Last weekend [edit: May 11th, 2013] I was privileged to get to see one of my favorite actresses perform live in a small playhouse in Hollywood, for a play called “Proof.” In the play, Daniela plays Catherine, the twenty-something daughter of an esteemed mathematician, whose father has just died as the play opens. A brilliant mathematician, her father sadly lost his sanity and his ability to work coherently with numbers. We find out that Catherine is brilliant in her own right, but fears she might suffer the same fate as her father.
Now, I’m not usually what you would think of as a theater-goer so this was quite a different experience for me. I think in all my time in Los Angeles, I’ve probably seen one other play – well, except for those I was part of in high school drama. The one thing I remembered about doing plays as a kid was the fact that it was always more fun to be in the scene rather than watching from the sidelines.
I didn’t really have that feeling as I watched this play. I was much too engrossed in what was happening to think of anything else. Like I said, I don’t go to plays much at all so I was fascinated with how they created the ambience and the mood for the story. As Catherine deals with a myriad of issues – not the least of which is a dead father who still insists on returning for visits – I empathized with her. Daniela brought such emotion to the character that I laughed and cried right along with her. In one scene, as Catherine’s mind whirls out of control, I felt myself almost dizzy with everything that was happening.
When you watch a television show, such as Daniela’s hit series NCIS: Los Angeles, you feel a certain attachment to the characters as you watch various moments in their lives. I didn’t anticipate how much more that attachment would be felt when an actor is playing a character live, in-person and just a few feet away. I may not have always understood what was happening up on that stage, but I always felt the emotion that each of the characters was portraying.
In addition to the outstanding performance by Daniela and the rest of the cast, including James Whitmore Jr. and Dustin Seavey, there was also the direction by Aliah Whitmore. Perhaps it is so with all plays, but with my lack of experience I couldn’t help but to be fascinated with how music, lighting and even ghostly masks were used to portray a mind that was losing control of its sanity.
Overall, I found the play an enjoyable time and I think I might just have to frequent theaters more often if this is the type of experience I can expect – especially if the performance features actors that I admire for their work in other mediums.
~~ by Michelle Carlbert (@Mokibobolink) ~~
