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Goode Words

By Apollinaire Scherr On the difference between actors and dancers: "Dancers discover character through the physical. A typical exercise is to come up with a line--"I love you but your breath stinks"--and then apply it to different parts of your body. Walk like you're on pins and keep your jaw as tight as you can, or like you have helium balloons in your butt. Actors might end up in the same place, but they won't start there. If you work with an actor who's courageous, they can remember emotional states based on chemistry in the brain. I think working with actors will be difficult and probably profound. We could find a middle ground that would be very exciting. On "Joe Goode": "Joe Goode." What more ridiculous name could there be? It sounds like a big oaf. It's so big and square and dumb and inert. It just sort of lies there. JOOOE GOOOODE. I've been playing that character, that big lump of flesh, in a lot of different ways for a long time: It's the John Wayne character in Maverick Strain. Kind of slow-moving, lethargic, sincere and a little dim. A dim bulb. I think there's something charming about that person. And it's definitely a part of me. It's part of Americana, part of our innocence. [ San Francisco | MetroActive Central | Archives ]