I wanted to have an activity outside of my English classes to get to know other aspects of San Francisco. The first thing that came to my mind was acting because it is something I have indulged in for many years, and also because it is very interesting as an English training.
First, it was difficult to find an acting class for the acting sessions had already started when I tried to apply. I was turned down by three different classes that told me they were full and that I could come back in january. I was rather put off when my beloved friend Olivier encouraged me to try again and go directly to the class to get to meet the people there. Once cheered up, that's what I did. I went to the Shelton theater, and I met Matt Shelton who is the director and founder of the Shelton Studios and as a matter of fact also a teacher. I was first asked if I was coming for auditing the class, to which I answered "of course not, I am not an auditor "! Before realising I was actually one! (the word "auditor" being a false french friend as you must have guessed). I was invited to attend the class, which I did. In fact I found the level of the students really good. Véronique my dear french theater director in France would have loved to work with them : they all would perfectly know their lines when they come up on stage, totally focused on their acting, a dream for a director!
They were all already working on scenes in pairs. Coming up right in the middle of an 8 week session, I told the director "thankyou for letting me in, but I guess it is to late to join you"... not omitting to say I had been acting for about 20 years, and I had put on more than 10 plays... He told me right away: "You came here because you want to act, don't you? So chose a monologue and join us. You can do it!" And that's how I joined the class!
They were all already working on scenes in pairs. Coming up right in the middle of an 8 week session, I told the director "thankyou for letting me in, but I guess it is to late to join you"... not omitting to say I had been acting for about 20 years, and I had put on more than 10 plays... He told me right away: "You came here because you want to act, don't you? So chose a monologue and join us. You can do it!" And that's how I joined the class!
In a couple days I had found a monologue I liked on the internet (search for monologue for women over 40 and browse through!). The monologue is an extract of the play: How I learn to drive, written by Paula Vogel, apparently a famous american playwright that I found out later. The character is a woman telling her daughter how to handle alcohol when she is on a date with a man. This lady seems to be quite experienced in this matter. The text is quite ironic.
My first rehearsal was something. First of all I did not know my text well for I had spent the previous week-end in the wonderful Yosemite Park (!). Matt was nice not to hold it against me...I did my scene once. And then started an indepth analysis to try to get to know what was at stake for this woman? "Well, I guess that she is afraid to lose her social status if her daughter misbehave with alcohol"...This did not seem to be enough for Matt, "Well her social status is what matters in her life, you know". It was still not enough, something much bigger was at stake. What could it be? And what if she had been raped when she was 6, and she does not want this to happen to her daughter, he suggested! Wahoooo... that was another ball game! I did the scene again. It was very dramatic and not fun anymore.The next rehearsal he just told me: go wild and it will be ok! And that was better.
I told you I was impressed by the level of the other students. As a matter of fact most of them want to be professional actors, some have already be part of plays or films. One is to be the main character of an upcoming film about a wounded guy coming back from war. Yet he is crippled and has a missing leg but he is a very good actor! This guy with his partner played a scene extracted from "Edmond" by David Mamet, their acting was very impressive, accurate and truthful. One other scene played was an extract of "A Streetcar Named Desire" (Tenessee Williams) with a guy playing Stanley's character (remember Marlon Brando) who would literaly give you goose bumps! When those guys were on stage it was just as if their life was at stake, obviously mine was not. But I brought it off!
My acting class actually performed publically on november 13.
I was very proud to have 3 personal guests: Jane and Jerry my previous hosts, and Alissia, a very sweet Swiss Italian girl from my English class.
You actually can hear and see what kind of fucking moralising mother I was, for I was recorded!
http://www.youtube.com/attribution_link?a=Y1KMd391lqE&u=/watch%3Fv%3D6Z8QlAp_-xc%26feature%3Dem-upload_owner
Hereafter is the text
http://www.youtube.com/attribution_link?a=Y1KMd391lqE&u=/watch%3Fv%3D6Z8QlAp_-xc%26feature%3Dem-upload_owner
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| A Humming bird is not only a cocktail, this is it ! [ De Young Museum, SF] |
A
lady never gets sloppy. She may however get tipsy and a little gay.
Never drink on
an empty stomach. Avail yourself of the bread basket, with generous portions of
butter. Slather the butter on your bread. Sip your drink, slowly. Let the
beverage linger in your mouth, intersperced with interesting, fascinating
conversation. Sip… never slurp or gulp. Your glass should always be three
quarters full when his glass is empty. Stay away from ladies drinks : drinks
like pink ladies, slow gin fizzes, Daikiris, Gold Cadillacs, Long Island iced
teas, Margeritas, Pina Coladas, Mai tais, Black Russians, Red Russians, White
Russians, Melon balls, Blue balls, Humming birds, Hemorragies, Hurricanes. In
short avoid anything with sugar, or anything with an umbrella. Get your vitamin
C from fruit . Don’t drink anything with vodoo or vixen in the title, or sexual
positions in the name, like dead man screw or the missionary. Believe me, they
are lethal. I think you’ve been conceived after one of those.Drink instead like
a man, straight up or on the rocks, with plenty of water in between. Oh yes and
never mix your drinks. Stay with one all night long, like the man you came in
with : Bourbon, Gin or Tequila till dawn, damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead !
Don’t leave your
drink unattended when you visit the ladies room. There is such a thing as white
slavery : the modus operandi is to spike an unsuspecting young girl’s drink
with a mickey when she s left the room to powder a nose. But if you feel you ‘ve
had more than your sufficiency in liquor, do go to the ladies room, often.Pop
your head out of doors for a refreshing breath of the night air. If you must,
wet your face and head with tap water. Don’t be afraid to dunk your head if
necessary. A wet woman is still less conspicuous than a drunk woman.
When in the
course of woman events it becomes necessary, go to a corner stall and insert
the index and middle finger down the throat almost to the epiglottis. Divulge
your stomachs contents by such persuasion, and then wait a few moments before
rejoining your beau waiting for you at your table.
Oh no, don’t be
shy or embarrassed. In the very best of establishments, there is always one or
two debutantes crouched in the corner stalls, their beaded purse tossed willy6nilly,
sounding like cats i
heat, heaving up the contents of their stomachs.
I wonder what it
is they do in the men’s rooms ?
