A Day in the Life: John Hastings
Actor John Hastings is currently touring in New York with The Merchant of Venice Company.
New York: Placéd in my constant soul
Picture the scene: an actor with a full and luxuriant Shakespearean beard - or ‘Shakesbeard’, if you will - is sitting in a busy coffee house across from his New York hotel, frantically trying to come up with a first line to his ‘Day in the Life’ blog. It is his first day off after a jampacked week in the city that never sleeps. Five intense days of performances in the Rose Theater at the Lincoln Center have come and gone. The constant cries of ‘Frappuccino!’, ‘Your change!’ and ‘John!’ echo around the walls. The cries of ‘John!’ become more insistent. Wait. John? That’s me! My life-giving caffeine is finally ready and gratefully received. I rush back to my corner table, clutching the hot liquid stimulant protectively with a quietly uttered ‘Myyy precioussssss…’
My day always starts with coffee. On a show day, I like to get up as early as my body will allow (usually around 8am) and, having already scouted the area for a coffee shop, go and park myself there for an hour while I review emails, tour schedules and figure out what tourist-y things to squeeze in before we are called to the theatre. If feeling particularly energetic, I use the hotel gym. I made a solemn promise to myself not to allow the many excesses of touring life to warp my body shape and, so far, have successfully staved off America’s constant attack on my waistline.
When we first arrived in New York, we had two days off to acclimatise while the venue was being prepared. Like excited schoolchildren, we rushed to all corners of the city and crammed in as much as possible. A highlight for me was taking the Staten Island ferry. There is something indescribably moving about passing the Statue of Liberty on the way to Manhattan. You can almost feel the many generations of new arrivals staring at the Big Green Lady along with you. It fills you with a wonderful sense of wellbeing.
After the two days off, we had our first day in the New York venue where we spent the morning doing a line run of the show while the crew put the finishing touches to the set. This was followed by a technical rehearsal where we familiarised ourselves with the space, adjusted lighting, sound, music and made sure that all of the exits and entrances were working. Once that was all secure, we had a quick dinner break before it was time to get into costume and do our first show. The Globe’s production of The Merchant of Venice had arrived.
Traditionally, the Globe has not had a full understudy set up for the majority of its shows, but, under Emma Rice, that has changed. My role on this tour is to be part of the Ensemble (various servants, a jailer, a very snappily dressed Venetian guard etc) and to understudy five parts. Though the focus is obviously on the show in its normal state, we have one or two understudy rehearsals a week to make sure that we know the exact path of each character covered. It also provides a welcome opportunity to fully explore each part out loud instead of, as I often do, muttering the lines as I walk down the street (near my London home, there are several people who think I am the local nutter).
When the show is up and running, I like to spend as much time as possible backstage running the lines along with the scenes. It’s very important to get the rhythm of the actor you are covering so if they do have a random mishap and you have to go on, you don’t then make it difficult for the other actors by drastically altering the established fabric of the play. Outside of the theatre, I make a concerted effort to look over at least one of my understudy tracks every day, ensuring the lines are there and mentally mapping out the geography of each scene.
The show comes down at around 10.30pm and I like to have a wind-down drink after the intensity of Shakespeare’s Venice. New York is such a melting pot of a city and there is something for everyone, but I tended to go for the quieter dive bars rather than raucous music venues. Our next stop is Washington DC. I cannot wait.
Want to see The Merchant of Venice on its UK and international tour? See where the company will be playing.
The Merchant of Venice will play in the Globe Theatre from Tuesday 4 October until Saturday 15 October. Book tickets.
(Photo © Marc Brenner)