I have just been cast as Rosalind in Brelby Theater Company's upcoming production of "As You Like It." So, after bolting out of bed this morning at approximately 5:55 a.m., I scarfed down my breakfast, and packed my re-usable canvas grocery bag from Whole Foods with the Arden Shakespeare, my laptop, charger, notebooks, highlighter, pens, and a pair of pleasantly plump orange and green Shakespeare Lexicons, containing the definition and context of every word of Shakespeare's plays. Every single one.
So, today I have the lovely task of translating my lines. Every single one of them. It's a discipline I learned in my first-ever rehearsal for a Shakespeare play almost 7 years ago. Crikey!
You might recall from a previous post that I had mentioned I hadn't been in a show for over a year. A YEAR. Yes, I've done some film work here and there, but I haven't been on a stage in over a year. And man, am I nervous.
But, as David Mamet would say, the actor's job is to stand up, look the other fellow in the eye, and tell the truth courageously in spite of how nervous/insecure/unprepared/inadequate you feel. That's it. The actor's job is to bring the play to life for the audience. We serve no other purpose. Whether or not I memorize the family tree of my character's extended family and delve deep into the subconscious of my character as a four year old will be absolutely no help whatever to the audience in relating the action of the play. Emotion memory and sense recall techniques are, essentially, pointless.
Being on stage, summoning the courage, in spite of how insecure you are or how you feel about your co-stars, or your costumes, or the restless audience, or the set, those are the challenges we face in real time. To remove our minds from the moment of the play to try and delve into an emotional memory or sensory recall is counter-productive. If you ever do achieve such a moment (which is rare), you become excited that you actually accomplished the task and become even more detached from the moment.
Anywhoo.
I'm gonna get back to my Americano and my beloved lexicons.
toodle-oo.
