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On Wearing Different Hats

ON WRITING & DIRECTING - by G.L. Horton (8/21/99)

One of the fun things about working in an ad hoc "developmental" situation is the chance to explore the material wearing different hats. This summer my piece "Autumn Leaves" was ok'd for my group's June festival, and I turned it over to an experienced director who had done my stuff before. She cast it and rehearsed: I saw the first read-through, and first tech, made a few suggestions and a few cuts. It went well, and the production was invited to be in a community theatre fest in August.

When I set about organizing this, I sort of hoped that the older actress might be away on vacation, to give me a chance to play the role myself and look at the piece from the "inside". No such luck! It turned out that actor playing the young hunk and the director were the ones who weren't available. I had to put on the director hat, and although I knew better than to try to make a bunch of line changes because of the limited rehearsal time, I did use the introduction of the new actor as an opportunity to adjust the tone of the piece from the matter of fact towards the melancholic.

An older writer-- there are a few-- came over to embrace me after the performance, with "Ah, G, you are the Barbara Pym of playwrights!" My staging turned out to be warmer and fuzzier than that of the original director, who had found a brisker sort of comedy and angry undertones in the characters' incompatibilities.

Whose was "right"? Who can say?

I did get my chance to explore the older woman "from the inside", though it was a very brief chance. I used a speech of hers as one of my one-min audition pieces for the annual August cattle-call. Found myself doing a MAJOR re-write!

But I haven't decided to incorporate these changes in the speech into the script, yet. What's clearly better as a 60 second solo isn't necessarily better as part of the shifting relationships in the play.

Conclusion? I don't know that I have one, except that it is Hog Heaven to be able to switch around and explore. This playing with a play is such a delight! How enviable the fortunate few who get to do it all the time. Acykbourn? Pinter? Maybe Wally Shawn? Shakespeare did, surely.

I am far too egotistical to to fear influence, and I would never hesitate to incorporate good ideas whereever I find 'em.

Of course, it's better to see 6 other versions than just one, and it's probably better to see them AFTER you've done some of your internal homework. But isn't the lure and thrill of the great classic roles the opportunity to enter an on-going artistic conversation? What kind of cowardly clod prefers ignorance and isolation?

 

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