"Our Town" Dress Rehearsal

Today we had our first dress rehearsal for "Our Town". We have one more (on Tues. Nov. 12th) before opening night on Thursday, November 14th. Although my lines have been painful to learn, and the character work has been difficult, I'm really going to miss this show. We've all worked very hard to get to where we are. Today, during rehearsal, we had one or two mistakes throughout the entire play, which is definitely a record. No one talked backstage and we all got into character with the help of our amazing costumes and makeup. It's the first time everyone has been in full makeup and costume, and it was wonderful. We were all truly able to connect with out characters and bring out the best in them. 

Plays are a LOT of hard work and take a lot of dedication, but once every actor understands and fully becomes every character, it's a beautiful thing. What I love most about plays, is how two weeks before opening night, none of us are sure we can do it. We're all nervous and anxious, wondering if we can really pull it off. We constantly doubt ourselves. I have been in several performances at ISK, and somehow, we ALWAYS manage to get ourselves together in order to perform several nights of great shows for our wonderful audiences. The hardest part, after learning all of my lines, is delivering them with sincerity and honesty. It's hard to deliver a line without truly knowing your character, so that's job 1 - know your character. Job two - learn your lines. Job 3 - understand why and how your characters says those lines. Job 4 - let your character take you over. Job 5 - put on an amazing performance.

"Our Town" - Mrs. Gibbs

We've been doing a lot of character work in play practice these days. My character, Mrs. Gibbs, is a pleasant, happy woman full of dreams. She loves her family very, very much, but also wants to travel the world. The dream of her life, is to visit Paris, France. She has two beautiful children, George and Rebecca, and a wonderful husband, Frank Gibbs, to whom she's been married for 20 years. In previous plays, I've never had to become as invested or as dedicated to the characters I play. The reason for this was, either I played several characters in one performance, or I was only on stage for several minutes (like the Fringe Festival). Anyways, I've learned a lot from this play, especially how to connect and understand Mrs. Gibbs and any future characters I may play. Below are photos of previous "Mrs. Gibbs'":

Above: Mrs. Gibbs with Rebecca and George.




Right: Mrs. Gibbs and Mrs. Webb miming stringing beans.

Left: Frank and Julia Gibbs having a conversation at breakfast time.













"Our Town" has been performed thousands of times, likewise with the role of Mrs. Gibbs. Every actress probably puts a different spin on her. To me, Mrs. Gibbs isn't misunderstood in any way, in fact, she's very easy to "get". In the early 1900s, women were never known to be very strong or independent, but Julie Gibbs knows exactly what she wants, and she's happy. She is happy with her husband, and all she asks from her children is that they are responsible and humble. Her biggest dream, one that never happens, is to travel to France. But, despite that, she's content with her life in Grover's Corners.

I can't wait to show audiences how much I've worked with Mrs. Gibbs. She's become a part of me, and I'm sure that once the performances are over, I'll miss her very much. I hope to perhaps have the opportunity to play her again.