As I think about parts of my job that I like and don't like, I realized that working with websites and software has something in common with theater. In both fields, you try something, and it almost certainly won't work the first time. You try again and again, getting better and fixing problems as you go. (Try, fail. Try again, fail better.)
There are huge differences. Computer programs work exactly the same way every time, where theater is slightly different every time. But other details - planning ahead before you really get into the work can save you a ton of time, you can always make it better if you have more time to work - are also similar.
Showing posts with label theater. Show all posts
Showing posts with label theater. Show all posts
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Gender Bias in Theatre
This story is a few weeks old, but it's still fascinating. A scholar studied why it's harder for women to succeed as playwrights. The results? Women literary directors. They judge plays by women more harshly than male literary directors.
In general, it turns out that women get plays produced at about the same rate that men do, but since women write fewer plays they get fewer produced. (They need wives to do chores for them while they spend the day writing.)
We'll see if knowing these facts will change anything, or just lead to lots of hand-wringing.
In general, it turns out that women get plays produced at about the same rate that men do, but since women write fewer plays they get fewer produced. (They need wives to do chores for them while they spend the day writing.)
We'll see if knowing these facts will change anything, or just lead to lots of hand-wringing.
Friday, January 9, 2009
Social Science
I realized last night while doing my homework for my grad program that I'm working on a master's in a social science.
My least favorite academic phylum.
I double majored in physics and philosophy because I couldn't choose. I find science exciting and fascinating. I find the humanities enriching and meaningful. But I often find social studies, at least in academia, full of crackpot theories with insufficient evidence. People failing to understand the world, caught up in their own egos and giant 10 syllable jargon.
But if I want to have a degree in education, I have to spend lots of time with those people. I did know this going in, that I would find large quantities of the program an exercise in patience and hoop-jumping. But the full scope of the irony hadn't hit me until now.
It makes me even more devoted to my sweetie, because she likes all the things I like in the humanities and science, and hates the things I hate in social "science" even more passionately than I hate them.
My least favorite academic phylum.
I double majored in physics and philosophy because I couldn't choose. I find science exciting and fascinating. I find the humanities enriching and meaningful. But I often find social studies, at least in academia, full of crackpot theories with insufficient evidence. People failing to understand the world, caught up in their own egos and giant 10 syllable jargon.
But if I want to have a degree in education, I have to spend lots of time with those people. I did know this going in, that I would find large quantities of the program an exercise in patience and hoop-jumping. But the full scope of the irony hadn't hit me until now.
It makes me even more devoted to my sweetie, because she likes all the things I like in the humanities and science, and hates the things I hate in social "science" even more passionately than I hate them.
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Gamer identity
As a theater person, I'm really interested in this paper about the lack of a fourth wall in video games.
In theater and movies and TV, our suspension of disbelief - our willingness to be sucked into the imaginary world the actors and designers create - is usually heavily dependent on the fourth wall, the actors pretending they can't see us, and we're invisible voyeurs silently observing their lives. Characters who know they're in stories lead to very messed up, brilliant stories of madness.
But in a video game, you're controlling a character in the story. Usually the LEAD character in the story. You basically are the lead character. So the fourth wall is meaningless. Your identity as an observer is mixed in with your ability to interact with the story and cause different outcomes.
Really interesting article. Especially given the recent series of World of Warcraft ads that focus on the game as a place where you can be something else, something you're not.
In theater and movies and TV, our suspension of disbelief - our willingness to be sucked into the imaginary world the actors and designers create - is usually heavily dependent on the fourth wall, the actors pretending they can't see us, and we're invisible voyeurs silently observing their lives. Characters who know they're in stories lead to very messed up, brilliant stories of madness.
But in a video game, you're controlling a character in the story. Usually the LEAD character in the story. You basically are the lead character. So the fourth wall is meaningless. Your identity as an observer is mixed in with your ability to interact with the story and cause different outcomes.
Really interesting article. Especially given the recent series of World of Warcraft ads that focus on the game as a place where you can be something else, something you're not.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
I got the call!
I get to go to ComedySportz's Tuesday workshops!
This means I'm moving up from the farm team to the majors! I will practice with them for a while before they decide to put me into a show, but still, it's a great recognition of my growth as a performer!
Woo hoo!
This means I'm moving up from the farm team to the majors! I will practice with them for a while before they decide to put me into a show, but still, it's a great recognition of my growth as a performer!
Woo hoo!
Thursday, March 6, 2008
I love improv
I've been taking classes and performing in improv shows for a little over a year now. And I love it. It's lots of fun, making both ourselves and the audience laugh. And I realized last night that there are lots of brilliant moments that I may actually want to remember, even though we made it up on the spot.
Last Sunday, we were improvising a scene where we knew we'd have to make up a song based on the lines we said. I was playing an 8 year old child learning to bartend in his grandmother's Irish Pub, and 2 other players were the liquor control commission shutting us down. After 2 other songs, the final scene began. The cops broke down the door, declaring we were closed. I said, "You can't shut down O'Flanahanahannity's!" Whistle.
The audience knew the ref was going to tell me to sing that line as a song. But she was laughing so hard she couldn't get the words out. The suspense was awesome. Then I finally got to sing a song, doing fairly well at remembering the name I had just made up. The song rhymed and everything. It was awesome.
Then, last night, I played the game Story like I've never played before. I was listening really well, picking up in the middle of words from others, cutting off in the middle of words very smoothly. I played hard. And after I got eliminated for making up the town of Billings, Wyoming, I got to play to the last round of a game where we were making up the manual for the XJ-9 toothbrush. The whole game was awesome, making up the features of a ridiculously powerful and dangerous device that takes two people to lift, 17 batteries, summons demons, and has to be stored in a lead-lined locker.
But for me the best moment was when Alan, the other player, gave the part number for the battery or something. The part number was a random lengthy sequence. AQN/13-F8. The story switched to me, and I quickly reincorporated the serial number, nailing it. The audience was amazed. I don't remember clearly if they laughed or gasped. They were impressed. Ultimately I was eliminated for choking on a word, but it was a good call, and a great game.
I like improv. I look forward to much more.
Last Sunday, we were improvising a scene where we knew we'd have to make up a song based on the lines we said. I was playing an 8 year old child learning to bartend in his grandmother's Irish Pub, and 2 other players were the liquor control commission shutting us down. After 2 other songs, the final scene began. The cops broke down the door, declaring we were closed. I said, "You can't shut down O'Flanahanahannity's!" Whistle.
The audience knew the ref was going to tell me to sing that line as a song. But she was laughing so hard she couldn't get the words out. The suspense was awesome. Then I finally got to sing a song, doing fairly well at remembering the name I had just made up. The song rhymed and everything. It was awesome.
Then, last night, I played the game Story like I've never played before. I was listening really well, picking up in the middle of words from others, cutting off in the middle of words very smoothly. I played hard. And after I got eliminated for making up the town of Billings, Wyoming, I got to play to the last round of a game where we were making up the manual for the XJ-9 toothbrush. The whole game was awesome, making up the features of a ridiculously powerful and dangerous device that takes two people to lift, 17 batteries, summons demons, and has to be stored in a lead-lined locker.
But for me the best moment was when Alan, the other player, gave the part number for the battery or something. The part number was a random lengthy sequence. AQN/13-F8. The story switched to me, and I quickly reincorporated the serial number, nailing it. The audience was amazed. I don't remember clearly if they laughed or gasped. They were impressed. Ultimately I was eliminated for choking on a word, but it was a good call, and a great game.
I like improv. I look forward to much more.
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Awkward casting
So I was in Fiddler on the Roof, as Perchik, the communist son-in-law.
My love interest was just at OMSI yesterday, visiting Bodyworlds with her high school class.
No, she wasn't a chaperone. She is a student.
Luckily, the awkwardness of that whole process was mitigated by the fact that as orthodox Jews, the villagers of Anatevka were scandalized that the two characters would hold hands. And dance!
Although it was pretty fascinating that after we said hello in passing, I could hear a chaperone asking (as I walked away), "Who was that?"
My love interest was just at OMSI yesterday, visiting Bodyworlds with her high school class.
No, she wasn't a chaperone. She is a student.
Luckily, the awkwardness of that whole process was mitigated by the fact that as orthodox Jews, the villagers of Anatevka were scandalized that the two characters would hold hands. And dance!
Although it was pretty fascinating that after we said hello in passing, I could hear a chaperone asking (as I walked away), "Who was that?"
Monday, August 27, 2007
Ebert: Video games not art
Roger Ebert has said that video games cannot be art.
Many have written well on this question. What's interesting to me is Ebert's structural claim. He claims that it's impossible to have art in a game. He subscribes strongly to the French auteur theory that art requires a singular author, with a singular vision. And he argues that video games, by giving any control over the story to the player destroys that authority.
I'm willing to accept that the Bergman of video games has not yet emerged, and no art in this form exists yet. But it seems to me that it's possible to tell an interactive story and still maintain a great level of control as the creator. As an actor, it seems fairly obvious to me that the difference between watching a play and playing a video game is the difference between watching a play and starring in a play. Does Ebert believe that actors cannot have artistic experiences, because they are part of the craft? Or would he argue that a truer comparison to gaming would be performing in an improv show, where the actors have more choices?
As an actor, I have many choices in a performance. And there are poor choices, and better choices. Perhaps a game is only art when played well, and the high score is achieved?
Many have written well on this question. What's interesting to me is Ebert's structural claim. He claims that it's impossible to have art in a game. He subscribes strongly to the French auteur theory that art requires a singular author, with a singular vision. And he argues that video games, by giving any control over the story to the player destroys that authority.
I'm willing to accept that the Bergman of video games has not yet emerged, and no art in this form exists yet. But it seems to me that it's possible to tell an interactive story and still maintain a great level of control as the creator. As an actor, it seems fairly obvious to me that the difference between watching a play and playing a video game is the difference between watching a play and starring in a play. Does Ebert believe that actors cannot have artistic experiences, because they are part of the craft? Or would he argue that a truer comparison to gaming would be performing in an improv show, where the actors have more choices?
As an actor, I have many choices in a performance. And there are poor choices, and better choices. Perhaps a game is only art when played well, and the high score is achieved?
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
More Shanghai Acrobats
These are clips from my favorite part of the Shanghai Acrobatic Troupe.
There are also a few other clips on YouTube from the same show. Damn, they're good performers in a good show. These pirate clips don't do it justice. Although, while the lighting just isn't captured by the camera, the clips I found do show them making mistakes and recovering. The show I saw had only one error, at the very beginning. I kind of like errors in acrobatic/juggling shows. They raise the tension of the act.
There are also a few other clips on YouTube from the same show. Damn, they're good performers in a good show. These pirate clips don't do it justice. Although, while the lighting just isn't captured by the camera, the clips I found do show them making mistakes and recovering. The show I saw had only one error, at the very beginning. I kind of like errors in acrobatic/juggling shows. They raise the tension of the act.
shanghai acrobats rock
This is just one of the amazing acts I saw in Shanghai. It turns out there are many talented troupes of performers in Shanghai. I wish I knew the name of this one, so I could promote them and buy their DVD.
Update: I'm pretty sure what I saw was Huangpu Sensation by the Shanghai Acrobatics Troupe. Absolutely first class work. Props to Trip Advisor message board for the name of the show. Way, way, way better than the New Shanghai Circus.
Update: I'm pretty sure what I saw was Huangpu Sensation by the Shanghai Acrobatics Troupe. Absolutely first class work. Props to Trip Advisor message board for the name of the show. Way, way, way better than the New Shanghai Circus.
Tuesday, February 6, 2007
Weird puppet night
I saw Drunk Puppet Night. It was strange.
A grab bag of hit or miss puppetry for adults. To be fair, we had pretty bad seats, next to some loud, disrespectful hecklers. So I couldn't see some of the acts well at all. Which is rough for puppets. Although, loud disrespectful hecklers are probably part of the traditional puppetry experience if you consider puppetry historically.
Some of the acts were really awesome. The Adventure of Diamond Joe, while not exactly puppets, was awesome, charismatic and inspired. The story about Cora Gated, with puppets made of "found materials", clearly all recycled trash, was pretty damn awesome performance and construction. Paper Kant was a really cool stop motion animation. And there was a shadow puppet display about a guy on the beach that showed an amazing sense for rhythm.
Puppetry is animation before the invention of film. Just as theatre has become eclipsed by film and TV, puppetry captures the same imagination and skills as animation.
A grab bag of hit or miss puppetry for adults. To be fair, we had pretty bad seats, next to some loud, disrespectful hecklers. So I couldn't see some of the acts well at all. Which is rough for puppets. Although, loud disrespectful hecklers are probably part of the traditional puppetry experience if you consider puppetry historically.
Some of the acts were really awesome. The Adventure of Diamond Joe, while not exactly puppets, was awesome, charismatic and inspired. The story about Cora Gated, with puppets made of "found materials", clearly all recycled trash, was pretty damn awesome performance and construction. Paper Kant was a really cool stop motion animation. And there was a shadow puppet display about a guy on the beach that showed an amazing sense for rhythm.
Puppetry is animation before the invention of film. Just as theatre has become eclipsed by film and TV, puppetry captures the same imagination and skills as animation.
Monday, January 29, 2007
Lessons from Improv Class
So, I'm taking my first theatre class ever.
It's sort of like theatre church for me. I haven't learned anything new, but it's been pleasant to have a space that honors the ideas and spirit of theatre. A place to go each week, where it's ok to fail, and no one judges you.
Which is interesting, because I did make snap observations about personalities, even as I didn't give those observations moral character. I ((judged)) them without |judging| them. (Only Daniel will understand those symbols.)
I also have learned a few new games, and played several old games with new people. And even playing old games in new combinations lets you observe new things. The most striking new game is known to me only as Diagonal, although it has a more obscene name I'm not yet privy to.
In the game, you're told a gesture. There's a set of options: up, down, in, out, diagonal. You then repeat the gesture: you act it and say it. THEN, you say a different gesture, while acting a DIFFERENT gesture. While looking at another person, to pass it on. Tell the truth, then lie. (There's no one syllable word for truth telling. Speak? Talk? Anyway...) It really hurts the brain. It's hard to get a rhythm of truth/lie. It's really easy to screw up. And even the most experienced improv actors fail, and have to let go. Which is a good spirit to get into for improv.
Best. Game. Ever.
It's sort of like theatre church for me. I haven't learned anything new, but it's been pleasant to have a space that honors the ideas and spirit of theatre. A place to go each week, where it's ok to fail, and no one judges you.
Which is interesting, because I did make snap observations about personalities, even as I didn't give those observations moral character. I ((judged)) them without |judging| them. (Only Daniel will understand those symbols.)
I also have learned a few new games, and played several old games with new people. And even playing old games in new combinations lets you observe new things. The most striking new game is known to me only as Diagonal, although it has a more obscene name I'm not yet privy to.
In the game, you're told a gesture. There's a set of options: up, down, in, out, diagonal. You then repeat the gesture: you act it and say it. THEN, you say a different gesture, while acting a DIFFERENT gesture. While looking at another person, to pass it on. Tell the truth, then lie. (There's no one syllable word for truth telling. Speak? Talk? Anyway...) It really hurts the brain. It's hard to get a rhythm of truth/lie. It's really easy to screw up. And even the most experienced improv actors fail, and have to let go. Which is a good spirit to get into for improv.
Best. Game. Ever.
Friday, January 5, 2007
Subtext play
25 minutes into this episode of This American Life, there's an awesome play.
It's a short play, all in subtext. No actual content, but a clear story nonetheless.
Awesome.
It's a short play, all in subtext. No actual content, but a clear story nonetheless.
Awesome.
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
Standup comic with Hitler jokes
Saw some comics tonight. A pretty good bunch. It's a hard week for standup. Christmas right around the corner, everybody's schedule full of plans... The house wasn't full, and so we didn't build the kind of laughter momentum the comics would have preferred. On a Wednesday.
But they were devoted professionals, who pushed through and delivered some quality material. And some gross unfunny stuff. But all comedy is like that.
The best comic of the night told more Hitler jokes than I recall hearing in one night. And one of them was the funniest joke in his set. He was riffing about war protesters, "no blood for oil" causing traffic jams, causing us to burn more oil. And signs comparing George Bush to Hitler. And that's a bad comparison, because Hitler was a skilled public speaker.
Delivery is 90% of comedy. The second comic of the night had excellent timing and mood. The final comic had a rant that culminated in a tumor being biopsied "and I want you to tell me if it's malignant or benign and which one of those is bad". That rant only worked because of the speed and anger with which it was delivered.
Comedy is funny.
But they were devoted professionals, who pushed through and delivered some quality material. And some gross unfunny stuff. But all comedy is like that.
The best comic of the night told more Hitler jokes than I recall hearing in one night. And one of them was the funniest joke in his set. He was riffing about war protesters, "no blood for oil" causing traffic jams, causing us to burn more oil. And signs comparing George Bush to Hitler. And that's a bad comparison, because Hitler was a skilled public speaker.
Delivery is 90% of comedy. The second comic of the night had excellent timing and mood. The final comic had a rant that culminated in a tumor being biopsied "and I want you to tell me if it's malignant or benign and which one of those is bad". That rant only worked because of the speed and anger with which it was delivered.
Comedy is funny.
Sunday, December 17, 2006
The Third Floor strikes again
I enjoyed seeing The 3rd Floor sketch comedy show once again. They continue to keep their style of comedy going strong. Kevin Michael-Moore and Jordana Barnes put in especially strong, committed performances, with indescribable characters. The Falcor impression was also a highlight. Absurd humor is the part I enjoyed the most, although the Cary Grant monologue was pretty damn awesome, too.
It's really hard to write about without destroying the surprise that makes some of the humor work. Once the show closes in the new year, I will tell everyone I know about Mr. Michael-Moore's best character.
It's really hard to write about without destroying the surprise that makes some of the humor work. Once the show closes in the new year, I will tell everyone I know about Mr. Michael-Moore's best character.
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
It's about time
After 20 years of staging Portland theater, rich people finally decided to put up enough money to put the name of somebody's mom on the building formerly known as the Portland Center for the Performing Arts.
I am glad it's Mrs. Hatfield, rather than the Ron Tonkin building. And I'm glad I don't work at the Paul Allen Science Center.
I am glad it's Mrs. Hatfield, rather than the Ron Tonkin building. And I'm glad I don't work at the Paul Allen Science Center.
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