Action! Lights up; the popcorn is popping, and the concession stand is bustling with hurried movie goers rushing to their seats before the lights dim, just in time for an audience about to enjoy a film. This is your typical movie going experience, an escape from the everyday world, in a dark cinema, pretending to be in the world of each film and for those simple two to three hours, feel like you have left a typical 9-5 day, and are slaying dragons, finding long lost loves, and making dreams come true. What those who work at cinemas; the people who don’t get to experience these movies as an escape? This is the complex, awkward, emotional, and trying world of The Flick, ASU School of Film, Dance and Theatre’s newest Mainstage production.
Arizona State University’s theater students are stepping into the roles of underpaid movie ushers in Annie Baker's Pulitzer Prize-winning drama The Flick, which premiered in 2013 at New York's Playwrights Horizons to critical acclaim, and then reopened Off-Broadway at the Barrow Street Theatre, winning the Obie Award for Playwriting.
This complex, emotional, show requires a lot of maturity, flexibility, and commitment from the ensemble. The Flick’s cast is made up of only four actors, who spend roughly 2 hours or more in an intimate set, with moments that could be a little too close for comfort, learning about one another, and themselves in the theater, which helps shape their identities.
Vulnerability is the name of the game when it comes to this play. Characters express feelings for one another, simulate sexual acts on stage, and engage in some interesting concepts about life in a run down movie palace in Worcester, Massachusetts.
Due to the intimate nature of the play, special steps were made to help the students acting in the production feel more comfortable with the content and their partners on stage.
“You have to deal with these themes sensitively. Especially working with young characters played by young people, I have to be delicate in the way I approach these things--the very same experiences may have occurred not long ago in their own lives and I need to be aware of that," said director Katie Farrell. “Additionally, you have to deal with these themes in a way that is palatable to an audience, that will not re-victimize them in any way.”
Before opening night of The Flick at ASU, I had the opportunity to meet with Farrell and lead actress Kayla Dewees, to touch on some of the themes, explorations, and intimacy work that went into this production.
Actress Dewees, plays the only female in the production. In a complex love triangle her character faces some awkward, unforgettable moments in the show, and Dewees expressed, “The show is dense with subject and theme, but one of the main themes that is present throughout the whole piece would be the power of mentality.” Said Dewees.
“Almost every single character is blocked and/or challenged by their mental state. Whether it be depression, love/sexuality, or identity, there are many other topics touched on in every scene that discover these mentalities and sort of weave them through the life of the show.”
Farrell unpacked exactly how the production approached this intimacy with intimacy choreography, much like one would do with a fight scene, except in this case, the same blocking and technique can be used for intimate, vulnerable, or sexually charged scenes.
We asked, “What was the process like for this piece?”
“An intimate work like The Flick requires strong character work--who are you, what do you want, what do you need, etc., so really grasping and loving who these characters are was a crucial part of the process. However, we also took time to get to know one another as people, which I think really helped when we got to intimacy coaching, where the actors explicitly tell one another, "This is where I am comfortable being touched and this is where I'm not comfortable being touched." By the time we got there, everyone was familiar and comfortable enough with each other that there was complete trust in the room and a strong belief that we were all there for the building up of one another.”
I wanted to know, “As a graduate student of a college piece what was important for you in the process of this show?”
Farrell replied, “Again, everyone being comfortable with one another was my main concern. This show depends on strong character relationships and as the friendships grew offstage, they deepened on stage. This cast laughs together regularly, they tell one another how their days are going at the top of every rehearsal, they talk about music together, they check in. They put in the time to care for one another offstage, so when they step into the lights, there is a continuation, and extension, of that caring and respect. I honestly don't think the show would work without that.”
“So, along that same line, walk our audiences through how you approached intimacy for this show?”
“Very carefully! Farrell noted, “As an intimacy choreographer myself, I was very excited to welcome Whitney Nelson (a local Intimacy Coach) on board and we really put our heads together to find the mechanics of what would work, but also made time to work on coaching--making sure the actors are comfortable with one another and de-sexualizing the entire situation and process. The intimacy in this show is non-consensual, so for me, I wanted to be sure we were focusing on the receiver of the intimacy because that experience is the one people need to see and empathize with. A part of any work I do is bringing attention to survivors of sexual violence so that we as a society can better know how to respond to trauma and care for people experiencing it, so I think I very much approached this piece in that way--how can I portray non-consensual intimacy in a way that shows without a doubt that what is happening is wrong? How can I make my actors comfortable while portraying something so difficult? How can I bring my actors and audience into a place where we talk about non-consensual trauma without traumatizing anyone? How can I make space for those conversations?”
Actress, Dewees agreed with her director on this point, noting, “The biggest importance to me in this show, especially as a college student, is that the cast was on the same level with the show. By this I mean, on the same spectrum of understanding and comfortability, but also professionalism. It was important that the objective of the scenes, especially the intimacy scene, are apparent and clear in order to tackle this very serious yet comedic show.”
Overall Dewees agreed, the process of intimacy coaching from Nelson, and the cast made the production more comfortable, and freeing for them to then explore the show’s text, themes, and overall artistic values.
“Good acting takes place when actors feel safe and respected,” said Farrell, “creating a space for them to be comfortable and respected--I can't speak enough to how important this truly is.”
Dewees finished by saying, “Working on The Flick was such a fun wholesome process, especially as my first show at Arizona State University. The relationships between the characters in the show are very close and personal and I feel like as the cast bonded we grew immensely with one another, which shows in the piece. The Flick is a such an amazing work of art that exemplifies the everyday life of normal people and that’s what I find extraordinary about it.”
If you are interested in more intimacy for stage work ASU will be offering a workshop on staging intimacy for stage and screen March 2nd and 3rd.
CLICK HERE for more information on The Flick at ASU, which runs through February 25th
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