Open Forum

Had a cool reminder this weekend. Led to this blog post.

Thoughts Onstage And Off: We reach, we teach, we connect.

Scott,

I am currently in rehearsal for "Our Town" and your comments really resonated for me. I wrote previously on a different thread about how to stage this play and loved the many ideas and pieces of advice (including yours) that were given. I explored some of these ideas with the cast. In our early discussions we talked about how our modern culture and advancing technology is one of  the major causes of our becoming increasingly disconnected from one another. We first played with a kind of pre show cell phone movement piece (a la viewpointing style) on a grid. It was powerful but abstract. I have been (up to recently) racking my brain on how to transition from this part of the show to the real beginning of the script. I finally realized that this script is perfect in it's nuanced beauty and simplicity and doesn't need this added "hit on the head." In fact, I am finding the simpler the actors play the moments the more easily the moments shine through on stage. I am reminded of our responsibility as actors to truly honor the script. And, in this case, an almost perfect script.

So, my current challenge is really just staging and working with the dialect. My actors either fall into southern drawl or British...

Thanks for your post, Scott!

Jennifer,

It is amazing how the script reveals itself.

Dialect issues? Allow me to help. Thankfully, there is a man broadcasting to this day that possesses a TRUE NH accent: Fritz Weatherbee.

NH's tough, because it's not Boston, and it's not Maine. (Although it's much closer to Maine that it is to MA.)

I grew up around it, so it's easy for me to slip into, but it can be a nightmare. 

Here'e a link to a piece that Fritz did from Peterborough! Fritz speaks in a true educated NH accent without exaggeration, and bonus: he says the names Peterborough, Jaffrey, and Contoocook.

Peterborough NH Runaway Train (Fritz Wetherbee's New Hampshire)