Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Rehearsals and Being Finite

Sometimes I forget how wonderful rehearsals can be. You get so used to just thinking about performing the show that you put aside the absolute joy of working on a play. Or sometimes you're just going around from audition to audition never getting cast so you forget about the wonders of rehearsals as you're just clawing around Seattle looking for a gig. I digress.

As you may know, I was cast in the Live Girls! Theater production of Quickies, a one-act play festival they do every year. I am to perform in the play "Leap" by Joy McCulloough-Carranza. Needless to say (though I'll say it anyway), this is a wonderful short piece where I do a magnificent job. Obviously. (Pssst, this is just feint cockiness) For this role, I get to play a 12 year-old boy named Sam and the other two actors, who are also quite talented, are also children.

Being that the characters are kids, our director, Ashley Flannegan, decided to try and branch us out a bit with exercises. Julia Beers, our AD, led us through some terrific little exploration pieces that hearkened back to my college days, oh, so long ago (about 3 or 4 years). We threw hacky-sacks around, explored different centers by imagining a light within our body, and created a silent piece that involved climbing chairs and building little forts. If this all sounds strange, then you've probably never taken an acting class.

I forgot how freeing these exercises can be. I'm not really one for meditation or prayer (especially if you read my last post) so these exercises are really what help center me. They allow me to let go of silly problems and just exist, even for just a few moments. You completely come out of yourself and willingly walk in someone else's skin. You move differently, think differently, speak differently and it reminds you how human everyone is. With social media and Twitter, I think we forget that there are real people with real thoughts and real emotions on the other end of the screen.

We held our second rehearsal just a couple of nights ago and we were more straightforward about it, as we worked on blocking the play. But still, that idea of exploring something new and freeing yourself from menial troubles still remained. Sometimes it's even therapeutic for problems that have more substance.

I found out about thirty minutes before my rehearsal began that the mom of my ex-girlfriend died. She was a great woman who kept in touch with me and helped me with my move to Seattle even after I broke up with her daughter (If that isn't saintly then I don't know what is). This loss isn't the worse that I've had but I was deeply saddened to have such a wonderful person no longer existing. It was a passing that I didn't know was near and if she was still around, I would give her a much bigger "thank you" than I did before.

Through the magic of rehearsal and theatre, however, I was able to work out some of this sadness. I was able to step outside of myself and consider the problem and the finiteness of someone else. By being within this character's skin, I could find the center within myself too. People harp on actors for either being self-centered or as people who willingly lie to crowds of people by pretending to be someone else. I won't deny that being self-centered can be an occupational hazard with acting as you get accustomed to people watching you and praising your ability. But actors are not liars. Not the true ones, anyway. Real actors like to delve into humanity, no matter how shitty, and find meaning. We like to discover and create something that has a positive impact on the audience and ourselves. Along with directors, designers, techies, stage-hands, we try to move society in a forward motion to that ever elusive Truth. (Unless you get too swept up in Broadway musicals)

Anyway, what I guess I'm trying to get to, a bottom-line, is that we all have things that keep us grounded and sane. Theatre is my sanity. Even when the exercises seem ridiculous and even if you have those frustrating times where you don't seem to be improving, I wouldn't give it up for anything.

Also, you get to work on fun shows that are called "Quickies" so you know it will be a good time (or at least expedited). That's my little thought for the day, however inconsequential it may be.

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