Friday, September 23, 2016

Libby Grunenwald


This is my first STC production, and it has been challenging! As you may know, one of STC’s values is acting with honesty, which just means that its actors should try to put on the mindset of the character and interact and react from that, instead of acting as if you were that character. I have found it more difficult than I expected to act with complete honesty. Sometimes, I unintentionally slip into the related “show you what it would be like if this were happening to this character ” mode instead of trying to react as if I actually were that character. At other times, I have felt pressured into acting in a dishonest way so that I’ll look like I’m doing the right thing.

Another thing that I need to work on is going “all in”. On Wednesday the Witch’s Army gathered to start staging our scene with Aslan at the Stone Table. The first thing we did was read-through with acting, making it up based on the script. We were all hesitant about making noise or doing any big  actions. Kivan tried to get us to “loosen up” and be a noisy, jeering mob. We improved, but it still wasn’t what it could have been. At the end, Kivan told us that we didn’t get as far as he wanted us to, because we spent so much time discussing commitment. I’m sorry now that I didn’t commit fully at rehearsal. Not only is it making the scene more structured and less exciting, since we’re being told what to do a lot  instead of creating it ourselves, we now have more work to do later. I know it’s going to be difficult, but with God’s help and application of what I’ve learned on my part, I believe I can become a much better actor by the end of this production. I’m praying that God will help me to “work at it with all. . . [my] heart” (Col. 3:23-24), even if it is humblingly hard..  

One of the things we did last Monday at rehearsal was run-through part of Act 1. Since I have a small part, I have not been at all the practices, and have not seen all the work that was being done on stage combat. Wow!! Some of the stage combat between Zander (Fenris Ulf) and Ben T. (Mr. Tumnus) was very convincing! In addition, I could feel the strong tension in the air during James (Peter) and Zander’s fight scene. Other things that impressed me during the run-through was Parker’s performance of the White Stag and Morgan’s of the White Witch. For both of them, it was apparent that they were being their character and not just portraying it, which grasped my attention and made me interested in their character.

I am thankful that I am a part of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, and look forward to where we’ll take it between now and opening night.

-Libby Grunenwald
Witch’s Army

9 comments:

  1. Wow what a great post, Libby! I believe y'all will do great with this one!

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  2. Fantastic post! It has been amazing to watch you act. I am learning SO much from the new actors in this production!

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  3. Amazing post! I'm glad you are trying harder, and as Ben said, i am actually learning from the amazing new actors we have for this show!

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  4. Libby, I understand how hard it can be to stay committed. Often it has nothing to do with your personal ability, but rather what we think other people are thinking of us. We don't want to look foolish - which is understandable. I also found acting honesty hard when I was in high school - my director would just shout "more" or "be bigger". We almost never talked about what I was doing and what the character was doing - so I just threw my arms and voice around in weird ways, trying to be entertaining.

    Those we were very hard habits for me to break.

    You are a very committed actress, and I think that is one of the things our "veterans" will learn from you.

    If I sounded disappointed I apologize. I always have ambitious agendas for each day of rehearsal and we are not always going to get through everything. Overall I am pleased with the rate of progress for this show.

    Keep up the good work, Libby! We are excited to have you among our ranks!

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  5. Thank you, Libby! I know what you mean, it's really hard to stay committed because, like Kivan said, we think about what other people are thinking of us. I'm glad you have realized early on this problem and I can't wait to work more with you!
    Thanks again for a great post!

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  6. Libby, you are a great actress and a great writer. I struggle with the same problem as you. Some people when they are onstage tend to doubt themselves and worry about how other people think of them. Like Ben said, I have learned so much from the new faces at STC! I look forward to working with you even more!

    Ryan Hinderaker

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  7. I appreciate that you used scripture in your passage. Thank you for that.

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  8. This is a great post, Libby! I also struggle with honesty in acting, and I think you're doing a great job! I think everyone at STC can learn a lot from you.
    I also liked Bible verse you put in. This post is inspiring!

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