The midnight Zone
Who I played
what i learned
How i grew
In The Midnight Zone, I played Becky Black, the youngest child of an affluent white family stuck, quite literally, in the past. Becky is smart and quick on her feet, in stark comparison to other members of her family. She is very close with her older brother, Timmy, although they bicker. At eight years old, she has a hint of naivete, but she is also able to pick up on suspicious matters quickly when others do not. When their father threatens or abuses them, Timmy usually takes the brunt of it in an attempt to protect her. Overall, Becky is still figuring out her own way in the world, but in the end, falls prey to the same beliefs as her family, representing a dangerous cycle that is extraordinarily difficult to break.
By playing Becky, I learned about the importance of physical mannerisms as well as verbalization in acting. Playing someone half my age when I was sixteen years old was definitely a learning experience, and I'm so glad I had the chance to explore bending the stereotypes and generalizations of age-based acting in this piece. I didn't want to make Becky one-dimensional, so I researched the mannerisms and thought processes of eight-year-old girls heavily. In doing this research, I learned that an eight-year-old's internal wants, needs, and motivations are much different than that of a teenager, and that in turn affected my acting and how I responded to events as the character.
This play taught me to be comfortable with being uncomfortable. There are many moments throughout the show where Becky and her family members say things that are inappropriate, ignorant, and just morally wrong. Even though I knew that it was my job to portray the character honestly and be a professional, I couldn't help but feel disquieted at the prospect of portraying the ignorant ideals that Becky had been taught by her parents. However, once I started looking at the characters as whole people with individual motivations, the main theme of the play started to come through. The Midnight Zone pushes its viewers to recognize how history has started to repeat itself, and in order to tell that story and get that message across, I needed to act as Becky, not Olivia. Now, I feel confident that I can tell important stories without losing sight of my morals and what is important to me.