This fall will hold a lot of treasures in store for me. In addition to going to college, there will also be a show coming up in November at Anodyne, called Traditions. It is an original production of ours, centering on a family that wishes to find it’s traditions for the holidays. It deals with pretty heavy stuff, such as loss, dying, and bringing together a shattered family. That being said, this isn’t merely a depressing tale. For that, I would easily turn to shakespeare, for he has wrought some incredibly depressing sagas. There’s lightness and humor in it as well, but it is not a ‘butterflies and rainbows’ story. Working on it is a welcome relief from a full year, practically, of not having any shows. With our new facilitator who has much experience in theatre across the board,pwe are off to a good start. I play the role of Gustav, or ‘Gus’, one of the principal roles. Gus’s conflict is that he misses his mother who died prior to the start of the play and wishes to start a new tradition for the holidays, amidst the drama and conflict that follows from his father and others. Speaking of Gustav’s father, Attila, the play mainly centers around him telling the story of what led up to his death and the ensuing rush to establish normalcy and…well, a tradition. (And yes, the name is derived from Attila The Hun.)
Since I wrote this last, the play has since come and gone. It went very well, much better than our last performance, It Could Be Worse or Love At Frostbite. And our facilitator for the show is still with us and has been working hard with us on developing as actors. We had a good run, with a slightly increased audience turnout. And it was an absolute thrill for me to be working as a lead role, one that I could relate to more. At the time, I was a little disconnected, however, but I learned a lot about acting from that play. Now the trick is to not get inside my head as I have been doing! There is absolutely no need for me to rest on my laurels and go further inside my head, even though I get pulled in that direction all the time.
(Please note: This post was originally written in november of last yea, with the last part added on today.
ACtors Rehearse: Acting with disabilities. 