Playhouse Creatures 12

Whilst doing my research and exploration of the character of Mrs Farley, I realised that she's just quite a young woman, she's not stupid or bitchy, she's just young. I take a lot from Jenna Malone's portrayal of Lydia Bennett in Pride and Prejudice in terms of her character. She's always bouncing everywhere she goes, with a flirtatious smile on her lips and a song in her voice. I enjoy doing this because I can use a huge contrast in my physicality between the very beginning of the performance and her final moments. She's happy and positive, she just wants a man to protect her and the nice things in life. The thing that gets in her way is her vanity and pride. She adores attention and she hates being bettered, especially by Nell who she knows is far more talented than her, she recognizes her as a threat however she allows herself to become fond of Nell. 

In one of our rehearsal sessions Sophia, Heta and I played an improvisation game to help us discover our characters:

The game is simply us sat in a circle completely in character. One by one we come up with questions like "What's the most trouble you got into as a child" then take it in turns to answer the question, improvising stories for our characters and creating histories for them. I learnt a lot from this game. One of the questions was "How did you lose your virginity?" When I answered this question I discovered that Elizabeth was solicited for sex at the age of 13 and being incredibly poor, to the point that she hadn't eaten for 3 days, she complied.

I just remember the feeling in my stomach, at first I thought it was fear but then I realised it was hunger. I hadn't eaten for 3 days and I imagined going home that night and not eating again. I was so hungry you have no idea. It was either one or the other and I was so desperate. Afterwards I vowed never to be that hungry or poor again, I would never be someone who was so low and desperate for food that she would do that. I'm no whore.

 Reflecting on this story I find it so interesting. It shows that all she has known from men other than her father is sex. She knows she is beautiful and that men will want things from her. She knows how to use her sexuality to get what she wants in life and she enjoys the attention, she enjoys flirting. However it is also interesting on a second level as she has vowed never to become a whore however she has. She is the king's whore. She sleeps with him and gets paid in petticoats and trips to the palace. 

Secondly I learnt something about Liz that came up in the question "What's the most traumatic thing that's every happened to you?" I learnt more about her childhood and her father.

I remember when I was at my poorest. My father was dying and I knew that, so I sent him to the poor house. That's how bad it was, the poor house was better than what I could give him. He used to work there and every day I'd visit him. Well...one day I was walking to the poor house and I could hear this sound. It was like nothing I'd heard before, like a low rumbling that got louder the nearer I got. When I finally got to the poor house, I saw the two foreman outside lying on the ground. I don't know whether or not they were...well, I opened the door and looked inside. I don't know what had happened...the men there must have started rioting. And...well, once they had got the foremen, they must have turned on each other. It was chaos. But I knew my father was in there so I went in. Finally I found him. I don't know whether or not he was dead by the time I got there but...I turned around and I ran out of that poor house. I ran so fast and I didn't stop running until I found myself here.

 I think this tells me so, so much about Liz. Why she's so terrified of being poor and alone. The fact that she's not just a silly, naive girl, she's seen some horrific things and she's realised that the world can be a cruel place and that she has to use whatever skills she can to get by. There's something about knowing this that makes me feel so much more connected to her than I did before, which is the beauty of the game that we played. 

Playhouse Creatures 11

Izzy, Sav, Harry, Liam and Sophie:

Sophie seemed to be rocking from side to side during her monologue, and paddling a little bit, it made her character seem a little less certain and distracted me as part of the audience. If this was a creative choice by her then it was very effective, however I do know how distracting paddling can be, I should always be making sure I don't slip into this habit myself. I noticed that there was a really good relationship between Sav [Nell] and Sophie [Doll]. It made a really good sense of comradeship and I think that that representation of friendship and dynamic is completely essential in our piece. It's something our group has been working on extensively to acquire, and I took notes on what it was that made that relationship on stage. It was things like the way they joined in on jokes, they patted each other on the back and seemed really comfortable in each other's company. One thing that I noticed was that Liam kept on losing character on stage. I'm not sure why it was, but there were several points where it just looked like Liam-drinking-at-a-pub, instead of the-Earl-of-Rochester-drinking-at-a-pub. The only thing you can really do to stop this happening is just keep constant and unwavering focus on stage. This doesn't have to be huge and obvious, you don't have to be tensed or serious, you just have to be completely focus and in the moment. Generally in this group the volume was just a little bit too low, it is very difficult in a piece with little physical action to keep your volume up, since it can often feel lie your shouting and like it doesn't "fit", however you just have to keep your voice clear and loud otherwise the audience simply won't hear you.

Greta, Jenny, Chloe and Izzy:

The only notes I took for this group was that they had an excellent "vibe" of a Tiring Room onstage. This is something I'm noticing in all the groups because it's something that I want to capture most in my own group. I think it's just the relaxed atmosphere, the chatter and business that defines it. It's the sense of home and comfort there that makes it seem so real.

Liam and Bella:

Bella has excellent characterisation in this scene. Her forte is comedy, something she naturally excels at, and she pulled off the funny parts of the scene with great finesse, however she also had wonderful characterisation in the more serious parts of the scene which was good to see. Liam still needs to get posher, he's an Earl which is only one step down from royalty and an Earl would definitely see himself as good as royalty. Liam still seemed a little too 21st century teenage boy. Some of the lines hadn't been properly learnt which just took a little bit of the edge off of the acting, and the scene was just a touch too quiet.

Jazz, Jade and Mitch:

In Jazz's monologue she occasionally ended up paddling around the stage, however this may have just been part of her characterisation. Also, she just didn't seem in character whilst performing. She seemed like Jazz saying Nell's lines, in her own tone, pitch, pace and even using her won mannerisms! Perhaps all that was needed was for her to take a little more time with the monologue. Jade had excellent posture and characterisation, living up to the personality of Mrs Betterton that had already been set by Greta and Sophie respectively in earlier scenes. However, there were a few moments when it was clear that the lines just hadn't been learnt well enough and the group messed up. This isn't a problem in it's self, it just shows that you need to take a bit more time to sit down and go over your lines, the problem was that when someone messed up the entire group lost focus and slipped out of character. Of course, once this had happened they found it very difficult to pick themselves back up again. In our group I think that this can sometimes be a problem. There are a few moments when something funny will happen in the scene and one or two people will find it too funny and drop focus. Fixing this will just take a lot of will power, however I think that the gorup won't have this problem when we're on stage in front of an audience performing it. 

Playhouse Creatures 10

Costume

Sophie and I are kind of heads of costume for this piece, due to the fact that we have a lot of experience and passion in the area. First we focused on character ideas, we want each character to have a set colour that will be recurring and will be matched with their personality, objectives or status. This will also help to link the different actresses playing each character. 

• Mrs Marshall - dark blue, for the pessimism and coolness in her, it's a strong colour. 
• Mrs Farley - Red, passionate and volatile, not entirely trustable?
• Nell - yellow, it's natural and only connected with nature, grounded but sunny and happy
• Doll - Brown, dark colours, she is poor and almost never washes. Her clothes would be dirty. Simple.
• Mrs Betterton - Purple, the colour of royalty and magnificence

We also had additional requirements for some of the characters:

• Mrs Farley has two costumes, both a tatty, drab outfit for before she is an actress, as well as an easily removed petticoat which is a gift from the king. 
• Mrs Barry must also have a tatty dress
• Nell will need a tatty, drab dress to have in early scenes as well as shoes since her feet will be visible in her jig

The boys also need to be thought about, they will both need proper shoes since they don't have long skirts to cover flats.

• Otway - poor, he will be in brown colours however we will have a sense of a bohemian look about him with layers and accessories etc
• Rochester - fine clothing, colours of gold/purple

Boys scene:

• Phillips - Highest ranking, he is a governor, dressed in shooting gear.
• Collins - 2nd highest rank, judge, shooting gear
• Tench - 3rd ranking, he's a captain, he'll be in shooting gear and me and Sophie are playing around with the idea of battle scars
• Harry - military, is a helping hand, he'll be in navy colours

For the movement pieces, which we obviously can't wear our long dresses for, however we're thinking of having black underneath which we can whip our dresses off of and be ready to go. 

Finally, we had to work out how many actresses were playing each character, if there'd be enough time for a costume change and subsequently how many costumes we'd need:

• 1 drab Mrs Barry costume
• 1 fancy Mrs Barry costume/fancy coat to cover up drab costume
• 2 Mrs Betterton costumes
• 3 Doll costumes
• 1 drab Nell costume
• 2 fancy Nell costumes
• 1 drab Mrs Farley costume
• 2 Fancy Mrs Farley costumes
• 2 Mrs Marshal costumes
• 1 Rochester costume
• 1 Otway costume (we need to check Harry and Yunusa's measurements however)
• 1 Harry costume
• 1 Phillips costume
• 1 Tench costume
• 1 Collins costume

Plus various accessories:

• 1 petticoat for Mrs Farley
• 3 angel wings for the muses
• shoes for Nell
• pregnancy bump

Playhouse Creatures 9

Are the characters clear?

In both of my scenes I feel like almost all of the characters are clear. Sophia and I have worked very closely, very hard on Mrs Farley and Mrs Marshall, this means that we both have very strong characterisation and sense of our belief in our characters. This means that the alliance of sorts between the two characters is also strong. Greta and Sophia both have very strong, however very different Mrs Bettertons. However, They have both captured the sense of authority that is required and it is very clear how much they command respect. Both of the Nells have done spectacularly on the job of capturing her free spirit whilst keeping her grounded and sure. I think that the Dolls still need a little work, whilst Jade and Mitch have her personality down I still think they could improve her physicality and create more of a wizened, old woman on stage. Chloe has it almost I think, but we should definitely take some time in rehearsals to help them nail the characterisation of Doll, since she may be the hardest character of all to get the physicality for. 

Are the objectives clear?

For Mrs Farley I think that her objectives change a lot throughout both of the scenes. In the first - from now on I will label my scenes chronologically for simplicity's sake, so my second scene is now my first and visa versa - her objectives are to get security. She doesn't quite understand how men treat women, she hopes she will have the beauty and charm to keep him. Before in her life men have always wanted her more than any other women and she hopes the king will be the same. All she wants is enough clothes and finery to pass for a fine lady, she doesn't need the king for long, just long enough to get another rich man afterwards, she is hoping. Then as she discovers she is pregnant and the king loses interest, she panics. She hopes she will miscarry and will be able to get away with it without the other company members noticing for as long as she can. Finally they confront her about it. She panics, she realises she is finished, however she is grasping at straws. Despite every primal instinct in her body screaming at her to protect her child, she attempts an abortion. In my opinion she could have actually succeeded, but she could not bear to lose the one thing that would never leave her. All she has is this child. This baby is the one thing she has not lost or ruined, she cannot lose it. Perhaps this is the first time since losing her father she has felt truly connected to something, part of something.

Is the story in the scene[s] clear?

I think that the story is incredibly clear throughout my scenes, partially because I've got some of the strongest scenes, with the definite exception of Bella and Max's final scene. Mrs Farley's personal story is so much fun to play, her fall from grace. I'm loving using my physicality to show that, starting off so proud and tall, dancing everywhere. By Mrs Farley's final moments, she is reduced to nothing. Broken and destroyed, I love showing how truly crippling being a poor woman was in that world. Our scene ties in incredibly closely with Jazz and Bella's scenes, since I am the cautionary tale. When they talk of their fear of being discarded, the audience will remember what happened to Mrs Farley and I love having that role in the whole performance. 

Playhouse Creatures 8

We went through our second scene for the first time, I am once again with Sophia making our total time in the performance together about half an hour, all continuous from the beginning of our second scene to the end of the abortion section of our first scene. Sav and Heta play Nell, with a switch over halfway through, same as Mitch and Jade who play Doll. Mrs Betterton is played by Sophie. We went through the scene, reading through it and focusing on the key points of drama. Unlike mine and Sophia's first scene, there is no huge point of drama. Nell is introduced to the company however freezes onstage. She turns it around dances a jig, winning over the audience. we started blocking, focusing on building and enjoying the atmosphere of friends backstage as Sophia and I have been unable to do in our first scene due to focusing more on the drama.

UPDATE:

Notes

Having performed our second scene for the first time in front of Andy, we received these notes on what we have done so far.

• Check your blocking
• whilst we have worked a fair bit on blocking, in that we know where we'll be standing at each point in the scene, it is still a bit awkward. Andy told us to make sure we're not standing in front of anyone or with our back to the audience. Also, we need to use the space more effecting and avoid clumping. This is true. In the Muses bit Jade, Sophie and I all tend to clump in a huddle, stand in front of each other and leave large parts of the stage empty. I think we need to add more structure to it and bear that advice in mind with the rest of the scene.
• Make more of a sense of "backstage"
• be busy, we'd be preparing for our next scene, applying makeup, anything. I think there definitely needs to be a sense of busyness to give life to the scene. This is more of a home to us than our actual home, we spend all of our time there. We would be relaxed and comfortable there, we'd be chattering and getting ready. I think that's something to work on, the atmosphere of the piece.
• More detail in characterisation
• Andy pointed out that the conversation between Mrs. Farley and Mrs Marshall is very significant. Mrs Marshall has been to a salon, Mrs Farley has been in the bed of a king. An actress to a king is entertainment, barely better than the poor woman who was forced to sing in front of him. She thinks herself something because she's been to the palace, however Mrs Marshall knows through experience what rich men are like towards actresses, and how easily the girls are cast aside by them. Marshall, on the other hand, has been to a salon and been asked questions. A salon was seen as being somewhere where the intelligent and forward thinking go to ask questions and find things out. They don't see an actress as a puppet for their entertainment, they see her as something interesting, to be studied. This would cause some friction between the two, with Mrs Marshall considering Mrs Farley silly and naive. 
• Also, the conversation between Nell and Mrs Farley has to be more private. As it is, all the other actresses would be able to hear what they are saying which doesn't make sense. For this reason, getting the busyness and bustle onstage at this point is key.
• Finally, the shit in Mrs Marshall's hair needs more imagination and conviction. As it is the reactions just aren't believable.

Playhouse Creatures 7

Tempo - Rhythm

The tempo-rhythm technique is one of Stanislavski's theories that explains how your character's personality and objectives affect their tempo and rhythm. As humans we all have our own tempo and speed, this affects everything from how we talk to how we walk. It even affects our core tension, our Chi right in the heart of our belly. This is the same with our characters, and it's something we need to take into account.

What is your character's tempo rhythm?

Mrs Farley is a very free spirited woman. She is young and with few cares in the world. I think of her being like a bird, flitting from place to place, with neither her being or her interest staying long. She has a high tempo and an unsteady rhythm. She walks with a skip, she moves her head constantly like a dear trying to sense a predator. I think this comes partly from her youth and childishness, however I don't think this should be mistaken for naivety. Yesterday my group - myself, Heta, Jade and Sophia - played an improvisation game which involved asking questions to one another, such as "What's your most traumatic memory?" and "What was the most trouble you were in as a child?" etc and one by one we answered in character. It helped us get to know our characters and get into them by drawing up a history and Through Line Of Action. My improvisations revealed that Elizabeth in one of the darker, poorer parts of her memory, was solicited into having sex with a man to get enough money to feed her and her father. Later on, her father was killed in a brawl and she found him, although she didn't know if he was dead or alive by that point so she ran until she found the playhouse. Mrs. Farley has not had an entirely happy or easy life, she's got darkness inside of her, however she chooses to mask it. She pretends so hard to be happy that she actually convinces herself that she is. She chooses to find joy and excitement in life because that's what gets her through. However she will never forget what it is like to have nothing and what she has learnt from being hungry and not being able to get food, so this is what fuels her obsession for material good, power and wealth, so that she never has to be hungry again. This is what gives her the high tempo, she is often vulnerable and weak and does not have the intelligence or power to make it in the world, much like a dear or a rabbit, however she has her beauty, youth and charm and she must use this to her advantage, as she does.