So far my experience with acting is radically different from what I thought it would be.

My guess was that you memorized lines and then performed them, to the best of your ability, making the character seem as believable and real as possible.

This is a lot more intense than what I had expected.

I’ve seen it mentioned in other blog posts that this process isn’t typical… I don’t know how true that is, but if it is true, then I am definitely being spoiled in my first foray into the world of theatre, and I wonder if any experience will measure up to what we’ve done already.

I never considered theater or acting a physical “thing.” I always thought that the characters were expressed through your tone of voice, your way of speaking, the words you used, and the emotions behind those. It never occurred to me to move like the character, to try and express meaning without speaking, to say something without saying a word. Kali has taught me so much these past few weeks. It was astounding to see the way that this cast came to move as one, how we synced our movements together, how our breath drifted towards unison. It was almost a spiritual experience, and I wonder if this isn’t what encouraged us to let go and not be afraid to act out and go crazy on the rehearsal floor, this feeling that we have all become One already, in some way or another.

This past rehearsal has been particularly eye-opening for me, I believe. As I welcomed everyone on stage, and as I sent them to work with their doubles, the magnitude of physicality in general and of the pairing work in particular seemed to gradually slam into me. At first, just walking around, watching each individual actor and actress go through their character’s gestures, I felt an overwhelming sense of how them each character was; they shone through those gestures, radiating out in such a way that that gesture couldn’t have been anyone but that character. For example, when Phil performed one of the Professor’s poses – arms spread wide, head tilted upwards, a smile on his face, like he was all that and he knew it – that was the Professor, that was His Excellency, and it was undeniable, and I didn’t want to deny it. I saw the Professor in that moment – perhaps what he used to be, what he might have been long ago – but it was him, and he shone through, and it was amazing. It was breathtaking. The pair work was similarly awe-inspiring. Watching the character doubles as they slowly transitioned in and out of their memes was an experience like no other. I was so amazed at what amazing things each pair had come up with, and I really did come to see how each of the roles could be seen as needing two people to play them. The pairs definitely complement each other, and I love seeing the whole character shift its way between them.

The table work has given me insight into the lay that I never would have come to on my own; with Friday’s class, I feel as though I left with more questions than answers (definitely with way more questions I ever would have had two weeks ago). If I am completely honest, at first I found the constant re-reading of the text quite boring and tedious. I figured this was one of those technical aspects of acting that you just “had” to “get through” to get to the fun stuff. But sitting in class on Friday afternoon and reading the text through for what must have been the fifth time… I was amazed at how many new things I learned in just those few short hours. I found myself laughing out loud at parts I would not have laughed at before – parts I had originally conceived of as cynical and full of sadness and sorrow. Just the simple conversation about the timeline – how old are they? when are people arriving/leaving? when do certain events occur? – even that served to invite a completely different interpretation of aspects of the play that seemed so straightforward just a few readings before. I also see a lot more of our physical work coming through when people are reading now – they are not merely reading the text, but they are allowing the characters to speak through them as the text moves on.

The amount of new things I learn with each reading continue to surprise me! I am sad that Kali won’t be joining us anymore, but I know that we are more than capable to continue to feel her methods as we do our warmups and in the days leading up to showtime 🙂 I’m excited you guys!!