And here we are blog, over half-way through the run with only two weeks to go. It has been marvellous so far and the audience on the whole have been supportive and laughed along…eventually. It usually takes the first few scenes for them to get warmed up and in on the swing of things. With Egeon’s tragic speech opening the play, we’ve found the first-time Shakespeare go-ers thinking ‘I thought this was a comedy!’ but the Dromios soon get them going with their hilarity.
Performing in that space has been great, you really feel that the audience is part of the whole action and this can be intimidating and liberating at the same time. I feel this particularly during my soliloquy which still fills me with nerves before every show because I am talking to strangers, who are different every night, and you as a performer are never quite sure of their reaction every night. On the other hand this is hugely thrilling and I find that my performance is quite different every night. I suppose this is the magic of the theatre.
We’ve also found as a company that the audience can get quite involved. There is one part where Dromio of Ephesus (Owain Arthur) crawls around the stage, practically in the laps of the audience, desperately trying to escape his master’s wrath. He eventually ends up cuddled up next to an audience member usually with a programme masking his face. One night an involved audience member shouted to Antipholus of Ephesus (in far harsher words) to ‘Go away and leave him alone’. I at this point literally had to hold my face to stop myself from laughing out loud on the stage in front of 600 people. It was very shocking and very funny.
So blog I suppose this is the time to say goodbye. It has been such a pleasure being with you over the past 2 months. In some ways it feels like it was only yesterday that I conceived you in this very room. O, how I have loved you and now I am letting you go. Goodbye blog…goodbye.
Wednesday, 5 May 2010
Tuesday, 6 April 2010
Tuesday 6 April - PRESS NIGHT!
Here I am, two hours before press night and yes, I’m nervous. My nerves manifests itself in the form of extra, unnecessary energy which is probably annoying for the rest of the cast so I decided to use up some of that energy writing you, blog.
We have had a long week. Opening night of previews was fab and the audiences throughout preview week have been consistently good. They get it! This is the most satisfying feeling when you do Shakespeare. Being the in the round and the theatre being so intimate, you can get so much off of the audience. I have a soliloquy to them as the courtesan and there is nothing more satisfying than doing this to actual people, and with our close to full house every night this hasn’t been hard.
This week we’ve been doing performances in the evening and rehearsing in the day to marry the technical with the creative. We have had a slight problem with the revolving stage which wasn’t a revolve on first preview. It has been temperamental (something to do with the sheer weight of it) but I think the technical staff (who have been amazing to say the least) have managed to fix it and the past few nights it’s been in (close too) fully working order. Luckily, being the genius that Roxana is, she blocked the whole play as if there wasn’t a revolve so it wasn’t too hard for us to deal with this technical hitch.
So tonight is the proper judgment night. Arghhhh. I hope you like it people and press. We’ve liked doing it very much. I better go and get myself prepared and made-up too. Speak to you soon.
We have had a long week. Opening night of previews was fab and the audiences throughout preview week have been consistently good. They get it! This is the most satisfying feeling when you do Shakespeare. Being the in the round and the theatre being so intimate, you can get so much off of the audience. I have a soliloquy to them as the courtesan and there is nothing more satisfying than doing this to actual people, and with our close to full house every night this hasn’t been hard.
This week we’ve been doing performances in the evening and rehearsing in the day to marry the technical with the creative. We have had a slight problem with the revolving stage which wasn’t a revolve on first preview. It has been temperamental (something to do with the sheer weight of it) but I think the technical staff (who have been amazing to say the least) have managed to fix it and the past few nights it’s been in (close too) fully working order. Luckily, being the genius that Roxana is, she blocked the whole play as if there wasn’t a revolve so it wasn’t too hard for us to deal with this technical hitch.
So tonight is the proper judgment night. Arghhhh. I hope you like it people and press. We’ve liked doing it very much. I better go and get myself prepared and made-up too. Speak to you soon.
Wednesday, 24 March 2010
Sorry!
I am so sorry I haven’t been with you, blog, for such a long time. I have been very busy and by the time I finish rehearsals every day the office is shut where I write you! (Oy - don't blame us! Marketing Dept)
The past two weeks, surprisingly, have just been runs, runs and more runs. I say surprisingly as I don’t think anyone envisioned us doing runs in the fourth week with two more weeks of rehearsal to go, but being a short play, The Comedy of Errors enables this. Thus far it is running at one hour thirty four minutes unlike many Shakespeare plays which are usually cut to shreds to enable a modern day audience to stand it. I feel this is understandable, as I often find it painful to sit through three hours of Shakespeare, and I’m an actor! This means that Comedy of Errors is perfect for a first time Shakespeare-goer. The language is not too cryptic, the plot isn’t too emotionally heavy and you’re not required to use the same amount of brain power as a person sitting a very important exam.
We are now running everyday in the ‘module’ which is an experience in itself without the 750 bodies that will inhabit it next Wednesday. In some ways I can’t believe how quickly it’s gone and in others it feels like I’ve known the people I’ve been working with for years. We are a lucky company as from week one it has really felt like an ensemble. Everyone gets on and is incredibly supportive of one another and I tell you, I have really needed it this week.
This week and the last, I felt like I lost my whole ability to act and this, as you can imagine, is pretty devastating! I didn’t really know which direction I was going in, this time with the Courtesan, whose soliloquy I was having particular trouble with. I forgot the reason why I was saying what I was saying; my objective, this being to get my ring or the chain from Antipholus. I had a few sessions with Roxanna who completely steered me in the right direction and after a couple of sleepless hours a night of my going through the speech in my bed pretending that people were asking me questions, I felt like I was getting a sense of the speech being driven.
Costume fittings are happening regularly now, make-up and hair style is being discussed and the play looks more imminent. Seeing the costume helps with character particularly for the courtesan who is corseted up in an elaborate lacy design. I cannot comprehend how the costume people do what they do as it seems like such intricate work. This blog is probably going to be longer than the play, but it is two weeks of juice I had to dish.
The past two weeks, surprisingly, have just been runs, runs and more runs. I say surprisingly as I don’t think anyone envisioned us doing runs in the fourth week with two more weeks of rehearsal to go, but being a short play, The Comedy of Errors enables this. Thus far it is running at one hour thirty four minutes unlike many Shakespeare plays which are usually cut to shreds to enable a modern day audience to stand it. I feel this is understandable, as I often find it painful to sit through three hours of Shakespeare, and I’m an actor! This means that Comedy of Errors is perfect for a first time Shakespeare-goer. The language is not too cryptic, the plot isn’t too emotionally heavy and you’re not required to use the same amount of brain power as a person sitting a very important exam.
We are now running everyday in the ‘module’ which is an experience in itself without the 750 bodies that will inhabit it next Wednesday. In some ways I can’t believe how quickly it’s gone and in others it feels like I’ve known the people I’ve been working with for years. We are a lucky company as from week one it has really felt like an ensemble. Everyone gets on and is incredibly supportive of one another and I tell you, I have really needed it this week.
This week and the last, I felt like I lost my whole ability to act and this, as you can imagine, is pretty devastating! I didn’t really know which direction I was going in, this time with the Courtesan, whose soliloquy I was having particular trouble with. I forgot the reason why I was saying what I was saying; my objective, this being to get my ring or the chain from Antipholus. I had a few sessions with Roxanna who completely steered me in the right direction and after a couple of sleepless hours a night of my going through the speech in my bed pretending that people were asking me questions, I felt like I was getting a sense of the speech being driven.
Costume fittings are happening regularly now, make-up and hair style is being discussed and the play looks more imminent. Seeing the costume helps with character particularly for the courtesan who is corseted up in an elaborate lacy design. I cannot comprehend how the costume people do what they do as it seems like such intricate work. This blog is probably going to be longer than the play, but it is two weeks of juice I had to dish.
Monday, 15 March 2010
Blog 3
This week has been a goodie in terms of rehearsal and general fun. Mr. Ridgeway never fails to keep me entertained what with his stories from the business and his general life which usually have me in stitches in rehearsal and at the pub. He is famous amongst the cast for his Ridgeway tear which he is able to produce at any given moment any time of day, ‘It’s a gift’ he says. I have been trying for the past 3 weeks to produce the Fanyinka tear. I’ve tried numerous methods, thinking about sad stuff, not blinking and poking myself. The latter was the most effective but I can’t do it with the same level of conviction that he does. On a serious note, I am learning so much from him, he’s a legend.
We are also really beginning to really see the play as a whole and the town of Ephesus where it’s set. We’ve done some fun market scenes where I’ve been strutting my stuff as the courtesan on a sexy leash. The rehearsal room is still such a fun place and I still find myself getting the Dromios mixed up from time to time and that’s three weeks into rehearsal. In some ways I can’t believe we are three weeks in already but I also feel like I’ve done so much in these three weeks. Saw a template for my courtesans costume today which was incredibly exciting. Half way through now.
We are also really beginning to really see the play as a whole and the town of Ephesus where it’s set. We’ve done some fun market scenes where I’ve been strutting my stuff as the courtesan on a sexy leash. The rehearsal room is still such a fun place and I still find myself getting the Dromios mixed up from time to time and that’s three weeks into rehearsal. In some ways I can’t believe we are three weeks in already but I also feel like I’ve done so much in these three weeks. Saw a template for my courtesans costume today which was incredibly exciting. Half way through now.
Thursday 4 March
And here we are in week two, and here is where the work kicks in. We have actually just got through the basic blocking of the whole play now and today has been the first day where we are back at the beginning doing the whole detail part.
I do still love Shakespeare although he has got my brain a bit boggled this week. I am playing Luce now as well as the Courtesan and Luce is responsible for my bogglement! I want to clarify, that Luce and Nell in this production are separate characters. For those of you that don’t know the play Nell is spoken about by Dromio of Syracuse as a ‘beastly creature’ whose forehead is ‘armed and reverted, making a war against her heir’. In short she is pretty disgusting. But in this production Luce is another servant working in the house of Antipholus of Ephesus. The scene in which she first appears is the famous door scene where Antipholus of Ephesus is trying to get into his house which has been locked against him, Luce refuses to open the door to her rightful master as she believes that he is already inside eating dinner with her mistress and therefore believes that the person knocking is a mad stranger claiming to be her master.
The rhythm in this section I have found quite tricky but after a session with Giles the genius (our Shakespeare man) I began to understand what the bard was doing. I spoke to a friend about this section today as well and she described it to me as an Elizabethan version of a freestyle rap battle which was very helpful with deciding what words to stress. I however will not be rapping the part of Luce though; I think she is more of a country and western girl.
I do still love Shakespeare although he has got my brain a bit boggled this week. I am playing Luce now as well as the Courtesan and Luce is responsible for my bogglement! I want to clarify, that Luce and Nell in this production are separate characters. For those of you that don’t know the play Nell is spoken about by Dromio of Syracuse as a ‘beastly creature’ whose forehead is ‘armed and reverted, making a war against her heir’. In short she is pretty disgusting. But in this production Luce is another servant working in the house of Antipholus of Ephesus. The scene in which she first appears is the famous door scene where Antipholus of Ephesus is trying to get into his house which has been locked against him, Luce refuses to open the door to her rightful master as she believes that he is already inside eating dinner with her mistress and therefore believes that the person knocking is a mad stranger claiming to be her master.
The rhythm in this section I have found quite tricky but after a session with Giles the genius (our Shakespeare man) I began to understand what the bard was doing. I spoke to a friend about this section today as well and she described it to me as an Elizabethan version of a freestyle rap battle which was very helpful with deciding what words to stress. I however will not be rapping the part of Luce though; I think she is more of a country and western girl.
Friday, 26 February 2010
First Week of Rehearsals
Wow, what a week it's been already. I keep having to remind myself that I'm actually getting paid for having this much fun which in my books is just weird! This fun could just be a by-product of the play tiself. THE COMEDY OF ERRORS is, in my opinion, one of Shakespeare's funniest plays what with the confusion and general raucndhiness in int. All of the double entendres if takein in the naught sense are blooming filthy, I can't believe the 'bard' himself thought in that way...for Christ's sake, he's Shakespeare, the man who we were taught inschool to love and respect!
I have just graduated from drama school and this is my first job since leaving. The Royal Exchange has been such a lovely place for me to come into Everyone is friendly, Manchester is awesome and the theatre itself is incredible. The dreaded frist reading on Monday also wasn't as bad as what I was expecting, namely down to friendliness of the cast and crew. I feel very lucky. Bring On Week Two.
I have just graduated from drama school and this is my first job since leaving. The Royal Exchange has been such a lovely place for me to come into Everyone is friendly, Manchester is awesome and the theatre itself is incredible. The dreaded frist reading on Monday also wasn't as bad as what I was expecting, namely down to friendliness of the cast and crew. I feel very lucky. Bring On Week Two.
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