Alissa Watson's RMTC-HARVEY Experience

PTE's own Alissa Watson, Performance Training Ensemble member and PTE School Instructor,  shares her acting experience in RMTC's Harvey

I thought the “first day of school” sensation – you know the one – knotted stomach flip flopping in a deep dark pit, threatening to sabotage me by jumping out of my throat at the slightest missed breath – I thought those days were long over.  For a moment I believed that my legs, transfixed and rigid with anxiety, might not move when it came to my transit stop and I would blow the whole thing by showing up late.  I was so concerned about fitting in that I made sure I laid out my outfit the night before, something I hadn’t done for ten years. I thought the “first day of school” sensation was long behind me, but here I was, drowning in it, as I opened the door to my Manitoba Theatre Centre main stage debut.

John B. Lowe, Catherine Fitch & Alissa Watson.
Photo by Leif Norman

The last time I experienced nerves like these was my first day of rehearsal for Magical Mystery Munsch at Prairie Theatre Exchange.  However, having been a student at PTE for years made the rehearsal hall feel a bit more like home.  I kept telling myself that it was normal to be nervous, at least at this point in my career.  But I’ve learned that sooner rather than later you need to jump in, to remind yourself to breathe, to throw your inhibitions out the window, to remember to listen to those around you and to begin to “play” - channeling nerves into positive energy for your character.

Despite the numbness that plagued me on my way to RMTC the first day, I received a compliment from our director, Ann Hodges, regarding my calmness throughout the rehearsal and performance process.  I candidly told Ann my calm came from a mantra I carried with me from day one and repeated daily before entering the rehearsal hall, “Don’t mess this up!” (only the language in the phrase has been sanitized for this blog).  I knew this was my time to put what I had learned into practice - the opportunity I had been waiting for.

Steven Ratzlaff, Jeremy Walmsley, Cathereine Fitch,
John B. Lowe, Mark Crawford
 Alissa Watson.
Photo by Leif Norman

To conquer my nerves and, in turn, do justice to my character, I grounded myself in the invaluable training I received from my studies, regularly calling on the training I had at Prairie Theatre Exchange School over the years.  From the Adult Company directed by John B. Lowe - reminding myself that the real work can’t happen until I put my book down; Shakespeare Soliloquies with Arne MacPherson - realizing the value and significance of each word in the text and the importance of punctuation by the playwright; Stage Combat with Jacqueline Loewen - where I began to shed my self-conscious self and freed my physicality; the Adult Company, this time with Mariam Bernstein - where I focused on objectives and discovered how to ground myself in truth;  and, finally, my year in the Professional Training Ensemble with Sharon Bajer, Miriam Smith, Debbie Patterson and Brenda McLean (to name a few) - where I finessed not only my fundamentals as an actress but my connection to my body and voice and, most importantly, committed myself to becoming an actor.

I have many things to be thankful for this season - the theatre community in Winnipeg, the support of my family and friends, regional theatres that encourage work with local artists, local directors who take a chance on emerging artists, “Harvey friends” (old and new), the honor of working alongside not only industry professionals whom I have admired on the stage for so long, but some of my former teachers, this incredible experience at MTC, and the opportunity to be doing what I love.

ABOUT ALISSA:

Alissa Watson is an emerging actress based in Winnipeg.  Alissa made her professional acting debut last winter in Prairie Theatre Exchange's Magical Mystery Munsch, tour and main stage production.  Since, she appeared at the Edmonton Fringe as the free-spirited Ernestine in inspired I theatre's remount of The Anger in Ernest and Ernestine, directed by Debbie Patterson and Sarasvàti's  FemFest this September in Jessy Ardern's premiere, Harold and Vivian Entertain Guests, directed by Brenda McLean .  This winter Alissa will spend another Manitoba winter on the road touring with Manitoba Theatre for Young People's production of Night Light.  

You can catch Alissa until November 9th in Manitoba Theatre Centre's, Harvey, directed by Ann Hodges.