Company, villainous company...

... hath been the spoil of me.

It's true. I'm spoiled. And I realized it recently when Theatre Banshee began rehearsals for Henry IV, Part 1. I was sitting in our first read-through, trying to analyse Shakespeare's words. There were times when I thought, "What the hell is he talking about?!" And there were times when it all made perfect sense. It came to me that the difference was who was speaking the lines.

The better the actor, the more I could understand it and the more I felt the emotion behind it. I've spent so much time around excellent actors that now when I'm faced with someone normal, it becomes blatantly obvious. I'm very jaded now.

And I find that I'm OK with that. Surrounding myself with exceptional artists can't be a bad thing, can it? It's not hurting anyone. I do my best to nurture and support all the actors I come into contact with. The rockin' ones don't get preferential treatment over the merely good ones. I work just as hard to help all of them learn their lines. I don't hide props from anyone. (Well, unless they really piss me off.) I yell at all of them equally for being late or missing a cue.

Although, if I didn't witness the "good" actors, the kick-ass ones wouldn't be so kick-ass. Ah hell, bring them all on! Just keep the crappy ones away. :) I have no worries about that. We'd never cast someone who couldn't hold their own among the best of them.

For this play they have to be able to wield a sword as well as act. We've got some excellent fight choreographers who've been helping us with that. By the time we open, we'll be able to have a full-on broadsword battle on our miniscule stage. I can't wait!