Discovering More Than Just a Boy Living in the Well
How do you sit down with a director and tell him that the actors he so carefully chose failed the expectation? For Ruben Polendo, founder of the applauded Theater Mitu, directing and casting is something he is more than fond of, and such a question was too accusatory and might offend him. His most recent work, “Blind Mouth Singing”, a production performed by the National Asian American Theatre Company, opened on Sept. 19 in NYC with much anticipation and admiration, but it left many inexperienced theatre-goers, such as myself, in doubt.
BANG! The sharp and loud noise brought the commotion to an end, signaling the start of the show. An eerie feeling surrounds the audience as the actor stepped onto stage. Without much of an introduction, the first scene began, like opening a book in the middle of the story and trying to understand everything that is happening; it was awkward and confusing. The actors felt out of place, like they had forgotten to warm up and get into characters. Slowly, the story began to unveil itself as its actors got into character
As I listened to a discussion with Ruben Polendo, Hilary Austin(stage manager) and Jon Norman Schneider (actor – Reiderico), the urge to ask why would he choose such mediocre actors was too discourteous. Polendo began by asking Schneider to demonstrate a scene from the play; automatically without even having to communicate, the three of them pushed the tables aside, setting a stage inside this small room. It took me by surprise as this confident young man transformed into a depressed and lonely boy in front of our eyes. Though there was no set, Schneider created one. As he stared off into the sky and talked of the moon, I can almost see it right in front of me. I felt shivers up and down my spine and the coldness of realizing that I am alone in this world, and it frightened me, because I was feeling what that character was feeling.
When the scene ended, once again, without the need for words, they pulled the tables right back to where they were before, undisturbed as if they had never been moved in the first place. I was sitting there still shuddering at the thought while Polendo began talking again. I glanced over at Schneider, hoping to catch a glimpse of the character still in his facial expressions, but it was all gone. At that very moment I realized how talented theatre actors must be. With films, there are retakes and editing and months of researching on how to become these individuals, but with plays, these entertainers have four weeks to master everything; they must learn to become these characters at the snap of the fingers.
Polendo talked of the “fourth wall”, a mental creation of actors in theatres. Performers do not see the audience as people, but as part of the set; a green screen in which anything can be seen. We are already part of their world when the play begins, so perhaps it is us who needs to warm up to these creations, because these actors are not merely acting, they are bringing us into their world.