Familiar | The Experience
Harare, June 20th 2018 | Kudzai Sevenzo
My experience with Familiar rehearsals started with table readings the day after I arrived in Washington D.C. If you have never visited Zimbabwe before, never spoken the language of the characters you are portraying and never been integrated into Zimbabwean culture, you best immerse yourself in research because knowledge is power! The rehearsal room put this adage into perspective with images of contemporary Zimbabwean life, its culture and liberation war heroes upon the walls. Books on the history of the nation were also available for actors to peruse through in the rehearsal space. The dramaturg, Kirsten, created an awesome website on everything Zimbabwean from its history, geography to politics and music.
Having the playwright present for the table readings was a great way for us to also gain more perspective of the play. Hearing Danai’s intention, the real-life characters that inspired her when writing the play and her own personal experience watching the traditional roora ceremony gave actors a glimpse into the world of the play and its dynamic characters, as well as its cultural nuances. She opened herself to questions, even giving actors access to real-life people who had inspired some of the characters. Research was crucial for every actor to dig for more info and share their day’s find the next day at rehearsals.
The play is peppered with Shona phrases, non-verbal and verbal expressions as well as the language. The American actors playing characters born in Zimbabwe had the main task of trying to master the language as well as their accents. This is where the dialect coach came in; helping in training their tongues to create sounds they had never formed before. What fun! Assisting with this, I discovered the musicality of my own language; something I had taken for granted for as long as I have been speaking Shona – which is most of my life!
It took a complete commitment from the actors to master the language and dialect – videos from youtube (and plenty of “Ndeipi!” shona greetings during coffee breaks!) The actors had a delicate balance to reach: somewhere between mastering the dialect and maintaining the passion and conviction of the character. Eventually, that balance was reached.
One of the questions Adam Immerwahr, the director would ask the actors when it came to staging a play as realistic as this one, was: “What would a human do?” This question was a constant guide in directing and as a deterrent to the temptation of playing for laughs or playing to the audience. It also served to allow actors to trust their own instinct, even when they weren’t sure it would reach the desired outcome.
The play is set in a family home, and so it is natural for people to get up for a glass of water when they are talking, they may turn their backs to the audience in the middle of an argument because they are focused on the person they are in conflict with – that’s what a human would do! The question extended to a cultural question; how would you greet your elder if you were raised in a certain culture?
We delved into the characters wants and desires; from what position was he/she speaking? Was it from a position of strength or one of weakness? What conflicting emotions are we dealing with? What was the most effective way to deliver a statement – did a quiet approach best serve the character’s objective at this moment or would it have been shouting and making their voice heard? Which approach was best for a monologue? Emoting or explaining casually?
It was the first time I had ever heard of an intimacy coach! Unsure of his purpose, at first, I then saw what a crucial role he played in creating the perfect choreography for the intimate scene while at the same time ensuring that characters were comfortable. Repetition was a friend for the actors in these scenes; after all the awkward head-butts and slips in the rehearsal room, they found their rhythm in the most natural way through repetition of the choreography of the physical scenes. Now they had the freedom to play their scene in many different ways for the director in order to explore the perfect delivery.
Once all the key areas had been tackled, the director endeavored to tighten the play by removing all the areas where there was too much air, too many long pauses and maintaining the areas where keeping a beat would add tension to a particular scene.
He even used a stopwatch where necessary, to reduce the parts of a scene that were taking too long, thus cutting down some parts by a significant minute or so. This made a world of difference in the delivery and it was amazing to watch the play after these changes!
After watching a few dress rehearsals and previews of the play, we turned our attention from the actors that we had come to know and appreciate, to the audience. We were now watching the audience watching the actors. It was so satisfying to see when they would laugh, cry, hang onto an actor’s every word at the climax of the play, then exhale with a sigh of relief at the conclusion. That is what compelling story-telling looks like from the point of view of the audience!
My overall experience working as assistant director to Adam was exciting and eye-opening. As I assisted with Shona pronunciation, the dancing, and singing, I realized that through a cultural exchange like
this, it is our various input derived from our diverse cultural background that can make a production strong. I loved watching the play develop from a table reading to the staging in the rehearsal space and finally to the actors performing on the completed set, with its brand new energy. I certainly look forward to directing again very soon!