Amy Lu's View

I really hope you will come and see the upcoming play that I’m in, “Broken Hill.” We have performances June 13-15 at Dreamland Arts in St. Paul.

That’s probably the most straightforward opening to a blog post I’ve ever written. No attempt at humor or cleverness, just a simple, sincere request: Please come see my show.

Of course, I have wanted people to come see every one of my shows, even the ones I haven’t been so sure that I’ve wanted to be in. Honestly, I want people to watch everything and anything I do that can nominally be considered a performance: “Hey look, AMY MADE COFFEE!”

But my narcissism aside, “Broken Hill” is special. It’s a brave, beautiful, bold piece and I get to play one of my favorite, if not THE favorite, characters I’ve ever portrayed: Claire.

I first met Claire seven years ago, in June of 2012, during the first incarnation of  Broken Hill. Don’t let the passage of those seven years fool you, Broken Hill, and Claire, (and me?) are very different now than when they first hit the stage. The complete history of “Broken Hill” (to date?) is actually too complicated for a mere blog post, but this is at least the 5th iteration of the show (continuous improvement!–IT/government humor). Or maybe it’s the blending of two distinct shows (“Broken Hill” and “Bird Icon”) where the second show was inspired by the first.

Why has Broken Hill had such a long and complicated history and how have I been fortunate enough to be a part of it? Call it fate, destiny, or God’s Will (yes, I’m being a smartass as all those ideas make me cringe) but I landed the role of Claire after auditioning for a local (now defunct) company and met the playwright, Jim. That started a friendship that led to a historic theater partnerhip, in my mind, at least. A geologist by day (now retired), Jim is an extremely talented local playwright who has been generous and brave enough to entrust his works to Applause, the theater company I now most often pour my heart into.

I enjoyed playing Claire in the first Broken Hill, but I primarily connected to that version of Claire by crimping my hair (yes, the show was set in the 80’s). But by the time Claire emerged in “Bird Icon,” I felt she was me. As I described the experience of playing Claire in an earlier, and I might I say highly moving, post, “I feel a big responsibility and pressure to get Claire right. If I can’t play a spazzy woman dealing with the death of a parent,  what role can I play?” (Keep or Toss).

Of course, Claire was never just spazzy (or grief-stricken or artsy or ethereal or demanding or sultry or depressed). She’s been, and is, all these things, and more. She’s a fully-rounded (not fully-figured) multi-dimensional character. She’s so me and so NOT me that playing her is a profound experience.

Besides my love of being Claire, (is there a word for when you are in love with your character? No, no narcissism here), “Broken Hill” feels momentous to me because:

• It’s been fascinating to see how Claire, and Broken Hill, have evolved during the years, and I’m so amazed that I’ve got to be part of the collaborative process. Usually we just get a script, have one run of the show, and that’s it.
• We’re bringing to life (yes, a cliche, but so appropriate for this) the work of a local playwright (and friend). Knowing the real, live, actual person behind our show? Wow. And yes, it’s also a little terrifying…what if he hates what we do with it?
• Chad is starring AND directing in “Broken Hill” which is an amazing emotional, intellectual, spiritual, and time commitment, and, he’s damn good.
• Chad is directing me and co-starring with me in a show with some pretty intense–in a multifaceted sense of the word–scenes. (Maybe I will find a PG way to blog about the sexy pizza scene experience but probably not). We always have our fair share of backstage drama when we work on something together, but we’re taking it to the next level.
• Getting to be part of a fictional couple with Chad is always powerful (They’re Playing Our Song), even, maybe a especially, deeply challenged couple like Claire and Peter (and did I mention the sexy pizza scene?)
• The whole cast, small and mighty as we are, is amazing. Thank you Connor, Pat, and Pat, for taking this leap of faith with us. I’m especially thankful to get to work with my dear friend Pat Bettendorf (who truly gave me my start in community theater with Duck Soup) in an entirely different way (kleenex alert!)
• “Broken Hill” is my tin anniversary show, as I’ve been doing this community theater thing for about 10 years. This feels signficiant to me, and I want to celebrate and commemorate, and what better way than to be in a challenging and moving show? Of course I still have so much to learn, but I am a much better actress than I was 10, or 5, or even 1 year ago.
• I have no idea what the acting future holds for me, (which is always true and part of the reason I die a little inside every time I hear “Oh, I’ll see the next one you’re in”) but it’s highly unlikely there are going to be many, if any, roles as fulfilling as Claire. Trust me, afterall, I have been doing this for 10 years.