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

Parker McIntosh

I have learned a couple things working on The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe.  The first being it takes commitment to your role outside of theater as well.  In my case, when I was offered the role of the White Stag, ballet was mentioned.  Having no past ballet experience, I knew it was going to take more than just working while at the rehearsal space. It takes more than just committing while you are at the space.  Practice makes perfect, and in a show full of stage combat and fight scenes, practicing could save someone a few bruises.

The other lesson I’ve learned is you can never know too much about the play you are in, or the characters involved, even if they aren't yours.  Knowing more about your character makes things much easier when you are a part of ensemble.  Sometimes it’s easy to make an ensemble of many people all playing the same character, but that leads to things being rather boring and cliche.  In our show, everyone has their own specific creature to research, and we can all create our own personal versions of them.  We could have a group of kids all making the same angry, but where is the fun in that?  We have amazing creatures such as Ogres, Hags, Boggles, and Specters.  And it doesn’t just apply to the Witch’s army.  Aslan’s army has its variety of creatures as well: The Wood Nymphs (Flower, Oak, Wind, Fresh Water.), a Phoenix, Centaurs, and Minotaur.

Sure, you could always perform a show the way it was originally made, but I’m not sure I would want to see a show the same way more than once.   It’s the same old thing for the audience, and it’s too easy for the actors.  I think having a challenge creates a better experience.  It’s easy to stand and be the nasty White Witch who loves no one but herself, but digging past that, and finding the inside: her objectives, her circumstances, and finding out if maybe deep down she has some compassion for her followers. 

We are early on in the process, but I can already tell this is not a show I couldn’t miss seeing.

       Parker McIntosh.

Carly Breen

I’ve been doing STC shows for a long time now, and I’ve never gotten bored
of them. I’ve loved every play I’ve been in and I love all the people I’ve
met through STC. It really feels like a welcoming community of people to
just be themselves and put together a show we are all proud of, and I’ve
grown to look up to everyone I do these plays with. However, Narnia was
different for me. This was the first non-musical I’ve ever been in. I
didn’t know how different it was going to be from every other play I’ve
been in, or whether or not I’d be able to keep up with both the play and
school. Even though I knew I would have a fun time, I was nervous about
doing this play. But I tried out for it anyway. I wanted to give it a try
because even though it might have been very different from a musical, I
wanted to try something new. And I don’t regret. Like I said before, I knew
I was going to have a fun time. Yeah, it may not be a musical. But really,
what would have changed? There are still the same people who always make me
laugh, we still have that shared goal to make something great, nothing has
changed. And even though it may not be a musical, that still doesn’t stop
us from bursting out into song together randomly. So again, I don’t regret
being in Narnia, and I never will. And to anyone reading this blog, whether
or not you decide to give it a chance is up to you. But you are truly
missing out on something if you decide it’s not worth your time.

-Carly Breen