Sunday, November 15, 2009
Ayesha Antoine, 28, Plays 8 in ‘My Wonderful Day’
NYTimes.com: "WHAT Alan Ayckbourn remembers from Ayesha Antoine’s audition for his play “My Wonderful Day” is that she didn’t look at him directly. That might not sound like a good thing, but since Ms. Antoine, who is 28, was reading with Mr. Ayckbourn for the role of an 8-year-old — and a thoughtful, reserved 8-year-old, at that — it definitely was."
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4 comments:
Reading this article, it seems as if it would be obvious how one should play a child. I mean, it is something we have all been through, so what inhibits us from returning there. But in reality, there is so much more planning that goes into it. It seems incredible that someone who is 28 could pull off looking like an 8 year old. But i'm sure that audience members will be amazed with what the designers, director, and actor will pull off. So many details and subtleties can be added which, although they can be hard to pick out, will make the difference and make it completely believable. I would be interested in hearing what other things they will do to make her look and sound younger.
In the picture in the article, you can't tell she's 28. I would have guessed in her teens maybe. Which is a great tribute to her body-language and appearance. I liked the contrast of this article of casting older to those of the 8 year olds on broadway we saw recently.
It is definitely a challenging role, but it seems as though she is getting it. And its just so crazy that the director cast cousins without knowing it! Such a small world.
Also, I would like to note that I find it amazing that Mr. Ayckbourn has written over 70 shows in his 70 years on the planet. That is well over a show a year (including the times before he could write) which I think is quite an accomplishment.
Almost, I think this would be much more fascinating for an audience than seeing a child play the role. Since most, if not all, of the audience is no longer a child they might relate better to an adult in this role. An adult could reflect the ideas, adult idealization, and memory of "child" which might read as more "true" to the audience. And on another level you might take the message more to heart if you can relate better to the actor. I think this is a very cool concept/casting choice and it really draws me to see this show.
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