Selling the truth

Most of the morning was spent pottering about and tidying up after the marathon painting session. 

I quickly realised that I had barely a thing to eat in the house, so made an impromptu and rain lashed dash into town for an expensive and disappointing curry from Booths. 

Despite wanting to do more to ensure that everything is perfect for when the children come back round, I made myself sit down and veg out for the remainder of the day. Flicking through Netflix, I soon disappeared into Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.

I know nothing of the playwright; August Wilson, but was drawn to this as I knew that it was Chadwick Boseman’s last film and that it was based on a stage play of the same name. The film retains that stagey feel, but I quite liked that. Why shouldn’t we be able to see an actor lose themselves in a monologue in the middle of a film?

Even as an amateur performer, I am looking to find the “truth” in the role. What is real about this character? Why should an audience care about them? This extends from the serious roles right through to the pantomime dame. Because, as my old drama teacher; Eric “Salvador” Dali, used to tell me: “if you don’t believe what you’re doing, why should the audience?”

It took me a long time to truly understand and develop that train of thought, that these words on the page were not just lines to be spoken. They were my character’s truth and it was my job to sell that truth to the audience. 

For this reason, my eyes were once again stinging with tears as I watched Chadwick Boseman apply his craft to the role of Levee the talented, but frustrated trumpet player in Ma Rainey’s band. It’s a tight piece, but the arc of his character over that short timeframe and the gamut of emotions that he is forced to cover is truly breath-taking. Knowing the actor’s own truth of not being long for this world, makes a moment where Levee is screaming at the heavens and daring Jesus to “turn your back on me, motherfucker” utterly heart-breaking.

The scintillating performance reminded me of how I felt watching Heath Ledger disappear into the role of The Joker in The Dark Knight and a sad reminder of another exceptional talent being lost way too soon.

Be good to yourselves and give it a watch.