Tesseract

RE: The Hills (aka Almost Perfect)

2009-10-28T18:50:00.001-07:00

Makes me laugh a little just thinking about it...

From: melodrameric@mosaicspokane.com
To: Pitotti509@aol.com; seawench7@comcast.net; nathanielpbrown@gmail.com; kirkorrs@q.com; melodrameric1.mosaictesseractor@blogger.com
CC: brendastapleton@comcast.net
Subject: The Hills (aka Almost Perfect)
Date: Wed, 28 Oct 2009 14:55:37 -0700

My Fellow Eberites,

These are some the resources we need to pull this off. I'm thinking that we should try to shoot the field scenes this weekend if possible. Chris knows a location. I'm not thinking that we're going to go with biblical costumes, but try to stay true to character. Trailer Trash is what we're going for here. Esau (Nate), outdoorsy, bring a flannel shirt if possible.

So, this weekend I need Chris (Jacob), Nathan (Esau) and Susan (Rebekah). Saturday Afternoon is my target weather permitting. Sunday after church is the alternate. Nate is working on getting us a camera.

Eric

PS. Let me know via the blog or email which of these props or resources you can help out with. The highlighted items are things we would need for this weekend.

A good location to shoot the field scenes…

Quiver & Arrows OR a shotgun

A Hole in the Ground (A shovel to dig one)

Mud, suitable for pushing a face into

Knitting or Crochet project

Wooden Spoon

Pot (metal or clay) of red looking soup or chili…Red Lentil is best.

Chewing Gum

Loud 80's Clothing

Heavy Metal t-shirt

Thick eye make up

80's high hair

Couch

Plate of meat

Hairy goat skin arm coverings

The Hills (aka Almost Perfect)

2009-10-28T14:55:00.000-07:00

My Fellow Eberites,

These are some the resources we need to pull this off. I’m thinking that we should try to shoot the field scenes this weekend if possible. Chris knows a location. I’m not thinking that we’re going to go with biblical costumes, but try to stay true to character. Trailer Trash is what we’re going for here. Esau (Nate), outdoorsy, bring a flannel shirt if possible.

Eric

PS. Let me know via the blog comment or email which of these props or resources you can help out with. The highlighted items are things we would need for this weekend.

A good location to shoot the field scenes…

Quiver & Arrows OR a shotgun

A Hole in the Ground (A shovel to dig one)

Mud, suitable for pushing a face into

Knitting or Crochet project

Wooden Spoon

Pot (metal or clay) of red looking soup or chili…Red Lentil is best.

Chewing Gum

Loud 80's Clothing

Heavy Metal t-shirt

Thick eye make up

80's high hair

Couch

Plate of meat

Hairy goat skin arm coverings

The Hills | Full Episodes, Photos, Episode Synopsis and Recaps | MTV

2009-10-26T17:53:00.001-07:00

OK, so I don’t have cable, OK, I didn’t realize there was a TV show called The Hills. I’ll think of a name.

Last drama meeting, we’d said that we’d meet again on the 29^th of October…in three days. I hope we’re all still down wit dat. We have some resources (costumes, props, etc.) that we still need to pull together…I’ll be getting you a list of those hopefully tomorrow.

http://www.mtv.com/shows/the_hills/season_5/series.jhtml

Eric

The Hills Episode ONe

2009-10-21T14:49:00.000-07:00

OK, I thought I was going to knock out all four episodes today but this is just too fun to write. Here's the first episode: "Red Bean Soup, That's All You Get"

I still have to work out a shooting schedule as well as arrange for a camera and I still need to find a couple of extra actresses for Judith and Basemath. I'm still working on the remaining episodes.

Fellow Knights of the Papyrus (writers group), I welcome your feedback.

Eric

The Hills

2009-10-18T20:25:00.001-07:00

The next series we are working on is going back to Genesis and talking about Abraham‘s dysfunctional generations, specifically Jacob, Esau and all the fun stuff that followed. So what I‘m doing is writing a four episode screenplay. The series is going to be called The Hills. It‘s going to be kind of like The Office, actually, combination of The Office and any one of those Michael McKean — type mockumentaries. I‘ve got a leg up on it already and it‘s coming along pretty well. The episode titles are as follows:

Red Bean Soup, That‘s All You Get
Angels and Dummies
What Are You Doing in My Bed?
Wrestling with God

I‘m not sold on the title of the last one, I‘m still trying to figure it out. Anyway, I‘m hoping you‘re all available for this. I‘m looking at shooting this possibly the last week of October into mid-November sometime. Below is an initial cast list. Let me know if you‘re on board…there‘s room for everyone. If we had more people I would write in the twelve sons.

The Hills

Jacob: Chris Pitotti
Esau: Nate Brown
Rebekah: Susan Pasini
Isaac: Eric Stapleton
Laban: Michael Gordon
Rachel: Angela Pitotti or Lisa Greer or Stephanie Orr
Leah: Stephanie Orr or Lisa Greer or Angela Pitotti
Wrestling Angel: Eric Stapleton

RE: Calling all actors!

2009-06-02T09:10:00.000-07:00

Paul Revere ni tsuite….soh kana…

Something like this:

"Excuse me, I've got to get to the men and warn them. (pause) The red coats are coming you dolt! Death to the tyrants! They're not going to tax us for no good reason anymore. Please sir, if could just spare a few oats for my horse, I got important work needs doing." … and so on.

The idea is about 30 to 60 seconds of some speech that would give the audience a flavor of the character. A picture of such will go up on the screen. The object isn't so much for the congregation to guess who the person is. It's to come up with that person's purpose statement if they had one. The focus of the service is finding God's Purpose for our lives. This will be an interactive portion of the service where John gets people in groups to cogitate a purpose for these historical figures….make sense. Sugoi!

Eric

From: pitotti509@aol.com [mailto:pitotti509@aol.com]
Sent: Monday, June 01, 2009 7:32 PM
To: melodrameric@mosaicspokane.com
Subject: Re: Calling all actors!

Eric,

Not intending to be difficult...but could you give us an example, please?
Thanks,

Chuck Yeager
Paul Revere
Christopher Columbus
Martin Luther
Evil Kenevil (sp)

~Chris

-----Original Message-----
From: Eric Stapleton <melodrameric@mosaicspokane.com>
To: 'Nicholas Wood' <heislord6@aol.com>
Cc: Alex Greer <princess_aggis@redshiftrecordings.com>; Blog Post for Tesseract <melodrameric1.tesseractors@blogger.com>; Chris Pitotti <Pitotti509@aol.com>; Jeff Kimble <jckim4ever@hotmail.com>; Lisa Greer <lgreer@mosaicspokane.com>; Stephanie Orr <kirkorrs@q.com>
Sent: Mon, 1 Jun 2009 6:09 am
Subject: RE: Calling all actors!

I'm not look for purpose statements. I'm more looking for a character profile that just introduces that character, kind of reminds our listening audience about who the character is so that they can come up with a purpose statement.

=0 A

ERic

From: Nicholas Wood [mailto:heislord6@aol.com]
Sent: Sunday, May 31, 2009 9:48 PM
To: Eric Stapleton
Cc: Alex Greer; Blog Post for Tesseract; Chris Pitotti; Lisa Greer; Stephanie Orr
Subject: Re: Calling all actors!

I know we spoke of this on Sunday, but still need a bit of clarification of what exactly you are looking for in their purpose statements. I know you might write them.

Albert Einstein

William Wallace

Lewis and/or Clark

R ichard Nixon

Just to name a few.

Nick

On May 29, 2009, at 10:08 AM, Eric Stapleton wrote:

Hey,

I need about five of you to represent some historical figures for June 7^th. No memorization needed. I might not even need you to be on stage. We might pre-record the monologues and show pictures of the historical figures on the scene.

I could use your input though. The sermon topic is Finding God's purpose for our lives. One of the things we're doing is picking fi ve historical figures and getting the congregation to work together in groups to figure out each of the figure's purpose statements if they were to have one.

What I need from you is to suggest an historical figure or five that you think would be interesting and/or that you could or would like to portray vocally. Please e-mail me back on this!

Eric

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A Good Credit Score is 700 or Above. See yours in just 2 easy steps!

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RE: Calling all actors!

2009-06-01T06:09:00.001-07:00

I’m not look for purpose statements. I’m more looking for a character profile that just introduces that character, kind of reminds our listening audience about who the character is so that they can come up with a purpose statement.

ERic

I know we spoke of this on Sunday, but still need a bit of clarification of what exactly you are looking for in their purpose statements. I know you might write them.

Albert Einstein

William Wallace

Lewis and/or Clark

Richard Nixon

Just to name a few.

Nick

On May 29, 2009, at 10:08 AM, Eric Stapleton wrote:

Hey,

I could use your input though. The sermon topic is Finding God’s purpose for our lives. One of the things we’re doing is picking five historical figures and getting the congregation to work together in groups to figure out each of the figure’s purpose statements if they were to have one.

What I need from you is to suggest an historical figure or five that you think would be interesting and/or that you could or would like to portray vocally. Please e-mail me back on this!

Eric

No virus found in this incoming message.
Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
Version: 8.5.339 / Virus Database: 270.12.48/2148 - Release Date: 06/01/09 06:09:00

Re: Calling all actors!

2009-05-31T21:47:00.000-07:00

I know we spoke of this on Sunday, but still need a bit of clarification of what exactly you are looking for in their purpose statements. I know you might write them.

Albert Einstein

William Wallace

Lewis and/or Clark

Richard Nixon

Just to name a few.

Nick

On May 29, 2009, at 10:08 AM, Eric Stapleton wrote:

Hey,

I need about five of you to represent some historical figures for June 7^th. No memorization needed. I might not even need you to be on stage. We might pre-record the monologues and show pictures of the historical figures on the scene.

I could use your input though. The sermon topic is Finding God's purpose for our lives. One of the things we're doing is picking five historical figures and getting the congregation to work together in groups to figure out each of the figure's purpose statements if they were to have one.

What I need from you is to suggest an historical figure or five that you think would be interesting and/or that you could or would like to portray vocally. Please e-mail me back on this!

Eric

Calling all actors!

2009-05-29T10:08:00.001-07:00

Hey,

What I need from you is to suggest an historical figure or five that you think would be interesting and/or that you could or would like to portray vocally. Please e-mail me back on this!

Eric

RE: Next Drama Meeting

2009-04-20T06:45:00.001-07:00

OK, let's aim for next Thursday, the 30th for our next drama meeting, OK.
We can do it at my house. How does that sound?

I'm expecting monologues from Alex, Lisa and Stephanie this time around.

Eric

Re: Painting at Interplayers

2009-04-19T10:03:00.001-07:00

Hi everyone,
Ginny Abdallah here. I just wanted to let you know that we will be getting started with the painting at about 5 o'clock today (Sunday). If we don't get finished, we will continue tomorrow. We will be painting the Mona Lisa and Marilyn Monroe (stenciled) in the style of Andy Warhol on the stage. I am grateful for all the help we can get, and also, for the opportunity for Mosaic and Interplayers to work together!

Thanks, and I hope to see you there.
Ginny Abdallah

From: Eric Stapleton <melodrameric@mosaicspokane.com>
To: Alex Greer <princess_aggis@redshiftrecordings.com>; Blog Post for Tesseract <melodrameric1.tesseractors@blogger.com>; Chris Pitotti <Pitotti509@aol.com>; Jeff Kimble <jckim4ever@hotmail.com>; Lisa Greer <lgreer@mosaicspokane.com>; Nick Wood <heislord6@aol.com>; Stephanie Orr <sorr@mosaicspokane.com>
Cc: teresa@teresasadler.com
Sent: Saturday, April 18, 2009 5:51:26 PM
Subject: Painting at Interplayers

Hey Folks,

Ginny Abdallah, the stage manager is looking for a few fiends to help paint the stage for The Graduate, the next play at Interplayers.. If you're interested, stay after church and bring some painting clothes. I'm hitting you guys up (drama types) because it might be a good connection point…drama, theater, you know. Let me if you can. Kimmy and I are going to be there.

Eric

Painting at Interplayers

2009-04-18T17:51:00.001-07:00

Hey Folks,

Ginny Abdallah, the stage manager is looking for a few fiends to help paint the stage for The Graduate, the next play at Interplayers. If you’re interested, stay after church and bring some painting clothes. I’m hitting you guys up (drama types) because it might be a good connection point…drama, theater, you know. Let me if you can. Kimmy and I are going to be there.

Eric

Re: Next Drama Meeting

2009-04-16T18:07:00.001-07:00

Not available next Thursday. See www.townhallforhope.com

Nick

Made on an Apple
Sent from my iPod

On Apr 16, 2009, at 11:25 AM, "Eric Stapleton"
<ericmstapleton@gmail.com> wrote:

> Hey guys!
>
>
>
> Yay Nick and Angela. Thanks for stepping up to the plate and hitting
> a home run! You guys were great! More importantly, thanks for being
> willing to grow a little and move out of your comfort zones.
>
>
>
> I'd like to have another drama meeting sometime soon. We're still
> waiting for finished monologues from Stephanie and Lisa as well as J
> eff and Alex if they can make it.
>
>
>
> I'm thinking about next week (Thursday) or the week after. Please ge
> t back to me and let know your availability.
>
>
>
> Eric

Next Drama Meeting

2009-04-16T11:25:00.001-07:00

Hey guys!

Yay Nick and Angela. Thanks for stepping up to the plate and hitting a home run! You guys were great! More importantly, thanks for being willing to grow a little and move out of your comfort zones.

I’d like to have another drama meeting sometime soon. We’re still waiting for finished monologues from Stephanie and Lisa as well as Jeff and Alex if they can make it.

I’m thinking about next week (Thursday) or the week after. Please get back to me and let know your availability.

Eric

RE: Teserac

2009-03-25T21:49:00.000-07:00

Sorry! No meeting tomorrow. I just haven't been able to keep up the meeting
twice a month thing. My apologies. I'm going to be gone next Thursday. I
still need to set up a rehearsal time with Nick and Angela.

Eric

-----Original Message-----
From: Nick [mailto:baldapple@me.com]
Sent: Wednesday, March 25, 2009 8:35 PM
To: Eric Stapleton
Subject: Teserac

Are we meeting this week? Like tomorrow?

Nick

Made on an Apple
Sent from my iPod
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07:16:00

Re: drama meeting time?

2009-03-11T13:39:00.001-07:00

6 pm = food
Follewed by theatrics until 8pm

Made on an Apple
Sent from my iPod

On Mar 11, 2009, at 12:18 PM, "Eric Stapleton" <melodrameric@mosaicspokane.com
> wrote:

> 6 PM to 8 PM
>
>
>
> Eric

drama meeting time?

2009-03-11T12:18:00.001-07:00

6 PM to 8 PM

Eric

FW: Thursday as Nick's

2009-03-09T14:11:00.001-07:00

Just a reminder….have a monologue ready to work on this Thursday…1-2 minutes long and if we have time we’ll do some scene work. Nick is hosting. Click the link to find his house at 1851 E 9th Ave Spokane, WA 99202. I’ll bring dessert…

http://maps.live.com/?v=2&where1=1851+E+9th+Ave%2C%20Spokane%2C%20WA%2099202%2C%20United+States+of+America&encType=1&mkt=1033&o1=1851+E+9th+Ave&o2=Spokane&o3=WA&o4=99202&o5=United+States+of+America

Eric

From: Nicholas Wood [mailto:baldapple@mac.com]
Sent: Sunday, March 08, 2009 9:17 PM
To: Eric Stapleton
Subject: Thursday as Nick's

(Eric, please forward this on to everyone, cuz I don't have emails or contact info)

Okay, here's the plan from my house:

Be here at 6:00 - food being served

- I will be making the entree'. Most likely a vegetarian/pasta dish that is delish and robust.

- Pitotti's are bringing a "Luna" type salad. (Greens/crasins/carmalized walnuts/feta/ etc.

The rest is up in the air, so:

- Mr. Stapleton: Dessert?

- Mr. Gordon: Beverage(s)

- Who ever else is coming:

- we could use some app's or bread or another dessert

Everyone bring a wonderful and inspired monologue. Or not!!!

Address: 1851 East 9th Avenue. The house is on the North side of the street. newer home for the neighborhood, Green with brick-red shingles in gable end of garage. Phone 533-9921

Hint: 9th is a busy street so either park in my driveway (fits 4 cars) or park on Napa (the cross street, close by)

See everyone then: Nick

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No Meeting Tomorrow Night!

2009-02-25T10:43:00.003-08:00

Sorry guys,

Sickness and circumstances are having a very dramatic effect on our team. So, we will postpone this meeting until next time: Thursday, March 12^th at Nick’s house and you know that is going to be good! We’ll do the dinner thing and work on Monologues and maybe a little scene work as well. I’m looking to prepare a drama for the 15^th as I will be preaching. If you know you would like to participate, let me know and that would help me write it. Otherwise, I might just call you!!!

Eric

FW: Big River Auditions

2009-02-25T10:43:00.001-08:00

Hey, here’s another opportunity to get involved in the arts community.

Eric

From: Lake City Playhouse [mailto:lcplayhouse@gmail.com]
Sent: Tuesday, February 24, 2009 1:11 PM
To: Lake City Playhouse
Subject: Big River Auditions

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

What: Big River Auditions

When: March 2^nd & 3^rd, 2009

Time: 6:300 PM

Where: Harding Family Center

Twain's timeless classic sweeps us down the mighty Mississippi as the irrepressible Huck Finn helps his friend Jim, a slave, escape to freedom at the mouth of the Ohio River. Their adventures along the way are hilarious, suspenseful and heartwarming, bringing to life your favorite characters from the novel-the Widow Douglas and her stern sister, Miss Watson; the uproarious King and Duke, who may or may not be as harmless as they seem; Huck's partner in crime, Tom Sawyer, and their rowdy gang of pals; Huck's drunken father, the sinister Pap Finn; the lovely Mary Jane Wilkes and her trusting family. Propelled by an award winning score from Roger Miller, the king of country music, this jaunty journey provides a brilliantly theatrical celebration of pure Americana.

Director Brian Doig is looking for 6 women, 6 men and ensembles of 10-15

Lake City Playhouse

1320 E Garden Ave

Cda, ID 83814

208-667-1323

--
Lake City Playhouse
1320 E Garden Ave
Coeur D'Alene, Idaho 83814

208-667-1323

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Re: Thursday Night

2009-02-23T19:14:00.001-08:00

How about my house? What are the plans? Food? Acting? Mono's? Time?

Nick

Made on an Apple
Sent from my iPod

On Feb 23, 2009, at 6:56 PM, "Eric Stapleton" <melodrameric@mosaicspokane.com
> wrote:

> I just wanted to see who all was available to meet Thursday night.
> Please answer this e-mail so I know. We still need to decide
> location. Location, location, location. If I have no takers, I can
> host it or maybe we can do her at AM&M.
>
>
>
> Eric

Thursday Night

2009-02-23T18:56:00.001-08:00

I just wanted to see who all was available to meet Thursday night. Please answer this e-mail so I know. We still need to decide location. Location, location, location. If I have no takers, I can host it or maybe we can do her at AM&M.

Eric

Next Meeting

2009-02-17T06:15:00.001-08:00

Hey Tesseractors!

I had a lot of fun last Thursday with you guys. I’m excited at the potential talent and commitment we have. I want to work on the monologues some more next time and I want to start putting together little scenes like with scripts and all not just the six line jobbers. It’ll be fun.

Yes, we will meet again on the Thursday, the 26^th. I don’t know where yet. Any volunteers?

Eric

Next Tesseract!

2009-02-03T11:15:00.001-08:00

Hey guys,

So, we’re diving in. We’re going to start meeting twice a month on the second and fourth Thursdays. Normally, we put forth Comsumption, Connection and Craft. From now on though we’ll focus more on the craft part for the first meeting of the month and the second one more on the connection part.

What: Drama

When: Thursday, February 12^th6:30 PM

Where: Stephanie Orr’s, 249 W. Sumner (747-0188)

What to bring: a snack to share

Content: Still working on monologues. Bring one memorized

Also, we want to start talking about upcoming potential projects for Art, Music, and More and also a possible summer production/showcase invitational at Interplayers

Any questions, call me 230-0793 or e-mail me back.

Eric Stapleton

OK, Let's just try it and see what happens

2009-01-29T10:48:00.001-08:00

You asked for it, so we’ll try it with more frequency. What I’m talking about is meeting more often…twice a month, starting February 12^th. So, next month it’s Feb 12 and Feb 26^th. Let me know what you think. We’re still working on monologues. I would like to see what Lisa and Stephanie can do with something more memorized. Maybe next time we can meet at somebody else’s house? Any volunteers?

Eric

Tonight!

2009-01-22T06:15:00.000-08:00

I'm doing the hot dish. Pitotti's are bringing a green bean vegetable dish type thing and Alexis Berry is bring the fruit pizza thing. Should be fun!

First Drama Meeting of 2009!

2009-01-09T11:03:00.000-08:00

What: Tesseract! Drama Meeting
Where: 4124 W. Fremont Road, Spokane, WA 99224
When: Thursday, January 22nd, 6 PM – 8 PM
Content: Consumption, Connection and Craft
Consumption: I’ll provide a main dish. Reply all to let me know who can bring a salad, side dish, beverage, dessert
Connection: Touch base (Holidays, Snow Problems, New Year’s Resolutions)
Craft: We’ll be working on those monologues. If you were there at the last meeting, you already know you need a one minute monologue, memorized. If you weren’t there, bring one anyway, not memorized and we’ll work it a bit.

Thursday's Meeting

2008-11-03T19:12:00.000-08:00

Thanks to all those who came to the meeting. We had fun working on monologues. I hope that you are all looking for 1-3 minute monologues for our next meeting. I let you know when that is soon! Stay tuned!

Next Drama Meeting

2008-10-23T10:12:00.001-07:00

When: Thursday October 30, 2008 from 6:00pm - 8:00pm
Location: Eric's House
4124 W. Fremont Road
Spokane, WA 99224 View Map
509-325-3472...

Drama Time

2008-09-16T10:46:00.000-07:00

We’re going to start up drama again. We’ll have our kick off meeting at my house:

What: Consumption, Connection and Craft
Where: My house (the Stapleton) 4124 W. Fremont Road (509 325-3472)
When: Thursday, 9/25/08 6:30
Wherewithall: We’ll provide a main dish. We still need drinks, a few side dishes and maybe dessert.

Let me know if you can come and what you can bring.

Becoming

2008-02-01T10:50:00.000-08:00

By Eric Stapleton

Sue Blough is a former colleague of mine from my short time in an international repertory theater company called Covenant Players*. Watching Sue perform was a treat. Her total commitment to character was both incredible and inspiring to experience. Incredible, because of how much she was able to communicate about the characters she portrayed. Her performances were inspiring to young actors-like myself at the time-because of the work that she put into the performance to bring out the truth of the characters from the written page.

In my correspondence with Sue I have been able to glean not only some of the wisdom of a veteran Christian actress, but also a glimpse of what compels her. The many ways to go about character work all amount to what is necessary to be successful in any profession-work. When interviewing this energetic New Zealander, I originally was looking for some specific "how to" techniques and "how much work should one do or not do" etc. What I discovered was a taste of the passion that drives Sue to excel at her craft. The following is an excerpt from that interview.

E: Sue, how long have you been performing with Covenant Players?

Sue: Twenty-two years.

E: In that time, what has been the most fulfilling aspect of performing as an actress with Covenant Players apart from serving God?

Sue: Moments of truly living the role both in rehearsal and at the performance. By that I mean thinking character thoughts, responding and reacting to the other performers "in character."

E: What’s a ball park figure of the number of roles you have portrayed during your time in Covenant Players?

Sue: I am not much of a counter/record keeper, but I will guess that I have performed over 600 roles.

[Wow!]

E: What has been your favorite role when performing or preparing? Tell me about the character and why you liked portraying that person?

Sue: Hard to choose but there are two roles in which I have experienced transcendent moments. One is the role of…Ann Boleyn. Chuck [Charles M. Tanner, author and founder of Covenant Players] has written several plays about Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. I love rhetoric and Chuck’s poetry is beautiful. He captures the tension and energy of this relationship powerfully in my estimation…my fellow actor’s ability to live in the moment and project another person’s thoughts lifted me up. Our inter-relationship felt as dangerous and constricted, as I imagine it truly was, for Henry and Anne in those times.

E: Approximately how many hours (apart from actual rehearsal and line learning) you spend preparing for a role?

Sue: Depending on the size of the role and complexity of the character – probably anywhere between three to five hours outside of rehearsal.

E: That seems like a lot, what is your process?

Sue: Over the years I have synthesized what I do. First, I read the play several times over to figure out what is going on and who I am. I am looking for the things going on behind the lines and action as well as the obvious information. As I learn my lines and cues I try out gestures and character walks. I also consider the thoughts and motivations that will color the line reading and try breaking up the lines several different ways before settling on a reading. After the blocking rehearsal I continue to work on owning my lines and movement so it looks and sounds natural and spontaneous. Fast pickups and discovering the rhythm of the dialogue is important so I like to work outside of the set rehearsals with my fellow actors. Working on the texture of the relationships happens mostly inside the rehearsal, giving each other "character eyes" not just looking at the other actor and wondering what my line is! I try to live the moments. Then, with the help of the director I work at layering the performance, subtlety and timing, etc. Rehearsal is where I get my work out my head, or off the paper, and make it live and breathe. Then the magic of the performance happens. It’s only been the privilege of performing a lot that has taught me to how control and use that mysterious injection of adrenalin that happens at that time. Actually acting, or being, is an ongoing process. You never fully arrive at becoming someone else. There are always more nuances to discover and embody. I find that exciting!

E: What do you think is the difference between acting a part and becoming the part?

Sue: Usually more of the audience is moved, challenged and provoked by the greater skill of becoming a part. You will see a difference when it comes to natural and spontaneous line delivery and movement. The eye communication (in responding and reacting to the other actors, to the lines and action in the play) will be electric and dynamic.

E: Which one is better, acting or becoming? Why?

Sue: Becoming. You are giving your audience and fellow performers a greater gift.

E: Do you think that it is possible to become so absorbed in the character that it negatively affects your attitude, behavior and/or social interactions outside the context of the script and/or rehearsal? Has that ever happened to you or anyone you know? Explain.

Sue: Yes, I think it is possible. I have seen people get carried away in rehearsal and performance. It has been set right by the sensitivity and courage of a fellow actor or director to confront the situation with love. These times are growing experiences and not ultimately detrimental. A performer must learn to differentiate between the script and real life, to put some boundaries on their imagination and research, and to trust the Lord to communicate what is needed. As both Christian and actress I long to experience the power of the play. I want it to affect me, not just the audience. I long to be challenged and ministered to on a personal level. My spiritual life thrives on creative situations such as those that are provided for in by acting and directing.

Eric: What is the cost in becoming a character? Please give personal examples.

Sue: The cost is work, time, concentration, effort, laying down inhibitions, being humble and malleable for and with your director and the other performers. It also means being reliable and consistent in rehearsals. I have had plenty of experience in being the "weak link" in the cast, or in supporting the "weak link". Then comes faith-before, during and after. Before you start, having faith or belief in yourself can make the difference between acting and becoming. This has to do with believing the Lord will work through you for His purposes. You are just being an available tool or vessel for his work. Faith during the process means having faith in the writer, director, other actors involved and afterwards trusting your audience to be smart, having faith that the Holy Spirit will work beyond whatever you do or don’t do as a cast. All our work is nothing without the blessing and empowerment of the Holy Spirit. With it the work can be life-changing. I have learned these things through the hard knocks of my own inadequacies and the vagaries of circumstance. At times, I’ve been the one who hasn’t worked on the lines enough so someone else has had to pick up when I’ve blanked. I have also learned to swallow my pride and help a fellow actor I privately deemed less "talented", only to discover that their performance is alive and fresh and impacting the audience, while I am coming across as studied and predictable – in other words I am giving a rote performance!

Sue’s performances, as I remember them, were never rote. Did you get a taste of the passion she has for her craft? I hope so. There is so much work involved in being excellent at any craft, but there can be so much joy in it also.

*Covenant Players is an international professional theater company. Founded in 1963, CP is now serving churches, schools, nursing homes, prisons and many other community groups throughout the world. For more information visit them on the web at www.covenantplayers.org.