Ghosts in Glasgow! What makes Storytellers special! – Jackson Cottrell

Hey peeps! I’m gonna talk about my role and why the storytellers and I are so special in this play. The storytellers are amazing characters because not much is known about them. Most of the information we get about them comes from their monologues and insightful lines every once in a while throughout the play. This gives us as actors so much freedom to discover who they are, where they came from, and their relationships with the other characters and each other.

I love being a storyteller because there is so much exploration involved in the rehearsal process. Every day we discover or rediscover new elements of our characters. At one point, there was a conversation about the similarities between the Storytellers and Force Ghosts from Star Wars! We’ve done exercises where we do our scenes like we are taking bets on what the humans will do too! There is no wrong direction to take the Storytellers at the end of the day. In fact, the more directions we get to take the Storytellers and the more truth we can find in the characters, the better we can perform.

The Storytellers are so special because they connect so much with the audience and characters. The characters in the friend group are all around the same age that the Storytellers were when they died. They connect with the hope and the youth and the constant struggle to fight against powers completely out of their control. And the Storytellers can make direct connections with the audience which can be extremely impactful in moments of raw emotion or extreme hope and despair which is something that the friend group cannot do.

Scotland has been one of the most amazing places that I have seen in my life! There is truly no other place like it! Reflecting on the rehearsal process my mind drifts back to the first week back in the highlands. It was incredibly beautiful; quiet, green, and remote. Coming to Glasgow was a 180 in the best way. Glasgow offers so many opportunities for fun and adventure. I have gone to live music gigs, stand-up comedy, plays in greenhouses, and even saw a show that had characters such as Dolly Parton and Freddy Mercury as ANIMALS. One of my favorite things has been seeing the art around the city. This city is truly crawling with art! The Glasgow Museum of Modern Art had some incredible galleries that sparked a lot of really interesting thoughts and there I was able to cultivate my imagination even more.

I cannot wait for the adventure to continue in Edinburgh! I am already hearing buzz about so many different shows and I am planning out my schedule meticulously so that I can visit as much as I can! When I am there I want to watch stand up comedy and find the music acts. I am also very excited to see original musicals and theatrical performances! There will be so much theatre to see after our 11:30 show of No One is Coming to Save Us at the Beside, Pleasance Courtyard (come see us!).

I am so glad that I have been given this opportunity to share this amazing story with my fellow storytellers! There is truly no other program that gives you such an amazing and unique experience where we are able to become storytellers who are “hope junkies”. I cannot wait to show everyone who the Diver, Drifter, Soldier, and Bird Girl really are!

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2024-Blog

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