Worst Puck ever

I admire Frances as an actress immensely. I think she's incredibly talented, and I love her amazing physicality. I cast her as Hamlet in my show because of how highly I think of her. Because of this, I'm really flattered by the parallels that emerged between Frances and myself as actors. We've been cast as twin brothers in Comedy of Errors. I've directed her and she's directed me, notably having cast me in the part that she would have given herself. And now, in Midsummer, I am playing Puck, not only the quintessential Frances-type role, a role she has played on several occasions.


I was not most of the cast's first choice for Puck. Naturally, they expected the part to go to Frances. That's fine, they're all entitled to their opinions, and she probably is the best suited for it of all the available actors. While I'm by no means displeased with it, I don't think this is the part I would give myself. The thing is, the fact that like four people not only thought that but said that to my face... not the most encouraging thing I've ever heard. Of course, Frances is totally unbegrudging and unresentful. She's been nothing but kind, as always. I guess I understand people having a preference for her over me-- she probably is the better actor of the two of us --but it just slightly hurts my feelings to have people tell me that they're thinking that.

Whatever, I can get over that. The problem is, the Puck Taylor is asking for I'm having a really hard time delivering. His conception is totally nontraditional-- he wants a disinterested manipulator who despite wanting to mess with the people, he's not terribly engaged in the result. His Puck doesn't really want anything, and I'm having a hard time turning that kind of personality into any kind of action that can be played on stage. I felt like I was coming off as a cold, flat, joyless sociopath. As Jared pointed out, Taylor's accepting of the idea that fictional characters don't need genuine motivation to do things because they're fictional, but I don't know how to act a character who wants nothing. Drama is people wanting things-- that's all there is to it. And the text is not easily adaptable to his conception. He's tossing out all the stuff about Puck being a playful prankster who makes dumb mistakes-- despite the fact that it literally says so in the text --which is fine, I guess, but I'm really really scared that the audience is going to hate a Puck that is so joyless and not playful. And when they hate me, it's going to come off as my fault as a bad actor. It's not that I'm convinced his take on Puck can't work, but I do worry that it's one the audience will not get. And unless he gives me a way to translate his conception of that personality into some kind of action I can readably play onstage... I'm terrified that I'm simply going to be the worst Puck ever.