“The Tempest” Allayed
Well, it certainly has been an intense two weeks of showtime. We put on our last night of “The Tempest” on Saturday and I’m proud to say that we closed it off with a bang. It was a full house with 102 seats occupied that night. And when 102 pairs of hands are brought together for an enthusiastic applause (which extended into an encore!), the result is the most satisfying roar to ever enter our ears. Needless to say, although we were all relieved that our lives are now more or less back to normal, some of us were quite sorry to take leave of the wonder of Prospero’s enchanted isle. I admit that I am guilty of such a feeling.
Besides the powerful emotions and magic that are the obvious attractions to the play, the reason I seemed to feel an air of poignancy upon the conclusion of the play’s run lies in the way I embrace my character. I find that it generally takes me a long while to become one with my character in a play. Instead of sliding smoothly into the role as I’ve witnessed many talented actors doing, I can only seem to trickle into it bit by bit until I finally fully embody the character. However, because this process ingrains every minute detail of the character in me, it becomes an immense task for me to extricate myself from it in the end. Whereas many actors are able to just shrug it off after the closing night, I seem to continue dwelling on it for at least another two days. Sometimes, I can’t help but wonder whether this is normal and whether I’m using the wrong method or something.
Anyway, it has been two days since the show ended and I would like to announce that I have finally managed to completely untangle myself from my character today. I must say, it was a huge sigh of relief. So, what’s next? Well, I definitely hope we’ll start doing some improv again. I do miss its unbridled fun and its constant push for agility in both the mind and body…which I desperately need to retrain for again. I think I’ve forgotten what it’s like to “wing it” after two months of having the security blanket of a script on hand.
This is not good - what if someone were to suddenly throw an awkward question my way?? I really have no idea what to do. Oh right, that’s a statement. Um…can I just exit gracefully? Like now?
Alright Winluck, you have written something to arouse me from my slumber. Let’s take a look at some points (this is gonna be a long one):
1. You talk of an actor sliding smoothly into a role. If this is true and you have seen it then that person was either: a) born for the role in question and will never find any other part half as satisfying or b) isn’t really doing the work necessary in order to fully realise the life of the character within the play. Sure any talented actor can get a general idea of a character after the first few readings but anyone who believes they can have a full grasp on somebody in the span of a week is surely mistaken. It is a good thing that you are taking in as you say “every minute detail”. That is what the audience wants truthful detailed work. They don’t see the process but they can tell by the end result.
2. Moving on to the statement about some actors shrugging off their roles. This sort of goes hand in hand with the first comment. If you are 100% involved in what you are doing then it HAS to be difficult to leave it behind. I’ve done improvs that haven’t left me for days on end. I’ve done scenes that left me so depressed that all I did was cry for the rest of the day. I know I’m manly… But this happens to everyone. You can’t just drop something like that like yesterdays pancakes, you sort of need to work it out somehow.
3. You question your “method” or process. I don’t think there is such thing a wrong method. You do what works for you and I will do what works for me and we might both come out with a very truthful performance. The only thing wrong is having no process. You can’t just learn lines. You can’t leave your script behind when you go home and you can’t just magically expect things to “happen”. It’s hard work, I think you realise that though.
Anyways, some things to ponder I guess. I hope I didn’t come off too preachy or whatever. I’m glad that “The Tempest” was a success and that you have started develop a method in which to enter the text and explore character.
Take it easy.
Hey Sam:
Nope, you didn’t come off preachy at all. I really appreciate a fresh perspective from another actor. Thanks for allaying my self-doubts!