Approach to the Theatre's next Lesson for the RTDA

So this time I have commandeered my Dad's beloved home PC/glorified CD player to update with because I am still sans Laptop. I would have done it once again on the Kindle, because it wasn't a problem, its just that to write that relatively short update I did on Saturday took me two and a half hours. I will however be back up and running with a new Laptop very soon so updates will be quicker and more frequent.

Recently my studies for the RTDA (Room at the Top Drama Academy) have been slightly cut down hours wise due to the increasing demands on my time from work and from my Maths course. However having now completed my mulling over of 'King Lear' and finishing chapter two of 'Approach to the Theatre' I am moving on to chapter three and further analysis of text.

This book is very interesting and it has pointed me down the road of studying texts more, getting the feel of them which is something I have slowly dismissed and gotten lazy at in the past two years. According to chapter three the next move is to study the pace that is set by dramatic events and the suitability of a play from the writing. This book was printed in the mid to late 1950s so its ideas of what a suitable piece to read and put on generally is a Shakespeare or a Sheridan, which I followed for the chapter two unit, for chapter three I have decided to ignore the suggestion of something old (in relation to this book) and go for something contemporary (again in relation to this book) something that does not necessarily fit the brief given by Frances Mackenzie. I have chosen the 1972 play 'Monologue' by Harold Pinter which I am mad about, and have been since the tender age of Sixteen, because I want to give myself the impetus to really study hard to analyse the piece like I have never done so before. I find that if I give myself a real task to do then it will lead to a much better output on my part, you ask me to read a play I will do it and if I like it I will generally make my mind up on it right there and then and it gives me a blinkered outlook. I have for several years had a closed mind on Monologue, I even have proof of that. Go have a listen to my dry reading of it for my 'Radio' version (you can find it down the side of the blog or click here) because it is bad and it is one dimensional and Pinter always says more than it seems at first glance. I want to read and study Monologue to really guage its depth as a piece of Theatre and the format that Mackenzie gives, which I will go into and explain at greater length when I conclude chapter three, provides a distinct challenge to my imagination and subjectivity.

I will let you know how I get on very soon indeed...

Xtofer