As part of my author study project, I've been reading a lot of Conor McPherson lately. I'm getting very familiar with his work--the total number of plays I've now seen or read (or both) is now, if I'm not mistaken, is seven (The Seafarer, Port Authority, The Weir, The Shining City, Night Alive, St. Nicholas, & This Lime Tree Bower). That might not seem like a lot, especially since plays aren't that long, but given the emotional complexity and thought-provoking nature of his work, it feels like a lot. It's certainly more than I've seen/read of any other playwright, with the possible exception of Shakespeare (Romeo and Julliet, Twelfth Night, Richard The Third, Much Ado About Nothing, As You Like It, Macbeth, Hamlet... yeah, no, Shakespeare wins).
The two I read just recently were St. Nicholas and This Lime Tree Bower. These represent the earlier phase of his work, when he wrote monologue plays. Recently, his writing has all been in a conversational style.
These plays reminded me of something that was talked a lot about at Cherubs this summer: storytelling. Some students actually took a class on storytelling, where they created their own performance pieces telling personal narratives. I didn't, but storytelling was something that was a part of all we did there: theatre is all about telling--and more specifically, I think, sharing--stories.
I think I prefer, for the most part, McPherson's current style, because I find it so breathtakingly lifelike and honest. But there's something I find really lovely and fascinating about the monologue plays. There's something really courageous about sitting down in front of a group of people and telling a story about yourself. The characters in the monologue plays must inherently have this courage, given the nature of the play, and it adds a really intriguing psychological level to the plays.
I really do love that bravery, and that kind of personal connection the speaker has with the audience. The shared awareness, the shattered fourth wall. That kind of deep empathy was what drew me to McPherson's work in the first place, and it reminds me why I love theatre so much and why it's what I've chosen to do.
I hope that you find McPherson's bravery, spontaneity, and passion in the stories you tell and the stories that are told to you. And I hope you've enjoyed reading this blog. Thanks.
I think your appreciation for theater is super cool. There's really something about live performance, but since as a kid I was dragged to super mainstream musicals and such I have a bad impression and bias on theatre in general (which I know I shouldn't). Sharing stories is a really nice way to look at it, in addition to the audience-performing relationship. Is there anything else specifically that draws you into studying theater? Any musical aspects? What is it you love about Shakespeare? A lot of people I know say he was revolutionary yet now he's outdated and shouldn't be fussed over as much as he still is. What would you say to those who say that? (I know nothing about theater except for simple stage terms from circus performing, nor do I have an opinion on Shakespeare). Good luck with all your acting things!!! I can tell you're a natural, seriously.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, Mary! That's really sweet of you. I'm sorry to hear about your negative association with live theatre, but I know a couple shows going on right now that could probably reverse it. "Doubt," and "The Diary of Anne Frank," are playing at Writer's Theatre in Glencoe right now, and I think student prices are something like 20 dollars. It's a little bit out of the way, but I've seen both shows and they're phenomenal, and if you're up for it, they might just erase the impression those mainstream musicals made :). There are lots of other things I love about theatre, but the most important one is summed up prretty well by this Meryl Streep quote: "Acting is not about being someone different. It's finding the similarity in what is apparently different, then finding myself in there." Theatre propagates empathy, and I think that is a beautiful, powerful thing. I'm not super into musicals per se, but I love it when music is incorporated into straight drama, because it is a wonderful way for people to connect (and theatre is all about connection) and a huge part of peoples' real lives. I love Shakespeare because there's a reason we're still reading him. He's not outdated. The words he wrote still fit who we are and how we live today. There's something so honest and timeless about his plays--it's just amazing. I think the people who say those kinds of things haven't made much of an effort to understand Shakespeare's writing and honestly don't really know what they're talking about. I'm really interested in hearing more about your circus stuff, though. Is it like theatre, is there much overlap? I think it's so cool.
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