Recently in Last Jew In Europe Category

Rehearsals for The Last Jew In Europe have been going well, smoother then with most shows. For reasons I can't quite put my finger on, the lines have been easier to learn than in other shows. I suspect, however, that this may have to do with my strong, almost fanatical text-based approach, and simply always, in rehearsal, saying my lines like I mean what I'm saying.

The role is further challenging for me because I need to have a convincing Polish accent -- I find Dr. David Alan Stern's Acting With an Accent series a terrific resource (amazon.com probably has the best prices):

Something else I found surprising -- I just stopped working on "building a character," i.e., I've just been working within a strong text-based approach, and the notes I've been getting from the director have been your intentions are good, they're on the right track, they're right there. However, I've never really thought about, or at least put much effort into thinking about, my "character," my "actions" or "intentions" simply because Tuvia, the playwright, has done all the work for me, i.e., all that stuff is IN the lines! 

Everything I've been learning in Deborah Carlson's Word of Mouth Studios I've been faithfully and rigorously applying in rehearsal and preparation, and it seems to have taken me quite far, much farther than I ever expected, at least for this production. This approach, in my estimation and experience, is definitely the foundation of acting -- you're dead, theatrically speaking, if you don't have it -- an actor may be using this approach natually/organically, but if they're not, they'll need to learn it (like me).

Angel Heart just closed and I'm in rehearsal for The Last Jew In Europe which opens in a few days. I'm always so grateful for these off-Off-Broadway opportunities because they give me a chance to keep learning how to act (The Great Joy & Purpose Of My Life), and a big part of learning how to act, I'm learning, is learning how to rehearse, by myself and with others. Patsy Rodenburg, in the preface to her book chapter Voice And Text Meet Rehearsal, effectively hammers this home:

I am sometimes alarmed at [the] complete ignorance of acting craft or just how fundamental it is for a successful show to have actors who know to work properly on themselves, with each other, and on a text.

I've cyber-penned few posts about the critical importance of the relationship between meaning and rhythm in language, and why it's one of the first thing an actor should do when they pick up brand new text.

I've both witnessed (as a stage manage) and experienced (as a actor) a rehearsal technique called "speed throughs," and in light of what I've been learning about rhythm and meaning, this technique comes off -- at best --  as weird and of limited value, or -- worse -- counter productive and a waste of time.