Adam Goldman......at last !
Usually, these character studies are written in that frightening time between rehearsals and the first night: When the script is learned, and the major characterizations are if not nailed down, at least well on the way to some sort of completion. You may not have got used to carrying that prop in that way, but you know the reason why he is carting it around. However, this time, it was different. Two weeks rehearsal, followed by a weekend’s Tech and then first night gave me less time that usual to try to write down who Adam actually was.
(Picture Courtesy Javier Sotres)
As mentioned in a previous post, my work on this production flowed between different shades of characterization throughout both rehearsals and performance. I found myself being very relaxed with the wonderfully experienced cast around me, to the point that I knew that subtle shifts in my comportment and delivery wouldn’t ‘throw’ them. Although my personal skill at creative paraphrasing wasn’t appreciated by the Director (Nor that wonderful cast, I worried.), by the time we reached Production week, I had made Adam professional enough to spout the phrases written in odd cadence and logic (My description) with command and intelligence – something that I hadn’t felt I had achieved in a long time. My major concerns were his overall attitude and demeanor.
Without giving too much away (Comfort Cottages is a new work, and may well be presented again at a theatre near you.), Adam’s major scene is right off the top of the play. In fact, he’s the first character onstage, and his ‘job’ - as our Director referred to me continually as - was ‘Mr. Exposition’. All of The Story So Far is my job to pass on, along with the pitfalls coming up and the stakes in paly for all of the major characters, so I was conscious to make him understandable and believable to the audience. I hoped that in that way Adam as a full person would come out. Of course, he was far too two-dimensional for much of rehearsals: Too much fact and improbable movements and expressions to be truly human. It was these details of his character that I was still working when we got to the Tech. Week.
As there are many comic pieces in the play after ‘my’ opening scene, I wanted to ensure that I was signposting these for the audience, and ensuring that I was truly uncomfortable at telling the back story (Spoiler Alert). I may have been a successful lawyer that has seen a lot, but the idea of telling someone for the first time the details of the outrageous will and true identity of a loved family member, was a true concern to my character. In an attempt to tie my future scenes to that long,18 minute opening scene, I also attempted to become a little of a Mother’s Boy, a tad worried about being around Women, in order to give myself a bigger pay off in my penultimate scene.
In the end, all of these experiments were if not completely discarded, at least toned down and folded into an all-round ‘real’ human being. I felt happy about Adam Goldman at the end of the run; his socially awkward character, were exacerbated by the tasks he had to do. How he has to find happiness by taking the leap that he is always advising others to do. However, I particularly enjoyed the experimentation that I was allowed to do, and would suggest that if you have the time to completely build the character from small components and discovering which way they fit, Rubik’s Cube-style, into your overall work, take it. Even on a month long, 8 performance-per-week run, there is never a dull time on stage – if your fellow cast and director allow it. In Adam’s case, there was also the presence of the writers in attendance for every rehearsal and performance, so no stress there!
