On Casting

No, we're not casting a new show.

John has just finished a run as Caesar.  I've just started rehearsals for "The Importance of Being Earnest" at Raleigh Little Theatre.  I must say, Jack in Earnest is one of those roles/shows that I would be tempted to produce myself just to do it... but it's so nice NOT to be producing it.  

But auditioning (which I have done and will continue to do) made me reflect somewhat on the process, and the perspective South Stream has brought to me.  If one googles "auditioning advice," "relax and be yourself" are among the banal (but true) cliches one will find on almost every list (right with "prepare" and "arrive on time").  This always felt like the height of uselessness to me.  Wow thanks "relax."  Ok, HOW?  But... well that's the trick isn't it?  After having read people for a part, having been "on the other side of the table" if you will, I understand the feeling.  You want to see the absolute best that people can do.  You want them to be comfortable and have fun.  If someone is nervous and not giving their best performance, it might rob you of the chance to see what they can really do.

Auditions (for me anyway) are always more nerve wracking than performance.  First, you are usually performing something you basically had an unlimited time to prepare, so the pressure to do it "just right" is pretty big.  Secondly, you're going explicitly to be judged.  You're saying "hey this is what I can do judge me and tell me if I'm good enough."  It's tough, the hardest part (emotionally) of the process for me.  By auditioning you are publicly admitting, announcing that you want something that someone else can give you. It's an act that gives power to another.  It reminds me like nothing so much as asking for a date.  And you can be rejected (probably will be in fact), and that hurts.

Having been on the other side, I really appreciate and understand that there are only so many roles to cast.  Ultimately you will have to disappoint a number of people.  Good people.  But you really want each and every person to succeed.  You really want to be entertained.  You want to have a positive experience with every person that walks through the door, even though you know most of them will be disappointed.  And often (hopefully) it's not that people XYZ were "bad."  So often it's more a matter of "how do I see the character?" "Who will fit with the other actors?"  etc... You really appreciate that there are many people who can perform a part well, but each actor will bring their own ideas, body, presence, etc to the character.  And ultimately you have to choose.  The person chosen isn't "better than you" (though it can feel that way), they are, without a doubt "different from you."  And it's that difference, not in quality but in qualities, that one chooses from when casting.

Anyway.  All this is rather long-winded but it's a way to say that having produced a show, I feel, gives me a better appreciation for the process, and a greater empathy for those conducting it.  It's easier to relax when you know that they're just people with a vision, struggling to find the right people for their show.  Not the BEST people, or the BEST actors, but the RIGHT actors. Being cast still feels great.  Not being cast still feels bad.  But as another very wise actor told me once, we get the parts we're meant to have.  It really does work out.  So be zen my friends.  Relax in that audition (as much as you can). And let go of the idea that there's a right answer.  There isn't.  Just walk into that room, and be.

What Is It About Theatre?

This question has been asked by many people many times on line and off since probably before I was born, but it was on my mind as I drove home from seeing A Raisin In The Sun this evening.

Now I HAVE felt a profound connection with film as an art form.  Film has incredibly democratized access to some of the best actors in the world.  If I was living a hundred years ago I would probably never see John Barrymore, but Millions of people can see Phillip Seymour Hoffman or Meryl Streep.  Even with all the moaning about how terrible movies are today (blah blah blah) you can see some really great films with some really incredible performances most every day of the year, and for a pretty reasonable price.

But, but, but.... there IS something special about theatre.  There is something different.  The film version is quite excellent and available any time.  Yet the immediacy, the connection, is ... different.  The fact that those people are right there in the room with you, taking that journey with you... I don't know.  I guess I was quite affected by the show, and particularly Walter Lee Younger.  I connected with his flaws and his failure, as well as his pride, in a way I never have with the film.  And it's not that he was a better actor than Sidney Poitier.  He was great of course.  All the performances were really spot on.  The set was well realized and intelligent.  The costumes (and the hair!) were great.  But it wasn't that it was "better" it was that it was "different."  It was real, it was right there.

The similacrum that theatre provides is both more realistic and less realistic than a movie.  Movies can get everything right.  The sets can be more realistic.  The violence and scale of events can be portrayed incredibly well (Into a thousand parts divide one man?  Pfft, just hire a thousand men).  Even the tiniest error or imperfection can disturb the illusion.  Part of the exchange the audience makes is that they be brought fully into the world and that it's detail is realized.

In theatre, those details become so much less important.  The performances must be strong, but you are looking at people in a room with you.  Walls break off, table lamps illuminate with the power of stage lights, swords are rubber (or often not even swords) but that's not important.  If you announce the stick you're holding is Excalibur, the audience will go with it, because that's what theatre demands.  Because when you sit down you must participate in the world.  They play must "On your imaginary forces work."  Not "work on" as in perform work on, but "work on" as in "my car works on gas."  The audiences imagination is the fuel that makes the performance move forward.  And in fact, one thing this production did that I really quite liked, was that it used lighting effects to highlight certain intense scenes and monologues in a particularly unrealistic way.  This "heightened unreality" produced an interesting effect in that it was clear we were seeing the internal more than the external.  The emotion rather than the realism of the scene.  That is something that simply wouldn't work in a movie.  It would come across as forced, manipulative, and mawkish.  But on stage, it was quite effective.

But live theatre is also more real too.  Movies are incredible, but ultimately, good movies are about character, and about connecting on a human level with the audience.  And that is something that is just fundamentally different in a play.  No matter how good the performance, movies are simply "less real" because you are looking at a screen.  If someone trips on a power cord the magic dies.  Being in the room with actors as they take that journey, breathing the same air, looking at their eyes... it enables a more real, more human connection.

And, of course... the role is alive, the play is alive.  The movie, it is finished, but not the play.  Never the play.

I guess I just felt the contrast rather keenly tonight.  I know that I would go out and see this exact same piece again by another group in a couple years because it's just great theatre.  But I have no particular desire to re-watch the film.

Out To Pasture

Crop rotation has been practiced almost since the beginnings of agriculture.  References to it can be found in ancient Roman and Chinese texts.  Fields constantly planted will become depleted of the minerals and nutrients that allow plants to flourish.  They must be left fallow in some seasons to recharge the soil.

I've gotten a lot of questions about what South Stream will be doing next.  The answer is: I don't know.  Right now John is off to play Julius Caesar with Justice Theatre Project.  Our esteemed director Andy is in the show as well.  Me, I'm just taking some time off from theatre to let my creative energy recharge.  And do stuff I've neglected for two months.  

Will we do another show?  Maybe.  The goal of South Stream was to produce work that we want to produce.  Stories that we want to tell, ideas that we want to share, and productions that we think we can do well.  I think we did that with Copenhagen.  I'm proud of what we accomplished.  And that might well happen again.  There are already a few ideas I'm kicking around.  Nothing SOON though.  For now, for me, it's time to let that field lay empty to the sky.  

Thank You!

It's over.  What a journey.  I first spoke to John about this play in June.  It's been six months of hard work, but we did it.  We produced a pretty successful show, and it wouldn't have been possible without you.

Thank you to all our backers (See "our backers" tab) from kickstarter.  Having people get behind this production from the start made it so much easier to produce.  

Thank you to Rachel and Jeff from Common Ground, and Jeri Lynn from The ArtsCenter.  Thanks to everyone else at The ArtsCenter too (Brad and Adam, et al) for help with set up and take down.  

Thank you, HUGE thank you to Tina Vance and Hope Community Church.  Without rehearsal space this show would never have happened.  Thanks as well to Flynt Burton and Ben Wingrove for use of their garage as rehearsal space during the last weekend.

Thank you as well to Meredith College for letting us use costumes (Bohr's suit), and Chapel Hill High School (and Josh Benjamin and Thomas Drago) for letting us borrow plywood to help set up our stage at The ArtsCenter.  

Promotions thanks to Altercation Pictures (and Jason and Patrick) for producing the trailer.  And Dan McCord for producing the amazing poster.  Thanks to Oscar Garcia as well for graphic work. 

Thank you to Eugen and Ann Merzbacher, for opening their home to us and talking with us about their experiences at the Institute for Theoretical Physics.  Thank you to Thor Kessler for help with German pronunciation. 

Thank you to our volunteers - Emma Elsea, our fill-in stage manager, and Sheryl Scott, Todd Buker, Kurt Benrud, Gilly Conklin and Michelle Corbitt for helping out at the door.  

And last but not least - thank you to our amazing crew.  Our designers: Will Mikes for sound, Todd Houseknecht for lights, and Madira Hoffman for costumes.  Our fantastic Stage Manager - Ann Davis thank you.  People don't realize what a stage manager does.  "All the hard work" is pretty much the answer.  Our director, Andy Hayworth - this is a show that needed your eye and ear.  Thanks for being a great part of the process.  And to my fellow cast members:  Bonnie Roe - you are a rock on stage.  Just so amazingly solid.  You gave a great performance every night and I was lucky to be there with you.  And John - what can I say.  We started planning this together in June and I couldn't have asked for a better partner.  Thank you for everything you did on stage and off.  I couldn't ask for more.

And a final thank you: to our audience.  Nothing happens without you.  It's not a play until it comes to life with an audience.  Thank you for sharing the story with us, for letting us share it with you.  Our audiences far exceeded my expectations in terms of numbers and responsiveness.  I was worried the subject matter wouldn't be engaging, but we consistently had enthusiastic and appreciative crowds.  Your energy made the show.  So thank you too.

So thank you.  I'm humbled.  I'm honored.  And right now, I'm exhausted.  Until next time.

-Brook North

Copenhagen Show Information - Weekend 2!

Wow.  We had a fantastic opening weekend!  We were blessed with enthusiastically supportive and engaged crowds at each show!  Thank you for everyone who came.

But wait, there's more!  One more weekend of performances is coming up, this time in Carrboro at The ArtsCenter!

PLEASE ARRIVE EARLY! Parking is difficult and we cannot allow late seating due to the intimate nature of the venue.

We're playing January 11, 12, and 13th.  Click below for tickets!

January 11 at 7:30 PM
January 12 at 7:30 PM
January 13 at 7:00 PM

To pay by check or arrange alternate payment, please call the box office at: 919.929.2787, ext. 201.  (Please note that the box office for these performances is handled exclusively through The ArtsCenter).

The ArtsCenter address is 300 East Main St. Carrboro.  Here's a Google map.  It's just past "the bend" where Franklin St. Chapel Hill becomes Main Street Carrboro, just a few doors down from Cat's Cradle.  We will be in the West End theatre (the small studio theatre to the right past the concession stand).  Plan to arrive early!  With Cat's Cradle and shows on the main stage, parking can be a challenge so plan ahead!

PLEASE ARRIVE EARLY AS THERE IS NO LATE SEATING.

To learn more about the show please poke around the website.  There's lots of updates, links and general info here for your enjoyment.

Copenhagen Show Information

Two weekends, two venues!

Click here for tickets to Common Ground Theatre in Durham this weekend!

Jan 4 at 7:30

Jan 5 at 7:30 [SOLD OUT]

Jan 6 at 7:00

Common Ground Theatre is 4815 B Hillsborough Road, Durham.  

Here is a Google maps.  As you can see from the satellite map, it's actually off Brenrose Circle.  To get to the theatre turn onto Brenrose and park in the gravel lot by the theatre or the large gravel lot on the other side of Brenrose Circle.  It's easy to get lost coming here the first time so be sure to leave extra time in case you make a wrong turn!

Click here for tickets to The ArtsCenter in Carrboro next weekend!

Jan 11 at 7:30

Jan 12 at 7:30 

Jan 13 at 7:00

The ArtsCenter is at 300 East Main St. Carrboro.  

Here's a Google maps.  It's just past "the bend" where Franklin St. Chapel Hill becomes Main Street Carrboro, just a few doors down from Cat's Cradle.  We will be in the West End theatre (the small studio theatre to the right past the concession stand).  Plan to arrive early!  With Cat's Cradle and shows on the main stage, parking can be a challenge so plan ahead!

PLEASE ARRIVE EARLY AS THERE IS NO LATE SEATING.  

To learn more about the show please poke around the website.  There's lots of updates, links and general info here for your enjoyment.  

New Year, New Space

So after many many weeks rehearsing at Hope Community Church (much thanks to everyone there) and an intensive weekend in a cold but spacious garage, we're finally in our first venue, Common Ground Theatre in Durham.  

You'd think move in would be trivial for a show light ours.  Just bring the three chairs in the door, high five and then go to the bar. But even for a light show with very few technical requirements it was four and a half hours of work.  Jeff Alguire was a huge help for the first part of our move in.  He knows the space so well his assistance advice and power tools made the entire process much less painless than it would have been otherwise.  We were able to rearrange the space to accommodate about 54 seats in the round (the seats surround the stage in the center).  When we finished it actually felt pretty good.  It felt like a performance space.  Then Todd, our lighting designer worked his magic.  Even a simple plan is challenging to execute in the round.  You want to shine the lights on the actors, but not into people's eyes.  On a standard proscenium stage that's not too challenging, you point the light at the actors not the audience.  But for a show in the round, the audience is quite often sitting right behind the actors.  Not an easy task.  Todd, with our assistance (I held the ladder!  Also I stood there and let light hit me) made it work.

Then after dinner, we ran the show.  We finished the show and notes at 11PM.  It was not our smoothest run, but it felt great to be in our actual performance space, imagining faces in the empty chairs.

Ten hours of work a the theatre was a great way to start the New Year.  Until Sunday, this is the space.  This is our space.  Three actors, three chairs, and a story.