#actorwarriors

Joe Gay:

"All men dream: but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dream with open eyes, to make it possible." -T. E. Lawrence

As we wrap up rehearsals and I look forward to opening night, I continue to contemplate what value our show has to an audience. An actor’s work is never done, right?

Last night Kari reminded me of this quote that I came across in my ethics class a few weeks ago. She talked about how in our ending moment, as the lights go down, we see a group of actors that claim, “My dreams are still alive.” And in the blackout we wonder if these actors will actually pursue their dreams or will they still be caught in this never ending world of auditioning? Themes from No Exit by Jean-Paul Sartre resound.

I want to  reinforce the idea that, as actors, we have the power and capability to hone and pursue our craft through fearless creation. So many times talented actors get caught up in auditioning and it becomes an endless cycle of  being pushed from place to place. I believe that the power needs to be given back to the performer. We have the ability and the resources to create and continue to work even when we are “between jobs.” All we have to do if take the opportunity and tell a story to an audience. This is the kind of fearless work that I see from the Kari Margolis method. I don’t mean to shamelessly plug the work that we are doing this weekend, but I believe that the Margolis method is the necessary innovation that the US theatrical environment needs, and I hope more artists follow in her steps. Take back the power, get out of the audition room, and follow your dream to share stories with an audience. There is nothing wrong with auditioning for a show, just don’t let somebody else’s expectation of what you should be get in the way of pursuing your dream. Don’t waste your talent and dreams sitting around waiting for someone to hire you.

We open TODAY!

Jarod Hanson:

As you can tell by the previously posted photo of Kari, it was a weekend well spent taking a hard look at all of the scenes we've created and making sense of the piece as a whole. It's a critical stage of the process, and it's both incredibly exciting and challenging, as we track each scene's world, atmosphere, and direction, along with how it could juxtapose another scene. Each decision greatly shapes and affects the overall arc of the story, so we look, we process, we listen, and soon the piece starts to speak to us, revealing what it is. And its at this point that we discover what's missing and what needs tweaking or a dramatic transition to justify the next scene. No easy feat, but it's a thrilling ride, and when the shape comes together it's incredibly rewarding.

As I hone my own creative and directorial eye, I'm learning to find the balance during the process of when and where to stop and figure out details and when to let them go to be resolved later. It takes a real developed focus to constantly be looking at the work with an open mind and not to feel married to or locked into an order, structure, scene, or soundscape. As the whole of the piece comes together, it often demands flexibility and mutability to truly grow organically. Certain images may no longer service the story, or we may find that certain themes are coming more to the forefront. It's been highly enlightening to delve into that aspect of the dramaturgical side of directing.

We spent the past two days unearthing the last of the new material for the show, and the big picture of HEADSHOT! has come together. As a director, I absolutely love this stage of production, because now, through rehearsing and refining scenes, we find the deeper layers of specificity and sophistication that really make each scene sing. Having been in the position of the actor countless times, I know it's equally exciting from that standpoint, as every rehearsal reveals new discoveries within the script for more profound emotional connections from moment to moment.

Connor Sullivan:

"Be yourself; everyone else is already taken." — Oscar Wilde

Joe Gay:

As I sit down to reflect on week one, I realize how excited I am about the work we have been doing. This led me to analyzing what it is about this form of devised theatre that is so engaging for a performer. As I tried to answer that for myself, the words collaborative creation struck me. In theatre we hear these words quite often, but after this week they have taken on a new meaning for me. I used to think collaboration meant I come as an actor, you come as a technician, and then we use our separate skillsets to collaborate towards the creation of a piece of theatre, driven by the vision of the director.

HEADSHOT! has redefined what collaborative creation is to me. This past week, I felt as though I am not only valued as an actor, but as a creator as well. Every exercise and scene is filled with individual creativity. Each actor has the opportunity to write, construct, and choreograph simultaneously. Then Kari and Jarod help us shape that creativity and guide us towards a vision instead of superimposing a preconceived vision on top of us. In this way, we create collaboratively, which has brought about a greater level of investment into the story we are telling. I feel as though I am telling my story instead of someone else’s.

However, these principles can also be applied to prewritten texts if you think about it in terms of creating a character. So instead of an actor playing a role, it is an actor creating another life, and you can achieve the same level of investment in that character’s life by investing in the creation. Thus, this form of creating collaboratively can exist in any form of theatre, devised or not. The technical world is not excluded by any means, because designers and technicians are creating the world in which the character exists. This form of collaboration feels as though we are all digging deep into the mud of creation, working towards our unified vision of telling stories of the human condition.

As I work on our scene presentations for Monday, I remember Kari’s question, “What aspect of humanity do you want to portray?” It seems like a daunting task. However, we are all a part of that humanity, so I believe we can also ask ourselves, what aspect of our own experience do we want to portray? Because humanity is found within individual stories. Going forward through this week I challenge myself to also ask, what part of this fight to be accepted do I personally connect with? What is my story? And why is it absolutely necessary to tell this story?