THE WORK BEGINS

To say that the process of memorizing a whole play seems daunting is...well...an understatement. I have, personally, never liked memorization, but maybe that's because I remember having to memorize things like "the Gettysburg Address," "the Preamble of the Constitution," and "The Raven." Not that these aren't worthy of my time and memory, but I don't remember them as fun.

Joe says there are some techniques to aid in memory work, but the cold hard truth is that you have to do the work. Reading. Over and over and over again...out loud. Then still, more reading. Some actors make audio recordings. Some might do their own lines, and speak them back with the recording. Others record everyones' lines except their own. they leave a spot, or pause, for their lines and say them using the other actor's cues.

Still others use that period just before sound sleep comes to rehearse their lines. Using a recording of a rehearsal and reciting one's own lines as you're drifting off to sleep is another effective tool. In my personal experience, that time in which the body and mind are preparing for sleep is a time when the creative part of our brains is very active. It makes sense that it would be a good time for working on memorizing lines.

For most actors the time between notification that they have been cast in a role and the first read-through, is spent reading with a fair amount of memory work. Some actors, however, either because their learning style is connected to movement, or because their physical activity on stage gives them clues, choose to wait until rehearsals begin.

There are many clues to the dialog when blocking begins. Blocking is when the director instructs an actor to move as he's speaking, or to move to a certain spot before delivering his next line. These things are written in the margins, in pencil, in the "book." The "book" is what you and I would know as the script.

Next, more about...I forgot...oh yes, memory work. We'll discover the specific ways in which Joe goes about learning his lines.

THE REVEAL

There is the rare occasion where, without auditioning, an actor might receive a phone call asking him to play a specific part in a specific play. However, when auditioning, a lag of a few days often exists between the day of callbacks and notification of the casting of the roles. If an actor has not been cast, that information might be sent by mail. The letter is polite, but it's message is the same..."no." It might be softened a bit by a ticket for opening night. They might never hear at all. This just seems rude to me, and I hope it doesn't happen often.

On the Sunday of callbacks for "Inherit the Wind" the director, Christopher Weaver, makes the announcement that he has what he wants. I imagine the room is electric with a mix of anticipation, hope, and desire.

Now, the wait begins. Only on this Sunday in April, for Joe, it does not. Weaver asks Joe how his memorization is. Joe tells him it's really good, but tells him to ask around to be sure. Weaver, with several actors and actresses still remaining, tells Joe he hopes his memorization skills ARE good as the part of Henry Drummond is his. He might have stopped there, but didn't. With a fair amount of fanfare, he not only tells Joe he has the part, but why. My heart is pounding just recounting this part of the days events.

Joe won't repeat the things that were said, but you can bet your bippy that conversation with director Weaver is on my "to do" list. Joe says this role is a "bucket list" role for him. The notification, and the comments made by Weaver about why, felt like he'd received an award. Indeed, he had.

Now, the work begins.

THE CALLBACK

Having been tipped off regarding the Drummond role, Joe spends Saturday evening going over the lines. Sunday morning during callbacks, Joe reads some of both the Brady and Drummond roles. They read different parts and in different combinations looking for that perfect chemistry, aligning the characters in the play, the dialog, the delivery of the dialog, and the actors in their respective roles.

As I hear Joe recount these events, my mind is whirling with the realization that there must be LOTS of rejection in this business. According to Joe, actors live in the world of "no." So, this is why acting could not possibly work for me. Living in the world of "no" is not a place I could live.

Christopher Weaver is the director and tells those assembled that he has what he wants. What does that mean? Usually, there is a period of "no news is good news" waiting. Generally, each director, each play, each theater group is handled the same, or nearly so, but only in very broad terms. Sometimes the wait is just that, waiting. Sometimes, the "no news is good news" becomes "no news is no go."

The wait begins.

THE AUDITION

So, it turns out that notices for local auditions are listed in the Sunday edition of the Grand Rapids Press, as well as on the individual theater group's websites, MLive, and postings at the area colleges. The audition process is similar among the local theater groups, but varies according to length of season and budget constraints.

Early on in his acting career audition dates sometimes escaped him. Not so much anymore! He has a highly developed system to keep track. It involves a pencil and paper. WHAT A CONCEPT!!!! At this point there is some research about the plays and the roles for which he might audition. Since he is my age, I know he won't be auditioning for the lead in "Grease" any time soon.

Heritage Theater Group had "Inherit the wind" in their season line-up. With several "nice and meaty" men's roles this audition went to the top of the list. Auditions, generally, span the better part of two days with callbacks on day three. Day one was Friday. Joe read for the part of the preacher and thought he had done well. The part was given to a wonderful actor and singer, who happens also to be a local minister, William 'Bill" Handy. Joe was asked to return on Sunday. On Saturday evening the stage manager, Terri Foley, called to be sure he was returning to the auditions on Sunday. He asked her if there was any particular part he could concentrate on.

She said, "I can give you a hint."

Joe said, "Hints are good. What's the hint?"

"Henry Drummond," she said. Since this is a "G" rated blog, I won't repeat what he said upon hearing her hint, but let's just say he thought he might need to change his underwear.

Tomorrow: THE CALLBACK.

AN INTRODUCTION

I have known Joe since the 4th grade at South Godwin. My husband played Rocket Football with him. Throughout the rest of our school lives our paths continued to criss cross. This many years later our Godwin Class of '64 has reconnected on Facebook.

I knew of his involvement with theater as we'd seen an article or 2, or 3 in the Grand Rapids Press. But, I'm fascinated by the fact that, relatively late in life, he found his true passion in theater. He was a military guy. And, a butcher. Where does the puzzle piece "theater" fit into this picture?

Follow our blog as I document the process. The project is Joe's alone. Any editorial comments are mine alone.

"THE PLAY"

The title of the play is taken from the book of Proverbs 11:29, "He that troubleth his own house shall inherit the wind."

The Evolution vs. Creationism argument is at the center of the Jerome Lawrence-Robert E. Lee Broadway play Inherit the Wind. Lawrence and Lee's inspiration was the 1925 "Monkey Trial," in which Tennessee schoolteacher John Scopes was arrested for teaching Darwin's theory of evolution in violation of state law. Scopes deliberately courted arrest to challenge what he and his supporters saw as an unjust law, and the trial became a national cause when The Baltimore Sun, represented by the famed (and atheistic) journalist H. L. Mencken, hired attorney Clarence Darrow to defend Scopes. The prosecuting attorney was crusading politician William Jennings Bryan, once a serious contender for the Presidency, now a relic of a past era. While Bryan won the case as expected, he and his fundamentalist backers were held up to public ridicule by the cagey Darrow. In both the play and film versions of Inherit the Wind, the names and places are changed, but the basic chronology was retained, along with most of the original court transcripts. John Scopes becomes Bertram Cates (Dick York); Clarence Darrow is Henry Drummond (Spencer Tracy); William Jennings Bryan is Matthew Harrison Brady (Fredric March); and H. L. Mencken is E. K. Hornbeck (Gene Kelly). Dayton, Tennessee is transformed into Hillsboro -- or, as the relentlessly cynical Hornbeck characterizes it, "Heavenly Hillsboro." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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