Tech: Putting on the Polish

Tech: Putting on the Polish Tech rehearsal is likely a deep mystery to civilians. I say this because it is often a mystery to actors. The mystery lies in the long pauses in rehearsal when actors are asked,… Read More

On Stage: First Tech

On Stage: First Tech — After a final run thru on Saturday we took two days of much needed rest. We took the time to recover from 6 days of demanding rehearsal and prep, and also to charge… Read More

The Big Run Thru

The Big Run Thru — Just before a company takes a show to the Delacorte for technical rehearsals there is a run thru of the play for an invited audience of tech department heads, upper management and, of… Read More

The Crew

The Crew — Monday night after rehearsal I hopped on a Citibike and chugged up to the Delacorte Theatre for a very special occasion. The Othello company had been invited to the Crew Barbecue. This was the moment… Read More

The Word: Backtracking

The Word: Backtracking At our run through yesterday, our director invited us to test the limits of our passion, to forget about meter and scansion and poetry and to put our focus on the humanity of the story…. Read More

Passion

Passion — Students at the National Shakespeare Company Conservatory had two master teachers. Philip Meister, whom I’ve written about earlier and the great Mario Siletti. Philip taught acting technique and Mario taught Shakespeare and classical technique. As time… Read More

Choices: The Questions

Choices: The Questions My teacher, Philip Meister, gave us a list of questions that we were to ask ourselves as we rehearsed each scene we studied. The questions were designed to spur investigation and force us to make… Read More

Choices: The Why of it

Choices: The Why of it So I come off the rehearsal floor after another work through and I feel like I’m starting to “own” my time on stage, but only just starting. Feelings I have about the play,… Read More

Us and Them

Us and Them — It is an article of faith among our tribe that there are two kinds of people, “Theatre Folk” and “Civilians”. We inhabit the same plane of existence, and exist in different worlds. It’s an… Read More

Another Week Gone

Another Week Gone — It has been another hectic and productive week for the Othello Company. We have sketched out staging for the whole play and are now ready for the next phase of the rehearsal process. We… Read More