Overall, the rehearsal on Thursday was very unproductive as people were quite unfocused and kept on talking, therefore this delayed our rehearsal schedule and we weren't able to complete as much as we had hoped to. Some problems are as follows:
Problems -
- Lack of energy across the class and ensemble
- The curtain was too heavy to roll my character (Madame) as the 'moth', therefore we didn't successfully portray Madame with this illusion
- Groups of people talking and not listening to direction
- People breaking out of physical shapes when new direction was given
- People missing their line cues
- People not committing to their physical actions
Strategies -
- Having a warm up with an energy focused game which includes the whole class as this will encourage an ensemble attitude of working together and will also help to energise the cast. An example of this could be group singing, or alternatively improvisation as this gets people's creative juices flowing. This, along with a warm up which relaxes the muscles and vocal chords will put the entire cast in the same motivated mindset.
- People learning their lines and working together to have a unified and energetic ensemble which amplifies the ongoing action occurring throughout the play.
- We need to find an alternative fabric or material which can be used to roll myself and Laila in as Madame before we enter the safe house.
Alternative direction idea -
I think another source of the problem is that some people in the ensemble feel alienated from the main action going on in the scenes sometimes and therefore are less likely to want to commit to their physical actions and acting, and become disengaged from the direction and any participation opportunities they could have.
However, in Scene 6 in particular I don't see why this would happen because most of the cast are involved and have very strict and demanding sets of physical roles to fulfill constantly to support the Madames, Lapin and Conrad. Nevertheless, I think that the soldiers could be more involved however as I observed that throughout our previous rehearsal they stood at the back of the room and I think that they could use this opportunity in the background to add multi dimensional depth interpretations to what is going on in the scene and how various characters are feeling.
However, in Scene 6 in particular I don't see why this would happen because most of the cast are involved and have very strict and demanding sets of physical roles to fulfill constantly to support the Madames, Lapin and Conrad. Nevertheless, I think that the soldiers could be more involved however as I observed that throughout our previous rehearsal they stood at the back of the room and I think that they could use this opportunity in the background to add multi dimensional depth interpretations to what is going on in the scene and how various characters are feeling.
With my alternative direction idea, I would initiate scene six with the same concept that we previously played with, where there is the 'scrum' who are then notified that the Madames are coming. In contrast to them running I would perhaps use this as an opportunity for different ensemble members to embody their characters thoughts and feelings through physicality, facial emotions and body language as this will help to communicate again, a multi dimensional depth and will communicate a more complex statement to the audience. For example, some characters may not be running, but instead could be hiding, for example more vulnerable, low status characters such as the maids could be finding refuge when Madame arrives as opposed to running around. I personally think that the lifts of me and Laila conducted were carried out quite effectively and I think the people who lifted me (Shenneil, Mia, Saffron, Ruby and Wildat) were able to do this swiftly and supportively, therefore I don't think anything to do with the lifts needs to be particularly changed, however I think the group carrying me and Laila's group need to consolidate the physical shapes we make to mirror eachother perfectly and therefore, the resulting physical shapes we make will be more defined and cleaner and we will be able to withhold them more effectively. The soldiers alternatively could be supporting the ensemble or creating a second shape around the Madames, nevertheless I would more likely have them upstage to fill the space and I think that this moment would be ideal for people playing their characters to just play as their characters in this moment and perform really understated actions which doesn't upstage the main characters but amplifies the mood and atmosphere being created.
For example, Violent's physical action may be to pace as we know from previously in the play he is really uncomfortable and haunted by the safe house, as well as this the presence of the Madames could possibly add to his anxiety and association of his low status and conformity to higher powers, which has put him in the paranoid and guilty mindset he is in now. Furthermore, Violent's psychological objective would be to stay unnoticed, as he wants to keep up the strict and authoritarian persona as a soldier but the audience may be able to read between the lines and see the vulnerability that is revealed when he is around the Madames at scenes with high tension such as scene six and this adds multidimensional depth to the play.
Obsceno's physical objective, on the other hand, could be to tease Violent, as we know from previously in the play that he enjoys taunting Violent. Ruby may do this by using tactics such as to follow, to touch, to taunt, to laugh, to dominate etc.
For the other characters like the maids, I think various objectives could be 'to avoid', 'to observe', 'to protect' however these should vary depending on individual characters because different maids will have different responses to the presence of the Madames.
Pre-show ideas
I think a pre show would be effective for our piece because it could communicate some of the ideas and themes of the piece which the audience can reflect on before the play has even started.
My main idea is to have a promenade pre show as the audience are travelling from the foyer to the Space (where the play is being performed). As we have already created internal monologues based on the theme of a nightmare, a group of people playing various characters, for example, one of the Madames, a couple of soldiers, the driver, the shoemaker and one of the maids could be scattered across the building and the outside of the foyers performing their internal monologues to the audience as they travel past on their way to the Space.
Alternatively, internal monologues might not even be necessary for everyone, for example, a soldier could be standing or sitting somewhere performing an action, for example trying to get blood off his/her hands, trying to scrub a spot off the ground (this is a reference to Scene 4 in the safe house) or soaking his/her hand into a cup of 'blood' which they then use to cover themselves with. Characters like Madame could lead with the audience from the foyer to the space and chuck petals and confetti in the path, which could represent how she as a character is often so dissociated from her surroundings that she sees the dictatorship and corrupt society around her as a fantasy, and she is at the centre of it. Or Maria could lead the audience: as a journalist, she is the one telling the story in the play and therefore it might make more sense if she led the audience.
The rest of the group who are not involved in the promenade show could lay in the pile of bodies which Scene 1 starts with as the audience arrive in their seats - ideally, I think it would be most effective and interesting if this group has coordinated movement, for example breathing audibly and rising together and then exhaling and collapsing. The promenade group should stay outside The Space and only enter and join the pile of bodies once the lights have dimmed and the play is starting.
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For example, Violent's physical action may be to pace as we know from previously in the play he is really uncomfortable and haunted by the safe house, as well as this the presence of the Madames could possibly add to his anxiety and association of his low status and conformity to higher powers, which has put him in the paranoid and guilty mindset he is in now. Furthermore, Violent's psychological objective would be to stay unnoticed, as he wants to keep up the strict and authoritarian persona as a soldier but the audience may be able to read between the lines and see the vulnerability that is revealed when he is around the Madames at scenes with high tension such as scene six and this adds multidimensional depth to the play.
Obsceno's physical objective, on the other hand, could be to tease Violent, as we know from previously in the play that he enjoys taunting Violent. Ruby may do this by using tactics such as to follow, to touch, to taunt, to laugh, to dominate etc.
For the other characters like the maids, I think various objectives could be 'to avoid', 'to observe', 'to protect' however these should vary depending on individual characters because different maids will have different responses to the presence of the Madames.
Pre-show ideas
I think a pre show would be effective for our piece because it could communicate some of the ideas and themes of the piece which the audience can reflect on before the play has even started.
My main idea is to have a promenade pre show as the audience are travelling from the foyer to the Space (where the play is being performed). As we have already created internal monologues based on the theme of a nightmare, a group of people playing various characters, for example, one of the Madames, a couple of soldiers, the driver, the shoemaker and one of the maids could be scattered across the building and the outside of the foyers performing their internal monologues to the audience as they travel past on their way to the Space.
Alternatively, internal monologues might not even be necessary for everyone, for example, a soldier could be standing or sitting somewhere performing an action, for example trying to get blood off his/her hands, trying to scrub a spot off the ground (this is a reference to Scene 4 in the safe house) or soaking his/her hand into a cup of 'blood' which they then use to cover themselves with. Characters like Madame could lead with the audience from the foyer to the space and chuck petals and confetti in the path, which could represent how she as a character is often so dissociated from her surroundings that she sees the dictatorship and corrupt society around her as a fantasy, and she is at the centre of it. Or Maria could lead the audience: as a journalist, she is the one telling the story in the play and therefore it might make more sense if she led the audience.
The rest of the group who are not involved in the promenade show could lay in the pile of bodies which Scene 1 starts with as the audience arrive in their seats - ideally, I think it would be most effective and interesting if this group has coordinated movement, for example breathing audibly and rising together and then exhaling and collapsing. The promenade group should stay outside The Space and only enter and join the pile of bodies once the lights have dimmed and the play is starting.
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