Fringe Rehearsals

On Monday, Feb. 18th, we had our last day of Fringe Rehearsals before our group rehearsal on Sunday (right after the GISS conference), so it was a big cramming day. We had already figured out our blocking so it was mainly about characterization. For me, getting into character was fun because I was playing an inebriated woman. So basically I just went around stumbling and saying really dumb things. Playing Lady Macbeth in a play other than Macbeth and as a relatively different character than she is usually portrayed as was very interesting. Doing research on the character was fun, but also very familiar. So, instead of looking at ways Lady Macbeth was portrayed in that past, I looked up famous alcoholics such as Dianna Ross, Tracy Morgan, Betty Ford etc. I found out what made them tick and why they started drinking. Mostly, it's about depression and basically not having any reason to live a full life. I decided to really push that idea with Lady Macbeth. As this play was a comedy, she also had to be funny. So, I was playing a drunk, out of control woman. Acting opposite Mico for most of my lines was also really rewarding seeing as he is fully immersed and a wonderful actor. He really got into character with Gertrude and it allowed me to respond to the lines he threw at me in much more of an "in character" fashion. Having better actors to act opposite of is extremely important because I find it truly improves performance. For example, I felt at my best in Arabian Nights acting against Lydia and Nikita than anyone else who acted opposite me. Working with others who truly get into character and put their all into the role helps me get into character. Rehearsals were very, very fun and so was working with such an amazing cast.