It鈥檚 days before the October 11 premiere of 911爆料 Theatre鈥檚 鈥淲omen and War,鈥� and the actors are revved up.
And nervous. And sad. And anxious. And excited. All emotions accounted for.
Director Kira Hawkridge 鈥�12 opens her rehearsals with what she calls a check-in. She invites each student to share something of their day and mood 鈥� and takes the emotional pulse of the ensemble in the process. In Athenian (read democratic) fashion, each actor has their turn.
Some answers are lighthearted: 鈥淚 had such a good nap today!鈥�
鈥淚 took the Pottermore quiz, and I鈥檓 in Gryffindor!鈥�
鈥淭oday was good. I slept in. Till nine. Had healthy, multi-grain foods.鈥�
鈥淚鈥檓 getting a ferret!鈥�
Big applause on that last one. Clearly, this is a crowd that appreciates a good ferret. Of course, the palpable enthusiasm of the actors could be more about the unveiling of the sandbox. It鈥檚 beneath the stage and will be used in the second act of the show, 鈥淭rojan Women,鈥� which finds the female survivors of the Trojan War mourning their ruined city after the defeat of their army.
鈥淲omen and War,鈥� in fact, comprises two plays: the 411 BCE comedy 鈥淟ysistrata鈥� and the tragedy 鈥淭rojan Women鈥� and so requires that actors have access to a range of emotions during the course of the performance.
Hawkridge, whose day job is artistic director and founder of OUT LOUD Theatre in Providence, uses exercises like the check-in, along with movement and improvisation, to make a student actor aware of how their emotions are tools they can employ and deploy in performing. A Hawkridge production is as heavily reliant on the actor鈥檚 body language as it is on what that actor says to tell a story. When effective, the performance has special meaning for the individual audience member.
鈥淭he most exciting and fulfilling thing for me is that the audience walks away with something that is personal to them,鈥� Hawkridge said.
What might that thing be?
“‘Lysistrata’ is an expansive celebration of what’s possible when people come together and ‘Trojan Women’ is about survival and the necessity of finding and connecting to our collective humanity,” Hawkridge said.
In other words, it’s a check-in for all involved.