Star Chambers

The Things They Carried

You can learn a lot about an actor by studying the area where he or she dresses. That's because actors tend to settle in this space and make it into extensions of themselves. The items they bring with them to the dressing room frequently reveal what the individual actors consider either necessities or comforts when they're performing. Both can be telling: One shade of pancake or 14? Vitamins or a pack of Camels? Ozarka or Starbucks? An inspirational quote? The image of some personal hero? A memento from a previous production? A family photo? A wind-up toy? Mints? Whatever they may be, they share a significance for the actor who brought them to this place and so form a mosaic reflection of the actor in one sense, a shrine to his art in another. They are things that help make this act of creation possible. The photos on this page are offered with this in mind.

Photo 1 shows the dressing area that Thomas C. Parker created for himself in A Christmas Carol. Parker (photo 2) exemplifies the idea that an actor's dressing area reflects the actor. As can be seen in the photo here, Parker's dressing space is well-ordered and neat, everything in its proper place, and so it is with him on the stage; his characterizations are tightly drawn and wonderfully precise, every gesture just where it should be. "I have everything in a routine," Parker admits, "everything placed the same way." The orderliness is soothing, just like the theatre itself is for Parker. "When everyone else seems the most nervous, I'm the most calm," he says. " When I walk downstairs here at the State -- or walk into any theatre -- I'm relaxed. I'm at home."

For the current production of A Christmas Carol, Parker has made his pre-show home in a little nook created by State production manager Lou Rigler to help accommodate the overflow cast. The space hasn't room for much besides Parker, a light, and mirror, but he's squeezed into it a couple of items of personal significance. "In my make-up box, I have two little fragments of helicopters, each of which should have killed me. One is a short shaft, which just disintegrated on me during a flight; one is a tail rotor chain that broke during another flight. That I was able to land safely both times seemed immense good luck to me, so I figured they were kind of good luck omens. I also have a little statuette of Harry Truman that Barry Miller gave me" -- Parker played Truman in the State's production of The Dead Presidents' Club -- "and a little note that Lucy Carapetyan gave me when we did The Diary of Anne Frank together. Just some gifts from some special people that remind me of some special shows."

Tara Battani, a St. Edward's University senior, uses her space as a source for creative inspiration. "I have tons of stuff up around my dressing area. "I do lots of research," she says, "and I put up photos and pictures that relate to my character. I get song lyrics that remind me of the character and put those up around my mirror. I have a couple of pictures of Natalie Wood that I put up. She's my favorite actress. When I was 10th grade, my mother rented Splendor in the Grass and I watched it, and Natalie Wood just mesmerized me. I've been collecting stuff of hers ever since. I just think she's awesome."

And if that isn't enough, Battani's make-up box (photo 4) provides its own gallery of inspiration. "My first year of college, I started cutting out pictures of my favorite actors -- Judi Dench, Sean Penn, Edward Norton, Natalie Wood, of course -- and pasting them all over my make-up box. Putting people in front of me who I really admire energizes me. It gives me confidence and inspires me to do my best. I get kidded about it sometimes, but it's funny: I've seen other people start to do it. There's something about putting it physically in front of me that makes it real."

Photo 4 shows the dressing area that Rolán created for himself for The Rocky Horror Show.