Inspiration

The Globe Theatre

So you may have noticed (or not) that there haven't been many updates here. This time last year I was posting regularly about our production in the rehearsal process. This year, not much. Why? Well, we haven't been rehearsing. We did have several rehearsals in October where we started working on the script together. We went through the entire play once and broke down the "beats" (actor talk for the sections, each "beat" is usually a new topic, goal, or idea). We even started blocking a little. But for November, I have been in London acting in another production. This has meant that John has had to step in and do a lot of the production.

Big thanks to John, and I know we are all working hard on getting off book so we can make the most of our rehearsal process. Being overseas makes me nervous. I worry about the short rehearsal period. I worry about not being able to help make sure things get done on time. But it comes with benefits too.

One of the things that is very special about being here is inspiration. I've seen 5 plays (so far) and visited Shakespeare's home town and the Globe Theatre (both the modern recreation and the original site, part of which lies under some Edwardian row houses and Southwark bridge). And it's been splendid. Not just as a tourist, though it's been that certainly, but as an artist. It's so inspiring to see work by other committed, talented performers. It's invigorating to visit the home of theatre in the English language. It's simultaneously humbling and energizing.

How can you not feel a sense of wonder, of purpose, of energy standing in the room where Shakespeare was born. Because he's not just a legend, he was a man. Gifted to be sure, but a human being who lived and died just like you and I. Knowing that, seeing that, just a man with a gift for language has given so much joy, knowledge, laughter, tears. How can one not be inspired?

Getting to perform a play in one of the centers of theatre in the English speaking world is an honor in its own right, and not something I'll soon forget. And the opportuntiy to see a host of other plays has triggered so many ideas of my own. I'm excited to come back to the triangle and produce another show. I don't know if my experiences here will make my performance any richer. I hope it will, but I don't know. But it certainly has inspired me to want to create more, to share more, and to find more in myself.

See you all soon!