“Times have changed
And we’ve often rewound the clock
Since the Puritans got a shock
When they landed on Plymouth Rock.
If today
Any shock they should try to stem
’Stead of landing on Plymouth Rock,
Plymouth Rock would land on them.”
A few years ago I directed a perfect production of Anything Goes. I don’t mean to say the performances were perfect, the direction was perfect or that the show didn’t have its mistakes. It’s live theater - of course there were mistakes! The experience was what made it perfect. The cast was a group of very hardworking, hilarious and motivated students. The Choreographer and Music Director were two of my best friends. Those two things, combined with Anything Goes being such a well written piece of musical theater, made the process so fun while also being artistically fulfilling. Aka perfect!
There was one student in the group, we shall call him ‘Art’, that I swear was a 45 year old posing in a 16 year olds body. If I saw Art in his home environment with a pipe and a smoking jacket, I wouldn’t have been surprised. He had a 1920’s reporter vibe about him and the voice to match. Conversations with Art were full of ‘ya see’s and ‘look heres’. He seemed above the teenage drama. He spoke so eloquently and confidently. Sometimes it didn’t feel like he was a kid at all but rather my grandfather, old and full of wisdom.
Towards the end of the rehearsal process I was giving notes to the cast. I require that all my students write their notes down the old fashion way... pen and paper. Typing is a mindless activity! It’s significantly harder to remember notes when you type them.
I had given Art a handful of notes to which his response was simply to squint his eyes and nod his head at me, as if he was really pondering what I just said. Even something as simple as ‘move a step stage left’ received this response. After a few notes, I noticed Art was not writing any of this down. Apparently the nodding and squinting were his way of processing.
Me: Art, Are you writing this down? You are not going to remember any of this!’
Art: Lexie (he says very calmly) I am a goddam professional. I’ll remember.
I starred at him blankly. The cast had all eyes on on me waiting for a witty response. I had nothing. We moved on.
Out of the eight or so notes that Art received, I think he remembered two. That’s when he went from wise old Grandpa back to 16 year old boy. Man- I miss that kid!
