Steppenwolf Theatre Company Blog – Chicago Theater, World-Class Ensemble

Two weeks. Two weeks is a lifetime.

In my dressing room, unlacing my boots after a long week, I wonder how many shows like this my body can handle. Adrenaline has a way of making you forget.

Lois Smith, as Gonzalo, discovered each line in the moment as we do in life. With an exciting suspension before each little epiphany, I am held hostage by her bravery. With love and undying support, we miss you.

It is a cosmic joke that we should be so lucky to have Mike Nussbaum embody Gonzalo on our island. A Chicago Titan humbly embraces this beast and rambles with such innocence and genuine goodness that it humanizes the heart of a homesick spirit. A thousand, thousand thank yous.

Perched above the stage writing out fake sound cues and e-mailing Prospero on my laptop about the tasks I have completed, I imagine the life I was violently ripped away from by the foul witch Sycorax. These are memories that come in flashes, interrupted by my fascination with Caliban’s interaction with humans from the wreck. Caliban sings “Freedom,” and I can’t escape the sound of it.

I dance for Prospero like a good slave, Sambo manifested, and it pains me now as much as the first teary-eyed attempt. What does it do to you? What does that say about how far we’ve come, or how fresh the scars may still be?

The joy of my career is having the honor of playing with one of the great artistic minds of our time, Frank Galati. With eyes so open that they expose the soul, he shows us all how vulnerability can be strength indeed.

Al Wilder. Every night I learn from you how to exist as the character every second onstage, to the most minute detail. I remember how you would wince a little when Lois slapped your face gently, and how you shake your head with disapproval at Gonzalo’s claim that Ferdinand came alive to land. Human nature in its purest is on display when you take the stage.

When two hours of everyday is packed with the history and detail in the work of my colleagues, two weeks is a lifetime.

This entry was posted by Jon Michael Hill on Thursday, May 21st, 2009 at 4:10 pm and is filed under The Tempest. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.