So it is 12:28pm, and I am sitting in the theatre building with time to kill until 2, since my morning rhr ended early. And it's this time, with 1 1/2 hrs to kill until our stage reading of Naomi Wallace's Slaughter City, that I start to fret about sitting on a stage, with more of my classmates than i can count on one hand, and and X-factor of a Y-quantity of unknowns for the audience. Given that I, 1) OUT of accordance with my *plan* I was sick and did not get the script read yesterday, and 2) am by no means an actor (outside of the roles I play in everyday life), I am somewhat nervous. Go figure.
In an attempt to talk myself out of being nervous and back into looking forward to this, I looked around online for anything I could find to help put myself back in the right mindset -- reviews of performances of this show, videos, etc. So, just to share, like a nice kid, here is a blip on youtube, a page on the production of Slaughter City done at Univ. of Texas, Austin, a review of a production of it, and if I can figure out a way to put it on here, a song from "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" called "Hard Time Killing Floor Blues," performed Chris Thomas King, which I seem to find appropriate mood music for a lot of things.
youtube clip
UTA production
Premiere production review
Scratch posting the song -- I always forget this blog doesn't allow uploads of music. But if you are even the least bit curious about it, check it on youtube.
So there's that, and I'm sure I'll have an actual post after the reading, instead of this little blurb. Until them, I think I'd better skim the script a few times.
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It was nice to go home from the reading and see all of the information right after reading the play. I turned on my 'O Brother Where Art Thou' soundtrack and went searching through Rocky's findings.
ReplyDeleteI found a poem by Naomi Wallace through the American Repertory Theatre page called 'Meat Strike' which seems to be the seedling of 'Slaughter City' (or vice versa). After reading for Cod, this poem really made me think about these characters that have the responsibility to play either a villain or a protagonist. Cod plays different sides, and the characters play him both sides as well. Characters like Baquin and Roach are more clearly defined, it seems. We discussed this somewhat after the reading, asking 'what is Cod's (and the Sausage Man's) purpose for being at this place during this time?'
After all of that contemplation, I traveled to the University of Texas at Austin website. I was immediately drawn to the link of costume renderings for the characters. Each time I clicked on a new rendering, I only saw the first half of the figure and immediately knew who each character was (check it out; you'll probably have the same reaction). Now, I know I have a knack for this costume thing, and some of the characters are easier to recognize than others, but I truly think that this costume designer really took the time to listen to these characters, as we did on Saturday. The renderings, though each one is painted with at least a little blood (nobody's hands are clean, huh?), are truly beautiful and worth a look.
And finally, (this should probably be a post, not a comment...haha), I always almost say 'Slaughterhouse City' instead of 'Slaughter City' for some reason. I have never read Kurt Vonnegut's 'Slaughterhouse Five,' but I know that it is one of the most challenged books of the 20th Century and has a lot to say about war, racism, and violence. I don't know, weird.