Dispatches

Me And Steven Moffat

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Writing is really, really, really difficult. Have I mentioned that recently? Difficult. There, I mentioned it again. DIFFICULT!!!

– given the post’s title, is it completely redundant of me to say this is from Steven Moffat?

It’s weird to see such a comment about writing coming from someone who’s so damn good at it.  But as a writer who still classifies himself as Aspiring and therefore can’t believe he shares a calling with the guy who gave us the likes of “Blink” and “The Big Bang”, I hope I understand where he’s coming from. Continue reading →

Epilogues And Prologues

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If you’re in San Antonio, it’s hard to think of a better place to spend New Year’s Eve than the roof of the Cameo Theatre.  You get a great show, and if there’s room for you up there, you get a fantastic view of the downtown fireworks.  Much as I loathe the term “bucket list”, seeing in a new year at the Cameo, alongside friends both old and new, really is one of those things you just have to do.

For me, standing on that roof last night, watching those fireworks unfurl, became a strange kind of meditative experience, much like staring into the candle.  That moment when the old year and the new meet is one of the few times when you can simultaneously look back and look forward.  And there was a lot to look back upon in 2010, just as I know there’ll be a lot to look forward to in 2011. Continue reading →

Rumors Control, 2nd Weekend: “This is so going in my blog…”

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My apparent secret desire to be an actor has been a subplot in the PDP narrative for a few years, so I suppose it was natural that it would find its way into Rumors, especially after I stepped in during a couple of rehearsals to fill in for unavailable cast members.  With that (to say nothing of the persistence of my boss), my professional stage debut was more or less an Inevitable Fate.

Of course, being inevitable and all that, Fate wasn’t exactly bent on making it easy for me.  Buoyed by enthusiastic opening audiences and strong word of mouth (including a great review from Deborah Martin at the Express-News), our second weekend would see our best crowds yet, with Sunday’s show nearly filling the house.

I’ll let you guess who was scheduled to play Officer Pudney that day. Continue reading →

Rumors Control, Week 5: I Love It When A Play Comes Together

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There are moments in the creative process that are hard to define, hard to explain, hard to set down in words or pixels.  But if you’re an artist, you KNOW them when they happen.  Whether you’re working toward the first performance, the first screening, or the first edition, they’re the landmarks that keep you moving forward, until you reach that ultimate goal.

The hope of capturing those landmarks has been a driving force behind the “Rumors Control” series.  The chance to experience and share those moments, be they planned or spontaneous, when a character, a laugh, a scene is found.  The belief that before it was all over, I’d get to write a post like the one you’re about to read. Continue reading →

Rumors Control, Week 4: Is This How Mark Valley Got Started?

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LEE
You won’t rest until I’m up there on that stage, will you?

NIKKI
Nope.

It’s my fault, of course.

Since I wrote that blog about my acting class, some three years ago, she has concluded that I have some manner of secret desire to be an actor.  I’ve tried to dissuade her, but she persists nonetheless.

I suppose it doesn’t exactly help my case that I’ve enjoyed my ‘onstage’ moments as much as I have.  Which brings us back to Rumors. Continue reading →

Rumors Control, Week 3: “Well I could have been an actor, but I wound up here…”

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I figured out a long time ago that I have little talent for acting. I can’t build a character out of the slightest nuances like Gene Hackman or Paul Newman can. The keen intelligence that Sidney Poitier and David Strathairn bring to their best roles is far beyond my reach. And my American accent’s nowhere near as good as Hugh Laurie’s.

(from an old blog about my acting class experience)

Working with actors as I do, I’m often asked if I ever think about becoming an actor myself.  Of course the answer’s yes.  I’m nowhere near as good as the talent I’ve seen in the last three or so years (not to mention the talent I’m working with now on Rumors), but I do enjoy those moments when I have to step in and play the actor for a read-through or rehearsal.

Of course, answering the question is an invitation to the obvious punchline “What I really want to do…”  And I had a chance at both this week. Continue reading →

Rumors Control, Week 2: Off Book, On Track

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The student in me is enjoying working on Rumors as an incredible learning experience.  The ex-teacher and still-blogger in me is enjoying them as an incredible teaching experience, an opportunity to offer readers a glimpse behind the curtain and introduce them to some of the basic terms and concepts of acting.

One of those terms, “off book”, is a trade term for actors who’ve memorized their dialogue and therefore don’t have to go back to the script when they’re rehearsing or performing.  Of course, it should go without saying that the ability to memorize lines is one of the most basic and most important skills an actor must possess.  And that was one of the goals of this first week of rehearsals, to help the actors get off book as they continued to refine their performances. Continue reading →

Rumors Control, Week 1: Meet The Mongers

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It wasn’t so long ago – honestly, I’m not sure two posts back is long enough to even qualify for “not so long ago” status – that I mentioned The Renaissance Guild‘s upcoming production of Rumors as an opportunity to support one of S.A.’s many great theatre companies.  As it turns out, it also meant an entirely new opportunity for me… Continue reading →