August 21, 2012

After our warm up today, we decided to begin by working our Nurse/Juliet scene, since it hasn’t had very much rehearsal and one of the participants in the scene had to leave early. The first performance was all right, but not great. The participant playing Juliet said it felt “dead” to her, and one of the women in the audience remarked that it didn’t seem like they were “giving their all.” We talked about actors having to take responsibility for themselves on stage, even when they are not getting what they think they need from the other performers. I encouraged both actresses to go at the scene with tons of energy and to take care of themselves no matter what. During their next performance, I did a lot of side coaching so that they would be able to recognize when they were doing that, and the scene improved greatly. Everyone agreed that if they do it this way in performance, it will be great. We then ran the entire show in order. The group decided that they want me to introduce the performance and explain to the audience that many of them have never been on stage before, and that there will be some mistakes, but we ask them to bear with us. Since this will make them more comfortable, I will definitely do it.

The run of the show went pretty well. The goal was to go without stopping for any reason, but we found some places where we did need to stop and fix certain issues. One participant has decided that she will take her script on stage with her after all for her monologue – she is afraid she won’t be able to hear the prompting from our narrator. Another issue was that many people were talking backstage, which precluded them being able to hear their cues to begin from the narrator, so we discussed the need for quiet and for the narrator to have a microphone, just in case. There were a few other general issues that they solved as a group with very little input from me: for instance, waiting for the curtain to be done moving before beginning a scene and changing some of the blocking slightly for sight lines. We also discussed the need to stay in character until the curtain is fully closed.

On Friday we will have our usual session in the morning and the performance in the evening. I am really looking forward to this, and I know that they are, too.

August 14, 2012

Today was my first day back with the women after having another facilitator fill in for me for two weeks, and I walked right into a very intense discussion. Attitude, spotty attendance and a seeming lack of dedication on the part of some were brought up, as they have been before. I reiterated to them that I really hoped they would all stick with it through their performance next week and then re-evaluate whether or not they want to stay in the group. One of the participants brought up that she is frustrated that not everyone has embraced the challenges of working with Shakespeare and being on stage. She said that she feels that the program is mostly about overcoming “things you put in front of yourself” and proving to yourself that you can do things you never thought you could do. This participant feels that not everyone is as gung ho about this as others.

We discussed the need to continue to support each other no matter what. One said that she feels that the participants shouldn’t have any say in who stays and who goes, that it should be my decision, but I told her that I really didn’t want to make those decisions without group input. The participant who was most upset stated that she may leave the group after the performance. We all asked her to think more about this – I was not the only one, then, who pointed out to her that of all of the people in the group, she is the one who has shown the most remarkable growth (this is our “director”), and we all feel she can grow even more if she sticks with it. Ultimately, though, this will be her decision.

The group began to get frustrated with the conversation and very much wanted to get working on their show, so we tabled the discussion and will continue it later. As we worked through the scenes and monologues, the tension eased and there was laughter as usual.

In trying to fit everything in, we moved pretty quickly through the pieces, but every piece showed improvement. The participants have decided to open and close the curtains between scenes, which is a nice touch. In particular, the participant doing Rosalind’s monologue has shown tremendous growth – everyone was totally wowed and could not praise her enough. A couple of the other participants are having memorization issues, so our narrator will be giving them any lines they forget while they are on stage. They would rather do that than perform with a script.

I have no doubt, based on what I saw today, that these women will give a great performance. I cannot wait for them to have the opportunity to show everyone what they've accomplished.

July 27, 2012

Today after our warm up, the participants began discussing the program and what it’s been like for them, which they do sometimes without my prompting them. This began by one of them bringing up that she never thought she would be able to memorize her pieces – but she has, and it’s proven to her that she can probably do all kinds of things she thought before that she couldn’t do. The other participants agreed that that has happened for them as well. We then worked with one of our Antonys. She is totally memorized, which is great. The other participants noted that she is using her hands much more, which they had asked her to try, and it’s working! One of them suggested that she broaden her pace to increase her power, and this also did wonders for her. One of them remarked that her “actions didn’t overspeak her words.”

Then we worked the Juliet/Nurse scene with a stand-in for the Nurse. This was the stand-in’s first time performing the scene, so the first run was kind of rough. We talked about bringing up the energy, even if she had to pause to find the lines. They tried this, and it worked much better – the others said that it was louder and more believable. Then Juliet adjusted some of the blocking to make it work better for her, and that third performance was the best yet.

We then worked Rosalind’s monologue for the first time in awhile.  For this piece, we are doing a drop in exercise in which another participant reads the lines before the actress speaks them. This caused Rosalind to drop her energy between lines, so I helped her figure out how to fix that. I encouraged her to push forward when she knows the lines and let the other participant catch up. There was a great improvement after this.

Next was the Duke Frederick/Rosalind/Celia scene with a stand-in for Celia. Rosalind has memorized her lines, so we ran it a few times with a focus on her getting comfortable doing the scene without her script. The acting is in and out, as it usually is right when someone gets off book, and she knows that she will have to keep working on it to bring it back, but she’s confident that she can do it.

Then we worked the King’s monologue. She was doing great until she started forgetting her lines and getting frustrated. The others noticed that she got quieter when that happened, and they encouraged her to push forward. They reminded her that there is so much going on in the piece that no one will notice if she skips little parts of it, which is what was happening. She shook it off and tried again, doing much better this time. She is fully committed, and it shows.

Last was one of our Emilias. Her first performance was great, except that at the end she looked at me before she was actually done. We talked about the need for follow through. Then she tried it again, treating Desdemona as if she were much younger as an experiment, and it actually deepened her performance. She was very pleased.

Molly will be taking over for me for the next two weeks. I’m very excited to see how they’re able to grow with her guidance in the meantime!

July 24, 2012

Today I was accompanied by Molly McMahon, who will be filling in for me for the first two weeks of August. The women all enjoyed having her there, and I know they are going to do great work together in my absence. After warm ups, one of our Emilias requested that she perform first. Everyone was, as usual, impressed by her improvements. She is doing very well at physically expressing her attitude, and her memorization gets better and better. She got a little down on herself for stumbling on a few of the words, but someone pointed out that it’s okay if she stumbles because this should seem like it’s the first time she’s saying these things. She also needs to work on her volume, but this is improving.

Next was one of our Antonys, the one who was so tired during the last session. At first she lacked passion, stumbled over her words and stopped. She did this twice, and we encouraged her to stick with it and not be so hard on herself. Her third try hit the nail on the head. Everyone especially loved how she backed off of her anger toward the end and let her sadness come out. Someone suggested that she should exit at the end of the monologue rather than remaining onstage, and she liked that idea, so she will do it from now on.

Then our Othello performed her piece. She was a little off, and asked me to come on stage with her and give her some examples of things I have been suggesting to her. This helped her a lot. She performed again, and it was amazing. All of a sudden, things just clicked for her. The anger was there; the crazed guilt, the despair. We asked her what happened. “I could feel it more,” she said. “It just came to me.” We are all so excited about her piece!

Then we worked the Iago/Emilia/Desdemona scene with a participant standing in for Desdemona. They really committed to what they were doing, and the participants in the audience remarked that they liked the way that the stand-in was weeping – it seemed more realistic to them than the way the other participant does it, so we need to figure out how to give her the notes she needs to get there. We worked the scene more, and each time it became more believable. The relationships are clear, and the actions are motivated.

Then our Hermione worked her piece. She attacked it with so much emotion – anger, begging – that one of the other participants actually cried. “She’s hitting all the right notes,” she said. The performer said that she is still “holding onto” the lines, and I encouraged her to let go and trust that I had the script in my hand and wouldn’t let her go blank. She performed again, with even more intensity, and the same participant cried again. She said she just can’t believe how good it is. The participant playing Hermione said her challenge now is to really focus and not multi-task in her head while she’s on stage.

Then we worked the King’s monologue. The intensity was great, and she actually dropped to her knees this time, which is something she’s normally hesitant to do because it’s not totally comfortable for her. We then did an exercise to increase her physical commitment to the piece, taking her out of her head and into her body. This did a lot for her – one of the other participants said that she can hear the inner argument the character is having without even looking at the actress. The next performance of this piece was the best yet.

There are two people who have missed the last couple of sessions, and if they are not there next time, we discussed what we will do. The participants decided that rather than cut any material, they will pick up the slack. I’m glad that’s the way they want to handle things. They also talked about the power of commitment – that even on days that they don’t feel like getting out of bed or making the walk to the building, after they do, they feel better because they have followed through on their commitments, and they have a good time.

July 20, 2012

We began today by following up on the discussion I had with a few of the women on Tuesday about some of the participants being more team players than others. Unfortunately, not all of the people who need to hear this were present, so we’ll need to talk about it again, but those present decided that we will complete this performance, and then everyone will re-evaluate whether or not they want to commit to the next round, which will be a full production. I made it clear that if people leave the group, there will be no hard feelings – if they’ve gotten what they wanted out of the group and want to be done, that is perfectly fine. One of our Emilias was all fired up and ready to go, so we began with her. Her first performance was very quiet, but everyone agreed that, in terms of her acting, it was the best and most truthful yet. The others encouraged her to speak up and to not be afraid to touch her scene partner. She took these directions very well.

Then our Narrator gave her material a try. She began reading in a very dry and rushed manner, so I stopped her and asked if she could give it a little more enthusiasm to get the audience excited about what they are going to see. She smiled. The next time she read was much better. We asked her if she’d like to try using the podium, and, when she did, she automatically became louder and her energy increased. She likes having the podium there to support her, so we’ll stick with that.

Next we worked the Duke Frederick/Rosalind/Celia scene. Since Rosalind was not there last time when we made some adjustments, the others caught her up on that. They were about to begin, when I realized that Celia, our “director” who has been making such incredible strides, was not holding her script. “Are you MEMORIZED?” I asked. She smiled and said, “Darn, I was hoping you wouldn’t notice till we were already in the scene.” She only had to call for line once – incredible for this woman who was so shy and insecure when we began in February. She was really feeling it, too. One thing that the other participants noticed was that the actors were anticipating each others’ movements and moving without proper motivation, so we tried it again with that in mind. The scene improved, as it always does with these women, and some of the participants remarked that Duke Frederick is actually “scary” now. Another suggested that Celia and Rosalind look at each other more throughout the scene for support.

Then one of our Antonys, who hasn’t worked her piece in awhile, performed. She got up there without her script, which was great, but she was so focused on remembering her lines that her acting definitely took a backseat. I encouraged her to let go of that – I’ve got her script in my hands, and I’m not going to let her flounder. The other participants identified parts of the piece that are the strongest for her, and we discussed what made them the most powerful. She tried again, and it was better, but she was playing with her sleeves and physically very tense throughout. Our “director” encouraged her to let her hands go and do whatever felt natural, as she would in a normal conversation or argument. She gave her some examples. We worked the piece again, and it got better. She says she is going to continue to work on freeing up her body.

Next we worked our Iago/Emila/Desdemona scene with someone standing in for Desdemona. Their first performance was too casual – they weren’t totally invested in what they were doing, which was evident in their body language and the lack of focus in their speech. The participant playing Iago asked me to read in for her so that she could see my interpretation of her character, since she is confused and frustrated. I did this, and she said it clarified for her what she should be doing. They tried it again, and it was better. Our “director” then adjusted their blocking (she’s so good at this!) and they tried it again. This time it definitely took off for Iago, who had the sudden inspiration to hiss the lines “Speak within door,” and “You are a fool. Go to!” at Emilia rather than saying them full voice. It was very intense, and very appropriate.

Then our King worked her piece. She was unable to attend the last two classes, so I wasn’t sure what to expect, but she launched in with a power I’ve never seen in her that lasted the whole way through. We were totally wowed. Her energy was huge, and we could really feel her frustration and desperation. The only issue she’s having is that she’s rushing, so we talked about finding places to pause and let the emotions drive her to her next line, rather than vice versa. We will keep working on that.

This was a very good day. Everyone is feeling very positive and doing great work.