Last night, The Hubs and I went to a theater performance of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night out at the community college. At risk of revealing my lameness, I must admit I've never been to a theater performance. And I wasn't sure what to expect of this tiny production set at a college surrounded by Michigan backwoods. Oh, and did I mention it was done in the style of Japanese anime?
We took our seats at 7:30 and before I knew it, it was near 10:30. Somehow, the night escaped me as I escaped into the performance.
The show was so well done, the costumes spot-on and brilliant, the small set well-used. I can't believe how much I laughed. My favorite characters were Sir Toby Belch, a drunken uncle to one of the other characters, and his friend Sir Andrew Aguecheek.
Andrew was this tall, chicken-legged man who seemed easily swayed by Toby's antics. The man who played Toby played a hilarious drunk.
Seeing this play made me want to write the book. I suppose in my writerly heart, that's the highest form of compliment I can give. It inspired me so much, it made me want to relive the story again. I don't know if I ever will, but the thing I take away from this performance is how important characters are. The big, bright, bold characters lit the stage and I looked forward to their scenes. That's just as important in writing. Your characters have to be loud (metaphorically), and they have to be vivid, and they have to have presence. Everything they do should be so engaging that readers can't look away.
So my advice? Watch a theater performance. Doesn't matter if you're in NY or in the middle of the Michigan woods. Buy your ticket and study the characters. I promise you, you'll be inspired.
We took our seats at 7:30 and before I knew it, it was near 10:30. Somehow, the night escaped me as I escaped into the performance.
The show was so well done, the costumes spot-on and brilliant, the small set well-used. I can't believe how much I laughed. My favorite characters were Sir Toby Belch, a drunken uncle to one of the other characters, and his friend Sir Andrew Aguecheek.
Toby (left) and Andrew (right)
Andrew was this tall, chicken-legged man who seemed easily swayed by Toby's antics. The man who played Toby played a hilarious drunk.
Seeing this play made me want to write the book. I suppose in my writerly heart, that's the highest form of compliment I can give. It inspired me so much, it made me want to relive the story again. I don't know if I ever will, but the thing I take away from this performance is how important characters are. The big, bright, bold characters lit the stage and I looked forward to their scenes. That's just as important in writing. Your characters have to be loud (metaphorically), and they have to be vivid, and they have to have presence. Everything they do should be so engaging that readers can't look away.
So my advice? Watch a theater performance. Doesn't matter if you're in NY or in the middle of the Michigan woods. Buy your ticket and study the characters. I promise you, you'll be inspired.
That's awesome! Yay for inspirational date nights!
ReplyDeleteMy hubby got tickets for us to go see WICKED (the NYC Broadway show is coming to DC this summer) in July! It's the first play/musical I've ever been too and I'm super excited about it.