LUST
What do you lust after?
Lust can be an object of desire or a circumstance, and for me it is lusting for the circumstance where the whole play is rehearsed and it's come together and it becomes more familiar as a whole. That is something that all actors crave and it actually drives you forward.
Do you write much?
Yes, I find it easier to write than to speak. I am an email addict; I write a lot of letters by email and I find it easier to express myself through my fingers on the keyboard because I am not using my mouth. It flies out, straight from your brain to your fingers. I am having a go at writing scripts. I write little stories. I used to love writing essays at high school. I prefer it if there is a test, like if someone says, "I want you to write a story about blah blah." I find it easier if I have a deadline and a subject to write about. The things I come up with are often things I want to talk about anyway and they are more complicated. I get a bit lost.
Is it difficult to make the switch between theatre and television work?
The challenge of theatre work is that it is all in one go, nobody can stop you once you've started and you've got to deliver the script with the same precision every night. Television seems to be a bit more improvisational, there is a spontaneity. I actually prefer doing more difficult things because you get a bigger sense of reward at the end. With a play, you can't rest on your laurels because you have to do it again tomorrow night. Actors will think about it all day and can't wait to get to the theatre. You can get a bit butterfly-y sometimes and you'd rather just keep doing it than stop doing it.
You have been performing your whole life. How has the feeling of it changed over time?
One of the joys of being a young player is that everything is a mystery. You have absolutely no idea about a show, all you know is that you are playing a part and you are waiting for the director to tell you what to do. As you get older you know how to examine a play and you have your own take on it and you are discussing that with the director. You have to really watch your arrogance level. Your job is to further the play, it's not to say, "I wish so and so would do blah blah." We haven't got anyone like that in this play, thank goodness. You have to focus on your own journey.
That sounds like "stay in your own lane".
Stay in your own lane, don't tread on other people's tasks. You have to trust the people you're working with. - Eleanor Black
* Rima Te Wiata stars in Auckland Theatre Company's production of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, on until September 26.
