So the Threepenny Opera begins tomorrow and we only have a few dress rehearsals. It has been an interresting experience so far and I am looking forward to the performances quite a bit. It will be one of the most dynamic pieces I've been a part of so far. Brecht has a masterpiece. The comentary on life's unyielding trials is augmented by his particular style of breaking theatrical conventions often attributed to the teachings of Stanislavsky. Themes of hate and injustice can be absorbed by breaking away from sentimentality and recognising that the theatre is still only a performance. Throw away the notion of trying to replicate real life on stage. The theatre magnifies reality while remaining believable. That, to me, is astounding. That is why I keep tying to perfect and constantly imperfect task.

x
alan

Life on the East of the Atlantic has proved to be splendid. I am pleased to say that I have been progressing in my craft and am looking forward to leaping out into the professional world of entertainment.

There I stand with a choice - do I pursue a course that will perhaps provide me with a larger income or to I continue to develop the art I love and sacrifice fame and money.

Some may say its wishful thinking and incredibly naive to comsider myself lucky enough to have a choice in an industry that is so unyielding and harsh that only 10% of actors are ever in work at any given time, but I'll tell you it is my arete. Acting is the one thing in all the world that I have such a passionate drive about that it has propelled me in my 21 years of life to uproot myself from comfortable normality and land in a land where the general tone towards Americans lies somewhere between contempt and patronisation. It has taken me these 2 1/2 years to settle into the culture enough to understand it become an active part of it. I have made a tentative decision to endeavor to remain in this country for a few years.

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I find the creative culture of Europe so much more unlocked than the generally conservative, caged theatre that seems to run free in the US. I'll grant that there are the token theatres sprinkled here and there that like to push the envelope, but with the money coming from conservatives, it is hard to fund spectacular pieces of theatre that effect the soul in such a way that you cannot push their messages aside. How much theatre should there be where the audience leaves happy and content with another happy ending. Some, yes, I'll grant you I love to watch musicals and smile at the end and shed a little tear at the trite love stories. But I would rather see the success of a drama that deals with the harshness of society in an artistic developed way so as to evoke such a strong feeling in the audience that 1,000,000 housewives write the city council to have all the work from that theatre banned!

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I suppose that brings us back to the original querie at the top: money or art. Well art of course. I would love to be in the position to to a supporting role in a film or two in order to fund my life as a theatre actor, otherwise i'll just save my pennies and wait for the day my opportunity comes up. And wait I will, because it will come. It has to come. I feel it.

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all my love

x

alan