Written by Bridget O’Neill
Gary Austin makes for one very interesting teacher. I enjoy working with him. I don’t always know what to expect from him, but the surprises work both ways, I rarely know what to expect from myself. He has this distinct ability to keep one deliciously off balance and this, combined with his unique tools and exercises, creates a wonderful environment for discovery. Never have I surprised myself more than in Gary’s Solo Performance “48th Street” Exercise.
30 minutes, onstage, by myself, no plan..
I started to walk. One side of the stage to the other, each turn diving into a new physical movement. After several passes Gary said, “When you’re ready, start making sound.” The words “When you’re ready” echoed aimlessly through my mind, and before I knew it I was speaking and walking, turning and moving, shifting and looking and pointing and “Stay on stage.”
I did. And what unfolded over the next 30 minutes was no less than a perfectly, blurry blur of movement, sound, song and emotion.
At center stage, a step stool transformed into a pedestal under a spotlight. Behind it, three chairs became a couch, a tunnel and a bed. To the far left a small, foldout table was a fort, a dinner table and an art project. Stage right, a desk with a chair: a vanity, and in front of that a lush, white rug: a crib, a playpen and fresh green grass.
My thirty minutes were filled with a series of spontaneous vignettes. The random array of props, I threw in a bag that morning, proved to be the perfect tools to inspire me as I pranced about the stage like a fearless child one moment, and as a scolding mother the next.
Things came out of me that I had forgotten: dreams and aspirations I had as a child, memories – good and bad, personalities that seemed fragments of myself, tears, fears, make believe, heartbreak, and confidence..
The “48th Street” exercise creates a performance environment where leaping into the unknown is the only way to survive it. I dread the day that I can’t wait to do it again.
I, too, have benefited from Gary’s direction and teaching. I like to say that if he had been teaching organic chemistry I’d probably be practicing medicine today. The most important thing he taught me was staying in the moment and trusting. It wasn’t easy for me, but he never lost patience.