During the course of Louie's at 1st and Main, I continued to waver on how I felt about the acting. It seemed to go back and forth between good and not so good for a lot of the actors. Perhaps I should start by saying that I did like the actors. Just about all of them did well for their roles, despite many things that I would prefer to have seen changed. They all stayed in character, and with an exception of one or two, kept the fourth wall in place. I also feel that most if not all of the duo scenes seemed to drag unreasonably. Some of it seemed unnecessary and other times the energy seemed to lack focus causing it to drag. Well, as for specific characters, lets start with Tessie. I think she was the sole character that I didn't have a problem with at all. Her tonal quality was perfect for the role. She was the comic relief and did a wonderful job at it. She did make me wonder if she was breaking the fourth wall one time because she pointed at the one guy in the front, but then made it so that she was really staring at this invisible cat, which I, along with most of the audience, found rather humorous. And just to clear up, I didn't think it was an issue, it was just from where I was, it seemed like she was talking directly to this one guy in the front row, and the first time, he seemed to think so too. It was almost like a plot twist at the end of her scene. Dimitri I thought to have some consistency issues. Most of the time his acting was great for the role, but other times I thought the lines were delivered a bit over dramatic. However, although he started off rocky, he ended without a problem, and was probably the strongest actor there, which is very fitting for the lead.I thought that the actor who played Louis, had great potential. I often wanted more from him though. He did great and I was hoping for more and so it was a disappointment to find out he was going to remain static because he was really just a pigeon, despite the fact that it was a great idea to personify a pigeon with this particular story. I think one of the things that makes up for the minor negative parts, like some characters being too loud for the space or not quite developed, is the fact that the actors really connected with each other. I have seen performances, and have even been part of a couple, where the actors just aren't connecting. The entire cast was always connected to each other, be it in a negative, positive, or neutral way. It made it more realistic and drew me into the show more because of it.
Ember Dahl
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9 comments:
Hey so I was just looking at my notes and realized that we probably had similar notes even though we were in different categories. I agree that in some dialogues that Dmitri was over dramatic but at the end, his performance was just right. I also agree with you that Tessie was probably the best in the show. We often run into some homeless people in Portland that she portrays just right, very believable.
Ember--this is a great post! You provided a nice, specific analysis of three actors in the show. Tessie's 4th wall issues didn't bother me, but I was on the other side of the audience. I agree that she was the most entertaining of the bunch. There were a few times where I felt like Louis was looking right at me. (Kinda creepy. And, weird.)
I agree with the fact that I could relate and understand to Tessie the best, however, I don't think that her "breaking the fourth wall" was an issue. She was using a technique to get the audience involved. Overall, her approach to the character was convincing and acceptable in my eyes.
yeah louis looked at me 3 times. in the eyes. and he wasn't supposed to connect with the audience. it was quite irritating!
I have to disagree. I did not like Tessies character AT ALL! I thought towards the end when her and the young girl were talking about aliens, and even when she was just standing there, I got bored! I thought she had way to much to say, and it was unnecessary to the story. But I liked your take on the play overall!:)
I agree with the acting in how it was wishy washy with most of the characters, even the lead at some points in they play. I thought that the acting for the pigeon could have been more bird like, because i really thought he was some outdoors shy hippie... I agree on tessie she stole the show and it showed, until the end that is when it was all about dimitri and louie. nice blog. writing is one of your strong suits.
happy hour girl is nici
i agree that the strongest actor was tessie she really brought out the character she was meant to be. the fourth wall bit didnt accure to me as much as a problem though.
the best thing about Tessie was she was able to seem so crazy and just mental, but people still loved her. It was a great mix of acting techniques that made her character very real.
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