Inside Creditors Rehearsal
Rehearsal space for CREDITORS in the Rao and Padma Makineni Play Development Center at La Jolla Playhouse.
by Tom Dugdale, Assistant Director for Creditors
Today we’re setting aside our table work and getting the play “on its feet.” And a surprise awaits us in the rehearsal room: set pieces and props! Downstage, a medium-sized table is laden with clay, art supplies and a sculpture, which is covered for now with cheesecloth. Elsewhere in the space are chaise lounges and old-fashioned wheelchairs, evoking both the turn-of-the-century setting of the play and its spa atmosphere.
We begin our work with an investigation of Adolf’s physical state. Strindberg’s text makes reference to anemia as the cause of Adolf’s diminished health. Omar Metwally, who plays Adolf, begins to explore the space, working with the idea that Adolf’s legs are weak and quick to fatigue. He moves a bit here, a bit there, trying out the wheelchairs and chaise lounges, and soon a physical shape, rhythm, and gait emerges. At first, Omar works with two canes and eventually discards one. While it is a bit uncomfortable, digging into his hand, he says that the discomfort is useful for his process of developing the character of Adolf.
T. Ryder Smith, our Gustav, joins us and Doug begins an exploration of the first scene. Calling it a ’scene’ is somewhat misleading; at thirty pages, the ’scene’ feels more like an entire act, a complex and exquisitely layered interaction between Adolf and Gustav, an enigmatic stranger who Adolf has only just met.
The scene quickly makes clear that Adolf is an artist. The art supplies in the room, as well as the sculpture, belong to him. At first casual and off-hand, the conversation between the two men becomes increasingly intimate and personal, with Gustav playing the role of confidante and counselor as Adolf unfolds details of his life. “I might as well tell you everything,” Adolf tells Gustav, setting the stage for what is to unfold in the next scenes.
Accompanying the intimate, frank conversation is a wonderful playful physicality, energy, humor between our two actors. The rehearsal room erupts in laughter every time T. Ryder sneaks up behind Omar with the wheelchair like an overzealous nurse, forcing him down into it!
After two days of work with the men on this first scene (first act!), Doug is ready to welcome Kathryn, our Tekla, back into the rehearsal room.