The passion of Stanley and Stella...

It is clear to me why New Orleans is the setting for this incredible play of passion, desire, and devastation.  Having spent much time in the city, and particularly in the Quarter, I finally understood when people would say that a city had a heartbeat.  Just walking the streets of the Quarter, I could feel the life, the passion, the soul of this city.  It breathed.  I could feel every inhale and exhale of it's existence.  This was a place that brought me back to life, after several years and started me on a new journey, allowing me to release my old self, which had become such a tired, 'ruin' of my former self.  

This city is one of the most electrifying and passionate places on earth... not romantic, like Florence or Paris - but, Passionate, primal, raw.   

This city is part of the fuel in the fire between Stella and Stanley Kowalski.  It is a magical city, a place of power and raw emotion that pushes and prods these two people into emotional oblivion.  When these two characters are on stage, something electrifying occurs.  A pulsing heartbeat is felt... something inexplicable, something deep... 

The passion between them could be compared to that of pure primal, animalistic  emotions.  They need each other, they ache for each other and, in some sense, they are each other.   

Even the abuse thrown on Stella is wrought with a passion so deep, that only when they are together, does any of it make any sense...

 There has been some debate amongst our cast about whether Stanley cheats... whether Stella stays with him after Blanche is sectioned... why AND how they got together in the first place...

What fuels Stanley's anger... his abuse... his control?  Stella's own attempt at control?  Or, is it something else...Blanche?

 What of his heartfelt, desperate plea for Stella to return home to his bed... Why does she do it?  Why does their need for each other overpower what is sensible...  What is he really fighting for?

 Stella?  Stanley?  Blanche?  ... What is the dangerous co-dependency they share, fight against, Run from and run right back to...

The actors taking on these roles must be able to draw on a deep connection, while trusting and understanding each other.   As we finish up blocking in our production, it is my hope that Juliet (Stella) and Titus (Stanley) will be able to let go and allow the elements of Stanley and Stella,  already inherent within each of them, push through. 

Questions... Questions...

Actors have many ways of approaching roles.  I, myself, really delve into the emotion and purpose behind the character's actions and beliefs.  I research, I analyze, I live... I question everything...  

I approach each character (and show) like a parent with a newborn baby... wondering what they will do and be like when they 'grow up.'  Character work is my favorite aspect of rehearsal -  I have a catalogue of techniques I use with my rehearsals and this particular process is no different.  I have many things planned for future rehearsals... some will be successful, some will not, but hopefully all will fill the actor with more insight and allow a newer ideal of character to surface.

This is also how I approach mid-century literary works when I direct.  Every author and playwright has a style, a life issue, a story that they are trying to tell on the page.  It is the job of the director to interpret this and bring to life on the stage.  Every director will see a different focus as they craft the production. Williams' work is so rich with life and symbolism, that we could spend an entire 6 week rehearsal period on discussion, analysis and inquisition.  Learning the author's intention becomes a vocation that overrides all other thought or inquiry.  I have chosen to approach this show with a fresh view.  

We are trying to remove many of the preconceived ideas and character traits and look within to find something raw and honest.  My actors are approaching characters in many different ways.  I am thrilled to hear their questions and ideas and participate in the discussions and debates that ensue during each rehearsal.

I was so excited when my Blanche /Stella understudy, began e-mailing me with so many ideas, views and thoughts.   Many of them allowed me to review my own thoughts and look anew...  

This post is going to look at some of the 'musings' of Jennifer...

"I'm typing up my script sans stage notes from the verbose Williams, and came across a couple references I wanted to look up.  This is probably a duplicate for you, but I thought it was interesting and it's the kind of thing I do.  (I like to research eras, localities, etc for flavor)...
     
Blanche compares Stella's neighborhood to the "ghoul haunted woodland of Weir", which is apparently from a Poe poem I'd never read before.  It's possibly darker than The Raven, and weirder than his stories...  Interesting that's where she goes...   Side note- I'm reading this for the first time, and I've only seen parts of the movie once, so I'm trying to ignore Williams direction as much as possible while reading it so I can come at it completely fresh.  Also, I've noticed Stella spends a lot of Act I just getting away from both Stanley and Stella (stands on the porch forever, and she's been in the bathroom awhile...).  Is that new now that Blanche is there muddying the waters, or did she do that before, to get away from Stanley when he was getting too intense?"

Another e-mail pondered... 

"I just came across a bit of stage direction (I'm avoiding reading it as much as possible) that cracked me up...  "business used by Stella in tidying up the room may vary slightly: the example herein often holds true."
Ha!  Oh, Master Williams, how incredibly kind and generous of you!  The business may vary SLIGHTLY?  *sigh* ...  Shakespeare has really spoiled me in this way... Sometimes a character's exit isn't even marked in the script, and there's never a direction to the actor like "speaking with difficulty", "shrilly", or "airily"... and those are all on the page I happen to have open as I type this...   This is obviously going to be my biggest issue with performing Williams.  I've never done it before, so this is all new to me.  I've actually used Williams as an example when talking to new actors about how to deal with stage direction.  "At one end of the spectrum is Shakespeare, who gives you no help whatsoever in how to act or what to do, which is challenging at first but enormously freeing when you've gotten accustomed to it.  At the other is Tennessee Williams, whose stage direction is so specific that there seems to be no room for acting."  ... The language is rich, and the characters are powerful- but it is not his job to direct, it's yours.  If you want us to do what's written, I'll write it down in MY scripts, but I want YOU to tell me if you really want me to "Turn to Stella from corner of trunk" at that point in the script.  Rawr.   Onward.  Glad I got that off my chest.   To be continued..."


 And, finally...
 
"Hot, sticky evening... With Daniel out of town I'm being cheap and using the AC very little, and whew.  I can certainly use this stickiness for the show...   I've been in the city once, as I said at audition, but it was a daytrip with 4 or 5 other Airmen while we were stationed at Biloxi, and I don't feel I experienced much of the city at all.  The strongest memory I have is the smell of Bourbon street hitting us long before we got to it.  By the time we were there, I guess I was used to it, but..  I saw the city as a tourist, I didn't *experience* it at all. ...
 
I don't know a lot about that period, especially in the South... Info on New Orleans isn't terribly hard to find, but info on Mississippi during the period is scarce.  What was life like for the last generation to live in plantations before they got kicked out?  What was life like specifically for Stella and Blanche growing up?  An appearance of gentility to maintain in the reality of increasing poverty..  How did their parents support Belle Reve?  They'd lost the land attached to it, so they couldn't support the house and family with income from farming...   But they obviously raised the girls on a pedestal- Blanche fell off, Stanley knocked Stella off.  Was any of that ever real, or were they always just keeping up appearances?"

It is a pleasure to be challenged by this fabulous cast of actors.  I know that many more challenges await in the rehearsals to come...  

We are underway!

Rehearsals are underway!  

Character and scene work has begun for the principal characters and we pull in the full featured and principal cast on Monday for the first full readthrough.  Already we have made great headway into the text... the hard questions have been asked, some answers found...  we are ready to look head on into the next 7 weeks.

I will plan on making regular updates and insights on Tuesday / Wednesday, so be sure to watch for next week's post.  I will be looking at one actress's questions as she approaches her challenging role in the show.

I have cast the lined ensemble roles and had a single change to the cast, so take a look at the lineup! 

• WOMAN  - Tabitha Carroll
• EUNICE HUBBEL - Jennifer Sivers-Shrader
• STANLEY KOWALSKI - Titus Wolverton
• STELLA  KOWALSKI - Juliet Howard-Welch
• STEVE HUBBEL - Mike Frazier
• HAROLD MITCHELL ('Mitch')  - Daniel Wilson
• BLANCHE DuBOIS - Cassandra Engber
• PABLO GONZALES - Geoff Moss
• YOUNG COLLECTOR  - Josh Katawick
• UNDERSTUDIES  - Jennifer Wilson, Austin Smith
• DOCTOR - Austin Smith
• NURSE - Jennifer Sparks
• MEXICAN WOMAN - Diana Hart
• SAILOR / MAN - Brandon Saldivar

More Next week!

Stella... Primal, Passionate, and a star in Blanche's world...

Stella, Stella, Stella...  A role packed with intense passion and for many young ladies, a dream role.

My view?  Well, Stella is in her early to mid 20's, a passionate being, who is intensely dedicated to the people in her life.   Her accent is layered with the NOLA inflection.  She is the focus of both Stanley and Blanche's attentions.  A 'star' that both characters are drawn to...  Stella, like Blanche, is from Mississippi.  She left in her late teens, presumably to seek a little freedom from her sister and the confines of the aging ruin of a relic, Belle Reve.  She was likely attracted to the decadence of New Orleans, the freedom and primal 'heartbeat' that exists all through the city.  She is fundamentally, a primal character... seeking her survival, seeking a life away from the cobwebbed gentility of her childhood world.  


Extremely dedicated to her sister, extremely drawn to her husband, Stella becomes the 'prize' in the battle between Stanley and Stella.  Blanche expects the sisterly love and dedication of Stella... Stanley demands (and gets) it.  


The relationship between Stanley and Stella is intensely base and sexual.  When the two are together, passion will fill the room.  The chemistry will be electric and that little heartbeat, I spoke about above will completely overtake the senses.   They are drawn to each other, as a cat in heat is drawn to the local tomcat.  However, I do believe there is love between them, but there is also control.  Though, he comes from a family of tradition, he considers himself a 'new man', looking toward the changes the world is making after the end of World War II. 

Stella so wants to be a good wife and please her husband, but she is also a 'new woman'.  She fights the gentility of her upbringing, with her desperate need for independence.  But, still she 'belongs' to Stanley, knows it, and accepts it.  The more she accepts it, the more dependent she is on him for her base survival. 


Her love and dedication to Blanche is fueled by her memories of childhood... probably notable and cherished memories, as the two girls seemed to be a 'team' in a world dominated by expectations, society, and even the men of their family.  In my view, Blanche looked after Stella, cared for her, and loved her.  Probably the only honest love either have ever experienced in their lives.  

I do believe Stella is dealing with her own demons from her past (and the current issues of abuse from Stanley)  and as Blanche's  mind begins to deteriorate, she finds yet another to contend with.  As we leave the little house on Elysian Fields, we are led to believe that Stella will go on living, with little or no fallout from the tragic scene that just occurred.  But, really now... She just sent her sister off to be 'sectioned' for the rest of her life, with little hope of recovery... just the knowledge of 'promising' new techniques to help the insane...  hmmm...  How blind is Stella really?

Now for a few audition notes for Stella-- 

The actress cast should be able to sing, as I would like to have the character sing at different points .


She should be able to handle a lot of movement -- let's just say she will spend a great deal of time in Stanley's arms.


She should be quietly intense and powerful... facially strong in in emotion and packed (herself) with 'layer upon layer' of personality, life experience, and performance opinion... 


I have been asked several times what my perfect Stella would look like (and Blanche and Stanley and Mitch)... I hate to pre determine a cast physically in my mind, so that little tidbit of insight shall remain a mystery... for now.  


Now, for Tuesday / Wednesday...  Have not had a lot of questions regarding Mitch (only 3 or 4), but will be discussing him a bit in the next post.  And, then on to some general comments about auditions and my views on the show in general, so stay tuned!