August 25, 2008
Generalist
Since I haven’t updated lately, and I’m being nagged to do so, I figure I’ll chime in on Scott Walter’s opinion regarding generalists vs specialists in theatre. But first, a story.
I was wandering around Naperville, taking in the sights of this small town outside Chicago, visiting the park and shops and restaurants. I passed what appeared to be a homeless man with a sign. I forget the exact wording, but the sign contained a phrase from 1 Corinthians. The (possibly) homeless man didn’t say anything — he was too busy tapping away at his laptop. I guess one can be homeless and still have a laptop.
I stopped at an intersection, and another guy walks up next to me. He’s wearing a shirt that says “I know Jimmy Too!”, which was clearly an advertisement for the restaurant behind me called Jimmy’s Grill. I said, “You work there?” You can call me Captain Obvious.
He said “Yep, sure do.”
“Any good?” I asked.
“Oh, man, it’s great! Great food, great service. The people there are exceptional.” He started running across the street, obviously in a hurry to get somewhere.
“You have to say that. You work there!” I called after him. He turned and looked at me while running backwards.
“If I didn’t think it was great, I’d work somewhere else!”
I laughed and went into the bookstore on the corner, where I proceeded to spend insane amounts of cash on former trees covered in ink. On my way out, I called my buddy and asked him where a good place to eat was and he recommended some sort of Mongolian buffet place. I decided I’d rather have a burger.
I walked into Jimmy’s Grill. A short redhead asks me if I want to eat inside or outside. I shrug. It’s gorgeous outside, but it’s also kinda hot. She motions for me to follow, and the guy from the street pops up in my face.
“It was the outfit, wasn’t it?” he asked, pointing at his ridiculous hat and big floppy shoes. Seriously, they were like clown shoes.
I said, “Yeah, that’s it.” He gives me a high five and a fist bump and wanders off. The redhead leads me to further inside and seats me at a table. The guy comes back over and sits down at my table.
“Dude, you got books! What are you reading? Mind if I see?” I pulled out a book. “Man, I’m not into these kinds of books, but my buddy is totally into this. I think he’s read this one. Does it have ninjas in it?” I laughed and shook my head. “Oh, dang. I wanna read something good. Got any suggestions?” I suggested my favorite book series. He took out his pad of paper and wrote down the name of the author and the first book.
“Does it have ninjas in it?”
I laughed and shook my head again.
“Well, dude, I’m sorry I can’t be your waiter, but I’ll introduce you to the girl who will wait on you. Here she is.” He led a girl over to my table and introduced me. I have no idea what her name is, in retrospect, but she was nice enough. Forgettable, but nice.
Throughout the meal, the guy kept coming over and talking about random stuff — the synchronized swimmers on the TV, the burger I got, where I’m from — all the while, carrying drinks to other people and food to yet more. He was funny, goofy, polite and entertaining.
In short, he was probably the best waiter I’ve ever seen.
On the way out, I gave him a tip for making my stay at Jimmy’s Grill memorable.
“Don’t spit into the wind,” I advised him. I also gave him some cold, hard cash.
I walked back to my car, carrying my leftovers, and I passed the homeless laptop Bible guy again. Only this time, there was a rather large fellow leaning over and yelling at the poor guy. Insults flew from this guy’s mouth, barraging the poor fellow with torrents of anger and condescension. What exactly the problem was, I never found out. I hope he didn’t get his feelings hurt too badly, though.
Anyway… uh.. where was I… hmm. Oh, right. Generalists vs Specialists.
I agree with you, Scott. Good stuff, as always.
August 16, 2008
Chicago
So my first week in Chicago is over. I’m loving it so far! Today, I’m staying at my friend’s house to rest, read, watch some Olympics and gorge myself on Chicago pizza. Tomorrow morning, however, I’ll be free to roam the city and see some sights, until 2pm when I have to go into the office to work til about 6.
So, I need suggestions for things to do in Chicago on a Sunday morning. Any ideas?
August 13, 2008
August 10, 2008
August 8, 2008
Chicago-bound
For both of my faithful readers, I’ll be visiting Chicago from this coming Tuesday until September 1st. I got a contract job doing web development, so I’ll be there working during the day. However, I’d love to meet some of you Chicago theatre people if I can get the chance.
If you’re willing, let me know and I’ll see what I can do about setting up meetings or dinners or theatre visits or whatnot.
I’m pretty excited. I’ve never been to Chicago, but I’ve always wanted to go!
August 5, 2008
The Standing Ovation: A meaningless gesture?
Finally, someone who agrees with me:
In New York the standing ovation is now a meaningless nightly ritual. Unless the show is a real stinker a Broadway audience will leap to its feet almost before the curtain has fallen. I’ve always assumed this had two explanations. One is that, if you’ve paid 100 bucks or more for a ticket, you have to justify to yourself the worth of your investment.
(source: http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/theatre/2008/07/standing_ovation.html )
Thank you, thank you, thank you. I went to see a recent performance of RENT at The Fox Theatre in Atlanta, and I was severely disappointed. The lighting was horrible, the set was cramped, the acting was sub-par, the vocals were weak, the sound system cut out repeatedly… Honestly, there were very few positive aspects to the performance. And as soon as the show was over, the entire house jumped to their seats and applauded with a Standing O.
What? I was astounded. I stubbornly remained in my seat.
I reserve a Standing O for a performance that really moves me, such as a performance I saw of “The Heart is a Lonely Hunter” that left me in tears at the end or the performance of “The Lion King” I saw in Toronto many years ago that left me giddy as a child. But for a completely sub-par or even average performance, I’m not standing up.
It’s kind of like voting. Standing O is a “You did a great job!” and sitting down is, at best, “It was pretty good, but not great”. At worst, there’s an empty seat because the audience member left at intermission. That means “You suck ass”, by the way.
As an actor, I don’t want a Standing O unless we really, truly deserve it. A friend of mine, Andrew, played Bazzard in a recent production of “The Mystery of Edwin Drood.” His bit part completely blew the rest of the show out of the water. At the end of the performance, the audience remained seated during curtain call until Bazzard’s appearance, at which they stood up and started cheering wildly. THAT is a Standing O. THAT is a meaningful gesture.
Like our friend in the UK, I believe the Standing O has, in general, become a meaningless gesture. If it ain’t good, don’t stand up.
Last Fall I directed a play called “The Faculty Room”. Unfortunately, it didn’t really connect with most of the audience. It was one of those plays where you had to really pay attention to every word, and if you missed anything, you’d be lost. There was one kid that I knew, still in high school, that came to see the show. I kept my eye on him throughout the performance. He was rapt with attention. He was so into this play, he couldn’t take his eyes off the stage.
At the end of the show, he jumped to his feet, applauding like mad. Most of the rest of the audience looked at him like he was insane, but they applauded anyway.
To me, that’s perfectly fine. So the kid loved it and the rest of them thought it was at least decent enough to stay through the end of the show. I’m okay with that. It gives me feedback, and it tells me something about what the audiences want.
Do me a favor. Reserve your standing ovation for performances that truly deserve it. Don’t do it because you think you’re supposed to. It’s okay if you don’t like the show.