BWW Blog: Jake Winn of Signature's KID VICTORY - Finding My Voice

"Finding My Voice"

"I still can't hear you" echoed in my head as I left rehearsal the other day. "I still can't hear you." Among the notes from Liesl after our first stumble-through were the repeated reminders about my volume and size. "You're not in an independent film," she said. Despite doing my homework, tightening my objectives, and warming up my voice: three weeks in and they still can't hear me.

In Kid Victory, my character, Luke, struggles with self expression. After returning from a year of abduction, Luke lacks the tools and facilities necessary to talk about his experiences, cope with his feelings, and, ultimately, move on. Luke can't find his voice. In playing Luke, the struggle to find a way to express himself has made for a challenging exercise in size and restraint. An introvert, lost, and often at a loss for words, Luke wants to be quiet, wants to be frightened, wants to just disappear. And I wanted to live there, in that quiet, for some reason. Because it was comfortable? Because it was easy?

The next day, I talked with Greg Pierce about the role of music in the show and how he and John Kander used music to tell the story of Luke's psychological struggle. "[Luke] is in a confused, traumatized state," Greg said, "which is unfortunate for him but great for us, musically. It means we can switch gears abruptly and incorporate all kinds of styles and forms." As eclectic as the styles of the songs may be, music in Kid Victory is consistently a means of connection. As Luke glides through his own post-trauma world, the other characters help Luke find his own voice by offering their own. Luke is not always receptive to this barrage of advice and attention, however, and at times resists being pulled in so many directions.

I've found that working on a new piece in general holds a similar struggle. From day one, we had the script and score, the actors and the design concepts, all the parts of Kid Victory thrown (methodically) into one room for three weeks. In a way, we the team are wandering--pulling together all the elements as we strive to find the voice of the piece--until the play becomes greater than the sum of its parts. At times, we too feel lost. Then, Liesl reminds us to find solace in the unknown.

When I thought of how easy it is to drown into that unknown, I was reminded of Luke, who fights for his needs, his strength and his freedom. In a world where everyone seems to have the answers and no one ever seems to be listening, Luke can't afford to be quiet. If he's silent, he risks drifting away altogether. Luke offered me the freedom to find more than solace in that unknown, he welcomed me to find the power in it.

Jeffry Denman and Jake Winn rehearse a scene from Kid Victory. Photo by Chris Dieman.

Donna Migliaccio and John Kander discuss a song in Kid Victory. Photo by Parker Drown.

Kid Victory rehearsal at Chelsea Studios. Photo by Jake Winn.

Kid Victory's music team is busy at work as Laura Darrell looks on. Photo by Jake Winn.

The cast of Kid Victory rehearses a scene at Chelsea Studios. Photo by Jake Winn.