August 12, 2005 @ 9:07 am
I left last night’s rehearsal of Jean Genet’s play, The Balcony, absolutely wired. Going right to sleep was a forlorn hope so I sat up thinking about the evening, trying to get clear about my reaction and what it was at the heart of the rehearsal that was so exciting…and somehow familiar.
An image floated to mind of a large oval table at the back of a bookstore; around it graduate students and young faculty. Doing what? Well, the best I can say is that they were thinking together. Not arguing, not scoring points, but simply trying to dig into some problem.
What colored both the rehearsal and the memory was an over-arching sense of intelligence at work. Nothing phony, no "there’s no business like show business" fakery; no ‘acting’ when there was nothing yet to act about; rather a group of people using their minds as well as their emotions and bodies to dig into the problem that is Genet.
It was hard work. It was immensely satisfying.
August 12, 2005 @ 9:55 am
The Rogue Theatre has a website. Take a look here.
