Hamilton And Me; An Actor’s Journal Review
When you find a show that you enjoy to watch you are happy to see it on multiple occasions. You are entertained by the creative music and the actors creating a story line. Now pause a moment, how often do you actually stop and think about each individual character and the process that it took for each person to get to that performance where you sit and enjoy. Where do they find the passion in each word and phrase other than just loving to sing and dance? What struggles emotionally and physically do they go through to bring to life each character even down to the ensemble.
Giles Terera has created a unique journal experience to explain this process and how he evolved as a person and what went into his character development of Aaron Burr, the friend turned enemy of Alexander Hamilton. It was a wonderful insight into the trials and tribulations of getting a role, the research and dedication behind it, followed by the performances and the impact on the audience the actors felt on stage. As a spectator you may know what you get out of each performance but it is fascinating to understand one point of view from the actor as they perform the role to you. Even performing it night after night, Giles describes his character further developing and he continues to discover lyrics that are defined a little bit differently each time. It creates a new element to allow him to express Aaron Burr to the audience as a complicated man with much deeper insecurities than initially thought from the beginning of the show.
Not to give too much away but the journal has a deeper meaning and analysis towards the end of the impact this show has had on the younger generation. Giles reflects on his performances and looks for ways to expose those with less access to the theater, particularly students. His efforts along with the Company to perform and express the hopes and dreams of immigrants to a new country followed by the complications of the relationships amongst themselves created a view point that the students were able to relate to from their own lives.
After finishing the journal, I watched the performance again with a completely different view point of Aaron Burr, his life thoughts and challenges. I also found myself asking myself questions about the other characters that Giles posed to himself about Aaron Burr’s character. How did Alexander Hamilton view the relationship he had with Burr? How did Washington value Hamilton compared to Burr? Where does Eliza’s anger with Hamilton and his infidelities turn to forgiveness and her struggle with those revelations to then go on and carry out his legacy?
So many questions and curiosity rose to my attention after reading this reflection of the process. I found myself looking back on my own life and one of the themes expressed throughout the show of Hamilton through the lyrics of Lin Manuel Miranda and stated by Giles Terera, “Who lives? Who dies? Who tells YOUR story?”. Watch the show, read the book, watch the show again, and think…What is your story to tell?
More information about the book can be found at www.hamiltonandme.com
Written by Kelsey.
