At Berkeley, we had a summer lunchtime theatre series. Each show rehearsed for two weeks (one week in the morning, one week in the afternoon) and then a week of performances. I directed two shows in two summers: Noel Coward’s We Were Dancing (in the Durham Studio Theatre) and Shakespeare’s Love’s Labour’s Lost—which I cutContinue reading ““She Tipped Me A Crystal””
Tag Archives: theater
An Assassin for What??
Years ago in Northeast PA (which does seem like a galaxy far, far away at this point), I had to walk to the end of the street to get my mail. As I exited my house and entered the road, two dogs across the way would bark at me from a badly-built enclosure. When IContinue reading “An Assassin for What??”
Gimme a Murder Mystery
In discussing possible performance events with a local organization, we were asked if we could do a murder mystery dinner. Why, sure! But… I began researching them. They tend to fall into two categories: expensive (no, thanks!) and lame. The latter seem to have been created by some amateur theatre groups who thought they wereContinue reading “Gimme a Murder Mystery”
Post Mortem
One of the strict rules of StoryZ is that we constantly examine and discuss what we do. As in cop dramas, this process is called the post mortem. After our recent premiere production of Gentle Larceny, we invited the audience to stick around after the Friday night performance for a talkback, as research for theContinue reading “Post Mortem”
The Premiere Premiere
This past weekend, StoryZ presented our first live theatrical production: Gentle Larceny, written by the late Terry Hamilton who, I’m told, was a Broadway bartender with aspirations of being a successful playwright. The subject of this one-man play was Wilson Mizner who seeks fame—or infamy—through his monologue. Is he telling the truth, embellishing, or outrightContinue reading “The Premiere Premiere”
Don’t Tell Me I Can’t
How has a failure, or apparent failure, set you up for later success? One of the quickest ways to encourage me to do something is to tell me I can’t do it, or to speak the more passive phrase, “it can’t be done.” That’s precisely the motivation I’ve often needed to accomplish a goal. ItContinue reading “Don’t Tell Me I Can’t”
Line!
When directing actors who are working on getting off book (having learned their lines), I always tell them the only four-letter word they are allowed to use to call for a line is: “Line!” And speaking of actors and lines, have you ever worked with an actor who memorized their lines so well they can’tContinue reading “Line!”
Line!
When directing actors who are working on getting off book (having learned their lines), I always tell them the only four-letter word they are allowed to use to call for a line is: “Line!” And speaking of actors and lines, have you ever worked with an actor who memorized their lines so well they can’tContinue reading “Line!”
I Left My Heart…
Describe the last difficult “goodbye” you said. For most of the people I’ve said “goodbye” to over the years, it’s really been more of a “see you later.” We mostly still keep in touch, however sporadically, and I’ve lost only a few whom I’ve really cared about. But California, now… Well. That’s different. I leftContinue reading “I Left My Heart…”
Past (Projects) Come Back to Haunt Us
I’m trying to clean up my desk and filing cabinet in the hopes of making enough space to bring more things from my storage unit and, if there are any files to keep, I will have a place for them. In the meantime I’m finding a lot to recycle, but am also discovering some surprisesContinue reading “Past (Projects) Come Back to Haunt Us”
MUSOFYR 