Tonight I’ll do my last show in NYC this month. Yesterday and the day before the shows went well, especially yesterday: that was fantastic. What a great feeling was that! I’ll try to explain below what it is that we actors learn at the Studio, to give you an insight in the process of making The Story of The Einstein Girl.
It is about doing things you don’t think about or create in your mind before you go up. You just let it happen on stage. That is when there is creativity. Being in control as the actor all the time, but just let your body and your voice do whatever happens and it changes like it has never changed before. Lines come out differently every night. My voice sounds different, my body is free. I open myself up here. I feel like a different person on stage. This is bringing a character to life!
I noticed during the first evening that, as the actor, I was pushing for results. I let the lines direct me, and that doesn’t feel good. Michael always asks me after I do my work: “How do you feel?’ That is his first question. I knew exactly what it felt like the first night. Well, it didn’t feel good. The show was good, but both Michael and I knew that it could be much better if I just let it happen and listen to my body and heart at that moment. And yesterday I let it happen. I did my relaxation exercises before I went up without doing any sense memory and imagination exercises. And I was completely relaxed when going up. The imagination was there, I didn’t need to look for it. And it felt so natural. I felt so real and so alive on stage!
This is, to me, what acting is. I know that there are different opinions about acting styles and methods, especially in Europe. And I would love to try as many and different styles and approaches I can. Because that is when as the actor you learn most. But some fit better than others, and already when I went to Strasberg in 2010 and learned about Method Acting I immediately felt home, comfortable, safe and very very happy. I discovered so many new things. I’m learning so much. The way the Americans approach acting, fits me well.
Working with Michael Luggio is great. I already knew from when I went to Strasberg that I wanted to work with him again. But I could not have imagined it would be like this. From all over the world actors come to his studio to work with him. Even a director from China, comes to the Malisa Theatre Academy to learn about directing. He visited two of Michael’s classes and watched our work. He also came to my performance. It was very interesting to meet this director and to talk to him about the show and the process of both the actor and the director.
The first night Casting Director Alison McBryde watched my performance. After the show we went out to take a bite, and we talked about my show and about her work. I am so happy that I didn’t know before I went up who she was: she was involved in very big movies like Pearl Harbor, The Insider, Armageddon, Heat, Dangerous Minds and The Island!
Tonight I’ll do my last show. I can’t wait to go up. First there is class this afternoon from 1 to 4 pm. I enjoy watching the work of my classmates. I can’t believe the month is almost at his end. Monday I’m flying back to The Netherlands, but I don’t want to think about that yet.
