Kristen Coury is Gulfshore Playhouse’s Founder and Producing Artistic Director.

The other day in rehearsal, I was busily working on an actress’s scene change. We were discussing what she had done in the time since we had seen her last, what she had done on her way to the store, exactly how she felt when she walked in the door, what she would see when she got there, and exactly the amount that she would show it she was feeling.

After that 15 minute conversation, the other actor in the scene paused and said “I love the work that we do. I love the attention we pay to every detail, and the specificity that is necessary for us to create even one moment.”

Mark Harapiak, Chiara Motley, and Danielle Skraastad in Gulfshore Playhouse’s production of THE BUTCHER.

It’s true. For someone who was always accused of over-analyzing every situation when I was a child, I guess I have found a job that puts it to good use. Because, if we didn’t pay attention to every single detail, we wouldn’t be creating truth on stage. While working on this play, The Butcher, I have found the amount of emotion that each actor portrays, conveys, and otherwise communicates changes the scene and conversation exponentially. Rhythms, musicality, pitch, expressiveness, and how much of each character’s thoughts are kept undercover…all of these things are explored in a day’s rehearsal process. And each part of it matters, and affects the end product of the play we put onstage dramatically. And that is why I love what I do. I wouldn’t exchange it for anything in the world.