Show's over and I've never felt so good!!! I mean that. Tuesdays and Sundays has been one of the best experiences of my acting career... what made it so special?
1. The script. It's hard to describe it without just giving quotes, to be honest. It's a a combination of storytelling styles. You have two characters who are in some kind of void and trying to find themselves. In their searching, they talk to themselves, they seek help in each other, and they replay scenes of moments that they spent together. It's all quite descriptive and very rich. There's always a challenge in performance to fall into a character, but these descriptions made it so easy. You speak the words and in speaking, you create your world around you.You see images in front of you and you can't help but be swept into the world of the script. It also has an incredible arc, where we got to be fun, free and flirty in the first half, a create a real tragedy in the second. As an actor, how many time do we actually get to explore the full range of emotions in ONE script?
2. The process. My director was really interesting, and brought in all sorts of techniques and methods for us to try. I'm used to script work and then getting on your feet to try something. Here, we spent hours on the script, analyzing it as group and making solid choices before anything. And the blocking came in a really organic way, where we just ran the script a few times while our director took notes of things she liked then that we then could then expand on. Because of that, I think, the production came across very real. Of course, that's what you're always striving for. We did contact improv exercises and played with space a lot so that my partner and I were very much in sync.
We repeatedly did a hand exercise, going back to the callbacks Tom and I did. We stand about two feet a part and plant our feet firmly. We have to keep our eyes locked. Without anyone signaling us of time passing, we have to have our hands meet in the space between us in five minutes. It's hard to explain what happens, but something absolutely does. You go through nerves, comfort in the other person's eyes, tingly sensations when you know you're getting close... Tom and I hadn't met before the callback. Courtney, our director, later told us that she cast us because of that exercise. She watched us during it, and after we made contact, we hugged each other very strongly. That two strangers had some kind of experience strong enough to have them hug after, she felt, was what she was looking for.
We also did a run outside with no rules. We did it around the pond of my school and were free to yell and scream, climb trees or sit still. There's a real excitement that comes to kids and actors (who are like big kids) when they're told, "go wild." So we did. We had this incredible, playful energy at the beginning of the play that made its tragic ending all the stronger. I made so many discoveries in having no boundaries. I don't think we ever performed the piece so well as that afternoon. Ay, but there's the rub because of course, we weren't really performing. That's what made it so strong. It was the most real it's ever been. I guess that's the trick to acting! Take a real experience like that and recreate it in a theatrical way; that's to say, in a way that lets people in on the journey.
3. The people. I was working with such an incredible team! My director Courtney, my partner Tom, and my assistant director Ashley. Everyone was so enthusiastic about the project and so it really wasn't hard to bring it to life! And we did crazy things like have Canada Night. Tom is the only non-Canadian, so we did our best to induct the Brit. We made (by which I mean Ashley made) mac and cheese from scratch, we had Buds (couldn't find any really Canadian beers) and we watched Anne of Green Gables. That movie was a little hard to swallow for the others who were seeing it for the first time at 24 years old, but for me who grew up with that redhead? Magic. We then took a walk through the forest while a little bit tipsy. There's a whole sequence in the play where he walks me home at 4 in the morning, "with rum punch on our breath." PEI, 1887, middle of winter, no roads but only forest. So we went to Epping Forest to see what it would be like to walk among the trees with no lights. Not a perfect replica, but pretty damn good. I didn't realize how the dark makes you feel... it was awkward and giddy at first because this boy is walking me home! But as we continued to walk, I found a real security in the night. It was like a blanket, and I felt I could be a bit more bold.
So show time comes and it went just as quickly. Only two performances... so not enough! It was a hit though. We could feel the audience with us, but we were bombarded with people after who were saying they felt like they were continuously leaning forward in their seats until the end. As the lights went to black on opening night, someone let out a huge gasp! I had to laugh. That's the reaction that we dreamed of getting! We did get a standing ovation from a few people. My tutors, who are incredibly tough critics, only said one word: "beautiful." That was followed by kisses on the cheek and lingering hugs. People said it was the best thing that they had seen in the Corbett Theatre. More than that, some first years were just taken to the National Theatre to see a production, at which they walked out miserably bored; they said our show was miles above the National Theatre's! So many people came up to me to say congratulations.... THAT's what it must feel like to be a rock star.
My high school friend, Andrew, by chance happened to be in Europe at the time of my show. He's a documentary filmmaker, and his piece on ALS was accepted to a festival in Switzerland. The timing worked out for him to swing by London before going back to Canada, and to see my last show. I used to do high school musicals with him, and I asked him if he thought that I had grown as an actress. He said by miles. I couldn't help but smile. He loved the piece.
I just reread this post to do some editing, and just realized that the above is all I really have to say... I'm just so happy and feel so fulfilled. We did this show, and we did it right. My experience at theatre school has been brilliant, don't get me wrong, but it's the nature of the program that time is against you. I've never felt like we had a proper dress or a proper tech, and so when performance time comes you just wish for one more; you know you can get it right! Be more adjusted and so feel freer. I wanted more performances for this show but only because I felt so free. I knew the material and its elements so intimately that I could play....
We're going to try to take the show on a bit of a tour, hopefully ending up in Edinburgh next summer. Hopefully, this whole story, for now, can end with a true "To Be Continued."
1. The script. It's hard to describe it without just giving quotes, to be honest. It's a a combination of storytelling styles. You have two characters who are in some kind of void and trying to find themselves. In their searching, they talk to themselves, they seek help in each other, and they replay scenes of moments that they spent together. It's all quite descriptive and very rich. There's always a challenge in performance to fall into a character, but these descriptions made it so easy. You speak the words and in speaking, you create your world around you.You see images in front of you and you can't help but be swept into the world of the script. It also has an incredible arc, where we got to be fun, free and flirty in the first half, a create a real tragedy in the second. As an actor, how many time do we actually get to explore the full range of emotions in ONE script?
2. The process. My director was really interesting, and brought in all sorts of techniques and methods for us to try. I'm used to script work and then getting on your feet to try something. Here, we spent hours on the script, analyzing it as group and making solid choices before anything. And the blocking came in a really organic way, where we just ran the script a few times while our director took notes of things she liked then that we then could then expand on. Because of that, I think, the production came across very real. Of course, that's what you're always striving for. We did contact improv exercises and played with space a lot so that my partner and I were very much in sync.
We repeatedly did a hand exercise, going back to the callbacks Tom and I did. We stand about two feet a part and plant our feet firmly. We have to keep our eyes locked. Without anyone signaling us of time passing, we have to have our hands meet in the space between us in five minutes. It's hard to explain what happens, but something absolutely does. You go through nerves, comfort in the other person's eyes, tingly sensations when you know you're getting close... Tom and I hadn't met before the callback. Courtney, our director, later told us that she cast us because of that exercise. She watched us during it, and after we made contact, we hugged each other very strongly. That two strangers had some kind of experience strong enough to have them hug after, she felt, was what she was looking for.
We also did a run outside with no rules. We did it around the pond of my school and were free to yell and scream, climb trees or sit still. There's a real excitement that comes to kids and actors (who are like big kids) when they're told, "go wild." So we did. We had this incredible, playful energy at the beginning of the play that made its tragic ending all the stronger. I made so many discoveries in having no boundaries. I don't think we ever performed the piece so well as that afternoon. Ay, but there's the rub because of course, we weren't really performing. That's what made it so strong. It was the most real it's ever been. I guess that's the trick to acting! Take a real experience like that and recreate it in a theatrical way; that's to say, in a way that lets people in on the journey.
3. The people. I was working with such an incredible team! My director Courtney, my partner Tom, and my assistant director Ashley. Everyone was so enthusiastic about the project and so it really wasn't hard to bring it to life! And we did crazy things like have Canada Night. Tom is the only non-Canadian, so we did our best to induct the Brit. We made (by which I mean Ashley made) mac and cheese from scratch, we had Buds (couldn't find any really Canadian beers) and we watched Anne of Green Gables. That movie was a little hard to swallow for the others who were seeing it for the first time at 24 years old, but for me who grew up with that redhead? Magic. We then took a walk through the forest while a little bit tipsy. There's a whole sequence in the play where he walks me home at 4 in the morning, "with rum punch on our breath." PEI, 1887, middle of winter, no roads but only forest. So we went to Epping Forest to see what it would be like to walk among the trees with no lights. Not a perfect replica, but pretty damn good. I didn't realize how the dark makes you feel... it was awkward and giddy at first because this boy is walking me home! But as we continued to walk, I found a real security in the night. It was like a blanket, and I felt I could be a bit more bold.
So show time comes and it went just as quickly. Only two performances... so not enough! It was a hit though. We could feel the audience with us, but we were bombarded with people after who were saying they felt like they were continuously leaning forward in their seats until the end. As the lights went to black on opening night, someone let out a huge gasp! I had to laugh. That's the reaction that we dreamed of getting! We did get a standing ovation from a few people. My tutors, who are incredibly tough critics, only said one word: "beautiful." That was followed by kisses on the cheek and lingering hugs. People said it was the best thing that they had seen in the Corbett Theatre. More than that, some first years were just taken to the National Theatre to see a production, at which they walked out miserably bored; they said our show was miles above the National Theatre's! So many people came up to me to say congratulations.... THAT's what it must feel like to be a rock star.
My high school friend, Andrew, by chance happened to be in Europe at the time of my show. He's a documentary filmmaker, and his piece on ALS was accepted to a festival in Switzerland. The timing worked out for him to swing by London before going back to Canada, and to see my last show. I used to do high school musicals with him, and I asked him if he thought that I had grown as an actress. He said by miles. I couldn't help but smile. He loved the piece.
I just reread this post to do some editing, and just realized that the above is all I really have to say... I'm just so happy and feel so fulfilled. We did this show, and we did it right. My experience at theatre school has been brilliant, don't get me wrong, but it's the nature of the program that time is against you. I've never felt like we had a proper dress or a proper tech, and so when performance time comes you just wish for one more; you know you can get it right! Be more adjusted and so feel freer. I wanted more performances for this show but only because I felt so free. I knew the material and its elements so intimately that I could play....
We're going to try to take the show on a bit of a tour, hopefully ending up in Edinburgh next summer. Hopefully, this whole story, for now, can end with a true "To Be Continued."