https://wapo.st/3Sct3EL Cautionary tales abound about the danger of persnickety obsessions with seeing the one thing wrong with an other wise splendid entity. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s tale The Birth-Mark presented to the Sophomore English Honors class at St. Peter’s Prep in 1966 by Mr. John Casey told of the peril of obsession with trying to remove the […]
Tag: tests
London Test # 9: “Time’s up; Pencils down”
The London Test comes to a close. How did we do? Well, WordPress says it will take you a four minutes read to find out
London Test # 8: “You’re going to love London audiences”
In 1978, fresh off the dissolution of a relationship – Pippa in Retrospective likes the old English word, Eaubruche for the breaking of a marriage – a good friend of mine, Reverend Tom Davis, suggested that a return to acting would restore my spirits. Tom suggested a meeting with Alan Brody, then the Chair of the Skidmore College Theatre Department. The college’s works functioned as a […]
London Test # 7: Claps and Clunks
The inevitable ‘balancing out’ of theatrical experience OR If you can’t stand the heat, why are you wearing that chef’s hat? Louis Catliff, a superb videographer/director/writer filmed our May 15th performance of Retrospective. Take a few secs to watch this clip of something else Louis did for us — the solicitation and recording of comments about the performance from audience members, which everybody now calls Vox Pop, […]
London Test # 5: Collaboration, Inspiration, Admiration
I wrote about the criticality of collaboration in the SubStack version of this stream of semi-consciousness. No need to repeat all that here, but this will keep the chain of posts about the London Test of bringing our play RETROSPECTIVE to the UK at Barons Court Theatre
London Test: 74 year-old Bronx Irish Catholic Guy Takes His Play to London
I’m tracking the test of opening our play RETROSPECTIVE — Tix here — in London after it’s fine short run at Broadway Bound Theatre Festival August 2025. Here’s the series up to opening night, May 14th. Here’s a reel to consider its charms: London Test #1: Taking RETROSPECTIVE to the Pub Finally in Barons Court […]
Defending Your Writes: Are How-To Books for Authors Hooey?
Short answer: Depends upon what you consider a ‘How-To-Write’ book Yes, my good and faithful readers,’ ‘writes’ is a word; Obsolete in most places admittedly and only used in northeastern Scotland as of 1974, but it’s a real word signifying ‘A written record or work; a book, a letter, a document, etc.’ Even if it […]
What’s a Metaphor? The Case of the Symbolic Capitalist
My Aunt Bess died last week; my father’s youngest sibling, the last of that generation. She was 96 and had a full, exciting, and satisfying life. Seeing her discomfort in the hospital (they remain horrible places in which to lie) affirmed that her death brought relief to her and to the family especially my kind […]
Old Friends
Old friends can be countries as well as people, and we do well to realize the value of such relationships.
Nothing to be done?
Wondering about authority in the aftermath of 11/06/2024 (and my personal prequel ‘Summer of Confusion’), I wandered thorough a few posts mainly as a reaction to all the pundits telling me why millions of people voted for a self-admitted sexual abuser also a convicted felon with a plan (Project 2025, which he glibly and unconvincingly […]