The Role of Bottom Chapter 16

I was cast in the role of Bottom in Shakespeare's "A Mid-Summer Night's Dream". Now the role of Bottom was a weaver , which was a working class guy back then. So when Bottom was speaking as himself I made no attempts to cover my New York accent as it seemed to fit the character and as the other actors used their own American accents so why not me.

I studied the play constantly, to know the meaning of everything I was saying and had a good mental image of what I was talking about. There is a great scene in the play when Bottom is acting for the Duke. Now since I as the character was acting I decided to act like I thought I was the best actor in the world and played the play within a play as if I was Richard Burton. Back then , Richard Burton was one of England's most popular actors. He spoke in a deep and what I thought was a pompous voice.

So I study Burton in some of his roles and I must say, I was able to imitate his voice quite well. So when I came out to do the play within a play, uptil this time the audience was accustomed to my Ny accent , my character did Richard Burton, to quote one of the critics, " a wave of hysteria swept thru the audience".

Getting paid to Act! Chapter 15

While I was doing Zoo story, there was this woman that came in to work the lights. Well to show you how stuff happens in this business , she became a casting assistant for a equity theater in New Jersey . They were going to do a production of "Fortune In men's Eyes" and she recommended me for one of the major parts.

I went to the audition and kicked ass. There were other actors auditioning for the same part who had a much better resume then I had but the part was right up my alley , like a medium fast ball over the plate that I hit out of the park .To think that I didn't have to drive a cab for awhile made me deliriously happy and maybe a unemployment claim after the show gave me a peace of mind, knowing that I didn't have to worry about paying rent for awhile.

The show was a big hit. Critics said of me, " an actor of bursting energy and an exciting sense of authenticity". Going into "Jimmy Ray's", the actor's bar that I had been hanging out in, I felt a new confidence among these more experienced actors , who by the way none showed up for "Zoo Story ". But now I was not considered a cab driver that wanted to be an actor. To the pro actors, I had arrived.

Again, because the show was way out in New Jersey, no casting people showed up. But I was offered another role at this theater, Bottom in a" Mid-Summer Nights Dream" . Now I was to do Shakespeare, a new kind of experience. Would what I had learned so far and the method I was developing for myself in acting work with Shakespeare?
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