Eva’s Three Penny Theatre by Andrew Steinmetz
My rating: 4/5 cats
the best books sometimes prove to you how little you know about—well, everything, in my case. for example, i know very little about the theatre. i don’t have a problem with theater, i just haven’t read many plays, because i think they are a little awkward to read, rather than experiencing as an audience member, and if anyone wants to finance my foray into theater in new york, be my guest. because it is a hindrance to my overall education. when i read Black Snow, i thought to myself, “this would probably be more side-splitting if i knew anything about stanislavsky.” and that is what i felt reading this book—i do not know anything about brecht, but now i feel like i should.
this brecht fellow sounds like a fascinating guy, and i’m pretty sure i own Mother Courage and Her Children, at least, so i can check that out soon. it is invigorating and enervating the the same time to now have even more books to add to the neverending list of books i still have to acquire and read. thanks so much, steinmetz.
here are some nice quotes:
In theatre the director tells you to forget you’re on stage, while outside they tell you you have to try to act like this or that even if you don’t feel like it. It’s almost the same thing. When an actor has difficulty playing a role, the solution is simple: become the character, you are told. Be the character and stop acting. In life, when you feel bad, friends tell you: try to at least act as if you’re happy. And finally: believe in yourself.
Art and life are two different worlds that share the same stage. The world is a stage, yes, but art is not life, and life is not art. From early on I was in a hurry. I ran straight onto the stage, then continued in a line, off the stage, without expecting there to be any difference. That’s how I got called a natural.
ech, make that one nice quote, the other was too long and i got halfway through before i realized it might only be nice to me, but pompous to others…you can read the book yourselves if you are really interested.
i am curious about how much of this “fictional memoir” is factual. it doesn’t matter, really, but it is just an idle curiosity. it is really a beautiful story, chronicling the life of the author’s great-aunt as she was in her youth, her involvement in brecht’s theater, what she became as an old woman, and the story of her escape from nazi germany while the author’s own story is weaving in-between all of it without somehow breaking the flow. it is really a lovely and sad and well-written story, and i thank you again bill thompson for sending it to me!!
also—gaspereau press makes some of the best-designed books ever.
’nuff said.
read my book reviews on goodreads
