Angel Heart Closes: Lessons Learned.

The script was an edited down version of Alan Parker's screenplay for the 1987 film Angel Heart. As such, it was text designed more for the screen, and -- I suspect -- more for the Angel Heart film specially (a highly visual and atmospheric film) rather than the stage. It really didn't have as much dialogue as a play (in fact, to keep the run time short, our production had even somewhat less dialogue then the film for some scenes). I think this is something valuable you only learn by experience, but I suspect it's probably easier to adapt a play for film rather than the other way around, generally at least, at least in my opinion.

A second challenge was of my own making because I watched the film early on, early in rehearsal. My initial reason was I didn't feel I had a very good handle on my scenes even after three or four readings, so I thought seeing professional performances would help, and -- to a point -- they did, but they were performance for film, and for whatever reason, staying close to those film performances on stage never quite worked for me.

For example, Dr. Fowler fades out through the film scene, and when I tried to work that same physicality onto the stage, I started getting director notes that he couldn't easily see or hear me (because I was trying "to fade" -- long story). A amateur's mistake -- had I been working on camera, with the len 3 feet away, I think I would have been fine, but I couldn't get away, on stage, with what Michael Higgins did in the film. In the end, I had to make adjustments, even all the way through the run. It finally worked out, but watching the film early on caused more headaches than it solved.

The second character I played was Ethan Krusemark (played by Stocker Fontelieu in the '87 film). The director and I decided to stage that scene differently then how it was staged in the film. While I'm not sure if that was the best idea, changing things created an interesting set of external circumstances I was forced to deal with. In the film, Angel forces a confession from Krusemark, and Krusemark, responding to Angel's (ultimately lethal) urgency deliever's a rapid fire "excited" monologue, i.e., he's telling Angel what Angel wants to know so Angel won't kill him. However, we staged it with Angel initially pulling a knife and then backing off.

This backing off posed a "problem." If early on in Ethan's confession Angel backs off with the knife, Ethan must have given Angel what he wanted, i.e., Ethan's confession, but -- I haven't fully confessed yet, i.e., Ethan still has lines -- it's the classic actor's question: "what's my motivation?" I had to come up with one, and I eventually did; though it took a lot of play, a bit of re-write, and lot of experimentation. I finally got it, as best I could get it, but  watching the original film performance was counter-productive in this case.

The other reason I watched the film was that I had done this before, and it was exceedingly helpful. However, that first time, I watched the film near my last few rehearsals, and the film was an adaptation of a famous play, and it was pretty much shot as you would see it on stage.

Too bad I didn't think about these differences before I watch Angel Heart, but c'est la vie -- habiter et apprendre. In the end, I was able, more or less, to pull a rabbit out of the hat and make the scenes work, but these adaptation issues and my own early mistakes really made me work, harder than I had to . . .

Ah, one final note (in what's turning out to be a rather long write-up). On the Saturday before the opening, we had a preview for an audience of four. At first I thought -- "whatever, preview, smerview," but I got great feedback. This goes right back to my initial choice in the Ethan Krusemark scene, i.e., delivering a rapid fire "excited" monologue. The preview audience like the production except for my scene -- they said they couldn't follow or get what I was saying. I was speaking clearly, but so fast and excited, they were lost.

This goes right back, partially, to what I've been writing about, about not skimming text. Part of the problem was skimming, i.e., slapping an "excited" state over the words (forcing what Stocker Fontelieu did in the film) and the other part was the adaptation -- too much of the original dialogue was cut out, so I put some of it back, and I just slowed the hell down: I didn't talk slower, I just make sure Angel "got," "understood," each point, each part of the confession.

Angel wanted a full confession, a full understanding of what happened to Johnny Favorite, and so I just made sure to give it to him, I made it "about Angel," not about "me" being "evil" or "sadistic" or whatever. Now, enjoying seeing how the confession destroyed Angel was "sadistic" but I didn't "play" sadistic. I just make sure Angel "got it," "understood it," "it" being the text, the confession, and I took pleasure in the effect that the clear simple straightforward telling of it had on him, and those two things made me look like a sadistic sick bastard without trying to look or sound like a sadistic sick bastard.

And now a bit about the venue, THE NUYORICAN POET CAFE. It is marvelous place steeped in rich lower east side theatrical and poetic history. The Nuyorican's Theatre Program has been awarded over 30 Audelco Awards and was honored with an OBIE Grant for excellence in theater. Ray Santisteban created an award winning documentary about the history of the Nuyorican set against the streets and communities of New York’s lower east side "El Barrio" neighborhoods. If you ever visit New York City, try to take a tour of this area. It's great.

After the show closed, I stuck up a very interesting conversation with a man who turned out to be Miguel Algarín, the founder of the venue. As I'm always looking for text for cold reading practice, I purchased his Action, The Nuyorican Poets Cafe Theatre Festival (signed personally, of course).

It is also the epicenter of the Poetry Slam scene in New York City, and one of the finest artists to come out of this scene is Shanelle Gabriel, who urges you to Start Something!