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Friday, December 2, 1988 / University Daily Kansan
Arts & Entertainment
Actors develop difficult characters
The play is a dialogue of two families
By Grace Hobson
Kansan staff writer
When developing a character in theater, many actors call on their past experiences to present an accurate portrayal.
But when it came to characterizing Jake and beth in Sam Shepard's "A Lie of the Mind," Jeff Orr and Julia Brandeberry were at a loss.
The play is a dialogue of two families joined by the marriage of Jake and Beth. The marriage is dissolved, however, when Jake abuses Beth to the point of brain damage. The play shows the families, one living in Montana and the other in California, in their separate journeys to understand their pasts and futures.
"There wasn't much in the play that would work for me," said Orr, Lawrence junior. "I'm not married, I couldn't person, I would not beat my wife."
Likewise, Brandeberry, Great Bend graduate student, is not married, has never been physically injured and does not have brain damage.
Jake is violent, bold and aggressive. Beth is a shell of her old self, resulting from the pain of her love gone wrong. Both characters lie to themselves about the past, using their minds to hide and block out unpleasant memories. The story is complex and intense in its unraveling.
The differences in Orr and Brandeberry from their characters, didn't hinder them developing their characters. After they understood the big picture of the play, they were able to work to identify with their characters, they said.
"I look for the tone of the show." Orr said. "I look for outside elements that make the tone of the show. In this show, it's things like country music and booze and rednecks and Montana."
To prepare, he went to a farmer's livestock sale in East Lawrence, and drank and danced in a country western bar.
"For the last month and a half, I've listened to country music in my car," he said.
"Now that's got to be hard," Bran-deberry said. "The sacrifices actors have to make."
Orr said he had developed a real taste for country music, and plans to continue listening to Johnny Cash and Hank Williams Jr. after the play closes.
For her part, Brandeberry talked with a friend who works with Independence Inc., an organization that works with handicapped people, and read about abused women and relationships. To master Beth's speech impediments brought on by the blows to her head, she used her work experience with KU's speech, language and hearing department.
"I listened to tapes of people who
had brain damage to see how their speech patterns work," she said.
As different as they were from their characters, both actors said they were able to find within them certain characteristics they shared.
"Of course I would never allow my husband to beat me, and I have more of my own opinions. But I enjoy acting. Beth enjoyed acting; Beth is a loving person, and I consider myself a loving person. So I had those at least to go from," said Brandeberry.
Or said he applied his Midwestern upbringing to his character. He looked within himself to understand Jake's feelings.
"When you are forming a characterization, you can't help but use personal experience." Orr said. "I've never really known my grandfather. He was an alcoholic, a gambler. My father never really knew him very well. I've spoken to my father a lot about those feelings of emptiness, and loss and confusion, and so that's something I could draw upon for Jake, who never really know his father either."
Ort and Brandeberry said doing a Sheepard play was one of their favorite theatrical experiences. They were fascinated by how their characters they way they saw fit.
"With Shepard, the play is so individualized," Brandeberry said. "For every director and actor, the play could be different."
ABOVE: Jake, portrayed by Jeffrey Orr, contemplates the death of his father in Sam Shepard's play 'A Lie of the Mind.' LEFT: Julia Brandeberry as Beth annoys her father, Baylor, played by Glenn Q. Pierce, while trying to sort out her life after an abusive marriage.
Two families react to wife beating plot in 'Lie of the Mind'
By Jay A. Cohen Kansan staff writer
Cruel and often brutal farce mixed with poignancy tragedy as a gutsy cast brought Sam Shepard's excellent play, "A Lie of the Mind," to life Wednesday night at Inge Theatre.
The plot concerns two families,
loosely connected by marriage, who must deal with the aftereffects of wife beating that left a daughter damaged and a son fleeing his guilt.
What the audience receives is the fly-on-the-wall view as the two families wash their dirty laundry, often while wearing it. It is gossip
that hits just a little too close to home for comfortable listening
To enjoy gossip, it is necessary to know the people involved, and it is here that the cast shines.
Characters that in less-skilled hands easily could have become caricatures slowly but steadily became real and familiar.
Under the direction of Catherine Renrot, Lawrence graduate student, the players moved smoothly from brilliantly orchestrated crescendos of slapstick to quater moments of vivid pain. Characters interacted with one another comfortably, delivering lines with the excellent timing and necessary naturalness to prevent them from distracting from more serious moments.
But there was some unevenness in the first act.
Jeffrey Orr, Lawrence sophomore who plays Jake, should lose the too-rapid heavy breathing and the distracting hunch. Seeing more of Jake's genuine mean streak as well as the effectively portrayed overgrown child also would improve his character.
Also distracting was the physical activity of the recently injured Beth, played by Julia Brandeberry. Great Bend graduate student. It was impossible to accept other characters' identities and that date on her injury when she twice had sprinted the length of the stage.
But once past the initial scenes. Brandeberry handled a difficult
role very believably
The moving and comic portrayal of Beth's parents by Glenn Pierce, professor of theater and film, and Jill Towsley, Topeka senior, alone are worth the price of admission.
Terri McGibra, Tulsa, Okla,
freshman who plays Sally, and
Brenda Yungeberg, Shawnee
senior who plays Sally's mother
Lorraine, gave strong perform-
ances, in particular during a well-
paced mother-daughter fight that
drew a round of applause.
Craig Adams, Oalte sophomore who plays the perennial victim Frankie, and Scott Reeves, Swattsboro, Ga., sophomore who plays the perennial victim in less exotic roles and seized their own moments without flaw.
The set designed by Bruce Shackleford, Lawrence graduate student, and lit by Kevin Eberman, Overland Park junior, effectively gives a small stage an appropriate feeling of open space and emptiness. The costumes of Murell Horton, Topika graduate student, drew laughter while remaining appropriate.
"A Life of the Mind" continues at 8 p.m. today through Sunday with a 2:30 p.m. matinee on Sunday and a Thursday matinee at the Murphy Hall box office.
Jay A. Cohen is an Alta Vista seni-
major in journalism. He has had
an extensive background at ground-
and is an award-winning playwright.
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