Meet Elena: Madeleine Lambert on her role in ‘Uncle Jack’
What is your role in ‘Uncle Jack?’
Elena
What have you learned while creating this role?
Acting 101 (I think I relearn this every single time I work on a play):
- Stay present with your scene partners and in doing so surprise yourself and your fellow artists.
- Abandon originally held ideas so that more effective choices can be pursued.
- Jump off the cliff and don’t give yourself excuses. The story is more important than whether you think your acting is good or not.
- Don’t think too much.
How did you approach and play your character? Have there been any surprising discoveries about your character during the rehearsal process?
I spent time with Anton Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya and absorbed what I thought might be useful in bringing Michael Hammond’s Uncle Jack to life. I looked for the parallels in my life and in Elena’s life. I considered what I know about disappoints in life and in love and what I know about fear in relation to happiness. I think something that surprises me is how much Elena is not truly “seen.” The other characters spend a lot of time talking about her physicality, but who is she at her core? I spent time thinking about Elena’s hopes, wishes, and dreams. I discover more and more every single time we rehearse the play. Oh! I definitely spent some time thinking about what it is to spend a summer with theatre artists (never a dull moment).
As an actor, what are the unique challenges of working on a new play?
I constantly remind myself to stay open/available and not marry myself to any one choice throughout the process. The next day, I might find out that a scene has been rewritten overnight (happened in this process but it is thrilling!). As an actor, you get to stay extra curious in a new play process because you are bringing something to life for the first time. In some ways a character in a new play is a like a baby in a womb…one day you realize you have toes and the next you have nails and eventually you claw your way out and there you are…and even then you are still making discoveries…
Even in moments of fear or doubt, I remind myself that everyone in the room is here to bring breath and life into this story…
What else inspires you artistically?
Effective collaboration inspires my creativity. I cherish the exploratory environment of the rehearsal room. When discovering the world of a play, I draw from outside sources–people, current events, nature, and images. I personalize my work by searching within myself to find what I can bring to a role. I am inspired by artists who create stories that challenge audiences to examine core aspects of their lives. I am inspired by the sharing of personal narratives as a way to affect social and political change. Also, long-distance running inspires me. I think my best artistic thoughts on long runs.
What’s next for you?
I am playing Marie Antoinette in David Adjmi’s Marie Antoinette at the The Gamm Theatre in Rhode Island. The show runs May 1st-June 1st.
Don’t miss Michael Hammond’s ‘Uncle Jack,’ a new collaboration with our friends at the Boston Center for American Performance, now through March 1. Tickets