"We Have To Have See How You Show Your Embarassment."

Ben and I got up and presented our Chandebise and Finache scene again today. This time with me working on being the still fixed-point with ‘les batons merde’ and Ben running around madly.


But after our first run Philippe directed us differently, this time with Ben sitting down at his desk and leaving big gaps for his text. Putting me in the shit as I try to explain the sensitive subject of my erection problem.


CHANDEBISE: It was more like...more like...I felt like a...like a...little tiny boy...A...little...tiny boy. 

BIG GAP
 
FINACHE: Unfortunate.

He led me to be delicate, with a nervous laugh, sometimes loud and crazy, a bit odd. Always to look at the audience. Show them my troubles. Slow. Then fast.

And Ben to sit still, speak in a low “burburbur” kind of voice, and generally not ease the situation for me whatsoever. Make it worse!

“We have to see how you show your embarrassment. How you’re in the shit. See your face...And we have to see how the doctor doesn’t give a shit.”

At the end Philippe said in this way the scene could be good. With Ben as the fixed point and me as the crazy. I asked if I can do more, as I didn’t feel so funny, and he said no “it’s good” but I can have more fun to show me in the shit. Share my awkwardness. I felt fairly conventional with what I did today. Why not be nervous and embarrassed in a new way? I didn’t branch out too much because I felt like I would get in ‘trouble’ for exploring too much. Which is ridiculous, and I need to throw this kind of thinking out the window. If I’m with the audience and I have pleasure, I can take them anywhere.

~

Ben asked if we could show it in the Cabaret coming up next Friday but Philippe said he’d prefer not to show anything from the Vaudeville workshop until the Vaudeville show at the end of term. So I’ll have to find something else for the Cabaret. I don’t have any real ideas - although I tried singing a little Barbershop tag today with Ben, Thomas and Duncan. “Welcome to the Caaab-aaa-reeeeeet!”

So that could be fun. But I’m thinking this time I might not present anything. I’m still pretty hectic with setting up life/apartment/French lessons and haven’t got much time to think of something. Let alone write and rehearse. Which is a problem, considering I’m here for school. But I figure in a few weeks I’ll be fully sorted and can then get right into the rhythm of it. Maybe I’ll offer to host the Cabaret. Then at least I’ll be able to contribute.

~

We worked on the cuckold scene in which Étienne accuses Antoinette of cheating on him at the Hotel Pussy Gallant again too.

“He is coming. Take your time: ‘I install my lying ceremony.’”

To play Étienne you have to be “pissed off, pissed off, pissed off! And ridiculous how you are pissed off. But not nasty.”

For Antoinette “you have to look here” [at the audience].

Mia really got it today. But played it in a much tougher way. “You saw what? Huh?”
And Lee was great at being mad-mad in a ridiculous way. He looked like a kettle about to explode. It showed me just how far you can go with a game (i.e. the game of playing pissed off e.g. how can I be pissed off with my ankles?) and how much fun you can have with it.