Jackets and Shoes

I’ve spent a lot of this week thinking about acting in terms of jackets and shoes.  It’s a great analogy when working with actors who are still developing their craft…who are making discoveries about what process works for them as they engage in the business of creating characters and telling stories through theatre. 

The metaphorical usefulness of jackets and shoes was particularly prevalent at the first re-rehearsal of The Wardrobe.  The cast (who are simply brilliant people) once reunited put their characters back on like jackets, most of which fitted nice and snugly.  It was a pleasure to see how quickly and confidently they were back in the production.  We were back up and running as a company at record speed…however it was my job to tell them that wasn’t good enough.  The reason?  That for the production we take to Kendal via Crofton to be of the standard we expect, wearing the character as a jacket no matter how good the fit won’t get it done.  Instead the actors need to stand in the shoes of the character – they need to be centred entirely and absolutely in the world of the play and invest themselves absolutely in the story. 

The jacket approach to acting allows actors to represent a character accurately and efficiently…the story gets told in an understandable engaging way…but it doesn’t reach out to the audience, it doesn’t take them on a journey…standing in the characters shoes however gets that done.  Standing in the shoes creates an immediacy in performance that stays with the audience long after they have left the theatre…and that’s what I want for our production.  We have our work cut out for us but I have no fear that my cast won’t meet the challenge successfully they are after all brilliant people…the next month is looking very enjoyable indeed…