The Process of Directing an In Process Piece — Take A Breath by Andy Landis

This November, I had the pleasure of directing the staged reading of Andy Landis’s new work Take A Breath. Andy is an absolute delight to work with, and her passion is present in every word she scripts.

Take A Breath follows washed-up 80s rock star Sydney Catherine Grace as she’s met with a surprise interview for a music documentary. Sydney is blindsided by a crew consisting of the assertively British and extremely pregnant interviewer Amy Greenwell, the snarky and punkish sound guy Trevor James, and the efficient but quiet makeup artist Keely Smythe. The crew sets up in Sydney’s unprepared apartment and they proceed to ask her questions about her old bandmate, Janceen Rosaline Biddle — Jancie for short. The play follows Sydney as she reminisces about her time with Jancie with interjections from Jancie herself throughout. It’s a poignant look at the tumultuous relationship between two complex women.

I had the pleasure of watching the staged reading of this piece during last year’s In-Process series. Reading the piece a year later was such a treat, as the growth of the piece was right there in front of me. With the new scenes, Jancie had become less of a mystery and more an entire story all on her own. Her dynamic with Sydney had turned away from feeling like bitter friends into feeling like two women who have no choice but to be connected to one another because if they weren’t, they’d suffer more for it. It was fascinating to see that change on the page.

Directing this piece presented a few challenges. Beyond casting actors who could sing for the parts in which the characters perform, it required two actors with the ability to portray the strong connection between Sydney and Jancie. These two characters have such an intricately woven bond full of love, heartbreak, grit, passion, and so much more. That’s a lot to portray with only one rehearsal. I chose actors who I felt could best tackle that challenge, and ultimately had to portray Jancie myself after one of our actresses, unfortunately, could not attend. Thankfully, the actress playing Sydney is a good friend of mine who is a blessing to play off of.

My preparations for this process involved reading the script a few times and listening to the character’s unique voices. There’s so much to unpack with these characters. With Sydney, she’s a woman who at first seems stubborn and bitter, but was once so malleable to Jancie and the people around her. She was timid but still could bite back if she needed to, but now she’s resentful and simply trying to get by. She’s a hardened woman, and seeing that she wasn’t always this way makes her feel so real. Jancie is such a beautiful character. On the surface, she’s chaotic, impulsive, and she smiles even in the face of trauma or tragedy, but she also carries a personal shame and is quietly introspective. On paper, these characters shouldn’t work together; but thanks to Andy’s careful writing, they do.

The rehearsal was a fascinating process, as Andy was such an insightful person to have in the room. She shared the inspiration behind the piece with the actors and it was no secret that this piece was important to her. Throughout the rehearsal, if she laughed, she laughed heartily. If she sighed, she sighed in full. She didn’t sedate her reactions or keep a critical eye over the actors while they read. She let their interpretation of her words sink in and responded in the kindest ways. Her criticisms felt less like criticisms and more like clarifications. Andy was honest with us, but still so uplifting and positive about it. It was a truly positive experience.

Andy is a magnificent playwright, and I’d love to work with her again. She’s so receptive to ideas and responses, and she’s so passionate about her work that every moment working with her is joyful. I cannot wait to see how this play grows in the coming revisions and I hope to see this beautiful story meet the stage it’s made to live on.