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Nashville get ready - The Department of Theatre and Dance at Belmont University (www.belmont.edu) is about to offer us a chance to see one of the most powerful pieces of theatre ever written, Federico Garcia Lorca's La Casa de Bernarda Alba. The cast includes Diana Holland in the role of Maria Josefa, mother of the tyrannical Bernarda Alba, and grandmother to Bernrada's daughters who are all locked up in this "casa" like nuns in a convent.
I have been a huge fan of Diana's for her wonderful contribution to Music City's cultural scene, Tango Nashville, bringing the rush of her native Argentina's classical dance to us, and I can't wait to see her join an outstanding cast of Nashville's finest actresses in this collaborative production between Belmont and Actors Bridge Ensemble.
Diana's story is a fascinating one, and I have asked her to share it with us along with her thoughts on acting and acting Lorca, in particular. Here is what she has to say:
What role did theatre and the arts play in your childhood and upbringing?
Theatre has always been my calling – always – because it makes me feel alive like 
nothing else I have ever experienced in my life. During my formative years, between the ages of 5 and 18, I participated in every play I could get cast in at school. I attended a bilingual English/Spanish full time (8 am to 5 pm) British school in Argentina for 12 years. Not only did theatre and the arts allow me to find my ‘voice’ during my upbringing in a pretty dysfunctional household, but they were also the only activities that would bring peace in my home: when music, acting or visual arts were discussed or experienced, I felt like we were a real family that could get along. Although, throughout my life I took several hiatuses from acting, every time I got back into it, I felt more and more connected with the world and with who I am. I have actively been pursuing this career since 2008, and I am not looking back. This is home to me.
Tell us about your own evolution as an artist.
For my kindergarten "graduation" at the age of 5, I had my acting ‘debut’ as Jane, Tarzan’s love interest. It was then I decided I wanted to be an actress for the rest of my life. In the 7th grade, I got my "big break" as ‘Buttons," a co-lead role and Cinderella’s "boyfriend" (I attended an all-girls school) in a 4-hour pantomime version of the traditional children’s story. This was a turning point in my “child-acting” career, as I now had to play a boy and act like one. Although I was ecstatic with this opportunity, it was a huge challenge to play the opposite sex. especially because I have been a girly-girl all my life. The play’s director, Isabella Entwistle, an amazing professional from Manchester, UK, coached me through the almost 4-month rehearsal process, pushing me when needed and always, always, allowing me to explore options and think outside the box. She taught me how to trust my instincts and believe in myself as an artist. I continued to apply what I had learned from that experience as I participated in plays through high school. After two really harsh and disappointing auditions with pro-am theatre groups in my senior year, I doubted my abilities as an actress and decided that being behind the scenes was safer for me. I was a stage manager, assistant director, co-producer, PR coordinator and set design crew member for almost 9 years for community theatre groups. During this time, the longing to be back on stage would take over every now and then, but I would rationalize it and put it away. I would even cry secretly in the bathroom during intermission whenever I went to watch a play. However, in early 1995, I couldn’t take it anymore (I literally started getting sick to my stomach pretty often), and I signed up to a class with local actor, teacher and theatre director Martin Blanco. This was my most “solid” foundation for theatre acting I have had so far. Martin defined his technique as “The Blanco Way,” which involved starting off with Stanislavski’s technique, embellishing it with Strasberg’s “musts” and sprinkling it with Meisner’s "here and now" awareness. It sounded fun, but the truth is it was the hardest training I have had in my life. Going through a divorce at the same time definitely contributed to the ups and downs in my learning curve, and not only did I doubt myself one more time, half the time I didn’t understand what I was expected to do or what the instructor was saying.
It was only about 9 years later when all the pieces I had absorbed in this class came together and started to click. Later on in life, my life coach reminded me that in this trade, the saying "the more I learn, the less I know," only confirms that you are moving up in your learning, and not the opposite. And then, in 1998, this eternal romantic fell in love again, but this time this relationship involved moving to the US, and I did so in December of 1999. Acting took the back seat again as I navigated the unexpectedly complex process of assimilation and integration into a new culture. What I thought would take me just a few months to adjust to, took me a solid 5 years. The good news is that throughout this whole process, I had to really look inside of myself and assert my identity as I had never had to do in my home country. It was a roller coaster journey which, fortunately, strengthened my identity. This, in turn, contributed to the full awareness of who I am: an empowering skill to be a more alert actress. So, by 2005, I was ready to jump right back into acting. I was cast in a local Nashville theatre production and I felt like my blood was flowing again. My acting senses started awakening and I knew I was home again. The opportunity came to me to start a group of Argentine Tango in Nashville and, although I don’t dance the Argentine Tango, I started and headed up Tango Nashville, a 501(c)(3) arts nonprofit organization for 7 years. At the same time, I also started acting for camera, which eventually brought me to Caroline Locorriere’s Nashville Acting Studio’s Acting for Camera weekly class. Caroline is a smart and talented instructor with a perfect mix of top-of-the-line training, professionalism and "mother hen" attitude towards her students. Caroline’s demanding, albeit safe, environment encourages thinking outside the box as an actor and building your skills beyond the type cast opportunities. She has taught me to look at myself as an actor from a myriad of new angles, and to embrace what I see and, again, trust my instincts. Transitioning from stage to camera has been also an eye-opener and great skill to have in my toolbox as an all-around actress. I have also honed my skill to follow direction in this class, which allows me to become that instrument that can be played in as many ways as the director can come up with.
I continue to take acting and voiceover workshops regularly, besides my weekly class, and I am always – always – looking for opportunities to continue learning and exploring. It feels so good to be home!
What is your personal approach to creating a character and what are the actor's challenges given by Lorca in this script?
I am a process person and I am always very curious about the world and all those creatures that inhabit it. For this reason, when I get cast in a role, I thoroughly research and explore the environment the character is immersed in during the play/film. I get online and find out all I can about her surroundings at the time the play/film takes place: the culture, the language, the landscape, the climate, the economics and socio-political environment, fashion, etc. Even if the playwright/screenwriter states these as part of the background details, I always need additional information to enrich that setting. I then jump into a detailed character analysis worksheet and literally get lost in it, allowing all the data from my research to populate each section as needed. Only then, do I go back to the script and read it aloud several times. I then break it up in sections to locate where, through the words that are being said, and/or actions that are being carried out, I feel a more “organic” way of expressing words and actions. Where “it doesn’t feel right,” I break it down even further to see if that helps. Sometimes it does, and sometimes it doesn’t. Throughout this whole process, I am communicating with my director and the rest of the cast as needed. I am a very inquisitive actor, so I am always – always – asking questions. I then start working on the movement, or the lack thereof, as I am saying the words. All of the above is what I like to call my “toolbox.” When the time comes to rehearse and interact with the other actors, I focus, mostly, on listening and reacting. And then, I listen and react some more, and some more, and some more. Most times, of course, through this listening and reacting, I go back and adjust my character analysis, as my scene partners share with me their talent and bring their world into mine. I am fascinated by the opportunity of ‘weaving our worlds together’.
I think that Lorca’s writing is “all-encompassing.” He wrote in a way that was raw and poetic at the same time, and his plays have a unique rhythm to them, where the shifts in the writing are not always anticipated by the words. This makes for an unbelievable opportunity to act/react on your feet at the most unexpected times. Personally, this is one of the main challenges for me, and one of the best challenges I could have, as this makes me feel even more alive than ever!
What are your thoughts on Nashville as a theatre town?
I love Nashville as a theatre town! There is diversity (of age, thought, backgrounds, schooling) and a broad range of levels in most aspects of theatre productions: in plays/musicals being put on, in directing styles, in acting talents and skills, in approaches to spreading the word, in venues, etc. And I say MOST aspects, because what I would like to see happen is for groups and theatre companies to take a little bit more of a risk in putting on plays that are thought-provoking and more provoking overall, that is, to present plays that talk about the white elephant in the room, that which no one is wanting to discuss. And I think this play is one of those risks that is proving to be a very successful one, as it is creating a very loud buzz around town.
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