Cartoons, cartoons, cartoons.... John Crowther's Cartoon Odyssey

I think of it as The Fool's Journey. I've been asked who the "fool" is. It's me, but in the classical sense of the court jester. Only the fool was allowed to tell the king of his follies. All cartoons are available as prints or originals, framed or unframed, through my website or e-mail. For mugs, t-shirts, and other products visit my gift shop at www.zazzle.com/jcrowtherart* (be sure to include the *).

Sunday, January 07, 2007

So You Wanna Be a Star

The great Russian actor, teacher, and director Constantine Stanislavski revolutioned how we think about acting back at the turn of the last century, and yet today most young actors think about acting the wrong way. They're consumed by the idea of being real, and yet films, plays, and television dramas are not real. Even the most gritty naturalistic work isn't life, it's a synthesis of life, a condensation and rearrangement of events in order to tell a story, be interesting, and move us emotionally. Stanislavski knew this, but the misunderstanding is partly his fault. As a director he liked to fill the stage with details that created an illusion of reality. The great playwright Anton Chekov complained about it. "If I cut the nose out of a genre portrait," he said, "and replace it with a real nose, the nose will be real but the painting is ruined." He threatened to begin the script for his next play with, "Scene: A Room in a farmhouse. There are no dogs barking, babies crying, birds chirpring, or water dripping."

Shameless Promotion Dept.: Let me call your attention to the fact that I'm now hustling mugs, t-shirts, aprons, greeting cards, and other fabulous products with my cartoons on them Great gift stuff. Check it out at www.zazzle.com/jcrowtherart*. Framed and unframed prints, as well as originals of all cartoons (if available) can by obtaining by contacting me through e-mail.

2 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

John C, having no knowledge in this matter, have to say this cartoon had me laughing every time, I have thought about it during the evening. Can just hear that director.

8:52 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

A lecture from a master along with a cartoon. That's worth at least a mug, and I don't mean shot!

W

9:36 PM  

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