tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-139700962009-06-15T07:40:33.476-07:00Marcushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10199110239609732534noreply@blogger.comBlogger79125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13970096.post-52008385564712702072009-05-25T08:06:00.000-07:002009-05-25T08:07:54.209-07:00

The concrete is better than the abstract.- If you're worried that your life has no meaning, or if you're afraid that God is dead, or if you're terrified of Global Warming, of if you're angry about The State of The Country, ask yourself if you've really gotten to the bottom of your concerns. These big-issue, abstract worries are one (or more) steps removed from your base nature. Dogs don't care

Marcushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10199110239609732534noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13970096.post-71032226354855467152008-12-26T14:55:00.000-08:002008-12-26T15:00:29.107-08:00

Someone on a message board threatened to commit suicide because he was so alone. I wrote a response to him and got a lot of positive email about it. I really just tried to write what I wish someone had said to me back when I was 22, single and convinced I would be alone forever. As it turned out, the suicidal guy requested that the posts be removed, so the moderator deleted them. That's fine. I

Marcushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10199110239609732534noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13970096.post-51171446407749911832008-12-23T09:14:00.000-08:002008-12-23T09:15:00.701-08:00

1. spent twenty minutes reading, trying to ignore the tiny scrap of paper on the floor, the crumb on the table or the blinking light on modem, until my head felt like it was going to explode, and I realized I'd read the same three words over and over. Finally I got up and picked up the paper or crumb -- or moved the modem to face the wall.2. watched my wife throw a tissue in the toilet that she'd

Marcushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10199110239609732534noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13970096.post-84093436593993744632008-08-18T07:46:00.001-07:002008-08-18T07:46:55.049-07:00

Mrs. Key taught 3rd grade, and she turned my little life upside down. I remember, back then, we stayed with one teacher for almost the entire day. We'd have special teaches for Art and Gym, but other than that, one teacher would teach us everything.We'd quickly learn our teacher's favorite topic. One would lean more heavily on science; another more heavily of history; Mrs. Key -- Lord, save her -

Marcushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10199110239609732534noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13970096.post-88016028016423209032008-05-09T08:20:00.000-07:002008-05-20T07:36:43.826-07:00

Everyone I know loved Tim Burton's adaptation of "Sweeney Tood." I'm the exception. But, like all my friends, I found it visually stunning: meaning that each shot looked like a arresting painting or photograph. On top of that, I've always loved Sondheim's music and lyrics. And the story moves me. So, a great story, fantastic music, stunning visuals... what's not to love?Redundancy. Rather than

Marcushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10199110239609732534noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13970096.post-35887768547265676052008-03-11T12:48:00.001-07:002008-03-11T12:49:01.572-07:00

On an online forum, someone asked "How has art changed the world?"My response:I don’t think art has changed the world any more or less than anything else (trees, politic, war, germs, rocks…). And I don’t think it’s changed the world in noticeably different ways than anything else. Which isn’t to say I think art is inert.My problem is with the word art. It’s a useful word, but it’s necessarily

Marcushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10199110239609732534noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13970096.post-40145850512092358412008-01-29T05:09:00.001-08:002008-01-29T05:09:55.146-08:00

I've been thinking about my state of mind when I first wake up in the morning. Due to my workload, I set my alarm for 6am every morning. This wouldn't be such a big deal, but I'm unable to get to bed before midnight, and I generally don't fall asleep right away when I am in bed. I know this isn't enough sleep. I said "yes" to too many projects, and this is the price I'm now paying for it. Come

Marcushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10199110239609732534noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13970096.post-9368134120442159312008-01-23T08:06:00.001-08:002008-01-23T10:36:33.078-08:00

I just finished reading a fun, forgettable sci-fi/thriller called "Blasphemy." In it, a group of scientists seem to have contacted God. God explains to them His reason for creating the universe, which is, essentially, to help Him think. The universe is like a giant computer. All of the galaxies, stars, planets, people and animals are the "ones and zeros" in this computer, and we're all working

Marcushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10199110239609732534noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13970096.post-30586623562453794832007-09-20T11:10:00.001-07:002007-09-20T11:10:22.239-07:00

Acting is strange. When you do it wrong, you're boring and phony; when you do it right, you're exciting and real. Being "real" means convincing the audience that you're engaging in purposeful thought -- that you seem to be actively trying to figure things out, right there on stage, in real time. If the audience feels that -- since you're read the script and toiled through countless rehearsals --

Marcushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10199110239609732534noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13970096.post-85251932530673000452007-08-25T12:04:00.001-07:002007-08-25T12:11:34.127-07:00

What made me who I am? I'm a theatre director, a computer programmer, and a technical writer. My father, Harry Geduld, is none of those things. Yet, as I look back, I realize that he's responsible for nearly every career choice I've made and many of the (hopefully endearing) quirks of my personality.My dad is a Professor Emeritus of Comparative Literature, West European Studies and Film Studies.

Marcushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10199110239609732534noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13970096.post-67199675408287251382007-01-06T17:06:00.001-08:002007-01-06T17:21:10.915-08:00

An actress friend is concerned because she can't make herself cry. Here's my take on stage crying:1) Very few people can turn on the waterworks at will. This is just a truth, and all actors need to admit it to themselves. In play X, if asked to shed tears, an actor may not be able to do it. He needs to admit that he may not be able to do it and come up with some other plan. (This actor is

Marcushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10199110239609732534noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13970096.post-68621864530934546912006-11-12T19:43:00.000-08:002006-11-12T19:45:39.868-08:00

In response to this post, Rowan (from Australia) wrote me this terrific letter:I have to disagree with something you wrote. You said that in real life, the fact that people can't know intent (your mind will never truly touch another mind) is shocking and tragic. I agree that it's never possible to know another person's intent with certainty, but I don't see that as a flaw. So much of human

Marcushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10199110239609732534noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13970096.post-1162755871391652882006-11-05T11:44:00.000-08:002006-11-12T19:37:44.747-08:00

A friend of mine is pessimistic about the state of the Arts. I understand. I will never make money as a director, even though I live in the America's theatre center, New York City. It's mostly filled with tourists going to see second-rate musicals. But I'm not pessimistic. But my lack of pessimism comes with a bite. I can only be optimistic about the Arts when I shine a harsh light on

Marcushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10199110239609732534noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13970096.post-1162754370395862922006-11-05T11:13:00.000-08:002006-11-12T19:37:43.892-08:00

A reader wrote in response to this piece (in which I am skeptical that we can ever know an artist's intent). He wondered if, when I direct plays, I care whether or not the audience gets my intent. He also wondered whether actors might confuse an audience if they played their characters as confused. For instance, if an character is groping to try to figure out his next word, mightn't the audience

Marcushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10199110239609732534noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13970096.post-1161560212598220162006-10-22T16:36:00.000-07:002006-11-12T19:37:43.448-08:00

[Letter to Ron Rosenbaum, author of The Shakespeare Wars.]Dear Mr. Rosenbaum:I'm the Artistic Director of Folding Chair Classical Theatre, a small company in NYC. I greatly enjoyed your book. It continually provoked me, sometimes to kiss the pages; other times to hurl the book across the room -- never because the book itself was bad; rather, because the various scholarly and artistic theories so

Marcushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10199110239609732534noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13970096.post-1161026187034133082006-10-16T10:16:00.000-07:002006-11-12T19:37:42.989-08:00

Several years ago, when I was directing "The Winter's Tale," I noticed one of the actors was speaking strangely. His first speech in the play began as follows:Nine changes of the wat'ry-star hath beenThe shepherd's note since we have left our throneWithout a burthen: time as long againWould be filled up, my brother, with our Thanks...The character is Polixenes, the king of Bohemia, and he's

Marcushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10199110239609732534noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13970096.post-1160505905883848152006-10-10T10:47:00.000-07:002006-11-12T19:37:42.604-08:00

How are plays and films different? What does each of the two mediums do best? True, when you watch a play you're watching live actors, and I've heard people say that this is what makes theatre special. But how do live actors make theatre special? For some, just knowing that the person they're watching is flesh-and-blood (not a photograph) has deep, spiritual meaning, but not for me. I need

Marcushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10199110239609732534noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13970096.post-1160494930121630672006-10-10T08:18:00.000-07:002006-11-12T19:37:41.907-08:00

In "The Shakespeare Wars," Ron Rosenbaum laments the huge number of mediocre Shakespeare productions, and then, building to a crescendo, he writes:As someone who who has come to realize ... after a lifetime of hoping to find something ... electrifying ... on stage ... very little approaches it. I don't think people realize it's rarely their fault if they don't "get" Shakespeare. Shakespeare done

Marcushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10199110239609732534noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13970096.post-1160158923043126372006-10-06T10:59:00.000-07:002006-11-12T19:37:41.451-08:00

This site invites people to define "The Human Network" ("a social structure composed of individuals, business partners, friends or other organizations") Here's my attempt:We can't ever know for sure whether anyone else is conscious, but as social animals, we've evolved to read conscious into other humans (as-well-as animals, puppets and other human-like entities). And we're vitally concerned

Marcushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10199110239609732534noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13970096.post-1157131521901984322006-09-01T10:03:00.000-07:002006-11-12T19:37:41.108-08:00

I just closed "Much Ado About Nothing." I directed it and played several parts. Now that the smoke has cleared, I realize that I learned something really great from this production: as usual, I didn't make any cuts before rehearsals started. During the rehearsal process I made minor cuts to help deal with logistical problems ( e.g. making sure an actor who is playing multiple roles doesn't "meet

Marcushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10199110239609732534noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13970096.post-1151955882782363582006-07-03T12:32:00.000-07:002006-11-12T19:37:40.736-08:00

Writing tip: beware of words that seem to be concrete but are, in fact, abstract. Examples: yellow and bird. There really isn't such a thing as a bird in the real world. "Bird" is a platonic category -- an abstraction. In the real world, there are hawks and sparrows and canaries. Even these are abstractions in a way, but they get closer to something we can actually see, smell and touch than "bird

Marcushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10199110239609732534noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13970096.post-1151953923379539422006-07-03T11:18:00.000-07:002006-11-12T19:37:39.759-08:00

I wake up at precisely the right moment. I used to wake up all groggy, but ever since buying a sleeptracker watch, I've woken alert and refreshed. (The watch ensures you never wake from a deep sleep.) I trot downstairs to start my routine: an hour on the exercise bike before work. I used to hate riding, but now I love it; I rent DVDs from Netflix to watch while I cycle -- usually engrossing

Marcushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10199110239609732534noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13970096.post-1151950565406418442006-07-03T10:42:00.000-07:002006-11-12T19:37:39.366-08:00

1) Good programmers have the ability to step in and step back. They can spend a couple of hours focusing on minutiae and then pull back and look at the whole project and its goals -- and then step back in. It's like being a good host at a party, focusing on one person and making sure he's happy, and then stepping back and taking in the whole room, making sure there's enough beer and cheetos left

Marcushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10199110239609732534noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13970096.post-1151774771434828872006-07-01T10:13:00.000-07:002006-11-12T19:37:39.042-08:00

I leave my apartment and take the elevator down to the lobby. The person in the elevator with me is making a smacking sound. Please, buddy. I don't want to start the day hearing or seeing your gum. When did people morph into cows? Now I'm on the street, walking to the subway. HONK! HONK! HONK! I nearly jump out of my skin. Is the fact that you're waiting for your friend an EMERGENCY, because

Marcushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10199110239609732534noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13970096.post-1151275512052885482006-06-25T15:30:00.000-07:002006-11-12T19:37:38.592-08:00

How is a book like a TV show but different from a film or a play? Give up? When you read a book or watch a TV show, you know when you're nearing the end. You also know when you've reached the middle and when you're two-thirds of the way done. When you go to the theatre, unless you first check the run-time and then keep monitoring your watch, the end could come at any time. As could the middle. In

Marcushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10199110239609732534noreply@blogger.com3