It seems appropriate that among her numerous roles throughout her acting career, Liv Rooth '03 once played Cinderella in a 2001 production of Stephen Sondheim's Broadway musical "Into the Woods."
During her years in the theater, Rooth has been cast as what she calls "ingenues and princess-y characters." Now, in her one-woman show "Quartet," the clock has struck midnight and the princess is no more.
"Quartet" is constructed from the writings of British playwright Sir Harold Pinter, long one of Rooth's favorite playwrights. She knew she wanted to do an honors project for her theater major on him, but didn't exactly know how to go about doing it.
Then Rooth ran across some of Pinter's short stories.
"I was immediately transfixed," she said. "Pinter has always been looked upon as a blatant misogynist. I knew that, but I was also really attracted to these rich portrayals of female characters. That contrast really interested me and I saw it as a real challenge."
So, using Pinter's original text from four of his short stories, a monologue and some poetry, Rooth began assembling a script. While Pinter had originally written these short stories about several different female characters, Rooth decided to make her show all about "one woman in various incarnations and how she reacts to the men in her life."
Rooth said the idea came to her because "the link between these characters is that these women are all complex and mysterious, but there's always something wrong or off about each of them."
Once she had a rough draft of the script in hand, Rooth went to work on how the show was going to look and sound. She had the initial idea of using different photographs being projected as slides to correspond with her actions on stage.
Bearing that in mind, she did extensive research in Sherman Library looking at hundreds of different images. "I couldn't use everything I wanted," Rooth recalled, "but they all affect my performance."
Equally important to the show, she said, is music. This was immediately apparent to her when she first read a book of Pinter's short stories.
"This show couldn't be done without a musical underscore," Rooth said. "The music of Philip Glass and Steve Reich immediately popped out at me when I read these stories."
In fact, the title Rooth chose for her show was musically inspired. "I originally had a different title," Rooth explained, "But I changed it to 'Quartet' because each episode is like a different movement in a symphony."
For Rooth, the rehearsal process has proved to be one of the greatest challenges she's faced in her career as an actor.
"Acting in a solo piece is scary," she said. "The best kind of acting is all about the other actors onstage with you and then reacting to them. This time I've had to imagine the other actors."
Initially, Rooth rehearsed in Bentley Theater completely alone and without a director. Instead, she had an advisory board made up of members of the theater department to guide her.
Speaking of her early rehearsals, Rooth said, "I was just doing what came into my head, trying to figure out who this woman was, but I really felt like was talking to myself."
That feeling changed when Rooth's good friend and fellow actor Deborah Meschan '03 signed on as director, and the two have proven to be a perfect match.
"Deb has been invaluable," Rooth said. "We've worked together quite a bit before, we have a very similar artistic vocabulary, and she knows me well enough to knows how to push me. She's an extraordinary director because she tries everything."
Rooth admitted she has a tendency to "fall back on old tricks" and that Meschan has forced her to constantly challenge herself as an actor.
"She's always telling me to 'make it messier' and really making sure I'm being raw and in the moment," Rooth said.
When thinking about when she finally performs 'Quartet' on Thursday and Friday, Rooth said she's not sure how audiences will receive it.
"There's nothing I want anyone to 'get.' I'm not trying to teach," Rooth said. "I just want the audience to have an open mind, take it in and get whatever they want out of it."
"Quartet" will be performed in Bentley Theater Thursday, March 6 at 8 p.m. and Friday March 7 at 6 and 8 p.m.
