When someone is given the gift to play a role like Blanche Dubois, a great deal of praise tends to be bestowed on that actor for mastering such a challenging role. But now I know that a great deal of that praise belongs to a long list of people, some whom unknowingly contributed to this monumental milestone and dream of a role. I have no desire for awards or praise...the opportunity to play the role is reward enough. The gift of speaking those poetic words is something I will treasure for the rest of my life.
I've always loved theatre for its collaborative process, for watching the hands of so many come together to tell a story. I haven't ever really acknowleged until now how many hands also go into creating such a role. Which is why I find it fitting that each night, as a cast, we would meet in the greenroom before every show, hands gathered together in the center of a circle to chant about "shit going down" yet "we're gonna rock this town!" bonding together as comrades to tell Blanche's story as a team.
Last night as we started our ritual chant, a wealth of emotion and gratitude flooded through my fingers and I couldn't help but think how every single hand in that circle (and then some) had a hand in helping me create Blanche.
And so...
To Chris and Melanie for seeing something in that almost botched audition and giving me a second chance to prove what I'm capable of by giving me a call back...and then believing in me enough to hand this epic role over to a complete stranger...Thank you.
To Carl and Brian and Anslee for agreeing to start this journey as friends in a coffee shop to get to know each other before this scary process even began....Thank you.
To my parents and parents-in-law who offered and took my 2 year old son off my hands for two weeks so that I could focus on learning lines and prep my syllabus for my new teaching job....Thanks a million.
To my husband who quickly realized not to make any demands or push any buttons these last 7 weeks and just let me process as I needed without any added distractions or chaos. For always watching our child so I can go off and play...Thank you. Thank you.
To my voice teacher, Patricia, for giving me the knowledge and skills of both a vocal warm-up that would sustain the vocal demands of speaking for 3 hours straight (despite horrible allergy season and vocal fatigue) and "proficiency of the southern dialect."...Namaste and Thank you.
To my mentor, Margaret, who gave me body awareness and the understanding of story telling with body language....Thank you.
To my acting teacher, Andrei, who taught me to always use the energy and emotions I am feeling at any giving moment to fuel my work on stage to bring truth and depth to every character....Thank you.
To my dear director, Christopher, for the detailed guidance, passion and persistence with me. For not allowing me to settle with an adequate performance but to strive for truth and honesty...Thank you.
To my assistant director, Conner, for the gentle hand and depth of knowledge in both staging difficult fight choreography and sculpting an added layer of understanding at the end of each day...Thank you.
To my Stanley, Carl, for the hugs, the commitment, the eyes to scare, for making the scenes feel new every night and for the pre-show ritual...Thank you.
To my Stella, Anslee, for the votes of confidence, the lesson on how to tease my hair, the body mic lesson, the honesty, the sisterhood, the songs, for the "damn good scene", for pulling me up when I was down and for the constant reminders that this show "IS and always will be about Blanche"...Thank you.
To my Mitch, Brian, for the carpool, the teacher talks, for the helping hand off stage when things got dark, for the consistency saved in new discoveries, for being easy to adore and heartbreaking to lose...Thank you.
To Ryan for the needed humor and our matching cars' show-mance. To Jason for always reminding me that people can love Blanche despite her woes. To Adam for the laughs. To Mark for nailing your 2 min scene every time. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
To Ashley, my backstage angel, for saving me the trouble of hanging up my quick changes and for filling the stage with soul and the dressing room with warmth and love. To Katherine for being incredibly creepy and for the help backstage. To Kristin for always letting me borrow your blush brush and for "letting me in"...Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
To Lindsay for the gorgeous costumes that made me feel more like Blanche than I ever could imagine, and for teaching me how to victory roll. Thank you
To Michael for the beautiful and yet tragic looking set, the detailed props, for fixing the door and always showing "kindness". To Dante and Michael for creating the mood and atmosphere with your lights and sound. Thank you.
To Anthony and Natalie for the support backstage despite my frantic freak outs for any missing pieces, for remaining calm and keeping the show going...Thank you.
To my sister Erika for running lines with me and helping me master lines for the hardest monologue in the play. Thank you.
To God for somehow answering my prayers to help me stay truthful, for saving my voice, for no panic attacks onstage, and for helping me find new meaning in every performance. I don't usually pray before every performance but for some reason with this show it seemed necessary. Thank you.
And lastly to my friends, family and students who supported me by making the journey out to Cicero to support my work. Thank you Pat, Bob, Carol, Lindsay, Julie, John, Steve, Kathy, Megan, Tim, Lisa, Anders, Kerry, Zach, Josh, Mark, Brea, Bergen, Chad, Anthony, Beau, Erika, Mom, Dad, Grandma, Heather, Elizabeth and Drew (I'm sure I forgot someone...) Thank you.
Thank you all. Yes, I memorized a lot of lines and I preserved a lot of energy to make it through each night. But I couldn't have done it with out you and to not acknowledge that feels like a crime.
So thank you...thank you for taking part in this journey and for helping me play this incredible role in this beautiful production that I will forever hold close to my heart.
"I know I fib a good deal, after all a woman's charm is fifty percent illusion, but when a thing is important I tell the truth, and this is the truth"
I've always loved theatre for its collaborative process, for watching the hands of so many come together to tell a story. I haven't ever really acknowleged until now how many hands also go into creating such a role. Which is why I find it fitting that each night, as a cast, we would meet in the greenroom before every show, hands gathered together in the center of a circle to chant about "shit going down" yet "we're gonna rock this town!" bonding together as comrades to tell Blanche's story as a team.
Last night as we started our ritual chant, a wealth of emotion and gratitude flooded through my fingers and I couldn't help but think how every single hand in that circle (and then some) had a hand in helping me create Blanche.
And so...
To Chris and Melanie for seeing something in that almost botched audition and giving me a second chance to prove what I'm capable of by giving me a call back...and then believing in me enough to hand this epic role over to a complete stranger...Thank you.To Carl and Brian and Anslee for agreeing to start this journey as friends in a coffee shop to get to know each other before this scary process even began....Thank you.
To my parents and parents-in-law who offered and took my 2 year old son off my hands for two weeks so that I could focus on learning lines and prep my syllabus for my new teaching job....Thanks a million.
To my husband who quickly realized not to make any demands or push any buttons these last 7 weeks and just let me process as I needed without any added distractions or chaos. For always watching our child so I can go off and play...Thank you. Thank you.
To my voice teacher, Patricia, for giving me the knowledge and skills of both a vocal warm-up that would sustain the vocal demands of speaking for 3 hours straight (despite horrible allergy season and vocal fatigue) and "proficiency of the southern dialect."...Namaste and Thank you.
To my mentor, Margaret, who gave me body awareness and the understanding of story telling with body language....Thank you.
To my acting teacher, Andrei, who taught me to always use the energy and emotions I am feeling at any giving moment to fuel my work on stage to bring truth and depth to every character....Thank you.
To my dear director, Christopher, for the detailed guidance, passion and persistence with me. For not allowing me to settle with an adequate performance but to strive for truth and honesty...Thank you.To my assistant director, Conner, for the gentle hand and depth of knowledge in both staging difficult fight choreography and sculpting an added layer of understanding at the end of each day...Thank you.
To my Stanley, Carl, for the hugs, the commitment, the eyes to scare, for making the scenes feel new every night and for the pre-show ritual...Thank you.
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| photo by Emily Schwartz |
 |
| photo by Emily Schwartz |
To Ryan for the needed humor and our matching cars' show-mance. To Jason for always reminding me that people can love Blanche despite her woes. To Adam for the laughs. To Mark for nailing your 2 min scene every time. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
To Ashley, my backstage angel, for saving me the trouble of hanging up my quick changes and for filling the stage with soul and the dressing room with warmth and love. To Katherine for being incredibly creepy and for the help backstage. To Kristin for always letting me borrow your blush brush and for "letting me in"...Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
To Lindsay for the gorgeous costumes that made me feel more like Blanche than I ever could imagine, and for teaching me how to victory roll. Thank you
To Michael for the beautiful and yet tragic looking set, the detailed props, for fixing the door and always showing "kindness". To Dante and Michael for creating the mood and atmosphere with your lights and sound. Thank you.
To Anthony and Natalie for the support backstage despite my frantic freak outs for any missing pieces, for remaining calm and keeping the show going...Thank you.
To my sister Erika for running lines with me and helping me master lines for the hardest monologue in the play. Thank you.
To God for somehow answering my prayers to help me stay truthful, for saving my voice, for no panic attacks onstage, and for helping me find new meaning in every performance. I don't usually pray before every performance but for some reason with this show it seemed necessary. Thank you.
And lastly to my friends, family and students who supported me by making the journey out to Cicero to support my work. Thank you Pat, Bob, Carol, Lindsay, Julie, John, Steve, Kathy, Megan, Tim, Lisa, Anders, Kerry, Zach, Josh, Mark, Brea, Bergen, Chad, Anthony, Beau, Erika, Mom, Dad, Grandma, Heather, Elizabeth and Drew (I'm sure I forgot someone...) Thank you.
Thank you all. Yes, I memorized a lot of lines and I preserved a lot of energy to make it through each night. But I couldn't have done it with out you and to not acknowledge that feels like a crime.
So thank you...thank you for taking part in this journey and for helping me play this incredible role in this beautiful production that I will forever hold close to my heart.
"I know I fib a good deal, after all a woman's charm is fifty percent illusion, but when a thing is important I tell the truth, and this is the truth"
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