A Difficult Good-Bye Its been nearly 4 weeks since this show closed. Tonight just for the heck of it, I started running my lines for Act I, the biggest and longest speeches, to see how far I could get. Turns out, about 99% of my words are still intact What a surprise!
Typically I'm eager to wrap-up a project and move on to the next. Once the exciting discoveries and creativity of rehearsals are long past, and the role has played out in front of various audiences, there seems little left to explore. But not this time. Whether its the significance this part holds in my career, or perhaps its the part itself, I have never felt anything but humble before this work. It always held more than I could possibly encompass. More nuances to tease out, transform into art, and master in performance. An endless bounty for which I must thank the genius of playwright Doug Wright. And perhaps also the real-life Charlotte Von Mahlsdorf herself. who like many trans people, remains a mystery wrapped in a puzzle inside an enigma even long after her death. |