Visceral Reality in Sam Shepard’s TRUE WEST

South Camden Theatre Company’s production of Sam Shepard’s TRUE WEST rocked audiences with its intensity and powerful performances primarily by the play’s leads, Jason Cutts as “Lee” and Patrick Alicarlo as “Austin”. The cameos by Breen Rourke and Kris Andrews provide the right touch as well.

Robert Bingaman’s set is perfect. Andrew Cowles’ lighting design contains beautiful sunrises and sunsets, and Josh Wallenfels’ great sound pulls us even more into the house in the desert.

TRUE WEST is the story of two brothers who come home to where they grew up–about 40 miles outside of Los Angeles—in one of the many desert family communities. The brothers share little in common: Austin has lived a “normal” life having gone to college, gotten married, etc., while Lee has survived the desert and in life, primarily by being a thief. Dad is a drunk and lives somewhere in the Sonoran desert near Juarez, Mexico.

While his mother is on an Alaskan cruise, Austin, an accomplished screenwriter from the city, is house-sitting for her, and his brother drops by to prey on the neighbors’ household appliances. Austin objects to Lee’s intentions, but eventually allows him to stay–if he is out of the house when a film producer arrives that afternoon. Lee returns from a heist while the producer is still there. Instead, he talks the producer into a playing golf and looking at an outline based on an idea he has for a screenplay. Austin helps his brother with the outline, but not without humiliating his brother by overstating his own successes.

The next day, Lee returns jubilant after gambling on the golf game to get the producer to drop Austin’s project and produce his.

You can imagine the sparks that fly next. Sam Shepard is one of America’s most prolific and celebrated playwrights with his work fitting a variety of stages. Shepard, known for narration in his plays, uses short quips and retorts to send his message this time, but the message is as powerful as always.

Why does Shepard place his story about sibling rivalry among other things in the desert location? It seems distance and their mother may be buffers between the brothers’ polarity. They seem to be trying, quite literally, to bust each other’s head in. Lee, of course, leaning more toward his dad’s side, argues vehemently that Austin couldn’t survive in the desert or steal a toaster. This time, Austin is on the defensive. Each tries to emulate the other, but there is no connection. Is that the message? Maybe we are supposed to be who we are for ourselves and no one else. Or, do we need a buffer, too?

Although their father never shows up, he is at the heart of the play. One brother refuses to be anything at all like his father, while the other is already showing signs of the same pattern in his life. Shepard’s plays continually pick at the father-son relationship. In this case, the sons are “bound by fate” to follow the father however dismal the future.

Despite Robert Bingaman’s realistic scene design (and it’s a good one), the emotional intensity of the brothers’ battles ensure that this production is not realistic, and stays on point. Even with the outstanding sound and lighting effects that draw us into the scene. We are stuck there as the brothers are, tied to home, the last place we knew who we were. If anyone yelled at us, the way these two carry on, we’d leave the house or call the police.

While the play could be played with less volume —especially in a small house—and still work, I’m glad director Christopher “Jumbo” Schimpf chose to go with the playwright’s intention, which I think, gives energy to his message.

What we might think, Shepard realizes and makes us see. Sam Shepard’s plays, like any good playwright’s, are not about the stories he or she tells.

TRUE WEST is full of symbols, motifs and meaning, but it is also quite entertaining. It is a dark comedy, but so full of emotion that it doesn’t feel like it. Remember, it is not a farce, but a Human Comedy, so you can expect it to affect you deeply. Bring tissues. The play is funny, sad, angry and full of despair at times.

The South Camden Theatre Company production of TRUE WEST does a great job of reminding us that we, too, can fall victim to what people say, and that we should strive to be true to ourselves. The acting performances alone are worth the price of a ticket, but you should go for the whole deal.

TRUE WEST
Written by Sam Shepard
Directed by Christopher “Jumbo” Schimpf
April 25 – May 11, 2014
Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 p.m.
Sundays at 2:00 p.m.
South Camden Theatre Company
Waterfront South Theatre
400 Jasper Street
Camden, NJ 08104
866-811-4111
http://www.southcamdentheatre.org

Originally posted by Jack Shaw for STAGE Magazine.

Check out this video with Gary Sinise and John Malkovich.

In Makr’s Shadow: A Working Title for Harry’s Reality

If you can read between the lines, you will find hidden meanings. Harry sees two worlds on the same planet: fantasy and reality, but there is something in between, a hidden meaning he seeks.

We needn’t leave the idea of a hidden meaning to Harry. There are hidden meanings in all things creative, but also in the practical world. We read between the lines every day in OUR OWN reality. We have to or we couldn’t understand each other.

For example, words and phrases can have different meanings not readily apparent. A while, awhile and while are words that depend on how you use them. This “word” can be a noun, a verb or a conjunction.

Thus, the words have meanings depending on context–a form of reading between the lines.

If words alone can do that, how do you plant ideas between the lines?

To make that happen you have to lend your creative package to a total stranger.

I tried editing my novel once, twice, a million times–after being told once by a professional author that I could do it easily. Instead I found it difficult for several reasons:

• I was too close to it to the work; it was too personally attached to my psyche.
• It had been written and re-written over a long time.
• I decided to write it in first person and changed my mind, which only meant there was opportunity for more errors.
• I needed to find a focus and stick with it.

Writing a novel, as I have found it, is excruciating if you want to do it right. It takes time–a lot of time to tell a good story and have it mean something to anyone who reads it. That scenario is unlikely to happen without a good editor.

Most people think of an editor as a proofreader, pointing out the usual grammar, spelling and typos. Not so. A copywriter does that. Of course when you start looking for an editor, you have little idea where to look.

Obviously you look for someone who has worked with your particular genre, see some examples of their work, but most importantly you need to talk with the person directly so you both are thinking alike.

Hopefully, before you turn it over to an editor, you have done the most you can do in telling the story your way, with the style that can be attributed only to you. You may fear the editor will “edit” more like a teacher, and spoil your masterpiece.

At the moment it is a masterpiece only to you. At times, it is more like a child and you, the parent, have to keep correcting it. You have to stop. Stop parenting or babysitting, and go on to the next project. That’s the hardest part.

When I made the decision to have In Makr’s Shadow professionally edited, I was far from ready. I had a mangled piece of writing close to my heart–for at least a decade. When I looked at it, it seemed all right, but it didn’t snap–it didn’t grab me. As I looked to publish, I found errors constantly because most of all the changes were of my own making.

Here’s where the editor or a mechanic comes in to fix it. In my case, it was a true book doctor, an editor Tricia Johnson. I made changes every time I read a passage to make it perfect. It’s happened on this blog. I post a clip, but as I’m reading it–it’s all wrong, and disappointing so I fix it. In reality, I’m may not be fixing it at all; I have clarified a paragraph that didn’t read well, but I may have also changed the style and focus for the reader each time I tried to fix it.

Like the perfectionist most creators try to be, we change anything we craft if there is a way to do it. While it’s impossible to change a piece of art without creating something new, it’s not so hard in other creative endeavors. If we are musicians, we try to produce a better result, or a different result every time we play the same song. If we are actors on stage, we do the same thing–every night. No two performances are alike. It is the “creative” part of us that can’t leave the work alone. In some cases, that’s fine, but not with writing a novel.

Tricia took my novel and broke it down into what it communicated to her. She made my message stronger and the delivery better by deleting words, entire paragraphs, asking me to clarify what I meant. To do this, often paragraphs and chapters were moved around. More importantly as she did this, the novel became more focused, tighter and direct–a grabber and keeper of interest. All that we want in our work.

The King’s English and American English are different. I had selected a British editor who had experience editing science fiction. It seemed to me her perspective could be interesting and it was. There were some surprising differences between us–all good. Now I had a choice. Should the book have an international or American reading? So, I gave a hard look at my idioms, singularly American word choices and phrasing. I changed them to include a more universal audience.

My editor, Tricia Johnson, The Word Weaver, gave me a list with page and paragraph numbers so I could take another look at what I had written. She rewrote passages, changed tenses and cleaned it up in so many ways, but most of all she gave advice–advice that came from editing other novels. What came back to me was a focused, gripping novel. Over the course of the experience, the novel took on a new significance. Instead of a jumbled mess, it was whole and something to be proud of. Tricia’s work was phenomenal. It helped me create my masterpiece. More importantly, she taught me to read between the lines of my own work.

I recently added Tricia to my Facebook and LinkedIn. In fact, upon seeing the result of her fantastic work online, in Harry’s Reality, she pointed out to me that maybe my idea of juxtaposing a frightening image with a less than a mysterious title didn’t working so well. I wanted the novel to be received both as dramatic in thought and scary, and trusting Tricia as I do, a new cover title may be coming soon.

Originally titled, In Makr’s Shadow, there may be a change back to the past. Ironically, it was the working title for Harry’s Reality. The cover will remain the same with the exception of the title. Hopefully, that will make a difference in the first impression the book makes on the public.

At present, Harry’s Reality is available in any digital format wherever fine e-books are sold.

 

The Endangered One Percent

In Harry’s Reality, it is the one percent that is the most endangered. They aren’t the last of their species, but they may be the first to go the way it looks because they are the only ones fighting for the human race. Now, that Harry, an Insider who sees through SensaVision fantasy, who knows how it used to be, who may be the one to lead them out of the Shadows has joined them.

He could be an Insider spy. There is that. Outside you don’t take many chances. And, you don’t trust strangers. “I never trusted him.” “He’s no leader.” “He’s a coward.” “Can I kill him, Carlos?”

“Not now.”

That is not an actual blurb, but a quick thought-blink, as Harry would say. He does that, too. Below is lighter moment that turns into something else. That something else I didn’t supply, but just to show you that the novel isn’t all that dark, here is Harry trying to have a normal assignation or “date” as we call them.

On appearances alone, this match-up didn’t seem unusual. It was his usual dinner with intimate talk to follow. In the past, he entertained his dates by showing them portions of his vid collection, but they had seldom been as excited as he was about them. More often they were shocked that Harry dared to break the law by showing them to someone else. Did Makr know? Of course, He did; Harry never saw any of those dates again. Onward, he pledged to be more compliant.

He sensed something was different. There wasn’t the usual tension. There was sexual tension, yes, but not the kind of social tension when people stand back and ease into a social pairing. So, what else was different? The instructions for this date were minimal. Harry usually watched a few hours of Makr-approved vid programs or talked with a SensaVision counselor before having a date for dinner.

Without the necessary detailed instructions, Harry was going to have to improvise. Odd that Makr should allow an uncontrolled match-up. He caught himself questioning the logic of it all. Go with it, be a different Harry—a new and improved version, he told himself. Makr knows best.

He jumped up rather quickly from dinner, startling his guest.

“Surprise!” he said, remembering and relishing the act of saying the archaic word. “I have a surprise for you.”

“What’s a ‘sur-prize’? Is that the word?” she asked, clueless to what he was talking about.

“Inquiring minds want to know,” he said, and grinned. “A dessert—a special dessert.” He raised one eyebrow and smiled conspiratorially at the use of his own trivia.

A bit shaken, but more stirred, she gave him an intriguing ‘I’m-interested’ look.

“The surprise in not knowing until the last second,” he continued. “I make it myself. The recipe’s not on the Cyber menu.”

Harry eyed her suspiciously, looking for clues to her guilt or innocence in some plot to catch him at this most vulnerable moment. As he was about to reveal the real Harry, he felt unprotected, exposed—with his pants down—figuratively speaking.

“Shall we?” Harry said in his most charming voice as he offered her his arm for the trip to the kitchen.

“Yes. Why the hell not?” She accepted his offer. “I’m up for something new.”

That didn’t sound like something an Insider would say, but Harry brushed it off as refreshing.

In the kitchen, Harry ordered Annie to put herself away until morning. As soon as the Cyber cook left the immediate area, he went to the freezer and took out three containers of different flavored ice cream.

“Do you like ice cream?” Harry grinned. Of course she did, or they wouldn’t have matched.

“Yes, of course,” she answered cautiously. “Doesn’t everyone?” she quipped as she buckled up for the unknown and the unexpected. So far, he hadn’t shown her much of either.

“The rest is personal,” he announced.

Next, he proceeded to make the two of them a giant sundae in a single bowl, topped it off with some of his favorite sweet, fruity, and nutty ingredients—then after she added some of her favorites, he topped it off with lots of whipped cream. This sundae was not just a sundae or a combination of flavors, it was a union of individual preferences—a shared affinity only he and Donna could have. Harry was beaming with pride in his creation.

Now, for the experience…

With spoons at the ready, Harry and Donna clinked them together in a toast to the unknown and unexpected delights they were about to share. Harry began first by dipping his spoon in the sweet concoction and offering it to her. Still in her devil-may-care mode, she took it with a flourish, closing her eyes. The result was dizzying. She opened her eyes widely, letting Harry know she loved it, and fed him a spoonful of her choosing. Then, the silliness began.

“It’s good! Wonderful! Mmm!” She and Harry couldn’t stop talking. Trivial exchanges of words. Happy emotional remembrances. They swapped happy ice cream memories. Childhood memories. Ice cream dribbles. Harry laughed and wiped her chin. She laughed and wiped his. More laughter.

“Alarm! Alarm!”

Laughter stopped in midstream. They both became very quiet—and serious.

“There is an unsanctioned presence at the door.”

“Who is it? Home Security, identify.” Even though exposure to the rebel lifestyle had prepared him to look over his shoulder even at home now and then, his heart skipped a beat.

“The presence is not registered. Repeat. Presence is not registered. Cyber security notified.”

Harry knew the Cyber security would take only a few minutes to arrive and remove the intruder. He switched off the automatic door security system, and the door opened. It was Desiree.

“Hello, Harry.” Pause. “I see you do not lack for company, sanctioned or un-.” She smiled, but it seemed somewhat hypocritical.

Both Harry and Donna looked like dirty-faced children, shiny with streaks of chocolate and strawberry ice cream, and dried whipped cream; guilty of wild abandonment and irresponsible behavior. Harry, unable to contain himself, blurted out: “Desiree!”

Silence.

Why didn’t she say something—anything? The pause was too unnerving, so Harry broke the silence.

“I…I’m….I’m glad to see you again.” Still no response, so Harry stumbled on uncomfortably. “Uh…uh…this is Donna.”

“I see,” she finally said rather coldly. “I didn’t know you were ‘friends’—is that the word, Harry?” The ice cream had given them away.

Can’t Trust Each Other? Trust Reality.

An earlier cover of Harry’s Reality

We can’t trust each other, but we have to trust reality, Winston thought. Both men from different sides of reality relaxed a bit for a moment as movement below had stopped. The sun was rising—a big bright orange ball sitting on the horizon—elongating shadows and giving everything below a rosy hue. He put the night vision goggles away for now.

Suddenly, there was a knocking on the outside of the flying vehicle. Tiny black flying creatures the size of bumble bees were hitting the car’s exterior as if to get the occupants’ attention. Instinctively, Greg slowed down to get a better look.

Never having seen bees before, Winston had no idea of what was happening.

“We’ve got a problem,” Greg announced. “We’re being followed…” He looked down at a small screen he had installed on the hovercar’s dashboard to see the reality on the ground—a bank of red indicators—telling him cybert lasers were moving like spotlights in their direction.

An excerpt from “Harry’s Reality.” Note. Makr is pronounced like “maker.” He took the “e” out to be the “One and Only.” Of course, there’s more to that story. And, there’s more than just the war in the dark. This reality takes place in the sky. More later.

“Let’s get out of here!” they both shouted simultaneously.

He shoved the throttle forward and pulled back on the elevator stick. The hovercar responded with incredible acceleration, forcing its passengers hard into their seats as it reached beyond gravity.

Greg turned his head enough to see an incredulous Winston. “I modified your vehicle a bit.”

“Glad you did,” said Winston calmly, as if he was just along for the ride. Steal my ‘car will ya? “Still can’t see the lasers,” he said smugly.

“Don’t worry. They’re there and lookin’ for us. This is one time I’d trust a machine,” he said, patting his detection device on the dash.

At that moment, the dashboard monitor exploded as it was hit by a laser blast.

“Great! Just great!” So much for an early warning system, thought Winston.

Greg slammed the stick back even more and punched the accelerator throttle all the way forward to get the craft out of range, but he wasn’t fast enough. The hovercar was suddenly assaulted with ten or twelve laser blasts that were burning half-inch holes in non-critical parts of the hovercraft, with a few narrowly missing its occupants.

“Where did that come from?” whined a nervous Winston.

“There must be an entire bank of laser cannons—like artillery—hidden down there with SensaVision. How can Makr bring it to us way up here?”

“Greg, it’ll be a fine point to ponder later, but can you save our asses now?” He was shouting the last part of the sentence. Winston’s high anxiety was balanced by Greg’s extreme calm under pressure.

“Guess we should see if we broke anything.” Greg had not been this introspective since they’d met. His voice was strangely quiet and serene.

“You are scaring me, pal,” Winston said. “We get blasted from the earth some 5,000 feet or so, and you say, we might have broken something. We’re lucky to be alive.”

“Shall we thank Makr for that?” He made a cursory damage assessment. “We’re still afloat. No system damage.”

“What do you make of that?” Winston asked.

“I don’t know for sure. Cybert adaptation to our use of air tactics maybe. But it’s not complete. Depending on the models, some adapt quickly, some don’t. Weak points. If we find those…”

“What do we do now? They can find us and kill us up here…oh, shiiiit!”

“What’s wrong?

“I’m hit! Bleeding!” He was trying to wrap some of his Stealth fabric around his left leg to stop the flow of the blood, but it wasn’t working.

Greg grabbed his laser ax and changed the setting. “Here, this will cauterize the wound.”

“Hey, are you nuts? That’ll really hurt!”

“No kidding. Want to bleed to death?”

“No,” Winston admitted and submitted., “One leg wound ready for treatment.”

“Hang in there. Lowest setting. I’ll be quick.”

It was obvious from Greg’s confidence that he had done this numerous times before. Winston noticed several burn scars around Greg’s neck and wondered if they had been caused the same way.

“Ow!” he protested.”Makrrrr!” Then screamed as the laser burned the hair, seared the flesh and sealed the wound.

“Such a baby. Done.”

“Sorry. That’s it?”

Greg nodded. “You’ll have quite a scar though.”

“I didn’t mean to sound like such a wimp.”

“Don’t worry, you’ll feel more pain later. Then, you can be a wimp.”

Winston winced at the notion that he was beginning to think like his kidnapper/partner.

He looked up and glanced to his side to see the bees were back, neck and neck with them, flying at an amazing speed. “Greg, how fast are we going?”

“About 230 miles per hour. Why?”

“We still have company,” he said, nervously staring out on the right side of the hovercar’s dome.

“Tighten your seatbelt,” Greg warned.

“How can they go that fast?”

“Tighten your seatbelt!”

“Tiny engines…” Winston gave him a quizzical look. “I’m not going to like this, am I?”

“Just hold on!”

Greg turned the hovercar quickly to check the bees’ response time. He did this three or four times as he did before, and each time, the bees adjusted accordingly after a fraction of a second. Twice as fast. Then he knew what he had to do. He pointed the hovercar downward and plummeted toward the ground as fast as the accelerator could push it.

“This doesn’t seem safe, Greg. Greg? Greg!” With each ‘Greg,’ he screeched his increasing terror with more volume and pitch.

“Greg! What’re you doing?” Winston half cried and half pleaded. Pushed back in his seat by the g-forces, he could hardly get the words out. He watched in horror at the earth rising to meet them face-to-face. There was a reason he wanted to be in control in any situation at all, and this was it. Winston noticed the ‘bees’ on his side of the vehicle were keeping pace with the hovercar even as its pace doubled, then tripled.

Greg smiled, then said, “Trust me,” as he kept an eye on the hovercar’s altimeter…500, 400, 300. Bees still there. 200, 100. Hope Makr never thought of this scenario. Only one way to find out. At 50 feet he hit the automatic leveling switch. The hovercar performed as it was told, leveling off immediately and leaving the bees little time to adjust. There wasn’t enough time. The tiny cyberts crashed into the pavement below, shattering into thousands of minuscule pieces of metal.

“Pull over! Pull over, Jackson, now!”

Not sure what was happening with his new partner, he brought the hovercar to halt, hovering some hundred feet off the ground. Suddenly the canopy slid back and he saw Winston bent over the hovercar’s side retching, losing the contents of his stomach and spraying anything below them.

Meanwhile, in the hovercar, Greg was elated with success and pumped full of nature’s high: adrenaline. His smile changed to a grimace when the smell of Winston’s vomit gagged him and he, too, couldn’t help but be sick over his side of the vehicle as well. Logic would have made it merely the results of too much acceleration one way and the sudden return to level, leaving their stomachs on the ground.

“Now what?” Winston asked, relieved, suddenly acting as if nothing unusual has happened…when he could catch his breath.

“I hope we got some on a few Cyber,” said Greg, wiping his mouth on his sleeve.

“I’d rather get something on them that’ll do more damage.”

Comrades who threw up together…

It was the first time Winston recalled ever having regurgitated—or feeling unwell. A rather unpleasant and novel experience. Disgusting actually. There was something to be said for living a sheltered existence

Not too surprisingly, Winston concluded, even after the laser burn. He’d rather experience the pain. So his nausea was nothing. It made him angry, focused, and feeling more alive than ever.

To Engage or Not To…

I was on LinkedIn recently and saw more answers to the question: “I’ve written my first novel and it is about to be published. Now what do I do?” Or words to that effect. And, the answers diverged to getting advice from others while you were writing your book to editing. Someone said English teachers were good. Someone said, “No, they only correct grammar, but don’t know anything about novel writing.” That didn’t sit well with me. While I’m not 100% sure that I would sit down and go over my book line by line with an English teacher,  you and I may know more about English teachers than this person.

Did someone forget there are English teachers who write novels, English teachers who teach Creative Writing, and English teachers who hold Writing Workshops? And, yes, I do know you don’t have to be an English pro to write anything. You can be self- educated. I wish I had the gift of writing great descriptions; however, my talents lie elsewhere as a writer. Everyone is different.

I have a Master’s degree in English and Theater as well as another degree in Social Psychology. I was told by a professional writer that I could definitely write and to edit myself. Instead I hired a well-established editor. We went a few rounds and the end product still had to be edited by me.

The hardest part is finding someone unbiased to read your novel and give an honest opinion. Friends don’t want to hurt you so their take is slanted, other writers want to sound smart (even if it’s subconsciously), and agents can tell you what is marketable. I’d say give it to someone who reads outside your particular genre to tell you what they think. Don’t buy,” You’re very descriptive and write well.” It’s a nice way of saying… Well, it’s just nice. There are a fair number of famous writers who wrote minimal description with the idea of less being more. Not to dwell, but I’ve always found too much description or an overuse of name brands to make the story real to make the story less universal. The trick is to find just enough to make something more than just a story. That’s why I don’t call myself a storyteller; I’m a novelist, which I believe is different. The novelist by my definition is capable of having more meaning in his or her work. Perhaps, we should call a wordsmith now…

Does the combination of plot, description and characters work or doesn’t it? It doesn’t really matter what genre. For example, I watch Crime shows on television; I don’t read Crime novels, but I’d know a good one if I saw one. I use to read a lot of science fiction, now I read less and I keep aware of trends. My first novel is science fiction. I could be unbiased about a science fiction novel especially if it dealt with a different kind of science fiction than my own. I’m not a fan of Fantasy, but I know good structure, good dialogue and character development enough to give any work a fair hearing.

All novels should engage you totally by the end of the first chapter. I suppose everyone sets their own rules. Some people are more or less patient.

By my rules, you should have an idea of the writing style, and if the story moves you then, it’s worth reading. If it interests you. I’m finishing a book now that held my interest more than the action, which doesn’t occur that often; however, the basic idea was so intriguing I stuck with it. My favorite book? Probably not, but not a bad diversion, perhaps three and a half stars.

I know the original post was about publishing and not feedback, but here’s how we bring it back. Initially, I found agents were the best at giving feedback.

I don’t think I was really ready then to pursue that route. I was one of those with a “hot” manuscript that hadn’t been edited professionally by me or anyone else at the time. As it is, I think I sent an earlier version to be published as an e-book. I agree with those who say do the marketing yourself, if you decide to e-publish, The marketing people use the same tools at your disposal and try to entice you to purchase a video product so you can put the link on your various sites, I’m a fan of links, but they are cheaper ways to get that done, too. I was on a time limit with my book in terms of technology surpassing what is in the book, which ultimately led to my decision to go digital.

My other books available through Smashwords include my best-selling Five-Star, The Cave Man Guide to Training and Development, ActingSmarts on Local and Regional Theatre for acting beginners, and Acting Smarts Reviews Local and Regional Theatre for a taste of theatrical reviews. The last two books are free.  Harry’s Reality, a novel of the near future, is exclusively available from Amazon.

When Theatre Trains Leaders

People often wonder how with my speech, theatre and psychology education/experience that I find it not such a large leap to business practices and from there–in particular, to the training of leadership.

I suspect those of you in theatre or any of the performing arts will understand almost immediately why that is so. You know:

• why actors can grab and hold an audience.
• what we know about establishing credibility.
• what we know about finishing what we start.

Every play I see as a critic reminds me of any organization evolving from cradle to grave–well, maybe to prime is a better analogy. I didn’t see it so much as an actor; as a director, I do it. Having lived the theatre life and worked for the government and private sector, I’ve seen it, and lived both lives. With one difference: I’ve always looked at the non-artistic side from another perspective.

What will you do when you’ve stopped performing? Please continue to study the world as you are and you can’t fail.

If only THEY looked at their business or non-profit with a different perspective, too… Who’s they? Organizational trainers and leaders, of course.

First, theatre is a business. Second, actors and other performers use the same skill set as business leaders. “Whaaat!” you say. The following quote may help to summarize what I mean:

The same set of skills that actors rely on to deliver a riveting performance can be found in our most innovative and successful business leaders. Actors must speak with presence, with passion, and intention. Great leaders in all fields rally our emotions, our allegiances, and our commitment in just that fashion.
—Susan V. Booth, Jennings Hertz Artistic Director of the Alliance Theatre

So, how do the top leaders get there? There’s no one way. That’s why I wrote a blog on Why Isn’t All Training Like Training for Your Black Belt? that changes our approach to how we look at training and leadership as a whole. It is similar in what theatre does to put on a show requires the employees share the same vision, dedication, cooperation and leadership, which are absolutely essential aspects necessary in leading a successful company. What does this have to do with training. It means our training charter can change.

Kevin Daum represents the business side of things, and his latest blog article, 4 Great Leadership Lessons From The Arts, gave me this idea for training based on his four points. Kevin published a journal article, Entrepreneurs: The Artists of the Business World, which makes sense since Kevin has an arts background along with more than 15 percent of entrepreneurs, making more than a million dollars a year, who belong to the elite Entrepreneur’s Organization. By the way that million dollars is the minimum requirement for membership in that organization. As Kevin says, that 15 percent “must be doing something right.”

Here’s what Kevin says theatre or any other performing arts leaders do and not-so-remarkable business leaders do not (the comments underneath Kevin’s points are mine):

• Lead a Project from Start to Finish
  • I’m developing and directing a play to performance, which means not one plan but several plans to start with and see to through fruition.
• Manage Dynamic People Effectively
  • I’m holding auditions, hiring technical and design staff and making sure all work together while I am directing a play, and making sure this cooperation will continue during the performance phase.
• Ensure Total Accountability
  • I’m directing a play, responsible for the quality of opening night to the audience, to the board members of the theatre, to the funding sources, and accountable that my employees do not have to work under stressful conditions.
• Implement Big Picture Thinking
  • I’m directing a play and believe I have a unique vision to share that can make the play stronger in the eyes of today’s audience than when it was originally presented, and I have to sell everyone on this vision or it will not work.

It’s rather obvious isn’t it. If you are familiar with my own training blog, What Would a Cave Man DO or How We Learned What We Know About Training; this is a perfect example where outside sources unrelated to your business can provide untold insight. I actually wrote and published an e-book, called The Cave Man Guide to Training and Development; yes, the title is spelled correctly. The “cave” refers to our work place or our home today, but the principle is the same. I also wrote a dystopian science fiction e-novel, Harry’s Reality, available from Amazon and from other major vendors, probably for free since it’s just coming out. It is about what’s real and what isn’t, but beyond that, it’s just a good read in my humble opinion. Actually, it’s full of mystery, adventure and humor, but who wants that these days? And, we blow up a few things, too.

For a more in depth look of the four points from my perspective, see my complete article, Using Theatre to Train Leaders on my training and development site at The Free Management Library.

As for those of us already engaged in bringing the arts to business, we need to keep up the pressure not only the businesses, but in the schools. Businesses say they want certain individuals ready to work, but are they sure that’s they really want. Is an arts degree so bad after all? The media has been saying it all along. We know you need two jobs to do theatre or dance professionally until you hit a touring company, a Regional Theatre, or Broadway or the West End. Maybe, that’s not all there is…

Again, there is the obvious. Just show these four points to business and hope they buy into it. I say incorporate creative arts into your leadership training.

These four points resonated with some of my theatre friends who applied for jobs in business and were turned away. Perhaps they shouldn’t have been turned away. With what we know now–these very people are the creatives and creatives innovate. And, those people that innovate?

My thanks to Kevin Daum for his inspirational post of the four points here and ideas that might have been triggered by him for me to put on my own particular twist. An Inc. 500 entrepreneur with a more than $1 billion sales and marketing track record, Kevin Daum is the best-selling author of Video Marketing for Dummies. @awesomeroar

If you like this blog and others you’ve found on this site, please follow me. Or, if you are more business-minded, check out my international training and development blog, or my training and development group on GovLoop.

The Importance of “Warm and Fuzzies” in Business, and in Life

I never thought of training as a “warm and fuzzy,” but I get it now. I suppose training is to business like the study of literature, speech and theatre is to the study of business and management analysis. When I taught English and speech at the U.S. Air Force Academy, I taught those “warm and fuzzy” subjects to future pilots, astronauts and other officers who would leave the Academy with the equivalent of an engineering degree no matter what their major. There was no English major by the way, and certainly not theatre, although we did have a film club, a speech forensics club and a drama club. So there was interest in those “fuzzy” subjects even if they did seem off point to the cadet career goals; some actually liked them, but wouldn’t admit it for fear of being uncool.

Imagine the challenge of teaching these “warm and fuzzy” subjects to students who think in “black and white.” I wanted them to look at gray areas, have opinions and back them up, and I wanted their creativity. If I’ve got it wrong, I’m sure you’ll tell me. There is a reason why we call these subjects the humanities; it is because they make us human. I have a hard time putting training (although education works) in that same category, I think there are similarities in this context and it is the same force at work.

I believe it was my job as a teacher of “fuzzy” subjects, as now, to take those “warm and fuzzy” subjects and demonstrate their relevance in the real world. When you’re a teenager, even a smart one, you still see the world in black and white.  I probably won’t surprise you that I delighted in getting them to see the gray areas and venture out in the colorful creative world.

Funny thing.  We admire those heroes who think outside the organization protocols; if what they do benefit us, we are happy.

If you’re interested in seeing what a guy does with the theatre arts under the of training and development, I have a training blog, translated into 60 some languages, and I am author of the Cave Man of Training and Development. By the way, “caveman” is not misspelled, but a “Cave” way at looking at the place we work and learn as the similar Cave as the caveman had, and looking at training from that perspective. To use on overused term, outside the box. My blog articles there tend to be longer and I use my background in theatre, education, psychology, training at the corporate level, my military experience and civil service.

Not all actors, act all the time. I was fortunate to a have a real job and do some professional theatre and commercials, although often I wish I had poured more energy into the theatre and did wait on tables until the next show came along. Who knows how different life would be? I did learn an actor learns more than just acting, an insight into reality in much the way a psychologist gains insight into behavior.

Here’s the link for my Training and Education Blog at The Free Management Library. BTW, if you are interested in reviews I also write for STAGE Magazine from time to time.

Catching Up with Some Personal Notes

An old headshot of mine, California-style from the eighties.

Before anyone gets any ideas, I have to tell you I like most music done well. I even like some Country, but wife, Amy, and son, Aidan, are the real fans. We all like Sugarland’s Jennifer Nettles. I still remember days going to classical concerts, even opera, and jazz clubs in days of old. I listen to 90.9 (National Public Radio), 92.5 (Country) and occasionally 98.1 (Oldies, but not too old), but mostly I listen to NPR. I was actually fascinated by a recent discussion and samples of Cajun music.

After being a DJ throughout college and listening all day long to top 40 whatever, you tend to drift to something else in your spare time. I went through an R&B stage, and knew enough about the music in telephone interview to be offered a job as a DJ at an all-Black radio station in Kansas City. The in-person interview was a hoot. The Station Manager couldn’t help laughing and called in his staff to meet Jack Shaw. Felt a little like Buddy Holly when he played at the Apollo, not knowing his audience. The Station Manager and I agreed I could definitely DJ, but personal appearances might be difficult–certainly unusual, but mutally decided it was a no-go. I probably could have made all kinds of discrimination complaints, but eveyone was so nice and respectful even though jaws dropped when I announced I was hoping to be the new afternoon DJ. (The interview was really more a meet-the-boss-before-you-start sort of thing.) I left smiling and I hope they were, too.

Here I am as “Candy” in a recent version OF MICE AND MEN in New Jersey.

As concerts go, I’m not the fan of raucus large crowds, which you tend to get at popular music concerts, although I do like to watch people.  I don’t get the rush some people get when their “star” walks on stage, or the “happy feet,” or feel like bumpin’ and swaying when the music starts. Guess I’m just not made that way. Probably would hurt my back, but I try to be respectful and at least I abandon my seat and stand there because it’s the only way to see what I paid to see. No offense to anyone that it thrills–just not my thing.

I like baseball, too, but I don’t like to go to the games like I used to–mostly because of all the people, the hassle of parking, and over-priced food.  Used to be a huge fan when I worked in radio and played the games on the weekends and was treated with free media passes for the Kansas City Royals, but today I find myself just too busy. But I do enjoy film and reading, more introverted stuff, I guess. I don’t hold it against you if sports is your thing; just don’t hold it against me that it’s not mine. Not now. I wrestled and ran track in High School, albeit not to stardom. I played some tennis in college for fun, not competition. I like the Olympics and seeing folks achieve personal bests. Maybe, that’s why following the big team sports aren’t my hobby. Maybe being a bit small made me only eligible for the sports I played, and disinterested in those in which I felt “discriminated” on the basis of size.

I still haven’t figured out if theatre audiences are mostly there in serious theatre to be intellectually stimulated or just be entertained. But there are always enigmas; I guess this is one for me.

I believe we should all go with our strengths, not dwell on our weakness in all things–including theatre. I’m officially a senior now, having lived more that half a century. I’ve worked to survive rather than love what I did for work, but now I want the passion to drive me. I find most things interesting for awhile. Theatre, public speaking, interpersonal communication, training and development, and psychology have hung in there, and are so incredibly linked to my life. I am faced with some incredibly hard decisions if I have to change what it is I do in my life because all things are important. I no longer am the Performance Examiner for the Wilmington Examiner; that decision came easy since I didn’t live there but was trying to localize stories, which is easy to do with peformance in general. Frankly, it was taking too much time I wanted to devote to family, and pursuing my efforts to embrace a new career in coaching business and nonprofit professionals in the art of public speaking as well as pursue my theatre blog and columnist role with STAGE Magazine.

On a slightly different note, I have started to make in-roads with potential gigs, partners, and even adjunct teaching. I still act occasionally and I hope to be moving back into directing shortly–one of my favorite projects in the offing.

On Performance Reviewing…

Some theaters want reviews, some do not. I find this perplexing for the following reasons:

• A show that disappoints, given the critic’s perspective, is better off than the show that disappoints without benefit of someone who knows what a theatre has to go through to put on a show
• A show that turns out great gets the best publicity in the world–an educated opinion to educate consumers.
• A show that is experimental in nature or on an unusual topic gets a perspective to bring the right audience to see it.
• Reviewers can sell a show or close it if readers trust and identify with the writer.

It seems to me it would be better to have several different reviewers than just one, and therefore, different perspectives. But then I believe reviewers help theatre rather than do it harm. I think even pre-show reviewers are a good idea–if timely enough.

Writing about theatre performance is different from other subjects people normally write and comment about such as sports and news. It could be just our devotion to art and education–or because we write about theatre’s very nature to communicate that makes us different. We are a “Consumer Report” for the arts, backing claims of excellence, reporting quality and giving perspective so an audience member knows what they might like to see or miss.

Note. The purpose of this piece is not to debate the question of whether we should we review community theatre; simply put, a good reviewer, in my opinion, makes the distinction. It is a fact among many to consider when reviewing. I’ll save that larger discussion for another time, but please feel free to give your views on the subject at any time.

For now I ‘d like to comment other aspects of reviewing theatre.

Most performance reviewers do it because they love the art. In the nicer term, we are reviewers; in a harsher term for some, critics and “what do we know?” I am also an admirer of art, a worshiper of beauty. I appreciate talent and venerate creativity. Is that so bad?

Some professional reviewers are former performers themselves, theatre aficionados, or writers wanting to write about something–anything. The last one can be a problem.

I went to school with writers who wanted to be theatre and film reviewers, and since I was involved in theatre and they weren’t, I had to ask “why.”

Well, it wasn’t exactly what they wanted to do, they said, but it would do until they could get their humor column going…and in syndication. I guess to them being a reviewer is like a columnist in training. At least, it is something like being a columnist, but easier, since someone gives you the topic and you write your reactions down.

Believe me, it’s not that simple.

Writing with a certain style or flair for the dramatic can be entertainment, but it should also communicate some truth.

Reviewing is also not just a synopsis or a promotion. True, a synopsis may be important to give the audience perspective, and a review can be a promotion. Telling a potential audience members everything is wonderful serves no useful purpose other than to promote the current show. If it is not put in perspective, the audience sees flaws in the review, and they are disappointed. Your readers won’t trust you next time and may not come back to the theater. Write an feature article about the show beforehand that focuses on some aspect of the show that makes it different from other theaters that have performed this show.

A show can be entertaining without being art. It can have weak points but soar to great heights elsewhere. Since every audience is different, most actors agree, every performance is different, too. Every review should be different and I don’t think they should be used just to promote, nor should they be used to dissuade people from seeing a show.

I’ve seen shows that thrilled and ones that disappointed. So have you.

So, what should a reviewer be? Fair, honest, intelligent, knowledgeable, artistic? Probably, all these things. Ethical? Above all.

To me, it is simply not being totally upfront and honest with your audience. I thought once that you shouldn’t take an active part in a theatrical show if you wrote reviews about the theater. You could do one or the other, but not both. Does that mean you can’t be a part of the theater community and still review fairly? Can you give a great review to a play that doesn’t deserve it, harkening back to the days of “payola” in the early days of records? You could, but other people saw it. Someone could say you weren’t being honest.

In this area, there are over 90 theaters within a hours drive. Pretty easy to be involved in the theatre community and do both. It keeps you fresh. Still, I never review a play I auditioned for. I know in my heart that I could still give that play a fair review. I could control my “sour grapes” attitude. Of course, I could. I’m an honest guy. But someone else might not think so, and why go there if you don’t have to?

On the other hand, is it fair to review a play in a theater where I’ve performed or directed before? I say, “yes,” without hesitation. There is one advantage; I know the theater/theatre—its pluses and minuses. Unfortunately, I’ll also know the potential or opportunities missed in the theater environment, but if I’m honest, I say that at the outset. After all it is all about perception and my perspective.

Would you want reviewers who are not part of the active theater community?

I actually went to school to be a reviewer/critic, not an actor or a director, but I have acted and directed here and elsewhere, professionally and as a volunteer. My education, if anything, makes me think about my responsibilities as a critic, but my experience makes me see the value of being in the actor or director’s place. I don’t expect perfection, but I want good theater–true to the playwright’s intention. I want scenes to work on stage and the audience to not be bored. I want something to come from it; I want to be moved to appreciate it.

A note to all theatrical artists: The reviewers, who review your show, will probably love it. They want to love it. Face it. You are a great director, great designer, or a great performer, and I am a great fan. Do yourself proud. You perform because it’s fun–not because it’s art, while I review plays so others may love the performance as you and I do.

Does Anyone Actually Say “Bad Words?”

Does anyone actually say “goddamnit” in real life? I’ve only ever heard it said in film and TV. Surely a candidate for despicable cliche of the month…

Swearing and meaning it verbatim has been so watered down, but we still use it for effect. Movies, plays and comedians lose the effect when they use it too much, but cursing still has a place in art if done well. Overdoing anything puts more focus on it.  If it works, fine.  If it’s offensive to you, don’t listen.  My personal world is not filled with it; but I’m not personally offended by it.  I’d prefer my kids not be subjected to it; that’ll come from their own peer group. Hopefully, from me they will see it is unnecessary in an educated world.

Even the educated use profanity for effect–and include “goddamnit” in that category. Perhaps, chauvinistically, I think it makes women less attractive, but I think smoking, too many tattoos and piercings have the same effect.  I don’t like to hear it because it is weak use of language.

I heard it said by my parents so much when I was a kid it became more like the cursing in “A Christmas Story.” It just translated to “I’m mad and I’m not going to take it anymore,” another cliché. Spelled lowercase as you’ve written it is another attempt at making it less blasphemous at least for Catholics.

Still, I don’t like to see made up language as a substitute.  Too weenie.  As for the written variations for other “expressive” language, I hate “freakin'” so freakin’ much!  And buzzards for bastards!

I can’t believe as an actor I’ve been asked to soften language a playwright wrote for a reason. As a director, I won’t do it on principle–beside the fact it violates copyright. While I was teaching at the U.S. Air Force Academy and sponsoring “Blue Bards,” the theatre club, the powers that be wanted me to change the “offensive” language in “Grease.”  Since I believe in being true to the playwright’s intention, I refused to direct it.

To answer the question simply, “Does anyone actually say… :  yes, some ignorant people do, some dramatic people do, some people who need attention do, some people who think it is cute do, some kids who think it is grown-up do, and some people just do.

In my novel, In Makr’s Shadow, my bad guys do swear, but mostly they sneer, glare and gloat. When my human characters swear, they damn Makr, the omnipotent artificial intelligence in charge. The novel tells what happens when we stop talking to each other face-to-face and turn the responsibility of deciding of whom we are allowed to “connect” to the devices. We are cursing our lack of control with the higher power–in this case an artificial intelligence–acknowledged to be superior even by those who do not worship. All use the reference–even non-believers.

Maybe, we need to lash out at the “big” guy, whoever or whatever kind of guy or gal that is.