The Tyler Junior College Theatre Department is hosting “Moby Dick” until March 2. The show premiered on Feb. 28. A showing will be held at 7:30 p.m. March 1 and 2 along with a 2:30 p.m. performance on March 2. “Moby Dick” is directed by Denise Weatherly-Green who said she wants to be creative with her plays and she makes sure to include the important parts of the novel in the play.
“We just do a little bit of, ‘Hey, these are the whales, but it is a re-shaping of that original story.’ So, characters are consolidated. It really is just the high points of the novel, but it definitely encompasses the feeling of it and the themes, and those central characters that are there,” Weatherly-Green said.
A technique that director Weatherly-Green likes to teach her students are to use a verb instead of just a feeling. Verbs do have an involvement in acting because verbs are action words. Verbs describe what a person is doing or feeling. Verbs do have a more impact on people than feelings. Students could use what they are feeling and turn it into a verb that they can use on stage, she said.
If Weatherly-Green goes to a verb list and says, “What are you doing? Well, I’m trying to show that I’m frustrated; know what are you doing. I’m stomping. I’m cringing. I’m withdrawing. I’m manipulating or I’m enveloping,” Weatherly Green said. “So, I’ make them use action words because the root word of drama is ‘dran,’ it’s to do. So, let’s do something; doing something causes feeling not just trying to emulate feeling and that’s my one path that I try to take them down first.”
Theatre rehearsal is meant to shape the students’ character they are playing. A few of the theatre students really get into their character during the rehearsals.
“I try to kind of re-posture myself and kind of put myself in a different mental head space because obviously Stub wouldn’t think about whether or not his nails are painted or whether or not his hair is done. I just really put myself in a different mental head space and I think that really helps me,” said Amasa Hartong, a sophomore majoring in theatre.
Other students like to use different techniques to prepare or to improve their character they are playing. Some students have grown up around and just ended up liking it. Some of the theatre students like to listen to music that can remind them about how their character thinks and feels.
“I’m a huge music person. I grew up with it around my family. So, a lot of emotions and memories are tied to music,” said Azalea Strouse, a freshman majoring in theatre. “What I like to do is I will either find a YouTube track that’s eight hours long, or I’ll make a playlist of songs that remind me of the character that I’m playing and I will listen to that. Either while I’m getting ready in the dressing room, like before show or before rehearsal with everybody’s getting dressed.”
Students create their own script for the character they are portraying. If the actor wants to make a good impression of people, the actor needs to understand the mindset of the character they are portraying.
“If it’s not provided in the script, then I will come up with one to justify his why is he telling the story as far as they should? Well, why is he telling the story? Why is it important to him that he tells the story, and just really delving into that so I can understand his motivation. I think finding the motivation and having that backstory for me, it’s really important than helping me feel really in character,” Strouse said.
For more information about the TJC theatre Department, go to the Theatre/Musical theatre website. Anyone can purchase tickets through tjc.universitytickets.com or call the TJC Box Office at 903-510-2212. If anyone wants to purchase their ticket in-person, they can visit the Rogers Palmer Performing Arts Center. Also, the TJC Box Office is open from 1-6 p.m. on weekdays.
