Jumping to Fight Speed
Contributed by Lauren H. Snodgrass
I came into Estranged Identity not knowing many of the other actors or people involved, but ready to make new friendships and enjoy the process of bringing to life a story. I play one of the seven demons and as you can imagine the seven of us spend most of our time in rehearsals together. Over the last few months we have had some great times and become friends.
This being said, we still haven’t known each other for long, so when our fight director walked in last week and started showing us how to look like we were beating each other up, it felt like a bit of a step in the wrong direction as far as making lasting friendships goes. Grabbing someone by the shoulders, spinning them around and appearing to punch them in the stomach is a little less than friendly. As the rehearsals continue, we are gaining knowledge and confidence in ourselves, but to me it still feels like I am beating up my friend.
Tonight we learned the rest of our last fight and were able to bring our first fight up to full speed. When we did this and carried it out within the process of saying the lines that go along with it, all of the sudden it seemed like everyone fell into character. No more was it Anna “hitting” me in the stomach! It was Anger exploding at all of us and throwing herself into our mist, Revenge pulling us apart and then all of us freezing with Deception’s threat against our lives. Something had changed. After going home and thinking it through, I realized it was our characters creating violence not us. That’s why it was so easy to laugh and have fun after “beating each other up.”
I have really been enjoying my time with the people here. I am not sure about everyone else, but I am feeling the energy come into this show. The energy that comes when you no longer see a person is acting out a part on stage, but you see the character as a real living and breathing person. These next few weeks promise to be very exciting as we get closer and closer to opening night. I hope to see all of your faces in the audience!
