|
|
June 18th brought us to the day we would spend time with Roy on his old turf. Maxine informed us about Roy's surprise.....a guided tour of the school by him. About noon while we had began eating lunch, Roy came in. He brought a necklace from Argentina with a warrior on it. He explained he “preferred warriors to soldiers as warriors made a personal decision to fight, soldiers only followed whether they wanted to or not.” He then took us on a tour of the National Theatre School. This was his first time back since he had graduated.
Roy took us into a large room, with floor to ceiling windows on one side
and only a few chairs in it. Roy said the room was where the audition we
have often heard about took place. He thought the audition would be on a
As he took us downstairs he told us about having to go up and down the stairs in tights and ballet shoes each morning for the first two years. Roy took us to what he called the "tense room." Approximately 25 people were chosen and each day some were weeded out. Each person was individually reviewed and told to stay or leave. For a week, they waited in this room each day to find out who was being dropped. He also said every year a student or two was weeded out. So, even if you go through the first year, it didn't mean you would finish. He shared the fact that after year 3, he was told “Come back next year if you want.” He spent the whole summer thinking about this seriously and realized he had nothing else and he came back. Roy stated he was only able to attend the school due to grants and funds made available to him, and he also worked during the summers at various jobs. Roy shared so many stories. He was the youngest student at 19; he did not feel he belonged “they were all artsy people, you know with scarves wrapped around their necks, and then there was me.”; after a year and a half of commuting from home, he shared his first apartment with Dominic Champagne, who is now involved with Cirque du Soleil; and a special story about one particular class called Illustration. This was a very involved story and Roy not only told us but acted it out. It was apparent this class had a great affect upon him and truly taught him keen observation and the ability to draw upon what is inside himself. In the last room we visited, Roy pointed out the school was previously a courthouse and this room was where court was held. As Carol B pointed out the room had “wood paneled walls, and windows high up on the wall. It was empty except for scaffolding against the walls. Roy leaned against one wall and told us he had climbed up the scaffolding many times.” Roy explained in year 3 they did improvisations, or "improvs" as he called them, in this room for whoever wanted to watch, and often they would perform until 2 or 3 AM. We then returned to our meeting room where Roy began sitting at the individual tables. I think everyone agrees Roy was relaxed and seemed to thoroughly enjoy everyone even though he was tired and still trying to recover from a recent bout of bronchitis. After the rounds were made, we gathered for a group picture with Roy. And then the time came to say goodbye to him as he was off to the airport to fly back to Argentina that day. In the evening we gathered to watch Truffe. Michel mentioned we were considered to be a “test” audience. Not to give anything away, but Maxine's “Baffling” comment afterwards pretty much summed it up. This film leaves a lot open for interpretation. What a wonderful time we had at the RFC. Roy made it very special with his commitment to us and the RFC, and his surprise of a personal tour of his school where it all began. We all left knowing we had experienced something unique with a person who is definitely very special! |
Click on any Roy picture to enlarge |
