Tuesday, April 07, 2015
The Many Faces of Tatiana Maslany
NYTimes.com: The grand adventure of a set visit is entering a universe where everyone — absolutely everyone — is a pro at playing pretend. They’re admirably adult about it. They drink coffee and sit in chairs and operate machines, as if there weren’t lights so hot that they banish the winter outside, as if it’s perfectly normal for a sweltering interior to look like a dusty, sunbaked facade. Insides become outsides here, as gravel underfoot transforms a soundstage floor into a sandy desert.
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4 comments:
I think that it is wonderful when actors are able to take multiple characters and make them their own. By reading this article, I am already impressed with the talents of Tatiana Maslany even though I do not know her work. It takes an extreme amount of imagination in order to take on all of the roles as this woman has. And it is also a big plus that it is being seen on cable television. The American people will be able to see wonderful acting at its finest. I
I am blown away by the craft in this show. The plot line is new, the relationships are nuanced and the characters are strongly archetypical without becoming cartoons. As someone interested in costumes, I generally have mixed feelings about stereotypes. On the one hand, they aren't exactly original. On the other, they are delightfully interesting to subvert and play with. Stock characters are deeply and firmly rooted in our minds, whether or not we are conscious of it. In the case of Orphan Black, the characters are rendered all the more powerful because of the slight differences they take from the molds we expect. The costume portrays the archetype into every detail, from hair to nails to shoelaces, creating a mold for the actor to squeeze away from. The show also emphasizes the way clothes work as symbols. Despite the drastic differences in their personalities, all it takes is their face and clothes for people to begin to meld them together in their own minds.
This is really a well executed and beautiful concept. While I have not seen the show, I have some experience with playing multiple characters through my work on my high school forensics (competitive acting) team. Many events in this activity call for several characters to be played by one person, with no transition time. Competitors have to "pop" from one character to another in a split second, often having a conversation with him or herself, or even physically interacting with them (shaking hands, throwing punches, embracing). It's an incredible challenge to work on the voice, movement, and personality traits of five or six different characters in the same piece. I have spent many hours of my life either working on the characterization of my own pieces or coaching other competitors on theirs, and there is a lot that goes into it. I really think it's amazing that Maslany is able to embody each of these characters to a Hollywood level (since that obviously is not the level to which my teammates and I performed). I am even further impressed with all of the innovative technology that has gone into this television show. I wish them all the best in moving forward into their next season.
Yes! For starters, Orphan Black is one of my favorite new shows on television. And Tatiana Maslany slays every scene she's in -- which is all of them, basically. She's never off camera. Even though the interview was miles long, I couldn't help but pour over every word of it. I really and truly admire Maslany for her acting and drive. Kudos should also go to her stunt double for working so well and so hard to make such a seamless television show. I can honestly say I've watched the credits and been confused (many times!) at the fact that only three or four names appeared. Tatiana takes on so much with such ease, and for the oddest, coolest reasons your brain can piece her clones apart and make believe that each one is played by a different actor. I also very much enjoyed what she said about the bullshit of playing 'strong' female characters. Honestly, screw what the twenty-first century films think of as 'strong'. I agree with Maslany. We don't need caricatures, superheroes, female copies of male tropes. We're in an age where we have the pleasure and opportunity to discover what it means to be free and a woman, and we shouldn't simply copy what men are doing because that is somehow what makes us strong. I'm so very excited for the third season of Orphan Black, and I hope there are more and more clones that I can see her jump into and have fun with. If anyone reading this article hasn't watched the series, please do! You're in for a treat.
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