Let me start this by saying that I just finished having a very nice long lunch with SW. That's right, people, the friend I spoke about in the the last blog is on the mend, back in Glasgow, and by some miracle will be coming back to school when rehearsals begin back up on Tuesday. Nothing but the grace of God. Truly. He's sore, riding the emotional roller coaster, but to be honest he looked effing great. Fractured bones all over, but they couldn't really do much other than wish him the best of luck when he left the hospital. I am truly grateful that he has turned out alright.
As for the past two weeks...
I had a friend visit from America and we did a three day bus tour of Scotland. Isle of Skye, Loch Ness, Inverness, etc. The country is absolutely beautiful. Stunning. And somehow we got through the whole week without a lick of rain. I am now paying for it though in that we've had hail and arctic temperatures since then.
The tour itself was...how do I put this politely? ...it sucked. The driver was a bit of a stutterer. And when I mean bit, I mean HE STUTTERED. FOR THREE DAYS. And he felt the need to talk constantly. Now you must be saying to yourself, well now that's what tour guides do. But you don't understand. My friend began timing his silences in order see if there were any. One day we had a grand total of 11 minutes of silence. No, no. Not all in one go. That's TOTAL. And we were also sitting next to two guys from Holland who smelled and talked like the Swedish chef from the Muppets. There was one night that we were put up in a hostel in the same room as them as well...I didn't fall asleep till around 4am because of their snoring and passing gas in their sleep. Oh how they almost lost their lives. But hey. At least it was pretty.
This week was my placement in Edinburgh with the Royal Lyceum Theatre. They are rehearsing the show "The Lieutenant of Inishmore." A hysterical dark comedy that takes place in Ireland. I had originally seen it on Broadway a few years back so I was glad to have found this gig. In truth, I sat on my ass for seven hours a day and watched other people rehearse. But I still found it very useful.
For once it was a respectful, safe, encouraging rehearsal atmosphere. The director had complete control of the space without stifling the actor's creativity. He had the right balance of making decisions and letting the actors play. He helped them find their own justifications and still stayed on his time schedule. The play is being rehearsed for only three weeks and is very difficult with it comes to tech and props. There is a point where one cat gets blown up, three guys get shot point blank and tons of blood sprays the walls, then they get chopped up into bits and pieces, then another guy gets shot in the head twice. There's also a scene where a guy is being tortured and suspended upside down for a ten minute scene. All these things depend on health and safety mixed with believability and cooperation amongst all involved.
With the exception of one young actor, no apologies were ever made when they went up on their lines. The director would run a scene first, see where it's at (no matter how rough they plod through) and then he has somewhere to work from. This also allows the actors to find things for their character and for the scene without having to talk it to death first. This is how it is done, my friends. The director never belittled or criticized. He always said thank you. They all communicated and expressed their opinions with respect. They debated. Not argued. It makes all the difference.
Some notes from the director that resonated with me were:
"Enjoy your questions."
"Have faith [in the scene and writing.]"
"Watching yourself while acting is death to an actor."
"If the actor is worrying about technique while acting, you'll fuck yourself over."
"Just speak it. Just think it. It's there. Trust it. You'll never go wrong."
[On author McDonagh] "There's power in the logic. That's where the comedy is."
"Play the intentions of the line. Play the moment. Not what happens later. Not the backstory. You can't play Backstory. Backstory only helps inform the actor. Not the audience."
"Leave room for the tension [of the scene]. Never want to consummate too soon."
"We have to go through the period of thinking so we can get to the place where we can just BE."
The director just seemed to get it. Never squash the actor's creative mind. So you negotiate, maneuver, convince, and guide. Never shut down. If you shut down an actor, you will never get the best out of them and in the end, the best is the goal.
What was nice about being there is that nothing was over my head. I didn't feel out of place. I felt as though I could (and wanted to) get up there and hold my own and play with the other actors. These were quality actors even if they were of a different breed. Most that were up there were kinetic actors. They had to touch and feel their way. They wanted to just DO and not think. And actually the few times they got frustrated were the times when they got too cerebral. Their talent lay in their instincts. It makes them very good but very unpredictable. And sometimes inconsistant.
As a cerebral actor with kinetic tendencies, I am trying to become the best of both worlds. To Think when absolutely needed and in the preparation process. But to just let it go and DO when in the rehearsal room and performance. This is the goal.
We begin Duchess rehearsals again on Tuesday. I can't say I'm completely rested. But I AM ready to get back to it and become busy again. I've managed to still go to the gym 3-4 times a week and am going to sign up to do a cancer run 5k in June. I memorized my lines and hopefully can maintain this feeling of purpose and peace. I've had too much time to think about what is coming after school ends. And I wish I liked the picture I've been painting concerning it. But I don't. It freaks the hell out of me. But perhaps I should start recognizing that maybe, for once, things will be better than I imagine. Maybe things will be simpler, easier, more beautiful, more successful, more...well...just more. Maybe I need to start believing that it only gets better from here on out. What could it hurt?
Thinking of you x
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