familyplayhouseblog

So happy Nada found you to tell you about the blog. It is a way for everyone to link up again. You were all part of a wonderful time for me, and I hope, with you possibly coming to Hawaii, that you will participate once again in our shows. Wouldn’t that be wonderful? We are thinking of doing The Importance of being Earnest sometime either late in 2008 or early 2009, and I am determined to bring Joe over as he was terrific in the LCCC production that Nada directed. Start looking over the part of Gwendolen!

Did you hear that Anna is getting married? He seems the sweetest guy and they are perfectly suited.

I received a Christmas card from Bernadette and saw that she and Michael were back in Canada. I am glad they are together. The next problem to solve will be for her to find some activity that she loves to do. She is so talented and so alive to people. I can’t imagine her not pouring her heart into something rich…

You have had a very productive time these last several years, Theresa. I am so proud of you. I am thrilled that you have done so much acting, and to have played Miranda is no small feat. The Tempest is, as far as I am concerned, Bacon’s best and most profound play. The kids and I saw it performed in the 2006-2007 Royal Shakespeare Company season, though not much to my liking, despite Patrick Stewart’s superb voice as Prospero.

Please email me at familyplayhouse@rcn.com with your address as I would like to send you a copy of ACTING MAGIC. I have to send several copies out that I promised, to Maria and Susie and Joe and others, so I will post them all together.

Give my love to your family! A very blessed New Year to you, my dearest Theresa.

Love you,

Deslie

I would love to hear from all the old students of Family Playhouse, including those (probably married by now) who were with us in Montana and in Guam. I still miss you all and the joy you brought to our theater!

Let me know what you are doing and if you are still involved in acting…

Deslie McClellan

In my book, ACTING MAGIC, I write in detail about the shortcomings of modern method acting. Today, it has become a cult that serves a celebrity culture that is narcissistic. So many of our popular actors are so enamored of the internal pathology of the conflicted characters they play that they have forgotten about the simple artistry of acting a role. The stately and graceful acting styles of artists belonging to a more romantic era, those of the distinguished repertory tradition, are no more. Where is the dignified stage presence in the modern actor? Where is the perfect balance of skilled vocal technique, imaginative rendering, and an elegance that characterized the artistry of Laurence Olivier, Greer Garson, Dame May Whitty, Alec Guinness, Irene Dunne, Robert Donat, and so many others who never failed to touch the beauty in our hearts, whether they acted on the stage or the screen? Through them, the drama spoke to us. Today, all is a photograph of life in its darkest hues. We must, as Garson told us, tilt the mirror upward when it’s reflecting life, and not down into the troubled vistas of conflict.

Deslie

As a new member of the Francis Bacon Society, I am highly motivated to share with everyone the compelling evidence that proves, beyond a doubt, that Francis Bacon IS Shakespeare. Please take time to visit the www.baconsocietyinc.org website, the most scholarly centerpiece of the Shakespeare Authorship discussion, boasting an index of research that spans 100 years. A secondary website is www.sirbacon.org. This website offers engaging articles and an impressive fount of information. Francis Bacon is not the starchy Elizabeth statesman with a black mark of bribery beside his name. He is truly the divine romantic of the ages!

Deslie

This was one of the easiest plays to stage and perhaps the most enjoyable to act in. It is a fast-paced comedy with a lot of spirit. If you purchased our play adaptation and staged it, please let us know how your actors and your audience liked it.

Deslie

Little Women was wonderfully successful for us. The audience needed several boxes of tissues. How did your production go? Any suggestions about staging?

If you have purchased our Anne of Green Gables adaptation, let us know what you think of it. How did your audience like it?

If you have directed or acted in our adaptation of The Secret Garden, please tell us your experience. Do you have any suggestions as to how to improve our play?

Our newly published book, ACTING MAGIC, is now on its way to the trade stores. We are very interested to get your comments if you have purchased a copy. We invite you to tell us how you like it. We would be delighted to have your permission to use your comments to help further market the book around the world.

Deslie