Character: Mrs. Stevenson
I have to say that I am super proud of myself for memorizing my many, many lines. I was already really stressed because of my other classes during the rehearsal process, so memorizing lines, especially so many, was a lot more difficult than usual, but I still did it. I stumbled a few times on my lines during the performance, but nothing I messed up was major. It also fit my character to stumble, so it may have even added to my acting a bit. I do not think the audience noticed at all either. I feel like I could have done better with my physicality while I was laying in the bed the entire show, but I feel like that was mostly due to the limited time I had to work on and prepare for the performance. I think I could have gone even more over the top with my freak-out moments and lines to make it more realistic to how someone would actually react about overhearing murder plans and trying to get other people to understand the urgency of what was going on. I think I did a good job overall, though. My screams were great and I think I had a lot of strong acting moments. I think I achieved the directors’ visions and also made them very happy because I got all my lines down and was always professional and focused during our rehearsals. I took all their notes and did my best to bring their vision for Mrs. Stevenson to life. I just think everything would have been so much better if we had had more time to prepare for the performance.
Character: Evan (AKA Anna)
Act I Scene VI
Dear Evan Hansen will always have a special place in my heart, as it was the first musical I fell in love with. I think everyone can relate to Evan in some way; I know that I've felt just as awkward, hopeless, and alone as Evan before. However, this musical reminds us that we aren't alone, we all matter, and no one deserves to ever doubt their existence. I have always loved Evan's character, but I never thought I'd get the chance to play him since it's a miscast. So, the moment I found out that this scene was gender-swapped and I was going to be Evan, I was ecstatic. From doing this scene, I found that in some ways, Evan is easy to play, but for the most part, he's so difficult to. In theatre, you're always told not to fidget with your clothes and hands, look distracted or nervous, or stutter your words, but Evan's character requires you to do those things. So, you can kind of just take your nerves from performing and bring them out in the character, but what makes it difficult is trying to get the comedic and dramatic timing right. You have to really be in the moment and actually feel what is happening in the scene in yourself in order to make Evan look naturally nervous and awkward. Also, in this scene, he makes up things on the spot and starts creating a web of lies, so you have to make it seem like you're thinking and coming up with ideas on the spot while at the same time not making it too obvious because if it was, the others in the scene would know that Evan was lying and the scene wouldn't be realistic. Complicated, right? So, I did my best to achieve this and I think I did a pretty good job for the purpose of this scene. However, I would realistically need a lot more time to absorb and understand Evan's character in order to make my portrayal of him truly natural. This scene was a ton of fun for me though, and I absolutely loved getting to sing "For Forever" because it is such a pretty song! Also, one of the most important things to me as an actor is fulfilling my director's vision, even if it's not what I want because that's my job. Disney-fying Dear Evan Hansen was a very interesting choice and not something I would've chosen to do myself, but I liked the unique spin it added to the scene and I think we pulled it off. I can almost guarantee that I'll never get to do the same thing again, so that makes this experience even more special to have been part of.