Action!

Inside the Method of Acting

Olivia Richardson

by Paul Seiple photo courtesy of Smokestack Theatre Co

Ball’s life and body or work taught Richardson the craft of acting. She cites that realization as the catalyst for wanting to train.

Richardson approaches a role from a standpoint of adaptability. “The one thing I always do is get the script out of my hands as soon as possible. That way I have total freedom to play and explore without using up so much mental bandwidth trying to find the lines on the page,” she added. For some roles, Richardson relies on personal experience. “Let’s say I’m playing a character who’s 27, a grad student, and has just broken off her engagement. Okay, I, Olivia the actor, know what it’s like to be in my late twenties, I know what it’s like to be in high-pressure academia, and I know how it feels to be heartbroken… I can find my way into this role fairly easily.” Other roles require a different approach. Richardson said, “If I’m working on a Shakespeare production, I root everything in the text. There’s technique involved, and you have to learn what you should look for in his text, learning how to use the language, but he wrote everything the actor needs on the page. Once you learn how to use the tools in the Shakespeare toolbox, you’re just going on a treasure hunt through Julius Caesar or Twelfth Night.”

Richardson relies on Sanford

Meisner’s definition of acting, “Acting is living truthfully under imaginary circumstances,” to make a role believable. She added, “The key word here is ‘living’ because it removes the element of performance altogether. When we use that word, performance, or the word acting, we’re sort of implying that we’re doing something other than telling the truth, which is exactly the opposite of what we want to do as actors.” Richardson works in service of a story and tells it as honest as possible. “There again, I think crafting a believable performance is determined by the requirements of the show. There’s no one-sizes-fits-all answer.”

Richardson is also putting the pen to paper. She is in the early stages of writing a one-woman show about Mary Anderson. “She was a Shakespearean actress who toured the US and UK in the late 19th century. I hope to produce that sooner rather than later,” Richardson said.

Recently, Richardson moved to New York hoping to build a solid network of collaborators. “I’ve had some great auditions. I’m in callbacks for a couple of different projects, and I’m honestly just looking forward to telling more stories!”

Scene: Plant and Linda are sitting in Linda’s kitchen in the morning sunlight.)

Plant: Top of the mornin’ to you.

Linda: … Oh, nuts. It’s you again.

P: Here you come again with that inquiring mind. I so look forward to these conversations … after you wake up.

L: You can run but you can’t hide, Plant. … Wait …You can’t run. Nor are you hiding… so… what’s on your mind, Plant? … What am I saying…?

P: Let’s talk color.

L: Color?

P: Yes. What’s the dominant color in this room?

L: I’m not ready for this. I need coffee.

P: You should reduce your stimulant intake.

L: (reheating coffee): Why?

P: Think about not having to depend on having a morning simulant to get going.

L (sipping coffee): Nice of you to care.

P: Caring is part of the human condition. Moving on. Color?

L: …Uhhh…wait … human condition … you’re not human…. will think about that later... yellow kitchen walls. Multicolored, circular hanging of 1,000 paper cranes. Blond or white cabinets. Neutral laminate floor. Brown Thai wood bar used to stash pots and pans. Black and stainless-steel appliances.

P: Don’t forget the green.

L: …Oh. The plants. In their winter habitat in the window. The motherlode geranium, her daughter plant, the parsley –though that was dying so we ate it in a salad. “When you’re green, you’re growing. When you’re ripe, you rot.” Ray Kroc said that. What a giant of an idea.

P: I don’t have any children. Maybe we should look into that. What month is it?

L: Month? March.

P: What does that mean?

L: To march: regularized stepping. Or, time marches on; a musical march; March Madness; winter ends, spring begins.

P: … You are so hard to work with. So dense. Use your brain. Think. Hint: rhymes with hat trick.

L … Oh. …Patrick? …St. Patrick’s Day. In March. The color green. I get it.

P (grudging approval): Now you’re almost conscious. On second thought, don’t give up the coffee. Just dilute it to dilute the effects.

L: Once again, Wikipedia to the rescue. Our country’s a melting pot. So many diverse cultures with their own tradition. The green from the Irish comes from Ireland being so green…

P: Repetitive. Sounds like your brain just took a cognitive step backward.

L: … from lots of rain. The Irish potato famine and unemployment drove many Irish to emigrate to the United States. St. Patrick’s Day celebrates St. Patrick, a patron saint of Ireland. The Irish diaspora celebrate the holiday.

P: Two steps forward. Diaspora?

L: Irish or any other cultural group of people who leave a home country to settle somewhere else, like in the United States. And we celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. Shamrocks; a three-leafed green plant that St. Patrick used to explain the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost to non-Christians. Parades. Festivals. Celtic crosses. The