Diary of a Tramp Actor
22/02/12 21:53
This blog is brought to you by Hannah Paterson. I am an actress with a day job (as most of us are!). Last year I graduated from Wellington's own Victoria University with a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre and Philosophy. My studies have taught me so much about not only being on stage, but about the whole process of theatre-making and the value of collaboration - from acting to writing to costume to props to lighting to set design, I am interested in it all. Now I am focusing on developing my confidence, skills and experience so that I can try to make something of myself in this somewhat daunting industry. New Zealand is small, but we are quite lucky to have such a bustling and innovative theatre scene. The Fringe Festival is a case in point!
In 'The Tragic Tale of the E'n'B: a Comedy,' which is part of the Fringe Festival, I am playing Julia. She is a delivery girl whom Max (frazzled, spluttering and generally lacking eloquence) has an unreciprocated crush on. I was a bit of a late-comer to the rehearsal process, but from the first day was made to feel very welcome by our director Tim and the other fantastic actors. Watching the others perform has been a real joy and there have definitely been a lot of laughs (as you'd hope, it is a comedy after all). However, one thing that has been a running theme during rehearsals is that the humour has to be organic - it must come from a natural place and not be overdone.
With this in mind, throughout the rehearsals I have definitely faced struggles in trying to figure out who Julia is. She spends most of her time off the stage and only enters to make deliveries and chat occasionally with the staff. It has been a challenge to create a rounded character who brings, in such brief moments on stage, the energy of her day-to-day life.
Tim's approach to directing has really helped me to understand how important it is to know our characters from the inside out. I have to create a history and a present for Julia. I have to know, without thinking, what Julia ate for breakfast and what she is feeling at any given moment. I have to sympathise with her objectives and intentions beyond the confines of the script to give her real depth. It's all about salt and pepper - it doesn't matter that Julia is a minor role, she still must have all the flavour of a lead role, or perhaps even more since she only has a short time to be absorbed by the audience. In the same vein, it also doesn't matter that the E'n'B is a comedy and not a tragedy. The audience must still believe in the world in front of them before they can be affected by it.
So, my challenge for our season next week is this: to do justice to Julia, to the play, and to the audience.
In 'The Tragic Tale of the E'n'B: a Comedy,' which is part of the Fringe Festival, I am playing Julia. She is a delivery girl whom Max (frazzled, spluttering and generally lacking eloquence) has an unreciprocated crush on. I was a bit of a late-comer to the rehearsal process, but from the first day was made to feel very welcome by our director Tim and the other fantastic actors. Watching the others perform has been a real joy and there have definitely been a lot of laughs (as you'd hope, it is a comedy after all). However, one thing that has been a running theme during rehearsals is that the humour has to be organic - it must come from a natural place and not be overdone.
With this in mind, throughout the rehearsals I have definitely faced struggles in trying to figure out who Julia is. She spends most of her time off the stage and only enters to make deliveries and chat occasionally with the staff. It has been a challenge to create a rounded character who brings, in such brief moments on stage, the energy of her day-to-day life.
Tim's approach to directing has really helped me to understand how important it is to know our characters from the inside out. I have to create a history and a present for Julia. I have to know, without thinking, what Julia ate for breakfast and what she is feeling at any given moment. I have to sympathise with her objectives and intentions beyond the confines of the script to give her real depth. It's all about salt and pepper - it doesn't matter that Julia is a minor role, she still must have all the flavour of a lead role, or perhaps even more since she only has a short time to be absorbed by the audience. In the same vein, it also doesn't matter that the E'n'B is a comedy and not a tragedy. The audience must still believe in the world in front of them before they can be affected by it.
So, my challenge for our season next week is this: to do justice to Julia, to the play, and to the audience.
In the Beginning….
01/01/12 23:33
Welcome to the Tramps Blog! All of us here on the Tramps team will be posting on the blog with what we have been up to, whether it is acting, directing or writing new work. We also want our blog to be about other shows that are currently performing here in Wellington. We will provide reviews and discussions on professional shows as well as community theatre. We ourselves have been heavily involved in both professional and community theatre internationally and believe there are fantastic shows that sometimes go unnoticed within the creative scene. We will be featuring our blogs regularly on our website and also on our Facebook group, so please make sure you look out for these exciting and interesting updates!