Sarah Price "Flow"

I used to be in theatre in high school. It was my thing. I was always working on a show or trying to memorize a song for a musical or trying to memorize lines. I was always wrapped up in theatre! Each spring, seniors were allowed to prepare a scene from a show with two or three people and perform it at “Senior Scenes” night. My friend, Kate, and I decided that we wanted to do a scene from “A Streetcar Named Desire” where she would play Stella and I would play her sister, Blanche.
I had played many roles in my life, but this was by far the most challenging. I was only doing one scene from this complicated show, but I had to analyze every part of it – every line, every word, every movement, every thought… All were planned. The more we rehearsed the scene, the more I planned, and the less I felt. I removed myself from the actual feeling of the character. What was Blanche actually doing? I got myself stuck in between having everything memorized in my head and actually feeling it in my heart.
It wasn’t until I actually performed it that I could understand my character. It wasn’t because I was analyzing Blanche DuBois every move, but rather, I finally understood her because I was her. She was flowing through me and I was completely unaware of anything else. It was the first time in my acting career that I actually felt alive as someone else on stage. It didn’t feel like a performance. I was just alive. I was a part of the flow that was this crazy woman and I was completely submerged in her life.