TOD
Ask BK Day!
(1) As the director of THE BRAIN FROM PLANET X, did you find yourself making any changes to the characters that you, as the author, had created; based on the actors you cast in the first production?
(2) Did you ever get around to watching the DVD of NATIONAL PASTIME?
Yes - me as director is very uncaring of me as a writer, unless it's a humorous moment that I know is funny in the writing, which I will protect with a ferocity. That said, I'm very collaborative if the actor is really bringing interesting things to the table, and I'm not collaborative if the actor is bringing things in that are really obviously wrong. So, in the case of Cason and Lauren and Alet, they would constantly do things in rehearsal that I loved, and I'd say yes, lock that up and keep it, or yes, but let's go even further. And yes, I've certainly made character adjustments based on what the actor is doing, because sometimes it's more interesting than what we wrote.
I did finally get around to watching National Pastime a couple of days ago and was going to write about it. I still think the play isn't really a play play - I find it awkwardly written and structured - but TCB is wonderful as Branch Rickey - a really well-nuanced and excellent performance, and much better than the one done here.