From tragedy and subsequent near tragic circumstances true qualities of character emerge. Amy has demonstrated a vulnerability that had previously never been tested or exposed. Her love for Steve so deep, it was inconceivable that life was worth living without him. In a desperate hour she sought the finality of suicide as her solution. The attempt was unsuccessful and now she must face the people that love her - and these are of course the people that she has in turn hurt deeply and caused great pain. To add to her grief and loss, comes a sense of shame and guilt - this is Amy's darkest hour.
AMY:- I can't even say his name. Because if I say his name, it makes him alive to me - and then I remember he's dead - and the pain is too much - (for the first time she looks at TRISH) - and when the pain gets too much I - And she looks at her wrist. AMY: - I just want it to end. TRISH:(hugging her desperately) Amy, please, don't talk like that. AMY:(still crying) - but I can't live without him. I can't. He was in every pore of my body, Trish. I loved him so much. TRISH: I know. The actor playing Amy must go deep into this emotional area. It is not a comfortable place. It is not a place that we can imagine anyone choosing to go voluntarily, except of course the actor who chooses to tell this story. What are the access points for the actor here? Is there a sense of hopelessness, deep loss, a negation of all purpose and perhaps an inability to see beyond the darkness? How often when we are in the middle of an emotional disturbance is it possible to see beyond the confines of that space? How does the actor tap into this state of being? Is there a need to find the sense of deep love in order to experience the sense of deep loss? And for the actor playing Trish, what must it be like to witness the destruction and dissolution of life and alive-ness. Not only the personal loss of a friend but also to watch a best friend go from a state of joy as she awaits the day of her wedding to a state of sheer desperation and agony. This scene certainly presents many emotional challenges for the actors. It seems the way in to this scene is through the strength of relationship and the capacity for both characters to love. The way they experience and cope with the loss of that love then helps to differentiate their character and provides the texture and the tension for the scene. How does Trish fight for Amy when there is very little fight left in Amy? Trish's patience and strength is being tested as she works with Amy to build the possibility of a future. |