I've ranted about the Oscars before, but just have to do it again:
The Oscars: After seeing several of the nominated – and not nominated- movies, and seeing what won, I can only think that their choices are based on ‘movie politics’ rather than actual rating of performances and whatever else they are supposed to judge. I admit I have not seen all the nominees, but comparing the ones I have seen, I just don’t quite understand why ‘The Descendants’ got a nod for best picture and George Clooney (although admittedly he’s quite scenic) did for best actor. I saw that last night and while reasonably entertaining and passably emotional, there was nothing that strong, that special about either the movie itself or Clooney’s performance. Meanwhile, Thomas Horn, who played the boy in ‘Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close’, doing an impeccable job of being a boy who might have Asperger Syndrome, and who showed every emotion a child might have after the 9/11 event – completely ignored. The entire movie ‘J. Edgar’ – completely ignored, despite it’s amazing performances by Leonardo DiCaprio as Hoover and Armie Hammer as Clyde, not to mention the masterful job the make-up department did in aging the two actors from men in their 20’s to their 80’s. Yeah, it probably wasn’t the most popular subject, especially given what Hoover did with the movie industry and it’s powerful people back in the 1950’s, but really, to completely ignore such work-why? Why on all of it. Gotta be movie politics, rather than actual judging on the merit of the film, the performers and the rest. Sad commentary. And meanwhile, the Oscar ceremonies? Just one more example of how excess can be displayed in the name of entertainment. Just think of how many homeless people could. be fed, how many animals saved, how much help could be given a non-profit group just with the price of one of those elaborate gowns that stay in the news for days as the ‘best’ and ‘worst’ dressed. Really? And the saddest part? That way too many people actually care.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Auditions
Audition time for the theatre. Long days into late evenings, watching people ‘give us their best’ and then discussing which ones we want to try to hire. And discussing which were good and bad auditions. Every year we wonder what some of these ‘kids’ are being taught, based on what they choose to try to sell themselves to prospective job givers. I mean, wouldn’t you think they’d do some research, look at web pages, at the shows being presented, shows that have been done, and so on. Yeah, there ya go, thinking again. At the Straw Hat auditions last weekend, a majority of the theatres present do a mix of classic and contemporary shows, heavier on the classic. And yet the people auditioning did a mix of contemporary and classic songs, heavier on the contemporary. Sorry, kids, but hearing you sing something from Avenue Q or Rent doesn’t give much of a clue if you can give what we want to hear in ‘It’s A Grand Night For Singing’ or even ‘Another Opening, Another Show’. Have a mix in your audition book and use what the people want to hear. Put some thought to it.
And the monologues – ah, yes, the monologues. Even 40 years ago, there were ‘F-bombs’ dropped in a few of them, usually by guys who wanted to show how ‘trendy’, how grown-up they were. When we mentioned at conference auditions that they should be told not to do it, we were informed that most producers don’t want to edit the monologues because ‘it gives an idea of their personality, what sort of person they are’. I’m thinking maybe there’s some merit to that. Today, more and more of that happens, girls and guys both, along with monologues about sex, sex regular, gay, mixed, kinky, you name it and there’s a monologue for it and these kids think that it’s ‘in’, it’s perfectly all right to present this as the piece they are trying to get a job with. Once again I say, do your homework. Look at the shows a theatre is doing and figure out how many times you might get to say this on their stage. OK, just for starters, have a monologue, especially if it says in an ad or in what people tell you about the audition that you’ll be asked for one. I love when we ask for one and they say ‘Oh, I didn’t bring one today’. I always want to ask ‘What, you left it in your other brain?’ But once again, have a few to choose from. And choose the right one for the audience you’re selling yourself to. If a theatre is doing light, happy musicals, they don’t want to hear about doom and gloom, death, mutilation and destruction. A cute little Oriental girl came in one of the years we were doing The King and I, and we liked her for Tuptim, the innocent young slave. The cute little girl proceeded to do a monologue that had every form of gross physical revenge the speaker could think of to do to someone she was upset with-she got done and left and we just looked at each other going ‘YUCK;-I said, you know last week I had my hands on a dead person (code ambulance call) and that even grossed me out. Do your homework! And please, for goodness sake, don’t come in to a room where there are three women, each obviously in the generation of your parents or even grandparents, and do a monologue filled with not only F-bombs, but C-bombs and explicit body part references. If you didn’t want the job that much, don’t even come to the callback. Save us all the trouble.
Oh, yeah, auditions are an interesting time. But when someone comes in who’s dressed nicely, sings nicely, and makes us laugh – now there’s what we’re looking for, that’s what we’re talking about.
Off to see what today’s adventures into auditions bring. Wish us luck!
And the monologues – ah, yes, the monologues. Even 40 years ago, there were ‘F-bombs’ dropped in a few of them, usually by guys who wanted to show how ‘trendy’, how grown-up they were. When we mentioned at conference auditions that they should be told not to do it, we were informed that most producers don’t want to edit the monologues because ‘it gives an idea of their personality, what sort of person they are’. I’m thinking maybe there’s some merit to that. Today, more and more of that happens, girls and guys both, along with monologues about sex, sex regular, gay, mixed, kinky, you name it and there’s a monologue for it and these kids think that it’s ‘in’, it’s perfectly all right to present this as the piece they are trying to get a job with. Once again I say, do your homework. Look at the shows a theatre is doing and figure out how many times you might get to say this on their stage. OK, just for starters, have a monologue, especially if it says in an ad or in what people tell you about the audition that you’ll be asked for one. I love when we ask for one and they say ‘Oh, I didn’t bring one today’. I always want to ask ‘What, you left it in your other brain?’ But once again, have a few to choose from. And choose the right one for the audience you’re selling yourself to. If a theatre is doing light, happy musicals, they don’t want to hear about doom and gloom, death, mutilation and destruction. A cute little Oriental girl came in one of the years we were doing The King and I, and we liked her for Tuptim, the innocent young slave. The cute little girl proceeded to do a monologue that had every form of gross physical revenge the speaker could think of to do to someone she was upset with-she got done and left and we just looked at each other going ‘YUCK;-I said, you know last week I had my hands on a dead person (code ambulance call) and that even grossed me out. Do your homework! And please, for goodness sake, don’t come in to a room where there are three women, each obviously in the generation of your parents or even grandparents, and do a monologue filled with not only F-bombs, but C-bombs and explicit body part references. If you didn’t want the job that much, don’t even come to the callback. Save us all the trouble.
Oh, yeah, auditions are an interesting time. But when someone comes in who’s dressed nicely, sings nicely, and makes us laugh – now there’s what we’re looking for, that’s what we’re talking about.
Off to see what today’s adventures into auditions bring. Wish us luck!
Saturday, February 11, 2012
A Eulogy for Annie
A dear friend of mine is gone. One of the folks I visited on my trip last month, she knew her time was coming up, hoped it wouldn’t be yet, but as she said ‘when He’s ready He’ll call’. I met her when we were in the rescue squad together, back when we were young mothers and raising kids and trying to help our community and neighbors and do all the other things that you do when you’re young and sassy and can do it all. We had a lot of laughs, we shared husbands leaving, things the kids did, all of it. I went to her house to take a shower once when my water was frozen. She said ‘as long as you’re working I know I can find a job’ because I helped her get work at places I was at: she helped at the theatre in several areas, and at the department store I worked at in Hudson. She moved to Florida, and the work she’d done in our costume shop helped her get a job in that department at Disney World. One Christmas she wrote that she’d gone ‘up above’ onto the Main Street there late at night – all the Christmas lights were on, and there were no people and she stood and enjoyed ‘that lovely show, just for me’. She had to stop working and she moved and we lost touch, I didn’t know her new address and then several years ago she sent a Christmas card and we got back in touch, with Christmas cards and email. Chatted on the phone a few times. She called last summer, after the hurricane came through, to ask were we ok, when I called back I just got a message, but it was so nice, and so her to know that she was concerned. I spent about 24 hours with her. We talked and talked and talked, about old times, rescue squad calls and friends, our kids, jobs, family, and of course solved the world’s problems. She had to stop and rest now and then, she was on oxygen full time, and had to stop to just breathe. She said that she didn’t think it was time for her to go yet, because her ex-husband and her brother (who for unknown reasons stopped talking to her some years before his passing) were probably telling God ‘don’t’ let her in yet, we’re not ready to deal with her’. She was not only fighting COPD but several years ago was in an auto accident that almost killed her, and had gone through a series of operations to repair damage from that. Her neighbors took good care of her, helped out, and a health aide came in to do things as well. I feel bad that I didn’t stay longer, but I could see that having someone there was tiring her out. She was brave, solid, realistic, loving, giving. The world has lost a good person, there aren’t many like her and we need more of them. Goodbye, Annie. It was grand knowing you.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)