Portraits taken backstage during performances of PEACE IN OUR TIME at the Antaeus Company in North Hollywood, California. Fall of 2011. These actors are all off stage, but in the midst of a performance. The portraits are taken quickly, with a minimum of fuss, often with the actor half-listening for a cue to get back to the stage
This format gives us a unique opportunity to capture the actor in an in-between place; not actually performing in front of an audience, but still in character, still in the world of the play. They are most assuredly not photographs of the actors as you might know them off stage; they are images of their characters. I ask the actor to imagine a scene from the play, or think of a character with whom they interact, or consider a problem they must negotiate, or offer up anything they want as long as they do it in character. I think the results are fascinating, occupying some quiet middle ground between public performance, portraiture, and an actor’s personal journey of discovery.
