Like washing your car almost always ensures some rain, it seems the best way to get an acting gig is to plan on doing something else for a while! But I’m getting ahead of myself.
A few weeks after Carved in Stone closed, I received an interesting proposition from Ryan Gierach, editor-in-chief of the WeHoNews, West Hollywood’s online-only, twice-weekly newspaper. Having read my “Take 5” columns in these pages, he wondered: Would I like to become their new theatre critic?
Hmmm. I’ve always enjoyed writing almost as much as acting, so I was sorely tempted. But should actors be critics while they’re still acting? What if I find myself auditioning for a director whose work I’ve earlier panned? What if I need to give a bad notice to good friend? Wouldn’t critiquing theatre cause a tremendous conflict of interest?
Worse still – would accepting this new job send a signal that I’d given up on acting and was now moving on? As they say, “Those who can, do. Those who can’t, teach.” I’ve always wondered if theatre and film critics are really just frustrated actors, thwarted directors or washed-up playwrights. And timewise, would it really be possible to juggle doing both?
I asked many of my actor friends. While a few seem appalled, most encouraged me to do it. “Why not?” was the prevailing advice. The more I considered it, the more I wanted to say “yes.” It would require a heavy diet of theatre on a regular basis; writing about the shows afterwards would be like an analytical college theatre course. How better to learn about theatre than to watch it, all kinds of it, over and over again, and then put my thoughts on into words?
I’ve always felt the more you write, the easier it is to write. Since I have a couple of projects I want to write and self-produce, there’s that to consider. Finally, I considered book reviews. They’re almost always written by other authors. Who better to review a book than someone who’s written a few her- or himself? Why should theatre be any different? Why is it different? So I said yes!
I’ve reviewed two plays so far: The Mystery of Irma Vep and How Katrina Plays. I loved both these divergent shows, so I haven’t had to write a single critical word … yet. Interestingly, I think I’ll learn more from those harder-to-write reviews, when I’m trying to articulate why something doesn’t work.
Then, just as I’m getting emails from publicists and trying to plot my theatre-going schedule, it happens. Jason Moyer, my former colleague at Celebration Theatre, emails, asking if I’d consider appearing in his third annual production of A Christmas Carol. Give me a nanosecond to consider: YES!
So my advice this month, as I begin work on my Jacob Marley: Make yourself busy during slow periods. Give yourself conflicts! It’s like the old saying, “Life is what happens while you’re making other plans.” Now the challenge, seeing theatre while actively working in it!
