The actor's stream of consciousness...

We're all familiar with how Romeo and Juliet ends, but have you ever wondered what was going through the heads of the actors onstage during one of the most famous scenes ever written?  You might be surprised! Here’s what I was thinking the other night, as we rehearsed this well-known scene:

“Ok, I’m dead. I’m going to try not to breathe too heavy. Little breaths, shallow little breaths, oh God, I feel like I CAN’T BREATHE! How am I going to lay here for this whole scene and not take a deep breath?! Ok, settle down. You’re making it worse. Here comes Paris. Just focus on the story, don’t worry about your breathing. What’s he doing? I wish I could open my eyes and see where he is. Oh, now I hear Romeo. Crap. They’re going to start sword fighting. I HATE this part. Don’t flinch. They’ve rehearsed this a lot. They won’t hit you with the swords. AH! I’m pretty sure they were like 2 inches from my face! Ok, just ignore them. Think about your next line. What is your next line? I can’t remember it. Oh no. What is it? ‘What’s here? Poison I see will be his timeless end.’ That’s it. Ok. Romeo killed Paris. He’s coming over here right now. Now he’s standing next to me. Did he just spit on me while he was talking? YEP. He totally did. I guess I just have to leave that there. Here comes the part where he picks me up. Limp, lifeless, don’t move. Ragdoll. Here comes the kiss, but don’t kiss him back, remember you’re dead. Do you remember your line? ‘What’s here? Poison I see will be his timeless end.’ Yep, still got it. Ok, time to wake up. Not too fast…you’ve been fake-dead for a while. ‘What’s here? Poison I see will be his timeless end!’ NAILED IT! Back to the story. You loved him. He’s dead! DEAD! Oh, awesome, I feel tears coming. Don’t think about it. Just let them come. If you force it, they’ll go away. Dead. He’s dead. Dead. Ok, now you kiss him. I hope my breath is ok and I’m not too spitty from crying. Time to stab yourself. Be careful, don’t hurt yourself. Contemplate? Then….STAB! Cough! Fall. Back to shallow breathing. My ear is right on his stomach. Ha! I can hear his stomach digesting. I wonder what he had for dinner. Do dead people still digest their food? That’s stupid, Emily. Uh oh, my right arm is slipping. Hold yourself up! You can’t move! Thank God, he’s holding me up with his other arm. Remember to thank Chris for holding me up while I was slipping off the tomb. Oh my word, my right butt muscle is cramping up from holding this position. That’s going to be sore tomorrow. Ugh, I should do more pure barre classes. Lord, this scene is SO LONG! Ok, now we’re at the end. Yay! We did it! I wonder if anyone’s going out for a drink after rehearsal...”

A rose by any other word...wait...what's my line?

I have been involved in theatre for 15 years, and in those years, I’ve done lots of challenging things onstage including: changing costumes 32 times in one show, riding a motorized platform from the balcony to the stage, kissing my best friend’s husband while she watched from the wings, and even playing a virgin while 4 months pregnant (that one wasn’t as challenging for me as it was for the costumer). The one thing that has never been a challenge for me is memorizing lines…until now.

People frequently ask me “how I do it.” Typically, the answer is easy because I don’t actively “do” anything. Most plays are rehearsed repetitively enough that with some time spent running through lines at home, your next line pops into your head just like the next line of your favorite song. If I said “Oh say, can you see…” you’d say “…by the dawn’s early light,” right? The same thing goes for choreography. I’m not a dancer, but I’m not immune to the reality of muscle memory either. Now, seven years later, I can still do most of the dance steps to Beauty and the Beast’s “Be Our Guest.”

Then I was cast as Juliet in Romeo and Juliet. Hoooo, buddy! The moment I finished highlighting my lines, I had the weirdest feeling. It was a mixture of panic and exhilaration and joy and claustrophobia. It reminded me of the feeling you get when you find out you’re pregnant, or when the roller coaster starts going up the lift-hill with you strapped into the front seat.

How in the world was I going to memorize these lines?! It’s not like if you mess up on stage you can just improvise your way out of it; you either say it the right way, or you fall flat on your face! I did what any self-respecting person would do in this situation. I Googled “how to memorize Shakespeare.”

Google told me that the whole “Iambic Pentameter” thing can actually be quite helpful, but only if you listen to your lines. After all, Shakespeare didn’t intend for his plays to be read, he intended for them to be heard! So I diligently recorded all my scenes onto my iPad and have listened to them many times since.

The trickiest part? It’s the little words. Since Shakespeare invented anywhere from 1,500 to 10,000 words (depending on your source) it came as no surprise that he really doesn’t concern himself with grammar. “In this line is it ‘who’ or ‘that?’” Don’t count on grammar to point you in the right direction.

Shakespeare also likes to take a few words in every sentence and just flip flop them to make them interesting. Take “Give me, give me! O, tell not me of fear!” If you’re like me, your brain will automatically change this line to “Give me, give me! O, tell me not of fear!” And your brain will likely try to change it EVERY time you attempt to say it out loud.

Many times I’ve been running through my lines with my mom, or my husband, or my brother, or my scene partner and end up cursing, hitting something or someone (sorry, Romeo!), or just growling in frustrating agony because I can’t remember if it’s “thee” or “thou” in this particular line.

Now it’s time to put the script down, add in the set, costumes, lighting, and oh yeah, do some acting. Wish me well!

Wow! It's been a while!

Ok, it's been 2 and a half years since I've blogged! Wow! Time sure flies when you're having fun!

The Center for the Arts has asked me to write a few blogs during the process of Romeo and Juliet, so I'll be posting throughout the month of February. Maybe that will give me the kick in the pants I need to start blogging again!

Please enjoy the upcoming posts!