"If You Do A Normal Character You Are Totally Wrong."

Showing day today. We've all been working in pairs on the opening scene of The Seagull between Masha and Medvedenko.

Medvedenko: Why do you always wear black?

Masha: I'm in mourning for my life. I'm unhappy.

~

I worked with Claudia - a new girl in our class from Switzerland. We rehearsed away, trying to bring life to the scene but not really having any idea about what to aim for for Philippe. It's frustrating because this week Philippe hasn't clearly told us how to perform for Chekhov, he's just told us how not to, and he's waiting for us to discover for ourselves. I like that approach - but it's hard! 

Anyway, we did a pretty straight performance of the scene (no ideas or interesting interpretations) in which I tried to play boring and jealous (as Philippe had suggested) and Claudia tried to play repulsed-by-Astrov. 

But we bombed.

It felt awful. As soon as we walked out on stage I felt that we'd got it wrong. That the audience were cold towards us. I kind of froze up - stressed a bit - and from that point it got worse and worse. Philippe stopped us before we could finish:

"We don't feel pity for him...He doesn't look poor." This is important. Although Astrov is a loser, we have feel sorry for him, or else we're going to want to kill him for the whole duration of the play!

"We don't like them." They can be ridiculous idiots, but we must love them.

It felt really awful to be bad today. I felt really embarrassed. I think because we were the first group to be bad today (the two before us were good), but also because I expect more of myself for this workshop because I feel like I know the context a bit - I've done Chekhov and Shakespeare before. But I really need to be easier on myself and start at square one here.

I think the fact that I think I know a bit about Chekhov and Shakespeare is one reason why I flunked today. A cockiness, or relaxedness might come through. I've been a bit more chilled-out / less-caring over the last week, which might not be helping. I don't know. I think it's pretty good for me to chill out and not care so much actually!

~

"If you have a distance [physically, from the audience] it's easier to play. Too close and we don't see the conflict."

In Chekhov "So many beautiful things come quick, light..."

"If you do a normal character you are totally wrong."

"You have to put all your fun in the text...and Chekhov is good for that." 

- I lacked this today - was just technical and thus boring and unlikable. 

- The ones that worked did this. Good pleasure, complicité and fun.

"He's [Medvedenko's] boring and a miser...and a miser doesn't move much because shoes are expensive!"

"The text is for something fantastic. They say they are sad but they laugh. If they say they are sad and they are sad, it is boring. But if they say they are sad and they laugh it's something artistic."