Greetings all-
We are knee deep in rehearsals for our world premiere production of Silas House's new play LONG TIME TRAVELLING. We actually have our first full run through tonight at 6:30 so it will give us an opportunity to kind of gauge where we are...I am getting excited, we have a great cast: Hayley Williams, Josiah Correll, Missy Johnston, Tim X Davis and Alyssa Graves and I think we are creating something special. But as with all new plays, only time will tell...
Over the next two weeks, we will be publishing excerpts of Hayley Williams' rehearsal diary, to give you a sense of where we have been, where we are and hopefully where we are going. Hayley is one of my favorite actors, this is the third time I have directed her and LONG TIME TRAVELLING marks her 6th production at AGL...
LONG TIME TRAVELLING SYNOPSIS
Childhood sweethearts Adam and Lora married shortly after high school and set up housekeeping in the rural town where their family has always lived. They've loved one another for as long as they can remember, but they're not quite sure when they were in love, a fact that becomes even clearer once Adam realizes that he might actually be a poet instead of a mechanic. Lora can't seem to get over the death of her father, secretly pines for a lost love, and butts heads with no one more than her husband. Except, perhaps, her mother, Chatty, who has been living with them since her husband's death six months ago. Chatty has always been a devout member of the local Holiness church but suddenly she finds herself not believing in much of anything anymore. There's also Lora's brother, Mason, who believes if someone doesn't think the way he does they must be wrong. And his strange, sweet daughter, Diva, who hates her father about as much as she hates her name. The boiling tensions come to a head on the birthday of Lora's late father, General, when everyone must make a decision about whom they really are, stop living in the past, and decide to embrace the present--and the future. This is a play about the struggles of being different, being an artist, being someone who decides to change their mind in a place (and time) where the acceptable thing to do is to find one way of thinking and remain in it for good. Most of all, it's about the complexities of loving each other for who we are, even if that means letting someone go.
HAYLEY WILLIAMS' BIO
Hayley is excited to be in her sixth show with Actors Guild of Lexington and her first world premiere of a play! She has acted her whole life and graduated in 2005 from the University of Kentucky with a BFA in Theatre. Hayley was most recently seen as Chloe in Arcadia at Actors Guild. Some of her favorite roles include: Ophelia in Hamlet, Louise in The Underpants, Lisabette in Anton in Show Business and Marianne in Tartuffe all at AGL. Some of her other notable roles are: Corey in Private Eyes with Studio Players, Ann McDonald in Daniel Boone, the Man and the Legend, Amanda in Private Lives both with Fort Harrod Drama Productions, Carolyn Taylor in A Noise in the Room and Suzanne in Picasso at the Lapin Agile both with the University of Kentucky.
HAYLEY WILLIAMS REHEARSAL BLOG
First Blog:
3/28/09
Today was our first blocking rehearsal. It is always so exciting for me to get up from the table and get to move around as my character. To familiarize myself with the physical world my character inhabits and feel what it is like to move in that world as my character. But it also reminds me of how much work I have to do!! Lora is a very different character for me. She is grounded and earthy and sensible. She comes from a different part of me. Everything about her feels low and weighed down. She has so many guards up. It is my challenge to figure out why. And what she wants from the other characters in the play. Today at rehearsal we discussed people that we know who are like our characters. I think seeing Lora in the people around me really helps me understand where she is coming from and where she is going which are all really important things to know when developing a character. I am very excited to play her and see where she goes. She is so far from who I really I must admit that the character intimidates me a little!!
3/28/09
Today was our first blocking rehearsal. It is always so exciting for me to get up from the table and get to move around as my character. To familiarize myself with the physical world my character inhabits and feel what it is like to move in that world as my character. But it also reminds me of how much work I have to do!! Lora is a very different character for me. She is grounded and earthy and sensible. She comes from a different part of me. Everything about her feels low and weighed down. She has so many guards up. It is my challenge to figure out why. And what she wants from the other characters in the play. Today at rehearsal we discussed people that we know who are like our characters. I think seeing Lora in the people around me really helps me understand where she is coming from and where she is going which are all really important things to know when developing a character. I am very excited to play her and see where she goes. She is so far from who I really I must admit that the character intimidates me a little!!
2nd Blog:
April 6, 2009
Tonight’s rehearsal was hard on me. We rehearsed the second act fight between Lora and Adam. In this scene there is so much for my character to deal with: the death of her father, everyone telling her that what she believes is wrong, and the hardships she is going through in her marriage. It is a lot to deal with at one time. Because of the culmination of all these issues my character has a breakdown. Rick keeps telling me that I need to get to that “place” where I can really show my character’s emotions on stage. But, my question is…how do I get there?? I have plenty of life experience to draw on to help me get to that “place” but it is challenge for me to get there because my character is sort of on an emotional roller coaster at this point. I think I am going to do some real character work at this point. Like a character history. I need to know exactly where Lora is coming from and why she is reacting this way rather than being her normal, in control self. I am ready to get off book though!!! I hope that some of the nuances of my character will be able to come out once that script is gone!! Needless to say, at the end of rehearsal today I was beat!!
Tonight’s rehearsal was hard on me. We rehearsed the second act fight between Lora and Adam. In this scene there is so much for my character to deal with: the death of her father, everyone telling her that what she believes is wrong, and the hardships she is going through in her marriage. It is a lot to deal with at one time. Because of the culmination of all these issues my character has a breakdown. Rick keeps telling me that I need to get to that “place” where I can really show my character’s emotions on stage. But, my question is…how do I get there?? I have plenty of life experience to draw on to help me get to that “place” but it is challenge for me to get there because my character is sort of on an emotional roller coaster at this point. I think I am going to do some real character work at this point. Like a character history. I need to know exactly where Lora is coming from and why she is reacting this way rather than being her normal, in control self. I am ready to get off book though!!! I hope that some of the nuances of my character will be able to come out once that script is gone!! Needless to say, at the end of rehearsal today I was beat!!
LONG TIME TRAVELLING opens at Actors Guild of Lexington on Friday April 24 and runs through May 17 at the Downtown Arts Center. For tickets or more information, please call the LexArts box office at 859-225-0370 or email boxoffice@lexarts.org!! http://www.actorsguildoflexington.org/
0 comments:
Post a Comment