The scene takes place at Billy's house mid-day. My character has just landed on earth as an angel to visit his daughter Louise (Becky), all grown up. In the scene, Billy chooses to make his daughter see him and talk to him; she continues to ask questions about her dead father. Throughout the scene, Becky and I were completely trapped in our characters and couldn't get out. I was talking to Becky later today and we both agreed that our friendly relationship in reality was totally forgotten in the 3 minutes we were onstage playing our characters. It's odd because I can't recall what was going on in my head, but when our characters are supposed to argue towards the end of the scene, my frustration built to the highest peak possible. All I can say is that looking into Louise's eyes, I couldn't help but see the evil and hate in her that I suddenly wanted to change, which caused me to grab her hand and really throw all of my emotion into the slap. It was fascinating how engaged we both were in the scene. In this show, my mind barely drifts while I'm up onstage. Although I can't relate to this villainous character, I really feel the pain that he causes people just by looking in my victim's eyes or studying their facial expressions. Fortunately, the cast is extremely talented and they really give me a lot to work with while I'm acting.
It's incredible how I can communicate with a character through their eyes and facial expressions. Sometimes, I'm even scared of myself when I see the agony I cause these people. I encourage all actors to really try and stay focused on their opposing actor/actress onstage because when you feed off that person, it really creates exceptional acting.
