An interview with… Eleanor White
“When Eleanor White first auditioned for Alea, she had no idea that the two of them shared a surname. After all, the “aleain” in Álea-áleain-alashi – “Alea of snow hair” in theonic— literally means, well, white. Eleanor’s education in musical theatre and classical singing and her powerful soprano voice instantly brought a magic and clarity to the voice of our favorite goddess. A voice that routinely rises above the rest of the music to awe and eclipse all the other characters. Now headed to the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama to continue her musical theatre career, Eleanor sheds light on her journey this last year putting on the white wig of a goddess.”
What does fantasy mean to you?
I’ve been a fantasy reader since I was a child and I have always loved the freedom that comes with the genre, being able to explore dreamlike worlds and experience magic without limits. And now as an adult I also appreciate the genre for what it refracts about the real world, what it shows us about ourselves even in an alien setting.
Alea is one of the most fantastical characters in the musical, but that must also come with challenges.
Definitely! I admit I’m not always the most optimistic person, so playing Alea’s hopeful naivety and earnest desire to find the good in everything and everyone has often pushed me outside of my comfort zone.
What was the first thing that surprised you about her?
I think I was surprised by her unique blend of naivety and wisdom. She makes me question how we decide what knowledge is valuable.
You sing some pretty high notes as Alea.
Her songs definitely put my entire range to work! But (as challenging as it is for me) this is a definitive part of Alea’s character in the music. She’s supposed to feel somewhat inaccessible, more than human, and I think in her long wordless sections her playfulness really comes through. I see her as experimenting with each note, pushing it to see where it can go and how it can be shaped, so I try to make that come across in my singing. Since Alea’s power in the musical is tied to her voice, I want her to sound like she is fully inhabiting each note, even if only for a second.
Still, it’s probably hard to act while holding those notes…
Definitely. But, as I said, Alea’s music is so much a part of her character that it’s easier for me to think about singing as a dimension of the acting itself, rather than only being a form of expression. That’s why I like to experiment with how my voice can sound stylistically different and how this can form the character I’m playing. I also love playing up Alea’s physicality; she moves so lightly through the world because of who she is and I think the best way for me to bring this to life is by making her movements dance-like (as best I can as a chronically inelegant person).
And wearing a wig as well!
Oh god, the wig. In the grand scheme of things it’s one of the better wigs I’ve worn on a stage (RIP my black bob Velma wig circa 2019), and it definitely helps me remember I’m not playing myself! It’s not for the outside world, however, as we discovered when filming the music video for Diamonds of Ice in Skye—it’s an absolute beacon for midges.
I understand you’ve also read the original book. How does the original Alea differ from the Alea from the musical?
I think Alea in the book can be a bit more snarky than her musical counterpart, although I know we are hoping to bring that aspect of her forwards more at the Fringe!
Having the author of the character, Albert, as director as well, must have been interesting.
It’s nice to work with someone so close to the story—you can see how much thought goes into every decision! One of my favourite moments however has to be Albert showing me the inspiration behind some of the original blocking for Alea-Aleain-Alashi (Sing 2 style)—that was the last time I took Alea too seriously!
And then there’s the Sultan scene, which has generated a lot of opinions... What's going through Alea's head in it, and how did you find playing that?
This is such a hard scene to play because it really confronts us with how much our human view of the world shapes our morals. Alea doesn’t seem very sympathetic in this scene and I think it’s easy to view her as insipid or fickle. But her relationship with Calanthe is founded only on the knowledge that Calanthe has given her—and if you know the story you know that Calanthe intentionally withholds information about human relationships out of her fear of jeopardising her happiness with Alea. Alea experiences love that doesn’t fit neatly into human labels, and when she demonstrates her lack of understanding, Calanthe blames her for not intuiting the boundaries of human monogamy. For Alea, because Calanthe doesn’t properly communicate her fears of rejection and loneliness, she starts to see Calanthe as controlling in a similar way to her father, and the culmination of this resentment and then what Calanthe sees as betrayal from Alea results in the breakdown of their relationship. What I see as the core tragedy of the story is this: Calanthe grants Alea knowledge (in the sense of experience) but withholds the knowledge required to understand that experience, and this is what leads to her ultimate destruction. Thinking about this allows me to have sympathy for Alea, and I think that is the first step in being able to elicit that sympathy from the audience.
But of course, you’re probably not impartial either.
Having played Alea and been inside her head for a while now I definitely feel close to her. You mostly get to see her from Calanthe’s perspective, so I always want to show what she is feeling separate from what Calanthe thinks is best for her. I enjoy Alea’s irreverence towards the rules, even as she is also very respectful of the world around her—I think those are valuable traits.
If you could go for a drink with Alea, what do you think you’d talk about?
I would love to ask her if she ever learned to play the organ and if she can teach me!
And finally, some quick fire questions.
Your favourite character in the Tears of Nerakhis (besides her).
Calanthe!
Your favourite song in the musical.
The Wedding, I love seeing how all the motifs from it come back throughout the musical.
Your favourite scene in the book.
I love the scene when Calanthe is locked in the tower of her childhood castle and sings one of her poems, and the winds carry her song to Alea.
A book you’d recommend to anyone that liked this musical.
If you are looking for a book that deals with gods and wayward magic systems, you should read In A Garden Burning Gold by Rory Power, and if you want to read about the importance of storytelling and mortals having to deal with the aftermath of godly tyranny, you should read Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor.
And finally, what would you like anyone who comes to see the Fringe to take away?
Hopefully a catchy tune or two!
