June 15, 2012

Amanda LeClaire from the Metro Times came to observe today’s session, and we had a discussion about the program, which she listened in on. I am going to focus on that in this post, although we did work monologues prior to having the discussion. The participants reiterated that they love this program because it takes them out of prison for four hours every week – it’s fun and exciting, and they are learning a lot. One of them said that it’s the first time she’s felt this way about a program in her 25 years in prison; another said it’s her first time having this kind of experience since she entered prison at seventeen. They said that the program is bringing them out of their shells and giving them more confidence. They are becoming more bold in every aspect of their lives. It has helped to “expand” them by giving them the feeling that “I can do this.”

They said that this program helps to expand their minds in a “condensed” and supportive environment, and they are very grateful for it. Everyone helps everyone else in this group, which they say is a rare thing. They like the warm ups – they love to be silly because they are so comfortable with each other.

We talked about why they chose the pieces they did. One said she chose Emilia’s monologue in part because it is short, and in part because she identified with the character. Another echoed this, saying she chose hers because it’s silly, and she’s a silly person. Another, who is performing Rosalind, said she chose hers because she identified the character as being not herself, but other people in her life – she has been beaten down and homeless, and people looked down on her and treated her poorly – which is what Rosalind does in that monologue. Another said she chose Antony because she is familiar with losing someone she’s loved and the piece “touched her heart.” We talked about one of the early participants who dropped after she chose and performed “To be or not to be…” I asked the women why they thought she had dropped, and they all agreed that she had probably identified so deeply with the piece that she got scared and didn’t want to delve any deeper.

The women said they love “becoming” people other than themselves and like doing the scenes in addition to the monologues because it gives them the opportunity to get into more than one character’s skin. We talked about how Desdemona’s situation echoes that of many female prisoners – being in an abusive relationship and not knowing what to do about it. One of the prisoners said she was happy that we were able to cut some of her lines that she didn’t like.

Then one of them said that they couldn’t end the discussion without talking about their experience working with me. They said that they love the techniques we’ve worked with in terms of style, freedom and suggestions. They love the drop-in exercise especially. They are happy that I push them to rise to the occasion and give it their all, urging them to stay in character and keep going even when they mess up. They enjoy the breakdowns we do of each line in a scene or monologue, and they like it when I explain the history of the plays and characters. They said that my approach has made Shakespeare very accessible for them, even though they’ve never seen professionals do it. I asked them if they’d like me to bring in a film version of a play for them to watch, and they said they’d love it.

They also made a point of saying how grateful they are to the administration for allowing this program to exist and for being flexible with them. They are very grateful for the experience.

I am so happy with how this conversation went. Everything they said the program does for them is exactly what the program is supposed to be doing. I am gaining confidence right along with them as I get this type of feedback consistently. We are definitely on the right track.

June 12, 2012

Today as we were waiting for some very late participants, we took some time to let those who were there vent a bit about some frustrations they’ve been having outside of the program. I feel like it’s important to address these issues so we can all stay connected and trust each other emotionally. One of our Emilias did her monologue even though she “wasn’t feeling it.” She has it about half memorized, which is great. Where she has it memorized, she is doing some great acting. She’s just got to keep hammering away at it, which I know she will.

Then one of our Antonys performed her piece. Since she was experiencing so much frustration and anger about other things, she let it fuel her acting. I asked her if she could find some places to be still, and if she could let up on the anger toward the end when Antony is so choked up he has to stop speaking for a moment. She was unable to do this due to how she was feeling in “real life.” We’ll work toward that in the future when she’s feeling better.

Then our other Emilia performed her piece. She backed off on the movement that we’d worked in last time, so I again demonstrated some things she might want to do. The participant playing Desdemona (Cassie) experimented with different ways of reacting to the monologue. When Emilia added more movement and physical contact, shoving Desdemona slightly by the shoulder, she loosened up more, and the piece became more natural.

Then our Jaques performed. She, too, had her piece partly memorized. She is a little shy in her delivery, so I asked her to see how goofy she could possibly be – to try to make us laugh. Over the next two reads, she got more into the silliness. She will continue to work on memorization.

Since attendance was so low today, that is where we ended it. One of them did stop by to let me know that she will definitely be there on Friday. I am hopeful that more people will be present then.

June 8, 2012

During warm ups, one of the participants confessed that she was thinking about quitting the group. I asked her why, and she said it was because of her stage fright – she didn’t think she could get up in front of people outside of the group and speak Shakespeare. I asked her if it was getting up in front of people freaking her out, or if it was the Shakespeare, or both. She said it was mainly the Shakespeare. Since we’re doing a variety of scenes and monologues, I asked her if she would like to narrate so that we could keep her in the group. I pointed out that being onstage speaking lines that are NOT Shakespeare might help her get over her fears, and that she might be okay doing Shakespeare next time around. She agreed to do that and seemed very relieved. She also offered to be a stand in for absent people, since she doesn’t mind doing Shakespeare in front of us and could keep in practice that way. What a great idea. I’m so glad we’ve found a way to make her more comfortable. First we worked Macbeth/Lady Macbeth with the previously mentioned participant standing in for Lady Macbeth. The scene went very well – afterward I jokingly said that I didn’t know what the substitute was so worried about – she did very well. She smiled at that. The participant playing Macbeth said she was a little confused about how she should play the part and asked me to come onstage and show her what I meant about what she should be doing. I did this, and she said she understood it better. The next time through the scene she definitely improved. But then she said she wanted a “more dramatic” scene and said she would talk to her scene partner about choosing another one. Fine by me.

Then this same participant wanted to work her monologue, so we did. She had been teasing me that she would be trying something new with the piece, and she did – she became more emotional than ever before when addressing dead Desdemona and tearing at her clothes in anguish. It was incredible. The only thing was that, in her focus on this aspect of the monologue, the previous part of it was lacking some of the fire with which she has been performing it. We are going to work on combining the two feelings.

Then we worked a comic scene from Romeo and Juliet with the Nurse and a stand-in for Juliet. The first reading was a little stiff, so we went through the piece finding words and phrases that were difficult and figuring out what they meant. I also suggested more movement. The second read was better, but still stiff. I showed them what I meant by “movement,” since having me physicalize these things seems to help them more than me just saying it. I also showed the Nurse what I meant about being more dramatic and teasing. The third and fourth reads improved dramatically. I am hoping that the participant who was absent today, who still needs a scene, will be okay playing Juliet in this scene, since the one playing the Nurse is very attached to it.

One of the participants asked if it would be all right to do just her monologue and not a scene. I said that was absolutely fine – we’ll just have to find someone to take over her part in her scene. She said she would think about it a little more and let us know for sure on Tuesday.

Then the participants began talking about how much they enjoy the program, and someone said something really remarkable: that the class makes her forget she’s in prison for two hours. Another said that she feels relieved and happy as soon as she walks in the door for the program. Everyone agreed. I am so touched by this. What incredible sentiments. If I have anything to do with experiences like this, it makes all of the time and work I spend on this program completely worth it.

June 5, 2012

Today we warmed up and played a game, since we haven’t played anything in awhile. It got us all woken up and ready to go. We began with the scene from Othello with one participant standing in for Desdemona, who wasn’t there at the beginning of class. We worked on making the scene more physical – Iago comforting Desdemona, Emilia going from comforting Desdemona to being aggressive toward Iago, actually backing him down. We discussed the power of the language in telling us the exact emotional state of the characters. The inmate standing in for Desdemona had a hard time staying in character (she kept laughing at “Iago’s” faces), but we worked through it.

Then we worked Lady Macbeth and Macbeth. We talked about finding the different beats in the scene – when Macbeth shifts from not wanting to commit the murder to when he buckles and decides to do it after all. We talked about the nastiness of Lady Macbeth and how it must affect Macbeth; it must shock him into giving in. The scene is making great strides.

Next was the scene from As You Like It with Duke Frederick, Celia and Rosalind. The participants are dead on with their goals and obstacles, but we felt like the piece needed more movement. The other participants made some suggestions, to which I added my own ideas, and all of these things combined made for a much more interesting scene. The participants are really getting into it now, and it shows.

We worked Rosalind’s monologue. This participant wanted to do the drop in exercise again, so we did. She then asked if she could do it that way in performance, and I don’t have a problem with it. We’ll tell the audience we’re letting them behind the scenes, or something like that. I’m not sure if anyone else will want to do theirs that way, but I’m glad she’s found a way to make herself more comfortable.

Then our Jaques got up to perform. She has her monologue half memorized but got stuck paraphrasing a lot. I got on book for her, and she called line where she needed to. Then she tried it again on her own. I think perhaps she’s grown disenchanted with the piece, but I can’t quite tell. I’m going to keep my eye on her to make sure she doesn’t put the monologue in the show because she feels like she has to – only if she wants to.

Last, we worked with one of our Antonys. She continues to gain power with her piece – her pacing is getting more frenetic without being over the top or distracting. I reminded her that any time she repeats a word it’s for a reason, and that each time a word comes up it is different than the time before. She experimented with this and made some solid discoveries about what power those repeated words have.

The participants noticed today that they are starting to memorize each other’s pieces. They are totally invested in everyone’s work, and they help out with lines when people stumble. It’s really great to see them working as a team like that. This is a very tight ensemble.

June 1, 2012

Today was a great day. Lots of discoveries. Some of the inmates had to leave early, so we decided work monologues today and get back to the scenes next week. The first participant to perform is working on Rosalind’s monologue. Her first reading was very fast, so we went through the piece and found words to emphasize or linger on. She took these notes and performed again, with great results.

Then one of the participants performing Antony’s monologue performed. She was rushing quite a bit, so we did an exercise called “dropping in,” in which I stood behind her and read the lines, which she repeated in her own way – this got her focused on herself and her feelings, rather than on a page that she was reading. Everyone loved this exercise – it really freed her up, and it sparked their interest.

As a result of this, the first participant asked if she could do hers again with the drop in exercise.  This proved to be very beneficial to her as well. She said she is becoming more confident every time she performs.

Then one of the participants working on Emilia’s monologue took her turn. She is still stumbling, so we decided to do the drop in exercise with her as well. This made her more able to speak fluidly, which helped her acting quite a bit. She is doing a really great job trying to overcome her challenge with the language.

Then our Othello took her turn. She was rushing, so I asked her to slow down. We tried doing the drop in exercise, but she already knows about half of her piece by heart and said she didn’t like it, so we stopped. She then tried to slow down, but said it didn’t feel natural to her, and she couldn’t get to the place, emotionally, to which she wanted to get. So she did it again her way, and it was great. She’s taking more risks with the emotions of the piece and showing a lot of growth.

Our other Emilia went next. She normally does this piece sitting, but I felt like it was holding her back, so I asked her to try standing and moving. She stood during this performance, but she didn’t move. I demonstrated to her different ways she could move through the space and sort of toy with Desdemona, and she tried it again, with success. She said that the movement helped her to access more of the attitude and sexiness in the piece.

Then our other Antony took her turn. Her piece is becoming very powerful, and she is stumbling less over the language. She’s also taken to pacing back and forth during her speech, which is completely appropriate and, she says, helps her not to get tripped up on the language. She said she has found this power by continuing to use substitution: channeling the feelings she has about her friend who recently committed suicide and using it to fuel Antony’s anger and sarcasm. She is doing so well. I am very proud of her.

We did a lot of chatting today – the participants are making great strides and had a lot to say!

One of them says she has noticed that when she watches TV, she is beginning to analyze the actors and the choices they make. She says it’s made TV much more interesting to her. Building on that, we talked about making personal choices with a given character, and how each individual brings something totally different to the table, based on his/her own experience.

There was so much good stuff going on that I was jotting down notes as we went so I wouldn’t forget any of it. They seemed curious about what I was doing, so I reminded them that I am keeping a blog, which I think some of them forgot about. They are very happy that I am doing this. They said that they feel that there are a lot of opportunities for personal growth and positive experiences in prison, and they don’t feel like that gets enough attention. As one of them said, “Prison is what you make of it.” They are glad that word is getting out about this program.