These couple of exercises where to get us to focus on how change around other people? What do we add or take away from our personalities? How do we change our voices? It was making us grow more aware of ourselves, and that attention and focus of ourselves will make us that have that same inquisitiveness and attention to details with characters.
So analyzing myself in different situations went as follows:
At work: Extremely attentive, upbeat, keeping stress under wraps, chatty to colleagues, checking politeness constantly, trying to be efficient with the jobs expected of me
In lesson: listening, inquisitive, open, light-heartedness, focused
With parents: not afraid to moan, quite sarcastic, making or asking for tea, colloquial
Leading a youth club: trying to be funny, conscious of how I talk to others/setting an example, good at helping out, upbeat and lively, attempting to act older, give out instructions, teacher-esque formality when running games
Out walking: on a mission, don't wander, in my own world, probably would appear unapproachable, purposeful
Dancing with friends: bubbly with learning movements then snap straight into focused dancing mode when the music starts, happily seek help with steps, don't leave until I have mastered something, perfectionist, determined to perform, easier and more tempted to spot rooms for improvement and holes within routines
We then had to imagine 3 conversations and comment on how our voices and physicality changed, so we looked at how we change in places then to people.
Boss: Have to stand still to make sure I hear every word, always polite, try to always be helpful and asking lots of questions to double check information, better use of language and pronunciation and always sign of with politeness marker 'thank you'.
Sister: Go into higher intonations, quite over dramatic and elongate words or reactions, use gestures a lot and quite happily multi task whilst talking
Boyfriend: Voice goes softer, giggle a lot, ask lots of questions, usually talk late at night so I'll be wrapped in my duvet, happily relaxed whilst talking, not afraid of pauses in conversations
This raising awareness of how we act around people in our lives we can take into how characters we will play change and alter their behavior and voices according to who they are with on stage, or talking about, or the settings they are in. In makes characters 3D people, not everyone acts the same in every situation and with everybody, so being able to alter their characters according to that is a real craft of acting and takes it to that more mature level.
Wednesday, 18 February 2015
Storytelling Exercise
This exercise began by splitting into groups of three or four. We then had to tell our group a story of something that had happened to us. After listening to each, we would pick one and if it wasn't ours, memorize the key events and try and tell the story as if it were ours.
The aim of the exercise was to re tell the same story, three different versions, to the whole group, if you were lying, you had to make the story appear as if it was yours and if you owned the story, make it appear less truthful than the others. The whole class would then vote on who they thought the story belonged to.
My story was chosen of when I was chased by a giraffe whilst quad biking in South Africa, there were many parts to the story, lots of little details that I chose to leave out to appear as if I was making it up or choose different details to the others so the story seemed different. I couldn't help but laugh whilst telling the story because the memory is so amusing!
Throughout the exercise, we learnt that we automatically link things to our lives in some way so we can relate, with characters, events that we have to act out we may link an emotion we've had with our own memory to trigger that emotional response on stage etc. We learnt that we should embrace what we have experienced and our personalities and take them to characters, we will never be able to not bring parts of ourselves to characters, so to find ways to utilize that and use in ways that will be beneficial.
I also learnt to relax when telling the story, to not fret about the details you want to add in, the more you relax, the easier those details will be included because you do them naturally.
It also got me to focus on details, even though I was trying to appear as if the story was a lie for me, adding particular details to enrich the story makes it far more exciting to listen to as an audience member. When watching other people, it was the details, a nickname, a reaction, a particular phrase that made it so much more engaging to listen to!
The aim of the exercise was to re tell the same story, three different versions, to the whole group, if you were lying, you had to make the story appear as if it was yours and if you owned the story, make it appear less truthful than the others. The whole class would then vote on who they thought the story belonged to.
My story was chosen of when I was chased by a giraffe whilst quad biking in South Africa, there were many parts to the story, lots of little details that I chose to leave out to appear as if I was making it up or choose different details to the others so the story seemed different. I couldn't help but laugh whilst telling the story because the memory is so amusing!
Throughout the exercise, we learnt that we automatically link things to our lives in some way so we can relate, with characters, events that we have to act out we may link an emotion we've had with our own memory to trigger that emotional response on stage etc. We learnt that we should embrace what we have experienced and our personalities and take them to characters, we will never be able to not bring parts of ourselves to characters, so to find ways to utilize that and use in ways that will be beneficial.
I also learnt to relax when telling the story, to not fret about the details you want to add in, the more you relax, the easier those details will be included because you do them naturally.
It also got me to focus on details, even though I was trying to appear as if the story was a lie for me, adding particular details to enrich the story makes it far more exciting to listen to as an audience member. When watching other people, it was the details, a nickname, a reaction, a particular phrase that made it so much more engaging to listen to!
No and Yes Exercise
This exercise was to experience the difficulties and challenges that come when actors block and the potential when yes is a constant answer.
The exercise consisted of working in pairs, one person making suggestions like 'let's jump up and down!' and the only answer the other could give was 'no'. Working with someone who constantly blocks becomes repetitive, monotonous and you are always hitting a barrier, which also takes the creativeness and energy out of you.
We then switched the exercise up, so one person made suggestions and the other had to say 'yes' to everything.
When being the person who gave all the commands, it allowed you to be playful with silly suggestions and kept the space fun and lively, there was a lot more excitement. But when being the person who had to say 'yes' to everything, you did feel vulnerable, the fear of how you will look and you had to trust that the person commanding. That constant 'yes' attitude does get you out of that conscious, timid place and the more you do it you do grow in confidence with taking risks, I know I certainly did!
The last part of the exercise was where someone would give a suggestion, the other said 'yes' and brought another suggestion to the table. Here, you were both in the same boat and the same level, both being playful and we all turned childlike. People were rolling around the floor, bundling on each other, some were galloping round the space, others being dinosaurs, anyone would think we were mad. Yet we got rid of all our insecurities and that childlike nature really sparks your imagination, which is what you need when you're in the creative process! The fear of saying yes is slightly there all the time, but it was important that we created an environment where you are comfortable to go out of your comfort zone, and knowing there is no judging of what ideas and creation you bring to the table. When we were both bringing suggestions to the table, there was an equal sense of power and understanding, where you would only ask the person to do something you would be happy to do yourself, that added a sense of security to me and accepting people's ideas were taken just as much in a serious manner than an imaginative one. The exercise of having to bring suggestions quickly got us to be instinctive, no matter how random they were, give it a go, you don't know where it could take you!
The exercise consisted of working in pairs, one person making suggestions like 'let's jump up and down!' and the only answer the other could give was 'no'. Working with someone who constantly blocks becomes repetitive, monotonous and you are always hitting a barrier, which also takes the creativeness and energy out of you.
We then switched the exercise up, so one person made suggestions and the other had to say 'yes' to everything.
When being the person who gave all the commands, it allowed you to be playful with silly suggestions and kept the space fun and lively, there was a lot more excitement. But when being the person who had to say 'yes' to everything, you did feel vulnerable, the fear of how you will look and you had to trust that the person commanding. That constant 'yes' attitude does get you out of that conscious, timid place and the more you do it you do grow in confidence with taking risks, I know I certainly did!
The last part of the exercise was where someone would give a suggestion, the other said 'yes' and brought another suggestion to the table. Here, you were both in the same boat and the same level, both being playful and we all turned childlike. People were rolling around the floor, bundling on each other, some were galloping round the space, others being dinosaurs, anyone would think we were mad. Yet we got rid of all our insecurities and that childlike nature really sparks your imagination, which is what you need when you're in the creative process! The fear of saying yes is slightly there all the time, but it was important that we created an environment where you are comfortable to go out of your comfort zone, and knowing there is no judging of what ideas and creation you bring to the table. When we were both bringing suggestions to the table, there was an equal sense of power and understanding, where you would only ask the person to do something you would be happy to do yourself, that added a sense of security to me and accepting people's ideas were taken just as much in a serious manner than an imaginative one. The exercise of having to bring suggestions quickly got us to be instinctive, no matter how random they were, give it a go, you don't know where it could take you!
You are enough
Before the beginning of 'Paper Minds' we had a couple of weeks where we focused on basic acting principals, stripping back all use of dialogue, emotion, everything to the bare minimum.
We were split in half, the second half repeating the exercise afterwards.
We had to stand against the back wall and one by one walk forwards and just stand.
The first time I did it, I'd walk forwards and immediately feel like I needed to be doing something, trying to convey some sort of message or do a gesture like play with my hands or brush my hair, because that feeling that the audience are expecting something, standing will be boring, was hard to ignore.
When we were asked why we did particular gestures, what their intentions were, none of us could really vouch for them, I had no reason or purpose, so they were forced actions.
We repeated it again, stopping ourselves from doing anything that came to our heads, if we felt we should shift weight, don't do it, to try and get truthful reactions from us. For example, there was a point when Lee laughed, but it wasn't forced, it happened spontaneously, and you could tell the reaction was genuine, it had a truthfulness to it, which when watching, had a different effect on you, it also made you laugh because you could tell it was truthful.
I did find it complicated to understand at first, but the more we did it the easier it became and the more we understood. It got us to just be ourselves on a stage, stopped us from over thinking whilst on stage, not trying to evoke a reaction from the audience, so when the forced movements or gestures were replaced by just truthful ones, the acting became real, and from an audience point of view, you do forget that your watching something, and just drawn into the space.
It also put us all in a pretty vulnerable place, where you are just standing with a number of people in front of you, if it were a piece of theatre, you're standing in front of people you don't know who can draw judgments or thoughts about you, you do feel very vulnerable. But this exercise did give a confidence boost that just standing as you are, no dialogue, no set character, no setting or emotion to play, you are still enough to hold an audience, you don't need to strive to provoke reactions or emotions unless you have a purpose to do so. It stops reactions being artificial, and gets them from a place of truthfulness.
We were split in half, the second half repeating the exercise afterwards.
We had to stand against the back wall and one by one walk forwards and just stand.
The first time I did it, I'd walk forwards and immediately feel like I needed to be doing something, trying to convey some sort of message or do a gesture like play with my hands or brush my hair, because that feeling that the audience are expecting something, standing will be boring, was hard to ignore.
When we were asked why we did particular gestures, what their intentions were, none of us could really vouch for them, I had no reason or purpose, so they were forced actions.
We repeated it again, stopping ourselves from doing anything that came to our heads, if we felt we should shift weight, don't do it, to try and get truthful reactions from us. For example, there was a point when Lee laughed, but it wasn't forced, it happened spontaneously, and you could tell the reaction was genuine, it had a truthfulness to it, which when watching, had a different effect on you, it also made you laugh because you could tell it was truthful.
I did find it complicated to understand at first, but the more we did it the easier it became and the more we understood. It got us to just be ourselves on a stage, stopped us from over thinking whilst on stage, not trying to evoke a reaction from the audience, so when the forced movements or gestures were replaced by just truthful ones, the acting became real, and from an audience point of view, you do forget that your watching something, and just drawn into the space.
It also put us all in a pretty vulnerable place, where you are just standing with a number of people in front of you, if it were a piece of theatre, you're standing in front of people you don't know who can draw judgments or thoughts about you, you do feel very vulnerable. But this exercise did give a confidence boost that just standing as you are, no dialogue, no set character, no setting or emotion to play, you are still enough to hold an audience, you don't need to strive to provoke reactions or emotions unless you have a purpose to do so. It stops reactions being artificial, and gets them from a place of truthfulness.
Personal evaluation of dress rehearsal (from video)
I evaluated this for both an individual and company purpose, I split it into the separate scenes.
Librarian opening:
- The dialogue is a lot more clear and concise which sets the audience with the message to take throughout the play, sets the scene for what they will witness so it's understandable
- Good pace and change of dynamic when they directly challenge the audience
Diaries:
- Physicality has to portray age as they are young, reinforces their characters age
- Can see the librarians trying to open the diary behind Alfie and Evie, it was timed really well and can be seen by the audience
- Perhaps needing some expression of Alfie signalling he's at home, so set takes the persona of their home where they are familiar and comfortable
First Encounters Part 1
- Acknowledging of younger selves is a lot clearer
- With snaps, exaggerate so it is clear that the librarians can stop time
- Pace and spacing was better for the couples, we were able to cut in just after each other so the dialogue has momentum
Rhythm
- There needs to be that sudden change of vocals and rush of noise
- Everyone needs to stop when the clicking ends, even if you're not in the right place, stop and pose then dart to your place otherwise the effect doesn't work
- Work on spacing! In venues if the space is really different quickly set them so people are confident
- With the fast grapevine people need to either straighten their arms or add tension, floppy arms doesn't look great
- In the improvisation section, 2 x 8 counts, everyone needs to be cheering/chatting to fill the gap, it makes the unison sequence after more effective and again adds another layer to just a routine, brings life to it with characterization
First Encounters Part 2 and Crazy
- Librarians have great reactions, especially Karl's to 'nice bottom'
- Need that awkward pause before 'youth is wasted on the young' otherwise the line doesn't make sense
- Don't be looking at Nick till the 3rd click, then suddenly both looking at each other properly
- Change stance, don't always keep head close to chest because it brings all the gestures in and makes them smaller which is harder to recognize
- Hold the pina lift, it's the first time they are practically nose to nose, the first time their heads are that close together
- Vocal dialogue from Rose and Norman as they pull the dance apart
- Nice character relationships, looks like genuine friendships
Walk home/tree lovin'
- Sort out pathway to bookcase, was a bit random
- Stand in relation to lighting so not cast in shadow, light awareness
- Work on the bookcase transition, practice moving it round so its fluent
- Don't take the jacket off till Elsa or Karl come to get it
- Keep chatting underneath the tree to fit with Evie's dialogue
- Vocals always up!
- Make the necklace bit more uplifted, keep the pace, no pre-empting
Lovesong
- News reel spoken factually, no adding of emotion to get impact
- Placing of singing great behind Liv
- Add more tensions into the hugs, especially the final one, the last time you could ever hug each other, you wouldn't want to let go
- Take frustration of being powerless into physicality, push Nick away with force, need to see that growing as it progresses, needs to escalate or it doesn't really work
- Have a moment to compose yourself before walking up the steps, lets the audience notice the book steps properly
Love letters
- Felt a lot more comfortable, getting used to speaking it fluently
- Moving made it less static, could add more feeling to it to stay away from monotone
Hospital
- Practice in the dress regularly for practicality reasons!
- Need to work on timing for the end, not letting the audience think the play has finished
Seasons
- Could perhaps increase the speed of it slightly
- Constant reactions from the sides really lifts it
- Anniversary, everyone needs again to stop at the same time and the energy level needs to mirror that of the first dance
- Don't drop the movements to half-hearted or it looks a bit dull and messy
- After the first section it goes straight to the older couple, so everyone must STOP dancing!
Duet
- Still a bit shapeless
- Need to give ourselves a setting, a motive otherwise it is just a routine
- Can add layering without adding sentimental gestures, adding subtleties, so how you move and how you look at the other etc
- Still not convinced by the Damien Rice music, it's too dramatic, not capturing the essence behind the duet as another piece of music could
These notes we all shared the day after the run!
Librarian opening:
- The dialogue is a lot more clear and concise which sets the audience with the message to take throughout the play, sets the scene for what they will witness so it's understandable
- Good pace and change of dynamic when they directly challenge the audience
Diaries:
- Physicality has to portray age as they are young, reinforces their characters age
- Can see the librarians trying to open the diary behind Alfie and Evie, it was timed really well and can be seen by the audience
- Perhaps needing some expression of Alfie signalling he's at home, so set takes the persona of their home where they are familiar and comfortable
First Encounters Part 1
- Acknowledging of younger selves is a lot clearer
- With snaps, exaggerate so it is clear that the librarians can stop time
- Pace and spacing was better for the couples, we were able to cut in just after each other so the dialogue has momentum
Rhythm
- There needs to be that sudden change of vocals and rush of noise
- Everyone needs to stop when the clicking ends, even if you're not in the right place, stop and pose then dart to your place otherwise the effect doesn't work
- Work on spacing! In venues if the space is really different quickly set them so people are confident
- With the fast grapevine people need to either straighten their arms or add tension, floppy arms doesn't look great
- In the improvisation section, 2 x 8 counts, everyone needs to be cheering/chatting to fill the gap, it makes the unison sequence after more effective and again adds another layer to just a routine, brings life to it with characterization
First Encounters Part 2 and Crazy
- Librarians have great reactions, especially Karl's to 'nice bottom'
- Need that awkward pause before 'youth is wasted on the young' otherwise the line doesn't make sense
- Don't be looking at Nick till the 3rd click, then suddenly both looking at each other properly
- Change stance, don't always keep head close to chest because it brings all the gestures in and makes them smaller which is harder to recognize
- Hold the pina lift, it's the first time they are practically nose to nose, the first time their heads are that close together
- Vocal dialogue from Rose and Norman as they pull the dance apart
- Nice character relationships, looks like genuine friendships
Walk home/tree lovin'
- Sort out pathway to bookcase, was a bit random
- Stand in relation to lighting so not cast in shadow, light awareness
- Work on the bookcase transition, practice moving it round so its fluent
- Don't take the jacket off till Elsa or Karl come to get it
- Keep chatting underneath the tree to fit with Evie's dialogue
- Vocals always up!
- Make the necklace bit more uplifted, keep the pace, no pre-empting
Lovesong
- News reel spoken factually, no adding of emotion to get impact
- Placing of singing great behind Liv
- Add more tensions into the hugs, especially the final one, the last time you could ever hug each other, you wouldn't want to let go
- Take frustration of being powerless into physicality, push Nick away with force, need to see that growing as it progresses, needs to escalate or it doesn't really work
- Have a moment to compose yourself before walking up the steps, lets the audience notice the book steps properly
Love letters
- Felt a lot more comfortable, getting used to speaking it fluently
- Moving made it less static, could add more feeling to it to stay away from monotone
Hospital
- Practice in the dress regularly for practicality reasons!
- Need to work on timing for the end, not letting the audience think the play has finished
Seasons
- Could perhaps increase the speed of it slightly
- Constant reactions from the sides really lifts it
- Anniversary, everyone needs again to stop at the same time and the energy level needs to mirror that of the first dance
- Don't drop the movements to half-hearted or it looks a bit dull and messy
- After the first section it goes straight to the older couple, so everyone must STOP dancing!
Duet
- Still a bit shapeless
- Need to give ourselves a setting, a motive otherwise it is just a routine
- Can add layering without adding sentimental gestures, adding subtleties, so how you move and how you look at the other etc
- Still not convinced by the Damien Rice music, it's too dramatic, not capturing the essence behind the duet as another piece of music could
These notes we all shared the day after the run!
Full run through dress rehearsal
Here we had done the technical rehearsal and had the chance to do a run in the Hub with both casts with full costume if we had it and set.
Alex was able to come in and watch one of the performances, which happened to be cast A, so there was lots of pressure as we hadn't done many full rehearsals!
His notes were:
- We need to start performing in costumes, for those that didn't wear it, you won't know how movement sections will change and what you need to adapt until you put your costume on. It also can inspire you and give you new ideas on how you can add character quirks and details
- Make the librarian snaps really clear and precise, need to make them obvious to get the effect
- In 'brief encounters' couples stand closer together so the audience can see both at the same time as they'll be in close proximity, and you get to bounce off the energy from the other couple being closer
- Integrate lovesong singing and movement
- Lift your eye line in monologues so the audience can see your faces
- Make a big moment of being reunited! It's one of the biggest moments in the play don't waste it
- No fluffy entrances in the explosion, go with direction and commitment
Rose's notes:
- Get the shoes you will be wearing in the piece
- Keep lifting voice and projection as many voices were lost
- To combat the spacing in 'Brief Encounters' aim for the inside edges of the side bookcases
- Work on the shaping and phrasing of movement duet so it's not a showcase
- Add more integration into love letters, getting up and moving round the space during monologues, librarians keep moving with the letters
- Don't forget the hair pull between old and young Evie before the duet, reinforces same character
Jonathan's notes:
- Bring the whole space in, gets that intimacy with the audience again
- All vocals up
- Listen to the people before your lines, getting those truthful reactions and playing the moment
- Need to look at the table transition from the explosion to the hospital scene
- Reacting and responding to the 'seasons' section need to be heightened and increase in number
The next run cast A got to do was the following morning, therefore the notes on transitions that needed to be altered would have to wait, but taking on the notes of pace, reactions and listening, and use of voice I could take on and improve in the next run. Lifting vocals and adding more range and colouring to my dialogue was a target, becoming too used to one pitch or tone gets pretty boring after a while!
Jonathan's notes for the following run were:
- Spacing was a lot better and improvement
- Monologues better, remember to keep playing with them, proper joyful when speaking them!
- Need to act more playfully with the snoring comments, to show that ability to poke fun at each other when you know someone well, but that its loving and cheeky, again a relationship development
- Walk onto the stage as Nick exits the stage so Liv can clock me before she leaves, seeing younger self
- The Ed Sheeran duet has more acting in it and far less dancing orientated, less is always more
- Pace a lot better
- You had taken on the notes well done!
Alex was able to come in and watch one of the performances, which happened to be cast A, so there was lots of pressure as we hadn't done many full rehearsals!
His notes were:
- We need to start performing in costumes, for those that didn't wear it, you won't know how movement sections will change and what you need to adapt until you put your costume on. It also can inspire you and give you new ideas on how you can add character quirks and details
- Make the librarian snaps really clear and precise, need to make them obvious to get the effect
- In 'brief encounters' couples stand closer together so the audience can see both at the same time as they'll be in close proximity, and you get to bounce off the energy from the other couple being closer
- Integrate lovesong singing and movement
- Lift your eye line in monologues so the audience can see your faces
- Make a big moment of being reunited! It's one of the biggest moments in the play don't waste it
- No fluffy entrances in the explosion, go with direction and commitment
Rose's notes:
- Get the shoes you will be wearing in the piece
- Keep lifting voice and projection as many voices were lost
- To combat the spacing in 'Brief Encounters' aim for the inside edges of the side bookcases
- Work on the shaping and phrasing of movement duet so it's not a showcase
- Add more integration into love letters, getting up and moving round the space during monologues, librarians keep moving with the letters
- Don't forget the hair pull between old and young Evie before the duet, reinforces same character
Jonathan's notes:
- Bring the whole space in, gets that intimacy with the audience again
- All vocals up
- Listen to the people before your lines, getting those truthful reactions and playing the moment
- Need to look at the table transition from the explosion to the hospital scene
- Reacting and responding to the 'seasons' section need to be heightened and increase in number
The next run cast A got to do was the following morning, therefore the notes on transitions that needed to be altered would have to wait, but taking on the notes of pace, reactions and listening, and use of voice I could take on and improve in the next run. Lifting vocals and adding more range and colouring to my dialogue was a target, becoming too used to one pitch or tone gets pretty boring after a while!
Jonathan's notes for the following run were:
- Spacing was a lot better and improvement
- Monologues better, remember to keep playing with them, proper joyful when speaking them!
- Need to act more playfully with the snoring comments, to show that ability to poke fun at each other when you know someone well, but that its loving and cheeky, again a relationship development
- Walk onto the stage as Nick exits the stage so Liv can clock me before she leaves, seeing younger self
- The Ed Sheeran duet has more acting in it and far less dancing orientated, less is always more
- Pace a lot better
- You had taken on the notes well done!
End Scene
There were discussions about what the ending of the piece should be, the second half now consisted of 'seasons or married life' followed by Evie's dropping of her books and Alfie's monologue to the duet.
Lee and I had written the dialogue of 'when people ask us' that is firstly spoken at the very beginning, I decided to write it into 'tree lovin' where the younger couple speak it and it's where they first created their 'story' and we thought it would be great for it to appear at the end, with all four of them speaking it.
After the duet between O.Alfie and Y.Evie, it was devised that O.Evie would appear stage right, given a book, and as she opens it, Y.Alfie appears opposite her. She walks towards him, and is able to touch his face which she hasn't been able to do throughout the whole piece. Then then walk centre stage together and O.Alfie and Y.Evie follow.
Old Evie Old Alfie
Young Evie Young Alfie
Here you see the four of them on stage in a way you haven't before, they have interacted with their younger and older selves, and finally come together as the two generations for the last time.
I split the dialogue up between the four of them, the two boys speaking various lines together like 'Of how I danced' and the girls 'of how WE danced' again to strengthen that great visual that they are the same characters.
It was important that this scene was joyful, a time when the four of them are all content. The previous scene, Alfie gets frustrated that Evie can't remember him, so there needed to be a point where Evie was beginning to remember before the end line 'Thank you Alfie'. It was also reinforcing the message that people suffering with dementia can still remember their past and their loved ones, it's not all doom and gloom, there is happiness even if the situation seems grey.
This scene was set in a simple way, just the four characters talking to the audience, there was no movement, just speaking the dialogue, because for me it's really moving, because the audience have already heard this twice before, but it holds that much more meaning when all four of them are telling their story. Adding movement or use of props wasn't necessary, and could take away the impact it already has.
It ended with the two generations going back to their other halves, and on the line 'that night, we sat underneath the beautiful oak tree' we all move to stage left, where 'tree lovin' is set, the place where they spent their first evening together. Which again is a really beautiful image.
Younger Alfie and Evie then have one last look at their older selves before exiting stage right together, leaving the older couple standing by the tree. The ending librarians speech was written by them, which is reinforcing our underlying message of listening to the elderly, that they do have the most incredible stories, and the audience have witnessed two first hand. Its challenging, and leaves with the message fresh in their minds as they leave. To end, the beginning tea scene is repeated, with Evie remembering how she takes her tea 'two sugars and a splash of milk' before thanking Alfie by name, and the play finishes. That one line of Evie's for us tied up the piece so nicely, she remembered her husband at the very end, and it's not dramatically done, she says it as if she says it everyday, and it ends the play on an encouraging note, not a sad one.
Lee and I had written the dialogue of 'when people ask us' that is firstly spoken at the very beginning, I decided to write it into 'tree lovin' where the younger couple speak it and it's where they first created their 'story' and we thought it would be great for it to appear at the end, with all four of them speaking it.
After the duet between O.Alfie and Y.Evie, it was devised that O.Evie would appear stage right, given a book, and as she opens it, Y.Alfie appears opposite her. She walks towards him, and is able to touch his face which she hasn't been able to do throughout the whole piece. Then then walk centre stage together and O.Alfie and Y.Evie follow.
Old Evie Old Alfie
Young Evie Young Alfie
Here you see the four of them on stage in a way you haven't before, they have interacted with their younger and older selves, and finally come together as the two generations for the last time.
I split the dialogue up between the four of them, the two boys speaking various lines together like 'Of how I danced' and the girls 'of how WE danced' again to strengthen that great visual that they are the same characters.
It was important that this scene was joyful, a time when the four of them are all content. The previous scene, Alfie gets frustrated that Evie can't remember him, so there needed to be a point where Evie was beginning to remember before the end line 'Thank you Alfie'. It was also reinforcing the message that people suffering with dementia can still remember their past and their loved ones, it's not all doom and gloom, there is happiness even if the situation seems grey.
This scene was set in a simple way, just the four characters talking to the audience, there was no movement, just speaking the dialogue, because for me it's really moving, because the audience have already heard this twice before, but it holds that much more meaning when all four of them are telling their story. Adding movement or use of props wasn't necessary, and could take away the impact it already has.
It ended with the two generations going back to their other halves, and on the line 'that night, we sat underneath the beautiful oak tree' we all move to stage left, where 'tree lovin' is set, the place where they spent their first evening together. Which again is a really beautiful image.
Younger Alfie and Evie then have one last look at their older selves before exiting stage right together, leaving the older couple standing by the tree. The ending librarians speech was written by them, which is reinforcing our underlying message of listening to the elderly, that they do have the most incredible stories, and the audience have witnessed two first hand. Its challenging, and leaves with the message fresh in their minds as they leave. To end, the beginning tea scene is repeated, with Evie remembering how she takes her tea 'two sugars and a splash of milk' before thanking Alfie by name, and the play finishes. That one line of Evie's for us tied up the piece so nicely, she remembered her husband at the very end, and it's not dramatically done, she says it as if she says it everyday, and it ends the play on an encouraging note, not a sad one.
Blocking Love Letters
This was the scene was one of the longest to create and finalize in the devising process.
A group had tried working around ideas and the initial idea was that Alfie and Evie would be on either sides of the stage, reading fragments of their letters to one another, then the librarians, who at that moment were antagonists, would grab the letters, almost mock them and throw them around the set. The problems were that the words were not scripted, so improvising we found ourselves repeating many things and there wasn't a huge structure.
As the librarians role completely changed in the piece, where their roles as being evil and causing the bad events in the story were removed turned to being keepers of memories and delighting in them, the mood of this section was able to change.
We began with the middle bookcase as a prop to split the stage in two, Evie on one and Alfie on the other, the bookcase then gave us two separate locations. We hadn't got set script yet, so we thought of ways that letters could be passed through the bookcase, using the different shelves, putting them in books as they were passed, pushing them off the top shelf so they floated down to the other's feet. That evening I said I would be happy to try and write two letters, one for Alfie and one for Evie.
Megan a couple of weeks ago had printed off real letters that had been written by couples throughout WW2. Instead of having to try and think of new dialogue, and considering the letters were so eloquently written, I pulled together all the letters and highlighted the fragments and sentences that were fitting. One colour for Alfie and one for Evie, before ordering the sentences into some order that made sense. The letters needed to have a light-hearted sense to them, because they were the only points of contact for people, so you would want to be both reassuring but take such joy in writing and reading them. They were what kept many people going, so really portraying that joyfulness as we read them out was needed.
When we came to adding the dialogue, the monologues were extremely long, so some parts were cut down to speed them up! As well as this, we mixed the old and young characters together, sharing lines and crossing them over, as it's the first time you see all four characters on stage together. It is also a nice image and sound to hear the two generations speaking together. There was then some shared dialogue between Alfie and Evie, and when we tried passing the letters each time with movement, it became static and there were too many pauses which broke up the dialogue too much and there wasn't a chance to build up pace. There was also another issue of trying to involve the librarians more, so we put Alfie and Evie more downstage with older Alfie and Evie upstage and the librarians passing the letters around. It gave them a purpose to be transporting the letters and meant that the dialogue could be spoken without having to be punctuated with extra movement. Visually as well, its a lovely image of all six main characters on stage at the same time.
The issues we kept facing were the pace, it's such a wordy scene that it needs momentum to drive to dialogue forwards. Keeping the monologues too slow would have the potential to disengage the audience, as well as the shared dialogue after. We needed to play with our tones, straying away from monotonous, keeping playful and our voices uplifted. After the monologues there needed to be another wave of energy for the shared dialogue, so missing out those pauses at the end of Evie's monologue and going straight into the shared, bouncing off each other's words to again keep a certain uplifting mood, not pre-empting that something was going to happen to Alfie.
It was a constant issue that we still had to overcome throughout the tour, but with each time we performed it, driving the momentum did get easier and we managed to do it better each time.
A group had tried working around ideas and the initial idea was that Alfie and Evie would be on either sides of the stage, reading fragments of their letters to one another, then the librarians, who at that moment were antagonists, would grab the letters, almost mock them and throw them around the set. The problems were that the words were not scripted, so improvising we found ourselves repeating many things and there wasn't a huge structure.
As the librarians role completely changed in the piece, where their roles as being evil and causing the bad events in the story were removed turned to being keepers of memories and delighting in them, the mood of this section was able to change.
We began with the middle bookcase as a prop to split the stage in two, Evie on one and Alfie on the other, the bookcase then gave us two separate locations. We hadn't got set script yet, so we thought of ways that letters could be passed through the bookcase, using the different shelves, putting them in books as they were passed, pushing them off the top shelf so they floated down to the other's feet. That evening I said I would be happy to try and write two letters, one for Alfie and one for Evie.
Megan a couple of weeks ago had printed off real letters that had been written by couples throughout WW2. Instead of having to try and think of new dialogue, and considering the letters were so eloquently written, I pulled together all the letters and highlighted the fragments and sentences that were fitting. One colour for Alfie and one for Evie, before ordering the sentences into some order that made sense. The letters needed to have a light-hearted sense to them, because they were the only points of contact for people, so you would want to be both reassuring but take such joy in writing and reading them. They were what kept many people going, so really portraying that joyfulness as we read them out was needed.
When we came to adding the dialogue, the monologues were extremely long, so some parts were cut down to speed them up! As well as this, we mixed the old and young characters together, sharing lines and crossing them over, as it's the first time you see all four characters on stage together. It is also a nice image and sound to hear the two generations speaking together. There was then some shared dialogue between Alfie and Evie, and when we tried passing the letters each time with movement, it became static and there were too many pauses which broke up the dialogue too much and there wasn't a chance to build up pace. There was also another issue of trying to involve the librarians more, so we put Alfie and Evie more downstage with older Alfie and Evie upstage and the librarians passing the letters around. It gave them a purpose to be transporting the letters and meant that the dialogue could be spoken without having to be punctuated with extra movement. Visually as well, its a lovely image of all six main characters on stage at the same time.
The issues we kept facing were the pace, it's such a wordy scene that it needs momentum to drive to dialogue forwards. Keeping the monologues too slow would have the potential to disengage the audience, as well as the shared dialogue after. We needed to play with our tones, straying away from monotonous, keeping playful and our voices uplifted. After the monologues there needed to be another wave of energy for the shared dialogue, so missing out those pauses at the end of Evie's monologue and going straight into the shared, bouncing off each other's words to again keep a certain uplifting mood, not pre-empting that something was going to happen to Alfie.
It was a constant issue that we still had to overcome throughout the tour, but with each time we performed it, driving the momentum did get easier and we managed to do it better each time.
Creating Alfie and Evie Duet and Alfie's monologue
The duet between old Alfie and young Evie developed and changed repeatedly as the devising process progressed.
It started with the development that the second half of the show was going to focus more on Alfie than Evie, as the story followed a couple's story, not just one person. So I thought the idea of Alfie remembering his wife's younger self would be a great moment within the piece, even though his wife is older and has grown frail, he can remember how she was when they first met, and it's a place where Alfie can forget about the his situation and reminisce about the times when Evie knew exactly who he was.
A point of inspiration for this sequence was the music video for 'Thinking Out Loud' by Ed Sheeran,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lp-EO5I60KA
To begin with, we taught ourselves some of the lifts they used, to see which ones worked and what we enjoyed doing. As Lee had never danced before, making sure he felt comfortable with the technical sides of the lifts before we performed them properly made him less prone to injury but Mandi and I also.
The problem was that the routine became far too based on lifts than what the essence and message actually was. Honestly we all got a bit carried away with creating movement that the focus went from the intention to the sequence itself. The turning point for this was when I learnt new material that had been made up, but when performing it, it was so tiring and there were no pauses for breath or moments of stillness and when we finished, the routine lasted nearly 2 minutes. That is a very long time to keep an audience's true engagement, once you have watched two or three lifts, they lose their initial reactions, which can allow time for an audience to switch of, and we don't want to give them that opportunity. Therefore, the three of us went through the routine, Mani and Lee performing it whilst I watched, and I removed lifts and sections of the routine to cut down both the length of it, and to get the duet out from appearing like a gymnastics routine.
I managed to cut it down to around 1.30, and kept in just two of the main lifts, so when they were performed, the surprise to the audience still has value.
The dirty dancing lift that was originally in it changed by mistake. When I did it with Lee, I didn't realize how high my legs were going, to the point when they were in line vertically with his head, this becoming the climax of the routine you could argue. What we needed to do now was to really focus on the intention and inner monologues with the two characters to add depth and a meaning to the duet, otherwise its purpose just wasn't clear enough.
Watching back the video of the dress rehearsal of cast A, the duet still seemed shapeless, there didn't seem to be motives for the characters as to why they were dancing, so it did look just like a routine. Therefore, with the following rehearsals, we tried adding individual character intentions.
We tried performing it as if we didn't want anyone to watch, so the moves became more personal, instead of performing outwards to try and evoke a response, we performed them inwardly, so it became a duet solely between two people, instead of a duet to show off fancy movements. I then proposed the idea for Alfie to imagine the whole way through the duet that if anyone were to walk on stage and see him, Evie would disappear. So every movement he did had a tension of never wanting to let go, as well as adding a tenderness to it because at any moment Evie could disappear, and that moment of utter happiness he has will go. For us as Evie, seeing Alfie as we always do, the fact he's older doesn't change anything and we still perform as we did with younger Alfie, also I wanted to add a playful nature to it, so when I go behind Lee's back I'd poke my head round the side, or add giggles and trace over his hand, so it reinforces what younger Evie was like. It also takes the routine from
being too overly sentimental.
The original music for it was 'Damien Rice It Takes A Lot To Know A Man' which to me seemed too dramatic. The music didn't fit the essence behind the piece and the two just didn't fit together for me. We then thought of music that was softer, piano music has a beautiful sound which can create such an atmosphere and provoke feelings for people. To try and link it with the rest of the piece, we chose to repeat the music used in the table routine 'I Giorni' so the audience are familiar with this music, and it holds such strong memories for both Evie and Alfie, that the music then holds a deeper meaning as well as fitting the style of the duet. It does have that same feeling of being reunited, as Alfie is reunited with his younger wife's self, who knows exactly who he is.
The duet did become frustrating for other members of the company. mainly because it was becoming too over rehearsed, whether that is because the other two felt less confident etc is another matter, but personally, I rehearsed till I knew the steps and was happy with the emotion behind it, and then wouldn't practice it till runs. The danger with every movement section is over-rehearsal. Rehearsing to the point where you know every point you laugh, or the exact moment you do a gesture can stop you from being spontaneous in the actual show. You still want to be able to add small details that you haven't done before, but if you have rehearsed something till it becomes dry, you can lose the ability to add those details. I don't mean that in a detrimental way to the others, it's just an observation from rehearsals.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lp-EO5I60KA
To begin with, the routine was meant to come after the prisoner of war scene, which was cut further along the process. So the duet was originally older Alfie remembering Evie as he was in prison, so I wrote a monologue/section of dialogue that was going to say after the duet, an apology for why he never replied to her letters. In context, Alfie was going to be re drafted to war, and Evie handed him a letter as he left, but as he was caught by the Germans, he never got to reply. Her face was going to be like a blank canvas, completely expressionless as he tried to explain, as she is just a figure of his imagination. As the P.O.W scene was later cut, the monologue didn't make sense, but here's a copy anyway:
I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry i never got to reply to your letter. I read it everyday. Evie believe me it gave me more warmth than any fire ever could. I tried to reply, paper was scarce, oh I had so much to tell you! To imagine your face reading it! They got me before I could send it. Caught me and threw me away like I was rubbish, like I meant nothing, but we mean something don't we! You and me? We meant something! Look my reply is here, I hid it where they couldn't find it. I had a reply. I'd never forgotten about you. Us, we meant something. In that camp, where they tried to beat me down and spit me out it didn't break me. I wasn't going to let go of our story. I'm never going to let go of our story.
*The video footage of the development of the duet can be found on the Level 4 Facebook page*
It started with the development that the second half of the show was going to focus more on Alfie than Evie, as the story followed a couple's story, not just one person. So I thought the idea of Alfie remembering his wife's younger self would be a great moment within the piece, even though his wife is older and has grown frail, he can remember how she was when they first met, and it's a place where Alfie can forget about the his situation and reminisce about the times when Evie knew exactly who he was.
A point of inspiration for this sequence was the music video for 'Thinking Out Loud' by Ed Sheeran,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lp-EO5I60KA
To begin with, we taught ourselves some of the lifts they used, to see which ones worked and what we enjoyed doing. As Lee had never danced before, making sure he felt comfortable with the technical sides of the lifts before we performed them properly made him less prone to injury but Mandi and I also.
The problem was that the routine became far too based on lifts than what the essence and message actually was. Honestly we all got a bit carried away with creating movement that the focus went from the intention to the sequence itself. The turning point for this was when I learnt new material that had been made up, but when performing it, it was so tiring and there were no pauses for breath or moments of stillness and when we finished, the routine lasted nearly 2 minutes. That is a very long time to keep an audience's true engagement, once you have watched two or three lifts, they lose their initial reactions, which can allow time for an audience to switch of, and we don't want to give them that opportunity. Therefore, the three of us went through the routine, Mani and Lee performing it whilst I watched, and I removed lifts and sections of the routine to cut down both the length of it, and to get the duet out from appearing like a gymnastics routine.
I managed to cut it down to around 1.30, and kept in just two of the main lifts, so when they were performed, the surprise to the audience still has value.
The dirty dancing lift that was originally in it changed by mistake. When I did it with Lee, I didn't realize how high my legs were going, to the point when they were in line vertically with his head, this becoming the climax of the routine you could argue. What we needed to do now was to really focus on the intention and inner monologues with the two characters to add depth and a meaning to the duet, otherwise its purpose just wasn't clear enough.
Watching back the video of the dress rehearsal of cast A, the duet still seemed shapeless, there didn't seem to be motives for the characters as to why they were dancing, so it did look just like a routine. Therefore, with the following rehearsals, we tried adding individual character intentions.
We tried performing it as if we didn't want anyone to watch, so the moves became more personal, instead of performing outwards to try and evoke a response, we performed them inwardly, so it became a duet solely between two people, instead of a duet to show off fancy movements. I then proposed the idea for Alfie to imagine the whole way through the duet that if anyone were to walk on stage and see him, Evie would disappear. So every movement he did had a tension of never wanting to let go, as well as adding a tenderness to it because at any moment Evie could disappear, and that moment of utter happiness he has will go. For us as Evie, seeing Alfie as we always do, the fact he's older doesn't change anything and we still perform as we did with younger Alfie, also I wanted to add a playful nature to it, so when I go behind Lee's back I'd poke my head round the side, or add giggles and trace over his hand, so it reinforces what younger Evie was like. It also takes the routine from
being too overly sentimental.
The original music for it was 'Damien Rice It Takes A Lot To Know A Man' which to me seemed too dramatic. The music didn't fit the essence behind the piece and the two just didn't fit together for me. We then thought of music that was softer, piano music has a beautiful sound which can create such an atmosphere and provoke feelings for people. To try and link it with the rest of the piece, we chose to repeat the music used in the table routine 'I Giorni' so the audience are familiar with this music, and it holds such strong memories for both Evie and Alfie, that the music then holds a deeper meaning as well as fitting the style of the duet. It does have that same feeling of being reunited, as Alfie is reunited with his younger wife's self, who knows exactly who he is.
The duet did become frustrating for other members of the company. mainly because it was becoming too over rehearsed, whether that is because the other two felt less confident etc is another matter, but personally, I rehearsed till I knew the steps and was happy with the emotion behind it, and then wouldn't practice it till runs. The danger with every movement section is over-rehearsal. Rehearsing to the point where you know every point you laugh, or the exact moment you do a gesture can stop you from being spontaneous in the actual show. You still want to be able to add small details that you haven't done before, but if you have rehearsed something till it becomes dry, you can lose the ability to add those details. I don't mean that in a detrimental way to the others, it's just an observation from rehearsals.
To begin with, the routine was meant to come after the prisoner of war scene, which was cut further along the process. So the duet was originally older Alfie remembering Evie as he was in prison, so I wrote a monologue/section of dialogue that was going to say after the duet, an apology for why he never replied to her letters. In context, Alfie was going to be re drafted to war, and Evie handed him a letter as he left, but as he was caught by the Germans, he never got to reply. Her face was going to be like a blank canvas, completely expressionless as he tried to explain, as she is just a figure of his imagination. As the P.O.W scene was later cut, the monologue didn't make sense, but here's a copy anyway:
I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry i never got to reply to your letter. I read it everyday. Evie believe me it gave me more warmth than any fire ever could. I tried to reply, paper was scarce, oh I had so much to tell you! To imagine your face reading it! They got me before I could send it. Caught me and threw me away like I was rubbish, like I meant nothing, but we mean something don't we! You and me? We meant something! Look my reply is here, I hid it where they couldn't find it. I had a reply. I'd never forgotten about you. Us, we meant something. In that camp, where they tried to beat me down and spit me out it didn't break me. I wasn't going to let go of our story. I'm never going to let go of our story.
*The video footage of the development of the duet can be found on the Level 4 Facebook page*
Sunday, 18 January 2015
Evaluation of Full Run: Wednesday morning
Librarians opening:
- Need to be aware of spacing in lights, half of it was in shadow
- Good pace, it was clear and concise so the audience get the right understanding for the concept of the show, engages them on the off
- Decide on what the physicality is, are they exaggerated with many gestures, direct and placed, or less so? Need to match each other
- Changes of pace kept the scene active and engaging
Diaries:
- Show physicality of old people as soon as the masks are taken away to establish their age before anything else, reminds the audience that they are still old
- Librarians trying to open the diary worked really well, timed it so when it opened suddenly it was really clear to the audience, the emphasis meant it wasn't missed in the background
- Perhaps need some indication from Alfie that they are at home, familiarity with routine and reaction to set so that it takes on the persona of their home
First Encounters Part 1:
-Acknowledging and commenting on the younger selves was really clear, added light-hearted atmosphere
- With clicks, stop moving so focus is sent to your hand and exaggerate the click, just cleans them up and its obvious that the librarians can stop and start time
- Pace was a lot better!
Rhythm:
- We need that sudden change of energy when the music comes in, everyone could pick a line they say when they enter, or a greeting just so that energy really boosts
- Everyone MUST stop when the 12 clicks stop, even if you haven't got to your place STOP WHERE YOU ARE, or the effect doesn't work, then just go to your place
- Must look at spacing
- With the fast step sequence in pairs, everyone must straighten their arms! It looks slightly strange
- With improvisation, the oral accompaniment needs to pick up, whether its cheering, comments, anything, as the music cannot and won't fill the whole space, so it needs to be helped with dialogue or the energy almost drops as that is quite a long section, again takes it out of being just a routine
First Encounters Part 2/Crazy:
- Everyone was listening and reacting which brings the scene much more exciting
- Loved Karl's reaction to 'nice bottom' makes it funny
- Need an awkward moment between Alfie and Evie being indecisive before 'youth is wasted on the young' as librarians are having to force an intervention, otherwise it doesn't make sense
- Don't be looking at Nick until the third snap, then both clock each other at the same time
- Change stance, don't like my chin being down to my chest, gives me a hunched back which just looks a bit awkward, if my character is early twenties, that stance doesn't fit for that age, need to bring everything upwards
- Hold pina lift longer, first time they properly look at each other when they dance, nice moment
- Vocal dialogue for when Rose and Norman enter again to break up the dance, as the music comes to a halt so we need something to pick it up again
- Character relationships as the friends is a lot better and genuine
Walk home/tree lovin'
- Sort out pathway to bookcase so we don't clash with the librarians, make it smooth
- Don't drop the vocals! Mine got lost, and keep the varying of intonation, he is complimenting you! Perhaps slightly heighten the 'you think so!' no one has ever complimented you like that before! It's exciting, not as cool and relaxed as it's all completely new, not experienced in this area!
- Watch spacing with lighting, I was in shadow for part of it
- Don't fully take off the jacket
- Keep chatting under the tree during Liv talking, keeps that notion of time passing and getting to know each other
- Again keep vocals up! Again playful with the creation of their story, finding it funny, thinking back to that evening
- Need to add 'close your eyes' bit to the necklace section
Lovesong:
- Placing Becs and Chloe behind Liv is a really pretty image
- The hug needs more tension, bigger impact, like holding on to not letting go, heartfelt
- Take frustration into body when about to rip the letter, increase of breath, need to show that to the audience
- Need to build up anger more, the moves more direct and weight behind them, really push against Nick towards the end so the hug is more desperate otherwise its impact is slightly lost
- Only push past him once, then just push against him otherwise too much moving around
- Have a moment of composure before walking up the book steps as Nick is exchanging jackets, so the book steps seemed to be lost in it all, if the focus of Evie walking up the steps is there, then the audience get to see the image of the steps which can be lost
- Need to go over and detail this movement section as personally there is something energy wise missing from it
Love letters:
- Felt more comfortable with the monologues
- Moving around saying them makes it far less static and less monotone, keep playing with the words
- Explosion needs to be worked on as a whole
Hospital:
- Duet went quite wrong! Must practice in dress!
- Slow it down but smooth it out, it needs to flow
- Go over moment with Old Evie coming in, give that moment a chance to be seen otherwise she walks up and then sits again, an image again that can lose impact
Married life:
- Reactions from the sides lifts the scene a lot more!
- Anniversary, again EVERYONE STOP AFTER THE CLICKS
- After the first sequence before going to pairs, the moving stops and everyone ages, no one should dance again as it doesn't fit with their age, need to go over that
- The switching between young and old isn't very obvious, I think everyone needs to stop after the sequence, watch the young couple disappear through the old, so its clear to the audience of the change over, and there you do see the progression of time
Duet:
- Still a bit shapeless
- Need to give ourselves a setting, motives to why we are moving and a reason to each move otherwise it is just a dance
- Can add layering without having to add sentimental moves, I think it can be done in a more subtle and clever way than that, its through how you perform the moves you already have, the faces you pull and the reason you give to moving that can bring it together rather than having to add moves that slap the audience with 'we are in love' again
- Still not entirely convinced on the music, personally it is too dramatic for me, and doesn't capture the essence behind what it's about
- If it is performed as if Alfie wants it to be a secret it may change the dynamic of it. Like when no one is around, he takes the time to think back to young Evie, he gets a small chance to take himself out of reality back to when he was most happy. It's performed as if they don't want anyone to see, because if someone were to walk in, then the illusion would shatter that wouldn't be able to be brought back.
- Add some more movement based content, perhaps improvise around Frantic's duet 'place' exercise
Ending:
- When two couples meet in the centre, keep focus on the other before all four are centre, then all face the front
- Need to be aware of spacing in lights, half of it was in shadow
- Good pace, it was clear and concise so the audience get the right understanding for the concept of the show, engages them on the off
- Decide on what the physicality is, are they exaggerated with many gestures, direct and placed, or less so? Need to match each other
- Changes of pace kept the scene active and engaging
Diaries:
- Show physicality of old people as soon as the masks are taken away to establish their age before anything else, reminds the audience that they are still old
- Librarians trying to open the diary worked really well, timed it so when it opened suddenly it was really clear to the audience, the emphasis meant it wasn't missed in the background
- Perhaps need some indication from Alfie that they are at home, familiarity with routine and reaction to set so that it takes on the persona of their home
First Encounters Part 1:
-Acknowledging and commenting on the younger selves was really clear, added light-hearted atmosphere
- With clicks, stop moving so focus is sent to your hand and exaggerate the click, just cleans them up and its obvious that the librarians can stop and start time
- Pace was a lot better!
Rhythm:
- We need that sudden change of energy when the music comes in, everyone could pick a line they say when they enter, or a greeting just so that energy really boosts
- Everyone MUST stop when the 12 clicks stop, even if you haven't got to your place STOP WHERE YOU ARE, or the effect doesn't work, then just go to your place
- Must look at spacing
- With the fast step sequence in pairs, everyone must straighten their arms! It looks slightly strange
- With improvisation, the oral accompaniment needs to pick up, whether its cheering, comments, anything, as the music cannot and won't fill the whole space, so it needs to be helped with dialogue or the energy almost drops as that is quite a long section, again takes it out of being just a routine
First Encounters Part 2/Crazy:
- Everyone was listening and reacting which brings the scene much more exciting
- Loved Karl's reaction to 'nice bottom' makes it funny
- Need an awkward moment between Alfie and Evie being indecisive before 'youth is wasted on the young' as librarians are having to force an intervention, otherwise it doesn't make sense
- Don't be looking at Nick until the third snap, then both clock each other at the same time
- Change stance, don't like my chin being down to my chest, gives me a hunched back which just looks a bit awkward, if my character is early twenties, that stance doesn't fit for that age, need to bring everything upwards
- Hold pina lift longer, first time they properly look at each other when they dance, nice moment
- Vocal dialogue for when Rose and Norman enter again to break up the dance, as the music comes to a halt so we need something to pick it up again
- Character relationships as the friends is a lot better and genuine
Walk home/tree lovin'
- Sort out pathway to bookcase so we don't clash with the librarians, make it smooth
- Don't drop the vocals! Mine got lost, and keep the varying of intonation, he is complimenting you! Perhaps slightly heighten the 'you think so!' no one has ever complimented you like that before! It's exciting, not as cool and relaxed as it's all completely new, not experienced in this area!
- Watch spacing with lighting, I was in shadow for part of it
- Don't fully take off the jacket
- Keep chatting under the tree during Liv talking, keeps that notion of time passing and getting to know each other
- Again keep vocals up! Again playful with the creation of their story, finding it funny, thinking back to that evening
- Need to add 'close your eyes' bit to the necklace section
Lovesong:
- Placing Becs and Chloe behind Liv is a really pretty image
- The hug needs more tension, bigger impact, like holding on to not letting go, heartfelt
- Take frustration into body when about to rip the letter, increase of breath, need to show that to the audience
- Need to build up anger more, the moves more direct and weight behind them, really push against Nick towards the end so the hug is more desperate otherwise its impact is slightly lost
- Only push past him once, then just push against him otherwise too much moving around
- Have a moment of composure before walking up the book steps as Nick is exchanging jackets, so the book steps seemed to be lost in it all, if the focus of Evie walking up the steps is there, then the audience get to see the image of the steps which can be lost
- Need to go over and detail this movement section as personally there is something energy wise missing from it
Love letters:
- Felt more comfortable with the monologues
- Moving around saying them makes it far less static and less monotone, keep playing with the words
- Explosion needs to be worked on as a whole
Hospital:
- Duet went quite wrong! Must practice in dress!
- Slow it down but smooth it out, it needs to flow
- Go over moment with Old Evie coming in, give that moment a chance to be seen otherwise she walks up and then sits again, an image again that can lose impact
Married life:
- Reactions from the sides lifts the scene a lot more!
- Anniversary, again EVERYONE STOP AFTER THE CLICKS
- After the first sequence before going to pairs, the moving stops and everyone ages, no one should dance again as it doesn't fit with their age, need to go over that
- The switching between young and old isn't very obvious, I think everyone needs to stop after the sequence, watch the young couple disappear through the old, so its clear to the audience of the change over, and there you do see the progression of time
Duet:
- Still a bit shapeless
- Need to give ourselves a setting, motives to why we are moving and a reason to each move otherwise it is just a dance
- Can add layering without having to add sentimental moves, I think it can be done in a more subtle and clever way than that, its through how you perform the moves you already have, the faces you pull and the reason you give to moving that can bring it together rather than having to add moves that slap the audience with 'we are in love' again
- Still not entirely convinced on the music, personally it is too dramatic for me, and doesn't capture the essence behind what it's about
- If it is performed as if Alfie wants it to be a secret it may change the dynamic of it. Like when no one is around, he takes the time to think back to young Evie, he gets a small chance to take himself out of reality back to when he was most happy. It's performed as if they don't want anyone to see, because if someone were to walk in, then the illusion would shatter that wouldn't be able to be brought back.
- Add some more movement based content, perhaps improvise around Frantic's duet 'place' exercise
Ending:
- When two couples meet in the centre, keep focus on the other before all four are centre, then all face the front
drafting the second half
Due to our limited time frame, we had to make some choices on what was going to be involved in our second half of the show, we had so much material that it would run over the time limit for the piece.
We had to consider keeping a young audience engaged for a substantial period of time, not giving them a moment to zone out. Plus the get in for the students to be settled and the get out for their next lessons, this is to ensure that there were no upsets from their other teachers.
From this we managed to cut down the material for the second half. Something I learnt from this was not to take hold of what you have created. The re-drafting scene that I had written got cut, even though it took me quite a while to write it, it was a good experience of happily letting go of what I had created for the benefit of the whole piece. Along with that and the prisoner of war section, as well as reordering the other scenes, we managed to cut down the second half considerably.
The second half has taken a very different turn that the first, after the hospital scene, instead of the story continuing, it goes into split images of the couple's life, giving glimpses to the audience that they really did have this extraordinary life.
Unfortunately I got ill when this scene was being devised, but I know that it's creation came about by the librarians deciding what life events would be part of this scene. 'Photo shots' of each event were then made where a book was used in each one, incorporating the set that we wanted to include more of than the first half.
Life events:
Engagement
Marriage
First House
First baby
Reading a story to their child
Day at the beach
Moving house again
Child's birthday
Child's graduation
Anniversary 25th 30th 40th 50th
Jonathan then came in and we worked on the transitions through each event, this scene had the potential to be very slow moving and lose pace quickly if there weren't easy transitions that everyone needed to be fully aware of. Small snippets of dialogue were added to layer the scene and again inform the audience of exactly what was happening so there was no room for confusion, you don't want to lose your audience halfway through the show! The thought of having pictures appearing inside the books, like a child's face, baby scan, sandcastle, graduation form etc was made which is a task from the librarians to have in place over the next rehearsals. Practicing finding the right pages at quick speed is something that needs to be heavily rehearsed.
Everyone was particularly focused in these rehearsals, and everyone pitching in ideas got this scene to be something really beautiful, again communication of book tracking is crucial for all cast members to be aware of so that this scene is successful.
We had to consider keeping a young audience engaged for a substantial period of time, not giving them a moment to zone out. Plus the get in for the students to be settled and the get out for their next lessons, this is to ensure that there were no upsets from their other teachers.
From this we managed to cut down the material for the second half. Something I learnt from this was not to take hold of what you have created. The re-drafting scene that I had written got cut, even though it took me quite a while to write it, it was a good experience of happily letting go of what I had created for the benefit of the whole piece. Along with that and the prisoner of war section, as well as reordering the other scenes, we managed to cut down the second half considerably.
The second half has taken a very different turn that the first, after the hospital scene, instead of the story continuing, it goes into split images of the couple's life, giving glimpses to the audience that they really did have this extraordinary life.
Unfortunately I got ill when this scene was being devised, but I know that it's creation came about by the librarians deciding what life events would be part of this scene. 'Photo shots' of each event were then made where a book was used in each one, incorporating the set that we wanted to include more of than the first half.
Life events:
Engagement
Marriage
First House
First baby
Reading a story to their child
Day at the beach
Moving house again
Child's birthday
Child's graduation
Anniversary 25th 30th 40th 50th
Jonathan then came in and we worked on the transitions through each event, this scene had the potential to be very slow moving and lose pace quickly if there weren't easy transitions that everyone needed to be fully aware of. Small snippets of dialogue were added to layer the scene and again inform the audience of exactly what was happening so there was no room for confusion, you don't want to lose your audience halfway through the show! The thought of having pictures appearing inside the books, like a child's face, baby scan, sandcastle, graduation form etc was made which is a task from the librarians to have in place over the next rehearsals. Practicing finding the right pages at quick speed is something that needs to be heavily rehearsed.
Everyone was particularly focused in these rehearsals, and everyone pitching in ideas got this scene to be something really beautiful, again communication of book tracking is crucial for all cast members to be aware of so that this scene is successful.
Run for AGE UK Cast B
Having chosen what scenes we would perform to Age UK, beginning up to the end of love letters, we did a run of Cast B who were performing that day.
This run was a chance to see what we had devised as a mini show, or the first act of the whole play. Transitions to link the scenes together had been created to keep it flowing and the audience engaged, stopping and starting between scenes can make it look clumsy, and provides the audience with a chance to switch off. If you have worked hard to transport them into a world in front of them, so much so that they forget they are watching a play, then those stops in the performance can remind them of their surroundings, that it's a performance, and instead of continuing the journey for the audience, you have to spend time regaining their full attention into believing the world in front of them.
The notes I wrote down when watching the show were:
Librarians:
- Hold pause looking at Alfie and Evie 'These two' switches focus, lets the audience familiarise themselves with the two characters
- Both look at the middle bookcase before walking towards it, again guiding audience focus
- Asking questions to audience, with each question look at a different member, almost walking doing it, makes the scene less static and can add gestures to words, bringing in physicality
Tree Lovin'
- Make bigger thing of guiding
- When Alfie and Evie are chatting and flirting, librarians acknowledge and react 'plan is working!'
- Blow idea of asking Evie out tonight from the book into Harry's face, gives him reason to turn round, moment of panic that he is walking away
- Put the necklace on Mandi before the lines are spoken, nice image to see
- Say the lines in hold and then hold the hug for longer when hearing of conscription to war
Lovesong
- Put the letter all the way down Mandi's arm to her hand and lean back further, using movement to full potential, finishing each move before going to the next
- Whole thing can be slower, slightly more exaggerated just so it is seen by the whole audience, again fulfilling the movements
- Keep wrapped hug held for longer, not wanting to let go, the tension then in the body reflects feeling
- When Mandi is lying on Harry's lap, share a look before you both get up
- Give kit bag stage right before walking round, makes the transition less clunky and allows for that last moment between Alfie and Evie, shouldn't be rushed! You would want your last goodbye to be something special, not wasted
Love Letters
- Perhaps some dialogue for the transition to love letters, again there is a potential moment for the audience to lose concentration
- Harry appear to be huddled round a fire, picture the scene that would be in front of you
- Lee's reactions to the explosion were great, really effective!
- Need to think of a way to pass the letters that is less time consuming
- Get the pace picked up enough so that when Harry tells of his friend passing the pause is effective and significant
- With explosion, PAUSE before Harry jumps backwards, that image is great to see with all different heights, don't rush it or it gets messy.
This run was a chance to see what we had devised as a mini show, or the first act of the whole play. Transitions to link the scenes together had been created to keep it flowing and the audience engaged, stopping and starting between scenes can make it look clumsy, and provides the audience with a chance to switch off. If you have worked hard to transport them into a world in front of them, so much so that they forget they are watching a play, then those stops in the performance can remind them of their surroundings, that it's a performance, and instead of continuing the journey for the audience, you have to spend time regaining their full attention into believing the world in front of them.
The notes I wrote down when watching the show were:
Librarians:
- Hold pause looking at Alfie and Evie 'These two' switches focus, lets the audience familiarise themselves with the two characters
- Both look at the middle bookcase before walking towards it, again guiding audience focus
- Asking questions to audience, with each question look at a different member, almost walking doing it, makes the scene less static and can add gestures to words, bringing in physicality
Tree Lovin'
- Make bigger thing of guiding
- When Alfie and Evie are chatting and flirting, librarians acknowledge and react 'plan is working!'
- Blow idea of asking Evie out tonight from the book into Harry's face, gives him reason to turn round, moment of panic that he is walking away
- Put the necklace on Mandi before the lines are spoken, nice image to see
- Say the lines in hold and then hold the hug for longer when hearing of conscription to war
Lovesong
- Put the letter all the way down Mandi's arm to her hand and lean back further, using movement to full potential, finishing each move before going to the next
- Whole thing can be slower, slightly more exaggerated just so it is seen by the whole audience, again fulfilling the movements
- Keep wrapped hug held for longer, not wanting to let go, the tension then in the body reflects feeling
- When Mandi is lying on Harry's lap, share a look before you both get up
- Give kit bag stage right before walking round, makes the transition less clunky and allows for that last moment between Alfie and Evie, shouldn't be rushed! You would want your last goodbye to be something special, not wasted
Love Letters
- Perhaps some dialogue for the transition to love letters, again there is a potential moment for the audience to lose concentration
- Harry appear to be huddled round a fire, picture the scene that would be in front of you
- Lee's reactions to the explosion were great, really effective!
- Need to think of a way to pass the letters that is less time consuming
- Get the pace picked up enough so that when Harry tells of his friend passing the pause is effective and significant
- With explosion, PAUSE before Harry jumps backwards, that image is great to see with all different heights, don't rush it or it gets messy.
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