December 18, 2012

A couple of new participants joined us today. After introductions and warm ups, we played a game and then decided to get back into Act II Scene ii, the first scene with Caliban, Trinculo and Stephano. We talked about why Trinculo is so mean to Caliban, and the women decided that it is probably an issue of jealousy. They believe that he is jealous that a) Caliban worships Stephano and not him, and b) that Stephano’s attention is being diverted from him to Caliban.

We also explored commitment to a character in this scene. The first participant to read Trinculo was really just reading at first, so we stopped her and discussed what emotional state the character is in at the top of this scene. She immediately went for it, so much so that one of the new participants, who was sitting next to me, said, “Wow. That’s a big, quick improvement."

At the end of the scene, Caliban sings a song. The participant reading him at first simply read it, but then we talked about what’s going on with Caliban at that point. We discussed how when one is used to never feeling good, suddenly feeling as great as Caliban does – drunk and free from Prospero – would be a huge emotion. The participant reading the character then committed much further to what she was doing, and it was hilarious. Everyone was very happy with what she did.

December 11 and 14, 2012

December 11 We had a couple of new participants today, so we spent some time welcoming them, introducing ourselves and talking about the group. We then played a favorite game that has to do with listening. One of the participants repeatedly cut the others off and was frustrated when we called her attention to it. I began a discussion of why this skill of waiting till the end of someone else’s line is important on stage, when she interrupted me. Never mind on stage, she said, this is a problem she has in her life. She says she has trouble truly listening to people, that she interrupts them frequently, and it gets her in trouble. “We need to play that game more. I need to get better at that,” she said.

We then worked the same scene we explored last time, since the women liked that so many of them could be on stage at the same time during it. Even one of our newest participants took part, which we all applauded.

These two participants assured us that they are very eager to be involved and very dedicated. I hope that more of the women who were recently added to the group join us next time, but if not, we are very happy with the two who were here today.

December 14

We began today playing two games that are new to the group. One was a game in which the goal was to constantly “top” the energy of the person who spoke before each participant, and the other was a quick thinking game. We then began to work a new scene (Act II Scene ii), and to explore the way in which Caliban moves, but at that point the session was ended due to something else going on at the facility. We will continue with this scene next time.

December 7, 2012

We began today with warm ups and a really fun game that we haven't played before. We wound up getting into a discussion about how each person’s goals affected the outcome of the game, and how those goals meshed or didn’t mesh with what most of the group perceived as being the point of the game. We talked about how this would be true in any acting – that if an actor’s goals weren’t in sync with those of the character, it would have a big impact on the play as a whole. We then were informed that a pretty big group of new people will be added to the group for our next session. This is very exciting, and we discussed our game plan for welcoming them and integrating them into what we’ve been doing. We discussed the need to be patient as we do some review so that they don’t feel thrown into the mix right off the bat. Everyone agreed this is the best course to take.

I asked the women what they wanted to work now, and they decided to explore the “villains,” since we haven’t touched on them much yet. They chose Act II Scene I, in which Antonio and Sebastian ridicule and then plot to kill Gonzalo and Alonso. As we worked through the scene, which was the first we’ve done that involved this many people, we talked a lot about body language. We also got into an interesting discussion about Sebastian and Antonio – how manipulative Antonio is, and how easily Sebastian gives in to him. Sebastian seems almost stupid, or at least weak-minded, in this interaction, while the woman playing Antonio said that her character reminded her of Hannibal Lecter – very intelligent and very manipulative.

We are hoping that the new participants will be just as willing to dive in as the current participants have been. They are very ready to get into the nitty gritty of scene work and start developing their production.

December 4, 2012

We continued to explore Act I Scene I today, again rotating through everyone present to give everyone a chance to perform. We finished the first part of the scene with Prospero and Miranda, talking more about the special moment between them but deciding not to dwell on it. Then we moved on to Ariel’s entrance. We began by discussing what we already knew about the relationship between Prospero and Ariel. The participants volunteered that while there is love between them, it’s definitely a servant/master relationship, and Prospero can be kind of a bully. One asked if maybe Prospero abuses Ariel and Caliban because he was abused by the others in Naples. The others liked that idea, since they’ve seen it in their lives (i.e., “hurt people hurt people). Another said that maybe he is so controlling of everything and everyone on the island because things in Naples had gotten so out of his control. They all thought that was a good idea.

As we worked the scene, what we wound up focusing on was the shift between the beginning, when Ariel relates how he terrorized the ship and was in control, and the end, when Ariel asks for his liberty and completely gives up that feeling of power. We discussed the change that physically and emotionally needed to happen.

The second pair to work this scene approached it a bit differently than the first. The one playing Ariel began by constantly circling Prospero. She became still when asking for her liberty, and then the participant playing Prospero began circling her aggressively. While the constant circling proved problematic from a staging standpoint, I asked the group what they thought of what the movements communicated on a basic level, and they agreed that the change definitely tells of a shift in power. I suggested some different ways of moving to the women – not turning upstage when circling, but also using more of the stage and playing off of each other’s energy. They took these directions beautifully, and the scene really took off.

We are hoping to add more people soon, and then the women would like to choose their characters by the end of this month. As they gain a deeper understanding of these characters and see each other experimenting with them, I think group casting will come fairly easily. They have been very supportive of each other thus far.

November 30, 2012

In beginning our exploration of Prospero, the women decided that the best place to start would be with his relationship with Miranda. So we spent today on Act I Scene I, cycling through different pairs of actors every now and again so that everyone who wanted to could get on stage. The first participant to read Prospero moved pretty quickly through the text without a lot of emotion. We paused the scene, and I asked the group if they thought that this story is an easy one for Prospero to tell. We talked about how, even though he and Miranda were victimized in being banished from Milan, the whole thing began when he gave some of his responsibilities to his brother, and so, in a way, he is at fault, too. At the very least, the telling of this story reveals that he is not perfect. One of the women volunteered that this reminded her of when she had to talk to her children about her crime. She said that the decision to tell them the truth was immediate, but that didn’t make it easy to do it.

We also talked about Prospero’s built up anger – how emotional it would have to be to relive the betrayal and trauma, especially since he hasn’t talked about it for twelve years. They particularly relished his line, “Twelve year since, Miranda, twelve year since…” The fact that he says it twice spoke to them about how long that twelve years must feel isolated as he is.

Then the woman who, weeks ago, told us how she had sent some of Prospero’s lines to her daughter because they resonated so deeply for her stepped up to read his part. I didn’t realize it, and I don’t think she did either, but she stepped in just before those lines, which are:

Miranda:

                                    Alack, what trouble

Was I then to you!

Prospero:

                                    O, a cherubim

Thou wast that did preserve me! Thou didst smile,

Infuséd with a fortitude from heaven,

When I have decked the sea with drops full salt,

Under my burden groaned; which raised in me

An undergoing stomach, to bear up

Against what should ensue.

When the participant came to those lines, she paused, and she began to cry. But she didn’t stop – she kept reading the lines to her scene partner, with all of her real emotion behind them. The rest of the participants were rapt and respectful, and when she reached the end of those lines, she stopped, and we all thanked her for her truthfulness. She apologized for crying, and we all reinforced how amazing it was that she shared that with us. One said, “Remember how you said the characters might pick us? I think Prospero just picked her.” The others also said that the tears seemed completely appropriate to the character to them, and that it brought their understanding of him to a new level. They said that if Prospero shows some emotion here, early in the play, it will make more sense later when he softens.

We also discussed Miranda’s reaction to Prospero’s emotion, which is to immediately recall him to his story. “What does that tell you?” I asked them. They think it means that she is uncomfortable with that level of emotion from him, which tells us a lot about their relationship. We talked about different ways of interpreting and playing that moment.

Everyone left, again, feeling good about the discoveries they’d made. They decided that they want to keep exploring this scene on Tuesday.