Seriously, I am a bit puzzled by this essay by Wallace Shawn, AKA The Sicilian from THE PRINCESS BRIDE. I mean, I feel kind of sorry for him! No one likes his plays!!
Actually, it mostly makes me really want to see one of these plays for myself so I can see whether they also make me feel the way he says his audiences, to his surprise, react to his work — angry, “stricken and miserable,” “hurt, or baffled.” …Do they have a plot? Do they have a terrible plot? Do the actors turn to the audience and hurl insults, or weapons? I am so curious.
(I did like this line: “One plays with sentences the way a child plays with matches — because they’re unpredictable.”)
-->Feed me text
September 20, 2009 at 2:16 am
Thanks for sharing this!
This actor has a familiar face (meaning I have noticed him in quite a few movies), but other than that I knew little to nothing about him. It was a pleasant surprise to find out he also writes plays, albeit some nobody seem to like. And I agree with you, the essay made me quite curious to actually see one of the plays to discover for myself whether it’s really that bad and unappreciated
Great find!
September 20, 2009 at 4:26 pm
Okay, I found a review/description of one of his plays that helps me understand what’s going on here.
Honestly, the play sounds like fun to me, but given the description of it, I’m a bit surprised that he’s so surprised that people are discomfitted by his plays — isn’t that what he’s going for? At least, that’s what I get from the point made at the end of the review, that the structure of the play is designed to implicate the audience in what Shawn is criticizing in the rest of their lives.
I once saw Shawn perform in person, not one of his own plays, but as part of a live performance of parts of Howard Zinn and Anthony Arnove’s VOICES OF A PEOPLE’S HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. He played an ACT-UP (AIDS) activist in the 1980s, and he was excellent.
September 21, 2009 at 7:11 am
The review makes it sound rather interesting and thought-provoking (and, since you say he’s a good actor I imagine it’s well played too, especially since he’s also the author). Perhaps he exaggerates a bit when he estimates the reaction of the audience.
September 21, 2009 at 11:13 am
I had no idea he was a writer. I just know him as an actor but I’ll try to check him out now that I’m more aware.
September 23, 2009 at 1:29 pm
Kay: Okay, it’s kind of embarrassing that I didn’t even consider that maybe he’s exaggerating… why am I always so gullible?!
Sadako: I don’t think I’ve ever even seen him in anything besides THE PRINCESS BRIDE — besides the Voices event I mentioned above — but he sure made an impression on me in that. Of course, it helps that I watched that movie about two dozen times.