"Let Us Go Then You And I" with theater director and actor Charline Su

Twice 5 Miles Radio welcomes actor, theater director, and writer Charline Su to the microphone. I'm your host James Navé. About three months ago, Charlene and I were on a Zoom call talking about creativity, acting, and poetry. I mentioned that I'd memorized T.S. Eliot's The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, which is a 140-line, heavy-lifting poem with lines like, "I should have been a pair of ragged claws / Scuttling across the floors of silent seas." Since Charline is a seasoned Shakesperian actor who likes heavy-lifting material, I wasn't surprised to discover that Eliot's Prufrock was on her favorite poem list. Moreover, when I recited the first line, "Let us go then, you and I," Charline chimed in with the second and third lines, "When the evening is spread out against the sky / Like a patient etherized upon a table." It turned out that not only had Charline memorized Prufrock, she had Prufrock memorized up to performance level. So I followed with the next line, "Let us go, through certain half-deserted streets," Charline tossed out the following line, and we were off, reciting the lines back and forth like a jazz song. It was one of the most surprising and delightful Zoom calls I'd been on since I'd been on Zoom. As I said, Prufrock is a 140-line poem, so seven minutes later, when Charline and I finished reciting the entire poem, I was sure I wanted her to be a guest on Twice 5 Miles Radio. I couldn't wait to ask her about her memorization process, how she worked with Shakespear's text, what it was like to run a small theater, and why she was so damn committed to creativity. Believe me; you'll be delighted and informed when you listen to this show. Enjoy as much as I did, won't you?