By Isobel Staples
Our Town by Thornton Wilder directed by Beth Knight
To begin, I read the play slowly through twice in order to analyse and make note of my initial reactions. I was pulled to the desire for community and belonging that were so stunningly modern. After conducting my own research I was also really interested in the metatheatricality and the subtly supernatural elements.
Wilder’s classicism, relatable small-town characters and heart make it so accessible to 21st century audiences. ‘I tried to restore the significance to the small details of life.’ He encourages you to appreciate life while you can and places value on the mundane, which in the modern world that moves so fast, is still something to strive for and why I believe it is still so widely performed.
Kurt Vonnegut on his 2005 release of ‘A Man Without a Country’.
This piece really connected with me and became a key talking point between Beth and I, as a focal point for the play to be performed to a present day audience.
Timeline of American History 1600s to 2025- politics, theatre, events during the play and Thornton Wilder’s life. Completing this research was so important in viewing the work through a small-town American lens, informing characters views and standpoints.
I also watched It’s a Wonderful Life, On Golden Pond and Little Women (1994 & 2019) for more American perspectives and help with accent work.
Casting
After meeting with Beth I was cast as Mrs Julia Gibbs in Act 3. Even as a repressed housewife she possesses enduring strength that is evident even on a first read. Her death is quietly heartbreaking as it brings an end to her dreams and ambitions that were so overlooked. I was really interested in attempting to portray her from beyond the grave, with her layers of complex grieving.
I was also given the responsibility of Assistant Director and movement captain, which was such an incredible opportunity. Beth’s generosity and support empowered me to fully submerge myself into the process. I was in attendance for every call and although the days were long, my focus became so improved that I felt really productive and present throughout. It felt so good to be able to put my all into a project and I feel really proud of my contributions. I had such a positive experience and would love to carry it forward to future projects and explore the roles further.
Process
It was really impactful to be able to merge everything from skills classes and try out my own process in a full project. As soon as I got my character I made a list of her given circumstances, so I knew I had got everything possible from the text.
I also created mood boards, did some free writing and created character affirmations.
To soundtrack these tasks I made a playlist of songs I thought would resonate to her.
Having this personal base layer as well as specific decisions made before we went into character discussions felt like a strong foundation and I was pleased to have set this level of preparation for myself.
Throughout the whole process we obviously had to address the subjects of grief and the inevitability of death, which I am personally quite sensitive to at the moment. I was proud that I managed to stay present and vocal in the room while processing and giving myself time to decompress afterwards. I know that most projects will include sensitive topics so I am pleased to have proved to myself that I can face up to those that are challenging.
Character Exploration
I loved having in-depth character development sessions, I felt really informed and immersed and will definitely take Beth’s practices forward.
We decided that all of the scenes in the play were times that the dead have chosen to revisit. For Mrs Gibbs this is her son’s wedding, but considering how important this was for her it is far too painful to relive, therefore she goes back further to a mundane evening of choir practice. Bearing witness to these scenes (although in the wrong order) really helped me develop a through line. It was so fun to be able to play with the time frame and foresight.
Initially, I did struggle quite a lot with the lack of connection I was allowed to have. My blocking was standing on the side and being seen through as a ghost or to sit facing away from everyone. This did then mean that I had lots of time to gather my thoughts and dive into the subtext.
As the scene developed, Emily had more motivation to come closer to Julia and we experimented with Tait actually kneeling down and placing her hands on my knees to try and get a reaction. This was a really useful point of attachment and was backed up by Julia’s protective instincts.
As Tait and I were so close together and my lines were all in Act 3, I did find my voice dropping off. After getting some notes on volume I tried to do an extra in-depth vocal warmup just before we all went on, particularly focusing on resonance and projection, which I think did help me improve.
As the 3 Mrs Gibbs we created a timeline of shared memories that were not in the text, to add more layers of detail to our work and align with the nostalgia and longing of the play. One that really benefitted me was in the garden, her happy place, with a young George playing as she hung out the washing. George falls and hurts himself and she comforts him.
We put on a song from our playlists and each of us took turns to act out the memory. It was really impactful to see Ella and Norelle’s versions, where they used James and Ed as their respective George’s, emphasizing the different types of mothering that she navigates throughout the children’s lives: henpecking, nurturing, serving, coddling.
As I didn’t get to interact with either of them I chose to play to an imaginary boy, which actually helped me to be ghostly. Throwing my arms around someone who wasn’t there increased the grief, longing and elusiveness that I have to carry throughout the play. In the scenes that I witness in death I get to see George throughout time and it was effective to have a strong mental image of an even younger him to directly contrast. This acted as an emotional hook and allowed for spontaneous, natural thoughts to drop in as I connected more and more to her nostalgia and heartache.
A big discovery was Actioning, which I had never really used before. Instead of assigning a verb to each of our lines, we chose whole categories and amassed a list of words we thought our character was capable of throughout their life.
This was helpful as it synthesised all my previous research and choices into shorthand, so instead of getting too in my head I was able to let go and focus on the moment, while retaining character. I was really happy to discover this as ‘being able to leave my work at the door’ was a main goal for me, for this project and beyond. On reflection, this was probably my biggest breakthrough moment, just learning to trust that my research will manifest in my performance and by releasing that pressure it allows room for organic thought. Growing to trust myself and my choices is invaluable and I’m so grateful to have had a director and class that created a space where that was encouraged.
Physicality
As movement lead I often took the cast through a yogic warm up, with affirmations and breath work. I found this relaxed but focused start positively impacted the room and energy levels.
I also had separate movement calls for each character ‘group’ really early in the process as a base structure for thinking about movement. Throughout I utilised Laban’s efforts, the ideas of kinispheres and weight in the body, as an accessible language learnt from Movement in Context, as well as animal studies. I researched how the characters would have dressed and how they each would have responded- would they feel restricted? Would they enjoy being supported (corseted)? We also delved into how work/hobbies would be impactful. I really enjoyed having these conversations that led to so many interesting offers.
Mrs Gibbs carries a lot of worry throughout the play, so deciding that this weighed down in the stomach, grounded her and set the pace of heavy, laboured movement that helped us progress past an old fashioned, ‘elegant’ housewife stereotype.
Later on, we noticed the importance of creating specific gestures for each group which could carry through in the play as a character signifier. I tried to base as much of these on given circumstances as possible to make them natural, but purposeful and idiosyncratic.
One of my biggest challenges was actually my restriction of movement. In the first scenes I was mostly still in the corner and for the third act I was confined to a chair. Although utilising my specific gestures I still felt that my body wasn’t doing enough. After discussing this with Beth, we revisited the ‘rules of the dead’. In the text everyone in a grave attests that each moment spent with the living after death is painful.
We decided to stretch this and make the bigger choice of every movement that strays from the grave is not only mentally but physically agonizing. This was so helpful: when I was standing, observing, I loosened my knees and became unsteady on my feet. I used the pre-set gesture of dabbing at my collar and head but to replicate an ache. I clenched my jaw and gritted my teeth. This was particularly enhanced when other characters approached me, but could only see me as the ‘moon’. I wanted to highlight the physical pull and push away connection I had with each of them so I made a list of ‘wants’ to drop in.
It gave so much more weight and importance to my being, especially on the line,
a plea to Emily to not feel the pain that I had. Julia has now chosen to be disconnected from the living, for her own sake, and this line highlights her sorrow as well as her care for Emily. At first I struggled to grasp the purpose, but knowing how much effort it is to just turn around to face her, it connected in my head. It also completely altered my vocal and breath work, the physical exertion of just turning in my chair was enough to wind the character and therefore added layers of pain and desperation that I hadn’t previously achieved.
Overall I really enjoyed the challenge of Julia’s physicality, it was really interesting to play older and explore the contradictions of grounded to ghostly and liminal. It also established how important my physical work is to my process and I will definitely add Laban and Uta Hagen earlier in future projects.
Reflection
I’m so grateful to have been a part in this production, with such an inspiring director and talented cast. Utilising my process on a play that I felt really invested in was such a valuable experience. Although I still love research, I’m so pleased that I’ve found a way to transcribe it into accessible, short-form thoughts that I can connect with quickly in scenes.
Whilst reflecting on my performance and choices, next time I’d like to explore a wider vocal range. I’m going to look at specific practitioners and use my skills lessons to support this development and look forward to seeing the impact on my practice. I want to make sure to add my physical and vocal processes as soon as I start my research to make more instinctual, natural work.
In conclusion, I feel much more confident in my ideas and choices as a performer and assistant director which makes me excited for future projects.
