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 departure from many of the themes you’d see in Shakespeare’s work. It’s not a play I was familiar with and really glad these guests are introducing us to other classical works. As I mentioned in the complete episode with Ray, this may be a great play for you to find a lesser-known monologue for your auditions.
You’ll hear Ray discuss:
- why this speech fascinates him
- how language was the CGI of the day
- why classical theatre and plays like this are still so relevant today.
It’s a great session and a wonderful discussion about theatre, politics, and acting!
About the guest
Ray Porter grew up in Indiana and studied at the California Institute of the Arts. Shortly after college, he auditioned for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and stayed with them for 18 years
Outside of OSF, he has appeared at ACT in San Francisco, the Mark Taper Forum, Berkeley Rep, and just last year in Henry IV with Shakespeare Center LA alongside our past guests Harry Groener (Ep 4), Geoffrey Wade (Ep 5), and Peter Van Norden (Ep 7)—and Tom Hanks played Falstaff!
Ray has 40+ film and tv credits and includes roles in Modern Family, Shameless, Sons of Anarchy, Monk, Justified, Argo, and Almost Famous.
He has narrated multiple best-selling books, covering all types of genres, including the Joe Ledger series by Jonathan Maberry, The 4-Hour Workweek, Silver Linings Playbook, and The Idiot’s Guide to String Theory; I really cannot emphasize enough that Ray has had a major career in audiobooks and is one of the best in the business. He has multiple Earphones Awards and has been nominated for Audie awards for his narration.
Please enjoy the text work with Ray Porter!
Total Running Time: 16:06
- Stream by clicking here.
- Download as an MP3 by right-clicking here and choosing “save as/save link as”.
Get the show delivered right to you!
Want to hear more from Ray? Check out my full talk with him here!
Show Notes
Ray Porter around the web
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Film/TV | Audible Audiobooks | Ray’s “Greatest Hits” | Additional Theatre
Ray’s monologue from The White Devil by John Webster
[accordion clicktoclose=”true”][accordion-item title=”+ click to view/close the monologue” id=whitedevil state=closed] FRANCISCOAn old tale.
Upon a time Phoebus, the god of light,
Or him we call the sun, would need to be married:
The gods gave their consent, and Mercury
Was sent to voice it to the general world.
But what a piteous cry there straight arose
Amongst smiths and felt-makers, brewers and cooks,
Reapers and butter-women, amongst fishmongers,
And thousand other trades, which are annoyed
By his excessive heat! ’twas lamentable.
They came to Jupiter all in a sweat,
And do forbid the banns. A great fat cook
Was made their speaker, who entreats of Jove
That Phoebus might be gelded; for if now,
When there was but one sun, so many men
Were like to perish by his violent heat,
What should they do if he were married,
And should beget more, and those children
Make fireworks like their father? So say I;
Only I apply it to your wife;
Her issue, should not providence prevent it,
Would make both nature, time, and man repent it.
Leave a Reply