We started today with Maria working on a monologue as Juliet from Romeo & Juliet. At first what she was doing was fairly conventional and boring. Philippe quipped about how if you met a girl that was in love with you and she showed it the way Maria was showing it, you'd want to kill her pretty quick!
Then Philippe asked her if she ever played 'The Three Musketeers' at school. "All For One And One For All!" He then got her to pick somebody to come on stage with her to have a sword fight. She picked me!
We had a fantastic pretend sword fight - all mimed - with swords pressed up to our necks, swords being kicked up from our feet, and bodies scrawling on the floor. It was so much fun!
Then Philippe got Maria to say her text having a pretend sword fight by herself, and he accompanied her with epic music. Now it was alive and beautiful, and exciting! I think Philippe led her this way because she always performs in a physical way (she trained in mime) and so giving a her a physical task not only engages her body, it also totally engages her pleasure.
~
Anna and Ed worked on a scene from Cleopatra.
If I ever do a production of Cleopatra I'm totally using this song in it...
Philippe got Anna to sit on a glamorous chair being pushed slowly forwards on a glamorous trolley (which I pushed). He got her to speak slowly - like a computer or an airport announcement - without emotion. To leave silence before speaking, and to always look straight ahead. He also got her to dress up - "She needs to look incredible, like a Queen." And he got Ed to play quite aggressively and powerfully - to get him there he got him to say the text whilst in a rugby scrum - but always keep distance from Anna.
It's interesting because Anna has to do so little and Ed has to do so much, and together, with these two opposing rhythms, the scene works. We see Cleopatra's power by how little she has to do compared to Antony.
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I got up at the end of class and did a monologue as Benedick from Much Ado About Nothing.
I do much wonder that one man, seeing how much
another man is a fool when he dedicates his
behaviors to love, will, after he hath laughed at
such shallow follies in others, become the argument
of his own scorn by failing in love: and such a man
is Claudio.
When I first performed it I made an offer of an unconventional way that I think I might enjoy - as an African American Gospel preacher.
Then Philippe got me to do it as an American Army Military guy - so I did it screaming like they do at boot camps - which was fun but too much.
Then he got me to do it like Capitano - posher - more as an idiot. Then the same, but to Sara sitting on a chair, as if I'm actually in love with her (even though I'm talking about the stupidity of love), but I didn't stay with her enough, staying too much with the text.
Then as a rich person who is complaining about all the people on the dole today. He started a conversation with me, encouraging me to take on this character, and got me going on "No I don't have a spare dollar thank you very much! We are in an economic crisis for God's sake!". Then I said the text in this way.
Then finally as a rich person who goes on holidays to Turangi (the rich person's holiday destination for New Zealanders that I suggested)...
...who is a bit artistic - or always felt like he could have been an artist - slightly effeminate. A snob.
In this way I was happy. A high voice, uptight, picky rhythms, a bit of a bitch.
"Not so bad."
Philippe spoke about how it's good to imitate as an actor. It's better than phoning in a character in a Stanislavski kind of way. He also said it's good in rehearsal to try many different ways - find where the actor is happy, and where the audience is happy. This is better than an actor coming in to the first day of rehearsals with a fully formed character, because then you have to find a way to fit him into the show (and that could be difficult). I'm not sure that in reality every director has the time to help the actor find his best way (although maybe they should, instead of thinking about ideas) but I can see that as an actor I can use the rehearsal time to test out many ways - finding where I'm happy and feeling out where the audience is happy too.
Philippe also compared the laugh I had as the gospel preacher - which was "awful" (a bad, pushed, imitation) - and the laugh I had as the rich artistic snob - which I was freer with. Again because I was happier in this zone.
I felt really good today because I committed completely. I kind of proved to myself that yes I can play a character and not just myself, and yes I can be good. I also felt good for taking a risk and making an offer at the beginning - I'm taking more ownership of how I want to be as performer.
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