Slam links

Marc Kelly Smith
Danny Hoch
SlamNation the Movie promo
Taylor Mali: What Teachers Make
Saul Williams

Days 23 - 27

Wednesday
Absent: Alex, Alina (ex), Lindsey, Cassie, Caitlyn, Kaitlin, Chip, Ash

We listened to Spalding Gray "Monster In A Box"
His work exemplifies "talking without a net" giving us the sense that at any moment he might come up against some emotion or memory that wasn't scripted. His device of telling about the writing of a novel closely fictionalizing his real experience allows him to tell his story in the first person and the third person.

Friday: Gwenda LedBetter part 1
Monday: Gwenda LedBetter part 2

Wednesday
Absent: Drew

Viewing of Rex Ellis story from "The Call Of Story"
Discussion of socio-political issues in storytelling and theatre. The tendency of revivalist storytellers to skirt or omit controversial issues vs. the tendency of theatre soloists to confront issues head on.
Also discussed the formation of the National Association of Black Storytellers.

Friday
Absent: Ash
We read the monologue from Anna Deaver Smith's "Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992." Discussion of storytelling as subversion and Smith's coming at the King riots indirectly. We viewed her performance of 4 interviews from "On The Road: A Search For American Character."

Friday's Father

Our next 2 classes will be in the Carol Belk theatre. Gwenda LedBetter will perform Act II of Friday's Father in two parts, and lead discussion with class. Please be on time.

Final Project Guidelines

For your final project, design a solo performance work based on a combination of your personal stories AND received stories from world cultures. Included in your design should be at least 3 elements influenced by historical forms of storytelling. Also included should be at least one new story you have discovered from researching folklore and mythology.
Checklist for the finished project:

1. A brainstorming diagram of stories that you will draw from.
2. An introductory synopsis of the performance.
3. An explanation of your staging concepts including props, visuals, and music.
4. An outline of your performance from beginning to end including stage action.
5. A fully written version of your "key" story.
6. An explanation of historical influences.

Final Projects for seniors are due on Monday, April 28. For all others, Thursday, May 7.

Death of an Actor On Stage

From The Internet Movie Database

"Shawn won a huge fan base, however, touring in one-man stage shows which contained a weird mix of songs, sketches, satire, philosophy and even pantomime. A bright, innovative wit, one of his best touring shows was called "The Second Greatest Entertainer in the World." During the show's intermission, Shawn would lie visibly on the stage floor absolutely still during the entire time. By freakish coincidence, Shawn was performing at the University of California at San Diego in 1987 when he suddenly fell forward on the stage during one of his spiels about the Holocaust. The audience, of course, laughed, thinking it was just a part of his odd shtick. In actuality, the 63-year-old married actor with four children had suffered a fatal heart attack. A not surprising end for this thoroughly offbeat and intriguing personality."

"The irony of his death on stage is that it went "unnoticed" because of Shawn's strict instructions to stage crews. He would tell all concerned that he was liable to do anything at any time, including pratfalls, and that they were not to react to this. At his last performance, it did not occur to anyone that something tragic had happened until it was felt that his lying motionless on stage had run the joke rather thin. It was only then that Shawn was discovered to have died doing what he did best; enthralling his audience with his marvelous humour."

Underneath The Lintel

Our next reading will be Underneath The Lintel. Have it read by Friday of next week (April 4). If at all possible, you should see the play before reading it. the play opens this week at NC Stage in downtown Asheville. Wednesday is pay-what-you-can night with tickets for a $5 minimum.

Days 20 - 22

Wednesday. Absent: Kaitlin, Drew
Friday. Absent: Ash, Carly
This week we finished up some activities with form, working briefly with verse forms:
iambic pentameter and trochaic tetrameter. Some discussion of the use of verse forms influencing the development of content.
Discussion of 2.5 Minute Ride by Lisa Kron included looking at the diversity of stories that make up the composition.
Assignment to diagram the stories in some manner. Thank you Alina and Chip for you work.
We watched Hal Holbrook's 1967 performance of Mark Twain Tonight, a play created by the actor studying a large body of work and then compsing the program conversationally in the persona of Mark Twain. More on Hal Holbrook here. (Side note: Richard Corson's elaborate makeup for the young Holbrook launched his fame as a stage makeup artist. His book Stage Makeup continues to be a standard text in the art.)