Keeping it Fresh

Recently at some talkbacks we've had after the show, audiences members have asked, "How do you guys keep it fresh 8 times a week?" Good question.

I'm going into month 7 of my run as Fabrizio and keeping it fresh is definitely something myself and the rest of the cast are working at constantly. Chris Sarandon may have put it best...

During intermission one night a few weeks ago, i was feeling pretty unhappy with my performance after the first act. I felt like our cast had gotten a bit lazy and moments weren't as deep and honest as they could be. So I was trying hard to fight that energy, but that put me in my head and started the whole beating myself up thing, etc; Since Chris went into the show a week after me, I asked him if he was experiencing anything similar and he said, "Of course. But all you can do is go out every show and play the moments."

Instead of trying to push the energy of the show to where I wanted it to flow, I needed to flow with the energy surrounding me on stage. Accept what's happening in the moment, listen with every pore of my body, and react--play the moments.

That's been my mantra for the last month of shows and it's been working well. It allows me to be excited about every moment in the show and exist in each moment as if for the first time.

If any of you study Alexander Technique, it's a similar principle to freeing up your body--you don't want to grip/force anything, rather you focus on allowing the body to do what it wants, with whatever energy it's experiencing in the moment, releasing muscle gripping to create a sense of ease in the work.

Play the moments and you'll find it frees you up and makes the work easier :)