Working With What They Give Ya

Folks, I'll be the first to admit that last evening saw me in a pretty lousy mood. I was downright ticked.

It isn't worth getting into why-- just the myriad of different things going on at the present about which I can do jack squat. So be it.

But I didn't just sit there and stew about it. Nope. That's where Sammy came in.

Sam Byck is the first role I've ever experienced where showing up in a lousy mood to a performance can actually be a good thing. A very good thing, as it turned out.

I took all the things that were pissing me off, and let Sammy use 'em as ammunition. As fuel. The payload. Two hours later, I felt 100% better. Dynamite difference. Dynamite.

The audience seemed to appreciate it: One person told me she heard a few high-schoolers whispering "He's so crazy!" every time I took the stage. I can live with that.

* * *

I try not to give the exact same performance twice. Some actors strive to do just that. Both approaches are completely valid, mind, but I don't want to get stuck under a particular reading and not be able to alter things. I don't think playing Byck would be *nearly* so cathartic if it was the exact same job, show after show. Then it just becomes repeitition.

Okay, I'm losing 'em. Time to wrap things up here... I hope you have a great day, folks. I'm looking forward to a nice day, myself.

Ciao.