How I See It

[thehefner]

Here's how I justify all the pain and stress of the Principles of Realism class at Studio Theatre:

What I am trying to do here, what I am working to achieve... is the difference between Willem Dafoe in SPIDER-MAN... and Alfred Molina in SPIDER-MAN 2.

If you know what I mean.


In related news, my boss and I mutually realized that he is the J. Jonah Jameson to my Peter Parker. It came to us when he actually called me a "menace" today.

Comments

[kali921.livejournal.com]

In related news, my boss and I mutually realized that he is the J. Jonah Jameson to my Peter Parker. It came to us when he actually called me a "menace" today.

Then you better pull a Parker and UNMASK!

So who's Dick!Tony?

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

Probably my brother. He can be a mentor to me, my best friend in the world, but then he can turn right around on me with his elitist snobbery. He *broke* my heart last week when he told me he hated, hated KISS KISS BANG BANG.

[2sick2pray.livejournal.com]

You know, before getting into the nitty gritty of this term paper I'd applaud that analogy, but once you get down and dirty with all the different directors and acting teachers of stanislavski's generation... well at least I came to the conclusion that maybe realism hasn't been the best influence on the theatre. Now stanislavski was a genius and all but I think the people who picked up where he left of like Vakhtangov really brought theatricality back to the theatre while preserving the level of truthfulness stanislavski demanded. Because while realism/naturalism is just hunky-dory as an idea, more and more I'm realizing it's merely a style like any other - not necessarily an ideal to be aimed for. If we recreate life exactly as it is and put it onstage, have we achieved the objective of theatre? I don't think so. And in addition, it's completely impossible. The fourth wall is never going to actually exist... there's always an awareness on the part of the performer that he or she is performing. Total immersion in a role is not only difficult, it's literally impossible in a pure and and perfect sense. There's a huge distinction between "realistic" and "truthful" and I think it's important for actors to pursue the latter first and foremost. the former is an option if it is called for by the particular production, but of course try and do shakespeare totally naturalistically and you end up with that piece of crap excuse for Romeo and Juliet directed by Baz Luhrman (I love Baz, I love R+J, the combination sucked as in my humble opinion. I will entertain any and all disagreements with this assessment).

Anyhoo, I bring this up partially as a springboard for discussion and partially as a way of procrastinating on finishing this term paper, and partly because this is a way of getting ideas for this term paper out in a forum that doesn't feel like work, so not to hijack your lj or anything...

I guess my whole point in even starting this line of discussion is... Willem Dafoe kicks ass too. Just in a different way. Although I admit I haven't seen spiderman 1 yet (a grievous error that will hopefully be corrected eventually) so he might've sucked in it, i don't know.

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

And I'm certainly not going strictly for the Stanislavski methods either, or any other specific method. I personally really dislike the school of thought where, "Ok, you need to be sad in this scene? Think about when your puppy died," which I just find totally inorganic. I'm just saying as a "for example."

I am a firm believer that most, maybe all forms of art, need to be "more real than real." An absolutely firm believer. I could explain that further, but you probably know what I'm talking about.

And don't get me wrong- I ADORE Willem Dafoe. But as an acting exercise if nothing else, watch SPIDER-MAN and then watch SPIDER-MAN 2 (and if you can, watch the easter egg on the 2 DVD with Willem Dafoe making a guest appearance) and just compare and contrast how those two actors handle their characters. Dafoe is hammy and over-the-top, pure theatrics, while Molina's is nuanced and, well, human.

I also compare Bryan Cox's Hannibal Lecter to Hopkins in much the same way, but that's a whoooole other matter of opinion...

[2sick2pray.livejournal.com]

I'm actually curious as to what you mean by more real than real... If you have time/desire to elaborate I'll be most intrigued. This kind of casual debate is far more helpful for me than any academic brainstorm session and my curiosity is peaked. Plus it beats sitting and just writing like a productive little essay machine (although if I'm an essay machine I've been broken and in need of severe maintenance for a loooong time now).

And stanislavski really wasn't, in my study of him at least, quite so into the sense memory as I think alot of particularly American actors seem to absorb. That seemed to intrigue him early in his career but the full development of those techniques after stanislavski rejected them for his own work seems all to come from a (in my opinion) very bad man named Lee Strasberg. But I should be careful condemning the advances of a well-respected teacher in the theater community just because people have poorly interpreted his teachings over the years. Still I believe his philosophy is flawed to begin with, but the abuse of his philosophy by those who have not been trained thoroughly and rigorously in it is a theatrical abomination. In my opinion.

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

Mayhap later, I shall elaborate. When I have the time! I really should, if only to get it figured out in my own head.

There's a black sun, castin' black shadows.

[suburbfabulous.livejournal.com]

Don't you just, well, act?

[spacechild.livejournal.com]

so you're saying that Peter is the J.(presumably John) Jonah Jameson to your Peter, and you, John, are the Peter to Peter's J.(presumably John) Jonah Jameson?

weird.

Kennedy had a secretarty named Lincoln and Lincoln had a secretary named Kennedy.

meanwhile, i do know what you mean, all too well, about Defoe and Molina.

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

Ha! Layers upon layers, you geek.

[spacechild.livejournal.com]

fo'reals, y0!