Script Changes (Was: The Ultimate Muse)
Memorizing the lines to St. Luke's Gospel was proving more difficult than I had supposed it might. The dialogue is stilted, redundant and does not read as though it was intended as dialogue. Shakespearean dialogue, by contrast, is much more poetic and trips off the tongue. Your mouth muscles want to repeat the experience of saying them over and over.
Raddad could feel my frustration as we sat in his kitchen together, ostensibly to run lines. He was less interested in doing that than he was in taking the opportunity to give me some direction. Finally, after a few stumbles, he said it didn't matter to him whether I worked off-script or not. Everyone would almost assuredly be working with the script in their hands.
FWIW, I liked this Jesus. He was a rebel; He was iconoclastic. I would have to play Him somewhat younger than I really am. But, I didn't mind that.
Then, this morning arrived and Raddad let it be known that .he'd made a mistake; he'd misread the Lectionary calendar and realized we should be doing the St. Mark's version this year and NOT the St. Luke's version. I just took a look at the St. Mark's version of The Passion and am here to report that there's Good News and Bad News.
The Good News is that Jesus has fewer lines. And, they're crisper and less prolix than the St. Luke's version.
The Bad News is that this is a much older, more hagiographic Jesus. No leather jacket, no Doc Martens for this performance. I can almost phone this one in. Oh, well. That's show biz.
Raddad could feel my frustration as we sat in his kitchen together, ostensibly to run lines. He was less interested in doing that than he was in taking the opportunity to give me some direction. Finally, after a few stumbles, he said it didn't matter to him whether I worked off-script or not. Everyone would almost assuredly be working with the script in their hands.
FWIW, I liked this Jesus. He was a rebel; He was iconoclastic. I would have to play Him somewhat younger than I really am. But, I didn't mind that.
Then, this morning arrived and Raddad let it be known that .he'd made a mistake; he'd misread the Lectionary calendar and realized we should be doing the St. Mark's version this year and NOT the St. Luke's version. I just took a look at the St. Mark's version of The Passion and am here to report that there's Good News and Bad News.
The Good News is that Jesus has fewer lines. And, they're crisper and less prolix than the St. Luke's version.
The Bad News is that this is a much older, more hagiographic Jesus. No leather jacket, no Doc Martens for this performance. I can almost phone this one in. Oh, well. That's show biz.