women of troy
Who I played
what i learned
How i grew
In Women of Troy, I played Andromache, the protagonist of the story. Andromache is a nineteen-year-old who fell pregnant out of wedlock to her fiancee, Hector. Born to a traditionalist family with strict values, Andromache, who had always wanted to be a mother, decided to keep the baby and move up the date of the wedding. However, something went wrong with her pregnancy, and it was no longer viable. Not wanting to get her husband in trouble, she drove to a different state and received an abortion. She was subsequently arrested and thrown in jail. A group of protestors, all with stories that connect to pregnancy and abortion in some way, are thrown into jail with her for blocking the highway to oppose Andromache's arrest. Throughout the play, they befriend their captors and realize that they are not so different after all, even when it comes to abortion and loss. Slowly, Andromache learns how to forgive herself and grieve the child she never got to meet.
I started working on Women of Troy in my sophomore year and performed right before my junior year, and at the time, it was the biggest role and project that I had ever taken on as an actor. Throughout the process, I learned so much about devising a piece that I had never even imagined. We were cast in the roles that the theatre company wanted us to play and given a plot skeleton, and from there, we devised the rest of the text. Being so involved in the entirety of the creative process taught me how to take control of my art and explore who my character was, both on and offstage. I worked with a group of talented actor-playwrights. We had similar skill sets and intentions, but our beliefs were diverse enough that we were able to have spirited discussions and create meaningful scenes. Writing and acting in this play taught me that truly listening to other perspectives and beliefs can lead to the most impactful work. We incorporated a varied set of values, both similar and different from our own, into each character, and listening to these perspectives greatly impacted my acting.
About halfway through the rehearsal process, one of my acting teachers from Booker T. came in to work with the company and assist us as a cast by providing acting notes. A big critique I received consistently was "get out of your head." This applied specifically to one scene in particular. I was struggling to portray such a complex character and show the nuanced strength beneath her depression and fatigue, and it was very important to me that I portrayed this character well. I spent hours upon hours in my bedroom at home, poring over the text and practicing the lines. I tried different inflections, verbs, beats, anything I could think of. As a recently post-sophomore in high school, I had never done a role with such depth and social importance before. Finally, I put down the script and just thought about Andromache. I put the text work, while very important, aside for a moment and considered her as a whole person, standing in front of me. She was tired. She was scared. But more than that, I realized suddenly, she was angry. Angry about everything that had been done to her. I needed to incorporate that anger into everything she said. It was then that I learned that Andromache had a backbone, and so did I. I found her hidden strength and performed with the conviction and strength of a woman who was fighting for her a future.