Tuesday, August 9, 2016

More on Ben Franklin

Just about a month ago I wrapped up performances of my one-man play - BEN FRANKLIN: AN INGENIOUS LIFE at PACA in Erie, PA. The play was well received, and since I was back in a community where I had spent a chunk of my life, it was great to see so many friends.

This marked only the second time that I'd been able to do performances of the show. It was a different kind of experience for me. The first time I'd done it, in May of 2014, I was concerned about a lot of the technical aspects of the show. This included whether or not I'd be able to learn the 9,000 word script that kept me on stage for about 90 minutes. Although I'd previously done a workshop performance (which involved reading much of the material) and knew that those audiences had been pleased, it was still a bit daunting to see how the material would work with a regular audience.

I didn't need to have any fear. It all worked. And since I'd done talk backs following each performance to field questions about the play, Franklin, or whatever else the audience might have on their mind, I felt that I had a good grasp of audience expectations.

As I approached this second series of performances I felt I had a better idea of what worked well, and specifically how (as an actor) I might be able to "punch" a line for better effect. All of this held me in good stead, and the performances went well.

A live play involves interaction between the actor and the audience. Some of that is very obvious, such as when the audience laughs or applauds, but quite often I could hear a audience member's subtle reaction (a gasp) or a comment made to the person next to them. Or sometimes, just hearing an "ah" in response to one of Franklin's timeless aphorisms.

All in all, doing the play again was a fun experience. I look forward to more performance opportunities of the play in the future.

No comments:

Post a Comment