Thursday, Talking Before & After "Talking To..."

Thursday was the day for Actors Talking. Before the performance we met with students from Emerson College who produce a TV show about theatre which is shown on both the school's in house system and the Boston Community Access-- Boston Neighborhood Network News, I think it's called. I used to watch this from time to time when I lived in Boston's Mission Hill. (There was a video version of me performing Martha Mitchell in 1990 that ran at odd hours for years on Boston local. I never saw it, but insomniac Bostonians used to tease me that I was a Boston Cable cult diva.) We each told about our characters and relationship to the show, and the interviewer and cameraman shot some scenes. All this will be edited down to maybe 3 to 5 minutes of air time, I suppose. After "Talking To..." there was the first audience talkback. The audience was small but wildly appreciative. A woman in the audience who had known Mo Mowlam (I play her in the opening scene) thanked me for bringing her back to life-- she's sorely missed by those who loved her. She said, "I knew who you were before you opened your mouth, and I was so glad to see you!" Several people thanked us collectively for the experience. They seemed to feel that they'd been given a lot to reflect on over time, but most of the questions were about the process, and each actor was asked to tell how they felt about the characters they portrayed -- especially the terrorists. The most fraught answers were of course the ones directed to the Jewish actors in the cast who play Muslims.

I'll continue about this Later: I have a toothache. I'm going to take a painkiller and go to bed.