Lavinia

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I can honestly say from the start, this is one, if not the most difficult role I have tackled to date. And---I love it! Titus Andronicus is not only William Shakespeare's most violent, bloody tragedy, but one of the most interesting in my opinion. Also considered to be his first, he seems in his writing style, to be completely new at creating tragic stories. The characters are larger than life, and their animalistic tendencies and fierce wits are compelling. There are flaws of course to the story, but, I think we can overlook them for a good bloody drama!

I am playing the character of Lavinia. Lavinia is the famed Roman general Titus Andronicus' only daughter. The play chronicles the war of revenge between Titus and Tamora, the Queen of Goths, and the bloody trail left in its wake.Lavinia, is one of the most abused characters in the story. For revenge for her sacrificed son, Tamora, along with Aaron the Moor (her lover) inspire Tamora's remaining sons Chiron and Demetrius to act on their lusty thoughts of Lavinia; to kill Bassianus (the emperor's brother and Lavinia's new husband) and to rape her. That done, they cut off her hands and tongue to prevent her from revealing their names to anyone. For the rest of the story, well, pick up your Complete Works and give her a read! (You won't be disappointed!)

The approach I took to Lavinia was surprisingly slower than I usually do. I like to kind of dive in fully as quickly as I can. For some reason, I was apprehensive to live fully in Lavinia's shoes. (Some reason - HA! Maybe because of the subject material? Just a wild guess). I must have originally been nervous to tackle it, because again I have never played a character like this so far. And with all new faces, as well as familiar ones, I was slow to trust my fellow actors, so I defaulted to being a little goofy in rehearsals at first. But, with my director's help (Kate!) and with the support of my scene partners I began to trust everyone fully and I can confidently say that I have been able to dig deeper and deeper with each run. I accept that these issues are dark, and dangerous and very emotionally taxing, but I know now that I can navigate them successfully with the tools I have been acquiring through training.

I should mention first, that my Lavinia is very different than most portrayals of her. But first a little prep work: I began memorizing my lines, of which there are few, but they are very specific. The words chosen are there for a reason, and I really tried to pay attention to that. Especially the irregularities when she is getting more and more distressed. That done, we began physical-izing the show.We started by really defining the differences in movement style of the way that Romans move v. the way that the Goths would move. I began working on how a daughter of a strong Roman war-family would move. We used exercises in which we envisioned animals for our characters. Typically, and as is mentioned in the text, Lavinia evokes the image of a doe. She is called a "dainty doe" by Demetrius, and a "deer" by Titus. But, for some reason, the image of a fox kept appearing in my mind. From the beginning, I wanted to avoid Lavinia becoming only and simply the victim. My reasoning: She is the daughter of a very famous general, not only that but a successful war-hero. Because of this, she has achieved great status in Rome and is a coveted bachelorette before becoming engaged to Bassianus, who is a very powerful man himself. She is surrounded by men; her brothers and father. I have created my Lavinia as a fighting, strong woman. Almost with the confidence of a mob-boss daughter. In the beginning of the play; she feels completely untouchable.A fox is a vulnerable animal, but does not go down without putting up a fight. Foxes are also hunted in the woods, as is Lavinia. So, fox it is!


I also liked the idea that Lavinia is a little proud. She has an upstanding family, and she is nice-looking. She struts a bit. Perhaps a bit too much. Which brings me to my next and somewhat more controversial decision with my character. I, as Lavinia, flirt ever so slightly with everyone; specifically Chiron and Demetrius. We wanted to explore what it would be like if the lust the boys felt toward her was not completely based on looking at her. Don't get me wrong, she's not completely asking for it, but she allows other men to look at her in the beginning of the play. She likes the attention! Which gave me SO much more to play with post-rape. The guilt, the shame and feeling like it was somewhat my fault.

Now, with these new choices I have made, with the guidance of the director and the support from our story, I feel very confident in my own characterization of Lavinia. I am quite proud of it. I know that it is different. And that people who know the story very well may be a little shocked or not like it. But I am happy and I feel like my Lavinia stems from me. As she should.

Tonight's opening night...






Let's see where we go!

Best,

Micah