Spam In A Can

Week Four

Posted on March 3rd, 2007 by tilly26.
Categories: Theatre Journals for 100.

So I’ve decided to start each blog with a joke, just because I can. Expect them to increase in lameness each week.

Two peanuts were walking down a spooky road at night… One was assaulted.

Haha, I apologise if anyone just fell off their chairs laughing, being hilarious is a dangerous business =p Ok I’ll get into it now…

Acting
This week due to the swimming carnival and leadership training day I was only at two of our four lessons. The first one was our first production meeting which didn’t really involve me as an actor, and I’ll talk about it more when i get to direction. Though it was good to get an idea of what I would be wearing and what kind of a space I would be acting in, but no ideas were really decided on, everyone was just sent away with more work to do before we decide on anything. On Friday’s lesson we blocked the next Void and Ketu’s Memory #1. As the Guide, I’m not involved in the memories and that particular void scene was quite a small one for the Guide. I was pretty pleased that I almost had the lines down for that scene, and I’m quite eager to get rid of my script so I don’t get used to having it my hands and I get to do stuff with my hands, which would add another level of physicality to the Guide. In this scene Nia and Sophie both ask who the Guide is, which I think would really hit a nerve for her, as she doesn’t know who she is. This will be one of those moments where she isn’t her usual arrogant out there sarcastic self and shows a bit of vulnerability. Something that I found works well for me as an actor when I was doing a course at VCA this summer was this “inner monologue” thing. It’s when you think about what the character is thinking, like just a sentence or a few words that you think motivate the character for their opening line or for their whole scene or whatever. So if I was playing Lady MacBeth (shut up Coops) and I was going into the scene where she confront her husband about cowering out of killing Duncan I would have my inner monologue going “I’m gonna kill him. I’m gonna kill him. I’m gonna kill him” before I walk on stage, or as I’m pacing silently on stage or something then launch into it “Was the hope drunk wherein you dressed yourself?” This would help me get into her frame of mind and set the tone for the scene and make it so I don’t spend half the scene warming into the character. I think I need an inner monologue for the bits when the Guide is exposed like that, because it’s just so different to her usual persona. She gets asked those questions that sort of hit home a few times so I want to start thinking about how I can change her inner monologue for those bits, as well as what sort of inner monologue to give her for when she first comes on, since that has to have a huge impact. So now that I’ve given her a background that’s the next thing I’ll be working on. Oh and I’m loving that “dead line” line, can’t wait to do that one again.

Directing
I love. Like I really, really love it, it’s great. I was a bit iffy about it all at first cos I didn’t have too much time to block scenes before we did them in class and then the blocking would have to be re-done and chopped and changed and people would forget things so it was all a bit blah and I didn’t feel that anything I was doing was making the production any better. And the hardest bit is to have to direct my peers and tell them what to do, and always stay focused and keep everyone else focused which is hard in a class like ours. But yeah, it’s a bit daunting having to enforce my ideas and creative stuff upon others, having it open for criticism (which by the way please feel free to give me constructive criticism of what you like and what you don’t and what you feel works and doesn’t and all that jazz). But I think I’m over coming all that now and I’m loving it. Especially with Ketu’s first memory, I came really prepared for that one and rearing to get into it. It uses a lot of transformation of space, objects and characters, which is very physical theatre (Scotty would be proud). I really want to get into it and finish blocking it now, like the part when the council of elders turns into Ketu’s house and family, I have a really good idea for that. And then, if I remember correctly, the next memory is when Alex and Nia first meet, which I have blocked in my script already, too. That one will be fun. I love how the actors really have to create the space they are in and endower the space with the qualities of where they are. For instance in Ketu’s memories they are in Africa doing chores, so they would be hot and sweaty and there would be a lot of glare and the ground would be rough etc. and the whole illusion relies solely on the actors imagination and belief in what they are doing and conviction. I love where it’s all going with the actors providing sound effects and the scene changes back to the void so it seems like the characters haven’t moved at all and defines them from the various characters they play in the memories.

That’s about it from me again this week. And don’t forget Erkia, Burak, Gemma, Joshy, and Tash the lunch time rehearsal this Tuesday. They will only really work if everybody comes to each rehearsal, I know its asking a lot to take time out of lunch but I think it’s necessary and I would really appreciate your efforts.

Toodles y’all.

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