Still processing, some say...

Photo of Lisa Carlson as Honorine by Eric Chin.

When the reviews for your play don't come in right way, maybe the audience is still processing, or maybe they didn't really like the work. A couple of audience members wrote me this weekend. One person totally avoided mention of the production of the play "Marius," but instead, discussed the impact the mores of the place and times had on him, as they reminded him of an episode in a strict school. He also said he sensed that my role as Honorine has given me the chops to go on to bigger things.

Another theater buff wrote a really thorough review of direction, sets, sound cues, action, and, alas - accents. He found the accents to be "all over the place."  We actors understood this would be an issue going in. We do all have accents, regional and foreign. Not all the actors speak French, and we were encouraged to use no French at all, but, instead, to pronounce the characters' names properly in French, and to incorporate French mannerisms into our body language. This reviewer found that even those pronunciations lacked consistency. He also found the casting awkward, the pairs mismatched.

Well, if you're going to be in showbiz, you've got to take the good with the bad! We all need to toughen up if we're to improve and go on to the next project.

I appreciate all comments! As actors, we don't "see" the work, other than in pieces, so your point of view is worth a lot to us.