Session Six: Week 18

Tuesday

We spent tonight playing improv games, since our rehearsal script isn’t yet ready and some group members pointed out that it’s been awhile since we’ve done improv. It’s important for us to continue to sharpen those skills so that we can react constructively when things go “haywire” in performance. We had a lot of fun!

During one of the games, the woman playing Richard came over to me. “I tried not to do it, I really tried,” she said, “But Richard III was on TV, and I watched it. And… I don’t know if I can really say this… But I didn’t like the Richard in the movie. I think I can play him better. Can I say that?” I replied that of course she can! I asked her why she felt that way. “The guy in the movie played him with no feelings. Just evil. I don’t want to play a character like that. I think he has feelings.”

An inmate who is not in our group came in and handed me an ensemble member’s book, saying that she wanted me to be able to make the cuts even though she couldn’t be present because of another program. It was good to be able to make those cuts rather than waiting another few days!

We wrapped up by saying good bye to an ensemble member who is going home in a couple of days. We are excited for her and will be rooting her on as she makes her transition.

Friday

Tonight when I arrived, one of the women shared with me that she’s been referencing part of the Shakespeare Behind Bars documentary lately – in one scene, a man admits to a particularly heinous crime and then expresses his wish that he be judged on the totality of his life, and not solely by the worst thing he’s ever done. This woman has been quoting that in order to stem judgment and bullying in her unit. It resonates for her – as someone who was heavily involved in drugs, there were things that she witnessed people doing upon which she sat in judgment… but later engaged in those activities herself. She said that it’s hard not to judge someone who’s done something that you consider to be the worst possible thing, until you’ve done it yourself. And then you must work on forgiving yourself. “I’m not that person anymore,” she said.

The energy in the room as we all gathered was extremely low. One of the lifers in our group shared during check in that the days have lost meaning for her – she forgot about Christmas Eve, and the change in the year isn’t hitting her at all. This negativity, which is completely understandable, hung heavy in the room. Since we still don’t have our rehearsal script, I suggested that we delve into the acting techniques that we’ve been dancing around – I’ve personally always felt healed and energized through work with Chekhov technique, and I hoped that we could arouse some of that tonight when it was so sorely needed.

After an energetic warm up, we began to work with something called “imaginary body.” In essence, the imaginary body can be imagined, shaped, and then “worn” like a costume, changing the way an actor moves and interacts with people and objects around them. We experimented with changing different parts of the body (i.e., you are extremely tall/short, you have an extremely long neck, you have hands made of glass), and then I welcomed everyone to “sculpt” an imaginary body for their characters out of the air, then stepping in and moving throughout the space. The group was game for this and the mood began to lighten considerably.

I then moved around the room asking, “Who are you?” and “What do you want?” with each person responding absolutely appropriately from her character’s perspective. We then came up with full body gestures expressing that want.

This took some time, and we gathered in a circle to reflect. The consensus was that these were useful exercises. A longtime ensemble member said, “It helped me get into my character more than in previous years, sooner.” She also shared that she loved the warm up exercise, as it activated her energy and made her feel more connected to her body. The woman playing the Duchess discovered that, “even though she’s eighty, she’s going to be a vibrant eighty.” The woman playing Richard said, “I got to put the traits I want him to have on him. He’s handsome. He’s gorgeous.”

The woman playing Anne then shared, “It made me realize I don’t feel comfortable with Anne… I don’t feel comfortable with her values. I don’t know what this woman wants – to maintain her lifestyle? Or does she want love…?” Another woman who had seen a version of our play on TV shared that, in that version, it was clear that Anne didn’t have a choice in her actions because Richard was the Lord Protector.

“I’m so excited about this year,” said another woman. “I know that when I go on stage I can be this Clarence who I’ve created.”

“It helped me look at her outside of the text, as a person, not just words on paper,” said one woman.

“Before today,” shared another woman, “I knew who I was playing but never really thought about it. When you asked what I wanted it really clicked for me: I do not want to die, and that’s what I want through the whole play.”

The woman playing the Duchess, said, “The Duchess might just want the bloodshed to stop, but in the meantime, I want my son to be cursed.”

The woman playing Buckingham said, “Thinking about what my character wants helps me think about why he wants the things that he wants. He wants stuff, reputation, power… He wants reputation, validation, recognition. He has a lot, but he wants more. He’s calculating and greedy.” A woman who was in the group last year jokingly quoted from Othello, saying, “Reputation, reputation, reputation!” We talked about all of our different interpretations of Buckingham – what she expressed is very different from the views of some of the women who view him as true and loyal, just having chosen the one person to whom to be loyal.

The room felt much lighter as we departed. As usual, this acting technique had served to buoy the entire group. I am very glad that we’ve chosen to delve in like this.

Session Six: Week 17

Tuesday

Tonight we were given the opportunity to see a performance by one of Prison Creative Arts Project’s groups, and we took it!

Before the program began, we facilitators took seats near some members of our ensemble. The conversation quickly turned to our rehearsal script – we need to make the first round of cuts so that we can print the copies we’ll use until June. One of the women had brought her book, and I gave her mine so she could transfer her cuts from one to the other. She and another ensemble member have split the play down the middle – one made cuts to the first half, and the other to the second half. They are finding it difficult to cut because a lot of the banter is very tight. The second ensemble member, who has been in the group for several years, remarked that it was challenging for her, too, even though she is very skilled at cutting, because she doesn’t know the play as well as she would like. We know that we will make more cuts as we work through it together.

Several ensemble members were excited to tell us that they’ve discovered “The Hollow Crown” on PBS, which is a series about the Wars of the Roses. I am definitely going to check it out!

The PCAP performance was a great experience. Women from both the creative writing and theatre workshops performed, showing great skill and ingenuity. When some of the women were clearly nervous, the audience cheered them on – it was one of the most encouraging, positive audiences of which I’ve ever been a part.

After the performance, an ensemble member who wrote and produced an original play at the prison called me over to a friend who’d been in the performance. This friend then sang a couple of songs that our ensemble member wrote, and another woman performed short snippets from the play. This ensemble member has really come into her own as an artist – it seems like there’s nothing she can’t do!

Friday

Tonight we had a small group due to some miscommunications – a number of people were under the impression that our meeting had been canceled. Even so, we had a positive evening.

We took our time with our check in. A couple of women shared that they’d had some wonderful and rare visits with family members – very welcome during the holidays, which can be very dark for incarcerated people. We also reflected on the PCAP performance, with all of us saying how much we’d enjoyed it.

At one point during our check in, an ensemble member in her early twenties referred to people in their sixties as being “old.” A woman in our group who IS in her sixties jokingly corrected her, saying, “oldER.” Later, during a theatre game, the latter woman got the first woman out and teased her, saying, “That’s what happens when you’re older!” We all had a good laugh at that.

The game that we played involves sitting in a circle, asking a question to the person next to you, who does not answer but turns to the person next to her and asks another question, and so on. It’s a challenging game, great for teaching us to think quickly and trust our instincts. I won the first round, and a very competitive ensemble member won the second round. The group then decided that the two of us should face off. I jokingly start dancing and snapping my fingers, ala “West Side Story,” and we circled each other for several minutes, peppering each other with questions, until I finally folded. It was hilarious.

As we sat together, the conversation shifted to some personal issues some members of our group have been having. One of the women remarked that often all one has to do when faced with a challenge is to ask for help. Several others pointed out that there are many women in prison who have no one to whom they can go. The first woman insisted that there is always someone who will be willing to help. Others said that first one needs the self-worth and courage to do it, with one woman admitting that she simply has too much pride to ask for help in most situations.

Although we didn’t work on any Shakespeare tonight, it was a good meeting. We need all the positive energy we can muster this time of year. We’ll get rolling on our play again soon

Session Six: Week 16

Tuesday

Tonight I distributed our cast list as people came into the room. Fortunately, everyone was cast in a role that was on her list, so we did not have any drama or tension.

One woman who auditioned for Richard and Buckingham breathed a sigh of relief as she saw that she had been cast as the latter. She sat next to me and said how glad she was not to have been cast as Richard. I asked her why she had volunteered for the role if she didn’t really want it. She said that she had raised her hand because there was only one other person who was interested in the role, and she felt it would mean more to her if she earned the role than if it was handed to her. But then she thought, “I have a 50% chance that I could get this. Oh, crap! I had ten lines last year. But I guess [the woman who played Othello] didn’t think she could do it last year, and she did. So I guess I could, too. But I really just wanted [the woman cast as Richard] to feel like it was something she’d worked for.” What an extraordinary gesture!

Another woman who had been quite vocal about wanting to play Margaret wound up cast as Elizabeth, her second choice. I was a bit concerned that this would be upsetting to her, but she told me that, after the audition, she realized that she actually preferred Elizabeth, and it would be a better role for her.

We gathered for check-in, and afterward we discussed our game plan for the next phase of the program. The first order of business is to do a first round of cuts to the play – we need to perform in 90 minutes or less, so we always end up cutting quite a bit. The woman playing Richard, who played Othello last year, said, “This year I’m gonna work super duper hard to be pro-cuts. ‘Cause I have way too many lines.” Last year she was very resistant to cuts because she loved the language so much, and it’s good to know that she’s gained perspective and will be more flexible this time around. Another woman, who is our resident cutting queen, offered some advice to the group: “Remember that you’re cutting for your audience. If we have trouble understanding it, they probably will, too.” We decided that everyone who is comfortable making cuts will bring them on Friday so that I can gather them and have a bound rehearsal script for us very soon.

We also discussed how we want to explain the history of the play to our audience – it’s very hard to understand the relationships and much of the plot without prior knowledge. Some of us favor a spoken prologue, while others think a visual guide would be better. We’ll keep discussing it – we always figure out how to overcome these challenges, and I know the ensemble will come up with a great solution.

The next topic of conversation was costumes. The group is mulling over how close to period we should go. Usually we do a hybrid modern/period mix of costumes, but there is potential this year to stick more to period pieces, with the prison’s approval. This is something we’ll continue to talk about over the next month or so until we need to make our decision.

One of the woman gave a little pep talk to the group, reminding everyone that, now that we’re in rehearsal, it’s important for everyone to behave well in order to remain in the group and have consistent attendance.  We wrapped up playing a few games and left feeling good about where we are in our process.

Session Six: Week 15

Tuesday

Tonight we continued working on our audition sides.

The first woman to rehearse chose King Edward’s monologue, in which he expresses anger and regret at the execution of his brother. She was mesmerizing, performing with the absolute appropriate emotions, lots of vocal variety, and the “chewing on the words” that we strive for. We were all completely wowed by her work – she is often quiet and has trouble reading aloud, stumbling over words, so it was clear that she’d worked really hard on this piece.

The next woman to perform read Richmond’s monologue rallying the troops. Her first read felt natural to her, and we asked her to add more painting of pictures and really striving to get us on her side. “It’s like Sun Tzu’s ‘moral law’ in The Art of War,” she mused. Before she read again, I encouraged the ensemble to participate – to resist joining her until she had us convinced. This worked very well, with all of us eventually jumping to our feet, cheering, and even pounding on the tables with enthusiasm. The woman performing reflected that it felt very good to connect with her audience in that way – that the noise got her blood pumping and even made her feel primal.

Another woman who knows she will be absent for our audition day decided to do hers this evening. She read first for the Second Murderer. She is a natural with the language, and the scene worked very well. She then read the Richmond monologue, and we all agreed to participate the same way we had with the first woman who read it. She performed with great gusto, and we all ended up on our feet, shouting and pounding the tables again. We all applauded at the conclusion of the piece. “Thanks,” she joked, “I’ll be here for a couple more years.”

Three others then volunteered to read a side featuring Queen Margaret, Queen Elizabeth, and the Duchess. The first read clearly demonstrated that they understood what they were reading, but it lacked emotional commitment. One of the women admitted to the group that she had been scared – that it had been her first time doing anything like this. The whole group erupted in applause and praise for her. We then worked a bit on finding that emotional connection – whether through Stanislavksy’s “magic as if” or through a bit of Chekhov technique through which I guided the group. They read again and were more emotionally grounded. The woman reading Elizabeth asked if it was okay that she drew on her own experience to get at the character’s grief, to which I responded that this is an okay crutch to use in rehearsal, but that, for one thing, she needs to keep herself safe and withdraw from scene work if it ever starts feeling dangerous, and for another, that she will need to let go of that in performance so she is telling her character’s story and not her own.

It was a very productive, warm meeting. Everyone is clearly preparing for auditions and casting, and, while there is competition for some of the roles, I haven’t gotten a sense of the kind of drama that has colored the past few casting processes. We’ll see if we can sustain our current positive feeling.

Friday

Tonight during check-in, several people shared that they were nervous about auditions – a couple of people even said they might forego their auditions out of anxiety. While I made sure everyone knew that auditions were not required, an ensemble member who was in the group last year encouraged everyone to push through that fear. “We’re all in it together,” she reminded us.

Everyone present ended up participating, either by auditioning, reading with another ensemble member, or both. Everyone had clearly worked on their sides – readings were intelligent and thoughtful. After one woman read for Margaret, the woman who volunteered to be her “other” remarked, “I think she did good because I feel like I hate her now!”

Another woman was clearly very nervous to read Richard’s opening soliloquy. She wants the part very badly. As she entered the playing area, another woman said, “Find your center… do your Frannie!” The whole group, including the woman, laughed, and she did her Frannie impression, which is hilarious. This seemed to calm her a bit, and she had a great reading.

Then the woman who read King Edward so beautifully on Tuesday read the piece again. “You’re awesome!” said another ensemble member. “How come you don’t read more often in class?” The woman shrugged, saying, “I don’t know.” The first woman said, “Well, I’m gonna start bugging you!”

A woman who had expressed extreme anxiety about auditioning then volunteered to read. Everyone cheered as she stood and walked into the playing area. After she read, a longtime ensemble member said, “You don’t even seem like you have anxiety!” And then she read again!

We wrapped up as people cast their votes via anonymous ballots and decided to end early since a number of people had to leave early anyway. I will be tallying up the votes this weekend and distributing a cast list on Tuesday.

Session Six: Week 14

Tuesday

Tonight we conducted an oral interview with the group for our case study. I can’t publish the interviews here, but they were extremely insightful.

We also briefly discussed auditions and casting again. The group is in agreement on our method, sides have been distributed, and we will begin working with them on Friday.

Friday

Tonight one of the women pulled me aside to talk about concerns she is having about her daughter. She has a life sentence and is trying to cope with feelings of helplessness where her child is concerned. It hit home for me, as a mother, very hard. She apologized for “burdening” me, and I reassured her that it is no burden – that I’m there to listen to and support everyone in the group.

We spent our evening rehearsing the sides we’ll use for our auditions. We focused on the basics – identifying what the character wants (the objective) and how to go after it (the tactics). We also tried to find appropriate movement and delved slightly into vocal techniques.

Two different women read the scene in which Clarence meets Richard on his way to the Tower. Their interpretations were vastly different. The first played him as trusting in his brothers to do the right thing, while the second interpreted him as being feisty and angry. Both of these takes worked on their feet. It will be very interesting to see where we end up once the role is cast.

One of the women showcased an impression she does of me when I’m about to do a monologue. That got a lot of laughs. I do some kind of weird acting prep, and I don’t hold back in order to give others “permission” to do whatever they need to do. It is funny, though, and she does the impression very well. At first, this ensemble member, working on Richard’s opening soliloquy, was very focused on objects in the room that she was miming. We encouraged her to let go of that. Another longtime ensemble member reminded her not to judge her character, and I asked her to work with the objective of getting us (the audience) on her side. Her subsequent reading was electrifying. Whether she is cast in the role remains to be seen, but it was a very strong performance.

The woman who read Richard had envisioned the scene taking place in a bedchamber, but, because Clarence enters with an armed guard, en route to imprisonment, it would be tough to justify the scene happening in a setting like that. One of the women said she envisioned the curtain opening at the top of the show to reveal Richard sitting in a chair. Some in the group feel that that would work and could still be set outside.

This led to a brief conversation about the locations in the play. Strangely, there are no locations noted in the “No Fear” copy of the play that the women are working with, although there are in the Arden version that I always have with me. We talked about changing locations, and even time period, and what the perks and the pitfalls of that can be.

We ended by deciding to continue rehearsing sides on Tuesday, with auditions and casting next Friday.