Richard and Iago

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The "Live Your Dreams" Festival was both a success and learning experience for me. I showed you some of the work I did on the monologues, and let you know how nervous I was about them...as I should have been. The purpose of taking on these monologues was to bend the way the audience sees these roles, and this could have been a big failure. In my opinion, I succeeded.

I will begin with Iago. It was the "And what's he then that says I play the villain?" speech, and I had opted to show my monologues to the director of this shenanigan. He and I came up with a really interesting idea, because I had expressed that I wanted Iago to be engaged in a mindless, sort of feminine. At first I thought, maybe painting my nails, but then the director suggested tanning, which at the time, I thought was a fantastic idea. And even as we ended our discussion about how I was taking the piece I was totally OK in my mind with the idea of being in a bikini for this monologue. The night of the show, I realized it made me too nervous. And to be honest, I had a very long dramatic pause a line flub. My fiancée was there that evening, and he let me know that while it was a very interesting choice, it wasn't adding anything to the piece. Did I deliver it well? Yes. Was there intent behind my words? Yes. Did the choice of tanning bring anything to the table? Not really, no. Yes, I am very comfortable with my body and happy with the way I look, but I guess in my heart, I knew it wasn't necessary. So, for the next night of shows, I nixed that choice. I simply dressed up (with killer heels and a blazer) and straight-up delivered the speech. And you know what? I was a LOT more in tune with my Iago, and the piece was so much stronger. I felt I was able to give this character who defined the "Villain" for the rest of history a human soul and a voice that people did not expect. I did not play him as a slinking. mustache-twirling mwahahaha-ing ghoul, but as a person who is very charming, very angry and very smart. And I believe I was able to bring the danger and instability to him that I wanted.

As for dear Richard III, he was less of an issue for me. The first time I did the monologue in front of the director, he said that I had given so much fury and passion and downright evil to the words that I needn't have any blocking, and in fact it would take away from the piece. So I simply sat in a chair and spoke the words; "Now is the winter of our discontent" and I poured all the pain and anger that Richard feels behind every syllable. As for the deformity, I wanted to do something but nothing over the top, like Mary Shelley's Igor. I made it so I couldn't bend my left leg, and getting up from a chair without bending one leg gave me a lopsided shoulder and hunched stance. I kept my left hand gnarled throughout the piece, only letting on that it was malformed at the very end when it took all of my strength to stand up and say "This day will Clarence be closely mew'd up."

It was thrilling to play these crazy, villainous people. More than that, it was an honor. There is a reason that these two character stick out as the baddest of the bad, and remain models for all of the antagonists since. I think my fiancée put it best when he said "You just like to play the bada$$, don't you?" :)

Best,

Micah