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feadae · 7 years ago

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RULES: List ten of your favorite characters (male versions bc i’ve already done the female one) in ten different fandoms (in no particular order), and then tag ten people.

I was tagged by @frosttrix!

Favorites are so haaaaaaarrrrrd... And in ten different fandoms? Do I have favorite male characters in that many fandoms? Only one way to find out, I guess. Let’s see...

1. Very nearly any of the Caretakers from Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica by James A. Owen would easily make a favorites list, but I think Fred the Badger edges out just ahead of the rest of them. He’s just so sweet, and so eager to help in any way he can, and I love him. Fred Protection Squad. 2. Marco Alisdair from The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. He’s that reserved kind of intelligent, but no less capable than a louder person of kicking ass. Except he doesn’t kick ass physically--he does it with magic. Get you a boy who will build a magical circus for/with you. 3. Samwise Gamgee from The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien. Literally nothing against Frodo--I love him, too--but Sam did everything Frodo did and wasn’t corrupted by the Ring, despite his proximity to it for so long. And the whole time, he did his best to keep Frodo’s spirits up by reminding him of the home that he believed would be waiting for them when they finished their task. Also, the whole Shelob thing. Sort of important. Read: if it weren’t for Samwise Gamgee, Frodo Baggins would definitely have died before getting to Mordor. 4. Remus Lupin from Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling. Listen. Give a character a tragic backstory, and I’m immediately drawn to them and want to protect them. Give a character self-loathing issues and the resulting angst, and that protective instinct multiplies a hundredfold. Give that character a child they love who outlives them, and you’ve hit the Sympathetic Character Trifecta. Also, even if Lupin didn’t have all/any of those things, he’d still be the best DADA professor Harry’s ever had, and just an all-around cool guy. Remus Lupin Protection Squad. 5. Héctor [last name??] from Coco (dir. Lee Unkrich). So, Coco’s still relatively new, so I’m gonna avoid spoilers as much as I can, but Héctor’s got a tragic backstory, too, and it’s fucking heartbreaking. But it’s all the more heartbreaking because he manages to put on a cheerful, playful, lovable-scamp façade for almost the whole movie, and when the backstory is revealed, the façade drops, and my soul shatters. Aside from the tragic backstory, Héctor’s just such an endearing character. He’s so funny, and clever, and sweet, and don’t think I missed when he went from calling Miguel gordito, chamaco, etc. to m’ijo. Don’t think I missed it, Disney. 6. Giles Corey from The Crucible by Arthur Miller. So this one’s kind of cheating, since Giles Corey was a real person, but I have no idea what he was like in real life. I know what he’s like in the play, and it’s amazing. He’s a bit bumbling, but he’s still got his wits about him, and he’s contentious as all hell, but it’s understandable in his situation (as he says, “I know my rights, and I’ll have them”). He’s another Comic Relief Turned Tragic type, and it’s super impactful when he turns tragic. You see this can-do, independent, cantankerous old man break down and weep on stage because of a mistake he made, and that decision affects his choices for the rest of the show, and it’s so fucking sad, guys. 7. Neil Perry from Dead Poets Society (dir. Peter Weir). I love the whole cast of Dead Poets Society, but I’m drawn to Neil in particular because he wants desperately to be an actor (rather like someone we all know--nudge nudge wink wink), but his father won’t let him (thankfully unlike that same someone). So what does Neil do? He forges a permission letter from his father to let him audition for a local production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, where he ends up being cast as Puck. And on top of that, he does well in school but also breaks rules and is a large part of the driving force behind the Dead Poets Society being (re)started. He’s got huge amounts of wit and spirit and he (SPOILER) gets a sad ending, and my heart cries. Also, he’s played (expertly) by Robert Sean Leonard, which means he’s not exactly hard on the eyes. 8. Mercutio from William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Listen. Listen. It’s been a hot minute since I’ve read/seen R&J, so forgive me if I don’t remember most of Mercutio’s characterization, but his wit is my favorite thing about that whole Godforsaken play. His last words are a pun, people. He gets stabbed in the chest, and as he lies dying, he says, “If you look for me tomorrow, you shall find me a grave man.” A grave man. Fucking--Mercutio, y’all. 9. Again with the whole male cast being awesome (the female cast kicks ass, too, but unfortunately that’s not the question): The West Wing (written by Aaron Sorkin). It’s really tough to choose from among these guys, too, but I think I’m going to go with Charlie Young. This boy (I’m allowed to say boy--he’s, like, my age) is personal aide to President Bartlet, and he’s the quintessential Hufflepuff. The hardest worker you’ve ever met in your life, loyal as all hell to his loved ones (including his boss and the rest of the White House staff), and incredibly humble. Plus, he’s one of, like, two people in the country who gets to sass the President with minor to no repercussions. And he does it spectacularly, maintaining a polite facial expression and tone of voice the whole time. 10. Christopher Belling from Curtains (book: Rupert Holmes, music: John Kander, lyrics: Fred Ebb). Most of the guys in Curtains are guys I’d love to play, but Christopher Belling, British Sass Master, wins this time. He’s the director of the show-within-the-show, and literally the only thing he cares about is his show. Case in point: Curtains is a murder mystery, and when asked about how he feels about being in the same building as a murderer, his response? Oscar: “You can’t sleep either? Belling: “Knowing that someone in this company is going to change my blocking?!” This man. Completely and utterly shallow, but it’s hilarious. Another golden line is when he first learns that his leading lady (who wasn’t very good, nor was she popular with--well--anyone) has been murdered, his knee-jerk reaction is to ask, “And what are they going to do with her killer? Does he get some sort of trophy, or a Pontiac convertible?”

Are you sensing a few trends? I’m sensing a few trends. Oh, well.

I’ll tag @alienjack, @sublimegentlemanalpaca, @teabooksandsweets, @ofbadgersandblueberries, @fluffybishenanigans, @onedragontorulethemall, and anybody else who wants to fill this out!

#thanks for thinking of me frost!#get to know me

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movieswithkevin27 · 8 years ago

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The Age of Innocence

A gorgeous period piece from director Martin Scorsese, The Age of Innocence may be achingly slow, but it is equally gorgeous. Thoroughly Scorsese, the film is brilliantly captured from the cinematography to the staging with ambitious camera movements, transitions, and techniques utilized throughout. Matching the beautiful camera work, the film's plot is elegant and its dialogue is structured and stiff, perfect for the society portrayed. Set in the 1870s, the film is about a man named Newland Archer (Daniel Day-Lewis). Awaiting marriage to May Welland (Winona Ryder), he becomes infatuated with the Countess Ellen Olenska (Michelle Pfeiffer), who recently returned to New York society after time in Europe with her now-estranged husband, the Count. Now caught between what he should do and what he wants to do, Newland must make a decision that will have ramifications for centuries. Elegant, engaging, and gorgeous, The Age of Innocence may be too stiff for some, but for those willing to go along with it, it is a brilliant take down of New York society.

With an elegant, romantic, and truly rapturous score accenting the film, The Age of Innocence was always destined to be gorgeous. The score by Elmer Bernstein is tremendous and often takes center stage in this film with so many different highlights. Paired up with the tremendous score is the brilliant production design. Capturing the prim nature of the society, the buildings from the exterior and in the interior are dressed to the nines. Scenes of snow falling in the city only further highlight the beauty of the film's production design and the emotional coldness of its characters and the society in which they live. While the buildings are gorgeously crafted, they are hardly lively and instead represent the same structured and stiff nature of the society itself. The costume design, also beautiful, similarly communicates this rigidity. With corsets and detailed dresses that make statements on their own, this society is one that constantly demands its participants be "on". If a person is unable or unwilling to perform for society's eyes, they will not be accepted into the society. The terrific costume design highlights this with every woman dressed up for a ball throughout and the men all wearing suits that exceed their "Sunday best". Yet, the film is defined in small touches. For example, a windy day where all the men walk the streets and hold their bowler hats as they do so, for fear of it flying off due to the wind. The film is bolstered by small, detailed moments such as this and it it something that is found in the score, the production design, and the costume design.

In terms of the film's camera work, it is wholly unique. Naturally, there are eye candy shots in the cinematography of old New York, the homes of the people, and a gorgeous aerial shot that is quintessential Scorsese during the opening ball sequence. Shots set against the shoreline of Countess Olenska staring at the ocean with everything draped in an orange hue also stands as a true series of highlights, whether it be with the sun setting behind the lighthouse, a boat, or Countess Olenska. Yet, again, the film has some small touches that make its camera work truly stand out. Early in the film, it is marked by a sort of symmetry to the shots. The staging of people, candles, or paintings, highlight this symmetry that is not necessarily continued throughout, but is definitely worth mentioning and eye catching.

What makes this camera work unique is Scorsese's usage of lighting and the frame. For example, a sequence with Countess Olenska and Newland at the theatre, already in the throws of subtle courting, Scorsese uses a truly odd technique. For lack of a better term, it is a sort of racking iris. It is a spotlight placed on the two as they converse, highlighting how they are in a world of their own. The sound cuts out except for their conversation, in spite of being in a loud theater. They have eyes only for one another and the spotlight emphasizes this with the two staring longingly at one another. As the scene progresses, an angelic white light begins to appear behind Countess Olenska, further making her enticing and hinting at Newland's impending obsession with her and possessing her love and affection. This technique later returns towards the end of the film when Newland reads a letter to May from Countess Olenska in which she outlines her intentions to leave for Europe and return to her husband. With this iris spotlight exclusively on Newland's eyes as he reads the letter, you can feel the hurt, the pain, and the sense of loss as he must now re-focus his love on May or forever chase Countess Olenska's love, which would only bring shame and scandal upon his and her family. Prior to this scene though, Scorsese has the curtains close on Newland and May. With black edge of the frame closing in slowly on the couple and then appearing to be a stage curtain, the chapter and scene ends. They may remain together, but there is no longer that connection between them, as Newland has eyes only for the Countess.

One of the best sequences, however, comes at a party hosted by Newland and May that is to serve as the farewell party for Countess Olenska. There, Newland is told by a guest that one does not need to have grace to make it appear that they do, as long as they know the moves. Thus, it is easy to deceive people in their society. Walking into another room, the screen goes all red for a brief moment. The narrator then informs the viewer that Newland knows. Throughout dinner, everybody made it clear they knew Newland loves May and that Countless Olenska was accepted by them and eager to go back to Europe. They went through the motions and danced like they knew how to dance. They thought he and Countess Olenska were having an affair. It is certainly implied they are, but Scorsese refuses to show the gritty details. This is a film about appearances and it hardly matters whether they are or not. The fact remains the society believes they are and May believes they are. Her suspicions are even confirmed when she tells Countess Olenska that she is pregnant when she is not. Her pregnancy comes just two weeks later, but in the mean time, Ellen had already made plans to head off to Europe. This scene in which she tells Newland this is quite brilliantly written with May telling Newland she was sure that morning, but when confronted with the fact that she told Ellen two weeks prior, May pauses. With her head in his lap, she looks up and says, "And you see I was right." A brilliant double entendre relating to both the pregnancy and her presumed reaction to Ellen hearing Newland will be a father and settled in with May, the scene is brilliantly acted and written.

On that note, the acting throughout is tremendous. As always, Daniel Day-Lewis is brilliant. That goes without saying. However, he is matched by an elegant and graceful turn from Winona Ryder. Had she not ruined her reputation via that shoplifting arrest, it is clear that she had a great career awaiting her in The Age of Innocence. She matches Day-Lewis step-for-step throughout and steals scenes from the legend with ease. Alongside Michelle Pfeiffer, another brilliant actor who turns in a great performance here, Ryder steals even more scenes. No actor is safe in this film from Ryder's performance as a girl who knows more than she let's on, but is firmly a part of this society of appearances and avoiding scandals. She is a society girl and looking for a man to play that part with her, without regard for love or affection. Through Newland, she finds that man without having to explain her intentions to him. Of course, the acting is further bolstered by the writing that leaves much the imagination, in spite of the narrator. Though the narrator explains many of the characters' various thoughts throughout the film, the script still finds a way to never tell as much as it shows, which is a major accomplishment.

But, even though the film shows Newland conform with society, it is a terrific taken criticism of this society. Via the epilogue with Newland's son Ted (Robert Sean Leonard) set years after the events of the rest of the film, it is revealed that Ted will be married to the daughter of Julius Beaumont (Stuart Wilson) and Annie King. At the time of the events of the film, Julius was in financial straits and Annie was his mistress. Now married to her and with a daughter from the marriage, Ted is to be her husband and the two families are to be connected. Criticizing the fact that Beaumont was chastised and ostracized for following his heart, Ted asks his father to forget his past actions because they occurred so long ago. This, of course, is occurring as the pair head to a meeting with Ellen. Ted, in an attempt to let his father follow his heart, had set up the meeting. However, Newland must decide whether or not he is willing to see the life he gave up. He loves his children, but possibly rekindling those emotions and making him regret those children and the life he led is hardly in the question.

Terrific on every front, the only one where the film falters is the pacing and length. Together, the film is quite formidable. While elegant, romantic, and gorgeously crafted, it is just far too slow to be a true triumph. While it has some of the best writing, design, and camera work that Scorsese has to offer cinema, he takes his foot off the gas far too often. Mind you, this allows scenes to breathe and the time the film takes to develop everything is worthwhile, but it hardly makes it nearly as engaging as some of his very best works. That said, it is hard not to recommend The Age of Innocence due to its technical brilliance, its writing, and its acting. While it may not be a film to watch while tired, it is still a beautiful work of art that presents a gorgeously bittersweet image of New York society in the 1870s.

#film analysis #film reviews #1993 movies #1990s movies #the age of innocence #martin scorsese #daniel day-lewis #michelle pfeiffer #winona ryder #jonathan pryce #geraldine chaplin #robert sean leonard

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dulwichdiverter · 5 years ago

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In good voice

WORDS BY ALEXANDRA BOYD

Barbara Houseman has lived in East Dulwich for 26 years. She’s a voice and acting coach and theatre director and has been teaching from her Victorian terraced house since the 1990s. She’s also recently built a sleek, calm studio in her verdant back garden to teach meditation and mindfulness.

“In 1993 I was living in a flat in Leyton and wanted to buy a house,” Barbara tells me in her beautiful garden that’s bursting with greenery. “I wanted to buy something there but all the places I saw either had rooms painted bright purple or dreadful 1960s stone-clad mini-bars.

“My good friends Chris Elwell and Jackie Eley, who run the Half Moon Theatre in Limehouse, had lived in East Dulwich for years and suggested I check it out. The prices were comparable to Leyton at that time so I viewed four houses but nearly didn’t go into the last one because it was next to a builder’s yard. Fortunately I took a look and was immediately sold on it because it has a high-walled and very private garden – something I’d always wanted.”

The plot next door had originally been a dairy. Later her neighbours were a glazing company and then, after sitting empty for two years, it became the subject of an episode of Grand Designs when a young family developed the building into a home.

Barbara’s seen many changes along Lordship Lane since the 90s. “East Dulwich was very different then,” she says. “It was far less trendy. But some of the stalwarts were here, like Tandoori Nights – which is still my favourite Indian restaurant despite many other choices now.

“Then there’s the Cheese Block, Dulwich DIY and AJ Farmer – which we call The Everything Shop. It’s a bit of a shock when they don’t have something you need but it rarely happens.

“Sugar, near Goose Green, opened later but recently closed and I’m still mourning the loss of my favourite clothes shop.”

Barbara says it was when Clapham started becoming prohibitively expensive that people began moving east – and the local pubs slowly started becoming gastropubs. She says the trains to London Bridge were very unreliable back then.

“I don’t know why they had a timetable because they seemed to be just making it up. My first [housemate] moved out because she couldn’t deal with no Tube and having to get everywhere on the bus!”

As well as directing, Barbara taught at Drama Studio London for six years and then joined the voice department at the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC), where she worked with actors like Kenneth Branagh and Joseph Fiennes, alongside the renowned voice coach Cicely Berry, who died last year aged 92.

“East Dulwich was a great location [for working at the RSC],” she says. “It was an 18-minute drive to the RSC rehearsal rooms in Clapham and later, when I was working at the Young Vic, I would car-share with the director Tim Supple who lived nearby.”

She says the area was full of theatre people and artists because it was affordable back then.

After a year as associate director at the Young Vic, Barbara went freelance, which gave her the time to write her books. She worked in the corporate world, teaching communication, mentoring and management skills and still takes private clients.

In the early noughties she split her time between London and Le Verdier, near Toulouse, where her then husband had a house. She led a completely different life in France. They owned two horses and rode in endurance competitions and as well as her writing, she spent time clearing woods and fencing fields.

Barbara’s books Finding Your Voice and Tackling Text [and subtext] are read by actors, drama students and people who speak in public. The books explain the techniques that she teaches in her classes.

Finding Your Voice is about developing self confidence and a strong and healthy voice. Tackling Text teaches how to work with classic and contemporary texts.

The books accompany her two filmed masterclasses, Developing Your Voice and Bringing Text To Life, collectively called Actor Food, which are both available to download from her website.

Voice teaching is a very niche profession, and one that is often overlooked and unsung. Barbara has discovered that her particular brand of voice work is one of the essential processes the actors she works with use to create a character. So what drew her to the work?

“In the late 1950s my mother met a lady on a train who was an elocution teacher,” she says.

“Mum and dad wanted me to be socially confident because they weren’t and Mum was very hot on education. So I had 14 years of lessons with Mrs Melene – lessons which became cheaper and longer as time went on.

“She gave me a list of books and plays to read to get into the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama – hardly any of which were ever mentioned during the course! But it was an invaluable grounding.

“Mrs Melene had trained at Central under Elsie Fogerty, who started the school. So my tradition, as well as working with Cicely Berry at the RSC, goes right back to the beginning.

“When I was about eight she suggested I should train to be a voice teacher. I think I wasn’t a very good actor then, and my mother wanted me to teach, so I applied for Central and got in. My parents would have preferred I went to university but off I went.

“The course at Central was focused on teaching in schools but, despite having a huge respect for people who do, I knew it wasn’t for me. I got through my teaching practice on Mars Bars and tears, but came out of Central loving voice work and directing.”

Barbara graduated from the directing course at Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, got an Arts Council director’s bursary and worked at the Palace Theatre in Westcliff-on-Sea. “I was supposed to be there as an assistant but I never assisted anything – I just directed eight plays,” she says.

However, she did later have the chance to assist the renowned theatre director Mike Alfreds, who founded Shared Experience.

“Nicholas Nickleby at the RSC came out of his work, which was seminal at the time in terms of adapting classic novels for the stage,” says Barbara. “I learned a huge amount from him. His book Different Every Night is well worth reading.”

Today Barbara’s role ranges from working on voice and text with theatre companies through their entire season of plays to one-on-one work with actors who are preparing for a film or TV role.

In 2006 she started working with Daniel Radcliffe in the run-up to his role in Equus and they’ve been working on his various film and theatre projects ever since. For the last six years she’s also been season associate director at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre.

“One of my proudest moments was being part of the team that went on stage to collect the Olivier for best musical revival for Jesus Christ Superstar,” she says. The production, now in its third iteration at the Barbican, is about to tour America.

Barbara has also worked on To Kill A Mockingbird with Robert Sean Leonard, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time in the West End and on tour, and The Ferryman at the Royal Court, directed by Sam Mendes.

She has also been involved with director Jamie Lloyd’s productions of Richard III with Martin Freeman, Macbeth with James McAvoy and Claire Foy, and Dr Faustus with Kit Harington.

Barbara worked with our local MP Helen Hayes when she was a local councillor and for many years with Olivier-nominated actress, playwright and spokeswoman for the Women’s Equality Party Athena Stevens, whose speech is affected by cerebral palsy.

She has a vast range of clients including those with sight and hearing issues and she’s done work with Freedom from Torture – a charity that works to rehabilitate victims of torture.

In 1986 Barbara trained as a healing shiatsu practitioner and discovered mindful meditation, which has been a huge part of her personal life ever since.

She learnt what she knows from Kristin Neff, who’s a leading researcher on self-compassion along with the Dutch psychotherapist Erik van den Brink.

Expanding her classes was the impetus behind creating a larger workspace and this year sees the opening of the Barbara Houseman Studio in her garden, where she will be teaching mindfulness and self-compassion alongside voice, acting and communication skills.

She’s exploring mindfulness for both actors and non-actors and offering courses in performance anxiety, confidence and public speaking.

“One of the reasons I’m drawn to these practices is because I realised I am already folding elements of them into my work,” she says. “Being a good actor is about being mindful. There’s a huge link.

“Mindfulness in acting and mindfulness in real life are really the same thing and mindfulness is one of the things that can free actors, and non-actors, from anxiety and worry and enable them to produce their best work.”

Photo by Paul Stafford

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larryland · 6 years ago

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by Jenny Hansell

There was a moment at the beginning of the Barrington Stage Company production of West Side Story where Riff, the leader of the Jets gang, takes two short steps and then sort of lifts off – his bent leg rising to the side, his shoulders in a shrug. It looked effortless, and my heart lept as I watched it – I knew immediately that this show was going to be danced at the highest level.

The two gangs establish their identities in that first number: the Jets own the turf, and they slide, smoothly, their jumps soft and controlled. The Sharks, the interlopers, are more explosive yet wary, going from low strides to sudden high side kicks, then back to a crouch, looking over their shoulders. The menace, the threat of violence on either side that could boil and explode at any moment – somehow it felt very real at every moment.

The original Jerome Robbins choreography was meticulously recreated for this production by Robert La Fosse and Nicholas Barr, both of whom danced with Robbins extensively. The Mambo scene at the gym was thrilling, America was spectacular, and even the dream ballet during There’s A Place for Us, which has seemed absurd in other productions I’ve sene and is often cut, was lovely and heart-wrenching.

The cast was terrific – young, appealing, and enormously talented. Addie Morales was a sweet and innocent Maria, with a gorgeous clear soprano voice. Her character has to progress from the naive girl in all white, to the grieving woman in red at the end, and Morales nailed it, imbuing the often-mawkish scene at the end when Maria grabs the gun and points it at the others with full-throated rage. The 16-year-old Broadway fanatic in the seat next to me nearly jumped out of her seat when she saw that Riff was played by Tyler Hanes, who has a half-dozen Broadway credits, most notably (to her anway), in Hairspray, and just about expired with joy when she saw that the actor playing the smart-mouth Jet, A-Rab, Kyle Coffman, had been in the original Broadway cast of Newsies. They (and the rest of the Sharks and Jets) were terrific dancers, embodying the pent-up fury and seething machismo that animates their feud and powers numbers like “Cool” and “The Rumble”.

As Tony, Will Branner was intense, almost snarling in “Something’s Coming.” His voice is so huge he was sometimes overmiked. The true standout was Skyler Volpe as Anita. Equally strong as an actor, singer and dancer, she was perfection in Tonight, and was practically larger-than-life in America.

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The production design was top-shelf as well, particularly the set, by Kristen Robinson. Chain link fences, a balcony, a broken-down playground, all moved smoothly and quickly in and out, and the twinkling windows on the darkened set during “Tonight” were breathtaking.

The dialogue of West Side Story hasn’t aged well–the creaky “daddy-o’s” and “ooblie-oohs” can take you right out of the mood. I was prepared to coast from one dance number to the next and space out as needed during the spoken scenes. But this cast and this production kept me riveted.

I have a proposal for Ms. Boyd: collaborate with the Boston Symphony Orchestra to bring this production to Tanglewood with the full BSO. It would solve the only problem with the Barrington Stage Company production: the orchestra wasn’t always at the level it should have been to match the dancing, and the sound from under the stage wasn’t great. And it would solve my quibble with the Tanglewood live orchestra production two weeks ago: the sound from the film was tinny and out of balance with the glorious orchestra. But a full symphony with this terrific cast – now that would be a show for the ages.

West Side Story, based on a conception of Jerome Robbins, based on Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Book by Arthur Laurents, Music by Leonard Bernstein, Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, Entire original production directed and choreographed by Jerome Robbins. Music Direction by Darren R. Cohen, Original Choreography reproduced by Robert La Fosse, Directed by Julianne Boyd. Cast: Addie Morales (Maria); Will Branner (Tony); Skyler Volpe (Anita); Sean Ewing (Bernardo); Tyler Hanes (Riff); Alex Swift (Chino); Juan Caballer (Action); Douglas Rees (Schrank/Gladhand); Gordon Stanley (Doc); Christopher Tucci (Krupke); Julio Catano (Pepe); Jerusha Cavazos (Consuela); Linedy Genao (Rosalia) Hannah Balagot (Anybodys); Michael Pesko (Diesel); Dylan Gabriel Hoffinger (Baby John); Kyle Coffman (A-Rab); Raynor Rubel (Snowboy/Big Deal); Abbey Hunt (Velma); Kelly Loughran (Graziella); Jennifer Gruener (Pauline); Tamrin Goldberg (Francisca); Magdalena Rodriguez (Teresita); Sarah Crane (Minnie/Margarita); Danny Bevins (Indio); Antony Sanchez (Nibbles); Brandon Keith Rogers (swing) Scenic Designer: Kristen Robinson, Costume Designer: Sara Jean Tosetti, Wig Designer: Dave Bova, Lighting Designer: David Lander, Sound Designer: Matthew Kraus. Runs August 3 – September 1 at Barrington Stage Company at 30 Union Street, Pittsfield, MA. Tickets available at https://barringtonstageco.org/Season-Shows/west-side-story/ or (413)236-8888. Runing time 2 ½ hours including one intermission.

REVIEW: “West Side Story” at Barrington Stage by Jenny Hansell There was a moment at the beginning of the Barrington Stage Company production of…

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deafhard-blog · 7 years ago

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Full list of Grammy Awards Nominations 2018, Jay-Z leads!

New Post https://obodoinfo.co/full-list-grammy-awards-nominations-2018-jay-z-leads/

Full list of Grammy Awards Nominations 2018, Jay-Z leads!

We’ve got the full list of Grammy Awards 2018 nominations right… so check through the below list to see if your favourite artistes are placed in a desirable category.

Jay-Z is leading the pack this year as he has scored 8 nominations for the 60th Grammy Awards followed by Kendrick Lamar with seven, Bruno Mars with six; and Childish Gambino (aka actor Donald Glover)SZA and Khalid, and producer 4:44 producer,No I.D. with five each.

Full List below

Record Of The Year: “Redbone” — Childish Gambino “Despacito” — Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee Featuring Justin Bieber “The Story Of O.J.” — Jay-Z “HUMBLE.” — Kendrick Lamar “24K Magic” — Bruno Mars

Album Of The Year: “Awaken, My Love!” — Childish Gambino 4:44 — Jay-Z DAMN. — Kendrick Lamar Melodrama — Lorde 24K Magic — Bruno Mars

Song Of The Year: “Despacito” — Ramón Ayala, Justin Bieber, Jason “Poo Bear” Boyd, Erika Ender, Luis Fonsi & Marty James Garton, songwriters (Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee Featuring Justin Bieber) “4:44” — Shawn Carter & Dion Wilson, songwriters (Jay-Z) “Issues” — Benny Blanco, Mikkel Storleer Eriksen, Tor Erik Hermansen, Julia Michaels & Justin Drew Tranter, songwriters (Julia Michaels) “1-800-273-8255” — Alessia Caracciolo, Sir Robert Bryson Hall II, Arjun Ivatury & Khalid Robinson, songwriters (Logic Featuring Alessia Cara & Khalid) “That’s What I Like” — Christopher Brody Brown, James Fauntleroy, Philip Lawrence, Bruno Mars, Ray Charles McCullough II, Jeremy Reeves, Ray Romulus & Jonathan Yip, songwriters (Bruno Mars)

Best New Artist: Alessia Cara Khalid Lil Uzi Vert Julia Michaels SZA

POP FIELD

Best Pop Solo Performance: “Love So Soft” — Kelly Clarkson “Praying” — Kesha “Million Reasons” — Lady Gaga “What About Us” — P!nk “Shape Of You” — Ed Sheeran

Best Pop Duo/Group Performance: “Something Just Like This” — The Chainsmokers & Coldplay “Despacito” — Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee Featuring Justin Bieber “Thunder” — Imagine Dragons “Feel It Still” — Portugal. The Man “Stay” — Zedd & Alessia Cara

Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album: Nobody But Me (Deluxe Version) — Michael Bublé Triplicate — Bob Dylan In Full Swing — Seth MacFarlane Wonderland — Sarah McLachlan Tony Bennett Celebrates 90 — (Various Artists) Dae Bennett, Producer

Best Pop Vocal Album: Kaleidoscope EP — Coldplay Lust For Life — Lana Del Rey Evolve — Imagine Dragons Rainbow — Kesha Joanne — Lady Gaga ÷ (Divide) — Ed Sheeran

DANCE/ELECTRONIC FIELD

Best Dance Recording: “Bambro Koyo Ganda” — Bonobo Featuring Innov Gnawa “Cola” — Camelphat & Elderbrook “Andromeda” — Gorillaz Featuring DRAM “Tonite” — LCD Soundsystem “Line Of Sight” — Odesza Featuring WYNNE & Mansionair

Best Dance/Electronic Album: Migration — Bonobo 3-D The Catalogue — Kraftwerk Mura Masa — Mura Masa A Moment Apart — Odesza What Now — Sylvan Esso

CONTEMPORARY INSTRUMENTAL FIELD

Best Contemporary Instrumental Album: What If — The Jerry Douglas Band Spirit — Alex Han Mount Royal — Julian Lage & Chris Eldridge Prototype — Jeff Lorber Fusion Bad Hombre — Antonio Sanchez

ROCK FIELD

Best Rock Performance: “You Want It Darker” — Leonard Cohen “The Promise” — Chris Cornell “Run” — Foo Fighters “No Good” — Kaleo “Go To War” — Nothing More

Best Metal Performance: “Invisible Enemy” — August Burns Red “Black Hoodie” — Body Count “Forever” — Code Orange “Sultan’s Curse” — Mastodon “Clockworks” — Meshuggah

Best Rock Song: “Atlas, Rise!” — James Hetfield & Lars Ulrich, songwriters (Metallica) “Blood In The Cut” — JT Daly & Kristine Flaherty, songwriters (K.Flay) “Go To War” — Ben Anderson, Jonny Hawkins, Will Hoffman, Daniel Oliver, David Pramik & Mark Vollelunga, songwriters (Nothing More) “Run” — Foo Fighters, songwriters (Foo Fighters) “The Stage” — Zachary Baker, Brian Haner, Matthew Sanders, Jonathan Seward & Brooks Wackerman, songwriters (Avenged Sevenfold)

Best Rock Album: Emperor Of Sand — Mastodon Hardwired…To Self-Destruct — Metallica The Stories We Tell Ourselves — Nothing More Villains — Queens Of The Stone Age A Deeper Understanding — The War On Drugs

ALTERNATIVE FIELD

Best Alternative Music Album: Everything Now — Arcade Fire Humanz — Gorillaz American Dream — LCD Soundsystem Pure Comedy — Father John Misty Sleep Well Beast — The National

R&B FIELD

Best R&B Performance: “Get You” — Daniel Caesar Featuring Kali Uchis “Distraction” — Kehlani “High” — Ledisi “That’s What I Like” — Bruno Mars “The Weekend” — SZA

Best Traditional R&B Performance: “Laugh And Move On” — The Baylor Project “Redbone” — Childish Gambino “What I’m Feelin’” — Anthony Hamilton Featuring The Hamiltones| “All The Way” — Ledisi “Still” — Mali Music

Best R&B Song: “First Began” — PJ Morton, songwriter (PJ Morton) “Location” — Alfredo Gonzalez, Olatunji Ige, Samuel David Jiminez, Christopher McClenney, Khalid Robinson & Joshua Scruggs, songwriters (Khalid) “Redbone” — Donald Glover & Ludwig Goransson, songwriters (Childish Gambino) “Supermodel” — Tyran Donaldson, Terrence Henderson, Greg Landfair Jr., Solana Rowe & Pharrell Williams, songwriters (SZA) “That’s What I Like” — Christopher Brody Brown, James Fauntleroy, Philip Lawrence, Bruno Mars, Ray Charles McCullough II, Jeremy Reeves, Ray Romulus & Jonathan Yip, songwriters (Bruno Mars)

Best Urban Contemporary Album: Free 6LACK — 6LACK “Awaken, My Love!” — Childish Gambino American Teen — Khalid Ctrl — SZA Starboy — The Weeknd

Best R&B Album: Freudian — Daniel Caesar Let Love Rule — Ledisi 24K Magic — Bruno Mars Gumbo — PJ Morton Feel The Real –Musiq Soulchild

RAP FIELD

Best Rap Performance: “Bounce Back” — Big Sean “Bodak Yellow” — Cardi B “4:44” — Jay-Z “HUMBLE.” — Kendrick Lamar “Bad And Boujee” — Migos Featuring Lil Uzi Vert

Best Rap/Sung Performance: “PRBLMS” — 6LACK “Crew” — Goldlink Featuring Brent Faiyaz & Shy Glizzy “Family Feud” — Jay-Z Featuring Beyoncé “LOYALTY.” — Kendrick Lamar Featuring Rihanna “Love Galore” — SZA Featuring Travis Scott

Best Rap Song: “Bodak Yellow” — Dieuson Octave, Klenord Raphael, Shaftizm, Jordan Thorpe, Washpoppin & J White, songwriters (Cardi B) “Chase Me” — Judah Bauer, Brian Burton, Hector Delgado, Jaime Meline, Antwan Patton, Michael Render, Russell Simins & Jon Spencer, songwriters (Danger Mouse Featuring Run The Jewels & Big Boi) “HUMBLE.” — Duckworth, Asheton Hogan & M. Williams II, songwriters (Kendrick Lamar) “Sassy” — Gabouer & M. Evans, songwriters (Rapsody) “The Story Of O.J.” — Shawn Carter & Dion Wilson, songwriters (Jay-Z)

Best Rap Album: 4:44 — Jay-Z DAMN. — Kendrick Lamar Culture — Migos Laila’s Wisdom — Rapsody Flower Boy — Tyler, The Creator

COUNTRY FIELD

Best Country Solo Performance: “Body Like A Back Road” — Sam Hunt “Losing You: –Alison Krauss “Tin Man” — Miranda Lambert “I Could Use A Love Song” — Maren Morris “Either Way” — Chris Stapleton

Best Country Duo/Group Performance: “It Ain’t My Fault” — Brothers Osborne “My Old Man” — Zac Brown Band “You Look Good” — Lady Antebellum “Better Man” — Little Big Town “Drinkin’ Problem” — Midland

Best Country Song: “Better Man” — Taylor Swift, songwriter (Little Big Town) “Body Like A Back Road” — Zach Crowell, Sam Hunt, Shane McAnally & Josh Osborne, songwriters (Sam Hunt) “Broken Halos” — Mike Henderson & Chris Stapleton, songwriters (Chris Stapleton) “Drinkin’ Problem” — Jess Carson, Cameron Duddy, Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne & Mark Wystrach, songwriters (Midland) “Tin Man” — Jack Ingram, Miranda Lambert & Jon Randall, songwriters (Miranda Lambert)

Best Country Album: Cosmic Hallelujah — Kenny Chesney Heart Break — Lady Antebellum The Breaker — Little Big Town Life Changes — Thomas Rhett From A Room: Volume 1 — Chris Stapleton

NEW AGE FIELD

Best New Age Album: Reflection — Brian Eno SongVersation: Medicine — India.Arie Dancing On Water — Peter Kater Sacred Journey Of Ku-Kai, Volume 5 — Kitaro Spiral Revelation — Steve Roach

JAZZ FIELD

Best Improvised Jazz Solo: “Can’t Remember Why” — Sara Caswell, soloist “Dance Of Shiva” — Billy Childs, soloist “Whisper Not” — Fred Hersch, soloist “Miles Beyond” — John McLaughlin, soloist “Ilimba” — Chris Potter, soloist

Best Jazz Vocal Album: The Journey — The Baylor Project A Social Call — Jazzmeia Horn Bad Ass And Blind — Raul Midón Porter Plays Porter — Randy Porter Trio With Nancy King Dreams And Daggers — Cécile McLorin Salvant

Best Jazz Instrumental Album: Uptown, Downtown — Bill Charlap Trio Rebirth — Billy Childs Project Freedom –Joey DeFrancesco & The People Open Book — Fred Hersch The Dreamer Is The Dream — Chris Potter

Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album: MONK’estra Vol. 2 — John Beasley Jigsaw — Alan Ferber Big Band Bringin’ It — Christian McBride Big Band Homecoming — Vince Mendoza & WDR Big Band Cologne Whispers On The Wind — Chuck Owen And The Jazz Surge

Best Latin Jazz Album: Hybrido – From Rio To Wayne Shorter — Antonio Adolfo Oddara — Jane Bunnett & Maqueque Outra Coisa – The Music Of Moacir Santos — Anat Cohen & Marcello Gonçalves Típico — Miguel Zenón Jazz Tango — Pablo Ziegler Trio

GOSPEL/ CONTEMPORARY CHRISTIAN MUSIC FIELD

Best Gospel Performance/Song: “Too Hard Not To” — Tina Campbell “You Deserve It” — JJ Hairston & Youthful Praise Featuring Bishop Cortez Vaughn “Better Days” — Le’Andria “My Life” — The Walls Group “Never Have To Be Alone” — CeCe Winans

Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song: “Oh My Soul” — Casting Crowns “Clean” — Natalie Grant “What A Beautiful Name” — Hillsong Worship “Even If” — MercyMe “Hills And Valleys” — Tauren Wells

Best Gospel Album: Crossover: Live From Music City — Travis Greene Bigger Than Me — Le’Andria Close — Marvin Sapp Sunday Song — Anita Wilson Let Them Fall In Love — CeCe Winans

Best Contemporary Christian Music Album: Rise — Danny Gokey Echoes (Deluxe Edition) — Matt Maher Lifer — MercyMe Hills And Valleys — Tauren Wells Chain Breaker — Zach Williams

Best Roots Gospel Album: The Best Of The Collingsworth Family – Volume 1 — The Collingsworth Family Give Me Jesus — Larry Cordle Resurrection — Joseph Habedank Sing It Now: Songs Of Faith & Hope — Reba McEntire Hope For All Nations — Karen Peck & New River

LATIN FIELD

Best Latin Pop Album: Lo Único Constante — Alex Cuba Mis Planes Son Amarte — Juanes Amar Y Vivir En Vivo Desde La Ciudad De México, 2017 — La Santa Cecilia Musas (Un Homenaje Al Folclore Latinoamericano En Manos De Los Macorinos) — Natalia Lafourcade El Dorado — Shakira

Best Latin Rock, Urban or Alternative Album: Ayo — Bomba Estéreo Pa’ Fuera — C4 Trío & Desorden Público Salvavidas De Hielo — Jorge Drexler El Paradise — Los Amigos Invisibles Residente — Residente

Best Regional Mexican Music Album (Including Tejano): Ni Diablo Ni Santo — Julión Álvarez Y Su Norteño Banda Ayer Y Hoy — Banda El Recodo De Cruz Lizárraga Momentos — Alex Campos Arriero Somos Versiones Acústicas — Aida Cuevas Zapateando En El Norte — Humberto Novoa, producer (Various Artists)

Best Tropical Latin Album: Albita — Albita Art Of The Arrangement — Doug Beavers Salsa Big Band — Rubén Blades Con Roberto Delgado & Orquesta Gente Valiente — Silvestre Dangond Indestructible — Diego El Cigala

AMERICAN ROOTS MUSIC FIELD

Best American Roots Performance: Killer Diller Blues — Alabama Shakes Let My Mother Live — Blind Boys Of Alabama Arkansas Farmboy — Glen Campbell Steer Your Way — Leonard Cohen I Never Cared For You — Alison Krauss

Best American Roots Song: “Cumberland Gap” — David Rawlings “I Wish You Well” — The Mavericks “If We Were Vampires” — Jason Isbell And The 400 Unit “It Ain’t Over Yet” — Rodney Crowell Featuring Rosanne Cash & John Paul White “My Only True Friend” –Gregg Allman

Best Americana Album: Southern Blood — Gregg Allman Shine On Rainy Day — Brent Cobb Beast Epic — Iron & Wine The Nashville Sound — Jason Isbell And The 400 Unit Brand New Day — The Mavericks

Best Bluegrass Album: Fiddler’s Dream — Michael Cleveland Laws Of Gravity — The Infamous Stringdusters Original — Bobby Osborne Universal Favorite — Noam Pikelny All The Rage – In Concert Volume One [Live] — Rhonda Vincent And The Rage

Best Traditional Blues Album: Migration Blues — Eric Bibb Elvin Bishop’s Big Fun Trio — Elvin Bishop’s Big Fun Trio Roll And Tumble — R.L. Boyce Sonny & Brownie’s Last Train — Guy Davis & Fabrizio Poggi Blue & Lonesome — The Rolling Stones

Best Contemporary Blues Album: Robert Cray & Hi Rhythm — Robert Cray & Hi Rhythm Recorded Live In Lafayette — Sonny Landreth TajMo — Taj Mahal & Keb’ Mo’ Got Soul — Robert Randolph & The Family Band Live From The Fox Oakland — Tedeschi Trucks Band

Best Folk Album: Mental Illness — Aimee Mann Semper Femina — Laura Marling The Queen Of Hearts — Offa Rex You Don’t Own Me Anymore — The Secret Sisters The Laughing Apple — Yusuf / Cat Stevens

Best Regional Roots Music Album: Top Of The Mountain — Dwayne Dopsie And The Zydeco Hellraisers Ho’okena 3.0 — Ho’okena Kalenda — Lost Bayou Ramblers Miyo Kekisepa, Make A Stand [Live] — Northern Cree Pua Kiele — Josh Tatofi

REGGAE FIELD

Best Reggae Album: Chronology — Chronixx Lost In Paradise — Common Kings Wash House Ting — J Boog Stony Hill — Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley Avrakedabra — Morgan Heritage

WORLD MUSIC FIELD

Best World Music Album: Memoria De Los Sentidos — Vicente Amigo Para Mi — Buika Rosa Dos Ventos — Anat Cohen & Trio Brasileiro Shaka Zulu Revisited: 30th Anniversary Celebration — Ladysmith Black Mambazo Elwan — Tinariwen

CHILDREN’S FIELD

Best Children’s Album: Brighter Side — Gustafer Yellowgold Feel What U Feel — Lisa Loeb Lemonade — Justin Roberts Rise Shine #Woke — Alphabet Rockers Songs Of Peace & Love For Kids & Parents Around The World — Ladysmith Black Mambazo

SPOKEN WORD FIELD

Best Spoken Word Album (Includes Poetry, Audio Books & Storytelling): Astrophysics For People In A Hurry — Neil Degrasse Tyson Born To Run — Bruce Springsteen Confessions Of A Serial Songwriter — Shelly Peiken Our Revolution: A Future to Believe In (Bernie Sanders) — Bernie Sanders And Mark Ruffalo The Princess Diarist — Carrie Fisher

COMEDY FIELD

Best Comedy Album: The Age Of Spin & Deep In The Heart Of Texas — Dave Chappelle Cinco — Jim Gaffigan Jerry Before Seinfeld — Jerry Seinfeld A Speck Of Dust — Sarah Silverman What Now? — Kevin Hart

MUSICAL THEATER FIELD

Best Musical Theater Album: Come From Away — Ian Eisendrath, August Eriksmoen, David Hein, David Lai & Irene Sankoff, producers; David Hein & Irene Sankoff, composers/lyricists (Original Broadway Cast Recording) Dear Evan Hansen — Ben Platt, principal soloist; Alex Lacamoire, Stacey Mindich, Benj Pasek & Justin Paul, producers; Benj Pasek & Justin Paul, composers/lyricists (Original Broadway Cast Recording) Hello, Dolly! — Bette Midler, principal soloist; Steven Epstein, producer (Jerry Herman, composer & lyricist) (New Broadway Cast Recording)

MUSIC FOR VISUAL MEDIA FIELD

Best Compilation Soundtrack For Visual Media: Baby Driver — (Various Artists) Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2: Awesome Mix Vol. 2 — (Various Artists) Hidden Figures: The Album — (Various Artists) La La Land — (Various Artists) Moana: The Songs — (Various Artists)

Best Score Soundtrack For Visual Media: Arrival — Jóhann Jóhannsson, composer Dunkirk — Hans Zimmer, composer Game Of Thrones: Season 7 — Ramin Djawadi, composer Hidden Figures — Benjamin Wallfisch, Pharrell Williams & Hans Zimmer, composers La La Land — Justin Hurwitz, composer

Best Song Written For Visual Media: “City Of Stars” — Justin Hurwitz, Benj Pasek & Justin Paul, songwriters (Ryan Gosling & Emma Stone) “How Far I’ll Go” — Lin-Manuel Miranda, songwriter (Auli’i Cravalho) “I Don’t Wanna Live Forever (‘Fifty Shades Darker’)” — Jack Antonoff, Sam Dew & Taylor Swift, songwriters (Zayn & Taylor Swift) “Never Give Up” — Sia Furler & Greg Kurstin, songwriters (Sia) “Stand Up For Something” — Common & Diane Warren, songwriters (Andra Day Featuring Common)

COMPOSING/ ARRANGING FIELD

Best Instrumental Composition: “Alkaline” — Pascal Le Boeuf, composer (Le Boeuf Brothers & JACK Quartet) “Choros #3” — Vince Mendoza, composer (Vince Mendoza & WDR Big Band Cologne) “Home Free (For Peter Joe)” — Nate Smith, composer (Nate Smith) “Three Revolutions” — Arturo O’Farrill, composer (Arturo O’Farrill & Chucho Valdés) “Warped Cowboy” — Chuck Owen, composer (Chuck Owen And The Jazz Surge)

Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella: “All Hat, No Saddle” — Chuck Owen, arranger (Chuck Owen And The Jazz Surge) “Escapades For Alto Saxophone And Orchestra From Catch Me If You Can” — John Williams, arranger (John Williams) “Home Free (For Peter Joe)” — Nate Smith, arranger (Nate Smith) “Ugly Beauty/Pannonica” — John Beasley, arranger (John Beasley) “White Christmas” — Chris Walden, arranger (Herb Alpert)

Best Arrangement, Instruments and Vocals: “Another Day Of Sun” — Justin Hurwitz, arranger (La La Land Cast) “Every Time We Say Goodbye” — Jorge Calandrelli, arranger (Clint Holmes Featuring Jane Monheit) “I Like Myself” — Joel McNeely, arranger (Seth MacFarlane) “I Loves You Porgy/There’s A Boat That’s Leavin’ Soon For New York” — Shelly Berg, Gregg Field, Gordon Goodwin & Clint Holmes, arrangers (Clint Holmes Featuring Dee Dee Bridgewater And The Count Basie Orchestra) “Putin” — Randy Newman, arranger (Randy Newman)

PACKAGE FIELD

Best Recording Package: El Orisha De La Rosa — Claudio Roncoli & Cactus Taller, art directors (Magín Díaz) Mura Masa — Alex Crossan & Matt De Jong, art directors (Mura Masa) Pure Comedy (Deluxe Edition) — Sasha Barr, Ed Steed & Josh Tillman, art directors (Father John Misty) Sleep Well Beast — Elyanna Blaser-Gould, Luke Hayman & Andrea Trabucco-Campos, art directors (The National) Solid State — Gail Marowitz, art director (Jonathan Coulton)

Best Boxed Or Special Limited Edition Package: Bobo Yeye: Belle Epoque In Upper Volta — Tim Breen, art director (Various Artists) Lovely Creatures: The Best Of Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds (1984 – 2014) — Tom Hingston, art director (Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds) May 1977: Get Shown The Light — Masaki Koike, art director (Grateful Dead) The Voyager Golden Record: 40th Anniversary Edition — Lawrence Azerrad, Timothy Daly & David Pescovitz, art directors (Various Artists) Warfaring Strangers: Acid Nightmares — Tim Breen, Benjamin Marra & Ken Shipley, art directors (Various Artists)

NOTES FIELD

Best Album Notes: Arthur Q. Smith: The Trouble With The Truth — Wayne Bledsoe & Bradley Reeves, album notes writers (Various Artists) Big Bend Killing: The Appalachian Ballad Tradition — Ted Olson, album notes writer (Various Artists) The Complete Piano Works Of Scott Joplin — Bryan S. Wright, album notes writer (Richard Dowling) Edouard-Léon Scott De Martinville, Inventor Of Sound Recording: A Bicentennial Tribute — David Giovannoni, album notes writer (Various Artists) Live At The Whisky A Go Go: The Complete Recordings — Lynell George, album notes writer (Otis Redding) Washington Phillips And His Manzarene Dreams — Michael Corcoran, album notes writer (Washington Phillips)

HISTORICAL FIELD

Best Historical Album: Bobo Yeye: Belle Epoque In Upper Volta — Jon Kirby, Florent Mazzoleni, Rob Sevier & Ken Shipley, compilation producers; Jeff Lipton & Maria Rice, mastering engineers (Various Artists) The Goldberg Variations – The Complete Unreleased Recording Sessions June 1955 — Robert Russ, compilation producer; Matthias Erb, Martin Kistner & Andreas K. Meyer, mastering engineers (Glenn Gould) Leonard Bernstein – The Composer — Robert Russ, compilation producer; Martin Kistner & Andreas K. Meyer, mastering engineers (Leonard Bernstein) Sweet As Broken Dates: Lost Somali Tapes From The Horn Of Africa — Nicolas Sheikholeslami & Vik Sohonie, compilation producers; Michael Graves, mastering engineer (Various Artists) Washington Phillips And His Manzarene Dreams — Michael Corcoran, April G. Ledbetter & Steven Lance Ledbetter, compilation producers; Michael Graves, mastering engineer (Washington Phillips)

PRODUCTION, NON-CLASSICAL FIELD

Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical: Every Where Is Some Where — Brent Arrowood, Miles Comaskey, JT Daly, Tommy English, Kristine Flaherty, Adam Hawkins, Chad Howat & Tony Maserati, engineers; Joe LaPorta, mastering engineer (K.Flay) Is This The Life We Really Want? — Nigel Godrich, Sam Petts-Davies & Darrell Thorp, engineers; Bob Ludwig, mastering engineer (Roger Waters) Natural Conclusion — Ryan Freeland, engineer; Joao Carvalho, mastering engineer (Rose Cousins) No Shape — Shawn Everett & Joseph Lorge, engineers; Patricia Sullivan, mastering engineer (Perfume Genius) 24K Magic — Serban Ghenea, John Hanes & Charles Moniz, engineers; Tom Coyne, mastering engineer (Bruno Mars)

Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical: Calvin Harris Greg Kurstin Blake Mills No I.D. The Stereotypes

Best Remixed Recording: “Can’t Let You Go (Louie Vega Roots Mix)” — Louie Vega, remixer (Loleatta Holloway) “Funk O’ De Funk (SMLE Remix)” — SMLE, remixers (Bobby Rush) “Undercover (Adventure Club Remix)” — Leighton James & Christian Srigley, remixers (Kehlani) “A Violent Noise (Four Tet Remix)” — Four Tet, remixer (The xx) “You Move (Latroit Remix)” — Dennis White, remixer (Depeche Mode)

SURROUND SOUND FIELD

Best Surround Sound Album: Early Americans — Jim Anderson, surround mix engineer; Darcy Proper, surround mastering engineer; Jim Anderson & Jane Ira Bloom, surround producers (Jane Ira Bloom) Kleiberg: Mass For Modern Man — Morten Lindberg, surround mix engineer; Morten Lindberg, surround mastering engineer; Morten Lindberg, surround producer (Eivind Gullberg Jensen & Trondheim Symphony Orchestra And Choir) So Is My Love — Morten Lindberg, surround mix engineer; Morten Lindberg, surround mastering engineer; Morten Lindberg, surround producer (Nina T. Karlsen & Ensemble 96) 3-D The Catalogue — Fritz Hilpert, surround mix engineer; Tom Ammermann, surround mastering engineer; Fritz Hilpert, surround producer (Kraftwerk) Tyberg: Masses — Jesse Brayman, surround mix engineer; Jesse Brayman, surround mastering engineer; Blanton Alspaugh, surround producer (Brian A. Schmidt, Christopher Jacobson & South Dakota Chorale)

PRODUCTION, CLASSICAL FIELD

Best Engineered Album, Classical: Danielpour: Songs Of Solitude & War Songs — Gary Call, engineer (Thomas Hampson, Giancarlo Guerrero & Nashville Symphony) Kleiberg: Mass For Modern Man — Morten Lindberg, engineer (Eivind Gullberg Jensen, Trondheim Vokalensemble & Trondheim Symphony Orchestra) Schoenberg, Adam: American Symphony; Finding Rothko; Picture Studies — Keith O. Johnson & Sean Royce Martin, engineers (Michael Stern & Kansas City Symphony) Shostakovich: Symphony No. 5; Barber: Adagio — Mark Donahue, engineer (Manfred Honeck & Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra) Tyberg: Masses — John Newton, engineer; Jesse Brayman, mastering engineer (Brian A. Schmidt, Christopher Jacobson & South Dakota Chorale)

Producer Of The Year, Classical: Blanton Alspaugh Manfred Eicher David Frost Morten Lindberg Judith Sherman

CLASSICAL FIELD

Best Orchestral Performance: Concertos For Orchestra — Louis Langrée, conductor (Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra) Copland: Symphony No. 3; Three Latin American Sketches — Leonard Slatkin, conductor (Detroit Symphony Orchestra) Debussy: Images; Jeux & La Plus Que Lente — Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor (San Francisco Symphony) Mahler: Symphony No. 5 — Osmo Vänskä, conductor (Minnesota Orchestra) Shostakovich: Symphony No. 5; Barber: Adagio — Manfred Honeck, conductor (Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra)

Best Opera Recording: Berg: Lulu — Lothar Koenigs, conductor; Daniel Brenna, Marlis Petersen & Johan Reuter; Jay David Saks, producer (The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra) Berg: Wozzeck — Hans Graf, conductor; Anne Schwanewilms & Roman Trekel; Hans Graf, producer (Houston Symphony; Chorus Of Students And Alumni, Shepherd School Of Music, Rice University & Houston Grand Opera Children’s Chorus) Bizet: Les Pêcheurs De Perles — Gianandrea Noseda, conductor; Diana Damrau, Mariusz Kwiecie?, Matthew Polenzani & Nicolas Testé; Jay David Saks, producer (The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra; The Metropolitan Opera Chorus) Handel: Ottone — George Petrou, conductor; Max Emanuel Cencic & Lauren Snouffer; Jacob Händel, producer (Il Pomo D’Oro) Rimsky-Korsakov: The Golden Cockerel — Valery Gergiev, conductor; Vladimir Feliauer, Aida Garifullina & Kira Loginova; Ilya Petrov, producer (Mariinsky Orchestra; Mariinsky Chorus)

Best Choral Performance: Bryars: The Fifth Century — Donald Nally, conductor (PRISM Quartet; The Crossing) Handel: Messiah — Andrew Davis, conductor; Noel Edison, chorus master (Elizabeth DeShong, John Relyea, Andrew Staples & Erin Wall; Toronto Symphony Orchestra; Toronto Mendelssohn Choir) Mansurian: Requiem — Alexander Liebreich, conductor; Florian Helgath, chorus master (Anja Petersen & Andrew Redmond; Münchener Kammerorchester; RIAS Kammerchor) Music Of The Spheres — Nigel Short, conductor (Tenebrae) Tyberg: Masses — Brian A. Schmidt, conductor (Christopher Jacobson; South Dakota Chorale)

Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance: Buxtehude: Trio Sonatas, Op. 1 — Arcangelo Death & The Maiden — Patricia Kopatchinskaja & The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra Divine Theatre – Sacred Motets By Giaches De Wert — Stile Antico Franck, Kurtág, Previn & Schumann — Joyce Yang & Augustin Hadelich Martha Argerich & Friends – Live From Lugano 2016 — Martha Argerich & Various Artists

Best Classical Instrumental Solo: Bach: The French Suites — Murray Perahia Haydn: Cello Concertos — Steven Isserlis; Florian Donderer, conductor (The Deutsch Kammerphilharmonie Bremen) Levina: The Piano Concertos — Maria Lettberg; Ariane Matiakh, conductor (Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin) Shostakovich: Violin Concertos Nos. 1 & 2 — Frank Peter Zimmermann; Alan Gilbert, conductor (NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester) Transcendental — Daniil Trifonov

Best Classical Solo Vocal Album: Bach & Telemann: Sacred Cantatas — Philippe Jaroussky; Petra Müllejans, conductor (Ann-Kathrin Brüggemann & Juan de la Rubia; Freiburger Barockorchester) Crazy Girl Crazy – Music By Gershwin, Berg & Berio — Barbara Hannigan (Orchestra Ludwig) Gods & Monsters — Nicholas Phan; Myra Huang, accompanist In War & Peace – Harmony Through Music — Joyce DiDonato; Maxim Emelyanychev, conductor (Il Pomo D’Oro) Sviridov: Russia Cast Adrift — Dmitri Hvorostovsky; Constantine Orbelian, conductor (St. Petersburg State Symphony Orchestra & Style Of Five Ensemble)

Best Classical Compendium: Barbara — Alexandre Tharaud; Cécile Lenoir, producer Higdon: All Things Majestic, Viola Concerto & Oboe Concerto — Giancarlo Guerrero, conductor; Tim Handley, producer Kurtág: Complete Works For Ensemble & Choir — Reinbert de Leeuw, conductor; Guido Tichelman, producer Les Routes De L’Esclavage — Jordi Savall, conductor; Benjamin Bleton, producer Mademoiselle: Première Audience – Unknown Music Of Nadia Boulanger — Lucy Mauro; Lucy Mauro, producer

Best Contemporary Classical Composition: Danielpour: Songs Of Solitude — Richard Danielpour, composer (Thomas Hampson, Giancarlo Guerrero & Nashville Symphony) Higdon: Viola Concerto — Jennifer Higdon, composer (Roberto Díaz, Giancarlo Guerrero & Nashville Symphony) Mansurian: Requiem — Tigran Mansurian, composer (Alexander Liebreich, Florian Helgath, RIAS Kammerchor & Münchener Kammerorchester) Schoenberg, Adam: Picture Studies — Adam Schoenberg, composer (Michael Stern & Kansas City Symphony) Zhou Tian: Concerto For Orchestra — Zhou Tian, composer (Louis Langrée & Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra)

MUSIC VIDEO/FILM FIELD

Best Music Video: “Up All Night” — Beck “Makeba” — Jain “The Story Of O.J.” — Jay-Z “Humble.” — Kendrick Lamar “1-800-273-8255” — Logic Featuring Alessia Cara & Khalid

Best Music Film: “One More Time With Feeling” — Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds “Long Strange Trip” — (The Grateful Dead) “The Defiant Ones” — (Various Artists) “Soundbreaking” — (Various Artists) “Two Trains Runnin’” — (Various Artists)

#2017 Awards #2018 Awards #Grammy Awards #List of Nominations

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samnyangie · 3 years ago

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This is an interview of rsl on the play ‘white people’, and other things. I thought it was interesting that he briefly shares on his view on racial history.

______________________________________

Twenty Questions: Robert Sean Leonard

by Toby Zinman

Philadelphia City Pages

January 27, 2000

Philadelphia Theatre Company’s premiere of White People, by J.T. Rogers, brings actor/heartthrob Robert Sean Leonard to town. Tall, lanky and khakied, with bespectacled brown eyes that hardly ever meet mine, he talks with thoughtful eloquence, charming modesty and youthful earnestness.

His film career was kickstarted with Dead Poets Society in 1989, and he won renown for his Claudio in Kenneth Branagh’s Much Ado About Nothing. His stage career has been illustrious: Nominated for a Tony in 1993 for his performance in Shaw’s Candida, he went on to play Valentine in Stoppard’s Arcadia on Broadwayand most recently appeared in the celebrated Broadway revival of O’Neill’s The Iceman Cometh, which starred Kevin Spacey.

You studied history for five years at Fordham, and in White People you play a history professor. How connected do you feel to this part?

As far as his passion for history and his belief that education and connections between the past and the present have the power to heal and explain life, I understand. I think you can only go forward by going back. For me, the study of history is the essence of the future — when you study history and you see the connections — you make the connections to the present. So in that way, I connect to this guy quite a bit.

I gather from what the playwright has said that he’s trying to universalize the discovery of latent racist feelings. Is there resonance in that for you?

I know I have felt anger and rage in a city [New York] that is multicultural and therefore difficult at times. Race is a part of my life, the history of racism, the history of blacks, the history of Native Americans and others — growing up in New York it’s a part of your life every day. There are a lot of things in this play I identify with — and a lot of things I don’t.

You seem to prefer plays where language is central.

There are a lot of plays that have been huge successes that I never even saw; they seemed just too loud to me. I’ve read plays I thought were just too vulgar for me, I didn’t want to say those words every night. I’m much more used to doing Eugene O’Neill and George Bernard Shaw and Shakespeare and Stoppard and Tennessee Williams — this has been my career up until now. I’ve done some new plays but not many.

To me what’s remarkable about writing — it’s so simple it almost seems silly to talk about it — Garrison Keillor once wrote a piece about a boy slamming his door open on the first day it had snowed, seeing his breath puff out in front of him and running down the steps, making a snowball, and throwing it and hitting the stop sign right in the middle of the O and jumping as high as he could and running down the street. That’s what I wish for all of us, Keillor said, being excited that it’s morning, and that it snowed. Every great book I read is someone who’s older than me telling me what’s important, what not to miss, what to remember.

How did you get interested in acting?

I was 9 and my mother painted signs for a theater company, and I hung around with her, in Ridgeway, NJ, and I fell in love with the people and the paint and the lights. They started throwing me on stage whenever they needed a kid. The first role I had was The Artful Dodger in Oliver when I was 13. I thought the actors were idiots, doing vocal warm-ups, having affairs, but the crew was cool— they smoked and climbed ladders.

When I was onstage I was embarrassed so I tended to say my lines as quickly as I could so I could get offstage. A friend of my father’s saw me and I guess because everyone around me was trying so hard and I was trying so hard just to leave, that I guess he thought I was natural or I must have appeared to be gifted because I wasn’t "acting." So he put me in this acting class. I don’t know why I went — I was excited by the attention, sure, but I certainly didn’t have a love for it. But it was exciting going to New York once a week and then this small agent started sending me out for auditions, and at 14 I was working for Joe Papp at the Public Theater.

I heard you’re making a new movie directed by Ethan Hawke called The Last Word on Paradise. Can you tell me about that?

I just stopped shooting it. Ethan and I met on Dead Poets Society, we had a theater company in New York and one of the things we did was — it would be lovely to say discover, but what we did was stole this beautiful writer named Nicole Burdette and she wrote a screenplay about the Chelsea Hotel. It’s all our friends — me and Uma [Thurman], Frank Whaley, Steve Zahn, Marisa Tomei as well as Natasha Richardson, Lou Reed, Isaac Hayes and Kris Kristofferson. When your friend says, ‘I want to direct a movie,’ you just say, ‘When do you want me to be there?’ The movie goes from sunrise to sunset, although time is unclear in it — even what decade it is. Steve and I are the most modern characters; we play musicians, inspired by Bob Dylan and we come to the Chelsea where he had been.

When will it be released?

I don’t know — Bravo made it, and I guess if it’s any good, they’ll release it. If it’s not good, they’ll just show it on TV.

What’s your life like when you’re not working?

I have two dogs and a girlfriend named Gabby [a classicist specializing in Sanskrit and Greek] and yesterday I had the greatest day off — we went to Barnes & Noble and the Zen Palate and took a nap and watched Ally McBeal — jeez, as the Sondheim song says, "What more do I need?"

It sounds like you can still throw that snowball at the O.

_____________________________

Robert Sean Leonard in ‘White People’

#robert sean leonard #rsl #interview #play #theatre #photo

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samnyangie · 3 years ago

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Hehehehe I was bit hesitant to post this but it’s too gold not to share it! Plus, it’s a great contrast to this interview as he was being mature discussing acting in depth and overall, just serious(but cute haha). This one is light hearted (also bit cringey) as it talks about his past crush, Love letter, ‘snogging’ aka kissing(!!!!) and Romeo and Juliet, it’s more gossipy in a way? But I wholeheartedly love this interview, he’s so adorable.

So, I hope you also like this as well:D

*warning: there’s a slight mention about suicide and shooting!

(Credit)

__________________________________

"Robert Sean leonard's Lip Service..." (My Guy & Girl Interview Feb 1991)

Robert Sean Leonard's Lip Service...

What a kiss-and-tell merchant this boy is!

Robert couldn't wait to talk about snogging...wet ones, ones that make you want to puke! Eee...yuk!

But first we wanted to find out what he'd been up to since Dead Poet's Society and what his new film Mr and Mrs Bridge is about.

So Robert, what have been doing since Dead Poets Society?

"Oh, I filmed that a little over two years ago now. At the moment I'm in the stage production of Romeo and Juliet with the Riverside Shakespeare Company in Manhatten. I've also just made a movie called Married To It. I hope the title will change 'cause I don't like it very much. It's about three couples and I play the husband who's married to Mary Stuart Masterson. Cybil Shepherd is in it too.

"For a While after Dead Poets I went back to college. I took a year off and did some theatre. I also wanted to wait for a good film. A lot of the films that came my way were just typical teenage American junkie films. I waited and waited for something special until Mr & Mrs Bridge came along. I was so thrilled to get it."

What is it about then?

"It's about a family at a time before the war when four individuals spoke up, rebelled. It's sort of the last family unit in America where father knows best. The children don't have any rights-because they're the children.'

I play the strong silent type, who rebels when his father won't let him join the army. Paul Newman plays the father, and he's just such a brilliant actor. To me Mr and Mrs Bridge is about the importance of communication.

Going back to Dead Poets, is it true you got the part because you were unknown?

"Yes. The director, Peter Weir, had the talent and the guts to tell Touchstone pictures that he didn't want any famous actors. I was 19 when I got the part of Neil Perry, but i'd been working on stage in New York for five years before that-I started young.

"I still remember the weekend when we filmed the shoot-it was really depressing, just like the whole film. I'm just glad I didn't have to shoot myself on screen-all that mess!"

Was your school much like Dead Poets? All those stuffy traditions and horrible uniforms?

"My school was very, very, very different. I went to an ordinary public high school. It was much less restrictive. And we didn't have to wear uniforms. At my school there were the metalheads, leatherheads, deadheads and band fags -and I was a leatherhead, wore all the biker gear!"

So you were a rebel just like Neil then?

"Ha ha ha! Well I wasn't exactly a goody goody, thats for sure! I suppose I was a bit of both really. I was so focused on acting I didn't become too rebellious as a teenager. Besides I got to rant and rave on stage every night.

"But I was never at school that much anyway. I had to leave lunchtimes to go to the theatre. Strangely I didn't have many good friends like "The Society" But I did get along with everyone. There were a lot of similarities between Neil and myself, though. His passion for acting and learning. But unlike his parents, mine were, and are, incredibly supportive. The Dead Poets Society still get together you know. Most of the guys from the film live in New York and I've kept in touch with them all. There was a real camaraderie between us on the set that's carried over.

What subject did you hate the most at school?

"Well I loved things like history but my worst subject was gym. I always 'forgot' my trainers. I mean I like sports, but it's just that i'm such a miserable failure at them.

Did you get lots of Valentine cards when you were younger?

"I got a lot of cards at school, but not since. Actually I got a Valentine card last year from a fan, a girl in London would you believe. I don't know if I'll get any cards this year, but it would be nice. Am I sending any this year? Ahh Now that would be telling....!"

Have you ever sent love letters?

"I've never sent a love letter to someone I didn't know. I sent a secret one at school. There was a girl in High School that I had a heavy crush on, for four years! But I never had the guts to ask her out. I wrote her a card and I actually quoted a Blues Bothers song. 'I have everything I need, almost, but I don't have you. And that's the thing I need the most'. But I didn't sign it. She may have thought someone else sent it.

So, who was this lucky girlie, then?

"Her name was Joanna, she was my first big crush. From 13 to 17! She never ever knew 'cause I was really shy...I still am! Her last name was Lenz, so her locker was right next to mine, Leonard. So I got to see her every morning when we got our books. I did talk to her, and tried to make her laugh. Her house was pretty near mine too. I had a few pretty late nights where I'd go and sit on her lawn. She didn't know, but i'd just sit on the grass and think. I suppose that's just a normal thing about growing up."

Have you met her since you've become a famous filmstar?

"Well she moved to Florida when I was 17. It was the last I heard of her. Maybe I'll see her at our class reuinion. In America you always have a five-year reunion when you're 22 and you go back to school. I don't know if I'll still fancy her though..."

What first attracts you to someone?

"When I was 13 it was simply the way a girl looked and talked, and moved. Those things are still important now. But also someone who can make me laugh and talk about the same things and who has the same dreams"

What is your favourite romantic movie?

"It has to be 'Singin' In The Rain' I just loved the dancing and the scene where Gene Kelly sings to Debbie Reynolds in the studio. I'd love to do something like that, but I don't think I'd have the talent for it.

Have you, erm, heard of the word 'snogging'?

"Ha ha ha! That's a really English word. If you had asked me before I'd done Romeo and Juliet, I wouldn't have had a clue! But our stage director is English.

There's this one scene in Romeo and Juliet, the kiss goodbye, and he used to snap his fingers and shout "Come on, come on you two, we don't want this to be a snogging session"."

Do you remember your first snog?

"My first proper girlfriend used to play the piano and I played the guitar...we used to play music together (we'll bet!). That was when I had my first real kiss. I was terrified! She blew me away. There was a lot of fumbling, not knowing what to do. I remember kissing, then feeling nauseous (ie. wanting to puke). I just wanted to go home. I didn't feel pressurised into doing it, or anything. I just felt strange 'cause it was something new. In some ways I wasn't quite ready for it. Like it was something you're expected to do. But it's kinda hard to tell a girl you feel nauseous and you want to go home!!"

What's your biggest snogging turn-off?

"Gosh! Well it really turns me off when girls kiss wildly, when they try to swallow you. Or when their mouths are wet. I prefer it when it's relaxed and tender."

Have you had any other dating disasters?

"Not lately. I'm much to busy for girlfriends just now. But there was something in Romeo and Juliet, though. On the opening night I was in the tomb and I had to kill Paris then go and talk to Jiliet. I realised my dagger was missing, and she needs it to kill herself. So I just had to stop the show. I just looked at the audience and said 'Er, excuse me, but I've just lost the dagger! We'll have to stop until I find it'.

So I looked and looked until I found it...underneath Paris actually, who was lying dead in the corner. So I put it back in my sheath and said 'Okay, move on!"

Are you a good Romeo?

"Yes, indeed. Luckily I didn't have to climb up the wall to the balcony or anything.

Shakespeare really made an error at that point. If Romeo and Juliet touched or kissed in the balcony scene I think Shakespeare would surely have written about it. Whereas there's no indication where they touch at all. Did I have to wear tights? Oh, yes, I had to wear them all right. I've worn them before too. You get used to it. You forget you're wearing them after a while." Could be dangerous that...

#robert sean leonard #rsl #interview #dead poets society #theatre

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samnyangie · 3 years ago

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It’s from a book called ‘conversation in the wings’ by Roy Harris; it’s a transcript of the interviews he had with actors and this is the section of rsl.

Just a warning it’s quite long.

(Source)

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1994: CONVERSATIONS IN THE WINGS

The Author's Intentions Are Good

by Roy Harris

Conversations in the Wings

1994

This interview took place on Friday, May 24, 1991, on the Mainstage at Playwrights Horizons where Jon Robin Baitz's The Substance of Fire was playing. Considering that he is the youngest person who talks here about acting (he was 22 at the time of the interview), it is remarkable that Robert Sean Leonard speaks with so much ease and apparent knowledge on a subject that can be as elusive as this one. The clarity he has as he discusses how he works on a role is not unlike the focus he brings to the characters he creates on stage. At the time of this interview, Mr. Leonard had recently finished a run of Romeo and Juliet for the Riverside Shakespeare Company.

Roy Harris: So let's start at the beginning. If you get a script and you read it and say to yourself, "I've got to do this," what makes you feel that?

Robert Sean Leonard: Well, that's hard to say. It depends on if you're reading for a certain character-I mean, if you're not sure who you're going to play yet. I guess I read specifically for the author's intentions of the play.

Roy Harris: Do you ever take a role-maybe it's not so wonderful-to be a part of that writer's particular world?

Robert Sean Leonard: Oh, yes. But if the play is important to you and that moving to you, then a small role becomes important because of what the author's saying. I'll be doing Our Town in London this fall and early winter. George is a very nice, I thought, young juvenile role to do. But then I read the play again, and I was astonished at the simplicity and importance of Wilder's message. Suddenly, George became much more important to me. I realized his place in that world, and it was big. If you look at the play, no one talks to each other. Except for the soda fountain scene. And there they talk. That's why they get married. Seeing this made playing him exciting. The way George has to deal with life and death is amazing.

Roy Harris: When you decided to do, for instance, the Greek pianist Alexandros in When She Danced, what made you make that decision?

Robert Sean Leonard: Joanne Woodward told me I had to do it.

Roy Harris: That's a good reason; she's very smart.

Robert Sean Leonard: Well, that play defined the undefinable qualities and questions about what I do as an actor. And I'd never seen that in a play before. So, I guess it was both things: the play itself and what a wonderful character.

Roy Harris: When you were working on Alexandros, what did you find the most challenging thing about it?

Robert Sean Leonard: Oh, come on, Roy, you remember?

Roy Harris: Well, I have to ask you now as if I weren't there. I'm an impersonal interviewer now.

Robert Sean Leonard: His incredible self-confidence. The guy walks into a room and you look at him. I've never been able to do that. I've seen other people who have that. And, it's not a quality you can play. It's not like an accent. It's a within quality. And you're in awe of it when you see it.

Roy Harris: Well, you have a quality as an actor of self-effacement. Do you think you had to get past that, go beyond it in some way?

Robert Sean Leonard: Oh, yes, but what a time I had working on it. It was a breakthrough for me. Sitting at that piano, standing up and saying, essentially, "I am a prodigy." I would say it in the mirror at home and I couldn't do it. It goes against everything you try to be as a human, as an actor. To never assume you know because then you'll stop growing. That was completely foreign to me.

Roy Harris: Did you feel you were the right choice for the role?

Robert Sean Leonard: Oh, yes.

Roy Harris: Me, too. It has to do with the other quality we talked about: something reserved and thoughtful. If you don't have that, then the sureness of Alexandros will be obnoxious.

Robert Sean Leonard: What was fascinating for me: to have an amazing bravura, and at the same time, as Quixote says, to have the humility to "love pure and chaste from afar." To love purely requires a lot of humility. It goes against the bravura. With Alexandros, I had the humility, but as you know, it took weeks and weeks to get the right assertiveness.

Roy Harris: It was fascinating watching it happen. All right, let's back up a minute. You got that role a couple of weeks, at least, before we started rehearsal. What sort of work did you do, if any, before the first day of rehearsal?

Robert Sean Leonard: Well, the bravura element didn't even occur to me until I started saying the words out loud in rehearsal with the likes of Marcia Jean Kurtz, Elizabeth Ashley and Jonathan Walker all sitting there watching me. Actually, the thing I dove right into was the Greek accent. That sort of gives you a center. It's a tangible task. And you have to accomplish it in a certain amount of time. The accent gives you a guideline. You go to the dialect coach and you sit down and start. "No," he says, "the A is pronounced this way. It's always pronounced this way." It was so refreshing to have a guideline as your beginning point. Otherwise, where do you start?

Roy Harris: Did the actual pronunciation of particular words tell you anything about who the person was?

Robert Sean Leonard: I would say the rhythm of it more than the pronunciation of it. The clipped musical rhythm gave me a sense of his spontaneous movement, his vital energy. There's a snappiness to Alexandros, which I really don't have as a person. Something happens to you when you get to have that snappy, clipped musical speech coming out of your mouth. You change inside.

Roy Harris: Let's say it's Thursday night and tomorrow you're going to work on the scene where you introduce yourself to the translator, Belzer. What sort of ordinary, basic work do you do on the scene?

Robert Sean Leonard: You know, the first time this ever came up was when I was doing Beachhouse with George Grizzard. I was sixteen. I was up there one day doing it, you know, just doing it, and Melvin Bernhard the director said, "What are you doing here? What is this about?" And I had no clue. I was just asking my dad where the letter was. Well, he said, "Do you have any assumptions about it? Who's it from? Is it from your mother? If so, what would that mean to you?" When I went home that night, I wanted to quit the business. I cried. And to this day, it's always an obsession of mine-not getting general and relying on some phony charm. What I want to do is get specific and ask myself the necessary questions: what is his intention here? what's he after? why? So, to answer your question, I read the scene, trying to pick out where they're starting, where they're heading, and how they got there. If something changes, where does it change? However, I usually find out more in rehearsal than at home.

Roy Harris: Sometimes, do you find after a rehearsal or a series of rehearsals on a particular scene that there's more there?

Robert Sean Leonard: Oh, sure. The more you work, the more you find. You can be hitting your head against a wall, as I was with Alexandros, and the director can say, "It's because you're not as confident as he is." Like any trouble you have, once you define it, it's so much easier to deal with. Then you know what you're after.

Roy Harris: Do you try to look and see an intention in every line, or a basic intention in a scene?

Robert Sean Leonard: I'm sure that you should, but I've found that there's a level of subconscious work that goes on. I find that it's much better for me to find out what's there with the person in rehearsal. It doesn't mean I don't I really think about it before though.

Roy Harris: Would you say-I'm asking a loaded question now-that you are more an instinctive actor or one more given to plan?

Robert Sean Leonard: I think I'm more instinctive than planned, but both, I guess.

Roy Harris: From having watched you in two different rehearsal situations, I'd say you seem to have done a lot of work when you came in.

Robert Sean Leonard: I would say that's basically true. But there are all sorts of ways of being prepared. For instance, take Romeo. My God, I spent hours just finding out what all those words mean. And then, with Shakespeare, it's so maddening because one thought can mean many different things. You don't have to choose one. Another form of preparation is just knowing your character so well-the background you've come to through what the playwright made up-that when something comes up, you instinctively know what's wrong or right.

Roy Harris: When you re working on a role, do you ever get a picture of what the character should look like?

Robert Sean Leonard: Yeah, and it's never me!

Roy Harris: Well, it shouldn't be you. You're playing somebody else.

Robert Sean Leonard: But I never get that out of my head. I can think back on every role I've done and picture who should have played it instead of me-what type of person; what he looked like.

Roy Harris: Does it help you to do that?

Robert Sean Leonard: Sometimes. Slowly the picture in your mind becomes you. I can look back now and say, yes, I'm Eugene Jerome. Yes, I'm Romeo. But it took a while for me to get there, to get me in the picture. It was always someone else.

Roy Harris: When you're working on a role, do you ever get a sense of how that character should dress?

Robert Sean Leonard: Actually, not much. I know there are actors who do. I guess it doesn't matter so much. I just had a problem with that on The Speed of Darkness, however. The designer was very intent on including the actors in her plans. I drove her crazy. "I don't know. Why are you asking me? Whatever you put on me, I can justify." She didn't like that. But I guess it would depend on the role. The only battle I lost was she put a letter jacket on me, a varsity letter jacket. It was the only thing I didn't like. Any time I see a varsity jacket on stage, I think, 'Oh, here comes a young actor.' I want to be a person. It's too much a sign to me. But I ended up wearing it. She liked it too much.

Roy Harris: When you're in rehearsal, what are you looking for from other actors?

Robert Sean Leonard: Well, hopefully we'll all be pretty solid in our agreement about what is going on in this play and what our part in it is. Of course, there are technical things: like you don't upstage someone when they're talking. An important thing is knowing when the scene is moving, and knowing when it's time to take a moment for yourself. And that's hard. A lot of actors get up there, and understandably, the play is about them. If you're playing a milkman, the play is about a milkman. But when that becomes your only reality, you lose sight of the intentions of the play. You know, it's so obvious to me when an actor feels he is the most important thing in the play. It's so portentous. Every line means something. It's so boring. Maybe that's why I'm a little afraid of finding intentions in every line. Then it all gets too much meaning.

Roy Harris: Have you ever worked with an actor-you don't have to give a name-whom you had a problem with?

Robert Sean Leonard: Sure. I worked with an actress in a film who had no clue, didn't know the first thing about acting. The camera would go to you, and she'd be off camera reading her next film. She would say her lines not looking at you. That drove me crazy. On stage, I must say I've never worked with anyone where there was a problem. I've worked with people who really snapped with me and then people who were just all right to work with.

Roy Harris: Who is an actor you've really liked working with?

Robert Sean Leonard: Cynthia Nixon - when you work with her, she's so in tune with what's going on. When a scene is playing, it just lifts and rises. She's like a dancer. I love all her work. Something happens when that actress walks on stage. It elevates into another world.

Roy Harris: What are you looking for from the director?

Robert Sean Leonard: An unshakable vision. You know when they have it, because you'll ask questions and immediately there's an answer that makes sense, and it makes sense in relation to everything that's happened so far.

Roy Harris: What if it's a vision you don't agree with?

Robert Sean Leonard: That doesn't matter. I want a vision that's like a force running through everything.

Roy Harris: What happens when there's not a vision?

Robert Sean Leonard: Well, my sister told me once, when she was in third grade, her whole class went into the city. When they came up from the subway, the teacher-for a moment-didn't know where she was. My sister saw that look, and suddenly was terrified. She lost all faith. And that's horrible when it happens with a director, and it can happen in an instant. If they have an unshakable vision, it won't happen.

Roy Harris: Have you ever had a director tell you something and you felt that you just couldn't do it?

Robert Sean Leonard: Couldn't from myself?

Roy Harris: Yes.

Robert Sean Leonard: Well, no, because the minute someone asks something of me, my first reaction is, "God dammit, I can do this. I can do whatever they want." You know, to me the author's intentions are God, and the director the channel for those intentions. The very idea of not being able to do something a director asks, or being averse to it, is upsetting to me.

Roy Harris: Have you ever been in a situation where some or all of the actors didn't trust a director? How do you deal with that?

Robert Sean Leonard: Good question. Well, if a director can't give you an answer for why he wants you to do something a certain way, then you shouldn't trust him. If I initially don't trust a director, I try to find out why I don't. Maybe it's me. But if he can't give you an answer, you can't get bitter. You have to rely solely on yourself, or on yourself and who you're playing with. You do the best you can and hope for a short run.

Roy Harris: What director would you most like to work with?

Robert Sean Leonard: Mark Lamos.

Roy Harris: Why?

Robert Sean Leonard: In everything of his I've seen I always witness such clarity and devotion to the author's intent, even if it's complex, as in Hamlet or The Master Builder.

Roy Harris: For someone your age, you've had a chance to play some very good roles. What's been the most challenging role so far?

Robert Sean Leonard: Romeo. I think I misunderstood him the whole time I was playing it.

Roy Harris: Oh, Bobby, everybody who plays him feels that, don't they?

Robert Sean Leonard: Probably. When I took the role, I thought, I'm going to make him honorable, which I think he is. Most people feel he's a sap. My mistake was making him that way from the beginning.

Roy Harris: What do you mean?

Robert Sean Leonard: A friend of mine said late in the run that that first scene is not about a man who knows love. It's about a kid who thinks he knows what love is. Then he meets Juliet. He said, you should make us puke in the aisles when you tell Benvolio what you think love is. And he's right. From the moment I walked on stage, boy, did I play passion. All through the Rosaline stuff with Benvolio, it was passion. Consequently, when I met Juliet, I just didn't have anywhere to go. It was like starting with a nine and getting to a ten.

Roy Harris: But you seemed to have a good time working on it.

Robert Sean Leonard: Well, I learned from it. You need to see his feeling about Rosaline in order to really appreciate the great feeling he comes to have about Juliet. I didn't look at it intelligently enough. I didn't realize the simplicity of: he doesn't know what he's doing and then he does know what he's doing. It's also our job as Romeo to convince the audience that once he's in love with Juliet-and some people would scream at this-it's worth dying for. With all the mistakes I made, it was a great experience.

Roy Harris: Ten years from now you can do it again and think what that will be like.

Robert Sean Leonard: I'll have a whole new series of questions about it. That's why acting is so phenomenal. You can't ever be good enough.

Roy Harris: Does there come a point for you in rehearsals, or probably in performance somewhere, where you think you got it?

Robert Sean Leonard: No. There are points where I feel I've gotten something. I've never given a perfect performance. I wonder who has?

Roy Harris: Well, if they think they have...

Robert Sean Leonard: I don't want to talk to them.

Roy Harris: Me either. Have you ever been praised by a friend for a performance that you thought was bad, or certainly not adequate?

Robert Sean Leonard: Sure.

Roy Harris: How do you deal with that? How does it affect you?

Robert Sean Leonard: Well, you're praised very often for things that you don't deserve to be praised for. But you learn pretty quickly who does that and who doesn't. So I guess you learn who to listen to. How do you deal with it? I get very indignant. I go home and I say, 'Well, they're wrong.' When I was filming Dead Poets Society, I noticed that Peter Weir (the director)-as soon as he'd say, "Cut"-would look to John Seal (the cinematographer) first. As soon as the play is done, I consider myself a cinematographer; I check with myself. Then I check with the director. A friend may be right in saying something I did was false, but I have to go by what the director is asking for. So, it's complicated when friends say things. Very complicated. It's very sacred between you and the director, and frankly, people need to honor that.

Roy Harris: What's the biggest difference between acting on stage and acting for the camera?

Robert Sean Leonard: In some ways, they're very different and then in some ways they're not so different at all. It's a little like recording music and then playing it live. In one sense, you're part of the whole, but fragmentally. In film, you're offering pieces, and the director makes it whole.

Roy Harris: Do you prefer one over the other?

Robert Sean Leonard: No. I don't know. I think I prefer theatre. Is that three answers?

Roy Harris: You can change your answer later. I'm trying to find out what your feeling is at this moment. In film, you go in on the first day of shooting and you may shoot pages 68-72. In terms of preparation, how do you shoot something that's in the middle of that character's (for want of a better word) journey? What do you do with all that comes before?

Robert Sean Leonard: Homework becomes much more important in film, ironically, because in film, usually your work has much less to do immediately with other actors. It's much more a solitary art. Because you start with page 68, you have to know exactly where that character is and has been before page 68. Hopefully, the director will know, too. And you will discuss it together, as Peter Weir did with me through the shooting of Dead Poets.

Roy Harris: Where do you think the director is more important, or is he: in film or stage?

Robert Sean Leonard: They're more important for different reasons in both areas.

Roy Harris: Have you ever been asked to do something by a film director that you didn't want to do, or thought you shouldn't do?

Robert Sean Leonard: Yeah. Usually it has to do with poor writing. Sometimes the director will want something because of what's in the script, and you have to do it, even if you're not sure it's right.

Roy Harris: Let's say you did a role on stage for six weeks, night after night, and then you go and make a movie of it. A scene you've done many times, you're now going to do and the camera is going to be this close to you. Does it do anything to your way of thinking about it, to know the viewer is now so close?

Robert Sean Leonard: The relationship with the director becomes much more intimate. It would be like having the director on stage with you at all times, saying, "How about this? how about this? or how about this?" They are creating with you at the moment, and they know, and hopefully you do too, the journey of this character. It would be wonderful to do it on stage first because your homework would be done for you. An obvious thing is that when the camera's so close you do bring it down, even though you try to keep it as truthful as you would anywhere. In film, you do a lot more with your eyes, where on stage you use your hands and body language.

Roy Harris: So far, what is your favorite film role?

Robert Sean Leonard: Well, I'd have to say Dead Poets Society is for me in film what Brighton Beach Memoirs was for me on stage. It was kind of my baptism because I suddenly found myself on the set with a powerhouse of a director. It also has to do with the time. I was nineteen. Peter took me in as the leader of this gang. He had me read poetry. Also, I had to play Puck, and he wouldn't tell me which scene we were going to do, so I learned all of Puck. Without a doubt, it was the most glorious film experience. It was college for me. All of the guys, we lived together. We had a whole floor of a hotel, and we became this group of young men. We did everything together. We created together. Ethan Hawke and I used to practice scenes listening to Beethoven's Ninth.

Roy Harris: What is your favorite scene there?

Robert Sean Leonard: Well, for personal reasons, the scene with Ethan on the roof where we throw the desk set off. We came up with that scene. Originally, it was a scene which ended very sadly, with Ethan saying his parents didn't love him. Peter pulled us aside and said, "Okay, we know all this. Let's just have a scene about friendship." And the three of us came up with the scene where we destroy the desk set. That was a real accomplishment for me because improvisation has always scared the hell out of me. I don't like it that much as a working technique. When the director is as strong as Peter is, then improv is wonderful.

Roy Harris: We've talked a little about this, since you and I are such fans of hers, but what was it like to play Joanne Woodward's son in Mr. and Mrs. Bridge?

Robert Sean Leonard: It's funny. They're an amazing team, she and Paul. He's reserved. Though I don't know a thing about him, I like him a great deal. Joanne is-well, you know, there's a love you have for certain celebrities. I think she knew I had this huge feeling, and she takes that feeling and makes you feel comfortable. It's okay to have it. Know what I mean?

Roy Harris: Absolutely.

Robert Sean Leonard: She embraces this feeling you have about her, and it frees you. Therefore, working with her was a dream. She's completely honest in her work.

Roy Harris: What was a favorite scene of yours in that film?

Robert Sean Leonard: I don't know. I was so racked with his age throughout the filming-you know, when he was fifteen, when he was seventeen, when he was nineteen. But I guess it would be the boy scout scene. I was so worried that no one would buy that I was fifteen years old. I was twenty at the time, so they gave me braces to help me get a sense of youth. It helped. Really, though, it was memorable because Joanne was so wonderful in it. She did everything for us. She made us all look good. I remember during filming looking over at Paul when I don't kiss her and begin to sing. And he wasn't Paul, he was Mr. Bridge, my father, and looked at me with such hatred, and it was startlingly clear that he loved his wife more than me. For him, his son wasn't going through something; no, some guy just hurt his wife. The most joyous scenes were coming home from the air corps through the final scene where I take her hand. For me, Douglas is the only one in that house who grows up with a true sense of other things in the world. After all, he's the one who writes the books.

Roy Harris: Well, you do feel he's the least selfish of those children.

Robert Sean Leonard: Yes, well, I think that's evident even when he's behaving like a brat with her. I wanted people to feel: yes, he's doing it, but it's killing him to do it. I remember feeling, 'If this guy can write about these people so brilliantly and so warmly, there's got to be something there, and I'll be damned if I'm not going to get that feeling into the film.' In his air corps training, Douglas met so many different kinds of people that he was able to look at his parents objectively and with love. To me, it's the only moment in the film where anyone reaches out to Mrs. Bridge as a human being, not the mother. Actually, Paul would probably disagree with this. But I guess we each see it from our own point of view in the film.

Roy Harris: One more quick thing before we close. If you could work with any actor, actress, director, and pick your own role; in other words, what's your ideal situation?

Robert Sean Leonard: I think doing The Seagull with Joanne would be an amazing experience. Doing anything with Ian Holm. I've always had a dream of playing Horatio to someone else's Hamlet. Horatio to Gary Oldman's Hamlet would be very good.

#robert sean leonard #rsl #interview #theatre #dead poets society #films #I didn’t realised how many times he mentioned about flying desk scene #I just love how he is in this #so natural and honest

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samnyangie · 3 years ago

Text

Since people liked rsl interview on dps, I’d like to share one of my favourite interview by him. I think it’s one of those rare interview where he wasn’t joking around that much but discuss acting quite seriously haha

So enjoy:DD

(Credit)

____________________________

1990 New York Times

Young Actor's Life Has the Makings of a Movie

by Lynn Mautner

New York Times

May 20, 1990

It would make a good movie. A 15-year-old sophomore at Ridgewood High School is playing the Artful Dodger in the musical ''Oliver'' with the school's theater group, New Players, when he is discovered by a casting agency secretary and whisked off to Broadway and the movies.

That's exactly what happened to Robert Sean Leonard, now 21, and a star of the 1989 film ''Dead Poets Society,'' which received an Oscar for best original screenplay.

''My mother took me to New Players' summer performances when I was 10,'' he said, ''and I loved the camaraderie of people, rehearsing and singing. I began spending more time there, painting signs and moving furniture, and soon became an element of the company, with small roles in 'The Miracle Worker,' 'Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,' 'Barnum.' ''

Starting as an understudy for three roles at the New York Public Theater (he never got on stage), Mr. Leonard amassed credits that include ''The Beach House'' with George Grizzard for the Circle Repertory Theater, television movies, ''Brighton Beach Memoirs'' and ''Breaking the Code'' on Broadway, plays at the West Bank Cafe on 42d Street and the recent ''When She Danced'' at Playwrights Horizons.

He has just completed a part as Paul Newman's and Joanne Woodward's son in the movie ''Mr. and Mrs. Bridge,'' filmed in Kansas City, to be released in August. ''I age from a 15-year-old Eagle Scout to 22, coming home from World War II with a mustache,'' Mr. Leonard said.

Mr. Leonard, who received a general equivalency diploma when he was 17, lives in New York City and attends Fordham University between performances. Soon to return from the Cannes Film Festival with his fellow actors in ''Dead Poets,'' he is next scheduled to go into rehearsal for the film ''Married to It,'' a romantic comedy.

Q. Do you remember when you decided on an acting career?

A. I never decided to pursue an acting career. It just has happened. I still think it's going to stop and I'll have to get a real job soon, but I'm afraid to question it because if I do, it will disappear.

Q. How do you think your theater experience in high school has helped you?

A. It was a great teaching experience that prepared me in a lot of ways. We did 10 shows in 10 weeks, so there was no time to think about method. It was running for the stage, hoping you'll make it in time for your entrance. In Steven Soderbergh's new book of his diaries when directing the film ''Sex, Lies and Videotape,'' he said that on a film set there should always be a chain of command, but never a chain of respect.

At New Players, those three to four years, everyone was given the same respect. You had to, because you'd be the lead one week and painting sets the next. That's a luxury that is not available in New York, unfortunately, because of the unions. You're an actor and that's it.

Q. Have you taken any acting lessons? Do you recommend them for others?

A. I've taken two classes - a video acting class to help me get from stage to film, with Marty Winkler, currently my manager, and an acting class at H. B. Studios.

Acting classes are tricky. It's like asking someone in therapy if they'd recommend going to a psychiatrist. For some people it's great; for some it's not necessary; for some it's harmful. The best way to learn acting is just to do it.

There's a danger to the classroom, because it's safe, and you can get addicted to it. The clique of people are there, and you might tend to remain with them and never go out on your own. So it can give you the safety net which can eventually strip away your courage to go out and really try. On the other hand, you can get a wonderful teacher who brings out the best in you and gives you the courage to go out and dazzle everybody.

Q. You went from high school to Off Broadway. What were your feelings and fears during your first professional performance?

A. The first time I performed in New York - in ''Sally's Gone, She Left Her Name'' - I played Michael Learned's son. I think I was too young. I wasn't even aware of reasons to be afraid. I was just there for the fun of it. Fresh out of New Players, I knew it to be fun. I've never worried about lines. In ''Brighton Beach'' I should have been tense, because it was Broadway. I was nervous, but not racked - more excited.

Q. What do you enjoy most about acting?

A. The people, and opportunities to learn, to travel, both physically and emotionally. To look at people other than myself and try to figure out what makes them tick.

Olivier said you never play a villain; you play a man considered to be a villain; that you have to justify everything he does first; you have to know that what you are doing is right and find a way to make it right - even murder.

I just played a conceited piano player in ''When She Danced,'' and I had to figure out what would make a person be conceited and make that O.K. with me. I learned where conceit comes from - from confidence and talent.

Worst thing you can do is play someone and judge him at the same time, saying: ''Here I am. I am so conceited.'' First you have to understand why you're that way so that people interpret you as conceited.

Q. Do you consider acting an escape?

A. I don't look at performing as escaping, as really becoming another person and leaving my problems for two hours, so I don't have to deal with me, because I don't become another person. I work, so that when I am working, in a way it is me at my best. I'm not leaving myself; in fact, I'm more focused on myself than ever. I don't become that person, but I fully understand him, fully explore him, as to why he does what he does and justify it.

You can't play a fool to play Bottom, who's the opposite of fool in Shakespeare's ''Midsummer Night's Dream.'' What makes people fools is that they're completely confident in what they're doing. They don't think they're fools; they think they're right on track, which makes them so funny and makes them look like fools.

Q. Who influenced you the most?

A. I have not had one person or experience that stands out that's a turning point. Every step in acting relies heavily on the one before. Everything I've learned colors everything I have known before, and suddenly changes it.

I have learned a little bit from everyone I have known, whether about acting itself, or living and working as an actor. Like a good detective novel, for every clue that is solved, two more appear. Every time I learn something, it opens two other doors. In ''Dead Poets,'' the rooftop scene, where I throw the desk set off, was improvised. Are instincts then a part of acting?

Q. Are there desirable qualities to have as an actor?

A. Concentration, perseverence, lack of inhibitions. There's no room for self-consciousness on stage. Also, there is an element in acting that is not fair. Whatever talent is, part of it can be learned and part can't. There are people that audiences like to watch or don't. In Soderbergh's book, he says that talent plus perseverance will equal luck. But I don't know what talent is; it is beyond definition.

Q. Do you learn by watching other films and plays? Your own? Other people?

A. Sometimes I watch for directing; sometimes for performing. There are lines in ''Dead Poets'' I would do differently, if given the chance. For example, Todd said: ''You talk and people listen to you, Neil. I am not like that.'' I answer, ''Don't you think you could be?'' I think I could have made it clearer. I don't get much from observing strangers, because although I see what they do, I don't know where they're coming from.

Q. What are the main differences between stage and film work?

A. I feel that as an actor, you should start in theater, to learn the process of creating a character, in rehearsal. Film is an arena for people who already know that, because on the set they expect you to know the character inside out.

Film work is harder, because this tangible part has to happen in your head before filming takes place. And it's more solitary. You create your character alone, without the give-and-take of other actors.

Q. What tips would you give young, aspiring actors?

A. Read plays aloud with friends at home; do any work you can do in high school. Hang out with jocks, leatherheads, and see what makes them work. Don't be a theater rat and only talk to actors. Read a lot. You really have to feel it; really want it; then take it. Don't take no for an answer. Seize the day.

___________________________

There’s another one I really want to share as well, I’ll bring it with me at some point:))

#robert sean leonard #rsl #theatre #acting #interview #I love how he ended the interview with seize the day

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