Critic's Corner

Tattered World Blog. Shadow Stage Shenanigans.

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Welcome to the End

Hello my fellow Thespians,

Today, I thought I’d cover a book that’s good for smaller kith and thespians, if you want to give them a good scare. It had been a while since I first read a book from the Shivers series, so I’m glad that the first book, Welcome to the End, has held up so well.

Like other Shivers books, Welcome to the End ties in an overarching horror to more grounded anxieties a young thespian may experience in their life. The Kit and her brother the Pup both need to manage the anxiety of moving to a new town and home, the pressure to fit in and make new friends and Allies, coming to terms and growing into their roles all the while they also experience ghostly presences and neighbors that are acting far beyond the usual "strangeness" that comes with unfamiliarity. The book seems to tell readers if Kit and Pup can survive through their ordeals, surely the young reader can too.

Welcome to the End, without giving spoilers, turns from a mystery to a pure horror by the time the Kit realizes what is so strange about her new town. She and her brother adapt to meet these circumstances and monsters head on instead of lying in defeat, which given recent events is a surprisingly apt message for both mine and younger generations. However, what leaves the book on an unsettling note, is the suggestion that the cycle shall ever continue, as death does. Kit and Pup may have been able to escape it for the time, but what of the new family that was foreshadowed to take their place? Kit decides to keep what she had learned for herself, to let the next group of victims discover what horrors await them beyond the last page.

With regard to the monsters, there is a surprising amount of diversity with motivations and characterizations. Some are filled with desperation to be freed of their never-ending cycle, others have that too-familiar resignation and remorse of how things are 'meant' to play out for them and those they meet. And indeed, in the face of the End, it's easy to succumb to the mindset that the monsters have. However, like Kit, if we take some time to pull up a headstone and write a memorable epitaph in the wake of chaos, maybe we may find that the end is merely a new beginning.

Welcome to the End is available for purchase at Center Stage.

~The Critic

~~~~~

Author's note: Apparently, there is a real-life series of books called Shivers? I haven't read those, but I'm pretty sure these Shivers are not related to those Shivers.

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Staging Directions

Hello my fellow Thespians,

I know I talked about the view from the Director's seat, but here is a real view. Perhaps, it is too much of a view (huhuhu, you all look so tiny…).

But before I derail myself, I decided to take time today to discuss some stage directions, namely staging directions of the Stage, in opposition to the House (this isn’t going to get confusing).

Below I have a very crude drawing of part of our Stage from the view most students are used to seeing it from.

Yes, the quality leaves something to be desired, but I wasn’t cast as the Artisan, after all…

Anyway!

The major thing with learning stage directions is that they are written in relation to an actor looking out from the stage. I know it sounds silly to clarify, but I have seen many, many, many performers lose their sense of direction (namely one whose name I won’t mention here because then I’ll go off on a tirade because how you get these wrong HOW DO YOU LOOK LEFT THEN WALK STAGE RIGHT).

The slightly more confusing set of directions are upstage, and downstage, and for this, I think a little history lesson is in order!

A long time ago (about several… hundred(?) years), stages used to be built on what is called a “rake” so that actors further away from the audience can still be seen as they walk— quite literally at the time— up the stage, and likewise down toward the audience (see below). After some time, they reverted back to normal, flat stages and the house seating being raked instead.

*Rakes can be a varying degree of angles. Allow performers to get accustomed so no ankles are broken.

Who are “they?” I have no idea. But, probably after “they” noticed how… awkward… it is to move on a raked stage without appearing to limp, the thought of building furniture to sit on it evenly, and the fact that it's so easy for one actor to upstage another we named an entire practice and book out of it… but I’m digressing. Upstaging is a topic for another day!

Nowadays, you would usually find a raked stage as a temporary construction on top of the flat stage. Speaking of stages, I have no idea what is going on down there… The usual suspects are out and about, lots of students from Hope, Second Tree on the Left doing well… I’m digressing again. Stage! Staging! Staging, on the stage.

Below you’ll find a different crude drawing of the stage, as if it was drawn from the perspective of the rafters. I’ve labelled it as easily as I could, and you can guesstimate where the major set pieces would be (such as a certain shop being more Upstage Center Right than its name suggests).

(And various combinations of the above.) 

If the Director wanted you to cross from CR to DL, you know where to go. Or if you’re trying to find the Hero, you know to look somewhere along Stage Right. Simple!

I was going to see if I can find one of these “slashed” editions of books I keep hearing of for next week, but instead I’ll be catching up on the latest developments Hopeside. My kith, Kennet and Brea, seem a little antsy about “mysterious voices,” and given the events that transpired the last time we stepped Offstage, I am too. Should be fun!

~The Critic

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Lights! Camera! Action!

Hello my fellow Thespians,

My, from this view, the Stage spreads out before me. I would say this is just about directly house center, right where the sound should be the best. Of course, I know because a certain thespian used to spend the majority of his rehearsal time here, giving everyone directions, and suggestions and writing in the books he used to keep under the very seat I’m— They’re actually still here! After all these years, no one sat here and dusted off the original copies?

Well, I was going to talk about the one time a chandelier fell and almost killed half the Stage, Director included, but it seems that fate has something else in store! Find a comfy spot, because I’ve the sense this will be a long one.

What I have in my arms are a trio of guidebooks written by our late Director, with the third and final installation serving as his memoir. Lights, Camera!, and Action needn’t be read in order— in fact, these were written concurrently— which allows any aspiring Director, Writer, or Technician pick up a book in the series without being bogged down by needed context.

Lights is probably the most technical of the three, detailing Director’s process in translating Narrator’s script and vision to a visual medium on the stage, going in length on what techniques can be used to produce a certain mood. I did find the section on how to apply gobos and lighting gels to achieve the various locales of “The Lizard of Awe” while still keeping an adaptable and minimalist set quite interesting, though much of the jargon throughout the section and book were intimidating. I feel technicians will have want of a shorthand to build off of, but I sadly know I am unqualified to give it a thorough review.

Camera! continues this trend, though shifting the focus to the script, and deciding which parts of it are the most important to emphasize for the particular vision in mind. For example, Camera! explains the need for a sturdy, multi-tiered set to dance on for the smash hit “Dancing in the Downpour,” so that the Choreographer can go to town on staging while not needing to worry too much about dancers slipping off a platform. Ah! I remember seeing that show like it was yesterday. Rain must have been proud of their handiwork, and the lighting only accentuated the splashes of water as the dancers moved— Ah! But I digress. The dancing was the focus of the show, and what can be expressed through dance. Director sought to create that by making sure the set and effects highlighted that aspect as much as possible, without being overbearing, and of course, ruining the floors of the stage!

Action! is perhaps my favorite of the trio. I, admittedly, never had a fondness for Director— his meticulousness often left himself and the rest of the cast on edge (with good reason, a certain someone breathing down your neck for every production is probably not good for the nerves), but this book, as do the previous editions in the series, shows the level of care behind all of the annoying and frustrating quirks that would come up as the rehearsal process came down to the wire. What particularly struck me was a quote in the chapter titled, “Exits and Curtain Call,”

It is easy to forget that a thespian’s bow may be their last, whether they are on or offstage. Take time to emphasize those in the wings, those in the rafters, and finally, yourself. I wonder which production will be my last, but as long as I exit with as much purpose as I entered, I wouldn’t regret a thing.

If I remember correctly, the Director published these shortly before he took his final bow. It brings a certain level of poignancy to the books I wasn’t originally expecting from him...

Overall, I feel Thespians from multiple walks of life could benefit from reading Lights, Camera!, and Action!. While I only covered a few examples of what the three books have in store, I think the extra tips and anecdotes from someone devoted to the craft turn the books from a droll guide into something a little more.

New editions of Lights, Camera! and Action! are all available Center Stage for purchase of ~500 Shards.

Now, I must be on my way, my legs need a bit of a stretch, perhaps time to get a better vantage point as well...

~The Critic

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Nosferatu

Hello my fellow Thespians. It has been a while.

I’ve been sifting through my things after the events of the Gala when I came across my old copy of Nosferatu, with a bit of a review I was writing on it. Can’t say much on the plot, unfortunately, but Nosferatu was always more about the craftsmanship of one talented thespian.

[...] but it is the Count who takes the stage with his memoir Nosferatu, detailing the process of acting as the lead role and doubling as the head special effects designer for the production of the same name. For an aspiring make-up artist, Nosferatu provides an in-depth look at what when on to beautify and horrify thespians during the production, with extra tips from the Count on how to achieve a unique look for your role. I personally found the illustrations quite helpful in visualizing the process, and the commentary illuminating even without an aid.

Unfortunately, the author is predisposed until the end of production, the Methods taking him in the usual way. However, debut actor the Consort did have things to say about our lead:

“He [the Count] is very meticulous in his ways, and I think that comes across in both his acting and effects work. Him being so method is also really intimidating for a newbie working on their first show! Regardless, the Count is so considerate, testing out his new make-up on himself first to make sure they’re safe for the rest of us. He personally went out of his way to find a new material to make some of the facial prosthetics for me when I had a reaction to the original! If that isn’t dedication to his craft, I don’t know what is.” 

Nosferatu is now available [...]

Such an animated time, the weeks during that production. That reminds me of a time when Count, Countess, Consort and I happened to be celebrating one night with an impromptu reading of the titular play, and we all had to drink an Essence of Candy Corn every time someone needed to say “bleh!” I’m surprised I even remember that night at all. Of course, I still can’t stomach Candy Corn after that, but I digress.

For thespians looking to don a more mutable ‘mask,’ I still highly recommend the Count’s Nosferatu. It covers all of the basics and details from a pioneer in his field, as well as insights on the struggles of doubling equally demanding roles.

New copies of Nosferatu are available at Center Stage for purchase of ~1000 Shards.

I shall be around to receive any messages and books to review, though I may steal to the kitchen for a glass of the red for a moment. Anything would be greatly appreciated.

~The Critic

The Critic is now taking questions and requests for reviews.

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The Illuminary Gala, Act I

Hello my fellow Thespians,

Apologies for the lapse in entries. When you leave so many notes lying about it gets quite difficult to find them.

But that is not what we’re here for....

I had, as many of you have had, the pleasure to attend a certain gala that ended with quite the show-stopping number. I was so moved I had to... regroup... in the nearest dark corner I could find and write about it. And here we are!

To the Weeping Willow, excellent display of showwomanship. Only at the end did you reveal your character to your hapless audience and Heroine. While your mastery of manipulation earned yourself in your rightful place amongst perhaps the brighter stars the stage had to offer, in the end, there is only one player that truly matters now, isn’t there?

With a surprise twist in truly transformative role, everyone’s favorite Narrator has taken to the stage once again. I’m sure few are without memory of a similar plot that took place on a different stage over a year ago. It’s writer has developed a semblance of nuance in the plot, though, the trademarks remain: A cast of characters and the audience partaking in a masked event, pitting themselves and each other, and finally the writer himself posessing a cast member so that he may assume the spotlight? As I understand, I am not the only one to see the similarities.

Moreover, the Narrator’s choice to re-cast themself (in the control of the eloquent and tragic Princess Celariel) as the Dragon is a bit overdone. Primarily the bravado of the self-cast actor feels strange from our dear Heroine, but let’s not forget two other dragons have all ready made their presence and roles known, a third one may be a bit... redundant? However, there is a sense of... something, I forget the word, for our heroes in the upcoming act as they must save the Princess from herself as the Dragon that would lock her up in one of Narrator’s towers are, in this instance, one and the same.

~~~

As we have learned in the past month, my fellow thespians, all of the remnants are indeed a stage, and we are merely it’s players. We have our entrances, our exits, our expositions, our climaxes, and our denouments. I hope you have all rested, recouperated, and prepared during this intermission, for the curtain rises on a new day, a new act, a new scene.

I am certain we shall take to our roles as Illuminary Knights with ease, and we shall again, defeat the one who wishes to tell our stories for us.

May all the stars continue to shine when this play has ended,

~The Critic

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The Breaking of Legs

Hello my fellow Thespians,

I am currently nestled on the edge of house left, admiring the lovely draperies we have as rehearsal goes on, though for what production, I know not. It’s a little early to say, and no one has been kind-- or rather, forgetful-- enough to leave their script lying around for anyone to peruse. But this is not the topic at hand today!

We’re here to talk about drapes, and especially, a certain phrase that stems from those drapes.

You are probably familiar with the term, “break a leg,” yes? You know, that idiom that may be occasionally hold more malice than ironic well-wishing depending on the sender? Well, let me tell you, this phrase-- as much as I enjoy violence-- has naught to do with breaking your actual legs at all!

This reminds me of a time I was present for an audition where some of the Chorus Girls were discussing this very thing, and then the Director arrived stating the Songstress had actually broken her leg-- but I digress.

If you look at the wings of our expansive stage, you’ll probably be familiar with the series of long and lean drapes we have battened on the flys (Oh my, there goes the Moon again. They look so small all the way up there). These long drapes are called, in our business, legs. If any of you remember a particularly well-received performance, you or the other pricipal actors may have needed to reenter the stage for another series of bows, cutting around and bumping into the legs and grand drapes to do so. This act itself, essentially, is ‘breaking’ the leg.

There you have it! A small little history lesson you likely niether needed nor wanted! I’m unsure why they are called legs in the first place, but I unfortunately don’t have much time to speculate. It seems some of the stagehands-- and performers have found me, and I need to prepare a hasty retreat.

If you happen upon my next hiding spot, and I so happen to come across a script or request lyring about, I’ll take a look and offer my thoughts it. Just don’t tell anyone where I am. Thank you.

~The Critic