Our Managing Director Andy Kirtland shares this story of
when he played Antipholus of Ephesus in The
Comedy of Errors for The New England Shakespeare Festival (NESF) several
years ago: “I made the choice to be
sad on the line 'I never saw my father in my life.' I thought it was good. But
the less than gentle note I received was that 1) that isn't anywhere in the
text, and 2) nobody cares. Even worse, I came to realize that it injects a note
that is distracting to the general tone of the scene. Everything worked much
better when I just said the line and the story continued on. It drove home that
these techniques are not about me, the actor. They are about the story and the
audience. Like so much in life it is not about you, and when the focus is on
others, everything is so much better.”
It is difficult
to believe that a group of actors who barely know each other will learn their
parts on their own, will only receive their lines and the last few words of
their cues, will not receive any blocking notes from the director, will not
know who will be saying their cue lines or when, and the first time the entire
show will be performed will be in front of the audience. Then, magically, that first show happens and
everything falls into place! I confess
that I was incredibly scared before my very first Unrehearsed show. I was Bianca in Taming of the Shrew for NESF years ago, and during that very first
scene that I watched from the wings – I saw it happen: a group of incredibly
talented actors who received the best technique training from NESF’s founder
& producing artistic director Demitra Papadinis brought this comedy to life
without any rehearsal…and it worked beautifully! It just took trusting the technique and our
fellow actors.
Sometimes during
text sessions, certain actors will ask me questions about subtext or the magic
‘if’ or how their character feels about so-and-so. These are modern technique questions that have
nothing to do with Shakespeare. In fact,
they were invented centuries after Shakespeare wrote his plays. And don’t even get me started on Freud and
the Bard. I try to bring the actors back
to what their character actually says and use the word choices that the
playwright gives them to their advantage.
Don’t worry about what your character had for breakfast or if they were
bottle-fed. Concentrate on what’s
happening now in the play and don’t anticipate what’s going to happen in a few
scenes, which are basic acting notes that we all still get today. Learn the technique, trust it, use it to the
best of your ability and don’t over think it.
After all, Shakespeare has already done all the work for you.
-Elizabeth
Ruelas, Artistic Director of The New Renaissance Theatre Company (which
produces The Unrehearsed Shakespeare Project)
