How important is intuition?

Pretentious image snagged from the Internet

Intuition, often overlooked, seriously underestimated, and definitely underutilized in today's modern world can be a source of so much joy, happiness, pink horses and lovely unicorns. It is so important that in some cultures is regarded as the sixth sense (eat that, Bruce Willis!). It is particularly useful if you happen to be a director absolutely deprived of that quality, but who finds it by the gallon on the actors and crew of the play he is attempting to direct. The truth of the matter is, when there's a lot of intuition on the actors, there's very little work for the director. It is, more than anything, working as a traffic-guide-thing-dude (you know, the ones that tell you when to stop and when to go) just to be sure that we don't have an intuition pileup.
Amazing things like reading a blog entry from one of the characters on the play (and incredibly in character, if I may say so) about a topic that is not touched in the play (which makes hitting the nail even more difficult) fill me with a bucket of happy. Seeing rehearsal today (the first time we stood up and walked around while delivering lines) and how natural the movements, facial expressions, interactions and so on were gives me both an amount of confidence and peace of mind I had not experience in theater many times before. The sensation one can get when an actor acts on pure intuition and things come out as a character rather than as an actor's performance is difficult to explain.
With over a month before opening, the crew is already gathering things, throwing ideas, being the best crew one could expect on tech week, but without the stress of tech week.
In the end, it is coming to that: a pretty stress-free, fun project that already shows signs of a great show... and we still have a lot of time to make it absolutely mind-blowing. I know these actors and crew will not settle for anything less.
Oh, before I forget... my intuition asks me to say something I should have said a bit before my first post. Yes, this blog is maintained by the cast and crew of "A Day in the Death of Joe Egg" but it is not meant to be any sort of "official blog" associated with TWO. So our (read my) senseless rants should never be tied up with such a wonderful and non-rant-type organization!
Hopefully next rehearsal we'll snap a bit of video to share.

We Are All So Fortunate

I'm extremely interested in this whole blogging thing. Think of all of the good the power of words can do. I'm fortunate to have working fingers that can type. There are so many out there without such an advantage, and, so, it is incumbant upon me to share thoughts and stories that may in some way better mankind.

Back to this idea of the handless and fingerless-- I am intrigued and proud to support the work of Paul Smith, a plastic surgeon in London who has started to replace fingers on the hands of children with symbrachydactyly. Hundreds are born so afflicted each year. Personally, those of us with fingers have a duty to inform and educate the masses on behalf of these poor children who are unable to blog.

Simply, when we have the means to make a difference, and I am blessed with such means, we must. And, so, I plan on blogging much more-- not for me, but for a better world.

Finding a destination

We've started a sort-of journal for TWO's production of "A Day in the Death of Joe Egg." All of us (cast, crew, guests) have enjoyed incredible conversations before, during, and after rehearsals and meetings related to the play. This is such a profound piece that one cannot help but to think a lot about it. And through this blog we hope to let everybody in in some of our rants. I promise to write more about how the process has gone up until now, but today I'd like to share a bit on what we experienced yesterday.
Since the beginning I've had a pretty clear idea on what I would love to see in this production. Nonetheless, a part that has not been extremely clear is what the message is, if there is a message.
Karen Carothers, our (amazing!) Assitant Director spoke with Jim Payne at Wendell Foster's a couple of weeks ago to arrange a session of volunteering for the cast and crew of Joe Egg. Yesterday, we got to visit their campus and, to our surprise, Jim was waiting for us with a great surprise.
As we arrived to Wendell Foster's (I have to admit I arrived late) we were seated in the main lobby of the administration building, where we had an incredible session of Q&A with the residents and workers of this amazing institution. Several of the questions they had for us were far more important and eye-opening than many of the questions we thought we should be asking ourselves. The answers they gave to our questions were profound and had a way to show with extreme simplicity concepts I had not been able to wrap my mind around.
Let me share one of those moments. We asked the residents and workers if they had ever interacted with someone who had the same condition as Joe, and if so, how did they view that person. One of the resident's answer will stay with me as long as I hold control of my mind: "She's the same as me. She just has a different way of viewing and doing things. That's the only difference in between us" (I apologize for the use of quotes, as I'm operating from memory it probably is not literally what she said).
After the Q&A, they gave us a tour of their facilities, and invited us to a concert/dinner they had last night (which some of us were fortunate enough to attend as well).

Actresses Deborah Arvin and Katie Champion enjoy a tour of the Wendell Foster's Campus

This was a very special opportunity for all of us as a group, and for me personally. I think we all got as many answers as new questions, and after this we are viewing the play in a whole new light.
My deep appreciation goes to the Wendell Foster's campus, its residents and workers and all who make that place possible. Matter of fact, if you have never visited, you should try to volunteer there sometime. We hope our new friends can come see some of the rehearsals and help us refine the goal of the play.