) is a crazy and hair-pulling time for the director, tech crew, and cast members. Putting lights, music, sound, costumes, energy and execution - the key elements of the show- together in one week is the most crucial part of the entire production and can make or break a show.
In light of this I am going to reflect on the pros and cons of this show as a document for myself as much as to share with you. Because this was a high school show, going in I thought it would be a break (because I only had to be onstage - I wasn’t responsible for the rest of the show) and a fun activity to do before Sing For America’s big show this summer. But, I have gone through and will be able to take away more from it than I ever thought I would.
Let’s start with some of the easier or lighter things I’ve learned:
** Stage Combat . Percy and I have a sword fight scene at the end of the show. we were left to choreograph this by ourselves. It has been an awesome dive into the huge work of stage combat. I watched a bunch of youtube videos, learned the French numbering system for sword blocks and attacks and realized how difficult it really is.
**French Accent. Chauvelin is supposed to have a French accent because he is a Frenchman. People who have heard me know I can mimic voices and can do characters like Pinnochio fairly well, but when it comes to a French accent it is really difficult! Being able to do accents is something all actors should be good at.
**The importance of dancing in a show: Because my sisters have choreographed since they were little, they are good at it! I take this for granted. Dance is integral to move the show along and to portray the emotion of the musical to the audience, but is somewhat disregarded in smalltime theatre.
**Kids and people in general are just waiting to unite over something: Through an experience in this show, in which the Director was ‘kicking me out’ because she was asking me to do something that was against my morals, I found out that kids do care. Through Jorne’s rallying cry, the cast signed a poster claiming that this is “our show” in support of me. I realized that if you can bring an issue to kids on their level, they care and are waiting to be active in a cause. Soberingly, I realized that this has been employed by many to move the youth toward lies, falsehoods, and support of fake causes.
**The Lehigh Valley State Theatre sponsored ever-looming Freddy Awards: This is our town’s version of the Tony Awards and is wildly popular and has raised the level of high school theatre in the area exponentially. They have also given credit where credit is due, giving outstanding high school actors recognition.
For all the good the Freddy’s have done, they have done an equal amount of not-so-good.
Too many decisions are being made in the chase a Freddy Award. Directors pick a show they think can win, they put kids in leads they think can win, they rent entire sets, rent costumes, pay $25,000 to sound guys, hire makeup artists…in other words, too many decisions are being made based on winning an award instead of what is good for the kids or the school or the community. Way too much money is being spent in order to ‘keep up with the Jones’.
There is definitely a way to do this kind of an award show without changing the purpose of high school theatre. I believe everything should be student run. For instance, Allen High School (as well as many others) have the students build their sets, while Parkland often rents theirs (for many thousands of $). How can you put these up against each other? What is the purpose of renting a set? What does that teach?
**The purpose of high school theatre: Somewhere along the line, there has been a convolution of why high schoosl put on shows. The purpose of high school is to teach, and activities should be for that purpose. Playing football, basketball, and lacrosse have taught me things I could never have learned anywhere else. The first point of a show should be to expose kids to the arts: music and literature that has something to offer them, whether it be fostering a love for the classics or experiencing a new kind of music, etc. The show itself should be teaching kids how to put on a show, not only how to follow directions. It should be an experience of a school coming together through an art form to accomplish a goal. That would be invaluable. There should be a purpose to producing a show, not just making a profit for next year’s show…we should be doing someone for the community and learning to save the things we use.
**I touched on Morality in acting a couple of weeks ago. I gave rules for performance. We have a duty as artists, performers are the most influential secular people in American Culture. We have a duty to realize that. Your Director probably won’t agree, as mine didn’t.
** The power of High School and College Directors. I never understood why, but I have seen firsthand the control h.s directors have over their students. I don’t think people realize how much of an effect this has on a student, especially for those pursing a future in theatre. A director is forming a kids’ opinions about what is right a wrong to do onstage and what that kid will do for the rest of his life. It is a public forum, where an adult authority figure condones and applauds every action which takes place on his stage; what he accepts on his stage has the power to become the status quo for those kids and that audience. He gives kids parts and tells them to feel what that character feels, generally ignoring the fact that this can be detrimental the the STUDENT. He should not be ready to feel these things. Kids, for some reason, are willing to do whatever the director tells them to do. No matter if the kid feels it is wrong or is very uncomfortable doing it, he will do what his high school or college director tells him to do. The director has such a weird pull on his students. I just don’t get it!
**As director, do not send mixed messages, make a clear decision whether you’re going to be a dictator or allow that show to take form through the actors. Your team must know who you are from the beginning. The director must have a clear plan and know what that plan is from the beginning - and have open communication with all of your team…from the position of director, not as a bully or as a friend. The number one rule for directing: Everything that succeeds is not because of you, but everything that fails is squarely your fault. And a student is especially never blamed. This seems unfair, but this is the way of the job description!!
**Who I am as an actor: In closing, I actually learned a lot about who I am purely an actor and what I need to work on. Standing up for Christian values is hard and in this world it is a fight I’m just beginning.There will be many more situations that come up, but I am welcoming and ready. I hope my peers can say of me that “he never gave in or sold out”.
There are many reasons why throughout this experience I totally lost all motivation to do my best. I knew I would do my songs fine, but I wasn’t trying at all. I thought my pride would never let this happen, even if I lost my desire to try, I always figured my pride wouldn’t let me just ’skate by’. I didn’t learn my lines or devote time to my character because he would have been ‘good enough’. People would have told me good job and given pats on the back but it would be far from my best and I was okay with that. . The hard part is that when I was trying my best the director was so negative, and when I said every line purposely flat she told me I was great. This kind of reaction makes a person stop trying. I hope I never do that to one of my actors. I have to learn how not to let things get to me in order to be the best I can be. In life, there are always going to be people we don’t get along with but have to deal with. I won’t allow my job to be effected like this again. This is not the mindset of a champion and won’t be mine.
I was reaffirmed in my vigor for producing SingForAmerica shows and will consider heavily before doing anyone else’s shows .There was a reason I didn’t love doing musicals when I was younger and I remembered that. Hopefully, we keep growing and improving the things we can… so that one day someone isn’t writing this about us.
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