This tour has blown my mind in so many ways and taught me a lot about acting. For example--if I don't sleep very well, I WILL FUCKING SUCK the following day. This happened to me yesterday--where the first performance was a SCHLONG FESTIVAL, but the next one (where I was fully awake) was EXCELLENT.
I guess this is a good time to talk about my process! :D (Emoticons don't look very good with serifs...Also if you already act, I'm sure you know all this. It's just my personal Macbeezy experience.)
I tend to get the most mileage out of working from the inside out. This is generally because I don't get a very good external sense of characters unless I really internalize their wants and needs first. I've got to find the impulse that's buried in the text or the situation. In Macbeth, I'm playing three parts: The Sergeant, Banquo, and Rosse. The Sergeant shows up early and then dies....so he's been routinely the hardest to nail. Banquo started off easy, then became more difficult and interesting as I learned more about him (i.e. his hot-temperedness, his love for his son, his ego.) Rosse didn't click with me until midway through the first week of performances....basically until I hit upon the fact that he's older than I think he is. For each character, I get the most out of them when I let the script go, breath deeply (VERY VERY deeply) and let the imagery wash over my body and my voice. It forces a sort of relaxation and makes you kick your anxieties to the curb. The problem in Shakespeare is always that the internet well of complex emotion is too big for the script you're given. There's a sort of eternal frustration you have when you speak--because even if it seems like your partner gets it they just don't understand quite enough. The images, born from a combination of onstage action, external targets, sound, and feelings can only be found with a focused and quiet mind. Once you've got them, it's your job to explore them fully and completely. Feel, touch, smell, hear, and taste these images--and perhaps most importantly--trust them.
My biggest problem as of late (aside from lack of sleep) has been attempting to replicate previous performances. This only comes about when I'm feeling a general lack of confidence, and that typically happens when I don't get much shut-eye. Occasionally something else will throw me (I never claimed to be the most confident guy in the world by any stretch of the imagination) but its always the breathing that gets me back on track. Not only does it root you in your own body, but it glues the character to you in a profound way. It's even the fuel for your journey into the world of imagery. Try staring at an inanimate object while breathing as deeply as you can....you start to discover new things about that object. Thing you probably would never have seen otherwise. (It may even start out frustrating--but if you stick with it, you'll surprise yourself.)
Very occasionally, starting externally (i.e. Mannerisms, movement, voice, etc.) has helped unlock the character so to speak--but I've yet to find an outside-in method that I can fully trust in. That's neither here nor there, frankly--I think I just need to find something that works. Again--this tour has taught me a valuable lesson about delving into characters. YOU NEVER KNOW EVERYTHING ABOUT THEM. Boiling a character down is the quickest way to shoot yourself in the foot/face. In addition, REMAINING SAFE for the sake of appearing 'The Good Actor' is another way to tie yourself down. You'll be concerned about your performance and not the situation. Your images will abandon you if you try to hold them too tight, or use the same ones over and over. They wear down and become unhelpful.
Anyway--yeah, I dunno...having a rehearsal period this short meant I had take care of all those pesky things I usually work through with a director alone. It's been really hard, but extremely good for me.
Why? Because I'm awesome.
Anyway, I've got all sorts of buttcheeks to squeeze. Until next crime!
Love lurve suki aishiteru,
Dakotah
(P.S. No, I don't actually have any buttcheeks to squeeze. Shut up. Stop rubbing it in.)
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