Hello all,



Our workshops in February will focus on "Reading from an Actor's Perspective, which means PERFORMANCE.



On February 7, we will perform (first in read-around) Pulitzer Prize-winning author Horton Foote's "A Coffin in Egypt." In this play: ". . . Foote presents an entire life, related through the glittering words of a 90-year old white Southern woman named Myrtle Bledsoe." (From the flyleaf of "Horton Foote's Collected Works Volume III).



I chose "Coffin" as our first study piece in "Reading from an Actor's Perspective" because it calls upon everything we have been learning since the workshop began. In February's sessions, we will read, interpret, stage, and perform the play, which is very nearly a 33-page monologue, an autobiography spoken by the main character to a second character who has only two or three lines.



"Coffin" takes place during one day in Egypt, Texas (near Foote's ficticous Harrison, Texas) in 1968. It is a one-act play that takes place in one room. There are no set changes and very little action. From an actor's perspective, Myrtle's role is a very challenging performance piece, and it will be played by YOU.



If you would like to have a copy of the play to study before the workshop, let me know. I have six copies to loan and can make them available on Wednesday, January 31st. Call me at 374-5332 to arrange for pick-up.



Of course, after performing Myrtle, you will be called upon (in the second workshop February 21) to present your own one-act play, using "Coffin" as a model. (It's getting more exciting now, isn't it?) More about that assignment on February 7th.



Also on February 17th, after the second workshop, you are invited to stay for the film, "Tender Mercies," original screenplay by Horton Foote. Here's a brief description of the film from Amazon.com:



"Sometimes everything comes together in a movie and it becomes something so much greater than the sum of its parts that it can only be described as a miracle. That's the case with Tender Mercies, a quietly luminous character piece about an alcoholic, washed-up country singer named Mac Sledge (Robert Duvall in an Oscar-winning performance) who hits bottom in a motel room one night and then slowly finds his way back into the land of the living with the help of the widow (Tess Harper) and her young son. It's a low-key, contemplative film that feels like a rural American family comedy in the vein of the great Japanese director, Yasujiro Ozu. Tender Mercies was directed by Australian Bruce Beresford (Driving Miss Daisy, Breaker Morant), written by Horton Foote (To Kill a Mockingbird), who won an Oscar for his screenplay, and has an unbeatable cast. This is one of Duvall's most intimate and deeply personal performances, matched only by his debut 14 years later as actor-writer-director in The Apostle." --Jim Emerson



I look forward to seeing you all on February 7th. This month's work promises to be the most fun yet.



Sharon