Opening Night

You wish thespians good luck by telling them to break a leg. My favourite version of the origin of the saying is this one: In traditional curtains, the legs of the curtain were constructed from long wooden rods. In the case of many encores, curtains would be lifted and dropped numerous times causing them to [...]

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Speechless Saturday

Young men are rare in Cape Town, and even more so in amateur theatre.
The play I’m in calls for some hard-to-find items: a Jose Feliciano LP, 1970’s ashtrays and furniture, Pomagne, and, you guessed it, a young man.
I listed these on the front of my script, to remind me to look for them when I [...]

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2008: Annus not so horribilis

January: Decided that being phoned on the beach on 3 January by clients whose VAT payments had bounced, sucked. So I gave up my business. Still a few clinging to the apron strings.
February: Played soccer with Flutts and clare. Still limping.
March: Did my 13th Argus Cycle Tour, marshalled, cycled and handed out medals to thousands [...]

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On Receiving Praise

I know how important praise is. And the psychology behind praise. You’d think I’d be immune.
Wrong.
Yesterday, I was at Artscape giving final touches to the library for My Fair Lady. The director, Ralph Lawson, sees me: “Hi Dusty! What’s a famous director like you doing here, making props?” I [...]

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The Show’s Over But This Fat Lady Ain’t Singing Just Yet

We had the last two shows on Saturday. The matinee was marred by the rugby. And I’m not even talking about the score.
Fifteen audience members and one of the cast got caught in rugby traffic, delaying the start by ten minutes. No, it wasn’t his Royal Tardiness this time. He saved his grand finale for [...]

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On Being Nervous

Can you remember the last time you really wanted to impress your parents?
I saw it in a 30-year old last night.
One of the actors was beside himself because his parents were coming to see the show. First time they’ve seen him on stage.
He comes from a non-theatrical family who find [...]

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On Teamwork

In theatre, the director is not allowed backstage once the show opens. I was glad of this last night, because I didn’t want the cast to worry about my blotches.
What I didn’t know was that 45 minutes before curtain up, the lead had not arrived. When the stage manager phoned him, he claimed not to [...]

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On Praise

I lost my temper last night.
An actor berated me for being hard on him; constantly criticising, never praising. So I said shouted, “It’s not ALL about YOU! Bloody Prima Donna.”
He always asks me what he did wrong during a rehearsal. So I always tell him. I also tell him the things he does well, but [...]

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One More Sleep

Three very important things are happening tomorrow: one good, one bad and one indifferent.
Firstly, it’s opening night of the play that has consumed my life for the last two months. I will be banished to the foyer, where I will bite my nails and smile bravely while the cast and crew get on with [...]

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Watchers versus Do-ers

Neil Simon once said that the world is made up of Watchers and
Do-ers. The Watchers sit around watching the Do-ers do. And sometimes it is harder to watch what is being done than to do what is being watched.
Directing a play is much like that.
I sit in the empty auditorium, watching actors ‘do’ [...]

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Send in the Clowns

I’m passionate about my theatre, and I love what I do. But not today. We had photo call for the show that I’m directing. The one that is opening in three weeks time. It was chaotic. The cast wanted to chatter and have fun. I wanted to get done [...]

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