Final post

My final post on my Common Ground blog... *wipes away a tear*

An extract of Martha's final lines in 13 that I feel really relate to me:

"I want a small life. I want to be a teacher."

Evaluation

Today was the day of our first show, and the opening show of the whole commonground season.

We were in the new theatre all day and we started today by running the box moves in each scene from 9-10.30am. And although this part of the day was very stressful I feel that we did not allow the box stress be carried forward within the dress runs that were to follow. We then proceeded to do the first dress run of our show from 11-1pm. To me, the first run felt very wooden and as if we were just marking through the play. Other than our two day tech run, this was the first time we had actually ran through the whole play from beginning to end in the theatre. I also think that the fact that the whole cast knew we would be doing 2 dress runs before the 7pm performance meant we were all attempting to conserve our energy and physical stamina for the rest of the day. This hesitancy in the first run was also I believe due to some of the cast members, myself including, freaking out about doing the show. I believe this is why the first run felt so messy and blocked and marked through. Personally I feel like I put about 85% effort into the first dress run of our show this morning, because I knew I would need to sustain my energy throughout the whole day. Also I am aware that I was much quieter in the first run than the second or the actual show, which was intentional because I still felt a bit sick and nasal from the flu I had over the weekend and I really didn't want to strain my voice at all before the show.

The second dress run was much more of a success to me. Despite Amaya breaking her hand mid show and carrying on with the second half before rushing off to A&E, the eerie atmosphere of darkness and confusion within the show was much more palpable and tangible to me in the second dress. As an ensemble we picked up the pace, and the energy, and most certainly the pressure. It certainly felt a lot better than the first run through, but I cannot lie and say it was perfect and audience ready. There were a few lulls in pace or energy in places here or there in the second run but on the whole the ensemble definitely up'd the ante and the stakes of our play. Also we had a photographer taking over 800 pictures during our second run of the show, which was not only distracting but very off putting at times.

The actual performance of our show went so unbelievably well its hard to describe and actually put into words. The tense atmosphere was there from the very second we were on stage and the swinging light came up from the dream sequence. Having being given the note that some cast members were simply moving through the dream sequence movements in the earlier run through, I personally pushed myself to live through the dream, and to experience it in a new a different way than I had done before. Before our warm up I re-read how the dream is written in the script: "Monsters. Darkness. Something moving? An explosion." and by using these words as a mantra during the dream for the very first time since beginning this project I was personally seeing the monsters and the darkness and something moving and the explosion. I felt as if I put 110% of my effort and energy into that first dream sequence which I found glaringly obvious when I went to my next entrance and could hardly catch my breathe before I went on stage to do the Downing street scene. This is just one example of how the final performance today felt so new and different to any time we have ever performed it before, but there were many moments within the show that were changed and altered slightly and were new and exciting moments on stage because of the spontaneousness and freshness of them. I believe this was due to the fact that during our entire rehearsal process Will has driven it into us how important it is to live in the moment and to listen and respond to others on stage. If someones offers you something thats different to every time you have rehearsed it, you are obviously going to respond and react to this offer in a different way.

ALSO THE AUDIENCE WERE LAPPING IT ALL UP AND LAUGHING A LOT MORE THAN WAS EXPECTED :D

MY PANCAKE ANALOGY:

To me each run of the show today felt like making pancakes. The first one is just about edible but it does not look appetizing in any way shape or form. The second one was much better, but there is still something missing to make it perfect. The third pancake is always the best. It is the perfect thickness, light and fluffy, cooked all the way through, no burnt bits, a perfect circular miracle! And then you pour on the honey and lemon and sprinkles and chocolate sauce and chopped nuts and bananas! 

THE FIRST DRESS RUN: EDIBLE BUT A COMPLETE MESS

THE SCEOND DRESS RUN: MUCH BETTER, STARTING TO GET THE HANG OF IT!

THE THIRD RUN - THE ACTUAL SHOW: AMAZING! PERFECT, WITH NUTELLA AND CHOPPED BANANAS AND WHIPPED CREAM!

Notes on the first show:

• The ensemble found freedom in the space, and freedom in the lines
• it was different to every other performance - different every night
• we need to find new things out about ourselves and the play itself each night we perform
• find more layers and depth to the characters
• successfully found a performance in a rehearsal room
• successfully transferred that performance to a new space
• successfully rehearsed in an efficient manner during a technical rehearsal
• successfully found freedom within the show - to live within the show, to feel within the show, to respond within the show
• We found a unification of energy within the ensemble
• Found a unification with all the technical elements of theatre: lights, sound, AV, props, new space, the tech team, and most importantly the audience.
• We were acting/listening/connected/honest
• DOESN'T NEED TO BE 'RIGHT' JUST NEEDS TO BE HONEST!!!
• DON'T be nervous about the box 
• PASSING THE ENERGY ON FROM SCENE TO SCENE
• Too much bread + not enough butter - Too much butter spread over not enough bread!
• some people were too far back in the first dream sequence - FIND YOUR LIGHT
• Use the floor more in the dream sequence
• Energy needs to be picked up in the first park scene
• stay invested - push the pressure and the energy constantly - sustainable energy
• Build up the movement in the last scene - personalized and connected 

Comments about the show:

• Comments from Stuart and Tim (who both saw the national version of 13 in 2011) that our version of the play was BETTER/CLEARER than the one at the national. 
• Several people said to me they would like to see it again so they can understand it even more and understand each depth and layer to the play.
• The audience participation protest scene - Some people loved it (younger audience members mainly) Some people didn't engaged with it at all, Some people were understandable scared and bewildered by it, but most people I spoke to about it enjoyed the realness of the protest and enjoyed that it involved the audience, whilst giving each member of the audience their own different individual experience of the protest. 
• EVERYONE LIKED THE BOX :D
• "13 wasn't an entertaining play. But I mean that in a good way, it's like it's not meant to entertain you, its meant to make you think." - FAVOURITE COMMENT OF THE NIGHT

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SECOND PERFORMANCE EVALUATION:

So today was the day of our second show. Overall I don't think it went nearly as well as last weeks first show. The main reason for this I believe was that we hadn't had a run through before the show, and therefore the actual show felt like a rehearsal to us as actors. At several points in the play it felt remembered, like we were just marking through the words and movement and significant moments on stage that had happened last week instead of living through the moments and being alive on stage. To me going through the motions felt like when you've had a dream that you enjoyed so much and was so vivid and amazing that you try to replicate the same dream the next night, but obviously can get it perfectly the same - A bit like deja vu - where it feels the same but you are aware that something has changed from the last time. Also a lot of ensemble members MYSELF INCLUDED were not speaking into one another at various different points in the show. And I didn't use my journey through the play paper as much today and TOTALLY FORGOT TO DO MY BOX MOVE! Overall there were many different contributing factors to why we let the pressure out of our pressure cooker but I believe in the second half we picked up the energy and the atmosphere in the theatre, so instead of dwelling on what went wrong I shall evaluate what went well.

THE PROTEST

I think the protest went SO much better today because not only did we have a younger more lively audience, but also we knew what we were doing and what to expect after doing it will an audience last week. Personally I felt a lot more confident in the protest. I was more willing to just go up to people and talk to them about why they were there, and what their views on Iran were. I believe that after having James Kaffenberger get REALLY political REALLY quickly and start discussing conspiracy theories and iranian oil deals with me prepared me more for today's protest. If I could manage to get James to think that I was more politically aware of todays society than he is, and convince him that I understand most of what he is saying, then I can do literally ANYTHING. Talking to James was challenging for me, although I didn't let him know that, and through talking to him and being challenged about my belief in John gave me the extra push I needed to up my performance and my protest game. Also I enjoyed talking to an audience member who didn't buy into John's bullshit speeches, who like me (AS RACHEL NOT MARTHA) thinks that John talks A LOT but he never really SAYS much of value. DO THANK YOU JAMES :D Also it must be said that our audience consisted of a majority of performing arts students today, who were much more willing to participate in the protest instead of just allowing it to happen around you.

TO DO LIST: NEXT WEEK IS THE LAST EVER SHOW OF 13 AND WE MUST KEEP THE PRESSURE UP AND HIT THE MARK AND LIVE THROUGH THE PLAY HONESTLY.

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FINAL PERFORMANCE:

WOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! OUR LAST SHOW WENT REALLY WELL!!!!!!! It's sad to think it's all over now but I am glad we went out on a high note. I think our final show was just a good, if not better than our first show. It felt different to both the other shows and I think the entire cast had a new kind of energy that came from us knowing it would be the last show and the last time we would ever get to perform with the same group of people, and that energy was tangible in our performance, and I believe it was this energy that helped us keep the pressure up and find new things and new dimensions within our characters.

The ENERGY WAS ELECTRIC!!!
(And palpable in the theatre)

All along Will has told us that 13 is a play about doubting your beliefs and searching for the answers, which I think we found tonight.

We also gave Will his card and plantain chips just before the show tonight. He loved it! And he also enjoyed the 13 most memorable quotes from Will's directing process. My personal favourites:

"You are all just farts on the landscape of time"
"Then acts 4 and 5 will be like shitting in someones mouth"
"This scene is weak. Like most women"
"Don't be shit!"


Something I think is worth mentioning in a final evaluative comment is my "journey through the play." As advised by Will I created a document that listed every time I went on stage, my reason for being on stage for each scene, my objectives for each scene, ALL my cue lines to go on stage, and costume changes that I had, my entrances and exits, and any props I use. Once I had a finished version of this I then used it in every rehearsal as a prompt card if you will. In the tech runs and the first show I used my journey through the play religiously, and literally treated it like a bible. I think in the first show I was so nervous that I needed to see in black and white exactly what I was doing, saying and wearing in the next scene, just in case. The second show however, I got arrogant and used it a lot less than I had in the first show, which was a very stupid Idea as I went off at the wrong exit after the second dream sequence and therefore didn't have time to run to C before Gus walked on stage which was my cue for MY ONE AND ONLY BOX MOVE IN THE PLAY!!! I felt like such an Idiot that I made sure in the third and final performance I once again used the little piece of paper religiously, and gave it a quick glance every time I went off stage. Although I do know my journey through the play it was a lot easier for me to be more efficient on and around the stage (and in rehearsals) by using my "journey through the play."

I did find that through repetitively using my journey through the play document in rehearsals, the more I used it the less it was needed. I believe that this was for same part due to me developing a "muscle memory" of my journey through the play, but also on some part because I have a photographic memory. When learning lines this can both be very helpful and very irritating. For example it is easier for me in the "learn your lines" stage of the process because I will take mental pictures of the text and then when I recall on this images I can see the shapes and lengths of the words and passages of text laid out on the page but not the words. Its like I can remember a blurry version of the page of text in my mind but this is enough for me, because through analysing the length of the line and the length of each word within the line my brain can remember the whole line itself. But that bad thing about this is whenever there are cuts to the script that impact on my lines I get thrown off very easily and had to re-learn the edited lines from scratch. This happened with one of my scenes in 13 and although at first I was put off by the lines changes, I powered on through and re-learnt the lines the way my director wanted me to learn them.

I now intend to make this type of document or list for every theatrical project I work on because I found it was the most helpful thing in the world in every situation I used it in, whether that was rehearsals, a technical run or the actual performances.

Dream diary

At the beginning of the whole Common Ground project , as soon as I knew that I had been cast in 13 I began keeping a dream diary. I did this because when Will held a workshop will us doing different exercises related to each of the three common ground shows, I really struggled with the exercise inspired by 13. In the workshop we had to split up into groups and tell each other about the worst nightmare we had ever had, and then we would describe parts of our own dream to the rest of the class (who were huddled in a circle in the middle of the room with the lights off) but because each member of each group had a different dream when you would describe part of your dream someone else would jump in and start describing their dream. This was so we could create a collaborative story and narrative through our nightmare. At the time the exercise scared the shit out of me and made me very on edge. I remember that the 13 exercise was the last one we did and then we had break, and after leaving the rehearsal space I felt very ill at ease, like when someone strokes a cat in the wrong direction. Looking back on this experience after working on the play and it themes intensely for 3 months, I see now that I was too narrow minded and closed off to properly engage with the exercise. I feel that through the process I have become more open and emotionally available, whilst also becoming more willing to participate and engage in weird wacky acting exercises. THANKS WILL!

Also at the time all I knew about the play 13 was that it had something to do with dreams and nightmares. So to try and keep ahead of the game after not doing so well in the workshop I began writing down anything and everything that I could remember about my dreams.

Here is everything I wrote down about my dreams over the last 3 months:

Dream diary 

being back at sedlescombe road but there are like 8 beds in the big bedroom and we have loads of people staying over 
Chrissie house with pat fridge raiding at Silly o'clock trouble 
On the train with mummy but she sits near the bitches and give me a tiny pink net book that I hate but then I feel bad and guilty for hating it and telling her I hate it 
Cinema coliseum Zelda type arena 
Layers and Lots of stairs Endless stairs 
Baby foster care little girl parents given to me so cute babysitting small talking words Crying 4 months 
me at Cadets defending the cliche Brit school 
KFC Collette
Stealing from Patricks lodger who's coming back today 
Dying my hair blonde and it goes badly wrong
having two guinny pigs with the cat and the cage got turned on its side by the wardrobe then they ran around the whole house 
Killed two people ran around west brompton guns popping off sirens in the distance running and hiding constantly 
fell over into a pond 
walls tightening 
massive thunder storm rain wind gusts of hail stones thunder 4

My acting process update

My acting process


Learn lines  

I begin my actors process by reading the play in one sitting. My next step is to do initial research about the text. I then read through my lines cold. My next step is to write up my given circumstances, and then annotate and analyze photocopies of my script, looking for objectives, super-objectives, and any ideas that I come up with whilst analyzing the text. I then re-read the whole play keeping in mind the given circumstances of my character and the initial deductions I have made about the character, and their objectives. I then do more background research into the play, the writer, and playing conditions of original performances. I also look for and enjoy sourcing music that I believe either related to the play, my character or that my character would listen to. I then extensively learn my lines, and cue lines. During the rehearsal process of blocking the scenes I also like to note down all my entrances and exits, and any specific notes on the spacial proxemics of the piece. 

Fact file 
Age gender
Link how character moves to the text and emotion
Character relationship with others 
Physicalize character lie as the character 

First stabs at working out objectives - maybe doesn't work first guess preliminary objectives, ALL physical objectives 

Good objectives have no lines 

Text rides on the action 

Work out tactics 
How you do objectives 

A metaphor which someone resonates in my characters heart and the characters 

Approaching the script 

*******

Opinions allow you to make assumptions about the character 
Which can help or be Detrimental 
Interview real people 


TEXT DEFAMILIARISATION 

LABAN EFFORTS 

Punctuation dancing 
Speed run of text 
Slow mo run 
Gibberish 
Actioning is objectives 

Thought changes 
Getting rid of punctuation 
Connecting disconnecting 

Just saying the objectives 
Eg. To seduce
To run away from 

Meisner repetition 

start objective before the line 

Speaking the thoughts of the character 

Do the scene on a train and a chicken. Shop or a whatever 


Rehearsal prep 
ALL SCENES 

GIVE A SHIT! ACT LIKE YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO LOSE! 

Costume little piece 

Reversal

Proper rigorous warm up 
Warm up voice body and emotions 

Semi soupine 
Breathing very important 

10 questions

I need to ask myself the following questions, not only for each scene I am in but also for every time I come onstage, whether that be a park scene or a dream sequence or a box transition. 

1. Who am I?

2. Where am I?

3. When is it?

4. Where have I just come from?

5. What do I want?

6. Why do I want it?

7. Why do I want it now?

8. What will happen if I don't get it now?

9. How will I get what I want by doing what?

10. What must I overcome?

1. Who am I?

The first question is dealing with the type of person you are. I'm sure if I asked you that question, you would be able to tell me about your family background, your parents, grandparents, siblings. You would be able to describe them in detail. Also the house you grew up in, what it looked like, inside and outside. Your favourite room, what you could see out of your bedroom window, the smells you remember. Your earliest childhood memories, the kind of games you played, family holidays. Your education, favourite teachers, best friends, times you got into trouble. Your first kiss, first job, your likes and dislikes, influences, attitudes, anecdotes. All these good, bad, funny, interesting experiences shape us into who we are today. Most people don't walk around with all these memories on their shoulders like baggage. They've seeped into our being, our muscles, our subconscious, allowing us just to be, to exist.

When you play a character in theatre, TV or film, you should know your character as well as you know yourself, so you can just exist and live. Of course that doesn't just magically happen, nor does it evolve just from rehearsals. As an actor you have to plant those memories, anecdotes and backstory.

So how do you build a character? Well, first a good script should give you some initial information about your character, and also what other characters say or think about your character can be very revealing. All this should be extracted and written down in a separate notebook. The next stage is research. You need to find out through detailed research what the history, economics, politics, music, art, literature, theatre, film, foods, fashion, religion might have been at the time the play was written, in order to know how you would have lived and what and who your influences were, just as you know these things in real life. Possible sources include the internet, films of the era and finding images of landscape, as well as going to museums, art and photographic galleries. Fill your mind with images - not facts and figures. The more visceral your understanding, the better.

The final stage in building a character, once you've filleted the script and completed your research, is to use your imagination to flesh out the details you've gathered and bring them alive. Don't underestimate the power and the necessity of your imagination in the acting process. You can't use your imagination without the backup of research and reading. Nor can you use your imagination alone.

2. Where am I?

You might find in the script a description of the room you're supposed to be in, including details such as the style and period of the furniture. What does it mean to you though? Is your character supposed to be familiar with the surroundings? Is it the first time you've entered this room? Is it a cosy cottage? A freezing barn? A familiar street? We usually behave differently depending on our surroundings. You need to establish your relationship with your environment because this affects the way you use yourself. For example, you wouldn't start walking around, touching ornaments and putting your feet up if it wasn't your home. The geography will have an impact too: playing someone from very cold northern climates such as Norway or Russia will be different to playing someone in a baking Mediterranean climate such as Italy or Spain.

3. When is it?

We need to know what season it is, what year, what time of day. We tend to carry ourselves differently in the colder months than we do on hot, muggy summer days. We would also hold ourselves differently if the piece was set at the turn of the century. We must be aware that we can't bring our modern physicality to a play that is of another period. People expressed themselves differently then and didn't slouch or use modern gestures.

4. Where have I just come from?

You need to work out what your character has been doing, where they've been. When you make an entrance on stage it shouldn't look as if you've just stepped on stage from behind the curtain. Even if that's true, you should have worked out during rehearsal where you would be coming from - the bathroom, having just brushed your teeth? The kitchen in the middle of baking an apple pie? The car after being stuck in traffic? Shopping? What is your state of being supposed to be on your entrance? Does it tell you in the text? Has your director informed you of what they would like it to be? Or do you have to invent it? What's just happened in the scene before? Have you just had an argument? Have you just been proposed to? Whatever the situation, you should always know your previous circumstances at all times. It can be good fun inventing it, and no entrance should ever be the same. Just think about real life: do you always enter your house in the same way every night? No. Where you come from will have conditioned your mood.

5. What do I want?

This is a key question. "Want" means what do you need, what is your intention, your motivation, your action? You should never walk on stage just to play a scene. You should always have an objective. Often in a good script, an objective is written into the scene: to end the affair, to propose, to move out. Your action can change from scene to scene but you should always work out what you are meant to be doing.

You may be in a scene, for example, where you have very little dialogue. Instead of sitting doing nothing, give yourself a physical action, which can be anything that fits your reason for being in that room, from making a salad to polishing your nails. Even if you are pulled away from what you're doing, so long as you're doing something, you've always got something to return to once you're no longer engaged in conversation. The importance of this is so that you don't look or feel silly on stage doing nothing. You must have a life on stage, you must have a purpose for walking and talking, otherwise you are in danger of "just acting", which is fake. Don't forget you're trying to be truthful and three-dimensional, and in real life, no one ever comes into a room and stands with their hands by their sides or sits with their hands in their lap and just talks.

6. Why do I want it?

You must always have a strong justification for your action. All right, perhaps in real life we don't always have a strong justification for everything we're doing but, particularly in the theatre, you always need one. Most plays present a heightened version of reality (this can be different for the naturalistic performances and stories we see on television, particularly in soap operas). Having a strong justification means you have a strong motivation.

7. Why do I want it now?

The "now" gives you an immediacy that is crucial in acting and in any drama. You must know why your motivation has to be right now, not before, not later but now. Why should we sit through two hours of this play if you're not that bothered about getting the money or the house or the power?

8. What will happen if I don't get it now?

The stakes should always be high. Otherwise so what? The consequences of not getting what you want should always be very important to you. If the high stakes are not clear to you in the play, you need to invent them, otherwise it will come across that you're not bothered at all about the outcome.

9. How will I get what I want by doing what?

This question brings us on to how you break down a script. How do you know how to play the line as opposed to how one should say the line? There's a big difference.

Once you've worked out what your action is (question 5) you then have to work out your smaller action, which is called an "activity". You need to work out how you are trying to affect the other person with what you are saying.

One way of doing this is called "actioning" your text. Break your script up into chunks: every time you have a new change of thought, you need to find a transitive verb, a verb that is active, such as to beg, to entice, to charm, to get sympathy (a good thesaurus is very handy here). Remember that this technique is not about the emotional content of what you are saying or feeling but about what you want the other person to feel psychologically. By playing these chosen activities you are trying to make the actor that you are playing opposite feel something specific in order to further your action.

So, you have to think: how can I affect the other character by doing what? At this stage you should know who your character is, and your choice of active verbs should be informed by your character choice and not your personal choice. If my character was a loving, open, sweet, sensitive young girl and my dialogue was: "I don't love you anymore, I think you should go", my verb will be determined by my above characteristics and not by the actual line itself. Therefore verbs such as to plead, to get sympathy, to reason, should be chosen, as opposed to verbs that might reflect another type of character, such as to demand, to threaten, to hurt. If in the rehearsal a choice doesn't work then you can change your choice. Nothing should be initially set in stone.

I like to call this process "scoring" your text. Just as a musician or singer would rely on their score to know how to sing or play their song, an actor works out how to play the monologue, scene or play. Once you've done it, you have to play it fully, otherwise it's pretty pointless. The challenge is the execution of it. It's time-consuming initially to find the right verbs, but once you have them and tested them in rehearsal, not only will you have given your performance light and shade but also depth. It also means you do not have to fall into a dreadful cliche performance by thinking of how to say the lines and what you should be feeling and emoting. This technique allows you to be free and truthful without playing external emotion. It's really about what you don't say and trusting that actions will speak louder than words.

10. What must I overcome?

Every actor should always have an inner and an outer obstacle. The outer obstacle is the resistance (usually the other character) to obtaining your action. The inner obstacle is your inner conflict, which you must always plant in a scene even though it can change. There must always be a problem you are trying to overcome. If you think of yourself in life, you're never without an inner obstacle. You'll have seen scenes on stage or screen where the inner obstacle has not been properly planted: you get a load of actors just shouting, over-emoting and sometimes just playing the aggression. If the inner obstacle is there, the anger, fear or hate, for example, then you've got something to fight against in the scene. Much more interesting.

Actors may believe that they can do without formal training. But I have worked with untrained actors, who have landed a film or a TV series on the basis of their looks, and seen them struggle to be able to reproduce what they were able to do in the first take. Natural ability will get you so far, but it's the trained actors who know what they're doing and how they're doing it and can produce that emotion take after take.

To fully transform into a character, to be truthfully and emotionally connected needs hard work, technique, good direction. But the audience should see none of this. They should see nothing other than the fully realised three-dimensional character right in the truth of the moment.

• Dee Cannon teaches acting at RADA

What makes an actor truly great?

Great acting, like great writing, is often in the eye of the beholder, but audiences almost always know when they are in the presence of something special. Talent may be enough to get by on screen and TV, but with a few notable exceptions such as Kelly Reilly, the untrained actor often fares badly on stage. The performances that most often thrill us are those where instinct and technique are both in perfect balance but also opposition, and flamboyance and inner life collide head on, transforming feeling into thought and words. When this mixture of abandon and control ignites, what happens is as mysterious as alchemy; the theatre crackles; it leaves the spectator reeling. It makes you believe Eric Bentley's thesis that "the purpose of theatre is to produce great performances."

Many actors have tricks to help them along the way. Laurence Olivier liked his putty to mould a nose, or a costume department hump as much as the next actor. But it wasn't these external props that made him a great actor; it was something that he mined from deep inside himself, something that perhaps the poetic might call soul. You can teach people timing, you can teach them how to stand; you can give them the infrastructure that allows them to take risks, but you can't teach them to be in touch with their own spirit. All great actors are, and it is what makes them distinctive. Fiona Shaw, Clare Higgins, Michael Gambon, Judi Dench: it's as if there is something coiled but restless inside them struggling to get out. When it does, the stage ignites.

• Lyn Gardner, Guardian theatre critic



http://www.theguardian.com/stage/2009/may/09/character-building-great-actor

Will's worries

Will has repeatedly given us the following note:

He is worried that in our first show wont be as good as it should be because we will only "hit it" by running on "shit yourself" energy, and that the second show will be the best because we will have the experience of the first show under our belts, and that in our third show we wont "hit the mark" because we will have an air of arrogance about doing the second show well.

Will's words of wisdom

KEEP THE PRESSURE UP
DONT ACT - BE ACTIVE
THE TRANSITIONS OVERLAP
ITS ABUT BLINDING YOURSELF FROM THE TRUTH OF LIFE
RAISE THE PRESSURE + RAISE THE IMPORTANCE = WE CANT LET THE PRESSURE OUT
WORK THE WORDS
DONT THROW AWAY ANY LINES
MEISNER YOUR SCENES TO KEEP THEM FRESH
PERFORM TO THREE SIDES
NO FLOPPING WHEN OFF STAGE
WHAT DOES YOUR CHARACTER WANT IN EACH SCENE AND HOW DO THEY GET IT?
ARE YOU ACHIEVING YOUR GOALS ON STAGE?
CAN YOU BE HEARD?
ACTIVE LISTENING - THE AUDIENCE SHOULD KNOW WHAT YOUR ATTITUDE IS TO THE ACTION ON STAGE
SPACE BETWEEN CHARACTERS CREATES TENSION
CLOSE THE GAPS
FILL THE URN

Katie's dream analogy

Katie Matsell13

So I've been given a book called 'Lifting the Lid on Depression' and it has told me all about dreams. So the reason we have dreams is quite simple.

Our brains have a little guard which releases stress hormones. These stress hormones inhibit a 'fight or flight' instinct which blocks out a lot of the rational thinking mind. The problem with it is that it hasn't evolved to keep up with society's rules, it is still back in the caveman days, ie a sabre toothed tiger comes for beef, stress kicks in and tells you to kill it or run away.

However with things that make us stressed now, i.e. Will getting rude, your stress hormones think you're in danger making you want to punch him in the face or run away. It is unacceptable to do either, so we battle away these instincts.

This is where dreams come in. It is now thought that 25% of our sleep is made up of dream sleep and the rest is for refreshing our bodies. The dreams are our way of playing out those unacted upon instincts, but they are represented metaphorically. Everyone is under mad stress in the play, hence the mad stress dreams!

I thought it was quite interesting!

BTW Tian's dad is the author of this book just thought I'd say!

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THE BOX

EVEN MORE NOTES

• Miesnering to get the energy back into scenes
• pushing the energy ALWAYS
• hit the mark 
• know what you want and how you get it
• AM I ACHIEVING MY GOALS ON STAGE?
• act 1 scene 3 PROTEST - silent energy needs working through
• RISE DON'T FALL 
• consonants - front of mouth articulation
• dreams sections - actually wake up and experience the new world around you
• energy and timing are absolutley crucial in this play

BIG CHALLANGES - ACT 4 SCENE 1 AND ACT 4 SCENE 10 

Reflection

I don't feel like I did as well in rehearsals this week as I could of done, but I will endeavor to correct this in next weeks rehearsals.

ADVISE:

If you continuously compete with others, you become bitter. 
If you continuously compete with yourself, you become better.

Collaborative class notes

Today was the first day back after the 2 week Christmas holidays and despite not having our director there the rehearsal went very well.

This morning we did a warm up, and had a really beneficial feedback session where everyone talked about things we had discovered or realized over the Christmas break that could contribute to today's rehearsal. 



- Dennis sir Christopher, no pressure. Use the space to make it interesting. 

- protest scene, noise comes after the Hoover turns off. If that doesn't work the noise needs to come in straight away otherwise it's a there's a silence and break in the pressure. Jack needs to push Gus. 

- josh and everyone are the outsiders in the protest. When he falls he needs to be taken over to the other side of the stag.

- Ruth and Dennis. 'Iran' more emphasis on this. It's a big serious issue and is intrinsic to the narrative of the play. It's an explanation to the audience and Ruth. 

- Ruth and Dennis st Christopher need more pressure but a slower pace because it's complicated but KEY. 

- volumes is terrible. 

- the first no 10. Pace completely off. It's needs to be constant struggle.

- josh searing headache. Play that more. 

- immie brother line, elongate. 

- dancing, party 'tribal free and open' it MUST build more and have an atmosphere. 

- everyone has started to repeat themselves. We need to experiment in the scene. 

- protest, watch videos from occupy, key memorable videos that WILL help everyone. Especially police aggression.

More notes

Progression into the fundamental truths of life.

"every scene is a different play"

Flow of energy and woven storyline

box throws you within scene

whole cast hesitant acts 3+4+5

done 1+2 too much

Miesner- defamilizariton

live in the moment, in the space - DO WHAT YOU CAN WITH WHAT YOU HAVE WHERE YOU ARE

developing the world of the play - touring conversation

level of perfection and knowing play skeleton inside out needs to be on point for diff spaces when touring

(hit the mark each time)

warm up directly links to emotional availability

Todays run through feedback

• 60 minutes until the "Ruby death scene"
• Everyone needs to have a bigger voice in the alpha scene
• when the alarms goes off during each dream sequence REACT TO IT 
• ALARM IS NOT A CUE TO RUN OFF STAGE
• Act 2 Scene 7 wasting lines left right and centre. 
• MARK THE WORDS
• Cut piano?
• Find your own moral compass
• Pick up pace
• PRESSURE COOKER
• no room for lulls in the energy of the play 
• everyone needs to be working their asses off 
• speaking into each other 
• NOW IS NOT THE TIME TO REHEARSE - ITS TIME TO PERFORM!

Epicurus

Something that helped me to understand the alpha scene more and the questioning and confusion within the play is this:

"Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? 
Then he is not omnipotent. 
Is he able, but not willing? 
Then he is malevolent. 
Is he both able and willing? 
Then whence cometh evil? 
Is he neither able nor willing? 
Then why call him God?"
-Epicurus

One of my lines in the alpha scene is "But to be fair to holly, it's a big question that every christian struggles with. I mean, if there is an all-powerful all-loving God, then why is there evil in the world?" which is an obvious indication that like many other characters within the play I am questioning my belief. This quote from epicurus sums up perfectly my own views and my characters views on belief in God and religion.