What should a script look like? Over to the Transductions blog, where Chris Goode is tackling the question. As a theatre-maker, Goode says he has always been bothered by the traditional "model of writing a script in advance, which is then handed to a director, a bunch of actors and a creative team to interpret". However, as a result of spending two months with the National Theatre Studio, he has been able to completely reframe his "anxiety and discomfort" about such things.
He now asks: "What other models could we turn to, to make a different kind of script that could allay all the political/ethical/aesthetic/methodological concerns by which I've been constrained?" His solution involves seeing the printed matter at the heart of a rehearsal as a score rather than a script, and he posts a range of examples of what these might look like – from a Cornelius Cardew score to artworks by Cy Twombly and David Miller. From a creative point of view, they certainly offer fascinating challenges. It would be great to see a show developed entirely from material like that.
In other news, it has been said that 90% of directing comes down to casting. This makes a lot of sense and, as Lance Rubin points out on his blog, some casting directors will go to remarkable lengths to get the actor they are looking for. As proof, he posts this rather brilliant excerpt from a casting call for an upcoming Disney movie starring Nicolas Cage. It certainly sounds intriguing: if you are a 12-year-old African-American boy with a love of snakes, then it might just be worth applying. This has reminded the Parabasis blog of an even more remarkable casting call, sent out some time ago for the music video to Christina Aguilera's Beautiful – which appeared to be looking for a smorgasbord of anorexics, Mexicans and lesbians.
Finally, I am delighted to announce that the award for the world's angriest blogger goes to … Thomas Garvey of the Hub Review. Garvey is well-known for getting into highly personal spats with his fellow bloggers, and the current target of his ire is none other than yours truly. A few weeks ago I reported on an argument about race and theatre that had blown up between Garvey and bloggers such as RVCBard, J Holtham and Isaac Butler. As a result of my coming down on their side rather than his, he has branded me "an incompetent hack", "the motherfucking inside voice of the establishment" and a "politically correct troll". So much to live up to.
Whether Garvey likes it or not, race is still an incredibly sensitive issue and there is still a serious imbalance of power – both in the UK and America. And while we need to have a serious and honest discussion about it, the cynical and dismissive attitude that Garvey favours is never going to be helpful. But why allow calm, rational debate to get in the way of having a good shout?
