The wah is ovuh!
The Trojan Women is over. It's been an interesting experience, and I will miss sitting backstage listening to the moaning and groaning onstage. (This is the ULTIMATE "Shut up and show us your tits" show--there are so many ripe opportunities to yell that out. I decided the two best, though, are during Julie's turn as Andromache and in the second act, after I leave, when Nora is going on and on. Just...shut up and show us your tits.)
There was a lot of snarking going on by Tracy, Tom and me as we sat in the dressing room. One of my favorite was Suzanne's (curly red hair) weird, faux-British accent, especially on the line "The wah is ovuh!" And Bill's leaden delivery: Tom made me laugh one night as he imagined Bill working on this line at HB Studios or one of those places. "Okay, say this: 'I have bad news for you: your subscription to People magazine has run out, and the last issue is in the mail.' Good. Now, do it again with a dead baby." Tracy made me laugh as well when she confided how much she loved how many times Hecuba is addressed as "aged" or "old." I suggested (since apparently now it's okay to change Euripides at will*) we try to work in as many references as possible to Hecuba's age: I could say "She, aged Hecuba, mothered the beginning of all this wickedness...for Paris was the child of her aged- but-not-in-fact-withered arms."
*During Saturday's matinee, Nora suddenly changed her monologue during our scene. Her monologue is nominally delivered to me, according to the text--she says all the stuff to me, "you did this, you did that...you worked hard, not to make yourself a better woman, but to always be on the winning side." While she's saying this, I'm stuck down stage right, always trying to look good to Menelaus but sometimes responding non-verbally to her accusations. On the latter line, I would respond by silently saying (as it were)--Yeah? And?--because hell yeah, I'm a survivalist. Of course I want to be on the winning side. This always seemed to throw Nora, and several times, she went up on her lines after seeing my reaction. So Saturday she changed the whole monologue--rewrote bloody Euripides--by changing all the pronouns so she could deliver the whole thing directly to Menelaus, and say "She did this, she did that..She worked hard..." This from the same woman who complained to Julie because during Tom's opening monologue (during which she's huddled down stage right, not interacting with or even looking at him the entire time) because he stepped on one of the blocks scattered about the stage. I complained to Julie about it--I don't know what Julie did but Nora did it again Saturday night (although not the entire monologue). Gah. *Moue of disgust* I'm laughing at the superior professionalism of the "aged" Equity actress.
Notwithstanding such hijinks, I really enjoyed my part, not least because it was self-contained (as Susan said, it was the ultimate cameo) and because, well, I was Helen of Troy. I just thought Helen was so playable--as objectified as she normally is, Euripides really gave her voice. I loved that scene, although I wasn't happy with the blocking. And I loved my costume, although it will be nice to eat again normally. I would definitely work again with Tracy, Tom, Sheila and Jennie. I pray that Julie doesn't want to work again with Nora and Suzanne. Too much attitude with too little talent.
There was a lot of snarking going on by Tracy, Tom and me as we sat in the dressing room. One of my favorite was Suzanne's (curly red hair) weird, faux-British accent, especially on the line "The wah is ovuh!" And Bill's leaden delivery: Tom made me laugh one night as he imagined Bill working on this line at HB Studios or one of those places. "Okay, say this: 'I have bad news for you: your subscription to People magazine has run out, and the last issue is in the mail.' Good. Now, do it again with a dead baby." Tracy made me laugh as well when she confided how much she loved how many times Hecuba is addressed as "aged" or "old." I suggested (since apparently now it's okay to change Euripides at will*) we try to work in as many references as possible to Hecuba's age: I could say "She, aged Hecuba, mothered the beginning of all this wickedness...for Paris was the child of her aged- but-not-in-fact-withered arms."
*During Saturday's matinee, Nora suddenly changed her monologue during our scene. Her monologue is nominally delivered to me, according to the text--she says all the stuff to me, "you did this, you did that...you worked hard, not to make yourself a better woman, but to always be on the winning side." While she's saying this, I'm stuck down stage right, always trying to look good to Menelaus but sometimes responding non-verbally to her accusations. On the latter line, I would respond by silently saying (as it were)--Yeah? And?--because hell yeah, I'm a survivalist. Of course I want to be on the winning side. This always seemed to throw Nora, and several times, she went up on her lines after seeing my reaction. So Saturday she changed the whole monologue--rewrote bloody Euripides--by changing all the pronouns so she could deliver the whole thing directly to Menelaus, and say "She did this, she did that..She worked hard..." This from the same woman who complained to Julie because during Tom's opening monologue (during which she's huddled down stage right, not interacting with or even looking at him the entire time) because he stepped on one of the blocks scattered about the stage. I complained to Julie about it--I don't know what Julie did but Nora did it again Saturday night (although not the entire monologue). Gah. *Moue of disgust* I'm laughing at the superior professionalism of the "aged" Equity actress.
Notwithstanding such hijinks, I really enjoyed my part, not least because it was self-contained (as Susan said, it was the ultimate cameo) and because, well, I was Helen of Troy. I just thought Helen was so playable--as objectified as she normally is, Euripides really gave her voice. I loved that scene, although I wasn't happy with the blocking. And I loved my costume, although it will be nice to eat again normally. I would definitely work again with Tracy, Tom, Sheila and Jennie. I pray that Julie doesn't want to work again with Nora and Suzanne. Too much attitude with too little talent.