Last night we paid a visit to the Amphitheater where Richard III will perform – the platforms of the set are built and in-place, so we did our first barely-stopping stumble-through of everything from “Now is the winter of our discontent…” to the beheading of Hastings at the end of Act III, Scene IV (which will be our intermission moment).
Since it had been just one week since our first read-through, I was amazed at how much was happening that was already good. My first scene felt really awkward, not because I didn’t know the lines but because so much about my performance wasn’t working the moment you put it in that big outdoor space. John – the actor playing Richard – quite accurately described it as like suddenly being on the moon.
But as we got into my big scene, I felt a lot stronger, and started to really enjoy the size and volume of play. It’s not naturalistic – and God help us if a helicopter flies over – but it gets you thinking about how to adapt your presentation so you are still doing something recognizable enough to provoke the response you’re seeking.
My character is one of the few who gets involved with any stage violence, and we haven’t choreographed any of it yet so we kind of flailed our way through it, which made a lot of folks gasp with concern when I sold the act of getting hurled to the floor. They don’t know what I put myself through for Dracula.
After it ended, the director didn’t hold us for one extra minute, just applauded us and dismissed us to head to a bar down the street, where the Artistic Director had arranged for complimentary beer, wine, and nachos, on the condition that we spend some time getting to know each other as a cast. It was a deal I was happy to take.
I really like the work these people do, and their passion for Shakespeare. They do two Shakespeare plays every summer plus a special related project – this year it’s a stage adaptation of Shakespeare’s poem Venus & Adonis. When I auditioned I was a total stranger. Getting into Richard III meant that they believed enough to take a gamble on me for one show. But now they’ve offered me the chance to be in their next show, which just happens to be Much Ado About Nothing, the same play that started all this acting nonsense up again last year. I told them I loved the show, was loving working with the company, and would be happy to join up.
So now I’m set to play Borachio, the lusty drunk who sets what plot the play has in motion by tricking Claudio into thinking his fiancee is cheating on him. It’s an unrestrained hoot of a role, and if the talent level in the cast is anything like this one, I’m going to be in for a real treat. Plus, having just done the play last year (albeit in the role of Benedick), memorization should not be so much of an issue!
So Much Ado opens just 12 days after Richard III closes – which means, once again, I’ll be overlapping performances and rehearsals. Last year I did three full shows and it felt like a busy year; I relished my time off in-between. Assuming this Much Ado thing happens, by the time it closes on September 1st I will have done four full shows in 2012, PLUS the staged reading of the one-act in January, PLUS the 24-Hour Theater project.
Oh, and I threw my hat in the ring to work as an actor doing staged readings of world-premiere plays at the Long Beach Playhouse for their New Works Festival. It’s where I did Dracula last year and I have been eager to work there again. It’s another company that feels like it could be a part of my home network of theaters.
The catch? Their Festival happens the same weekends as Much Ado – which could mean doing two different shows in the same day.
It’s safe to say, if there’s a fever – I have it.