Episode 8 · Feb 5, 2013 · 9:59
Garlic Eggs and Chaos Creativity
Dan Googles himself, overpays for farmer's market eggs, and makes a leftover-garlic-salt omelet while talking chaos creativity. (917) 2148-DAN
- Show
- Teaching Actors How to Act
- Host
- Dan Rodandan
- Published
- February 5, 2013
- Length
- 9:59
- With
- Lucius Alphonse
Transcript
Full transcript of Teaching Actors How to Act episode 8, hosted by acting coach Dan Rodandan.
Dan Rodandan is my name. That's a Dan, a Ro, and then two Dans. That's three Dans total. Dan Rodandan, which Rodan was a giant pterodactyl in a Japanese film. Sort of a spin-off of the Godzilla genre. Rodan. I didn't realize that until recently. I saw that. I was looking, just Googling myself, and that's one of the pictures that popped up. I like to think of myself as a very dangerous sort of pterodactyl, sort of a flying creature, sort of old school, sort of violent here and there, but also interested in eggs, in flight, and things of that nature.
I went to a farmer's market this weekend, and I think I overpaid a little bit for some eggs, which I brought home. They just tasted like normal eggs. I made myself an omelet. Probably should have cleaned the pan first. Did not taste great. A lot of garlic salt, I think, left over from some other meals.
And I don't know why I'm sharing all of that with my... I have a special guest here today. A special guest who owns a theater company. His name is Lucius. Lucius Alphonse. And he and his wife started their own theater company. It's called Lucite. Is that right?
That's right.
Perfect. Now, go ahead and tell us a little bit about this theater company, what the mission statement is, what the goals are, how do you want to accomplish your goals?
I'd be happy to, Dan. Well, Lucite is an amalgam of several different methods that me and my company have been working with for quite some time. And we decided that since we all have a similar vocabulary, that we would just kind of commit to it and branch off and do our own thing.
So you have a shared vocabulary.
Yes.
You want to commit to it, and then you want to branch off. Like the many branches of a tree. Like the root system of a tree.
No, we're just kind of completely redesigning the whole thing, you know, starting from scratch, as it were. And we thought that, you know, it would seem complicated to someone from the outside, but to us it's just, you know, it's just like cooking eggs, for example.
Which can be more difficult than it seems at times.
Obviously, obviously.
Which, it sounds, is the analogy, the point that you're trying to make, is that just because you have a shared vocabulary doesn't mean you know how to break a few eggs to make that omelet, get yourself in a position where you can succeed.
Yes.
So do you guys do a lot of Shakespeare stuff?
You know, just mostly original work.
Original work, like a lot of interpretive dance?
It's not.
Movement?
I mean, there is movement, of course.
Nudity?
Nudity hasn't come up yet, but we're open to it.
Swearing. Drug use?
There's not a lot of speaking in our work now.
So you just like mostly roam around and bump into things?
It's experiential and I don't want to nail anything down because a new piece hasn't really found its voice yet. So from what we've done before, we're constantly changing and there's a lot of trust so we're open to—
So I come to one of your performances, I sit down in the audience, I pay my, what, $45? And I sit down. The curtain comes up. Lights go on. And then what do I see?
Well, what we hope you see is something that really shocks your foundational beliefs about what theater is. So that you don't actually have anything like your normal theatrical audience experience.
So when I leave and somebody asks me, did you go to a play? I would have to look at them and say honestly I don't know.
Yes. Yes. I want something and hopefully something meaningful to you personally.
Yes. And there's no nudity.
Um, you know, I, now that you've brought it up, I'm, I think there should be some nudity in our next piece. I'll work on it for you. You tell me when you're coming and I'll take my clothes off.
Well, okay. I mean that's, that'll work. It's not the fastest way up the mountain, but it gets me there. So, how many people are in this?
We've got a tight 13 right now.
13 people just sort of walking around, being meaningful, not talking, up until recently not being naked, and it's not, it might not be theater, but it might be theater.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but most plays that you see... what are you really... what's happening? There's just a lot of talking about lots of pointless things. It could be politics or religion or relationships or, you know, adultery. But really, we want to cut down to the bare bones of just people... people looking at each other, sort of walking around. I thought you said you'd seen one of our plays. I mean, I can't believe that you want to become a part of the company without having been exposed to some of what we do.
I saw it. I saw it and I basically what I saw was um—
Which piece did you see?
I saw the one that was called Understudy. The one where the, it wasn't even, there weren't even actors on the stage when I was there. It was a, it was like a script with a lamp and uh and then a bunch of people who I assumed were stagehands but I guess they may have been the actors, people in black clothes just sort of moving things around and like looking at each other, sometimes looking at us, and I honestly I thought that I'd gotten there early and that I was watching everybody get ready.
Well, it's not for everyone, Dan. But that was an early piece, so I mean, you may be surprised at what you see if you come back.
Okay. So if I come back this weekend, see what you guys are up to.
Well, we don't have a piece up now, but in about a month and a half, you could come and see something.
Okay, a month and a half. What's the name of that one?
Nudity, the musical. I'm joking, I'm joking. As of yet untitled. We're bouncing around a bunch of names.
So it's an untitled piece with not a lot of talking, it takes place on a stage, there could be talking, we're not finished yet, might not be theater, might not be actors.
I'm just tired of the same old thing. You teach acting, don't you get the same thing over and over again?
Yeah, I only have three or four monologues.
Well you know, you should come in and see if this next piece does something for you.
I'm going to come in. I'm going to show up on time, not early, and hopefully I'm going to get my money's worth.
Yes. You're going to get a face full of pubic hair, my friend.
That's all I'm really looking for these days. But I appreciate your feelings about theater. What are some of these exercises that you do to sort of craft these pieces in that root vocabulary.
So, what we've coined the term chaos creativity.
From Jurassic Park?
It's a consciously induced dream state where there's a non-verbal improvisation happening simultaneously. And sometimes we do it in multiple rooms, so you can't even really see the person you're acting with. They're in a different space. You feel the vibrations. You can't see them. You don't speak to them. But you interact from different rooms. Oh, you would be amazed at the sense of longing and loneliness that you will see in an actor who can't even touch or smell their partner, you know, let alone see them.
Right.
But we start with that. And then, you know, we may, you know.
Let's do a little improv right now. It's you and me.
Okay.
We don't talk to each other.
Mm-hmm.
We don't. We just sort of try to interact non-verbally.
Okay.
Maybe we move around. And go.
(Nonverbal improvisation)
You want to talk, I can see it in your eyes.
And you did talk.
I wanted to talk.
You did talk.
I don't know if you're ready, Dan.
I won. You're the one who talked.
That was very meaningful for me.
I don't think you get it, but... I'm doing... I was pretending to be Rodan. The pterodactyl.
Oh, I forgot. Yes, you are a pterodactyl.
Anyway, I'd like to thank you for coming by. It's been a pleasure, Lucius. Say hello to your lovely wife for me.
I will.
Do you have any children?
Not yet.
Oh, well. I'm sure that will come.
I hope so.
Everyone, I'm Dan Rodandan. And my guest today, his name was Lou.