adolph@ssc-vax.UUCP (Mark Adolph) (02/15/85)
"Mr. Finch, if you was Black like me, you'd have been scared too..." Several months ago, when this newsgroup was the youngest and brightest star in the USENET constellation, I posted a request for advice on building a character. I pointed out at that time that I had not really acted in five years, and that was high school with a very uncritical audience (read "parents"). This, on the other hand, was a community theater production of "To Kill a Mockingbird" which, while not professional, was considerably more real. Well, the curtain goes up for Opening Night in 3.5 hours, and I'd just like to take this opportunity to say thanks to those who responded with suggestions. They were read and taken to heart; they have helped a lot. I find myself doing all those things that I've sat in the lighting booth and scoffed at actors for doing for years: questioning obscure and seemingly irrelevant details of the character's background, going off by myself to "get into the character" before going on and at intermission, etc. And I've found it to be an incredibly challenging activity; the difficulty of sitting onstage for 15 minutes with nothing to say, but maintaining concentration and staying in character amazed me. I'm happy to say, however, that I think I can act, at least well enough to turn in a creditable performance. I'm certainly not going to get any more work done here today since the squadron of butterflies in my stomach has been scrambled, so I'm going to leave here and go do my best to bust the hell out of my leg. -- Mark A. ...uw-beaver!ssc-vax!adolph