Foxy Friday night reflections

Friday night at Fabs.  It's been awhile. Or as the locals would say, it's 'bin' awhile.  Pronunciation joke.  Nevermind.  My seventh month in Los Angeles has sped past, Beaten Hearts opens in less than a week and May is barely a heart beat away.  I awoke this morning to a text message from friends in Paris announcing the birth of their first child.  Congrats, Marit and Elias!  I wish I could be there but I have my own (stage) baby to deliver.

Ah, the jazz band has arrived - a Friday night fixture at Fabs - I'd forgotten about that.  Groovy.  Or grouse, as I might have said when I was fourteen.  I went on the public record with 'grouse', back when I was in the Royal Children's Hospital having spinal surgery and was interviewed by Today Tonight's predecessor, Day by Day (oh dear, that'll date me).  I was asked what I thought of the hospital and the nurses.  "Oh, they're grouse," I affirmed, smiling.  That was in the first two weeks when it all still seemed like a big adventure.  Somewhat discombobulating to consider that I have now lived longer since those back operations than I had up to that point.  Don't ask me how much longer!  No woman in L.A. over the age of 30 will admit to anything above 32.  OK, so I'm 29.  Prove me wrong if you dare!

I'm rambling, but so what.  Deal with it readers, this is my blog.  Had a fight with my Fox news-watching roomie the other night.  I usually avoid the living room when she's watching it, but I was hanging out my laundry on a clothes rack to dry so I was stuck there for a few minutes.  Tried to close my ears and keep my mouth shut.  Failed.  You know, I don't even really remember what they were talking about, but it was the same old shit.  Something about the amount of money Goldman-Sachs contributed to Obama's election campaign and how he should give it back.  Like they didn't hedge their bets and give just as much to the Republican party.  Whatever.  All in that obnoxious, bullying, self-congratulatory tone of voice; I simply have a visceral reaction to it.  They could be saying chocolate is delicious and I would be grinding my teeth at their tone.  Anyway, Gina quite fairly had a go at me for spoiling her enjoyment of a program she likes.  She's right, I should have kept my mouth shut; there's no way to argue a point when in essence I'm objecting to a tone of voice and instinctively bucking against some of the broad statements being made.  Don't worry, we made amends.

Thank goodness for Jon Stewart, an antidote indeed.  Here is his hilarious, uproarious riposte to Fox stalwart Bernie Goldberg's response to Stewart's show, in which he - Stewart - makes as much fun of himself and his audience as he does of Goldman and Fox News.
Jon Stewart - The Daily Show

Which, apart from making me laugh long and loudly, also made me wonder if there are any right-wing comics out there.  Common sense tells me there must be.  But where are they?  Certainly the likes of Hannity, O'Reilly and Goldberg seem unable to laugh at themselves or tolerate being laughed at.  Not that they are are comics (although I can hardly take them seriously).  They seem mostly to laugh smugly about how clever they are, but the smile soon twists to an uncomfortable smirk when criticised or questioned.  Horrifying to think that this show is apparently one of the most popular across the United States.  What the hell am I doing here?  I guess I'm just a raging liberal with my head in the clouds.  Which is probably why I watch Weeds.  Mary Louise Parker is so AWESOME.  So is Justin Kirk.  Such a smart, funny, subversive show.  I'm currently watching season 4 on Netflix.  Instant download rocks.

Alex and I have signed up for a series of four workshops with film director, John Swanbeck.  He is specifically teaching creative acting techniques for camera.  Very interesting and effective.  He talks about how the camera creates illusion and we as actors need to know how to collude with that; how to use our imagination to create active imagery in our heads - visualisations - which instantly make an on-camera performance more alive, more focused and more intriguing.  He doesn't discount the importance of scene analysis and other actor preparation, but shows us shortcuts and tools for enhancement.  Very useful, especially when you consider that due to the nature of TV and film making (and auditioning), you don't always have the luxury of the other actor - perhaps the star of the show - being right in front of you feeding you lines when it comes time for your close-up.  So your performance can't rely on what the other actor gives you - such as in stage work, where that live exchange is part of the electricity that is created.  So Alex and I are acquiring a few more tools for our actors' toolkit.  It's an abstract way of working, quite a mind-bender for someone like me with a predominance of theatre training and experience.  However, it also ties in with what Vinny teaches us about being active in a scene, finding a preoccupation through which to filter our intentions.  Sometimes you can't be physically active, so you have to find a way to be mentally active.  John is teaching us a few new tricks; the trick to the tricks though, is choosing very specifically.