13-02-2013
I felt awful during my first rehearsal. I
don’t know whether it was because I am friends with the director or because I
was having doubts towards my career, I really wasn’t in a good place.
I went in and saw David, the Director,
working with a character before me. They were going into so much detail about the
characters history and what the character has been through, I felt inadequate,
as I had done no such research.
We spent the first 10 minutes trying to get
some character. I felt like I was just reading the lines and everything I
learnt in college was forgotten. David was brilliant as he ignored the fact
that I was not making much progress and kept pushing me to get results. I was
questioning myself as an actor, and felt that I should just get an office job.
It was tough having your friend tell you what to do, as you just want to
impress them to prove they didn’t just give the role because you are friends.
I finally managed to get to a standard that
David was impressed with, but it took longer than expected. I was embarrassed
that I wasn’t the best I could possibly be. After talking to David about it, he
stated that it was probably because of the depth of character work done by the
actress before me affected my performance, but it shouldn’t have because my
character required less depth due to the nature of the piece. This really
affected my perception of the rehearsal process and my view of myself
personally. From this experience, I have realized I shouldn’t compare myself to
someone else. There is a reason for getting the part, so why should I doubt
myself.
I need to put this into practice and prove
to myself and to David that the part was meant for me.
Hi Lisa, Your friend was right. If you do too much research into a character you could end up being too proud of yourself and you could lose the part. I think David is like me, overtime we identify that our actors get into the real presence of the character. It has to be done in your time, you have to take your time and if the director doesn't agree with that you aren't in the right production. All director's should give more than they take from the cast and staff. Don't ever doubt yourself, no-one can tell you any different of how unique you are as a professional.
ReplyDeleteI hope the above cheers you up. Best of luck with the play and please do keep us updated.
Lily x
Thanks Lily! this is a fantastic view on the rehearsal and has indeed cheered me up. Character development is something that needs to progress, it is just difficult to not compare yourself to others. This is something to tae on board and work on. Thank you.
DeleteGood Luck xx
No worries. We all need a helping hand sometime (I know I did in my early directing days). Thank-you also. X
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