A conversation with three ensemble members of Little Green Pig Theatrical Concern about developing characters, inspiration, and their experience devising Little Green Pig’s upcoming original piece, NORWAY. NORWAY was developed over the course of a year and based on the contributions of 17 actors. Actors Victoria Bender, Maxine Eloi, and Kaley Morrison share tips and stories about building NORWAY and their original characters from the ground up.
NORWAY
Based on the improvised work of 17 actors, this devised play looks at the
everyday lives of friends and family members eight years after a tragedy
rocks their tightly-knit community. Written and directed by Jaybird O’Berski.
MAY 2-18: Shows Thursdays-Saturdays at 7:30pm in various locations. See LGP website for details. Reserve your $0 Tickets: https://dime.io/events/norway
BIOS
Victoria Bender is a Durham-based actor and costumer. She has recently become more interested with improvisation and devised theater. When not involved with theater, she can be found working as a veterinarian for exotic animals in Raleigh, NC.
Maxine Eloi is an actor, writer, director and filmmaker. Classically trained at Boston University and the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts (LAMDA), Maxine received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting from Boston University. Since graduating, Maxine has continued to pursue her creative passions through film and theatre with over 14 film credits including Blue Crossing, Roll Pin Punch, and The Last in Line. Maxine is also a company member at Theater Delta, Theatre For Change, Curious Theatre Collective and Little Green Pig Theatrical Concern.
Kaley Morrison is an actor and all around theatre artist. When not working on shows or on set Kaley enjoys teaching, belly dancing, and doing improv. Be sure to catch Kaley in Little Green Pig’s Norway, this May and performing with the Superteam at The Pit – Chapel Hill.
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Questions for the LGP Ensemble:
Part of what I’d like to talk about today is what inspires us as actors. And I thought one place to start is with the discussion of an upcoming play that all three of you will be in — LGP’s Norway, a devised theatre piece premiering in May. I’ll have links and more information in the show notes. We’re recording this in February so you won’t begin the nightly rehearsal period for another month or so, however, this play has been in development for a long time.
Would you talk about that development process? What was it like as an actor? What did you learn from the process? How did you create your characters? Do you think the development process will have an impact on the final production? If so, how?
Acting is an interesting craft, right? Because in some ways it can feel very constricting — in “traditional plays” often we are cast as a certain type and within the script there are markers about who are character is and the words are even laid out for us. Yet, individual actors will inevitably make a character their own and embody them in a unique way. What do you think about that? How do you approach character building (finding inspiration for a role)? How do you find the freedom/spaciousness to explore within your work?Examples?
Anything else you’ve found inspiring in your acting process?
Zero Dollar Ticket Season and anything else?
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