stage presence....

tonight we went and saw the scarlet pimpernel at the hale center theatre and i left the show on a high.

now, anyone who knows me and jenn knows our special background with the scarlet pimpernel. we have watched the movie about a million times, and two years ago we even threw a scarlet pimpernel ball for which we rented outrageously gorgeous gowns and danced the night away. we love that movie. we love the music for the play. up until now i'd never seen the play, but i all but had the music memorized because i loved it so much.

we went and saw the play on opening night and it was good-

but when we went and saw it tonight, we got to see the other actor performing chauvelin. and OMG. words cannot describe this man's performance. he electrified the stage. he had such amazing stage presence, it was like seeing a whole different play. don't get me wrong, i liked it the first time. but this actor brought so much to the role. it was beautiful. i was all but wanting to scream at the end because he was so amazing.

it made me think about my writing, and the characters i'm writing and about how one of them can affect them all. for instance, the cast seemed to play off of this actor differently and almost better than the other one (and seriously, not trying to knock him because he was great but it was pretty much a whole different character in his interpretation) and therefore the whole play seemed different and so much better. this guy's face....you knew every thought he had. he owned that stage, and he commanded everyone's attention.

i want to write my characters that way. i want the reader to feel the tension, to be commanded by my characters. i want them to put the book down on a high from what they just read,


just like i left the theatre tonight grinning like a crazy person....on a high from how incredible this man's performance was....


and btw....chauvelin is a villain.
of course. villains are always my favorite.....
tonight reminded me of why...