Plays are intensely personal to the writers—when they write them, they’re imagining something that’s very vivid to them. You have to get into their head and try to find another vividness that’s truthful to the original. I’m all for the playwright; that’s where you go to study. — Robert Goldsby On the show today is […]
Behind the Podcast: Paden Fallis of In and [Out of] the Arena
It took me way too long to realize that nobody wears one hat in this business. Nobody. Denzel Washington doesn’t. Tom Cruise doesn’t. The Rock doesn’t. They’re either producing or script-writing, but nobody is just a one-trick pony. — Paden Fallis Today we have a bit of a different episode: it’s a great chat with […]
Text Work: John Webster’s The White Devil with Ray Porter
So don't be surprised!
The following is the text work session taken from the full episode with Ray. In this excerpt, Ray will be discussing a speech from John Webster’s The White Devil, which is a Jacobean play and comes in the period right after Shakespeare. As Ray shared, plays in this period were much darker and a definite […]
Ep #16: Ray Porter (Oregon Shakespeare Festival, 300+ Audiobooks) on Delivering the Mail, Being Your Advocate, and Good-Natured Arrogance
So don't be surprised!
The biggest downfall of actors is when they start to get very pleased with themselves because they’re actors; having something else that will keep you a bit humble is a good thing. — Ray Porter On the show today is Ray Porter, an actor who spent 18 seasons with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival playing all sorts […]
A Tribute to Philip Bosco, with Armin Shimerman and Peter Van Norden
A lot of actors my age thought of Phil Bosco as a god. ~ Armin Shimerman No one spoke better than Phil Bosco. ~ Peter Van Norden We have a special episode today. It’s a tribute to the actor Philip Bosco. In this, you’ll hear the voices of Armin Shimerman, Peter Van Norden, and Phil […]
Ep #15: Dawn Didawick (Regional Theatre, Erin Brockovich, Pretty Little Liars) on Being a Sponge, No Credentials, and Daring to Fail
If you do your work, people will want to work with you again, if they can, if they have the power to do it—and they’ll want to work with you years later. — Dawn Didawick On the show today is Dawn Didawick, an LA-based actor who has worked at numerous regional theatres, has lived and worked […]
Text Work: Jessica Dickey’s The Rembrandt with Francis Guinan
The following is the text work session taken from the full episode with Francis. In this excerpt we discuss performing a speech from Jessica Dickey’s The Rembrandt, which premiered at Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago in 2017 with Francis in the cast, alongside John Mahoney (known by many as the dad on Frasier), and who is also another longtime […]
Ep #14: Francis Guinan (30 years with Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre, Boss with Kelsey Grammar) on Being Blue Collar and Slightly Undisciplined
You don’t have to act so much. Over the course of [August: Osage County], I ended up doing less and less and less, and ended up revealing more and more and more about the character. — Francis Guinan We continue with season two and today on the show is Francis Guinan, a Chicago-based actor who has […]
Ep #13: Tony-Winner Reed Birney (The Humans, Casa Valentina, House of Cards, The Blacklist) on Actor Despair and Roles That Scare You
Always tell the truth, but in the most interesting way possible. The range of human experience and expression is vast. There are many ways to react to a situation and still have it be utterly and deeply truthful. — Reed Birney Welcome back to season 2 and I’m excited to have actor and teacher Reed Birney […]
Text Work: Harold Pinter’s The Hothouse with Peter Van Norden
The following is a re-airing of Peter’s text work session taken from the full episode with him. In this excerpt we discuss performing a speech from Harold Pinter’s The Hothouse. About the guest Peter Van Norden graduated magna cum laude from Colgate University, and studied with Sanford Meisner and many others at the Neighborhood […]