Larry Moss, Larry Shannon

I spent last week in Los Angeles, taking Larry Moss' scene study workshop intensive. If it sounds a bit dramatic to fly across the country just to take a class...it was. Hey, that's how I roll. I missed his workshop in NYC in January because I was in Boston doing NINE, and I'm going to miss it in July, as I'll be in Colorado. My longtime scene partner Denis and I decided that it might be a fun challenge to get out of our city and comfort zone by going to shiny, scary LOS ANGELES (it has always seemed shiny and scary to me, anyway) to do this work.

It was fantastic.

This was my fifth time taking this class with Larry, and I always come away recharged, inspired, and focused on issues that need addressing. He assigned us Conor McPhereson's SHINING CITY, which I hadn't read before, but loved like mad. Dublin accents! Anyway, we dug in and got a lot of good work done. We were both excited by the notes we got, especially as they were pretty much the same for both of us, which makes selecting future scenes pretty straightforward. He ended our second work session with one of my favorite phrases: Flee forward.

Larry told me to reread THE NIGHT OF THE IGUANA, by Tennessee Williams, and to work on both of the female roles in order to stretch myself. I did so (newest obsession, thaaaaanks, Larry!), and have been looking at various interviews and articles online about the play (reviews, production history, what have you). I stumbled across this quote earlier this evening, from an interview Williams gave about the play. I think it's one of the more beautiful things I've ever read:

“The drama in my plays, I think, is nearly
always people trying to reach each other. In
Night of the Iguana each one has his separate
cubicle but they meet on the veranda outside
the cubicles, at least Hannah and Larry
Shannon meet on the veranda outside their
cubicles, which is of course an allegorical
touch of what people must try to do. It’s true
they’re confined inside their own skins, or their
own cubicles, but they must try to get out as
much as — they must try to find a common
ground on which they can meet because the
only truly satisfying moments in life are those
in which you are in contact, and I don’t mean
just physical contact, I mean in deep, a deeper
contact than physical, with some other human
being."

I mean...the man could WRITE!

I leave in a week and two days for my three month adventure in Colorado. I am ridiculously excited. The daily smashing of mirrors and belting of high notes is going to be so satisfying.

The Normal Heart

People, go see THE NORMAL HEART. It's beautifully acted, it's moving, and it's important. Plus, when's the next time you'll have an opportunity to see the incredible Joe Mantello on stage? Go. Bring tissues. Not kidding. I was sobbing in the street afterwards. Go.