Robert Paterno
MFA Acting 2010
Saturday morning was a pretty typical one: Gorging at the hotel breakfast bar (by the way, am I the only one who didn't know that yogurt is freaking great? I've wasted my life!); watching the ladies shop for clothes; haggling with a local shop owner in broken French (Saved $5.50 American - Holler!); and searching for the perfect Man Bag (i.e. purse) with mon cupain Joshua (Jansport is making a KILLING in Europe, y'all - $120 American for a backpack. Deal with it). Then about 5 pm we met at Les Subsistance for Round 2 of the festival, and I was not disappointed. We had a short discussion, which will continue everyday, about our opinions and perceptions of what we saw yesterday. There was a lot of great insight from everyone, and it was nice to process what we saw with the group. Many of us really enjoyed the piece I spoke about in the previous blog (puppets, cameras and guitars - Oh My!), and a discussion began regarding the use of technology, and I must say that I have a bit of a dissenting opinion from Cecil's in that regard. I really felt like the use of the video and changing perspectives created a much more intimate and readily accessible experience for the audience; I know I was completely engaged the entire time. I agree that one can fall in love with 'tricks of the trade'. So long as they are in service to the story, however, I think that anything you can do that makes sense in the world of the play and/or the aesthetic of the production and that can draw the audience more into the experience, the better. I see video, live music, and any other such device the same way I see costumes, lights, sets, or anything that we create for a production. The more we can do to enhance the reality of the world of the stage for the audience, without doing so for the sake of the novelty, is A-Okay in my book. I know Cecil was not making a blanket statement regarding the use of such devices, but I feel pretty passionate about the subject. So there you go. Take that for a walk, see how it feels. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised : )
As for the shows from tonight, they continue to open so many doors of possibility for my art and how I can use it to (enter cliche here): change the world, or at least somene's world. I still believe that one can use these tools and inspiration in the service of bringing classis stories to the world. I feel more and more strongly that the theatre must continue to grow and evolve, as it always has throughout history. If that's not true, then all we'd ever see are Oedipus and Lysistrata (which are great, don't get me wrong). I'm just excited to see how this experience manifests itself for each of us when we return and go out into the world.
And I am more and more excited about the prospect of the physical training we will receive here, especially after having had time to process the first movement piece we saw on Friday and the dance piece we saw on Saturday night. I'm ready to tackle whatever they bring to us in the next two weeks. It's all in service of the art and telling stories in a clearer and more engaging way. Bring it on. Perhaps it has already, in fact, been broughten. Hmmm....
I'm still processing everything, so i'll save some for after tonight's shows. Hope everyone's keeping it in check back in the States.
Stay tuned.
Seacrest. Out.