Jolene reminded us last night about our journals, and I realize I have not posted in mine for a few weeks. By way of explanation (though not an excuse), I have been busy with two shows and a kitchen remodel as well as a FT job that has been pretty challenging of late. Still, I should take five minutes and jot down thoughts.
We finished up the Nursery Rhymes with Bill. They were a lot of fun, and a good introduction to the concept of “doings” (which I am just now beginning to feel comfortable saying after years of calling them “actions”). Now we are fully into the O’Neills. I feel fortunate that Jolene assigned a one-act to me. I don’t think I would have had the bandwidth for, say, Mourning Becomes Electra or Desire Under the Elms. Still, even though the script is short, the work is intense. I am partnered with Mariah, who I enjoy working with. Our biggest hurdles are navigating both working over FaceTime as well as our non-synchronous schedules. I have found that repeating over FaceTime is very difficult. Plus, we each have to carve out time either from our job schedules, meaning that we each have the distraction of interruptions, or Mariah’s very busy household with two young children who fight for her attention. But, we made it work.
Interestingly, the thing that I found the most difficult at first has provided the most fruitful results. I had a very difficult time paraphrasing during our initial attempt. I still find myself struggling with the paraphrasing a bit, but mainly it’s because I’m not sure how faithful I have to be to the words in the script (do I have to replace each individual word with one of my own? Do I just need to convey the intention behind the lines?). Eventually when I let go of wanting to do this correctly, I was able to achieve the best results. I found during the paraphrasing that I was able to unlock the doings of the script much easier. And I found that each time I paraphrased more was revealed regarding what it is the characters wanted. This has caused me to change my nerve, my trigger, and my Hot Whos multiple times as I learn more.
My biggest hurdle right now is learning the lines. I have about two-thirds of them, but the last third is eluding me. Honestly, the problem is not the lines or the script, but finding the time to study. I’ve recorded the lines in Line Learner and listen to them, but Nat has some very long speeches and I’m finding that the app is not the best method for learning long speeches. For those, I just need to sit with the script and work. Hoping that this week I will have a bit more time.
One more thought – it’s been great being able to put some of this technique to use both in The Humans and while directing Wit. I was fortunate to work with Jenni White and Trent in The Humans, both Meisner trained, so we had a common approach. Beverly Roche, who plays Vivian in Wit, is also Meisner trained, so being able to use some of the technique in rehearsals was helpful. And not just with Beverly, but also some of the other actors who have not had much extensive training in any method. I was particularly challenged with the actor who plays the young research fellow – during scene work or notes he is constantly asking how he should say something, or if the way he is saying something is coming across. I’ve been able to guide him, sometimes to his frustration, by asking him what it is he is wanting, and what it is he is doing. I’ve seen growth in him…not sure I can take full credit, but I do think I have at least helped him expand his idea of what acting is about.
OK…time to return to work. And hopefully I won’t be so negligent in my journal entries going forward.