Director Kellsy MacKilligan begins rehearsal with quick warm up exercises for her actors. The actors are rehearsing for the Student Performing Artists (SPA) show, “Picasso at the Lapin Agile” by Steve Martin. The actors gather round in a circle to start a multitude of tongue twisters and breathing exercises.
“You know New York, you need New York, you know you need unique New York,” said the cast. Each “k” sound is pronounced with vigor and authority. Actors take their breaths at the same time ensuring continuity in the sound. These technicalities actors learn during classes and rehearsals are usually taught by university professors. This time the direction is given by senior theater major MacKilligan.
The difference between direction by a faculty member versus a student is apparent even in the rehearsal of the play. Cast members often converse with MacKilligan to offer suggestions regarding their character.
Wes Cianchette, freshman theater major plays Freddy, the owner of the bar where Einstein and Picasso meet. Though Cianchette has never been in a main stage play at USM, he enjoys being directed by a fellow student.
“She is on the same level as students. I can confide in her as a student rather than a supervisor.” Cianchette said.
Often time’s actors feel pressured when a professor of theirs directs them. Jillian Shapleigh, junior theater major, plays the woman who knows all, Germain.
” I’m more comfortable acting for a student director. Your not worried if she is going to judge you and mark your grade down,” said Shapleigh
Throughout rehearsal MacKilligan would stop the actors to make quick suggestions. Often times it was to keep the energy of the actors up. When an actor would become fatigued, MacKilligan would remind them of an exercise they did before rehearsal to help the actor find their character.
“We do a lot of character work. I do what I know though, because I’m a student too.” MacKilligan said. “The character has to find a archetypal way of movement. We’ve done some (Michael) Chekov exercises for movement to find the character’s nuances.”
MacKilligan feels the most important factor in her actors is the relationships between each character while they’re on stage. While acting the lines is critical MacKilligan feels the time not speaking is just as critical.
“What do you do without speaking on stage. You are still interacting,” she said.
This is the first time directing for MacKilligan who has been in several productions with USM and outside projects.