Ever dreamed of one day treading the boards, but don't know where to start? In a new series, award-winning actor and playwright Janet Moran, one of the stars of RTÉ's acclaimed dramedy The Dry, offers some tips for the budding actor...
In this instalment, Janet tackles the fine art of rehearsals...
The best time to be an actor is the time between getting the job and starting it. That's the time you have the lovely warm feeling of validation but before you go into the throes of agonising self-flagellation and second guessing yourself as you navigate the process of rehearsals. I'm being glib but it’s kinda true.
This is the time when you can really let your imagination roam. It’s the time for reading books, looking for inspiration from music, films, poems. Trying to find little things that unlock the character for you. I would often have a sort of character soundtrack when I’ve been cast in something, music that connects me to the character in some way. Incongruous as it may be, PJ Harvey was a big inspiration when I played Maire in Brian Friel's Translations; something about the rhythm and force of This is Love felt like the right thing to be listening to.
the Abbey Theatre's 2018 production of The Plough and the Stars
(Photo by Robbie Jack/Corbis via Getty Images)
Really looking around at the people you see in the world around you is a big inspiration; their faces, their physicality. A person's physicality is often more pronounced then you might imagine and the faces, even those of strangers, can tell you a lot about them. This might sound a bit daft but I like to talk to myself in character quite a bit, in the supermarket, doing errands. I like to try see the world through the eyes of the character, wonder how they would respond to situations as they arise, try to understand how they think.
This is also the time to work on the accent and any new skills you need. Rehearsal time is eaten up fast and you want to be able to focus on what’s happening in the room not what you have to do, to be there ready to work.
This is your chance to really play and nothing is wasted.
Some people like to learn lines before they go into rehearsals but this can risk you building in a performance before the collaboration of rehearsals, that can make you rigid. However, it is really essential for you to know that script inside and out. Read it until you are sick of reading it, until you dream about it. Notate it, score it, and respect the punctuation, which will no doubt have been carefully crafted by the writer.
When it comes to the actual rehearsal, it’s difficult to put into words a process that one doesn’t necessarily understand oneself - particularly a process that changes depending on the requirements of the piece and who is in the room.
Every director has a different approach, as will your fellow actors, so again it’s important to be flexible; to listen and to be ready to react to what’s happening around you. Often there may be competing visions and difficult moments - not least because this is when nerves start to come into play - but focussing on the work and only the work will get you through.
Of course, it’s important to be nice, even when you don’t feel like it.
But really this is your chance to really play and nothing is wasted. Try it as many different ways as you can, go big, be wild, listen to the other actors, get used to the costumes, get familiar with your props and look to make the discoveries that make the world in your imagination unassailable.
Watch The Dry on RTÉ Player here, and take a deeper dive into our Get Creative section here
