Hello!
Sunday, June 15th, 2008
Hello! First off, I would like to introduce myself. My name is Olivia Houck and I am sophomore at Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah, Georgia. I’m currently studying Dramatic Writing, and so I was asked to write this blog as a student observing the process of putting together a play, that had been adapted from a book. This is the standpoint that I will be writing from, a newcomer to the theater scene and my reaction to seeing all of the concepts of playwriting and play production I have learned in classes, being used effectively and for real purposes. It is one thing to be able to write the definition of something, but it is an altogether new experience to physically see the same concept being used, giving them legitimacy and importance, and it is these “Ah-ha” moments are what I’ll be recording.
Sunday night rehearsal started out with introductions and a read through of the script by the actors who had just met each other. The first read through went incredibly well, the actors had already decided on the voices they thought that the characters would have and so even though they were not too familiar with the script, it was entertaining to listen to. I have never really worked with professional actors before, so I have got to say that the control they have over their voices and their annunciation is fascinating. The actor playing Thin Elderly was able to change his voice from “slick and suave” to “caring and fatherly” in an instant when directed to do so. Each actor has a definite idea about the way that their characters should sound, which plays against each other very well. My favorite grouping is between the Old Woman and John. Theresa, who plays the Old Woman, is able to inject patience, nervousness and some slight humor into her voice, all while simply talking to a dog. Three emotions that are hard enough to convey on their own, but she can mix them all flawlessly. Contrasted next to angry and adolescent John, who plays his part so well that the audience can not help but like him. It’s how these actors have decided to play their roles that makes us care about their characters.
Working with professional actors, and seeing what things that they can do, is already making me less controlling over my own work. I am developing a growing faith in actors now, and will be able to write for them accordingly. Knowing what vocal and emotional range a good stage actor has, will make writing a lot more fun because it means they can handle whatever complicated mess of a character I throw at them. Excuse the clichéd metaphor, but its like being able to use an entire box of crayons to draw a picture, instead of the boring primary colors, or emotions. This is my first glimpse at real actors before the finished product, and with an understanding of them and their process of characterization, now I can write more for an actor and their strengths and not just a simple script with imaginary people playing imaginary people. It’s not that I didn’t trust actors, its just that I had never been around them to see what fabulous things they can do.
(Sorry for the delay of the first few blogs, I have been scrounging around New York for a couple days trying to track down some internet access just figured out how to “borrow” some from a neighbor : )
Olivia