As I ready myself for the eleventh rehearsal for 26 Miles, I have to take the time to smile at how different my character and I are. But also the similarities we share. But now I'm starting to see the similarities in how I connect with my fellow cast mates, and how my character Olivia is connects to the casts characters.
In rehearsals, I have take into account that I am the baby of the cast. In my character Olivia’s life, she is babied by her father, Aaron. The gentleman playing my father is David Johnson, who I’ve done shows with since I was quite young. So I almost do see David Johnson as a father figure. Playing his daughter isn’t so tough, and we had a parent-child connection faster than I thought we would. Oddly enough, in other shows we’ve performed in, we never played family members. So, now I’m glad to share the stage with such a talented actor like David, while playing his daughter.
I had only worked with DeAnna Gonzales once, and it was earlier in the year. I had never performed or even auditioned with her before. I stage managed The V-Monologues at Artes De La Rosa, and she performed the monologue “I was in the room." So the only connection I had with her, was mostly when I was telling her she had 5 minutes before she went on stage. Short, and small connections. I had only heard of how wonderful it was to work with her, on stage. In a way, this represents her character, Beatriz’s relationship with my character, Olivia. Beatriz is Olivia’s mom, but lost custody of her when Olivia was very young. They only had short, and small meetings after the custody battle. Suddenly, DeAnna auditions the same night I do for 26 Miles. We connect quickly, read well together, and chat the night away. Suddenly, Beatriz suddenly shows up at Olivia’s house at 4am, and takes her on a spontaneous trip across the nation. The two characters connect, and quickly want to know what they’ve missed out on. Now that I’m in this show with DeAnna, I find myself close to her, as if she is one of my long lost family members.
The newest connection in my life, and Olivia’s life, is Carlos Iruegas. Carlos plays the part of Manuel Torres, the boyfriend of Beatriz. Olivia has only seen him a few times, and has known him the shortest amount of time. I’ve only known Carlos for a couple of months, after seeing him play the role of the lawyer in A View From The Bridge. (another ADLR show, produced back in September). In 26 Miles, Olivia and Manuel share an unexpected friendship, and both have something to relate to; Beatriz. Both Carlos and I are going to the same college (Tarrant County College) and sometimes find ourselves running lines in between classes. I feel at times that Carlos and I have developed a brother and sister relationship.
So here we are. A family. I see rehearsals almost as family dinners sometimes. Having only three other cast mates with me in the show, we can get a little intimate. We all share personal stories, a lot of laughs, and a lot of support for each other. I feel like I’m with my second family. I have love for each family member, including our director Adam Adolfo. Even if we do sometimes drive each other crazy.
-Georgia Marshelle Phillips
The Baby Gringa
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