"When You Learn The Vaudeville Style As An Actor, It's Fantastic To Play Shakespeare."

Sophia, Mia, Katy and I presented the scene we've been learning throughout the week from Better Late. The one in which the wife and mother-in-law pressures the husband into putting a potty on his head.

The first half - with just me and Sophia setting up the scene - was a bit flat. Philippe said it needs to be more ridiculous. But the second half with the mother-in-law, in which everything gets chaotic and over the top, was good. Philippe said "it will work" but said we need a director so that we can be clear about who's in major and when. Because it was hard for the audience to know where to look in our performance today. Because there was lots going on on stage at the same time.

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Philippe continued working with Lee and Mia from yesterday. He led him to be more of an 'actor'. More controlled. More listening to the audience. More simple. Using how he looks to his advantage. And a louder voice (this seems to always help!). Lee's performance was more decided in a way - not restricted, just more deliberate - and it was better. Less pushed.

Philippe said if he were the director for this production he wouldn't cast Mia alongside Lee because she is too tall (Lee is tall also). "How we dream around two actors in the casting is really important."

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Ben tried doing To Be Or Not To Be as the drunk character he'd done a wee while ago, but it didn't work. Philippe got Thomas to do his If Music Be The Food Of Love monologue whilst drumming and Duncan playing the harmonica, and then had Ben walk on and say his monologue like a real grand Vaudeville actor, whilst directing the music to suit his needs. 

"Something is really light. And you have this beautiful text."

"When you learn the Vaudeville style as an actor, it's fantastic to play Shakespeare."

 This is because Vaudeville must be played with real lightness, and when you combine this lightness with the beautiful dense text of Shakespeare, the text really comes alive. Whereas if you play the text in a deep heavy way it's too much. It's boring. Because the text is already deep.

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There was a moment today when Philippe asked what else do people have to show today, and there was a big silence (nobody had anything), and Philippe said "you don't work enough." He said for a show that we have in a month's time, we don't work enough. I'm glad he said this finally, because now I feel like I don't have to say it. I've presented three scenes now, so I don't feel like I have a big problem, but the way the class has worked for this workshop has bugged me a lot. I'm sure that as time runs out people will work more, but hopefully now it will begin the happen!