Thursday, 13 February 2014
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Sunday, 9 February 2014
Evaluation of performance
So all three shows are finished!
I think they have all gone really well together as a company and as myself as an individual actor.
During the first show, there was an error during my only scene - scene 6. Somewhere in the middle, one of the actors muddled their line and ended up skipping two pages and carrying the scene on from a later moment within the play. This unfortunately cut out most of my lines which was disappointing, but I took it on the chin and as an actor continued to make it a really good scene. This wasn't noticeable to the audience which is a good thing, but of course to us actors. This was a good thing in a way though, because it made us work even harder as an ensemble to ignore the error and pick up the scene. I think that the slight mishap did knock me off balance slightly though, as I am never addressed directly in my scene, I rely on other people's comments as a cue for my own. So because of this, I felt I had to think harder and faster than usual, scanning the script in my head and attempting to work out what part we were on and what my next line was. I appreciated my role as an assistant director here. Due to the fact I felt I had to know the play inside out with this job, it wasn't hard for me to remember my whole scene and within a matter of moments I had picked out the check point and continued.
The second and third show was brilliant again and my scene went really well, all lines included this time. Already having done the show the first time, I felt my initial nerves were out of the door and I could really begin to have fun with the scene. I felt like I did things I didn't do in rehearsals, which I'm not sure if that's an overall good thing or a bad thing. I made myself listen to the scene with fresh ears, like I had never done it before or heard the speeches the other characters were giving. This kept my acting fresh, I believe, and gave me more enjoyment when doing the scene. I acted on gentle impulse and completely felt I was drunk, sarcastic, rude William Faddy, not just Shanon playing William Faddy, you know? I held on tightly to my physicality as this character and made sure my lines were clear, loud and direct. As most of my lines are sly rude comments to Ralph, I thought it imperative the delivery of my lines portrayed this perfectly, otherwise the direction of them could have been lost, so I believe I did this to the best of my ability.
I think they have all gone really well together as a company and as myself as an individual actor.
During the first show, there was an error during my only scene - scene 6. Somewhere in the middle, one of the actors muddled their line and ended up skipping two pages and carrying the scene on from a later moment within the play. This unfortunately cut out most of my lines which was disappointing, but I took it on the chin and as an actor continued to make it a really good scene. This wasn't noticeable to the audience which is a good thing, but of course to us actors. This was a good thing in a way though, because it made us work even harder as an ensemble to ignore the error and pick up the scene. I think that the slight mishap did knock me off balance slightly though, as I am never addressed directly in my scene, I rely on other people's comments as a cue for my own. So because of this, I felt I had to think harder and faster than usual, scanning the script in my head and attempting to work out what part we were on and what my next line was. I appreciated my role as an assistant director here. Due to the fact I felt I had to know the play inside out with this job, it wasn't hard for me to remember my whole scene and within a matter of moments I had picked out the check point and continued.
The second and third show was brilliant again and my scene went really well, all lines included this time. Already having done the show the first time, I felt my initial nerves were out of the door and I could really begin to have fun with the scene. I felt like I did things I didn't do in rehearsals, which I'm not sure if that's an overall good thing or a bad thing. I made myself listen to the scene with fresh ears, like I had never done it before or heard the speeches the other characters were giving. This kept my acting fresh, I believe, and gave me more enjoyment when doing the scene. I acted on gentle impulse and completely felt I was drunk, sarcastic, rude William Faddy, not just Shanon playing William Faddy, you know? I held on tightly to my physicality as this character and made sure my lines were clear, loud and direct. As most of my lines are sly rude comments to Ralph, I thought it imperative the delivery of my lines portrayed this perfectly, otherwise the direction of them could have been lost, so I believe I did this to the best of my ability.
Friday, 3 January 2014
Rehearsals/Feedback
I think the rehearsals have gone really well, not just for me but for the company as a whole. Due to have our first show in just a matter of days, I think we have a strong cast, best director and a very good play on our hands.
In terms of myself as an actor, I think I have gone on my only little journey as an actor despite my part not being as prominent as the characters. I've had to think about my own voice a lot, having spent quite a bit of time helping the other 'officers,' I forgot I should be taking my own advice. As a natural 'cockney' myself, I found it easier to talk like one of the convicts and not a high class officer, which was funny because certain convicts like Harrison and Catherine felt it more natural to talk like one of the officers, than their part as a convict.
This was one of the main points I received in my feedback - my accent. When saying the line "Second Lieutenant Clark change society!" I naturally dropped the t's in my speech and my rhythm was more of a.... "commoner" than a high class serving officer. Our director informed me of this so I practised and altered my speech for the next rehearsal.
I also had to change my physical stance as well. In my scene, many of the officers are sitting and I am one of the ones that stands. I struggled at first to make myself seem like a man and keep my physicality going throughout the entire long scene, so I wasn't just stuck in the same position like a statue the whole time. I shuffled on the spot a lot with my feet shoulder width apart in a bored and frustrated manner, which I think suited my character.
I think I have remained fully engaged in each rehearsal. Not always saying much, but popping outside to work with the different actors or updating my blog on my phone. I didn't think it was possible for me NOT to switch off, so I am pleased I have remained focused and a helping hand throughout, taking over warm ups and working with different characters.
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