How do you approach a new text as an actor?

Today’s blog post comes from Gabrielle Nellis-Pain who is playing Sophie in Captured. Check out her thoughts on approaching a new text and working with a new company:

As an actor joining a new company, a big priority for me is the relationships I share with fellow members and our relationship with the story.

Bearing in mind we’re spending the next three months together and often under quite intense circumstances, I think a major factor influencing the success of the entire process can be down to how well you work together as a group. in addition, by cooperating and being open to any direction that is thrown my way, I learn a lot more by experimenting with new techniques for development which is proving invaluable.

On this production we’ve obviously had our director Suzy in the room, but unlike a lot of productions, we’ve also had the luxury of having the writer of Captured, Jenna in every rehearsal which I think has enriched everyone’s relationship with the text. This has allowed exploration of our ideas on the writing with relation to Jen’s initial intentions; the lady who wrote it all in the first place! While this means staying true to Jenna and Suzy’s vision, they’ve also given us the freedom to introduce our own ideas and work as a company.

With regards to my relationship with the character (Sophie), I begin by recognising our similarities and developing the world outside the play i.e. what Sophie’s family might be like, her political views etc. which we went on to explore as a company in rehearsals. I also look for clues in the text that may indicate her opinions which I can further expand on. Once I feel I’ve made headway with the things we have in common, I tackle our differences and hope that ultimately I am revealing a believable and honest character by drawing from my own truth.

I couldn’t have asked to work with a better crowd of creatives and am as excited as ever to see the progression of Captured… I just hope Liam, Jenna and Suzy feel the same towards me!

Thanks Gabby, the feeling is mutual and we can’t wait to show everyone what we have been working on too! The first show is Wednesday 22nd at the Marlowe Studio, we’d love to see you there if you can make it!

07 Jun This entry was published on June 7, 2016 at 12:00 pm and is filed under Captured, Interviews, Q&A, Rehearsals. Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post.