Denis O'Hare

An Iliad in Boston – the countdown begins

denis — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 15:06:55 +0000

An Iliad in Boston

So our tour of “An Iliad” is beginning soon. 1st stop — -ArtsEmerson in Boston and it suddenly occurs to me that I have to dust off my script and make sure I still know all the words.

The funny thing is: I still know most of the words. The bad thing is: I don’t know ALL of the words. This is especially tricky when it comes to -

THE LIST OF WARS – that massive list of man’s folly that appears very late in the play and lasts for……a very long time. I know a lot of ‘em. Not sure I know all of ‘em.

So every day, I do at least an hour of running lines and then always end with THE LIST OF WARS. Sometimes I run the lines in my head as I ride my bike to and from midtown (over the Manhattan bridge by they way – see my post about biking in the city). Sometimes I run the lines as I try to fall asleep – not recommended. Sometimes I sit at my makeshift office overlooking the kitchen and run the lines using the script open in front of me on my computer.

OH, and add to this the fact that I start shooting another episode of “The Good Wife” next week and have lines to learn for that AND I have a film audition tomorrow and have to cram those lines in my head and …..well, the days are short and the anxiety level is high.

I think the most common question an actor gets is: “How do you learn all those lines?” The answers is: “You just do”. It’s sort of like asking a basketball player how he jumps that way or asking a musician how she reads music. It’s part of the basic set of skills – if you can’t do it, you get weeded out early.

Dates and performance times for “An Iliad” at ArtEmerson in Boston

April 27th @ 8:00 p.m.
April 28th @ 2:00 p.m.
May 3rd @ 8:00 p.m.
May 4th @ 8:00 p.m.

For tickets call or Visit ArtsEmerson at

The Paramount Center‎

559 Washington Street

Boston, MA 02111

(617) 824-8000

artsemerson.org‎

Announcing Homer’s Coat

denis — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 03:46:31 +0000

I’m happy to announce the birth of Homer’s Coat, a new website dedicated to my writing partnership with Lisa Peterson. Lisa and I wrote “An Iliad” together and had our New York debut last year at New York Theatre Workshop. We have since been commissioned to write a new play for the Court Theatre in Chicago and we decided the time had come to name our collaboration and Homer’s Coat was born.

Come over and visit us. There’s lots of information about our writing process during “And Iliad”. In addition, check out our tour page where we tell you where we will be performing “An Iliad” in the upcoming season.

True Blood is back…and so is Russell

denis — Mon, 14 May 2012 04:00:26 +0000

An Iliad extends in New York, I go on the Brian Lehrer Show

denis — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 04:02:05 +0000

It’s been quite a nice couple of weeks for us at New York Theatre Workshop and An Iliad. First, we opened on the 6th and 7th of March and we received very good notices from almost everyone. I don’t read them (which is tricky when I’m posting and linking them but discipline, discipline). We also were named the #1 pick by the Advocate and by Time Out New York.

Today, March 22nd, I was a guest on the Brian Lehrer show for a discussion about War and Culture. It also featured a professor of film criticism and a cultural critic who specializes in video games. I was the theatre guy. It was quite a nuanced and intelligent conversation and I was thrilled to be part of it. I include links to that show below.

Advocate – top theatre picks

New York Times Review

An Iliad – New Video

denis — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 14:35:34 +0000

New York Theatre Workshop posted this video – very well done. Check it out

An Iliad at NYTW

An Iliad at New York Theatre Workshop

denis — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 14:28:45 +0000

Some nice articles that talk about what we’re up to over on E. 4th Street.

Also, a new mini-movie to give you a taste of what really happens behind the scenes

Time Out New York Article

Backstage Article

An Iliad in New York – Theatremania Article

denis — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 15:18:53 +0000

This just appeared in TheatreMania – a nice article about our play.

An Iliad at New York Theatre Workshop

Out magazine article about Hugo and me

denis — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 06:23:13 +0000

This comes out in February – but here’s a sneak peek.

Out Magazine Article for Valentine’s Day

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denis — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 17:58:32 +0000

An Iliad named one of the top 10 shows in Chicago

denis — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 13:43:03 +0000

Wow – Lisa Petersen sent me this this morning. This is from Chris Jones, the chief theatre critic of the Chicago Tribune. We’re happy for Tim Kaine, for Charlie Newell and for Homer, of course.