Thom Pain (based on Nothing) [Revised TCG Edition] by Eno Will;

Author:Eno, Will;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Lightning Source Inc. (Tier 3)
Published: 2018-09-05T16:00:00+00:00

End.

Stage Properties

A match, a piece of paper, a watch, an unlightable cigarette, a chair, a handkerchief, a wrinkled envelope containing a wrinkled letter, a pitcher of water, a water glass, perhaps a small table. Maybe Thom has stashed a can of soda with a straw in it, somewhere on the stage, in order to have a quick drink while he’s making a point or staring at the audience.

General production notes

Everything about the production should be as simple as possible, with all of the work and attention being concentrated on the actor and his performance. There is a humility about theatre and life, in the script; it should be there in the production, too. Gratuitous light or sound effects, or scenery, would disable this humility and confuse the play, making the overall experience less forceful. Though subtle lighting effects, it should be said, can be used to great effect. Though these lighting effects should be, as with most other production choices, almost unnoticeable, felt more than seen.

General performance notes

The actor should, of course, be so comfortable and familiar with the script that the words come out of him as if they are his own, as if he is making them up as he goes along. It is mainly feeling, rather than thought, that is behind the words: fear, anxiety, heartache, desire, love, hate. There are a lot of “switch-backs” and changes-of-direction in the script. He thinks and feels quickly and changes his mind often; we all do. All directions that Thom might go in are true, each direction comes out of a real feeling and a real need to move in that particular direction at that particular time. Thom feels and believes almost everything he says, at the moment that he says it. Sometimes, the feeling changes-- simple as that. Though there are many parts of play that are meant to be humorous, for the most part, Thom is unaware or unconcerned that what he is saying might be found funny. He is serious, he is trying. He is, to use a dangerous word, sincere-- sincere in his disgust, sincere in his sympathy; sincere in his desire to make a connection with the audience, and, sincere in his frustration when he cannot. People feel a lot of things, a lot of things at the same time, sometimes opposing things at the same time. The actor should honor this, honor the largeness, the complicatedness, of human beings, and find a way to play it all as simply and truly as possible. Thom has suffered all of the pains and hurt that he describes the boy in the story suffering, and so he is wounded, and so he will tell the boy’s story with real authority. This authority should give the performance, along with naturalness and ease, a somewhat heightened and somewhat cold and formal style of delivery. This, Thom’s repression of his feelings, his refusal to show everything that is inside of him, will create a tension. Thom is hardened, angry, and perhaps he is going to inflict some of the pain he knows onto the audience.

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