Olivia Mathews

I'm extremely saddened to report that I haven't had the pleasure of working with Mo on our scene this week. Much like his character Doug from Gruesome Playground Injuries, Mo has been in and out of the hospital all week as he deals with mono, ear infections and swollen tonsils. Though I'm sure his trips to the hospital will help to inform his role, I'm sorry that he is dealing with so many ailments. 

Though we haven't had much opportunity for rehearsal, I am extremely optimistic about the quality of our scene based on the time we have had. Mo and I have had a couple of great conversations about the motivations of our characters and their relationship to one another. We agree that Doug and Kayleen are separated by more than time and distance throughout the play. Doug also struggles to connect to Kayleen's level of emotional pain, which is why he resorts to acting out in a way that will cause physical pain. In our particular scene, this is apparent in that Kayleen is dealing with the loss of her father and Doug has needlessly lost his eye after having an accident with fireworks. This discrepancy in their experience is a prohibiting factor in their relationship, and causes our scene to end without a successful reunion between the two of them. I'm excited to see how this interpretation will inform our choices as actors. Get better soon, Mo! We miss you!