From the Archives- "Out of the Box": The Final Show!

December 8, 2011

We’ve had an incredibly exciting couple of weeks writing and polishing a script for our Saturday program at the PIT, and Jake and I have been keeping tabs on all the latest footage!  In our last blog entry, we looked at a couple of original commercials.  The next step in our actors’ process was to help them create characters based on the commercials they made up.  After the characters had been decided, our volunteers interviewed each character to further aid in our playwrights’ development of the script.  And then… we finally got the script!!  After looking at the commercials, the interviews, and finally, the recent rehearsals, I sat down with Jake to talk a little bit about what it all means.

MK:  Jake, the final performance for the Saturday program is coming up.  Have you gotten a chance to look at the script?

Jake:  Yes, last week I got a glimpse of the script for the upcoming show called Out of the Box to get a sense of what the characters’ performances are going to be like.  The play is about museum exhibits who are determined to save their museum director from losing her job.  A sort of ‘Night at the Museum’ type thing because the exhibits come to life.  The stakes are high since they are trying to save the museum director’s job, and they may lose their chance if they don’t help her think of a new exhibit.

MK:  Who are the characters in the show?

Jake:  Talia plays Princess Anastasia Romanov, who was, by the way, the last grand duchess of Russia.  Teddy plays Benjamin Franklin, Nicky is Tyrone the Tyrannosaurus Rex, Jake plays The Famous Country Singer, and Jeffrieal is The Famous Baseball Star.

MK:  From the original commercials and the subsequent interviews, the actors have helped us develop their characters as the people (and animals!) they are most interested in.  Can you talk a little bit about that process?

Jake:  For example, in the case of Teddy, we originally saw a commercial for the iPod.

MK:  And then Teddy became two characters who were major inventors in history, is that right?

Jake:  Yes.  I watched a pretend interview with Thomas Edison and Benjamin Franklin on their inventions.  Edison turned on the light, while Franklin created electricity.  Teddy played both characters (talk about a double role!), acting like each guy, and it was a bit challenging because he had to change his character.  Teddy really likes inventions so in the show, he’ll be playing Ben Franklin who is an amazing inventor.

MK:  What do you think it’s like playing a character that is based upon something they are passionate about?

Jake:  It makes them feel happy and excited and it’s like they are following their dreams.  They are being modest about it.  They aren’t showing off.  They are acting in a more honest way.  They’re sincere in their acting, they are using their soul for the acting when putting themselves in their characters’ shoes.

MK:  How did the rehearsals look [from the Flip Cam footage]?

Jake: They are doing very well at getting themselves into the character, few mistakes, few flaws.  They are getting into the process through thinking what their character is like.  They are changing their voices to bring the characters out.  These actors are chameleons.

MK:  Can you speak a little bit more about some of the actors interests, as made clear by their interviews and final characters?

Jake:  Jake [in Saturday’s program] really loves country music so he really put himself into the character of his interest.  Jake explained about his ‘life’ as a country singer.  He mentioned that once he sang with a singer named Kristofferson, and I could tell he was excited about being that character in the upcoming play.

MK:  And what about Talia, whose commercial we also saw last time?

Jake:  In the case of Talia, we originally saw her commercial for an American Girl doll.  And then for her interview, Talia went from an American Girl to a famous and feisty princess. I’ve come to understand that being a princess doesn’t always mean being born into royalty, wearing pretty dresses, and getting their prince.  It means being modest and sincere in what they say and do for others.

MK:  What is her life as a princess like?

Jake:  She talked about how she loved dancing with her prince, Nicky, and how she loved her “palace life”.  During her interview, she pretended she had an argument with Teddy [as Benjamin Franklin], who was upset that she had candles in her palace because he was worried for her safety.  It was a bit challenging to pretend to get to know another character, but when Talia stepped up to the plate it was really daring, just as the princesses of the films I’ve seen are.  Back to the show!  Jeffrieal plays The Famous Baseball Player.  He loves baseball, he’s really fond of it.

MK:  How do you think that helps him?

Jake:  I think he’s going to be amazing putting himself into this role because the baseball player is part of the museum and hopes kids can see him and be inspired to play baseball.  It’s his passion.  And it’s easy for him to imagine himself in that character’s shoes, he is able to talk like they talk and move like they move.

MK:  Is it important for characters to have a back story, like we saw in Nicky’s interview?

Jake:  Yes, Nicky had a pretend interview on life as a dinosaur.  He mentioned that he roared whenever he was furious, but had a nice family, and that he wanted to be a doctor who looked after the sick ones.  Hey, even a dinosaur has feelings about his life, doesn’t he?  And I think that Nicky will be amazing putting himself into this character’s shoes (or in this case, claws).  Plus he had an amazing theme song.  We see his passions, what he wants most, and his feelings about things.  This helps with the character development.

MK:  How does this all compare with your Thursday workshop at the Cooke Center?

Jake:  In our theater workshop, we have been studying and rehearsing our camp play called Welcome to Camp.  Like the young actors on Saturday, we also work on a lot of character development.

MK:  Have you faced any challenges in Thursday’s program?

Jake:  Usually, I play Hal the most enthusiastic and helpful of the campers, but when the actress who plays Rapone, the lead counselor, was absent, I put myself into her shoes [and filled in].  This was a challenge because I had to break away from the character I was used to playing, and then had to create a balance between these two personas and feelings within myself.

MK:  Wow!  And how did you do that, exactly?

Jake:  For Hal, I was a helping hand and led people to do good things.  With Rapone I played more of the leader.  I also changed the accent for Rapone – I used a Southern accent.

MK:  And what’s your favorite part about rehearsing?

Jake:  That you get to learn how to put yourself into another character’s shoes to bring your feelings to life!

MK:  As we approach the final show of Out of the Box, and also your own performance of Welcome to Camp, do you have any last words?

Jake:  We will be able to see a magnificent performance!  I am certain that the performance of Out of the Box is going to dance its way to the stage!  And so will Welcome to Camp!

MK:  Thanks, Jake!

PLUS: Check out some exclusive footage from last week’s rehearsal!

Until next time…

-Michelle and Jake