Lieutenant of Inishmore - Blog 8 - Tim Shawver (playing Davey)

Well, it is just a few hours until opening night of The Lieutenant of Inishmore and I am contributing my first blog. I would've blogged sooner but I every time I tried I felt overwhelming remorse that the time would be better spent working on my lines. My thinking being that Matthew (the director) or April (the stage mamnger) would read it and think, "Oh, Tim has time to blog, but not enough time to get off book." ("off book" being an high-falutin theater term for knowing all your lines.) But opening night has arrived and I can blog guilt-free.

What an experience this rehearsal process has been! There is nothing quite like hearing things from your director like, "We'll have a dowel rod in that fake arm so when you cut it off we hear a snap." or "Which of these tools do you think you would use to decapitate this dead body?"

I shouldn't focus so much on the gore. As much as the blood is a big part of the show, it is not the MAIN thing. And gory as it is, the comedic (even farcical) tone of the piece keeps it from becoming morbid.

So what is the MAIN thing, if not the gore? FUN! I don't think I have ever had such a good time on stage. I love being funny. The sound of laughter that I helped create makes me want to explode inside. And this play is so very clever, so very surprising, so very everything that a good comedy should be that it takes me hours to wind down after rehearsal to get some sleep.

I'm sure that if you reading these blogs you already have some interest in the production. But in case you aren't quite sold yet let me just say that if you do come to see it, that you may not see anything else like it in your theater-going life. Even Martin McDonagh's other plays (great as they are) are not as unique as this particular work.

Well, I'm heading down to the Herberger now. Sorry if this blog was too much of a commercial. Maybe once were open I'll post another one about craft and process and all that crap.

Thanks for indulging me,
t.shawv