January 4, 2013

Everyone was very excited to be back today! And very eager to get right into casting, so that’s what we did. We sat in a circle, and I reminded everyone that the goal was not to determine who the “best actors” are, but where each person fits best. I also asked everyone to do her best to stay open-minded and flexible while we talked, and to think of the group as a whole rather than simply “What do I want?”

The first thing we did was to revisit who is interested in each part. Some people have found new characters that they like, so we adjusted our lists. I then suggested that they proceed by casting each other rather than saying, “I want to play this part because…” This proved to be a great strategy because it took the pressure off of individuals and made everything we discussed a group decision. The group cast five characters (Caliban, Miranda, Gonzalo, Prospero and Alonso) with no debate. One person would suggest someone to play the character and give her reasons, someone else would agree, we would discuss it a little more, and then everyone assented.

The rest of the characters proved more difficult to cast because we could all see multiple people fitting each, and multiple people are interested in each. A few of those people are very new, so we decided to give them a few opportunities to read the characters so that we could get to know them better and get a better idea of where these participants fit best. This means that casting will take a little longer than we anticipated, but everyone is okay with that.

One really great thing that happened was when the group got a little quiet, and I suggested that one of them might be a good fit for Antonio. “Not because I think you’re like him personally!” I said, and she smiled. I pointed out that she has a natural charisma, stage presence and intelligence that would work well for a character like him. Everyone else agreed, and she thought about it. But then she said that while she appreciated our votes of confidence, she is at a place in her life where she would really prefer to focus her energy on a more positive character – she is trying to avoid negativity as much as she can in preparation for her release. Several of the women reacted immediately by thanking her for her honesty. She then said that she felt pulled toward Ariel. Another participant suggested that while she would probably be a great Ariel, that’s a pretty sizable role, and if she feels like her focus might be elsewhere, maybe it’s too big of a commitment. The participant thought about that for a moment and said, “Maybe you’re right.” She’s going to give it some more thought, but I was just so impressed by how accepting she was of everyone’s input, and how calmly and respectfully she expressed herself. She has occasionally rubbed others the wrong way with her demeanor, and we’ve talked about it privately a few times because it’s clear to me that she doesn’t mean to give the impression she sometimes does of disregard or even disdain, and her reactions today proved that she is learning better ways of expressing her feelings in the group.

We left feeling very good about the process thus far and excited to continue it in the next session.

December 21, 2012

Today we worked for awhile on the beginning of Act V Scene I – just the part of the scene with Ariel and Prospero alone together. It was very encouraging to see one of the women who has been reticent to participate much volunteer to be one of the first to try out the scene as Ariel. At first she was very sly and still on a bit of the “power trip” that we discussed the character having at earlier times in the play. We talked about whether or not that was working and decided that it wasn’t. “What’s Ariel’s goal here?” I asked. The group decided that the goal was to get Prospero to soften, to see the men’s suffering. The woman changed her goal, and the whole scene changed. It gave the participant playing Prospero much more to work with. We also tried slowing the scene down to give each actress more time to reach conclusions and react to one another. After another pair worked on the scene, the group decided to move to the epilogue. We talked about the parallels of what Prospero says here to their own desires in prison – that he and they are all seeking release, both emotional and physical. After the first participant read, we discussed her physicality, and someone suggested that she find a place to kneel and humble herself. I also suggested that she take her time more. She did both of these things and said that it felt better – she was beginning to find deeper meaning in the words.

Then another participant bounded up on stage, saying she just had to try it because it resonates so deeply with her. She read the piece, and we were all very moved. She said that, to her, it means that he accepts responsibility for his flaws and the wrong things he’s done, but that he’s done his time, and he’s changed, so it’s time to set him free. Everyone agreed with that.

There will be a bit of a break due to difficulties scheduling over the holidays, so the participants agreed to spend time with their scripts and brainstorm about casting not only themselves but the entire group. The next session will likely be devoted largely to casting.

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.