More Thoughts on Furniture and Acting
September 25th, 2011 by Bob
It’s Sunday September 26 as I am writing this and this afternoon I will “play” John Wesley Dobbs one last time in the world premier of Robert Earl Price’s “All Blues.” I found that the process of creating Mr. Dobbs was not dissimilar to making a piece of furniture. The playwright handed me the blueprints or design, if you will, in the words that he gave me to speak, the actions that my character was to perform. The challenge for the actor is to bring those words to life, not just to say them but to convey the underlying emotion, feeling and reason for the words being spoken. I had an “aha” moment as I was trying to learn this and what it meant. It was furniture making that showed me the way.
I have designed a line of furniture of about 40 pieces and, while I have made repeat versions of individual pieces, none of them is ever the same. Sure the dimensions are the same, they may have similar joinery but the essence of the “painting” of the object, the grain and texture of the wood is always different. For one client it may be a quiet Sofia Entry Table, for another it may be that the selection of wood for the top is bolder and thus it’s a dramatic Sofia Entry Table, one that calls more attention to itself. So, though I may make 20 Sofia Entry Tables or Daniel Coffee Tables, they are each a different piece, a different painting if I take care to be true to my process.
So in my “aha” moment as John Wesley Dobbs I came to realize that my obligation as an artist and an actor was to, each night, take what I had learned from the previous night’s performance and my studying during the day and continue to refine my John Wesley Dobbs. My words were the same, but the texture and awareness of my character needed to be refined if he were to remain a vital character. I wish that I could “play” him for a long time, there is more that I think I could discover. There is also, I think, a better actor in me that I might be able to become but there’s also work to be done back at the shop, furniture to be made and I am anxious to find out how this experience of being a “temporary actor” will inform my furniture making. I am convinced that it will, I’m just not sure how yet…stay tuned.
These are all unrefined thoughts so I would certainly welcome any thoughts and comments you might have. For those of you who might follow this blog, I hope to have more information on finishing posted soon.
