Acting

I still have a bucket list of parts I might like to play someday. That’s despite the fact that as an actor, I mostly do informal readings these days to support playwrights working on new works.

One great surprise of the past few years was getting to play Rosalind in As You Like It when I signed up to take a Shakespeare class through the Arkansas Repertory Theater. Rosalind has always been one of my bucket list parts. Even just doing scenework, playing her was a real joy.

The class itself was great reminder of how tough acting is, and how much it can require from the actor. For our end-of-class showcase, I was playing Queen Elizabeth (Woodville) from Richard III. In the scene, Elizabeth laments the terrible fact that her young sons have been murdered by Richard. The emotional energy required to play this five-minute scene as a suffering mother was tremendous. I could only do it because I had learned some techniques during my acting training for how to prep for such an intense moment. Before the scene, I had to draw on every prep skill I had. I avoided talking to anyone, listened to certain pieces of music, and mentally drove myself into the moment. Crying in a scene is not just about having tears on your face. If the emotion isn’t as deep as it should be, the audience knows. You have to truly feel it, and wow, it hurts.

Is it enjoyable? Probably in the same way that running a marathon is enjoyable! It’s such hard work but also brings a feeling of great accomplishment. Whenever I see an actor who works really hard like that for a part, I am so grateful for their gift to all of us.