The Creator’s Perspective: First Week in the Studio

by Kate Hilliard

A teary goodbye, a rickety plane ride and here I am again in New York City at The Stella Adler Studio of Acting at 31 West 27th Street. It’s been two years since I last roamed these very exciting hallways. In a lot of ways Adler reminds me of NY herself, constantly bustling, steeped in tradition yet always on the verge of something new and innovative. I am thrilled to be back and I am very grateful to my new artistic team who have made the first week of process incredibly inspiring.

We began our research last Monday by talking about what we like, a fairly simple conversation and a great way of getting to know one another. It’s a lot of fun to speak with strangers about what makes them tick and it didn’t take very long for the group to shed formality and begin to talk about ideas and questions that are of great importance to them. Tricia, Josh, Drew, Adam and Lauren made it very easy for me to share my thoughts as well and we quickly began to carve out some of the core ideas that are motivating me to create this new work for five performers.

I have a lot of questions about the act of waiting. It seems that lately I’ve been in the habit of projecting into the future: I find myself constantly thinking about the end result of something that has not yet happened. I’ve been thinking about the physical and emotional state of waiting for both the inevitable and the unpredictable. What is it to live presently? A few nights ago my mom reminded me of George Land’s Theory of Transformation. Are we always in a state of growing or dying? I am moved by the image of a convex meniscus.

Meniscus, plural: menisci/meniscuses, from the Greek for "crescent", is a curve in the surface of a molecular substance and is produced in response to the surface of the container or another object. It can be either concave or convex. A convex meniscus occurs when the molecules have a stronger attraction to each other than to the container.[1] This may be seen between mercury and glass in barometers.[2] Conversely, a concave meniscus occurs when the molecules of the liquid attract those of the container. This can be seen between water and glass.

One week down, five to go! I’m very excited to be working with Laurence Gingold and this fearless team of actors.