A Number

I wanted to jot down a couple thoughts I had on the acting in A Number, because, as both a director and an actor, I am trying to develop my skills at seeing what good acting looks like, and what challenges me or affects me the most.

• The first thing I want to talk about is Denver's performances. I say performances because I really liked the variety in Denver's characters - for each scene I could tell that he had really worked on creating the specifics of different characters. In the first scene, as Alex's son he had raised, he went through a specific journey of finding out he was one of 20 clones - and through that journey I saw a specific character portrayed. Then, in the 2nd scene, and then again in the 4th scene, I saw a very definite other character - angrier, with more passion, and with a bone to pick with his father. What is quite interesting and quite relevant to the work I'm doing now is what Denver talked about during Conservatory Hour - that he actually used a dog as his "animal" for the clone of the second scene. This was quite interesting because I could tell, especially by the way he handled his chair, that he had this 'dog' attitude about him. And then, of course, his third character, which in his dim-wittedness was quite funny and provided a cute, although not incredible, ending to the show. So it was a good example of two things: how to differentiate 3 characters played by 1 person in the same show and how to use an animal in a performance. Bravo, Denver! Thank you for keeping me engaged.

• Alex's performance as the father of the clones was the more difficult role, and made me realize something important about acting. I think Alex did a very good job, and he played it his best. Although sometimes I was looking for a little more variety in his character, he was responding well to what Denver was giving him. The issue was, I think (and this was confirmed to me by Jed Harris and Matt) that it is not really possible for a CMU School of Drama student, a 22-year old, to play such an old role - and I think especially a father's role - without having enough life experience behind him. Jed was telling me that "in ten years, he'll be itching to get his hands back on this role to give it another shot," and I think that that is an important thing to think about when casting, or deciding which show to do. How well can even the best CMU actor perform an old man's role? I saw the same problem in The Wind Farmer - I really just wanted the actor to be older, to act older, to move slower and with more weight into the floor, instead of young and sprightly. I even left the show thinking, "Is it possible for a man to play a father's role like this without having had kids, or without having done extensive research into what it's like to lose a kid?" I'm not yet sure. Matt thinks it's possible, but I'll have to see - I just haven't seen it done yet.