tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post3122700862315650010..comments2024-03-26T23:41:10.319+00:00Comments on Authors Electric: Writing for Performance (Introduction) by Bill KirtonKatherine Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17196712319655603442noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-29925832727665004912016-09-10T15:02:41.753+01:002016-09-10T15:02:41.753+01:00Aw, Bill. Thank you. But I thought you were gluten...Aw, Bill. Thank you. But I thought you were gluten-free.glitter noirhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11728649916344336118noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-61102516151798046372016-09-10T09:33:51.225+01:002016-09-10T09:33:51.225+01:00Reb, Reb, Reb - consider yourself overwhelmed by m...Reb, Reb, Reb - consider yourself overwhelmed by my most glutinously sycophantic gratitude.Bill Kirtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16345949773423764808noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-64344881900393646172016-09-10T02:21:37.372+01:002016-09-10T02:21:37.372+01:00Regrettably, there are no props for me to use whil...Regrettably, there are no props for me to use while I flounder about and scratch my head and smoke my thumb while wish I'd rated a personal thanks. glitter noirhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11728649916344336118noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-55318803781720853482016-09-09T12:17:49.441+01:002016-09-09T12:17:49.441+01:00Thanks for all the contributions, folks. It's ...Thanks for all the contributions, folks. It's interesting to see how many of us have actual stage experience. Interesting but also scary since I'm clearly performing a grandmother/eggs/sucking exercise. It seems as if the next blog could simply be a series of 'How about when the cue...', 'How about when the prop isn't...', 'How about when the prompter's asthma...', etc. and I'd just leave you to fill the rest in with your comments.Bill Kirtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16345949773423764808noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-15753048093336703162016-09-09T11:30:06.188+01:002016-09-09T11:30:06.188+01:00Great post, Bill. And if nothing else, writing pla...Great post, Bill. And if nothing else, writing plays has given me certain skills with dialogue, knowing what works and what doesn't. It always fascinates me in a theatrical production how different audiences can be from night to night - and how that affects the production, changing it in all kinds of subtle and sometimes not so subtle ways. The Traverse used to provide programmes that included the script, which was a doubtful benefit when some members of the audience would determinedly follow what was on the page and then look disapproving or alarmed when the actors' words didn't match what they were reading. This was because the programmes had to be printed before the rewriting stopped - in a new writing theatre the writer only stops adjusting the words when the actors (often with a look of extreme panic in their eyes) tell you and the director that they can't learn anything new! But some audiences seem to be much more receptive to a performance than others. I used to sit in on several performances and was always intrigued by how much they would differ - and it was all to do with the audiences and their response that somehow changed the performances. Looking forward to next month's post! Catherine Czerkawskahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14554969254207924049noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-74607911511232296822016-09-09T09:35:03.923+01:002016-09-09T09:35:03.923+01:00No Dennis. My Viv's most famous studio perform...No Dennis. My Viv's most famous studio performance was as the albatross in The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. Maybe she assumed I was that mariner? Who knows....Jan Needlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15823078224282953782noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-22344522361722600152016-09-09T05:55:24.922+01:002016-09-09T05:55:24.922+01:00About three minutes. Bill. And Jan, Pinter would h...About three minutes. Bill. And Jan, Pinter would have been very impressed at how brilliantly Viv (any relation? had interpreted his intentions.Dennis Hamleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15781139870037634374noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-54861309964172518372016-09-08T08:36:09.226+01:002016-09-08T08:36:09.226+01:00Dan here. My most interesting example comes from a...Dan here. My most interesting example comes from a studio version of a Russian play I watched while studying drama at Manchester University. A young student called Viv Kettle was standing still and silent, holding the back of a rocking chair. After a few seconds of contemplative silence, she started to rock back and forward, still using the chair as a prop (not a prop?). We were fascinated by this original and most effective piece of acting. Then she slumped to the floor and lay unmoving for a good few seconds. Nobody had the faintest idea of what to do. Was she still acting? Was it method gone mad, as the Daily Mail might say?After about twenty seconds of Viv on the floor, Geoff Joyce, our magnificent technician, obviously thinking 'well bugger all you poncey stuck up students' walked onto the acting area and confirmed that she had indeed fainted.<br /><br />Just goes to show, dunnit? What would old Pinter have made of that, eh, Dennis?<br /><br />By the way, I do forgive you, Sid.Jan Needlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15823078224282953782noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-69889072615835578462016-09-08T08:17:15.883+01:002016-09-08T08:17:15.883+01:00A perfect example, Dennis. How long before the pas...A perfect example, Dennis. How long before the passer-by forgave you?Bill Kirtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16345949773423764808noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-61701208914821997112016-09-08T07:44:44.410+01:002016-09-08T07:44:44.410+01:00Fascinating, Bill. And so true. Back in my long ag...Fascinating, Bill. And so true. Back in my long ago acting days I once played the newspaper seller in Pinter's lovely sketch 'Last to Go.' I was thinking about this very point and so I decided just to try it out for real. The play appears to be an inconsequential (though, as it was Pinter,it wasn't) conversation between a passer-by and the newspaper seller late at night. As I remember, the paper seller says, 'I only had one left. Then that went.' Here, I stopped, looked up at the ceiling and let my eyes travel slowly all the way across the roof of the drama studio of Milton Keynes College of Education. It took just under a minute. I was aware of the audience following my gaze and getting restless, obviously not sure whether I was doing it on purpose or had suffered a memory malfunction. Then at last I came out with Pinter's magnificent, in the context, next line - 'Like a shot.' I was quite pleased with the effect and so, I think, was the audience. However, the passer-by was not. Still, I thought, why should I tell him everything?Dennis Hamleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15781139870037634374noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-71250620222871238192016-09-07T17:16:21.249+01:002016-09-07T17:16:21.249+01:00Very interesting. I've worked back stage in th...Very interesting. I've worked back stage in theatre (a long time ago) so the only concerns I've ever had is wondering if the actor remembers where I've put the prop or how long do we have to do that quick change. Lynne Garnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05697330164705623835noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-7357788191442937922016-09-07T13:28:18.343+01:002016-09-07T13:28:18.343+01:00Thanks All (except Dan).Thanks All (except Dan).Bill Kirtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16345949773423764808noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-39563176439269921552016-09-07T09:13:29.086+01:002016-09-07T09:13:29.086+01:00Bill, you promised you'd never mention my Mowg...Bill, you promised you'd never mention my Mowgli in public. I hate you. Dan.Jan Needlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15823078224282953782noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-2062826843364404752016-09-07T09:01:07.471+01:002016-09-07T09:01:07.471+01:00Loved this and I'm in the edge of my seat wait...Loved this and I'm in the edge of my seat waiting for the next one. Really, I am. Wendy H. Joneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04022089775887274043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-69581563711717651172016-09-07T01:31:39.837+01:002016-09-07T01:31:39.837+01:00Well done, Bill. I've been well-trained by Lev...Well done, Bill. I've been well-trained by Lev to sit tight month after for the next installment his epic series. And I hope this train goes on a while.glitter noirhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11728649916344336118noreply@blogger.com