Alice Can Tell
Posted by Martin McClendon on 8/10/2009
Martin McClendon, who plays Martin in Ensemble member Eric Simonson’s First Look play, Honest, is a professor of Theatre at College Carthage where Honest was first commissioned.The role of Martin was written for him.
Honest was performed in an early student production up there with an all student cast, and Martin’s students were all invited to audition for this First Look Production.
Martin is blogging regularly to his students about his experiences here at Steppenwolf, and we thought we’d share them with you (you can find his previous entries here, here, and here).
Blog #10 (July 31)
We are in the second to last week of the show now. We gathered to rehearse last Tuesday. I was talking to Eric (Simonson) and he said he used to bring his dog Alice to rehearsals of past productions. Alice was his “BS detector.” When people were “acting” onstage, Alice would sit still in response to the nervous atmosphere. When they were really talking and listening, really communicating, she would get up and walk around, convinced that real life was happening around her. I think every theatre in America should have a dog like Alice on staff.
Just got home from the Friday show, July 31. We have reached the point where the lines seem to come spontaneously and of their own accord; indeed, they are inevitable if you believe in the world around you. I’d like to think Alice would have walked around the space tonight. I’m not thinking about what line comes next, I’m listening to Erik Hellman and responding to what he says as if I have never heard it before. It’s a peculiar form of concentration that takes in the presence of the audience and dips into the memory for lines and context, yet is open to the most immediate stimuli. I’m not saying it was perfect, but there is a new edge to the work when you really believe that you don’t know what’s coming next. And the more we play the story, the sharper become the beats where we delineate the pivotal moments of the story. Knowing and trusting your castmates helps, too. Looking forward to the next two shows for three in a row.
Blog #11 (Aug. 7)
Last weekend we had three great shows. And we kept it up on Thursday; the show felt very solid. Doing shows back to back allows us to build on each successive performance, as what we learn from the last show is incorporated into the next one. As the words and stage business become second nature and your belief in your circumstance solidifies, the mind and body start to react in new ways. Second nature doesn’t mean mindless; you always have to stay connected to your scene partner and firmly in the moment. Inspiration is kind of like a wave, one night it will crest halfway through the scene, another night maybe two-thirds of the way through. Some lines reliably trigger emotional responses night after night, others are more elusive.
Vocal warm-ups are an essential part of my preparation. Though the house is small, it swallows sound, and since the audience is seated on either side, half of them aren’t facing you at any given point, so the voice has to carry “behind your back.” So warming up is essential. That way, I don’t have to worry about my vocal power, I can just dial it up a little if I feel like I can’t be heard. Plus the “L” train usually rumbles by once or twice. Or a fire truck screams down the street. We need to be able to be heard over such intrusions. I also find warming up not only gets the voice ready but is a great tactic for dealing with nerves. Quiet breathing and simple vocalization help you to check in with yourself and melt tension.
It’s almost over, folks. Two more shows this weekend.