RIP Guy MacPherson | What I Learned from Reading The Method by Isaac Butler, Pt. Deux

Guy MacPherson was a friend of mine. I only reconnected when I heard he had cancer. He didn’t seem to mind hanging out together. Guy was a lover of comedy and comedians. (He would object to me using the word lover.) He was Vancouver’s first comedy critic (The Georgia Straight), The world’s first comedy podcast and the longest running comedy radio show (WSF?) His legacy is large. You can read and listen to a lot of it at guymacpherson.ca. RIP GMacP. The World Keeps TurningOkay, onto Isaac Butler’s The Method — How the 20th Century Learned to ActHoly shit this felt like a long book. I like short books like French Exit by Patrick DeWitt, 12 Bytes by Jeanette Winterson and an all-time fave A Whole Life by Robert Seethaler. Butler does however give a thorough overview of a group of disparate artists collaborating on a big idea. The biggest of them all is that we are post-Method. Nothing has come along since. There are no Stella Adlers, no Lee Strasbergs to carry-on an American tradition. There is no Stanislawski to sow the seeds of change. But if art is born of adversity then there must be big ideas coming. We just don’t know about them yet. But we will. I for one can’t wait. Art is forged of blood, sweat and tears — but mostly blood. We are in a golden age for art. Herein is a reminder that it has always been. Thank you for listening to the Bold Acting Podcast. This post is public so feel free to share it.If you like the Bold Acting Podcast talk it up at your next dinner or book club. Word-of-Mouth is the best form of advertising. If you don’t like it maybe just keep that to yourself.To get in touch email me at:  [email protected] on Instagram  @jasonbrydenofcanadaThe song used in this podcast is called Sure and it was made by Braak which is electronic and cinematic music made by Øyvind Strand Endal from Norway.Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!):https://uppbeat.io/t/braak/sureLicense code: AVTXANAUYZXHSHB0Rating and reviewing the thing is also greatly appreciated. It goes a long way to spreading the word.Thanks for listening. I wouldn’t do it without you.Jason Bryden in Toronto This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit boldacting.substack.com/subscribe