During this show,”The Worst Break-Ups of All Time”, I learned how different people can be. Characters, audiences, and shows can be so different depending mostly on the type of person/people involved. Being in the acting classroom gave me the chance to see different people play different characters. There is a huge difference between Kelsie’s Eve, Mina’s Eve, Kayden’s Evan and My Evan. There is a different life to each person’s idea of the character. While some were sassy, others were lackadaisical or even slightly annoyed versions of Eve/Evan. Each interpretation could have made for an entirely different show. Also, people in the audience can affect the mood of a show. People the first night where a good rounded out crowd of laughers, Awwwwers, and snifflers. These people gave us a good idea of what an average crowd was like. This produced a show with willingness, readiness, and confidence. The second night everyone loved it and was really into it. Everyone was laughing absurdly and just having a good time. This made for a show with good energy and happy feelings. The third night was an audience most actors fear. They had little energy and weren’t quite on the same page as us. By the end they loved it though because we allowed their lack of energy to motivate us to just be bigger and bolder.
If I had to choose a favorite moment in the show it would be when Evan is telling Katie that it is too late for him and that he will never date again. When I first read the scene in the script I literally cried. I, for some reason, really connected with that particular monologue. Telling Katie to move on and not become like him just really felt like something only a person who was deeply hurt could say, even as Katie tries to console him, his mind is set on helping her. Though I loved the original script I do feel that Kayden did a better job of fitting it into the show. The show was so comedic that if would have been very weird to have that one serious moment, especially because Evan seems so chipper and goofy in the final scene when he waves at Charlie.
I personally think I made good character choices for the parts I was given. I learned a lot about the difference in the mannerisms of characters. It was fun to play around with who the character was, and his background, and why he would be tired but rushed, high but still in the conversation, or just a total space cadet. Each character had to believable inside their own situation. Something I think I should work on is not OVER doing it. The funny can sell itself it doesn’t need too much of my help. Also I could/should have run my lines more in my head before the scene because there were times where it was obvious I had forgotten what to say. Although, all in all, I thought it was a great show and look forward to my future as an actor this experience taught me a lot and I’m glad I learned some of these things now and not years from now.
The Thinking Erudite 