Long Live The King!

March 30th, 2008:

King Lear: First Rehearsal

I had been anticipating this day since I met Mark some weeks ago at a regional audition at Saint Michael's College and he offered me the part. The part would be the King of France, the show, King Lear. My first show in years and one of Shakespeare's best. A small role, but a great show. I jumped at the chance. I had begun my love affair with Shakespeare years ago in Baltimore, when I was still a lowly undergraduate theatre student, cutting my teeth on community shows. Having just moved back to Vermont to take a break from New York, I thought that I could keep myself in good acting shape, ready to tackle the city again next fall. In reality, I needed to get myself back on stage because it had been too damn long. I figured this would be the perfect way to ween myself back on to live performance.

As I make the journey northward through the mountains, I look back on all the time I've had away from the stage and can't help wonder why. There has been something holding me back and I have come to find out what that something is. The untouched beauty of the landscape let's my mind drift on times gone by as the newly budding saplings remind me of the chance for new beginnings. The pasture fields are still spattered with the grey snow that refuses to let go of winters hold. But as sure as tomorrow, spring is here, as well as I, and life is pressing in everywhere.

As I make my way down toward the theatre, I take in the city of Burlington. A small metropolitan outcropping in the midst of a wide expanse of mountains and trees. This will be my home for the next six weeks, and I couldn't be happier. I pass over the hill from the University campus and am met with the breadth of Lake Champlain, breaking tight to the city's side. The theater is located three blocks from the water's edge, which sets a glorious backdrop to the building, and gives it all the more charm than the name already implies, The Flynn.

Our first full cast read through is a huge success! Saturday opened with an inspirational speech by our fearless director, Mark Nash, who shared some of his writings on the craft of theatre and some of the motives behind his choice to tackle King Lear. He opened the forum up for conversation, I think as a way to break the ice, and let us give our own feelings as to why we are here, where we come from and how we feel about the material. It was a real treat, being a young actor, to listen to some of the old pros explaining why we do what we do and how we do it. I think The Bard himself would be proud.

After taking a short break for introductions and coffee, we dove right in to set design and costuming. I was anxious to learn how Mark planned to stage the show, being such a timeless piece. King Lear has been passed down through English Folklore for hundreds of years, it's roots grounded in Celtic culture, and had been told countless times before Shakespeare had written a word. Mark explained the process he used in deciding where and when the show would take place.

The first, most classical choice was to set it in Elizabethan England, (c) 1606, about the time it was written. This seems to be a trend when presenting Shakespeare and can potentially make for stale productions. The next was opting for a backdrop in ancient Britain, as a Pagan fable. This presented an interesting scenario and possibility for set and costuming, but was ultimately ruled out due to the possibility of disconnection with current themes. Ultimately, the choice was made to bring it to a time frame of undetermined period in order to keep the timeless feel of this epic tale. It was revealed that it will have a post-modern look, with an Edwardian feel in both setting and attire. Mark explained it best when he said, "It could be 200 years ago, it could be 50 years in the future." The cast decided to define it as "Matrix-esque."

Being a young actor, I am constantly impressed with the depth and meaning old pros can pull out of a script. Obviously having an author such as Shakespeare helps, but Donald Grody's (playing King Lear himself) adaptation may have given us all even more to work with. By updating some of the language and streamlining the play to focus on the action, we are left with a loaded script that will, hopefully, keep the audience engaged from beginning to end . I discovered that Donald has been working on the script since last October, when he and Mark decided to make a go of it (this being after Mark convinced the Vermont Stage Company board to stage the largest, and most expensive show ever attempted in the space). The dedication on their part just to this point is inspiring and really humbles me. It makes me fully aware of how much more I have to learn.

All of the cast has shown up with clear understanding of where they fit into the play and the layers of their respective characters. I must confess I was a little uneasy as I engaged in the reading as I felt I could have done more preparation, considering the size of my part (not very big). Some of the other cast members were already in character and I had not even really gone there yet. I guess that's the real difference working with such professionals, they come fully prepared. I am sure I will be ready for next rehearsal and will spend our day off exploring my character possibilities. I'm sure when we get the show on it's feet I'll get a better feel for where my character fits in to this ensemble. I'm sure many of the others have already begun to find their relationships.

I always find myself with a sense of doubt or fear or anxiousness, or all of the above, when starting a new show, especially one of this magnitude. King Lear (or any show of this size) is intimidating when you first approach it because it feels impossible to understand how one can fit all the themes of ambition, betrayal, deceit and lust into a two and a half hour show. As we started to discuss the show though, I found much of my uneasiness dissipate as Mark explained that this is a show about love. It is a family drama, all be it on a large scale, and we can all relate to that. Hopefully the audience will too.