Our final rehearsal.

Da-da-dum!

It went well - I am most pleased with the result of our labours. We ran the scene multiple times, and the got progressively better as they lacked a little energy at the start. Once we got into, though, it was fine - however it has made us schedule a quick practice just before performance on Wednesday night to 'get in the mood'.
One of Shannon's friend was nearby, so we asked her to come in and watch, to ensure that the scene was understandable - especially to a person unfamiliar with the scene or with Shakespearean language. She said that she liked it and that she did understand it. She did say that Shannon needed to speak a little louder to be heard over her shoes when she is moving, and that Lee needs to emphasise her breasts a little more as she didn't understand that she was actually a woman. But she did say that she understood that Cesario was sent from her master to declare his love for Olivia, and that Olivia fell in love with the messenger at the end. So at least the main plot is distinguishable.

After Shannon's friend left, I asked the girls to perform the scene with 4x diction and pronunciation, as I feel they were getting a little sloppy in places as they grew more comfortable with the scene. It was difficult for them to maintain it for the entire scene, as it runs so long, however the exercise did get them to think about dialogue more.

For the final run, we performed as if a dress rehearsal. I offered no advice, until afterwards, and I timed it. It runs for about 7 minutes. The energy levels need to be pushed up a little, but apart from that, I think it will be fine.

Today we focused on refining the movements that we rehearsed yesterday. Shannon brought her clothes, which were perfect, and both girls practiced in costume. We ran the scene once without me stopping them, I gave them feedback on it, and then we ran it slower, with me jumping in to coach when needed. We repeated this a few times, until I let them run it again with no interruptions. My main coaching was a result of them forgetting little things that we had practiced yesterday, however by the third run-through they had remembered them all.

We then ran through the girl's speeches: Lee's 'make me a willow cabin at your gates' and Shannon's 'I'll be sworn thou art'. They needed slight tweaking, mainly just moving a step, or a half step, to one side, etc. however were mostly better than yesterday.

I thought some moments needed a little more energy still, and they were both speaking a little too quietly in parts so I asked the girls to run the scene again, but at 4x the energy. I observed from near the back of the theatre, as I reasoned that I should be seeing from there what I would normally see from near the front at standard energy. They were a little cautious at first, especially Lee with her 'I am not that I play', where she emphasises her breasts, however they warmed into it as the run progressed. I felt that although some bits were definately over the top, the energy in some parts (for example their reactions) could remain in the actual production. I asked the girls to put extra energy into the scene, (not 4x though!) and it would probably come out at a happy medium. I think Shannon especially needs a little more energy in some parts, as she is hiding behind the desk for most of it. Lee's character is also easy to make big and energetic. The big performing space means more energy and slightly bigger movements are necessary as smaller movements are lost. The Beggar's Opera set definately helps to reduce the space.

We ended with one final run through, uninterrupted by me. I gave the girls feedback on the final run through (most of which was positive) and we parted ways, ready to meet on Monday for our final rehearsal!

Drawing close to rehearsal date now. Only tomorrow and Monday left! But that's four hours of practice, and with the current rate of progress, that's heaps of time!

So today, after a quick warmup, we invaded the main theatre for 40 minutes. (It was supposed to be 20, but the other group never came in. Odd.) I brought in a few costume ideas that I had - black scarves, boas, beads, etc. for Shannon and a flower for Lee. Lee brought in her costume, and it looks great! I had an idea last night for Shannon's costume: seeing as the main reason I wanted to set this in the 1920s was to play up on it being the first era where women could wear pants, it would make more sense for Olivia to sport this fashion. If she could wear black pants and a loose top, it would still suit the fashion, and she could look sort of manly (well, she'll be in pants...). Shannon said that she has a top that sounds right, and she'll bring it in tomorrow with black pants.

The girls then ran through the scene, using the blocking that we had practiced last rehearsal. I told them to keep going to the end, improvising what we had not discussed. The beginning was a little rough, as they had forgotten some of the movements, however I could see the potential and was happy with the movements we had chosen. We practiced the beginning again and the girls were much better, as they now remembered the movements.

We worked on a few blank spots, such as leaning in for a secret and Lee's exit, and then moved on to the big speeches which needed careful blocking.

I had specific ideas in mind for Lee's impassioned speech near the end of the scene, so we focused on that bit for awhile as it needed to be rehearsed in the theatre and the other group was due shortly. I described to Lee what I had in mind (jumping onto the rostrum to 'cry out Olivia'. then swinging through the frames.) The rostrum is too far back and I decided it would be too arkward for Lee to move back there. The crates from The Beggar's Opera were hovering around, so we trialled one of those, and decided we liked it. Lee took a few goes to get what I wanted with the swinging movement - I wanted her momentom to carry through from her jump off the crate, but once she got it, it looked fabulous. I wanted to use the barrel at the back of the stage, and asked Lee if she could try jumping up and sitting on it during the beginning of her speech. Shannon and I thought that looked great (although a little dangerous to Lee's bottom if she misses and lands on the rim...) so Lee ran the speech using the barrel, the crate and the frames. I was very happy with how it looked, so after we ran it a few more times for smoothness, we moved onto Shannon's last speech.

Shannon improvised most of the blocking for her speech, however I directed her to what I felt looked more natural. Such as, building the passion to give her reason to stand, stepping backwards to sit on the crate, and plonking in distraction onto the crate at the end. We ran it several times to refine her movements, and to practice and time and spacing of her spins and sitting, until I was happy with how it looked.

To end, the girls ran the entire scene, incorperating everything they had practiced. It looked really good, and I think all it needs now is a bit more practice to really hammer the movements, then we shall be ready!

We accomplished much on blocking today! That makes me very happy and confident that we will be ready in time. Although I don't think a piece can ever truly be ready...

The practice was a little shorter than anticipated as Lee was running late, however the stage became free just as she arrived, so it was all in all good timing.

We discussed costuming first as I wanted to discuss it at some point today anyway, and the setting is important to blocking as well. I've been tossing up with a setting since I first chose this scene. My first impression is to leave it in its original era. However, I would be doing that simply because I like historical things, and not particularly because it has any relevance to the audience. I also did not want to set it in modern day, as it seems the 'easy option'. I know its because it is relevant to audiences, however I want to do something a little different. A slightly older setting will also retain slight alienation, which will allow the audience to gain more from the performance if Brecht is to be believed, and also show that this scenario could happen anywhere - which adds to the humour and reality of this scene. As I was pondering, my sister suggested the 1920s, which I immediately latched onto: this was the first era when women's fashion started to imitate male attire. Pants for woman became acceptable, and short hair was the rage. It is the perfect setting for a woman pretending to be a man. Secondary reasons for this selection include the potential to incorporate a gangster element in Viola (like the messenger sent by the gang, the lackey), the fun and carefree yet rebellious attitude of this time that matches the attitudes of some of the characters in Twelfth Night, not to mention the potential for awesome costumes. Even though the set is not important as it is out of our control, the brick wall of the Beggar's Opera set also matches the 1920s: it has the atmosphere of a secret meeting in a dark alleyway - very gangstery.

Consequentially, the girls shall be dressed in 1920s clothing. I printed some images of the internet to represent the attire of this period for both men and women. After discussion we decided Shannon would wear a black dress, black gloves, a black short wig with a hat and veil on top, and carry a black bead purse. Lee will wear baggy brown or black pants with a white shirt, suspenders, a white gangster hat, and a flower in her lapel.

We then commenced further work on blocking. We worked slowly but in detail, stopping to refine movements a little before moving on. We blocked the first 2/3rd of the scene, then repeated it from the beginning to solidify the movements. I'm happy with the general look of it - I'm trying to find a good balance between static and forced. There are some great opportunities in this scene - such as Viola down on one knee to give the speech, Olivia telling her to leave - which create interesting moments. I'm trying to use the movements to emphasise the emotions, as they are so crucial to this scene. The acting also needs to be a little bigger, as the space is quite big for two actors. I'm using a very simple set - a single table and chair that will be in the theatre from the Beggar's Opera, and thus the actors do not have many items to move around, or to hide behind. The tension is therefore not emphasised by the furniture, and must be portrayed through the actors alone.

The rehearsal for tomorrow (Friday 16th Oct) has been cancelled as I am going to Sydney for a funeral, so we shall have to work a little harder to accomplish everything in the given time frame. From now I hope to focus on getting the actual scene right, and remain satisfied with what we have already accomplished for characterisation.

The main theatre is set now for Beggar's Opera, so we know what we have to work with. We did not get quite as much as I would have liked accomplished today, given that other groups were also practicing and thus we were fighting for spaces. We started off in the script library, as every other space was occupied, but with the promise of the main stage in half an hour (which by then was actually 20, after waiting for people to arrive, and discussing space allocation with other groups).

We commenced with a vocal and physical warm up, using the um-ah exercise (humming, then opening to an ah, or oo sound whilst walking around the room) and a few tongue twisters. I wanted to pursue an exercise that I had planned, but not had time to complete, last rehearsal. That is, getting the actors to perform the scene in their own words. Egil from NIDA did similar exercises with us on Tuesday in the workshop, showing us how to make the characters set and achieve their objective. Initially, Lee and Shannon were concentrating on making their words mirror the script too much, so they were not focusing on the intent, but rather on the words themselves. I changed tact a little and asked the girls instead to consider their objective. Lee's, as Viola, was to give her speech at all costs and to gain Olivia's love for her master. Shannon's was to get attention, first as a result of her grief, and finally as a result of her affection for Viola. I then asked the girls to perform the scene in their own words, but keeping their objective in mind. Again, they focused too much on matching the original script, and not only using the general ideas.

The time came for us to use the main theatre, so we migrated downstairs. I again prompted the exercises, but this time I used Egil's ideas of forgetting the scripted scene entirely and just placing the two characters together with nothing but their objectives. The girls found this easier, and now found that they still used the scripted ideas, but only to the degree that they aided their objectives. Lee was the stronger character in this exercise, as Shannon at times allowed herself to be swamped in Lee's objective. Admittedly, Lee could easily overpower Shannon by merely repeating her speech and not responding to Shannon's comments. She also effectively turned any answer she gave into an example of the Duke's love for Olivia. Shannon had a few good ideas for attention, such as fainting, and vomiting all over Viola's feet, however she needed to be bigger, and more dramatic, to drown out Lee's objective.

We then performed the scene using the scripted words. I let the girls improvise the scene with no guidance, to give them a feel of the scene, and also allow them to present their character how they saw fit. The blocking overall was very static, as could be expected from a first run through, and they concentrated more on the words than on the movement. Particularly as they were trying to remember the lines without scripts. I did feel this was a good exercise to do, and it immediately filled me with ideas. What action they did provide, I feel I can use as a solid base for creating further blocking. I plan to use next rehearsal I concentrate on movement.

I want to use the wooden frames on stage right for Viola's impassioned speech about making the air cry out "Olivia!". If she can move over to that side of the stage, she can use the frames and the rostrum to swing or jump off, to add to her impassioned state.

First rehearsal after the break.

After a slightly late start (due to unforeseen circumstances for one of the girls) the girls began by describing their chosen outfits for the day. They had come to rehearsal dressed as their character would dress today. Lee has chosen a baggy tracksuit jumper and baggy pants to represent Viola's attempt at cross-dressing. The loose fitting clothes would help hide her feminine figure. Shannon was dressed in a professional-looking black pinstripe dress and fashionable, yet simple, purple heels. She selected this outfit to represent Olivia's wealth, and professionalism afforded to her by her status.

Dialogue as the focus of today. We spent most of the rehearsal on vocal warm-ups and diction exercises to encourage the girls to consider clarity. We started by progressing from a hum to an open mouthed noise using Moo, Mah and backwards with Um, whilst moving slowly around the room. We then used an exercise I learnt from my director last year which focuses on consonant diction. The sound of each vowel is used in conjunction with every consonant. For example, for a: ba, ca, da, fa, ga, ha, etc. Then be, ce, de, fe, and so forth. I am not overly fond of this exercises as it is long and somewhat boring, however it is a good warm up and does the job. I think for future use I will use a shortened version, or find a different exercise for the same job. We then just repeated some sounds such as ta, da, bah and ma.

I had a list of tongue twisters sourced off the Internet, so we spent a few minutes repeating them. The point of this was not merely to warm up, but to get in the habit of clear diction. My favourite is a song excerpt from Gilbert and Sullivan's the Mikado:


To sit in solemn silence in a dull, dark dock,
In a pestilential prison, with a life-long lock,
Awaiting the sensation of a short, sharp shock,
From a cheap and chippy chopper on a big black block!



I love the sound of this, and the imagery that it contains.

We then tried an exercise that I got off a website: performing a choral reading spoken in different ways. I used the poem that the website suggested, The Beautiful Snow by John Whittaker Watson.

Oh! the snow, the beautiful snow,
Filling the sky and the earth below!
Over the housetops, over the street,
Over the heads of the people you meet:
Dancing, flirting, skimming along.
Beautiful snow! It can do nothing wrong.

I read the poem line by line, and the girls repeated using the appropriate style. They repeated it flat, then as a teacher telling a student off, then as a new president giving his first speech, then as a 'proper' lady, then as a teenage boy, then as lovers. The last three were designed to mirror the characters from Twelfth Night, and therefore be directly useful for the girls.

We finished by repeating this exercise using segments from our script instead of the snow poem. I selected two segments of script (one for each actor) and gave them each two ways of saying it. Lee was asked to read it as if sharing a great secret, and then arrogantly. Shannon was asked to speak as though angry, and then vague.

This knowledge gained from today will be useful for the next rehearsals when we start the blocking. I think that working on the diction and meaning of the lines is important now, because then it will be subconsciously used correctly when we start to focus on the movement. The rehearsal was shorter today than intended, due to a late start and the need for an early finish today. We didn't get to improvise the scene using the actor's own words, however I will incorporate this into a future rehearsal as I feel it is a valuable exercise.