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Acting Profession So you want to be an actor? Well, acting is more than a calling: it is a profession and it is a business. To be a successful actor, you need a lot more than acting skill. You need knowledge about the industry and how it works: agents, managers, resumés, networks, studios, directors, casting calls, auditions, callbacks, unions and common scams. Break a leg. Web:
Acting Talk and General Discussion When I was a young lad in graduate school, I studied theatrical fencing. As part of the course, a friend and I wrote and acted in a play. It was great. It had mystery, excitement, action, beautiful women, brave heroes and, of course, lots of fencing. However, when it came time to put on the play, I made one mistake. I chose a friend of mine to be the narrator. In the middle of the play, my friend the narrator -- who shall remain nameless (Marlene Garstang) -- decided the play was too long, so she skipped right to the end. Today, after years of intense rehabilitation, Marlene manages to lead a socially useful life, but the loss to American theater is a permanent one as the play was only performed once. If you are an actor, you probably have stories of your own as tragic as this one. No doubt your colleagues will thank you for sharing. Web:
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Aisle Say If you are a lover of modern theater, you will enjoy Aisle Say, an online magazine of reviews and opinion. The magazine contains theater reviews for plays in a variety of cities in and out of the United States. Before you travel, you may want to check this site to see if there is a review of a play you are thinking about seeing. I enjoy reading the reviews just for fun, even if I don't care about the play. Web: Ancient Greek Theater Age is good for cheese, fine wines and classic cars, so why not the theater? Take a look at the ancient histories, culture and philosophy of Greek theater. Web:
Back Stage No matter how busy you are, if you are in The Business, you need to keep up, and now that you have the Net, what could be easier? Back Stage offers current information on casting calls, show listings, job offers, news, reviews and much more. Show business exists in a tough, highly competitive environment in which having access to timely information can give an edge. Web:
Casting Calls Would you like to be in films? How about TV or the theater? Start here, where you will find lots of opportunities for actors, production crew members, singers, dancers, writers and more. You may be between jobs temporarily, but there is always a place for you on the Net. Web:
Community Theater When I was a graduate student at U.C. San Diego, I studied a number of different types of dance: tap, jazz and ballet. One day, my tap dance teacher asked me if I wanted to dance in a play that she was choreographing for a community theater. The play was "No, No, Nanette", and I had a great time. It would probably be an exaggeration to say that I burst upon the American musical comedy scene like the first rose of summer. However, when the play was over, they did retire my tuxedo. Web:
Drama Talk and General Discussion Do your friends and relatives tell you not to dramatize? Well, they don't know what they are missing. The Internet is full of people who love drama and the theater, and they are waiting for you. (Narcissism and immaturity are optional.) Usenet:
Dramatic Exchange The Dramatic Exchange is an archive for storing and distributing play scripts. This Web site is a vehicle for experienced or budding playwrights to publish and distribute their works, and a place for producers to look at new material. Anyone else interested in drama is also welcome here. Web: Gilbert and Sullivan
If your husband is so fat that you must move him with a trailer hitch, Web:
Improv Improv (improvisational theater) is a form of performance in which actors improvise as they go along. There is no script. Rather, the actors make up all the dialogue and action on the spot. Modern improv is almost always humorous (in theory, anyway). There are a number of different styles of improv, one of the most common being a group of actors who take suggestions from the audience and use those suggestions to create a spontaneous skit. There are also competitive forms of improv, where one or more teams will improvise in front of an audience and a set of judges will decide which team is best. When I was an undergraduate, I used to enjoy going to a type of competitive improv called "Theater Sports". One of the things I enjoyed the most was that we were all given soft pieces of foam, called "Boo Bricks", to throw at the actors. Improv is not only fun to watch, it affords an opportunity for extroverted people with a lively sense of humor to make fools out of themselves in front of a large group of strangers. Web:
Musicals I want to let you in on a secret. My life is like a musical. Whenever I am excited or perturbed or falling madly in love, I burst into song in a most appropriate manner. And, within a minute or two, all the people around me stop what they are doing and sing along. Then we all start to dance. This goes on for awhile, until everybody just sort of drifts away and I go back to my writing. It may be a little unusual, but hey, it's a living. Web:
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On Broadway Are you all dressed up with no place to go? Have a look at this list of plays and musicals on or off Broadway. You provide the date; they'll provide the show time. While you are here, check out the Tony Award information and links to other theater sites. Web:
Performance Art Performance art is a general term referring to staged artistic events. As you might imagine, such events can take on a large variety of names, shapes and sizes. In the early 20th century, performance art was important to several artistic movements, including Futurism, Dada and Bauhaus. In the 1960s, it was reincarnated in the form of "happenings" (visual art + improvisation) and later developed into personal pieces in which performers used dance, music, pantomime and drama to create a planned experience with the feel of spontaneity. Today, much of what used to be performance art has been absorbed by the world of pop music. Web:
Play Scripts Just the other day, I had a few friends over and we were trying to think of something to do. "I have an idea," I said, "let's put on our own version of Aristophanes' play 'The Thesmophoriazus'." "But where can we get a copy of the play at this time of night?" my friends asked, "Wal-mart is already closed." "No problem," I replied, "we can download it free from the Net." And we did. And you can too, along with many other plays, both classical and contemporary. Web:
Playbill Online Who needs the newspaper when you can get access to this snazzy online magazine that offers news and information listings for Broadway, off-Broadway and national theater tours? Have fun browsing around or use Playbill's search mechanism for speedier results. Web:
Stagecraft The lure of the theater is hard to resist and even if you have no acting talent, it doesn't mean that you have to miss out on the magic. Arm yourself with tools, gadgets, plans and a great imagination, and you can be one of the all-important backstage magicians who create the stage, lighting, sets and costumes of the theater. Web:
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Theater Resources As long as you have Internet access, you will never have to be without a good dose of theater. These resources cover just about every theater topic imaginable. Now when you are left home on Saturday night because your BMW broke down and you can't get to the theater, you can amuse yourself with a virtual experience that has a compelling drama all its own. Web:
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