Doing Things

Gardens are not made by sitting in the shade.

Rudyard Kipling
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Hello Linda
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Inertia. Ssssss. That's one of the nastiest words in the language. In human terms it's the official word for laziness, immobility, noninvolvement, slacking off, taking it easy, phoning it in, out to lunch, gone fishing, I can't be bothered.

When I was about 12 years old I remember sitting on the ground, playing with some sticks, with the warm sun on my back. It felt so good to be doing nothing important and having the sun caressing my central nervous system I decided then and there that was the way to live my life, no cares, no responsibilities, nothing serious. And so I did, for a while. I coasted my way through high school doing well enough to pass with a good grade and then coasted my way into college, which turned out to be the wrong way to coast.

At about the same time I discovered that I had talent as an actor. It was easier for me to be an actor than a scholar . I thought. That idea and my whole life with it went through a major change. I know I've written before about Edward, my first and only acting teacher who taught by directing plays, real plays in a real theatre with rehearsals, a dress rehearsal, an opening night and an audience of strangers.

Edward and I had spoken to each other as acquaintances a few times, but when I signed the contract he became my teacher and my boss. And I will never forget the first official words he said to me. "Can't you find anything to do?"

That remark set a spinning wheel of energy inside me which has never stopped. I can write about many ways that spinning wheel has characterized my life, but it's all in the past and the past doesn't interest me anymore. Contemplating bittersweet memories of the past is enervating and bothersome. I'd rather have a stiff drink and forget the past, the good and the bad.

The real story of Edward's energy cell gift to me is that it's still spinning. Now I can enjoy sitting in the shade and imagining a garden. But sooner or later I will get up and start poking in the ground to create the garden I have in mind. Everything you do has an effect and that effect is the future. If you sit still and coast along through life where's your future?

Sue Hertz took the challenge and knitted herself a sweater, something she's never done before. It's a success. Maybe she can't wear it now. But when the nasty winter winds begin to blow she has a brand new sweater to wear.

It's Spring. Poke in the dirt, push some seeds in there, water, fertilize, tend, weed and in the near future sit in the shade and admire your garden. But don't sit too long. Can't you find anything to do?

DB - The Vagabond
Never Give Up
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On The Head

If the only tool you have is a hammer you tend to see every problem as a nail.

Abraham Maslow
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I have been so tied up trying to unravel the mysteries of Face Book I haven't been reading your blogs much, but I will get back to it.
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"Give it a light touch." That note was given to me one day by a director and it subsequently led me to a very important acting lesson.

I thought, as many young actors do, that I was a great tragedian. I could wail, rage and moan in the throes of death with the best of them. I never gave anything "a light touch." Heavy handed was my style. Give me a role and I'll nail it down, I'll pound it into the stage with a sledge hammer.

Well, I had a lot to learn. I wanted to do what Shakespeare said not to do, "tear a passion to tatters" and there I was being asked to "give it a light touch." What to do, what to do?

Fortunately I had three sources to draw from to find the answer. One was Shakespeare himself, the greatest acting teacher that ever lived. In the same speech he wrote "use all gently." I don't know. Was I capable of gentleness? I didn't consider myself a gentle fellow. I, after all, was a great tragedian. so I kept searching.

Another major influence and trail guide on my search was my teacher Edward Thommen, about whom I have often written. One of the fascinating things about him as a director was his ability to always know where the light source was coming from. Without light you have dark and darkness on the stage is boring. But with light you can have shadows and that's where the drama is. Just as in a landscape or still life painting it's important that the artist knows exactly where the light is coming from, so in theatre there is some quality in the scene that is casting the shadows.

Which brings me to the third lesson, one I learned from Michael Shurtleff, another acting teacher, who said 4 simple words "Look for the humor." There is at least one touch of humor in every scene, as there is in life, even the most tragic ones. Once I started looking for the humor, sometimes a shadow humor to be sure, every scene took on more dimensions and hence so did the character I was playing.

So with those three lessons under my wig I could leave my hammer in the wings, go onstage with an open hand and not a clenched fist, find the light touch and appreciate the irony of life as I roared into the final grasp of death.

DB - The Vagabond
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SPRING QUESTION
(This is not a contest.)

In your opinion what is the most amazing thing that could happen during this decade? Make it as outrageous as you want but keep it within the realm of what you consider a possibility.

Only 8 responses so far.

Answers will be published the first day of Summer.

Thank you.

dbdacoba@aol.com

DB - The Vagabond
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