Any time that there’s new Harry Potter, I become about 15 years younger, and squeeeeeeeeeee. So, of course, new Potter, and I’m there. Full disclosure, I work in theater. Large-scale theater. Big shows. This show is in my work realm. So reading new Potter, but in script form, it was hard to turn off my work brain. “Is that a quickchange?” “need more details about that prop” “are they going to eat that, or can it be glue?” etc. These are the notes that I […]
Music Directing: Start at the Very Beginning, a Very Good Place to Start
The Musical Director’s Handbook by Stuart Morley is a very specific style of book to read for Cannonball Read 8. I work as a music director for educational theater programs throughout the year and have started to feel like my teaching style has flatlined. I’m dedicating the beginning of the year to reading various books on music directing, vocal training, directing, music, and theater to try and improve my skills. This book is the most directly connected to the kind of work I do and […]
(Another) depressing entry by another American author
I read The Glass Menagerie in college, but somehow missed out on the crazytown show that is A Streetcar Named Desire. I’m telling you, these American writers did not get hugged enough as kids. And now they’re taking it out on me. I knew very little about Streetcar before I read it, but I do remember something about a young and beautiful Marlon Brandon yelling “STELLAAAAAAA!” And really, the play is quite simple in concept: Blanche DuBois is a faded Southern belle who comes to […]
Trauma, memory, and action
The play Blood Sky is ending its run at T. Schreiber Studio. I read the play in preparation for seeing it, but then a cross-country move prevented me from seeing it performed. This was a major loss, because I believe, like many plays, that Blood Sky would really come to life on stage. This is the story of Joley, a 30-year-old woman who is recounting her experiences at 14 and 18. She is played by three different women of different ages; at times, 30-year-old Joley talks directly to the […]
On the Road Again
See, this is what I get when I read two books on the same topic sequentially. The title says it. Michael Kostroff is one of those actors that make you say, “Hey! That guy! What was he in?” In this book, the answer is “The Producers” (ensemble and understudy for Max Bialystock), and “Les Miserables” (Thenardier). Like the last book I reviewed, Unnaturally Green, this is a memoir of a touring actor. In the first book, the actor is young, and green in more ways […]
An Essential Guide To Crafting The Ten Minute Play
I used this book to help me write my first ten minute play and found it immensely helpful. Garrison is easy to read and approachable, even for theatre newbies like myself. Read the full review here.
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