Insulted! – Theatre Article

INSULTED!

I want to leave, but the Playwright tells me I have to stay!

Theatre, my second love, as novels will always be my first love. Writing that sentence seems cruel, why must we use numbered lists? Endlessly deciding what is first, what is best, what is last. Let me rewrite that sentence – I love stories and the myriad of forms and structures they appear in. There, that seems better. Now we don’t have to disagree about what form, prose, verse, film, T.V. or theatre is the best delivery system for words. Theatre is presently on my mind, because I am directing the 2014 Pulitzer Prize winning play, The Flick by Annie Baker. The last month or so, I have been busy analyzing every word of this play, along with my wonderful cast of Brandon McDaniel (Sam), Dachary Vann, (Avery), Katherine Jackson (Rose), and Safwon Farmer (Skyler).

The Flick, is a funny, epic tale of love, heartbreak, and betrayal that does not take place on the battlefields of France, or in the castles or courtrooms of the rich and powerful, but in a run-down single screen movie theater. Our two main protagonists, Sam and Avery, spend their days selling movie tickets, making popcorn, and then cleaning the theater’s auditorium after the show is over. Rose, the theater’s projectionist, repeatedly enters Sam and Avery’s peaceful working environment, from her booth, to bring drama and sexual tension. Sam’s unspoken love for her and Rose’s sexual interest in Avery, causes tension between the two men. 

When directing a play, I always find it informative to ask the actor to find the motivations of their character. This seems on the surface a simple and obvious question that should be easily answered. The playwright has laid out the path and all you have to do is follow it, which is true, but not the whole truth. Often, I like to ask, ‘Why didn’t your character leave? Another character has insulted you, but you stayed?’ The actor might look at me and then back at the script to see he has two more pages of dialogue before he is instructed by the playwright to exit the stage. We can strongly assume that the writer has good reasons for the character to stay on the stage and not leave, beyond the element of maintaining conflict.  The actor has to find that reason to stay, otherwise he / she is an empty shell randomly speaking words they have memorized. For a play to be produced / published the playwright would have gone through numerous drafts of the script, private and public readings, and the greatest test of all, a full production of their work. If there are any ‘holes’ in their plot or characters a reading will highlight them, but a production will expose them.

Three of Aristotle’s six elements of drama are plot, character and thought. I believe an additional category should exist between character and thought, which should be emotion. You can think of it as the hybrid of character-emotion or emotion-thought. So, going back to my question of why does the actor stay? The plot demands that they do, but what of the character-emotion or emotion-thought? The playwright, the master of the plot, has decreed that the character will stay and have that conversation or argument with another character. What does staying tell us about your character? When we consider the thoughts, we must consider the thoughts expressed in the playwright’s words, but also the thoughts that motivate the character to stay and engage in the conversation on stage? Simply put, it is important that the actor has a reason for staying and it is equally important that their character considers leaving, even though the playwright demands that they stay.

You must also consider what is not seen or written. Floating under the above elements are the emotions that color the words and the interactions. Does the character stay because of love, hate, fear, anger, desperation or duty? An entire list of powerful emotions pulse through us to fuel and drive human beings in our everyday lives. Each one of these emotions, once chosen will change the way we communicate the playwright’s words and give greater insight into the character. These emotions need to be a part of the stories we tell in theatre, books, and film, otherwise the narratives will seem shallow and empty.

Often, what is not said is as important as what is said. As a writer I know that the pauses, or the silences I leave are as important as the words I have the characters say. It is the equivalent of Space in art, which refers to the distances or areas around, between, and within the elements of an object. It is not the object or piece, but the space aids in defining the object. These pauses, silences or spaces in between the words are filled with meaning and emotions, and without them the playwright’s words, plot, and characters would be unclear and unfocused. 

Throughout her play, Baker illustrates beautifully that love is an emotion that is felt, experienced and necessary for all people, no matter their economic status in life. The need for people to have a community, friendships and a person you can love and be loved by in return is shown to be universal by Baker. These emotions and desires fill the spaces between her words. The characters in her play spend their days talking about movies, families, and celestial star signs, but the deeper themes of the play are about human connection and the desire to be understood and accepted. These are emotions we can all understand, whether we are the kings / queens of the world, or the servants who clean up, after everyone has gone to home.

The Flick is showing at the Aux Dog Theatre, 3011 Monte Vista Blvd. NE, Albuquerque NM 87106 Tel: 505-596-0607

The show runs from:

Friday, March 22^nd to Sunday April 14^th

Friday & Saturday shows are at 8:00 P.M.

Sundays at 2:00 P.M.

Contact Dr. Justin Golding at: https://justingolding.com

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