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"Picasso" likes carrots.
May. 18th, 2004 09:57 amGronk.
Morning.
Last night was the first night of tech, which actually went surprisingly well. It's a testament to our stage manager, the set designer, and how short the show is that we were out and done in 2 and a half hours. Well, there were costumes to be tried on, but that doesn't count so much.
Carson-boy was a doll and gave us a ride home, so we naturally invited him in and fed him gin & tonics (side note: He says that he's been told that G&Ts are a wussy drink? Wha? I have never ever considered anything involving gin to be wussy, and a G&T is one of the classic drinks. Has anyone else ever heard this?). It was a lot of fun, actually, to just sit and babble and talk about theater and the show in particular and listen to a different perspective. There was, as happens often, a discussion of men vs. women in theater, and why it's so often the case that the good actresses are nuts, and how so many more guys seem to be able to just drop everything at the door to the theater. I thought of a few things. First off, it's really hard to be a female performer. Speaking very broadly, we as young girls are told not to show off. The boys are funny, the boys goof and don't get called on it, the boys yell and run about and are indulged or at least tolerated. Girls are put in dresses and are told not to hang from the monkeybars, not to run about, not to yell, etc. (Again, I'm speaking broadly.) And then there's the role models. The male to female ratio of good performers in general is still heavily skewed toward the male, and the men all seem more normal, as a rule. Because there's more of them, I suppose. Easier to appear "average".
Also, when compared to the men in this town? There's a serious dearth of female talent. For every good female actor, there's 5 good male actors. It's a little depressing, and it's hard when you don't have any new competition, or when your competition is chiefly comprised of your friends-of-many-years.
Women are judged constantly. This one's a bitch. This one's a whore. This one's a goddess. This one's a neurotic mess. Men are judged too, but that judgement never seems to carry the same weight, either internally or in the eyes of society. Why is that? So women become defensive, protective, wary.
{There's something in here about attacks on character, and how they can translate into real physical danger for women, but I think I'll have to come back to it. It's not unspooling just yet.}
(Please remember, I am continuing to speak specifically and broadly at the same time. There are a million-and-one examples of neurotic, messy men, and strong, capable women. I am looking at the situations I see every day, and trying to apply ideas from a general theory on to it, because I believe I can, and I believe it might help at some point. I may be wrong.)
Basically? It's the same fight women are fighting in all areas of public life. We (still!) have to work twice as hard to prove ourselves. It's just that when "proving yourself" means putting everything that you have and that you are out for Joe Q. Public to see and judge and attack, there's a much greater chance of developing neuroses.
It's not an excuse. And this situation may not appear anywhere else. It may be specific to the Cities. I'm not sure.
ANYWAY. That was a digression, wasn't it?
The entire point of that whole mess is that I still haven't punched through that extra hurdle of "nice girls don't show off". I haven't quite gotten over my fear of taking the stage and demanding focus (this is mostly about Suzanne, the first girl). She needs balls.
(Part of the problem is that Steve Martin is a very funny guy, and he loves women [though he doesn't understand us], but the women in this story are adjuncts. At least mine are. All of my women are there to be with one of the other characters. That's not as fun.)
So, Suzanne. She is 19, she is a free spirit (wasn't everyone in Paris at that time?), and she is a horndog. She is there for Picasso (within the show), and she is there to tell the audience about Picasso.
I've made her clear and simple, and I think I've gone too far. She needs more earthiness. She's there to get laid, and it needs to show. She needs to be bigger and more stagey.
The entire cast needs more energy, but I can't do anything about that. I can punch her up even further.
Okay. How do I do that?
I'm seriously considering a half-shot of tequila right before I hit the stage. Just enough for the tequila-effect to kick in.
Nah. Don't want to become on of those actors.
<.assumes Pooh-position>
Thinkthinkthinkthinkthink.
Morning.
Last night was the first night of tech, which actually went surprisingly well. It's a testament to our stage manager, the set designer, and how short the show is that we were out and done in 2 and a half hours. Well, there were costumes to be tried on, but that doesn't count so much.
Carson-boy was a doll and gave us a ride home, so we naturally invited him in and fed him gin & tonics (side note: He says that he's been told that G&Ts are a wussy drink? Wha? I have never ever considered anything involving gin to be wussy, and a G&T is one of the classic drinks. Has anyone else ever heard this?). It was a lot of fun, actually, to just sit and babble and talk about theater and the show in particular and listen to a different perspective. There was, as happens often, a discussion of men vs. women in theater, and why it's so often the case that the good actresses are nuts, and how so many more guys seem to be able to just drop everything at the door to the theater. I thought of a few things. First off, it's really hard to be a female performer. Speaking very broadly, we as young girls are told not to show off. The boys are funny, the boys goof and don't get called on it, the boys yell and run about and are indulged or at least tolerated. Girls are put in dresses and are told not to hang from the monkeybars, not to run about, not to yell, etc. (Again, I'm speaking broadly.) And then there's the role models. The male to female ratio of good performers in general is still heavily skewed toward the male, and the men all seem more normal, as a rule. Because there's more of them, I suppose. Easier to appear "average".
Also, when compared to the men in this town? There's a serious dearth of female talent. For every good female actor, there's 5 good male actors. It's a little depressing, and it's hard when you don't have any new competition, or when your competition is chiefly comprised of your friends-of-many-years.
Women are judged constantly. This one's a bitch. This one's a whore. This one's a goddess. This one's a neurotic mess. Men are judged too, but that judgement never seems to carry the same weight, either internally or in the eyes of society. Why is that? So women become defensive, protective, wary.
{There's something in here about attacks on character, and how they can translate into real physical danger for women, but I think I'll have to come back to it. It's not unspooling just yet.}
(Please remember, I am continuing to speak specifically and broadly at the same time. There are a million-and-one examples of neurotic, messy men, and strong, capable women. I am looking at the situations I see every day, and trying to apply ideas from a general theory on to it, because I believe I can, and I believe it might help at some point. I may be wrong.)
Basically? It's the same fight women are fighting in all areas of public life. We (still!) have to work twice as hard to prove ourselves. It's just that when "proving yourself" means putting everything that you have and that you are out for Joe Q. Public to see and judge and attack, there's a much greater chance of developing neuroses.
It's not an excuse. And this situation may not appear anywhere else. It may be specific to the Cities. I'm not sure.
ANYWAY. That was a digression, wasn't it?
The entire point of that whole mess is that I still haven't punched through that extra hurdle of "nice girls don't show off". I haven't quite gotten over my fear of taking the stage and demanding focus (this is mostly about Suzanne, the first girl). She needs balls.
(Part of the problem is that Steve Martin is a very funny guy, and he loves women [though he doesn't understand us], but the women in this story are adjuncts. At least mine are. All of my women are there to be with one of the other characters. That's not as fun.)
So, Suzanne. She is 19, she is a free spirit (wasn't everyone in Paris at that time?), and she is a horndog. She is there for Picasso (within the show), and she is there to tell the audience about Picasso.
I've made her clear and simple, and I think I've gone too far. She needs more earthiness. She's there to get laid, and it needs to show. She needs to be bigger and more stagey.
The entire cast needs more energy, but I can't do anything about that. I can punch her up even further.
Okay. How do I do that?
I'm seriously considering a half-shot of tequila right before I hit the stage. Just enough for the tequila-effect to kick in.
Nah. Don't want to become on of those actors.
<.assumes Pooh-position>
Thinkthinkthinkthinkthink.
