Esparza tells all to Stage Directions magazine- Page 2

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 7/29/09 at 10:09pm

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/26/theater/26wadl.html?_r=1

That's the infamous Times article.

[humbugfoto]

Posted: 7/29/09 at 10:59pm

In case Bryan isn't checking back here readily, I think I can sort of answer that question.

Generally speaking, an editor will say something like "Interview Raul Esparza. I need 2000 words". You do the interview, transcribe the thing and then pick, choose and pull the best parts and put them together to make your 2000 word count. Sometimes a writer has to struggle to make that count because of a monosyllabic subject, but when you have someone like Raul, it becomes a question of just how much are you going to have to cut. It takes a talented writer to deal deftly with both situations, and I think we've seen that Bryan is supremely talented.

[sweetestsiren]

Posted: 7/30/09 at 2:16am

So much love for that interview. There's very little that I love more about Raul than the way he thinks and talks about what he does--that he's so obviously passionate about it. I especially liked what he said about star quality.

[After Eight]

Posted: 7/30/09 at 8:36am

This is an excellent interview.

I think Raul Esparza is a great actor. But I did not like his performance in "Company,"-- of course, that's the performance the director wanted and got from him-- and I absolutely hated the production.

Is it possible that David Hyde Pierce won the Tony simply because he gave a better performance? I certainly feel that way, and perhaps many other Tony voters felt that way too.

[StageManager2]

Posted: 7/30/09 at 9:05am

So... what the hell did Patti say about Bernadette?

[orangeskittles]

Posted: 7/30/09 at 11:22am

She said in an interview that the role of Mama Rose is so great that if you don't win a Tony for it, you didn't do your job right.

[TulitaPepsi]

Posted: 7/30/09 at 11:38am

Thank you, Humbug! The reason I asked is because I write too (not on theater) and I've had editors cut things themselves(mostly to my horror), and great editors who let ME do the cutting, telling me "could you please cut X words or lines to fit our space?" Writing is hard, but (self)editing is fun!

AfterEight, I thought Raul was the only presence that made COMPANY watchable. It's one of my favorite Sondheim shows, but the way Doyle staged it, it seemed like all of Bobby's friends were rehearsing for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
I loved Doyles take on SWEENEY, though, and I find that most people love his COMPANY and dislike his SWEENEY or vice versa.
I'd love to see Raul in a more traditional (and more strongly cast) COMPANY in the future.

Updated On: 7/30/09 at 11:38 AM

[Hest882]

Posted: 7/30/09 at 11:44am

Loved Doyle's Sweeney, even though I was completely prepared to hate it (avowed purist that I am) and was enthralled by Doyle's Company.

Not going to take any part in reviving a Tony debate.

[AndAllThatJazz22]

Posted: 7/30/09 at 11:46am

I loved Doyle's Sweeney! I sat in the third row and it was one of the most intense experiences of my life. I saw the DVD of the Doyle Company, and I have to say...as brilliant and exciting as his Sweeney was, Company's direction seemed a lot cleaner.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 7/30/09 at 12:11pm

On the editing topic, Tulita, I think it varies, a lot of times simply based on the nature of the publication and on the personality of the editor. I've written for people who completely allow me to self-edit, whether it be out of trust or laziness (I've experienced both), and I've worked with people who prefer to do it themselves. My favorite situations have actually been the ones in which editors will sit down and go through the piece with you, to try to come to a compromise you both feel good about. (Granted, I don't think I'll experience this much outside of my University paper, but it was great while it lasted!) As a writer, I tend to get very protective over my work, but I also know I can't self-edit completely effectively on my own, and that I often do need a second pair of eyes.

I remember some nightmares in college. I had one editor who really didn't care about his job, and was just lazy, so all he paid attention to were word counts, completely divorced of coherency and content. I was working on a huge piece that I was very proud of, and I told him that if anything needed to change or be cut, to please call me, and that he could seriously wake me up at 3 in the morning, I didn't care, I wanted to be involved. Well, he got lazy, and instead of telling me, "Okay, we need to cut 200 words," and letting me work that out, when I saw the piece in print, I found that he had simply gone and truncated it at numerical cutoff, rendering it rather senseless. But I digress. Point being that I think writers' experiences with editing techniques vary a lot.

I find interviews tremendously difficult, because you're not only working with your own words, but with those of someone else that, if you're lucky, are spectacular. I almost get more stressed about having to cut down interviews than I do my own work, because I often feel like, "Wow, you said all of these amazing things, I don't know how to choose!" I've done interviews with transcripts that are upwards of twenty pages, and there's always so much incredible stuff that goes unused. It feels like a crime to just let it sit, but you have to make those choices, and when you have someone as passionate, articulate, and brilliant as this, it's not easy.

I proudly worship at the altar of John Doyle. But you all know that. I always found the polarization that Tulita pointed out interesting; there were a lot of people who loved Sweeney and hated Company. I felt like the people who had loved Sweeney were some of the ones with the most capability to love Company, too, but that theory went out the window, I guess because even if they were similar conceptually, past the big picture, they worked so differently.

[Chrysanthemum62001]

Posted: 7/31/09 at 6:50am

I *wish* I could have seen Company before Sweeney. I was so confused when I heard the idea for Sweeney Todd. I mean, it made total sense for a show like Cabaret, but for Sweeney Todd....just didn't get it. Once I actually saw it, I was dumbfounded. It is still one of my favorite productions to date.
I loved Company for different reasons. But I was expecting it to be something...I don't know. Having seen them both multiple times, I love how John Doyle has so many layers. There is always something new to think about, however many times I saw the shows.

[wonkit]

Posted: 7/31/09 at 8:46am

Many thanks to Bryan for the wonderful article. The answers seemed to flow naturally, and resembled Raul's personality in a live interview setting. Well done.

[Theatreboy49]

Posted: 7/31/09 at 12:33pm

Raul is such a class act. I was so happy this was posted! It was a pleasure to read.