Well, that was it! I had a lot of fun in our performance and felt very prepared to present the piece. It went pretty much as expected, aside from some technical difficulties that we were prepared to handle. The feedback I received was overwhelmingly positive and I'm proud of what we accomplished.
I feel like I grew immensely as an actor during this process. I learned an entirely new platform and style of performance in about five weeks, adapting my acting to StreamYard. I learned how to better connect with my own emotions and evoke emotional responses from within myself rather than relying on my scene partners to build emotion. I feel much more confident in my ability to do monologues for auditions, self-tape, and deliver soliloquies onstage alone after performing in an isolated environment.
Initially I expected the process to be really difficult, and it was! But I learned so much more than I expected to and feel more secure in my abilities as an actor than I did before the process. The online platform took a lot of getting used to, as you can tell reading through my journal entries, but I'm excited to explore it more and it doesn't scare me anymore. I know now that it's possible to make decent theatre online with enough dedication and work put into it. The platform doesn't have to take away from the performance or be the central focus; the acting can still be showcased without it being in person.
Working on this show also showed me that I can handle comedic acting better than I thought I could before, which is encouraging and means I'm building my range. I definitely think dramatic acting is my strongest acting and I think my performance supports that, but I feel more capable to handle comedic moments now.
I also learned that it's possible to cultivate intimate cast relationships without ever meeting in person. I grew so close to Bailey and the rest of the actors in my D&D party just through our online rehearsals. I'm so glad I got to meet and work with the cast and I feel like our friendships are just beginning. I was worried about creating realistic relationships because there wouldn't be any in person cast bonding, but I realized in our final Zoom call that I cared for the cast, even those who I haven't met, in an intimate way that I do for my friends. Bailey really felt like my sister by the end of the process, which was really special and something I wasn't expecting to happen.
I feel very lucky to be a part of this show and to have learned so much about myself, Agnes, and what theatre can be if we just work to make it happen. I seriously feel like a whole new performer after this show and can't wait to transfer that into my professional career.
This performance is a culmination of my time at UMW Theatre because it showcased my acting abilities in a realistic character that was both comedic and dramatic. I was able to use everything I learned in Acting I & II, Voice & Body, and my experiences on Klein to create Agnes's personality. Voice & Body was especially helpful to keep my voice healthy and clear working online through a microphone. I also was able to pull from my experiences in Acting I & II by doing extensive research to create a Hagen character analysis that guided my choices and utilizing the monologue experience I had in that class, as well as from The Amish Project. I feel very confident that this is my best acting work since coming to UMW because I had all of my experience backing me up and helping me make strong acting choices. I'm proud of my work and happy that this show is my senior project. I feel like Agnes really suits me and I was able to bring out the best of her.