On Character - June Parting Words Continued

(More blog entries from kellykelly)

I wish that the Blog Editor would let me change my ID from kelly to kelly kelly. Because, well, that's my name.

Or at least when I get like this.  Kelly Kelly is a nickname I acquired from the festival in 2004.  It's from the play Entertaining Lesbians by Topher Payne: 

TAD
What is Mrs. Kelley’s first name?

ROWENA
...Kelly.

TAD
Kelly Kelley.

ROWENA
That’s what the gardener calls her.  He walks in the kitchen and says, “Buenos dias, Kelly Kelley.”

And there you have it. I loved to watch that play every night. When I'm in the presence of really good theater I will drop my jaw, laugh harder and louder than anyone around me, bite my nails.  In one of my favorite theater memories to date, a Columbia MFA production of Cloud 9, at the end of the first act, one character literally jumped on a table and took the biggest wad of wedding cake and shoved in the other charcters face - and they were so committed, so invested in every moment, so f*cking brilliant I literally leapt out of my chair and yelled like I was at a WWF match.  (I have never been to a WWF match btw.)

If you are bashful you may not want to go to a show with me.  Just sayin.

Shouldn't any good performance make you feel something so strongly?  Here's something to consider and I am really gonna get some flack for this...

I recently went to 2 shows - both as gifts from different friends (thank you very much): Spring Awakening and Bright Eyes at Town Hall - not a play, the musician. To say I was looking forward to both shows was an understatement.

So, Spring Awakening.  Alli says people either love it or don't get it.  Uh, I am not human. Uh... I didn't like it.  There, I said it.  I didn't like it.  The music is very good - some of the tracks I really really like and would see myself wanted to sing.  But there's something about the moment when I an actor looks out on stage and gives it away to the audience - I saw it in David Spinella's performance - and in the lead male's.  It's not about pain - breaking the audience's heart isn't about making us cry - it's moving them with joy or fear or SOMETHING - and in order to do that the actor has to turn him or herself inside out.  The playwright has to dig deep into "those secret places where no one dares to go" (Neutral Milk Hotel) and the director has to have the courage to not take any short cuts. By the time I saw the big taboo scenes I was numb.

So what is about live music - some live music performers - that can do what David Spinella did.  Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie comes out during a break surprising everyone and opens up with "I Will Follow You Into the Dark."  A hush settles over Town Hall and there are 3 sounds: Ben's voice, his guitar and everyone in the theater singing along.  Heart break achieved.  That is also amazing theater. (Who will you follow into the dark?)

Writing all of this - having way too much to do and for some reason a ridiculous amount of deadlines - and of course I had to read Alli's blog.  And the days when it gets so hard and daunting, I think of these plays that we're going to do - the music we are going to showcase - and my god all of the films  - and I will follow  all of you into the dark.

Comments