Krissa and I went to auditions for 'Much Ado About Nothing' yesterday. If there's one thing I love about auditioning for the Communicable Arts summer Shakespeare production, it's the chance to play lots of different characters and generally muck about. Unfortunately, most of the guys had time constraints and left early, so by the end there were just two of us playing Benedick to five or six would-be Beatrices, and there were two Benedick-Beatrice scenes to do with each.
I wouldn't be anyone's first choice to play the sarcastic Benedick, but after doing the same scenes ten times with different female auditioners, I think I got part of it over pretty well. When Krissa and I tried the scene where Beatrice and Benedick are having a duel of wits I think we managed to get some genuine, real-life-couple snark into the roles. Even though Shakespeare wrote the script 400 years ago, the tiff ended as usual, with Krissa winning the actual argument and me backing away saying I've had enough and I'm off to do something else.
It was uncanny.
Anyway, if the director taking time to give detailed directorial advice during an audition is any indication of who she's lining me up to be (and it might not be, let's be honest, I might just have needed it that badly), I might be playing Don John, the bastard brother of head honcho Don Pedro, and villain of the piece. Which means I'd be following in the footsteps of many an English Bad Guy, and playing the same role as Keanu Reeves in the 1993 Kenneth Branagh film.
I shall of course rewatch for tips.
Hanging around with theatrical artsy types when I have a science education can sometimes lead to embarrassing confessions of ignorance, but yesterday's is up there with the best:
I wouldn't be anyone's first choice to play the sarcastic Benedick, but after doing the same scenes ten times with different female auditioners, I think I got part of it over pretty well. When Krissa and I tried the scene where Beatrice and Benedick are having a duel of wits I think we managed to get some genuine, real-life-couple snark into the roles. Even though Shakespeare wrote the script 400 years ago, the tiff ended as usual, with Krissa winning the actual argument and me backing away saying I've had enough and I'm off to do something else.
It was uncanny.
Anyway, if the director taking time to give detailed directorial advice during an audition is any indication of who she's lining me up to be (and it might not be, let's be honest, I might just have needed it that badly), I might be playing Don John, the bastard brother of head honcho Don Pedro, and villain of the piece. Which means I'd be following in the footsteps of many an English Bad Guy, and playing the same role as Keanu Reeves in the 1993 Kenneth Branagh film.
I shall of course rewatch for tips.
Hanging around with theatrical artsy types when I have a science education can sometimes lead to embarrassing confessions of ignorance, but yesterday's is up there with the best:
Barrie (director): This bit of plot went on to be developed into Othello. You know who this part is? He's the forerunner for Iago.We're still not sure who's playing who, but we'll find out soon.
Me: Oh right.
Barrie: He's a big character, very big, very forceful, machiavellian.
Me: Oh, right, okay. I thought, "Iago? That's the parrot in Aladdin, isn't it?"
(scattered laughter from stalls)
Barrie: Okay, well another reference then...he's like Scar, from The Lion King.
Krissa: He hasn't seen it. Just go for Jeremy Irons, honey.
Me: Right, so; homework: read Othello, watch Lion King. Got it.
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