Re: RAT In the service of moving on.......

[brad rothbart <scrdchao@nni.com>]

>>Since I am working with a piece I don't  understand, I  often cast
>>conservatively, looking for types or the  fantasy  of the "best"
>>actor.
>>What the piece invariably teaches me is that I need not be so
>>conservative.
>
>
>What does "the fantasy of the 'best' actor" mean?
>Thanks,
>Jonathan

Jonathan,

My feeling is that there is agreat need among humans to name, define, rank....

 In every major city there a re a few actors who work consistently at the
bigger regional theatres,  who win whatever that town's theatre  awards
are for best-.... supporting... outstanding newcomer...... Even among
actors, there's often a buzz " Oh - so-an-so's in that ?"  you have to
go-seh's incredible.

 These , not suprisingly, are often the actors with pedigree: USD, UCSD,
Juillard, Yale,  UCIrvine, Rutgers.....  they are also often the ones with
credits: Homicide, Law and Order, OZ, Sopranos.... (guest shots all, but
still.) They are really talented actors, no question and often have a very
wide range. Something in us (me included) wants to say that these are the
best my city has to offer. Here they are.

 In my limited experience, when I get to work with one of these "alpha"
actors their training often works against them  in the work I want to do..
 Handing a classically trained actor  Ruth Margraff, or Matthew Maguire,
or Alice Tuan, and they simply don't know what to do That training , which
has  been so useful throughout their careers, doesn't help anymore. Yet,
they are often wedded to it.  They beginooking for dramatic arcs in
non-linear work, or character development in nn-character based plays. If
you say" this piece can't be broken into beats, it's really experiential"
Commit, go deep within yourself to a quiet place, and allow the piece to
act you",  it is often a struggle, because these folks (and I love to watch
them work) are taught to ACT,  to fill space and not allow it.

Sometimes, you're better offer working with someone less trained but more
intuitive  (" not as good", so to speak), who doesn't have so firm an idea
of what a play should be..



--brad
 Best for what, is my question. Often, not for the work I want to do.

Th