Saturday, June 17, 2006
BILL , the Magnificent Clown...
and lovely, gracious teacher ! BILL IRWIN!!! Wow! Was he terrific with the Immersion students yesterday!!!
I may have the notion in me to cut down on my actual performing as an actress....8 shows a week and the committment to do each one fully, joyously, may be a thing of my past...BUT, one thing that will never pale is my love of watching great artists do their work! And yesterday I had the privilege of watching one of the masters at work...that's one thing about this New School Summer Musical Theater Immersion Experience: it has gathered great artists together to do a series of Master Classes that are thrilling. And each and every student enrolled in the Immersion knows they are in the presence of special people, so the hours are filled with a sort of joy of learning I have rarely experienced.
It amazes and delights me that every day I walk away from The New School, I have learned something new. Artists like Judy Kuhn, Michelle Pawk, Donna McKecknie, Bill Irwin, Karen Ludwig, Bob Lupone...I mean, there is soooo much to learn in the world and it is supreme arrogance to think we know it all, as certain teachers sadly do think they do know: it all.....and of course, one of the landmark qualitities of all these great artists is their humility....so refreshing. So endearing. And deep deep fun!
I am so grateful that Diane Wondisford and Keith Buehl were good enough to include me in this initial Immersion outing.
All of us together, along with the adorable and gifted Nova Thomas and the dear Chuck Maryan have created this first curriculum out of whole cloth, and the combination of our expertise and experiences has yielded something exciting....I can feel each class i teach and each class Nova teaches all string together to create something deepening and rich....we are all so on the same page as far as goal and mission are concerned...we all seem to speak the same language of artistic development....what really matters to all of us seems to be the enriching of each individual student to his or her fullest potential. Extreme attention is being paid to each individual. It all feels so right. And since this is the pilot program for a deepening MFA Program at The New School and for future Summer Immersions as well, there is a feeling of creativity.
I have been approached lately about writing a column for BACKSTAGE, the theater trade paper....from what i gather, people at the paper, inluding my dear pal Erik Haagensen who wrote A FINE AND PRIVATE PLACE, have been dipping into and reading this blog and found my writing intriguing enough to offer the suggestion that I might write something for the paper....topics ranging from various actor training approaches to topics like why I might want to quit acting and do other things (like write)...so, I guess conversations will proceed in that direction...we shall see.
Once long ago, a psychic told me I would be a writer....wouldn't that be weird if I launched into that area of my life fully now? Sure I have always kept journals, and ( I shamefully admit) always thought people would want to read them one day...but to actually get paid for writing stuff people will read? Never crossed my mind.
Hmmmm...life is so cool.
We went to the Jewel Heart Sangha the other evening... we sat meditation for a while. Talked with a member or two...very nice people filled us in on the doings in their community. I would now like to experience the Insight Meditation Sangha....just to see what that is like. So far, Tibet House and Menla feel the best to me. But the search is interesting. I am reading The Tibetan Book of the Dead right now...though that is not what it is really called....something more along the lines of Inner Meditations and Journey through the Betweens....since Tibetans do not think there is any such thing as Death....amazing stuff....a Thurman translation. Amazing stuff.
SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much to learn!
I may have the notion in me to cut down on my actual performing as an actress....8 shows a week and the committment to do each one fully, joyously, may be a thing of my past...BUT, one thing that will never pale is my love of watching great artists do their work! And yesterday I had the privilege of watching one of the masters at work...that's one thing about this New School Summer Musical Theater Immersion Experience: it has gathered great artists together to do a series of Master Classes that are thrilling. And each and every student enrolled in the Immersion knows they are in the presence of special people, so the hours are filled with a sort of joy of learning I have rarely experienced.
It amazes and delights me that every day I walk away from The New School, I have learned something new. Artists like Judy Kuhn, Michelle Pawk, Donna McKecknie, Bill Irwin, Karen Ludwig, Bob Lupone...I mean, there is soooo much to learn in the world and it is supreme arrogance to think we know it all, as certain teachers sadly do think they do know: it all.....and of course, one of the landmark qualitities of all these great artists is their humility....so refreshing. So endearing. And deep deep fun!
I am so grateful that Diane Wondisford and Keith Buehl were good enough to include me in this initial Immersion outing.
All of us together, along with the adorable and gifted Nova Thomas and the dear Chuck Maryan have created this first curriculum out of whole cloth, and the combination of our expertise and experiences has yielded something exciting....I can feel each class i teach and each class Nova teaches all string together to create something deepening and rich....we are all so on the same page as far as goal and mission are concerned...we all seem to speak the same language of artistic development....what really matters to all of us seems to be the enriching of each individual student to his or her fullest potential. Extreme attention is being paid to each individual. It all feels so right. And since this is the pilot program for a deepening MFA Program at The New School and for future Summer Immersions as well, there is a feeling of creativity.
I have been approached lately about writing a column for BACKSTAGE, the theater trade paper....from what i gather, people at the paper, inluding my dear pal Erik Haagensen who wrote A FINE AND PRIVATE PLACE, have been dipping into and reading this blog and found my writing intriguing enough to offer the suggestion that I might write something for the paper....topics ranging from various actor training approaches to topics like why I might want to quit acting and do other things (like write)...so, I guess conversations will proceed in that direction...we shall see.
Once long ago, a psychic told me I would be a writer....wouldn't that be weird if I launched into that area of my life fully now? Sure I have always kept journals, and ( I shamefully admit) always thought people would want to read them one day...but to actually get paid for writing stuff people will read? Never crossed my mind.
Hmmmm...life is so cool.
We went to the Jewel Heart Sangha the other evening... we sat meditation for a while. Talked with a member or two...very nice people filled us in on the doings in their community. I would now like to experience the Insight Meditation Sangha....just to see what that is like. So far, Tibet House and Menla feel the best to me. But the search is interesting. I am reading The Tibetan Book of the Dead right now...though that is not what it is really called....something more along the lines of Inner Meditations and Journey through the Betweens....since Tibetans do not think there is any such thing as Death....amazing stuff....a Thurman translation. Amazing stuff.
SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much to learn!
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