SUPERFAN is soaring back to earth in MAMMA MIA! at Pentacle Theatre in Salem, Oregon! Entering closing weekend, I am fascinated with my new relationships. I am privileged to have more than 45 new friends who have come together as a close family. Actor-Actor (A-A), Character-Character (C-C), and Cast Member-Production Team (CM-PT) relationships have worked together to launch my first iamSUPERFAN.com adventure to amazing heights. Thank you to director Robert Salberg, and EVERYONE involved in this production for making me fly higher than I every dreamed possible. If you are new to my blog, you may want to start on one of the other more enjoyable posts. Because I am not certain what has happened to me, I think this my be a difficult concept for me to spontaneously write about!
A Google Search of "Backstory Creation" as an acting technique showed conflicting ideas among the experts. Being an acting novice, I had a very personal experience with this idea. I did not intentionally create a backstory for my two characters--the Bartender and Father Alexandrios. The blending and blurring of these three relationship combinations (A-A), (C-C), and (CM-PT) stimulated me to go above and beyond Backstory. Naturally the first relationships that I developed were A-A when I learned everyone's name and something about each member of the team in the first week of rehearsal. These A-A relationships grew rapidly. Then as we became our characters, relationships developed between our characters (C-C). The genius of Robert Salberg and his team shines in the post rehearsal "notes", when they ask for changes in our acting. One of my "notes" early on was to tease my hair out more extensively when I became the Priest. This "note" somehow stimulated me to become a more romantic priest when performing the wedding during "I Do, I Do, I Do". Many other C-C relationships also grew rapidly out of these "notes" sessions and from working so closely together.
I only have space for one example but this play and this group has led to many others. Nicholas DG Hikes and I bonded (C-C) each night during the "welcome" at the wedding scene. He just told me last night, that he feels that the my character is his dad who accepts every part of him--a cool dad who is a both a bartender full time at the Taverna; and then when needed he is the town Priest to perform weddings. Independently, I came up with a similar story. The Priest (and me the actor) welcome and enjoy diversity--you can see this as the Priest shows pride in Nicholas at the "welcome" and at other parts of the play,. The Priest is warmly touched when Harry points out his husband, Nigel during the wedding scene. I hope you see that the bartender loves everyone too! The Bartender, the Priest (and me, the actor) all love and thrive on variety in sexuality, race, or beliefs. (This C-C relationship was not forced; it just happened! Many other C-C relationships emerged at the bar and during the wedding. I believe these C-C interactions enhanced and strengthened our performance. For me, Backstory came (sometimes subtly, sometimes not so subtly) from the directors "notes". It was not something I set out to construct, and it was not adding to the script. Backstory for me was personal, and it helped make my MAMMA MIA! Pentacle Theatre experience rich, exciting, and FUN!
Thank you for reading my over personal over-analysis of backstory!
The next post covering more backstage shenanigans, and the Cast Party after Closing Night will be more entertaining to read!
Comments