ok, so i just wrote this huge cluster fuck of lovely things that got deleted...BALLS! Anywho, what I basically said was that it is nice to give our characters some meat to work with. Rather than having these people just be here, having them come from somewhere, having experiences up until this point and having a little bit of their history in every choice they make or thing they say. I think that having this work we have done in mind will take us further when we are in our bodies because rather than making physical choice that we would do we can get a better feel for what these characters would do. I hope that made sense hahahah. PLUR
Great rehearsal on Friday! For me, I didn't really understand who Jewel was until I was able to finally sit down and explore her world...that has become my world in a sense. I first started out with just exploring the basics of Jewel--how old she was, where did she live, what I could intuit from the text. Then from there we would embody our character through movement. I love that Emily Darlington lets us explore our character through movement. It’s not just what our character does during a scene, it’s what our character is. That is so unnecessarily deep and what not. My main point is that we get to understand our character in a way that the script does not show us. We, as actors, get to decide what time our character was born and what day exactly. These small details really make the character come alive. Only having one character and the other kids having multiple, I was able to delve into the nitty gritty of my character. Before this I always thought she was this insanely tortured soul who found guidance through Patti Smith and Rimbaud. THEN! Things just flowed through my brain that I thought Jewel would be thinking. And my perception of her changed as an actor, thus, hopefully the audience will see that she is not just some pauper poet. This is “so new agey” gorsh. Hehehe ← totally just quoted the script. Anywho. It was interesting to see what ideas and choices I made for Jewel through the character exploration/development exercise. NOM.
During the exercises involving expressionistic gesticulation, I found myself unable to create solid movements or ideas. I attributed this to my somewhat limited connection and understanding of my characters ( specifically Gabriel ). All of my characters are so unlike who I perceive myself to be. But after reading aloud what I had written and weighing the gravity of the words ( their true meanings had somehow eluded me when I was writing them ) the character began to take form for me in a very real way. One particularly astonishing detail which I had written in the heat of the moment was that I decided, on a whim, that Gabriel would be from Canada...it just made sense.
As for the homeless man, when rehearsals began I was only seeing the cliche archetype of a homeless person. I was seeing the moonlight but not the moon from which it was coming. So after flushing out the details of his past and reading Neil Gaiman's NEVERWHERE ( which I highly recommend ), I'm confident that homeless man will developed into a fully realized hobo/ex deli owner.
Amongst the bundle of fiere agressiveness, there lies a lonely wilting rose in Beatrice and Nora. Beatrice loves Jewel. Nora loves work. Noone loves Beatrice and Nora. Beatrice is a fierce sexy panther moving in for the kill. Nora is a seductive wolf picking the meat off an already captured carcass.That is all...
Tension? physically? Mentally? Beatrice is a level 3 except when Sam's around or when she's delivering babies then its a 7-8. Nora doesn't get frazzled or out of control she is a constant 5.
This exercise really helped me to understand how CLOSELY related my characters really are. The parallels in the way each of them is concerned about reaching (or having reached) their primes without reaching their optimum status within their workplace as well as satisfaction within their everyday lives are fascinating. They each have their own interesting ways of dealing with real life -- Piper sulks and feels sorry for herself, Hendra buries herself in her work, AAM has ardent displays of passive aggression, Rosalind babbles and just doesn't know when to stop, and Gloria blames and blames and blames until she gives up completely (until something good happens). More than ever, I believe that these women are very much the same type of person, but at different stages in her career and life. Some of the choices scripted may be what lead each character to be in the position the "next stage" of character might be in. For example, if Piper were to finally realize that she needed to work harder to get a copy approved by Nora, she might become more like Hendra. If Hendra's work get's out there and starts looking really good - she might become more sure of herself and confident in her ability to get what she wants, like A.A.M... If A.A.M. were to succeed in winning over Gabriel, she might feel as though she has won, settle down with her husband, and start taking work a little more seriously, like Rosalind. BUT if Rosalind continues on the path that she has chosen, cheating on Jeremy, devoting everything she has to her job - she will end up like Gloria, with a suicidal husband, alone to raise a child.
ok, so i just wrote this huge cluster fuck of lovely things that got deleted...BALLS! Anywho, what I basically said was that it is nice to give our characters some meat to work with. Rather than having these people just be here, having them come from somewhere, having experiences up until this point and having a little bit of their history in every choice they make or thing they say. I think that having this work we have done in mind will take us further when we are in our bodies because rather than making physical choice that we would do we can get a better feel for what these characters would do. I hope that made sense hahahah. PLUR
ReplyDeleteGreat rehearsal on Friday! For me, I didn't really understand who Jewel was until I was able to finally sit down and explore her world...that has become my world in a sense. I first started out with just exploring the basics of Jewel--how old she was, where did she live, what I could intuit from the text. Then from there we would embody our character through movement. I love that Emily Darlington lets us explore our character through movement. It’s not just what our character does during a scene, it’s what our character is. That is so unnecessarily deep and what not. My main point is that we get to understand our character in a way that the script does not show us. We, as actors, get to decide what time our character was born and what day exactly. These small details really make the character come alive. Only having one character and the other kids having multiple, I was able to delve into the nitty gritty of my character. Before this I always thought she was this insanely tortured soul who found guidance through Patti Smith and Rimbaud. THEN! Things just flowed through my brain that I thought Jewel would be thinking. And my perception of her changed as an actor, thus, hopefully the audience will see that she is not just some pauper poet. This is “so new agey” gorsh. Hehehe ← totally just quoted the script. Anywho. It was interesting to see what ideas and choices I made for Jewel through the character exploration/development exercise. NOM.
ReplyDeleteDuring the exercises involving expressionistic gesticulation, I found myself unable to create solid movements or ideas. I attributed this to my somewhat limited connection and understanding of my characters ( specifically Gabriel ). All of my characters are so unlike who I perceive myself to be. But after reading aloud what I had written and weighing the gravity of the words ( their true meanings had somehow eluded me when I was writing them ) the character began to take form for me in a very real way. One particularly astonishing detail which I had written in the heat of the moment was that I decided, on a whim, that Gabriel would be from Canada...it just made sense.
ReplyDeleteAs for the homeless man, when rehearsals began I was only seeing the cliche archetype of a homeless person. I was seeing the moonlight but not the moon from which it was coming. So after flushing out the details of his past and reading Neil Gaiman's NEVERWHERE ( which I highly recommend ), I'm confident that homeless man will developed into a fully realized hobo/ex deli owner.
Amongst the bundle of fiere agressiveness, there lies a lonely wilting rose in Beatrice and Nora. Beatrice loves Jewel. Nora loves work. Noone loves Beatrice and Nora. Beatrice is a fierce sexy panther moving in for the kill. Nora is a seductive wolf picking the meat off an already captured carcass.That is all...
ReplyDeleteTension? physically? Mentally? Beatrice is a level 3 except when Sam's around or when she's delivering babies then its a 7-8. Nora doesn't get frazzled or out of control she is a constant 5.
ReplyDeleteThis exercise really helped me to understand how CLOSELY related my characters really are. The parallels in the way each of them is concerned about reaching (or having reached) their primes without reaching their optimum status within their workplace as well as satisfaction within their everyday lives are fascinating. They each have their own interesting ways of dealing with real life -- Piper sulks and feels sorry for herself, Hendra buries herself in her work, AAM has ardent displays of passive aggression, Rosalind babbles and just doesn't know when to stop, and Gloria blames and blames and blames until she gives up completely (until something good happens). More than ever, I believe that these women are very much the same type of person, but at different stages in her career and life. Some of the choices scripted may be what lead each character to be in the position the "next stage" of character might be in. For example, if Piper were to finally realize that she needed to work harder to get a copy approved by Nora, she might become more like Hendra. If Hendra's work get's out there and starts looking really good - she might become more sure of herself and confident in her ability to get what she wants, like A.A.M... If A.A.M. were to succeed in winning over Gabriel, she might feel as though she has won, settle down with her husband, and start taking work a little more seriously, like Rosalind. BUT if Rosalind continues on the path that she has chosen, cheating on Jeremy, devoting everything she has to her job - she will end up like Gloria, with a suicidal husband, alone to raise a child.
ReplyDelete