So much of theatre revolves around timing. How fast we speak, how long we pause, how quickly we react — all of this must come together to create effective drama or comedy. As an actor, it’s a huge job. Don’t miss an entrance, don’t miss a line, don’t forget to interrupt and cut off the other actor or they’ll be stuck adlibbing nonsense. Against the intentionally stressful backdrop of a ticking clock, THIS IS A TEST experiments wildly with the idea of dramatic timing. Actors must speak over each other, the chanting chorus becoming a soundscape behind Allie’s monologue or the teacher’s instructions, and the same lines are repeated over and over again at different times and in different contexts. Even the timeline itself bends as we warp seamlessly between the dream-like testing room and Allie’s imagination and memory.
But the greatest challenge this script presents is silence. Have you ever tried putting away all distractions, sitting in front of a room full of people, and not saying one single word? Have you ever tried that and been eleven? For middle school actors, silence can be extremely disquieting, and it is tempting to fill it almost unconsciously. Yet in this play, Stephen Gregg invites us to lean into the discomfort of silence, embracing it and pushing our boundaries to the limit. The dialogue and conversation may whizz past, but the silence stretches to epic proportions, forcing the actors to constantly engage physically and come up with “business” — the little movements and gestures between staged actions that keep them from being a lifeless blob in a desk. It is in these silent moments that we stop seeing the everyday personalities of the actors and begin to truly discover the characters before us. So even if you aren’t hearing anything, watch closely; anything can happen! After all, this is a play…
Leo Mahler
Director
