Becky Ellen Collins, Actress
Artist Statement
I believe theatre is a beautifully vivid expression of the human condition in all of its glory, at its best and worst. I see this art as a magnificent forum of exploration and discovery both of the world in which we live as well as ourselves. Theatre uncovers the simple beauty and truths of life, whether the truth is full of sorrow or joy. In theatre, we are privileged to experience the dramatic, pivotal moments in a character’s life—moments when a decision must be made, a journey must be taken and lessons will inevitably be learned. I love theatre because I love to bring those climactic moments to life, to take both the audience and myself on an adventure of discovery; discovery of what it means to be human. I love theatre because I love to live, and when you are onstage, you are living life at its fullest, whether you are touching the audience with the tragic feelings we all at some point must endure, or making them guffaw at the hilarity of humanity. I hope that as I continue my work in theatre I can continue to experience and express such honesty and truth, and within those experiences gain a greater perspective of what it is to be human, and ultimately what it is to be me. I aim to challenge, inspire, enlighten, and excite the audience, my fellow cast members, and myself as we continue on our own personal journey through life.
Once I begin a project, I immediately go inside myself to find what experiences or memories can awaken the same emotions within me that the situation at hand is creating within the character. I begin this first because it typically takes the most time, but also because I believe it is the most essential step. Emotion can never be manufactured—once it is, the piece becomes unreal, uninteresting, and simply something to be watched. Theatre is not an art that should be only watched, it is an art that should be experienced. The actor should be projecting the emotions of the character upon the audience, but that cannot be done if the emotion felt is not coming from a real place within the actor. Through my work, I aspire to get people thinking; to intrigue and mystify them so they think about what they saw and experienced long after the curtain has fallen. After I’ve found ways to access those emotions, I map out the journey that the character takes through the play—where they began, where they ended, what it took to get there, why they did or didn’t end up in a different place than where they started. I believe that in comedic as well as serious pieces that the characters always take a journey of real emotion, one that the audience can relate to in some way, and if that can be realistically achieved, the piece will be beautiful and relevant in all its silliness or drama.
Early in my career, I was involved in writing and acting a piece that brought a significant yet long forgotten piece of history to the stage for a theatre competition—the event of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in March of 1911. The story we told was very intense and real, but it was a struggle to portray a fire situation onstage when we had strict limitations on set and other effects. Our team decided to focus more on the emotions and the thoughts of the people who were involved in the event than the things happening physically while still bringing to life the situations that happened so long ago. We all had to be connected as we performed our work, all had to be fully committed to the story that we were telling and the extreme emotions we were portraying as these people were caught in a life or death situation—the desperation, the heartbreak, the heroism and sacrifice. It was during this piece that I really discovered the importance of taking a journey of real emotion, because if we just were on the stage pretending, then the story was not believable and even edging on silly. Since that piece, I strive for that moment when everything works together, when the world has been created and both the audience and onstage actors are existing within it, are all connected in a beautiful work that has something to teach every one of us.
Once I begin a project, I immediately go inside myself to find what experiences or memories can awaken the same emotions within me that the situation at hand is creating within the character. I begin this first because it typically takes the most time, but also because I believe it is the most essential step. Emotion can never be manufactured—once it is, the piece becomes unreal, uninteresting, and simply something to be watched. Theatre is not an art that should be only watched, it is an art that should be experienced. The actor should be projecting the emotions of the character upon the audience, but that cannot be done if the emotion felt is not coming from a real place within the actor. Through my work, I aspire to get people thinking; to intrigue and mystify them so they think about what they saw and experienced long after the curtain has fallen. After I’ve found ways to access those emotions, I map out the journey that the character takes through the play—where they began, where they ended, what it took to get there, why they did or didn’t end up in a different place than where they started. I believe that in comedic as well as serious pieces that the characters always take a journey of real emotion, one that the audience can relate to in some way, and if that can be realistically achieved, the piece will be beautiful and relevant in all its silliness or drama.
Early in my career, I was involved in writing and acting a piece that brought a significant yet long forgotten piece of history to the stage for a theatre competition—the event of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in March of 1911. The story we told was very intense and real, but it was a struggle to portray a fire situation onstage when we had strict limitations on set and other effects. Our team decided to focus more on the emotions and the thoughts of the people who were involved in the event than the things happening physically while still bringing to life the situations that happened so long ago. We all had to be connected as we performed our work, all had to be fully committed to the story that we were telling and the extreme emotions we were portraying as these people were caught in a life or death situation—the desperation, the heartbreak, the heroism and sacrifice. It was during this piece that I really discovered the importance of taking a journey of real emotion, because if we just were on the stage pretending, then the story was not believable and even edging on silly. Since that piece, I strive for that moment when everything works together, when the world has been created and both the audience and onstage actors are existing within it, are all connected in a beautiful work that has something to teach every one of us.