So here I am, sitting in the "green" room (which is something I don't get because they're almost never green and I know I've been meaning to look it up but I still haven't so the name continues to not make sense to me) of a theater in Sarasota, Florida. I'm out here with my show "Monologues" performing for the community. Can you believe? We came out for a one-night stay so we could do the performance tonight and then we're back in town tomorrow. I feel like such a jet setter.
I have to say, this group of people I do the show with are an amazing bunch. I was the first to go, so I have the good fortune of being able to sit back here and BS with you guys while I hear my fellow Monologuers doing their pieces. This is a big deal for us, being able to travel like this, bring the show to new people who wouldn't otherwise see it. We have high hopes for the direction of this thing. I mean, already, we went from a small, 3-show open in the LES back in November 2007 and now we've got a consistent run on the UWS and some travel opportunities. Next on the agenda are two more NYC shows on March 31 and April 1, followed by a trip down to Miami for two shows at the end of April, back to NYC for two more shows on April 30 and May 1, and then to Chicago for one show on May 7th.
So, this is where I say "if you haven't seen it, you gotta come out!" You'll forgive me this cheesy post saturated with self-promotion but I'm in Monologues mode because of where I am and what's going on around me. It's not an exaggeration for me to say that this is, hands down, the single most rewarding thing I've done in the last 1-1.5 years. And if you know me, you know how ridiculously hard it is for me to describe something like that. I think that comes from my emotionally detached Aquarian nature, at least that's what the horoscopes tell me. In any case, see the show, tell your friends, make love not war.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
2 comments:
The first recorded use of the term was in 1701 but the origin of the term is unknown and is the source of many folk etymologies such as:
The term Green Room can be easily traced back to the East End of London England. In Cockney rhyming slang, Greengage is Stage, therefore Greengage Room is Stage Room and like most rhyming slang it gets shortened, hence Green' Room. (this info came from the late great comedian and dancer Max Wall).
In some explanations it is said that the colour was a response to limelight – early stage lighting.[citation needed]
Green is also thought to be a calming and soothing colour.
The most widely accepted origin of the term dates back to Shakespearean theatre. Actors would prepare for their performances in a room filled with plants and shrubs. It was believed that the moisture in the topiary was beneficial to the Actors' voices.
Richard Southern, in his studies of Medieval theatre in the round, states that the acting area was "The Green". The central space, often grass-covered, was used by the actors, while the surrounding space and circular banks were occupied by the spectators. Since then "The Green" has been a traditional actor's term for the stage. Even in proscenium arch theatres there was a tradition that a green stage cloth should be used for a tragedy. The green room is thus the room on the way to the green. Technical Staff at some West End theatres (such as the London Coliseum), still refer to the stage as "the green".
It has been suggested that the original 'green room' was in a London theatre converted from office buildings. The room behind the stage had previously been used to cut deals and was known as the 'agreeing room,' and the phrase has become corrupted over the years.[citation needed]
According to a professor of theatre history, long before modern makeup was invented the actors had to apply makeup before a show and allow it to set up or cure before performing. Until the makeup was cured, it was "green" and people were advised to sit quietly in the "green room" until such time as the makeup was stable enough for performing. Uncured makeup is gone, but the green room lives on.[citation needed]
Some studies state that the green room was originally called the retaining room. The ensemble of a production would wait there for their appearance onstage, listening to the performance of the principal actors and critiquing their acting. When made aware of this practice, the leads began to call the retaining room the green room, mocking the envy of the "lesser actors".
Thank you Wikipedia...
-CM
Fascinating. Thanks for the copy-paste job.
Post a Comment