Student Blog: Comfort Zones - How to Safely Escape Them

Comfort zones are hard in theatre – and that’s the reality. Whether it’s physical boundaries, phobias, content, or character portrayal, sometimes one’s comfort zone gets tested. Before I continue, I’d like to be clear with my opinions on comfort zones. I am a firm believer that they should always be respected. However, I am aware that sometimes, they have to be pushed. This being said, compromises and reworking things should always be attempted. In my experience, I have been fortunate enough to work with designers and directors who have respected my boundaries and worked within my comfort zone. And, I know this isn’t the case for everyone. In this era, proper communication and coordination are always necessary. 

One of the biggest examples I have of this is my one lead in high school – Tilly in She Kills Monsters. Sorry for the spoiler, but one of the main plot points is that Tilly and her fabricated girlfriend are caught essentially making out. I was very aware of this when I auditioned, and so was the person who auditioned for and got cast as the girlfriend, Lilith. Thankfully, we were friends, but that conversation was had almost immediately, in private, away from everyone else’s opinions. Ultimately, we decided that a real kiss would’ve been okay, but we were able to work with the director and an intimacy coordinator to mimic a real kiss with the simple thumb-to-lip trick. It was still terrifying the first time we ran it, but it was a really great way to keep the importance of the moment without forcing either of us to step further outside our comfort zones. 

As I’m writing this, I just had my first rehearsal of a self-defense move in which I get straddled while lying on the ground, held down, and have to buck the attacker off and roll them over to land on top. The context of the scene is prevention and learning how to protect oneself in this situation, but I have been terrified. Once again, I have known that most of the characters in the show would have to learn this move. Even more so, my character has to be good at it – meaning lots of practice. The cast is very comfortable with each other, and we have made sure to work all fight choreography slowly and continuously check in with each other both mentally and physically. Even the show has the characters involved asking for consent and checking in on each other. It’s going to be scary doing this in front of an audience, on stage, in front of my friends and roommates. But, it’s an important milestone for the character, and unfortunately, a very good skill to know. 

One last thing to add – separation between character and actor. Many theatre students have heard the saying “acting is living truthfully under imaginary circumstances”. Although a good way to encourage character development and personal experiences, in harder shows, one needs to learn to break away from the truth. At the end of the aforementioned show, my character gets brutally sexually assaulted. She tries to fight back, but fails, ending up with bruises, a bloody nose, and an underlying sense of danger. As much as I am working to make this monologue as charged as it can be, it’s hard to talk about. It’s out of my comfort zone, as she describes her attack and suffers a breakdown of sorts. It’s a beautiful monologue, but I am going to have to find ways to keep myself healthy and get comfortable again after the show each day. It’s going to be tough, but sometimes comfort zones need to be broken – in moderation, of course.