1 post tagged “change photo”
Show us change.
Submitted by quornflour.
On the Left: Before.
In April of 2004, I was cast as Lucky in a production of Samuel Beckett's existential comedy, Waiting for Godot. The play was a huge challenge to me, having never tackled a role with such extreme physicality or textual depth, but I made my way through the experience and it ended up being something of a breakout role for me. I am forever grateful for the chance I got to play such an interesting character, and for surprising myself with my own then-untapped reserves of dedication.
Before the play, my distinguishing trademark was my hair, specifically the dreadlocks I wore, and employed to theatrical effect. I began growing when I was 19, after a major period of transition, and had them for six years. Until Godot.
During the rehearsal process, I once again found myself in a period of transition, and that needed to be sorted out. As I felt my way through this, I realized how much of my life was being affected by the energy I carried around with myself. Hair tends to act as a sponge, and soaks up not only water and smoke, but also the experiences you have, as you are having them. You can squeeze out the water, and wash out the smoke, but the energy you move through, that gets trapped on a molecular level. When you need to get rid of that energy, there is only one option to take.
Hair, when logged by either water or energy, can become very heavy. This happens so slowly that we often don't realize how our bodies end up sagging under the weight.
Over the handful of weeks of rehearsal for Waiting for Godot, I struggled to understand the character of Lucky, and also with representing him physically. I was given several valuable pointers to help me out along the way and I ended up with a good understanding of his toil, but I was confounded once I needed to perform his lightness, the vast ethereal interior life that was so integral to the character. I also could not fit into the hat the costume designer found for me.
So I decided to cut my hair.
On the Right: After.
In April of 2004, I was cast as Lucky in a production of Samuel Beckett's existential comedy, Waiting for Godot. The play was a huge challenge to me, having never tackled a role with such extreme physicality or textual depth, but I made my way through the experience and it ended up being something of a breakout role for me. I am forever grateful for the chance I got to play such an interesting character, and for surprising myself with my own then-untapped reserves of dedication.
Before the play, my distinguishing trademark was my hair, specifically the dreadlocks I wore, and employed to theatrical effect. I began growing when I was 19, after a major period of transition, and had them for six years. Until Godot.
During the rehearsal process, I once again found myself in a period of transition, and that needed to be sorted out. As I felt my way through this, I realized how much of my life was being affected by the energy I carried around with myself. Hair tends to act as a sponge, and soaks up not only water and smoke, but also the experiences you have, as you are having them. You can squeeze out the water, and wash out the smoke, but the energy you move through, that gets trapped on a molecular level. When you need to get rid of that energy, there is only one option to take.
Hair, when logged by either water or energy, can become very heavy. This happens so slowly that we often don't realize how our bodies end up sagging under the weight.
Over the handful of weeks of rehearsal for Waiting for Godot, I struggled to understand the character of Lucky, and also with representing him physically. I was given several valuable pointers to help me out along the way and I ended up with a good understanding of his toil, but I was confounded once I needed to perform his lightness, the vast ethereal interior life that was so integral to the character. I also could not fit into the hat the costume designer found for me.
So I decided to cut my hair.
On the Right: After.
