The final understudy run
February 28, 2012
We came. We saw. We understudied.
The final understudy run of Heresy of Love burst onto the stage on Tuesday afternoon, to the eyes of the rest of the cast, Adam Lenson our incredible Assistant Director, the casting department, Tony the Tour Guide and my family. A diligent clan of support.
It was the climax of a week of hard work, (and not to over-egg cliché) blood, sweat and tears... not real blood obviously, just a bit of red ink for acting with. We had spent the last few weeks, rigorously watching our counterparts' every move, and running the play (of a cast of sixteen) with only seven of us understudies. The Dream Team... if you will.
The understudies are made up of cast members throughout the season, including a few of the principals from Written on the Heart and Measure for Measure. This is to ensure that the work load is equally shared throughout the ensemble - large part in one, understudy in another - to keep a balance in the force. (Excuse the Star Wars reference. It won't happen again.)
As there are only seven of us, a cornucopia of doubling is necessary to cover all the characters. I for one am covering Angelica, a fifteen year old novice played by Sarah Ovens, as well as the Vicereine, the Queen of New Mexico played by Catherine Hamilton... quite a jump! Catherine herself is understudying the lead of Sor Juana played by Catherine McCormack, so if one goes down we all shift up in an understudy hierarchy.
To keep the story clear, as sometimes our doubles will be in consecutive scenes or even in the same scene on occasion, our Assistant Director Adam (whose job it is to direct the u/s run) has the Brechtian idea of simply using one piece of costume as an indicator for which character you are. For example, I will be wearing Angelica's blue dress and then when I snap into the Vicereine I will put on a regal cloak (said cloak was worn by Judy Dench in All's Well That Ends Well, to say that I let out a girly scream would be an appalling underestimate).
The run went brilliantly. We all pulled together as a tight unit and told the story with our unique (yet slightly more condensed) voice, portraying it with truth and honesty and that is all that matters I believe.
I can't help but feel a slight ache and sadness in my heart as this has been my last understudy run, which sort of feels like the end of the job for me. Back to furniture lifting and singing nuns tonight!
Two weeks left to go in this magical place. I mean to make the most of it!
by Laura Darrall
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