We are finishing up week 1 of blocking for Equus. It has been fun being back on stage again, though I confess that I find this particular play intimidating and daunting. Beyond the heaviness of the content of the play, my character (Martin Dysart) remains on stage for the entirety of the 2+ hour show. There are at least 6 long monologues spaced throughout the play, and one extended scene that Dysart shares with Alan, the troubled boy who is the focus of Dysart’s therapeutic work during the play, that is, functionally, another long monologue interspersed with one-word replies by Alan. Memorizing lines is important but tedious work. The original published version of the play is about 130 pages long. I feel that I have a reasonable handle on the first 40 pages of the play, and the same level of confidence on a few of the later monologues, but I’ve got many, many more lines to learn. Some of the scenes involve Dysart asking question after question, and I’m finding it challenging sometimes remembering the sequence of Dysart’s thinking as he moves from one question to the next. Having done all of this before with other shows, I trust that the process of running lines and rehearsing on stage is what helps get these lines “in my bones,” so to speak. I’ve got a lot to learn, but I am confident it will come with more time.
One of the fun things about this production is the opportunity it has given me to work with some local theatre people who I have heard about or observed on stage but whom I have never had the opportunity to work with. Scot Miller, our director, has been involved in the Abilene theatre community for many years. Last summer we were both called back for the Callahan role in the Paramount Theatre production of Legally Blonde. Prior to the callback, I messaged Scot to tell him that regardless of the outcome of the audition that I hoped there might be a future when we could work together on a show. At the time I didn’t know that this opportunity would come less than a year later. Scot has been a good director to work with. He’s precise in his instructions, and he’s inviting me to stretch my own thinking about my character in some directions that are different than how I’ve been playing Dysart.
My favorite moment of play rehearsal in week 1 came last night while rehearsing a scene with Marcia Straughn, playing Hesther in our production. At the center of a scene is one of Dysart’s long monologues, where he reveals just how unhappy he is in his marriage to his wife and expresses his own desire for a person in his life with whom he can share those things that are meaningful to him. Equus is so beautifully written; I find some of the language breathtaking. There are moments in these monologues where I get such enjoyment performing and savoring the words. This feeling often leads me to slow down. I want to say the words precisely, and I want to pause to let words sink in for the audience so that they feel the impact of what my character is saying. Scot warned me last night that this tendency can drag down the energy. “Speak like there is a bomb about to go off. Don’t pause unless your script tells you to pause.” The faster pacing that Scot is coaching me to pursue in the Dysart monologues is important not only because of the play’s length but also because this pacing makes the actual moments when Dysart pauses on words more impactful. You don’t need to savor every word. In fact, if you try to savor every word then every word starts sounding equally valuable. It’s a nice instructive point for me.
Granted, at the moment the slower pace of some of my lines stems from my need to commit them more to memory. That’s what I’ll be working on vigorously over the next couple of weeks. On a final note: Dysart’s blocking for Act 1 is simpler than that of any character in any show I’ve been in. Literally, he sits on stage for most of Act 1, with occasionally moments where he stands and welcome other characters into his therapy room, only to sit again. Most of the movement and action on stage is performed by other actors who are doing things that Dysart is evoking from the memories of Alan Strang. I don’t have to do as much work remembering blocking here as do some of the other characters. This allows me to focus more attention on the words themselves. Which really are breathtaking. Just remember, Vic, don’t savor every one.