When I first approached the character of The Photographer in Damon Falke's new script, The Sun is in the West, the aspects that stood out most were the ways she was different from me.
I slipped past the stuff that was familiar, and explored the areas that were unfamiliar first: her location, her craft, her way of putting things... and much more. Once I filled in those gaps, I discovered where she and I meet, or to put another way, where she sits in me.
 I understood The Photographer's sense of place and the setting of the play through the rhythm of Damon's text and through The Photographer's relationship to the landscape. Photography is an extension of her connection to the land, along with the significance of memory to her and keeping memories for herself and others. The idea of keeping memories for others is foreign to me. But I guess I do some of that. Our family makes photo albums, scrapbooks and tells stories about our lives all in an effort to remember.
My character finds redemption through taking photographs. I used to take photographs diligently. Sometime in my late 20's, I decided that taking so many pictures took me out of the immediacy of the moment, and I would use my memory for cataloging experiences instead. That worked for awhile, but I have since discovered that my middle-aged brain is inadequate for this.
The interesting part of photography that I have recently discovered through my character is that although we consciously or subconsciously choose our memory of something in framing a picture, if we look, it can reveal so much more.
The Photographer is driven by her absolute need for detail and resonance, which connects her to her world. Re-connecting to place connects her to other places and people she's known. She is preoccupied with looking because looking brings her to a place where she can see what's underneath. This sense of connection is what drives her. I can definitely relate to that. I need connection, as well. In fact, I think I've gone from seeking and acknowledging connections in my life, to an absolute faith that everything is connected.
My choice to work on this play is more than just a fun thing to do (it is that!). This work enriches my life and who I am because it forces me to grow artistically and as a human being. Anyway, in the badly misquoted words of Damon Falke, anyone working in the theater has to "believe in something bigger in order to persevere" (thank you, Damon!).
In excavating what I thought were the differences between me and my character, I have come to deeply understand another human being's point of view. This discovery is what thrills me about acting.
The Sun is in the West is a thought provoking new play by Southern writer, Damon Falke, exploring the power of place and story in the span of each human life. Square Top Repertory Theatre premier blends Old World story-telling, live roots music, and modern theatre performance. Featuring music written and performed by guitarist Dave Seaton.
Performance dates:
DURANGO, CO
Friday, April 9, 7:30pm, Fort Lewis College Mainstage Theatre
PAGOSA SPRINGS, CO
Saturday, April 10, 7:30pm, Downtown at the Liberty Theatre
SANTA FE, NM
Friday - Saturday, May 14-15, 8:00pm, with Co-producers Santa Fe Performing Arts at the Armory for the Arts Theater, 1050 Old Pecos Trail.
Felicia Meyer directed a reading of Seeking Flight, for STRT as part of the 2009 New Works Festival. She currently serves as a Visiting Instructor of Theatre Arts at Fort Lewis College, in Durango, CO, where she teaches a variety of classes, and in 2008, directed Speak Truth to Power.
Meyer holds a BFA in Theatre Arts from New York University, where she studied at Playwright's Horizons and the Experimental Theatre Wing, working with such director's as Anne Bogart and Richard Foreman. She has performed in a variety of plays, including Skins, Kathryn Moller's Fort Lewis College production at La MaMa ETC, in New York, and has also appeared on television. She earned her MFA in directing from the American Film Institute, where she directed an award winning short film, Desert Snow. |