Who Will Sing For Lena?
I did!
From what I understand, it lasted for 70 minutes. I wouldn't know; I don't remember saying much of anything, except the few lines I was trying to choke out at the end, trying to hold back the tears before I "walked real slow up the stairs to the chair. Then I prayed. Then I got quiet." ...and strapped myself to the electric chair, covered my head with the black hood and...
"What I done, I done in self defense or I'd have been killed myself...I'm ready to go. I am one in the number and I am ready to meet my God."
She sang her song and she sang it loud. I was but a vessel through which she could sing.
"Maybe I should start closer to the beginning."
After almost 12 hours of sleep, I woke up at around 6:15 Saturday morning, saying lines, going over my prop list, saying lines, you know, just generally being a nervous nelly. My weekly hair appointment was over in less than an hour & I went back home to finish obsessing. I showed up at the venue and all hell broke loose. In my most melodramatic, obsessive-compulsive, slightly neurotic daydreams, I could not have imagined the drama that would unfold between noon and 1:15pm. There was a flooded basement, about 12 loud, hi-tech, moisture removing fans & dehumidifiers, a put upon maintenance dude and an "assertive" Coolstein (is that what we're calling it these days??).
Fortunatly, the fireworks died down long enough for me to rehearse & go enjoy some of C. Coolstein's birthday dinner. (Girl, I'm so glad you were born! And not just because of the yummy chicken & cake.) There was blog checking, email sending, phone call ignoring, yogic breathing and calming meditation. Then there was five minutes to places.
It all comes down to this.
*deep breath*
*strong voice*
"Mama's twin cousin was lynched almost a year ago to the day I was born. For stealing a horse, the white folks finally said. It was 2 counties over and nobody could tell how he got so far from home."
Honest to goodness, I don't remember saying those words. I do remember pointing out people I knew in the audience. But I don't remember saying the lines. I do remember reacting to being raped. But I don't remember describing it. I remember the people laughing at the funny stuff. But I don't remember what I was physically doing that was so amusing. I remember seeing necks craning to get a better look when the electric chair was brought onstage. But I don't remember strapping myself down to it.
This inability to recall the performance means that I accomplished my goal. I got out of my own way & let Lena do the talking.
From what I understand, it lasted for 70 minutes. I wouldn't know; I don't remember saying much of anything, except the few lines I was trying to choke out at the end, trying to hold back the tears before I "walked real slow up the stairs to the chair. Then I prayed. Then I got quiet." ...and strapped myself to the electric chair, covered my head with the black hood and...
"What I done, I done in self defense or I'd have been killed myself...I'm ready to go. I am one in the number and I am ready to meet my God."
She sang her song and she sang it loud. I was but a vessel through which she could sing.
"Maybe I should start closer to the beginning."
After almost 12 hours of sleep, I woke up at around 6:15 Saturday morning, saying lines, going over my prop list, saying lines, you know, just generally being a nervous nelly. My weekly hair appointment was over in less than an hour & I went back home to finish obsessing. I showed up at the venue and all hell broke loose. In my most melodramatic, obsessive-compulsive, slightly neurotic daydreams, I could not have imagined the drama that would unfold between noon and 1:15pm. There was a flooded basement, about 12 loud, hi-tech, moisture removing fans & dehumidifiers, a put upon maintenance dude and an "assertive" Coolstein (is that what we're calling it these days??).
Fortunatly, the fireworks died down long enough for me to rehearse & go enjoy some of C. Coolstein's birthday dinner. (Girl, I'm so glad you were born! And not just because of the yummy chicken & cake.) There was blog checking, email sending, phone call ignoring, yogic breathing and calming meditation. Then there was five minutes to places.
It all comes down to this.
*deep breath*
*strong voice*
"Mama's twin cousin was lynched almost a year ago to the day I was born. For stealing a horse, the white folks finally said. It was 2 counties over and nobody could tell how he got so far from home."
Honest to goodness, I don't remember saying those words. I do remember pointing out people I knew in the audience. But I don't remember saying the lines. I do remember reacting to being raped. But I don't remember describing it. I remember the people laughing at the funny stuff. But I don't remember what I was physically doing that was so amusing. I remember seeing necks craning to get a better look when the electric chair was brought onstage. But I don't remember strapping myself down to it.
This inability to recall the performance means that I accomplished my goal. I got out of my own way & let Lena do the talking.
posted by Piscean Princess at 5:35 PM
9 Comments:
Brava!! (I have goose-bumps just from reading about it. Thanks and congratulations for what was, I'm sure, a blockbuster performance.)
Good for you! Had no doubt that you would get it done. May this be a great beginning for you.
Hooray!
Everyone that missed this performance really missed out on something special. I truly hope that she will get another chance to perform this in the future so everyone that missed it will be able to see what I am talking about. It was truly amazing.
Now that I have had a few days to reflect on what I saw, I realized that I have never felt so connected to a character in a live performance. It wasn't my friend on stage at all...it was a woman from years ago telling the story of her demise. I don't know what that tells anyone else that is reading this, but it tells me that it was a magnificent performance. Bravo!
Where'd my comment go?
Wow. It sounds wonderful! BRAVO!!!!
Brava! Sounds wonderful and it really makes me miss acting...
So you were channeling her....I'm such a horrible actor, so I admire anyone else who can pull it off.
*crossing my fingers that Blogger doesn't eat my comment* i just wanted to echo what the others have said and say congratulations on a job well done! i hope this is the first of many powerful performances!
Thank you all so very much! All of the support and positive energy you ladies sent my way before the performance helped me tremendously. As I may have mentioned in a few of the posts, I have never worked so hard on a piece.
As an actor, you take for granted that there are usually other folks on stage with you. Whether they are dialoguing with your character or not, their energy is there to play off of. Even in shows that are primarily monologues (like for colored girls... or Stonewall Jackson's House)the other actors provide a springboard.
But being up there alone with such a powerful story. Whew! If I had known going into it that it would be so challenging, I probably would have been scared and said no to the opportunity. So glad I didn't.
Now I have to decide if I will submit the piece to a festival of new works here in town. I'm concerned about my energy level, 'cause if it's accepted into the fest, I would have to perform 3 or 4 days in a row. It took a good day and a half for me to get it together after just doing it Saturday night! I guess we'll see.
Again, thanks to all of you for "being there" and taking an interest in Lena's story. Y'all are the best kind of blog buddies!
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