Dean Martin, recorded before he died, and Memories are Made Of This.
School was unremarkable, although I was even then a keen participant in the school productions. I played as wide a range of characters I possibly could, from small merchant selling fruit in the corner to silent onlooker to donkey. The donkey presented a unique challenge. How does a donkey think, what is it’s motivation, it’s raison d’etre? How would it feel to actually be inside a donkey. A question I put to several teachers and subsequent educational psychologists.
I would have done anything to get the lead role, that of the shepherd, but in a way the awarding of the prime character part to Richard Mule was a lesson in life; no matter how talented one is, one is always going to be overlooked for someone else. I did for sometime let my anger and fury fester deep inside, but, and this is the main thrust of my words here, I did not let them rule me. I was the Donkey. A peaceful, tranquil beast. I would focus my energies on my performance and not the way Mule had stolen what was rightfully mine.
I discovered Stanivlaskys ‘method’. For those who don’t know, Stanivlasky – first name…Mr… was one of the pioneers of the ‘Method’. The idea was to live the part, to experience it first hand and translate that into your work. Dustin Hoffman I am reliably informed uses the method a lot, and once used to to completely transform himself into a role few actors thought was possible. It was difficult to recognise him under that make up, but we all know he was Lassie.
It took Hoffman several months of research, fetching sticks and licking his privates before he was truly ready. Even now he greets you by sniffing your crotch or licking your face, and if you throw a ball at the Oscars, Hoffman will return it to your table for a tasty treat.
I decided I should live as a Donkey does to know this part, and this raised a lot of eyebrows as I grazed lightly outside the classroom, defecated on the PE room floor and did surprisingly well in a maths test. As the educational psychologist took notes, I remember this song being on the radio. A sweet tune, almost hypnotic, though that may be partly due to the injection.
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