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Text Work: Harold Pinter’s The Hothouse with Peter Van Norden

Published September 11, 2018 | Last Updated November 19, 2018 Leave your thoughts »

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Peter in The Hothouse
Peter as ROOTE in The Hothouse

 

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

Peter Van Norden graduated magna cum laude from Colgate University, and studied with Sanford Meisner and many others at the Neighborhood Playhouse in New York.

He’s worked both on Broadway and off and has appeared in two star-studded productions of Hamlet at the NY Shakespeare Festival, one with Sam Waterston as the lead, the other with Kevin Kline.

He has over 60 credits on IMDB and film/tv work includes the award-winning film The Accused with Jodie Foster, Stephen King’s The Stand mini-series, and opposite Steve Guttenberg in Police Academy 2.

He has done radio plays with LA Theatre Works, has worked extensively in LA theatre, and in regional theatres all over the country, doing everything from musicals, Shakespeare, and Shaw to new works.

 

Please enjoy the text work with Peter Van Norden!

Total Running Time: 13:36

  • Stream by clicking here.
  • Download as an MP3 by right-clicking here and choosing “save as/save link as”.

Want to hear more from Peter? Check out my full talk with him here!

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Show Notes

Peter Van Norden around the web

His Website | Film/TV | Broadway | Off-Broadway | Theatre

 

Peter’s monologue from The Hothouse by Harold Pinter

click to view/close the monologue

ROOTE
Patients, staff and understaff. A very merry Christmas to you all, and a happy and prosperous new year. And on behalf of all the staff I’d like to wish all the understaff the very best luck for the year to come and a very happy Christmas. And to the patients I should like to send a personal greeting, to each and every one of them, wishing them the heartiest compliments of the season, and very best wishes, on behalf of the staff, the understaff and myself, not forgetting the Ministry, which I know would be glad to be associated with these words, for a healthy, happy and prosperous new year.

Pause

We have had our little difficulties, in the year that is about to die, our little troubles, our little sorrows as well as our little joys, but through working together, through each and every one of us pulling his weight, no matter how lowly or apparently trivial his job, by working, by living, by pulling together as one great family, we stand undaunted.

Pause

We say goodbye to the old year very soon now, and hail the new, but I say to you, as we stand before these embers, that we carry with us from the old year…things…which will stand us in good stead in the new, and we are not undaunted.

Pause

Some of you, sitting at your loudspeakers tonight, may sometimes find yourselves wondering whether the little daily hardships, the little daily disappointments, the trials and tribulations which seem continually to dog you are, in the end, worth it. To you I would say one simple thing. Have faith.

Pause

Yes, I think if I were asked to convey to you a special message this Christmas it would be that: Have faith.

Pause

Remember that you are not alone, that we here, for example, in this our home, are inextricably related, one to another, the staff to the understaff, the understaff to the patients, the patients to the staff. Remember this, as you sit by your fires, with your families, who have come from near and from far, to share this day with you, and may you be content.


Photo credit: Geoffrey Wade / Antaeus Theatre Company

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Filed Under: Podcast, Text Work Tagged With: antaeus, career, growth, pauses, pinter, questions, theatre

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