January 28, 2011
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The Daily News1 It's FRIDEEEEEE!!!!!!2 Who's down?
3 I love that term. Makes me feel SO hip. You down?
4 Hellllllzyeah!
5 I don't know about anyone else out there, but I worked really hard this week.
6 Almost killed me.
7 But I came away a better man. Any time the students teach me, it's worth all the pain. Life is for learning, and teaching IS perpetual learning.
8 Ah, wilderness!
9 Moving on, Part the First: I am a slave to Mozilla v. Explorer.
10 Drives me mad.
11 I constantly have to move from one to the other to even begin all this foolishness.
12 Ah, who cares?
13 Certainly not this Old Brown Shoe.
14 Moving on Swiftly, Part the Second: AnywayZ...15 This student rushed into my room yesterday at lunch, while I was giving make-up tests and doing other boushit.
16 She said, "Mr. H! I got callbacks to Noises Off!" She was beside herself.
17 Our drama department stages Noises Off this spring.
18 I instantly dug it, of course!
19 Memories of one of our most underrated Shows of all time came flying back.
20 This will clearly be the best Show our school has ever done, and that's with all due respect to our former director, Jesse Griffin, who was brilliant at bringing out the best in young actors.
31 The reason it will be the best is that our school gets like fifty students at every audition, and the acting is consistently sensational.
32 What makes Noises Off SUCH a great play is that it is farcical beyond farce, AND has a set that has eight doors and it revolves!
33 Sidebar: My favorite all-time farce is a little known gem called See How They Run by a dubious playwright named Philip King. I won't go into details, but any new director who comes up to me and asks me for advise on what Show to do, I tell them See How They Run.
34 I played a "bit" part in it in high school, played the lead in college, and then went on to direct it. I would direct it again in a heartbeat.
35 Last week I picked up a Metro, and saw that it is currently playing at the Theater on San Pedro Square in downtown Sannozay! January 28-February 20. Fridays/Saturdays 8 p.m. Also Saturdays 3 p.m. Sundays 2 p.m. 800-838-3006. Here's the link:
www.tabardtheatre.org
35 This is arguably my favorite non-musical play ever. I will travel miles to see this Show no matter where it plays, and I can't say that for too many others. How to Succeed maybe. There are certain Shows I simply won't miss, and See How They Run is one of them. Godspell. Arsenic.36 And right back to it: And of course, the immortal Noises Off, which is a sort of See How They Run on methamphetamine.37 Our current director, David Chavez, is an amazingly talented and wonderfully knowledgeable guy. I met him last year, but got to know him this year. He's like a clone. I walked in on his prep, and instantly knew that this guy was like a brother all the way. Godfather poster, Casablanca poster, amps, you get the drift.
38 I had to meet the guy who had the chutzpah even to attempt Noises Off, which is a huge challenge set-wise, and has a second act that demands pinpoint timing and extreme farcical technique. And a cactus getting the best of a Director's ass.
39 Cajones, man.
40 He has a set-designer who loves challenges, so he's probably home-free. He also invited me to direct anytime I feel like it.
41 Not bloody likely, but it's nice to have that invite. I always wanted to direct Romeo and Juliet, for example, just because I never did. Kids don't buy the love-at-first sight thing anymore, so it would be really fun to bring out the dysfunctional parents' side of the play. The reason there's no longer an R & J buy-in is because absolutely nobody believes in love-at-first sight anymore. The story has lost much of its luster over the years, and it is trend now not to like it.
42 What people underestimate is the entire star-crossed lovers thing. Two extremely passionate young people whose lives are both sinking could quite possibly be drawn together rather quickly. I won't debate it, but I'm just saying that it IS quite possible and believable, given Romeo's wacky crush on Rosalynne, and Juliet's unbearably cold and mean parents.
43 That's a debate for the ages. I just think it would be an awesome Show, and it would sell out instantly, every night. I would love to be able to tell my students that I directed that.
44 I recall a version a couple of years ago at the Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival. I went with Coley. Folding chairs, the Lake whooshing in the background, peach-purple sunset in the pines, perfect setting. Except the balcony was around a foot off the ground, and during the opening scene crossovers, a grim reaper came from behind Juliet's curtains to watch the crossovers. Hmmm. Subtle.
45 Nicoley looked at me, and we both laughed. We knew that the direction wasn't going to be even close, so we prepared ourselves for a night of absolute comic delight. It didn't disappoint. Most hilarious tragedy I ever witnessed.
46 Worst performance I've ever seen. The worst. And they usually do great work.Oh, lordy. Lousy directors. I started to get lousy at the end there. I don't know if I had another Show in me. I'm really glad now that I got out, and that I'm up at the Chill-on-the Hill in my cathedral of a room. Good times.47 Well, that's about all for now. I just hopped in this old jalopy and let it take me wherever it wanted. Sometimes it just does that. I don't write it. I've said that over and over.
48 Time to get some sleep, and then jump into Friday.
49 You guys enjoy the sunny weather, and have a good one, willya?
50 Peace.
~H~
www.xanga.com/bharrington
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