Thy voice is thunder

[adamcunis]

Merchant of Venice – Actors Blog – Adam Cunis, Gratiano

(Reblogged from http://lazarustheatre.wordpress.com/2013/11/26/merchant-of-venice-actors-blog-adam-cunis-gratiano/) Two productions with Lazarus in a row. That certainly wasn’t the plan. In Fringe we are not likely to make a lot of money. You have to know why you want to be involved in a production. Mr. Dukes talks about the muscularity and epic nature of the classics. I think about the eternal resonance of their thematic make-up. The crossing point of written narrative and physical exploration is the delicate tightrope that Lazarus confidently straddles. Essentially Fringe is a playground. We can make mistakes and experiment. Because ultimately there aren’t millions of pounds riding on filling a 500+ seat auditorium every day for ten years. We can do things the RSC, The Globe and the National only DREAM about. We can fail. Society has become very materialistic and expects polish. We have become obsessed with product not process. Post 2008 I think there has been a hegemonic shift towards process. People want to know what we’re doing, how we’re doing it and, perhaps most importantly, why? That’s easy for me. Shakespeare (and his contemporaries) is complicated and beautiful. As an actor at the dawn of his career it forces you to commit, to explore, to fuck it up. To think about love and death and intrigue. Its a work out, its hard work, bloody hard work and is only its own reward. If we sell out 750 people will have seen us. That’s it. Around half of those know us already. So maybe 375 people will see a given show wholly objectively. We’re not winning Oliviers or transferring or cashing cheques. So why bother? The play’s the thing. Adam Cunis, Gratiano.

[adamcunis]

Rubber Dinghy, by Kelvin Fawdrey

[adamcunis]

Thy voice is thunder

[adamcunis]

Measure for Measure and messing around in boats

I’ve been to a lot of auditions recently. This is mostly since firing my agent which is an interesting contradiction.

I have been successful in two of this ‘job applications’/ ‘castings’/ whatevers.

As you may know I’m mostly focused on theatre and in particular classic texts (read ‘Shakespeare’)

It struck me today that the two successful auditions weren’t auditions in the traditional sense at all. They were audition workshops.

Very often an actor, if they are fortunate enough to secure an audition slot, will be asked to prepare a monologue, or two and maybe a song to present in front of a panel as a microcosmic example of their craft and ability.

I think there are a few problems with this model of actor selection:

Firstly monologues are not common to every character in every play. If you can’t do monologues surely that doesn’t mean you should never be considered for supporting roles or more dialogue focused productions?

Secondly the ‘skill’ of learning a set piece of text and delivering it in a clever or unique way is incredibly limiting and often fails to show the potential range of ability of an actor. It also denies the director a chance to, y’know, direct.

By saying some pretty words in a contrived way in front of people who know little more about you than where you ‘trained’ I don’t think you are really exploring any of the potential realities of working with them.

Any idiot can learn 30 lines off by heart and spend months figuring out the best way of performing it in a quiet room in front of 2 or 3 people but that’s quite distinctly different from learning and rehearsing an entire play in two to four weeks, with other actors and then perform it in front of several hundred people. Outside. This leads me to the audition workshops. In fairness this sort of thing happens in most recall situations. But I think there may be a flaw with the initial round anyway… A few weeks ago I auditioned for a new production of Rubber Dinghy, written by my old university chum Kelvin Fawdrey. Our acquaintance was by no means assurance of a foregone conclusion in terms of casting, however. The show is to be part of the one act festival at the lost theatre and the audition involved five preselected actors reading together for the two parts. We spent four hours reading a half hour script. Switching roles, responding to suggestions, instincts, increasing textual familiarity and direction. It was fascinating. I certainly did not envy the casting director their decision that evening. I have now been rehearsing for three weeks. Linden and I, I am sure, are working better together after such a vital, visceral, supportive and professional introduction. The first rehearsal felt natural and unforced. The ice had been broken pre/during casting. A week later I attended an audition workshop for a production of Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure. Immersion Theatre had set aside an entire day to play with and assess potential cast members. The morning started with the staging of a brothel scene. It involved young men and women thrusting and groping and speaking iambic pentameter in front of a score of others. The were homosexual kisses between people introduced minutes earlier. And the work was good. There was no time for embarrassment or pomposity or ego. We had ten minutes to stage a fair chunk of text in as free, clear and sexual a manner as possible. I must stress that no body was forced into doing things they weren’t comfortable with but immediately the atmosphere in the room was a bit naughty, excited and above all supportive and eager. We bought wholeheartedly into the essential ensemble feel of the work. The day allowed us to work with lots of different actors on lots of different scenes. The directors shouted directions and assigned scene partners and groups. At lunch time they graciously let some of the auditionees go. There was no sense of failure or resentment in the room. Genuine thanks for time spent and a mutual respect for work done. I fear this may be too much lacking in the professional theatre world today. It’s a very tough industry that you might expect to be littered with prima donnas, trampling one another for a glimpse of fame. But I’m finding increasingly , fortifyingly, that most industry people are driven, genuine, hard working and grounded. There is a shared respect, abundant in fringe theatre. Work is scarce, perhaps, but the desire is tangible. I’m very excited to be working on these two projects. Perhaps I’m over thinking the selection process. But there must be something in impressing within a group context. Most of theatre is dialogue anyway so it makes sense to me to focus on ensemble and mutual support. I’m not usually much of a socialist but I’m finding it all rather empowering. A. http://www.losttheatre.co.uk/ http://www.immersiontheatre.co.uk/ http://www.brockleyjack.co.uk/

[rolotomassi]

Only 30 tickets left for this show.

Don’t miss out.

Click HERE to buy.

[adamcunis]

Can't wait for this

[kaash]

How is it that a man’s anger is legitimate by virtue of his being male, but a woman’s anger is nearly always an aberration? Why is her anger sexy, or frightful, or startling, something out of the ordinary or something in between — something that needs to be placated, proved and recognized as...

[pulpmemories]

Realise that the war of the sexes is not just a myth but an active indoctrination perpetuated by the ruling classes to dupe the populous and keep them warring with each other rather than collaborating together to fight for peace on Earth.

http://www.shortlist.com/instant-improver/living/new-rules-for-modern-men (via pulpmemories)

[adamcunis]

Audition Season is hotting up

[adamcunis]

The search is on for a new voice agency...

[adamcunis]

LEAN by Isley Lynn

So a long time ago i had a blog and i enjoyed it. Then my email address at uni became out of date and I could no longer log in. luckily this has been solved. I’ve done a bit of writing recently and will update properly soon about the progression of my career since last summer. Until then I wanted to post a review I wrote recently for a job application. Unfortunately the run of this show has now finished but if it is recomissioned or revived I will immediately post about it. Here we go:

LEAN, Tristan Bates Theatre, The Actors’ Centre,Covent Garden

Living in London, 2013, you’re living in the theatre capital of the world. It’s no coincidence that all the US TV and film castings now occur here. Tom Cruise, when interviewed last month outside the premiere for Jack Reacher in Leicester Square spent most of his sound bite plugging the Globe’s West End transfer of Mark Rylance’s Richard III and Twelfth Night. Cruise talked about the privilege of working in a place that afforded him the opportunity to see the best productions in the world.

London is the ultimate testing ground for theatre practitioners: if you go to see Fringe theatre here you’re more than likely to see the stars of tomorrow treading the boards.

To get you started, then, allow me to let you into a secret. Go to the Actors’ Centre. It is a social and development hubs for actors; constantly humming with activity. The cafe is full of people cutting deals, writing articles and eating pasta salad.

The Tristan Bates studio theatre at the venue is fully functional, highly versatile and (this is key) has comfortable seats, even if you’re 6’3” like me…

LEAN by Isley Lynn, graduate of the Royal Court writers program, is the most complete piece of theatre I’ve ever seen. Dealing directly and deeply with male anorexia and the complexities of handling it within a strained relationship. The struggle between Tessa (Laura Hanna) and her anorexic husband Michael (Tim Dorsett) is devastating.

Lynn’s heartbreaking masterpiece has been developed by Strip Theatre into a wonderful production under Chelsea Walkers direction. The show is touchingly human- Lynn makes sense of immense psychological complexity and the raw energy of these young performers drives towards a glorious crescendo. I could say more but I don’t want to spoil the unravelling of the plot. This is a chance in a lifetime, you’ll cry but it will change you.

[adamcunis]

London 2012

This year will be remembered as being hugely patriotic and for having a somewhat damp summer with lots of sport going on in and around the capital.

I shall be remembering it as my first year trying to work as an actor without the excuse (or financial benefit) of being a student. 

As the world's athletes flock to the big smoke to be impressive, toned and quick at doing energetic things I am also setting up shop in the city of my birth.

This year I'm performing in my first ever play at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. I am going to be playing the character of the Orator in Atlas Theatre's debut show the Last Fairytale. I will be sofa surfing through north London and calling in favours for the next few weeks as rehearsals begin in earnest at Jacksons Lane Theatre on monday morning. We will be working 9-5 Monday to Friday until flying up to Scotland to do a spot of performing.

Although I brought in the new year in Scotland I haven't been to Edinburgh (other than through it on a train) in 6 years now. At the time I was applying for Universities and Drama Schools and was only 17. This seems a lifetime ago. I'm very excited to be able to work there this year as its a sort of theatrical coming of age I suppose.

Whilst I'm in London I'm going to keep a rehearsal diary (I may set up a separate blog for that) in order to keep track of my thoughts and discoveries throughout the process (including when we've started performances) so stay tuned! For now please take a look at Atlas Theatre's very shiny new website:

http://www.atlastheatre.info/

booking information:

http://www.edfringe.com/whats-on/theatre/last-fairytale

One of the most challenging parts of the character is going to be perfecting a different voice and physicality for the Orator. He is described as being a tatty but powerful and sinister figure. A master of ceremonies without many social graces. He's brimming with energy and his response to stimulae are often unexpected or over the top. He is said to be 'darkly theatrical'. I'm taking inspiration from lots of different places .There are bits of Jack Nicholson's Joker, Tom Hardy's Bronson, The Hitcher from Mighty Boosh and a fair measure of comedy cockneys in the mix. I just need to shake it all up and see what comes out... in theory.

There is no fourth wall for the Orator. He speaks directly to the audience in every adress and frames the various internal narratives of the piece.

I'm very much looking forward to getting back on stage- I've done solely film work and workshops since Miss Julie (Sept 2011).

Speaking of which my most recent short film Swimming, by Shoots and Leaves films has just been entered into the Virgin Media Short film competition 2012.

It can be viewed here:

http://www.virginmediashorts.co.uk/film/3378/swimming

we need all the votes we can get so get watching!

Thanks for reading- more to come when I get stuck into the character. 

A.

[adamcunis]

A dangerous trip down memory lane

Stanisalvski introduced the acting world to the idea of Emotional Memory. Uta Hagen (in her rather splendid book Respect for Acting) defines this as:

'(dealing) with the problem of finding a substitution in order to release that big burst of tears, the shriek of terror, the fit of laughter etc., demanded by the playwright, the director or by yourself as interpreter when the given circumstances of an immediate event in the play (something done to you by something or someone) fail to stimulate you sufficiently to bring it about spontaneously.' (p. 46)

I tend to avoid sticking to stringently to one mode of thought or 'method' when approaching a given text as it can be limiting and often inappropriate in the post-modern world of performance we occupy today.

Contemporary film demands a level of realism in a performance that would be unrecognisable to the Greeks, Shakespeare or even the Victorians. 

This month I have been working on a series of short films and student projects at Confetti studios in Nottingham. The second of these films is called Coma, it has been written and directed by Ryan Tyler and shot by Nico Turner and Jack Shillingford. 

The basic plot (I don't want to ruin it for you) is that a young man is visiting his mother in an ICU after she has been in a road traffic collision. The film also deals with our perception of reality and dreams in an innovative and unexpected way.

I have spent time visiting a relative in a Coma in the past and had very quickly decided to not even begin to think about summoning up my past thoughts and feelings from this very difficult part of my life. Instead I opted to focus on objects, smells and sensations that make me feel cold or alone. 

My character goes through a fairly rapid descent into depression whilst visiting his mother which has been touchingly and delicately documented by the crew and within the script. 

Everything was going fine until...

Two nights before we started filming I was waiting at home for one of my closest friends to arrive before going out to play some pool and for a couple of drinks.

He never arrived.

He was knocked from his motorbike on his way to my house by an articulated lorry.

He is ok; he's in hospital and has been conscious throughout. He has a length of recovery time ahead of him but it could have been a whole lot worse.

I was not, however, aware of this in its totality at the time that we began to film the scenes where my character was sitting at his mother's bedside, alone with his thoughts.

I am not an overly spiritual person, I am also able to separate events and get on with my work in spite of other hardships: when at University there was a culture of leaving emotional baggage at the door and picking it up again after rehearsal.

This time was inescapably different. 

Stanislavski talks about circles of attention and an actor's ability to focus in on the task in hand and their portrayal of a character above all distractions.

I found filming the hospital scenes for Coma to be incredibly difficult and I could not tell you whether or not they are any good. 

There was a choice to be made about going with how I was feeling (a sort of present emotional memory) and clamming up and being very specific and calculating in my choice of actions. Honestly I'm not sure which way I went and I'm anxious to see the final product.

So what is the point of all this you may ask?

Essentially this week has been somewhat of a wake up call about the fragility of our lives and the importance to work hard at whatever it is that you REALLY want to do. it has also served to remind me that an actor's body and mind is an instrument which gets rusty and off beat if you don't practice. 

Starting from now I'm going back to the books, back to the vocal exercises and back to the gym.

My friend who had the accident is an artist and I have known him for 19 years out of my 23 on Earth. He has often been a supporting voice in my ventures and has always had constructive things to say about my choice of career and the steps I have taken to further it.

I wish you all the best Matthew for a quick recovery and dedicate my performance in Coma (assuming it wasn't complete rubbish) to you and to your continued support.

To other actors out there? I think I'm trying to say that there is a precedence of danger in full immersion in 'Method' Acting. We all know what happened with Wynona's shoplifting and the tragic loss of Heath Ledger. Think logically about your work; live and breathe it but make sure you keep yourself safe.

'There are teachers who actually force actors into dealing with something buried (their response to the death of a parent, or the trauma of a bad accident). What results is hysteria or worse, and is, in my opinion, anti-art. We are not pursuing psychotherapy. If you feel mentally sick or disturbed and in need of it, by all means go to a trained doctor or a therapist, but not to an acting teacher.' (ibid, 49)

[adamcunis]

'Petunia'

...and other short films.

pictured: Sam Waddington (dir.), Bernard Faricy and myself

March has been quite a prolific month for me which has been wonderful. I hit the ground running at the tail end of february with a visit to London for a drinks do with my mother. Whilst in town I attended an audition for a short film, did some voiceover work for a good friend and got to go and see previews of the Lady From the Sea at the Kingstone Rose theatre (where I also got to meet the director Stephen Unwin).

It was glorious sunshine and the only slight mar on the whole long weekend was England's loss to Wales in the Rugby.

I got the part in the short film following a lovely audition and proceeded almost directly (without passing go and certainly without collecting £200) to High Wycombe to work on the project. I did the best part of two weeks filming on location (Green Hill allotments) and had a cracking time with a superbly professional crew and wonderful scene partner.

Petunia should be viewable before too long and I'll make sure to link you if/ when I can.

Subsequent to this I will be working on two shot films for Confetti Studios in Nottingham.

The first is Vimy Ridge a modern day mercenary action thriller. The second is a character study about the psyche and the decisions one makes in life called Coma.

I'm very excited by these opportunities and am off to an audition on Friday in Camden for a play in April/ May. Fingers crossed and more details on that to follow (hopefully)

On top of ALL of this I'm now working at my old school part time as a Drama tutor helping with GCSE students and co-directing the upcoming school play.

phew.

See you soon.

[adamcunis]

Exploring a national Dialectic

Writing scripts has always been somewhat of leisure pastime in my life. I have never been particularly serious about my efforts or perceived them to have any relevance beyond the re conveyance of my thoughts, feelings and observations. In a way like a diary or journal of my artistic leanings and opinions at any given time.

Indeed the couple of more extended pieces that I have written have been at times cringingly autobiographical. The tale of Alan Cunningham for example being an almost verbatim transcript of my unbelievably topsy turvy few months in the summer post finals at high school. There is some great humour in there which I was reminded of when seeing the Inbetweeners movies earlier in the year.

I think one of my strengths as a writer is the ability to display characters that are potentially polarising or distasteful in a positive or at least relatable light.

I recently co-wrote the performance poetry extravaganza On the Spin with my very good friend, and excellent writer, Rob Fellman. Together we formed the Vortext Collective and gave a couple of intimate performances of our show which was described by one prestigious academic and theatre critic as being frustrated and perfectly showing the problems and feelings facing young people in 2011. 

Although I freely admit that the lion's share of the work was carried out by Mr Fellman I was nonetheless buoyed up by this encouragement and the inherent mutual respect that it generated at the time.

Recently, whilst walking home along the river in Exeter, in the rain of course, I was struck by an idea. 

I am working on a script at the moment that is locationally autobiographical but with characters of my own devision. Theatre of memory and autobiography has long had ethical and moral stigma attached to it. 

I played a part in a production of Deep Cut in the final year of my undergraduate and was staggered by the number of socio-political pit falls and traps within the subject matter.

My text, therefore, is a fictionalised realisation (work in progress) about a group of boys from a Northern private school in England in the late nineties. There is progression from relative youth up to university and on to the working world. 

The central characters are all horribly flawed people, elements of which we may recognise in companions and associates from our youth. Rather than these characters being the stumbling blocks for a heroic central figure they have become the central figures. Blundering their way through academia, love and life. 

Some are successful, some are not and a couple are self-destructive to a level usually reserved for farce. 

I am hoping to deliver this in a sombre, sarcastic and realistic light. 

Again I am unsure how much of this I will release when a draft is complete but I really want to explore the relationships of accentation and rhythm in character creation as well as the diluting nature of geography and society on individuality, solidarity and originality. Through the journey of these very well off northern hopefuls I hope to explore a national dialectic and the perhaps plumb the depths of what went wrong with society in this country in the last couple of decades. 

It may not be our fault but I want to explore the concept of responsibility and national identity in modern England.

...

More on this when I feel inspired again.

[adamcunis]

Fail again. Fail better.

Wise words. Originally Beckett, expanded on nicely by Colin Greenlaw.

They were adopted by one of my directors, Adam Miller-Batteau, and became the mantra for our devised/ guided production of Romeo and Juliet back in June.

The idea is that everything that doesn't work out in life quite as you had planned is just a stepping stone towards success. We learn from our mistakes in order to progress both in the spheres of work and play. I'm currently writing up my academic reflections on the three productions I was involved with as part of the Production and Performance module on my MA course and thought it would be useful (and maybe interesting to somebody?) to order my thoughts here too in a less formal context.

Here were three very different productions:

Othello dir. Zachary W. Magan

Romeo and Juliet facilitated by Adam Miller-Batteau

Ferdinand and Luise dir. Kathrin Rosenberger

Before I begin I would like to say how much I enjoyed each and every one of these processes and production experiences. I challenged myself in a number of areas in this period of my training and think I achieved as much as I hoped I would. But perhaps not as much as I knew I could...

Although I have received precious little 'training' during my study of Drama and Theatre Studies I have worked hard on my own time to improve my physical ability, vocalisation and imagination. I have read a great many books about the do's and don'ts of acting, which usually contradict each other. (some I could REALLY recommend include Uta Hagen's Respect for Acting, Cicely Berry's The Actor and the Text and Declan O'Donnelan's The Actor and the Target)

With Shakespeare I have received much more specific training practically (my knowledge of Stanislavski and contemporary method acting is rather academic, try as I might) and it has, surprisingly, become something of a comfort zone for me.

It seems odd that something considered to be 'great' or a 'cultural idol' should come, comparatively, easily to me. I am, however, very aware of the privileged position I am in, aged 22, having not been to Drama School and having a very detailed knowledge of the ins and outs of the bards greatest works of theatre.

I have discovered (re-discovered I should say) the joy of hard work. Which is nice. Daddy will be proud...

Whilst working on Ferdinand and Luise, a lovely new translation of Schiller's Kabale und Liebe (Love and Intrigue), I was required to speak in German almost throughout. I do not speak German. This was, needless to say, challenging. 

The reason that it went well in performance was the amount of home work I put into preparing the script. I learnt the lines well in advance and studied the precise inflection and meaning of each syllable and nuance of the language. 

In theatre studies this is sometimes known as 'actioning'- when you break a script/ part down into smaller units (or chunks as we called them in R&J!) and really work at getting precision into the performance through preparation. I think that it is quite telling that I found this process so rewarding. I really ought to be putting similar levels of background work, analysis and thought into every role I play. If I honestly want to succeed in this business I need to be working my ass off.

To that end I've begun diligently scribbling and crossing out and rescribbling all over my new script for Miss Julie ( www.theakzedaggy.com for booking and other info!). But more on that another day.

The Marshall, in Ferdinand and Luise, does not have a counter point in its parent playRomeo and Juliet. My original academic plan was to compare and contrast the two through rehearsal. Bearing in mind cultural and chronological between the plays, their authors and the societal structures they represent.

I shocked my professor by camping it up with this role. Apparently he has usually seen me in more 'butch' 'soldiery' roles. Which is nice, I guess!

It was great fun to do, really nice to play against type, but I think I need to work on my comic timing in general before straying too far away from naturalism and tragedy again!

Adam's production reminded me about the importance of ensemble. Something that is very easy to lose sight of when you get involved in the sort of detailed text work I was talking about before! We had a great time devising ways of exploring Shakespeare's most famous play. 

Zachary's Othello was the closest thing to my normal sort of work. But in many ways it was the most challenging. The Moore of Venice is a dark, dark play. I was playing Othello's Lieutenant, Cassio. The effort to combine realism and Shakespeare is intensely enjoyable. I was constantly being reminded to stand up straight or do something more befitting the moment. 

I shall probably revisit this topic soon but for now I'm spent (and ought to work on my essay/advertising).

hope this provides interesting reading. I'll update you on progress for Miss Julie soon and hope to do a reaction to the Vortext Collective show I worked on for the Exeter Festival, if its of interest.

cheers

Adam

[adamcunis]

the AKZE daggy

I've been away from my little blog for a shamefully long time. Life has been very very busy and rather exciting. I'm now working for the theatre company 'the AKZE daggy' We're working on a production of Strindberg's 'Miss Julie' More details at our shiny new website: Www.theakzedaggy.com I am planning a longer post about my activities and experiences over the last couple of months soon!

[adamcunis]

on. the. spin. pacing through the streets of exeter to a venue near you... City gate. we're ready!