Random Morning Thoughts

Up early this morning, looking at budget numbers. Argh! Thought I'd write some things:

1. Another Reason Why the Political Press is Dumb, Dumb, Dumb: So, Hillary has attacked Obama, and the press is wondering whether Obama can survive the attacks. At some point, they start to take their metaphors literally. So, now the attack involves whether or not Obama has a "glass jaw" and "can survive the attacks." They write things like "whether he can stand up to these attacks remains to be seen."

The thing is -- he hasn't literally been attacked. No one is shooting arrows at him or punching him in the face with anything. She's throwing words at him, and he's going to "stand up to them" simply by, well, continuing to stand up. Great! What an easy bar for him to jump over. A few days from the now, the press will be amazed that he has "withstood her attacks." What did they expect him to do? Start crying? Short of him throwing up his hands and saying, "That's it. I can't take it. She's a meany. I don't want to play." which even the biggest panzy ass wimp wouldn't do, he's going to look like he survived "her attacks."

Now whether her attacks "land" with voters, that's something he can't control. He can respond as best he can, and then time moves forward.

Also - I'm enamored of the Obama campaigns sense of timing. Do they do this on purpose? Wait a few days for the conventional wisdom to harden in to "Hillary's campaign is in attack mode" before hitting back hard. If you hit back immediately, it looks like tit-for-tat and everyone looks bad, but if you give it a couple days -- if you let everyone talk about HIllary's attacks -- then when you hit back you look like you have no choice and you're blameless.

Also -- Does the Hillary campaign think the media is biased because the garbage they throw against the wall isn't working like they expect it to?

2. Every time I start to think I'm too hard on American theater - Hey, the Guthrie does support local professional actors. Real hard they do. they've made it possible for an incredible talent pool to remain in the Twin Cities. Everyone is trying to do good work, aren't they? Why do I get so critical and worked up? I'm young and immature. What do I know. I have a lot to learn from the experienced hands in the business.

Then I go see a show -- any show, big show, little show, medium-sized show -- and I simply don't think its very good. And not very good in an "I don't like theater" way. Very good in a -- well, that was a lame, pandering, cowardly, stilted, and/or purposefully unimaginative choices.

If the generation above me constantly whines about how theater is dying AND I go see their shows and think, "well, this particular way of doing theater can't die fast enough," is it really youthful and immature of me to criticize their work in the extreme? Do I have to defer to my elders when they both complain about the work they do and do insufficient work at the same time?

3. What are they teaching in actor training program? Very crafty. No truth. Saw a play last night of recent Guthrie BFA grads. Great play that I'd seen twice before, both in exceptional productions. Thought the play couldn't be screwed up.

These kids were fine. But boy was there a lot of blocking - and acting -- and speaking -- and character-playing. And accents. Walk three steps, make sure all three sides of the theater can see someone at all times, speak your lines with appropriate intention and meaning, and walk three steps, rinse and repeat. . . Apparently, according to actor training programs, you can't really move and speak at once. You can't really touch another actor unless its an incredbly meaningful moment. O, and when a character says that he or she feels something, you have to show us that he or she really feels it.

With all your technique and craft classes and textual analysis classes, could you just add a "Let's go observe real life" class. Take everyone to bars and restaurants all around the city and make them come back to the classroom and recreate that sense of spontenous freedom and unexpected moment-to-moment detail. . . OK, I'll work on that curriculum but something like that.