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Post by jo on Jan 26, 2015 9:15:46 GMT -5
Time has flown!
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Post by njr on Jan 26, 2015 14:04:37 GMT -5
A lot of people finding that lobby poster photo fascinating  Funny pic! Does Hugh (The Man) always interact with an audience member in each performance? Nancy |
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Post by jo on Jan 26, 2015 16:08:00 GMT -5
Not at all. The play is a serious one, albeit there are some humorous moments. The cast never breaks the fourth wall, even when The Man ( Hugh) accidentally split his pants in one performance ( he was too angry!) and Hugh adlibbed extemporaneous lines while still keeping within the mood of the play.
Even in that scene where he quietly and meticulously cleaned the fish and drew water from the spigot ( as shown on the window card/poster), he was in a serious vein...continuing the solemn mood as the prepared the whole meal. To me, those moments accentuated his love of solitude and his passion for fishing ( because it gave him a most memorable moment from childhood).
During the BC/EFA auctions, that was when Hugh would share lighthearted and hilarious moments with the crowd, as he pitched for the Broadway charity.
Jo
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Post by jo on Jan 26, 2015 18:26:59 GMT -5
More people finding the other poster appealing --  |
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Post by jo on Jan 27, 2015 1:44:08 GMT -5
LOL! Tweet by UK's Mark Shenton, theatre critic and blogger -- Okay -- Fish - check ( I don't know if I can recognize a sea trout, though ) Lemon - check Fennel - check ( bulb and leaves) Onions - check Tomatoes - check Salt and pepper - check  Jo |
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Post by mamaleh on Jan 27, 2015 13:39:31 GMT -5
The Man obviously likes his "tomatoes"--but the edible kind, not so much. I've never seen a tomato on his baking sheet.
Ellen
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suefb
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Post by suefb on Jan 27, 2015 15:14:05 GMT -5
Oh, good point! I have to guess they just made a convenience decision to omit the tomatoes in the "performance version" of the recipe ... too messy, can't just sweep the residue away with a hand, they don't keep as well as the root vegetables, and too much opportunity for drips and stains.  |
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Post by jo on Jan 27, 2015 17:43:27 GMT -5
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Post by jo on Jan 28, 2015 19:04:52 GMT -5
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Post by jo on Jan 28, 2015 19:13:51 GMT -5
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Post by jo on Jan 28, 2015 20:06:51 GMT -5
Towards the end of that thread --
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Post by njr on Jan 29, 2015 12:35:29 GMT -5
I need to contact that person so they can explain it to me! LOL! Nancy |
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Post by jo on Jan 29, 2015 16:22:51 GMT -5
Someone on that ATC thread has made reference to an original feature/interview with Jez Butterworth, which I posted before the play opened early on in this thread (Page 14). www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/11/10/nothing-2I reread it and it has given me a slightly different perspective from my original expectations ( having the read the play itself) before I saw the show. In retrospect, there are some very interesting passages from the article -- It seems that the ATC poster did get his "AHA!" moment after he spent time thinking about it. He may have validated it when the talked to Hugh at the gym. I did not immediately get my AHA moment. I read the play a number of times before I had seen the show. It took me the whole number of times ( 6) that I had seen the play and after re-reading the playscript itself when I wrote my full-length impressions ( See Unofficial Fan Impressions thread - Reply # 41 on Page 2). I am even more convinced now about my final impressions. Although, as has been suggested ( even in the Butterworth article), the play can be open to different interpretations. Even the title on the Butterworth article seems to suggest what to make of the play THE RIVER -- And -- One of the rare times that Butterworth alludes to the intent of the play ( he was very non-committal about it during the Talkback, but as someone said on ATC, that is sometimes the nature of the beast - of how a playwright might view his work, in general). Re the sly reference to the fish as the star of the show -- hmmm. I thought the scene with the fish was important because it accentuated the fact that The Man is unable to connect fully with someone because his main moment of contentment, and love of solitude, is signified by those moments with the fish preparation in the play. When I think about it -- the fact that the most revealing and most memorable moment in his life was his first encounter with the sea trout as a 7-year old boy ... it dawns more markedly on me now ... as the key to understanding the play and why the man is in constant search of a true love and why he continues not to find it because any romantic encounters he has had so far has not given him the same feeling of heightened joy! The impossible quest ?? For a love that evokes the same feeling of heightened happiness which he experienced as a young boy ? Forget the serial killer. Forget the loathsome lothario. He was just a man looking for an ideal. But he continues to be a sad man, leading a lonely life, maybe because he is looking for the unattainable or the incomparable? Maybe if Jez Butterworth had written more and Ian Rickson has staged more scenes showing why he does not find the relationship with The Woman and The Other Woman that he is looking for - it might have been easier to plumb the intent of the play? But maybe the intent of the play is to have the audience looking for all the clues and then arriving at the Aha moment?? It may be the total experience of the playgoer as he relates to what he is confronted with which is the full intent of the playwright?? Which seems to be further validated by -- How I wish I could see the play one more time!Jo |
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Post by jo on Jan 29, 2015 20:33:31 GMT -5
Isn't the Actors Studio Drama School now residing or was once residing at Pace University?
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Post by jo on Jan 29, 2015 21:20:58 GMT -5
This is the third occasion that the play and the performances are being viewed by students, during the run of THE RIVER.
*The first one was with a high school drama class, sponsored by one of THE RIVER producers.
*The second related activity was the seminar conducted by Hugh for the students from CIRCLE IN THE SQUARE THEATRE SCHOOL.
*And now this initiative by Pace University which houses the ACTORS STUDIO DRAMA SCHOOL ( I wonder if the comps were courtesy of the producers passed on to Pace).
This is just one of the initiatives by the production on its out-reach program. The pricing strategy which offered early on the Access/Rush tickets of 40 for each performance...and even the belated RIVERBANK SEATS offered to the public made the play more accessible to playgoers, regular or not.
I wonder if Hugh has also been active in promoting this advocacy?
Jo
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Post by ruby on Jan 29, 2015 22:06:05 GMT -5
This is the third occasion that the play and the performances are being viewed by students, during the run of THE RIVER. *The first one was with a high school drama class, sponsored by one of THE RIVER producers. *The second related activity was the seminar conducted by Hugh for the students from CIRCLE IN THE SQUARE THEATRE SCHOOL. *And now this initiative by Pace University which houses the ACTORS STUDIO DRAMA SCHOOL ( I wonder if the comps were courtesy of the producers passed on to Pace). This is just one of the initiatives by the production on its out-reach program. The pricing strategy which offered early on the Access/Rush tickets of 40 for each performance...and even the belated RIVERBANK SEATS offered to the public made the play more accessible to playgoers, regular or not. I wonder if Hugh has also been active in promoting this advocacy? Jo Opening night was packed with theatre students. |
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Post by jo on Jan 29, 2015 22:29:25 GMT -5
Could they be from the CITS Theatre School??
JO
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Post by jo on Jan 30, 2015 17:34:35 GMT -5
Isn't the Actors Studio Drama School now residing or was once residing at Pace University? Jo It looks like this opportunity given to these students from the performing arts is like a "field trip" -- there will be a discussion in class of the show/play afterwards? I'd be interested to listen to the reactions and interpretations of these theatre students to what the play is all about Jo |
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Post by jo on Jan 30, 2015 19:25:27 GMT -5
An interesting response from the original poster on that ATC thread, who was asked by various people what the play was all about, aided by his meeting with Hugh at the gym.
I tend to agree with him -- that what we saw on stage was real, and not just imagination's flights of fancy. The Man, as interpreted by Hugh, was going through real-life experiences of romantic interludes only to end up not finding love. He was just a sad and lonely man, even if he kept trying.
PS: This is the complete quote from the article --
Hmm... true, we do engage in fantasizing some aspects of our real lives. But part of being human is also the sense of being grounded.
Jo
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Post by jo on Jan 30, 2015 21:05:45 GMT -5
Reading that article on Jez Butteworth has set me unexpectedly on a path of reading other pre-staging interviews, esp the Times Talk conversation. www.broadwayworld.com/videoplay.php?colid=858102#.VMw5F9EcTOU*I didn't realize that the name of Brene Brown had been mentioned as the memory neurologist who said "that this is a play of reflection". *It seems that the ultimate goal was to get that feeling of intimacy with the audience, to get that feeling of connection. I guess this is why most of the playgoers left the play thinking through what they have just seen, not just in the immediate moments, but even days for some. Have we felt that presence, that we seem to have had similar encounters or experiences in our own lives, whether mythical or actually happened? *I think Hugh feels that his work is a continuous learning process, and that desire partly prods his support for new work - to travel in the untrodden path, the road not taken. *Ian Rickson is such a mentor and a creative talent - Hugh must find the experience even more satisfying compared to film directors who might be practically dictating how he wants a scene acted ( or I wonder if the rehearsal process, short as they may seem for filmmaking, allows greater inputs from the actors?). *They did confirm that democratizing the pricing ( the access/rush ticket policy) was aimed at reaching a wider audience, particularly students. At that time, riverbank seating had not been announced ( I may be wrong about the timing) but it was such a hit with playgoers! Quite a revelatory interview, even more so, after having seen THE RIVER! Jo |
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Post by jo on Jan 31, 2015 6:37:52 GMT -5
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Post by jo on Jan 31, 2015 19:04:23 GMT -5
If you haven't seen it -- or would like to see it again one last time:
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Post by jo on Jan 31, 2015 19:37:57 GMT -5
 I wonder what they're feeling now? Will they ever work together again? |
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Post by jo on Feb 1, 2015 1:15:42 GMT -5
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Post by jo on Feb 2, 2015 7:31:19 GMT -5
Chris Claremont is in the house! Wolverine is star-struck wolverine   Jo |
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