Full cast picture taken before our last show of Spring Awakening. 

Performance Evaluations

Opening Night-22nd January 
Today was our first show of the season and already there was a buzzing atmosphere due to the fact that the two other shows in the season, Summerfolk and Six Characters In Search Of An Author had had incredible opening nights, so we new the standard was very high for our performance. There was a great atmosphere back stage and everyone couldn't wait to show our audience what we had been working on over the past few months. 

During the day we did two dress rehearsals to smooth over any rough edges and get a feel for the proper performance which would be taking place tonight. These run throughs were important to get us into the rhythm of the play and prepare us both psychically, mentally and vocally for nights performance. The aim for our first run through was to get through the whole show without any pauses and to feel comfortable in the space and not overcome by nerves or the technical elements. During this run I personally focused on my projection and making sure my movements were bold enough to be seen by each member of the audience. both run throughs went well and it showed me how far we have come from our previous rehearsal and from the tech run. I do think, however, that I could stretch my voice even more and give more in certain scenes. Devan and I need to go over the 'trying on the sackcloth' movement to get it in sync with each other as during both run throughs we were slightly out of time. The main cause of focus for me is making sure the clarity in my voice comes through and controlling my nerves which I know I will have tonight. I think for tonight's performance I need to bring even more energy and make sure I am stable enough for my fellow cast members to play off. During the run I did muffle a few of my lines due to nerves and my natural clumsiness of falling over the tree. I'm glad we did these rehearsals because I felt less nervous for tonight. The speed of our piece is excellent but I think we could be on our cues a lot more. We all need to keep the energy alive and keep the spontaneity of this piece fresh for tonight. 

About an hour before beginners call we did a full cast warm up, going through copious vocal warm ups to prepare our throats and lungs. We did tongue twisters, plosive repetition, breath control, massaging and scaling. Devan and I then got into preset position and I think I can speak for the whole cast when I say we were ready to show everyone what we had worked on.  

Tonight's show was very successful and we were all pleased with it, both cast and crew. I think the main reason for this was that the energy never dropped and the pace wasn't rushed or sloppy. Like every performance, the audience contributed to the piece, us feeding of their responses and being spurred on by their reactions and enjoyment of the play. It's lovely having vocal responses from an audience who haven't seen the play before as it makes you feel like you have succeeded in bringing to life this world and really immersed them into our character's lives. I could feel that everyone felt more comfortable in the space which lifted our performance up. Unfortunately I don't think my vocals were very strong in this performance and again I put this down to my nerves affecting my vocal projection. Next time I will do my own vocal warm up before I got on so as to ensure I don't slip up. I did feel that my reactions were alive and honest and that I was committed in each scene. Both forests scenes went extremely well and the reaction we got from the beating was what we wanted. Afterwards some of our friends said that they couldn't watch it as it was so horrid and uncomfortable. Josh really surprised me in this performance as he heightened and refined everything he was doing in rehearsals and really gave all he had, especially in the end scene. It was a joy to react of and I think we are on track for an excellent couple of shows. 

Second Night-28th January 
We knew as soon as we arrived in the theatre that we had a lot to do for tonight's performance in order to match and expand on the last. People always say that the matinee is never good and we were very conscience of this. We knew we would have to work extra hard to maintain the focus and energy required for this play. We did a fast line run to smooth over any uncertain cues and then went straight into a vocal and physical warm up. Some people said that they didn't like the speed run as it un-nerved them or made them get out of their character, but for me it was beneficial because I could go over the lines which I had struggled with the previous night. Devan and I did a mirroring exercise to connect the two Wendla's and I did my own vocal warm up so I could prevent muffling my lines again. 

Overall I think our second performance was very strong. There were a few prop mistakes, me breaking the switch by accident and the umbrella breaking during the funeral scene, but everyone carried on and it didn't disrupt the flow of the piece at all. Concerning the switch I think I delt with it very well as it didn't affect my performance and Josh and I still managed to do the beating. I noticed during this show that Nairac's reactions as Scoot were fantastic and he fed off the audience so well, not playing it for laughs but playing it for the truth which is where the comedy lay. My vocals this show were so much better than the last and I knew this was because I had done an extra vocal warm up to calm my nerves and relax my throat. For our final performance I will continue to do the same and just make sure I don't hit the switch hard. 

Final Night-4th February 
We did the same warm up as we had done last week, with a quick line run which helped us immerse ourselves in the world of Spring Awakening. We had a slightly longer vocal warm up this time, with some new relaxation exercises added to make us feel more confident in the space and help us connect to the audience. This was definitely helpful as it reconnected me to the play and reminded me of the boldness I need in my vocals and reactions. Again I did my own privet vocal warm  up and listened to Wendla's playlist to get me into my character. Devan and I did the same mirroring exercise and we all got ready for our last performance. 

I know I speak for everyone when I say this was a brilliant closing night. Everyone had the intensity needed and I don't think anyone really outshone anyone else as we all matched each other in vocals and reactions. I felt the scene with Maya where Wendla finds out about reproduction was at it's best in this show because we both just went for it and that translated over into the audience. We were all focused and committed in each scene . My vocals were at their strongest in this performance too and I really felt the emotion and desperation of Wendla throughout the entire piece. As the performance cam to an end and we went on for curtain call, I could see the audiences faces and I knew we had done this play justice, ending the season on a very high standard and happy performance. 

Tech Rehearsal

This week we had our technical rehearsal for Spring Awakening. We had been in the theatre a couple of times before but only to block the play and get used to the space, so it was really nice to spend more time in the theatre with the props, costume, sound and lighting. One of the main points which was highlighted during this tech was the usage of the space, both vocally and physically. 

This part of the process is always exciting because it's when everything comes together. The use of props, set, lighting, sound and costume all make the world of the play seem real and our performance seems to breathe new life. We started to do a run through of our play, stopping when the technical team needed to go over a que or something or when a tricky moment came up, for example to rape scene in the hayloft platform. It was extremely useful to have a real tree in our set because it will make our piece look naturalistic and effective but also enchanting. I loved having the tree there because I could now actually climb up it during the woodland scenes and play off it. Lizzie, Humera and I used it to our full advantage during our scene and even though I struggled slightly with working out how to climb up and down it, after a few practices it because effortless and the scene flowed at it's new found pace. Having the mirror there was brilliant for Devan and I, as we could start practicing working behind it and using it in each scene. We had to play around with the lighting slightly so as to ensure that either Devan or I could be seen the whole time. From early on Tim had included chalk in our set design, and it was great seeing the chalk marking on the floor guiding us as to which section of the stage was each room. Tim added in another set up which was to write in chalk which room we were in ,So for example while I was in preset (Wendla reading in her room) I would then write on the floor WENDLA'S BEDROOM, and then again write WENDLA'S SITTING ROOM before the reproduction scene with Maya. I think this goes incredibly well with our set, which looks amazing. The TTA have created a beautiful set which fits in with our play's atmosphere perfectly. 

My character isn't too prop heavy, besides the headphones and backpack, but it was incredibly useful and exciting to work with these as it brought a level of realism to my character. I added in a book for Wendla to read during preset which I think lifted up my performance. Devan, Josh and I rehearsed the beating and the rape scene a few times which made me feel more comfortable and gave the scene some freedom. Another factor which we had to bear in mind was the thrush stage setting and the large stage. We had to be conscience of this and adjust our physicality and vocals to this. The dimensions of the set were different to what we had been rehearsing, for example to size of the mirror and doorways and of having a raised platform. I was slightly conscience of not always being heard or seen, so I experimented during a few scenes, for example giving some space between Maya and I so I wasn't stuck behind the chair and so the audience could see Maya. As I said before the set looks incredible but we still need some practice with how to use it. Tim reminded us all not to be afraid of it and to use the whole space during the forest scenes, as it's like the rooms have merged into the woodland. 

As well as using the set we all wore our costumes for the first time during this rehearsal. This was very beneficial to the run through, especially for those who had quick changes or for Devan and I as we had to change on stage. By wearing our costumes it helped me especially to get into my character and feel her characteristics come through. We could all move more freely in them and understand the restrictive quality our characters live under. I noticed that costumes seem to give the play a fresh breathe and it seems to lift up all our performances. The costume and set seem to blend in together which made the piece look inclusive and seamless. 

During the technical run through there were many positives which came out of it. For example the technical elements which had been introduced were a great new level to our play. Having said this, I did think that it affected our performances slightly, I especially was losing a few lines and I know my projection was weak due to moving around the stage a lot more. This is something I need to work on in the next week before opening night. I think quite a lot of people struggled slightly with their projection as the New Theatre is such a vast space it is easy to loose your voice. However, I still think this was a very successful technical run and I now feel ready for our first performance next week. 

Rehearsal Notes

We have had many rehearsals for our production of Spring Awakening and every week I have seen the progression of the play and how it all links together. Over the rehearsal process there have been certain scenes which we have focused on more, due to their difficulty or delicate subject matters. These two scenes are the woodland scene with Lizzie, Humera and I and the beating scene with Josh and Devan. To start of with both these scenes were rather stiff and unnatural and I put this done to nerves or fear of letting go and allowing our characters to shine through. 

Tim did many exercises to help Lizzie, Humera and I in the woodland scene, but the most effective was when he got us to close our eyes and lie on the floor. He then played some music and we had to 'wake up', seeing the room as a sunny day in the forest. While exploring the woodland lying down and moving slowly we said our lines with no characterisation, just feeling the warmth from the sun and feeding off each other. The aim of this was to get us all out of our heads and feel the forest. The woodland is where the children go to escape the claustrophobic atmosphere of school and home so we had to bring this across. Melchior also refers to Wendla as being a 'wood nymph' and I wanted to get this natural quality across in this scene too. After we had completed our lines we carried on feeling the forest until Tim said to stop. After the exercise we all felt refreshed and I suddenly understood the scene. We needed to free it up and explore the space, keeping the pace going, both in our actions and our lines. We then did the scene again and I could feel the improvement already. All of us were just playing in the space and living as three friends in the forest catching up. It was a great exercise to do and one in which we could translate over into the New Theatre. Over the course of the rehearsal period, both Lizzie, Humera and I have worked on this scene outside of class in order to get that deep connection the three girls have. I think this scene has developed nicely over time and I know that when we get into the New Theatre with the set it will truly come to life. 

The other woodland scene where Melchior beats Wendla, and due to it's complicated events, Tim really focused on the importance of this scene. To start off with the scene was far to preempting, with Josh and I pausing too much as we were so focused on the beating right at the end. Once Tim told us that we should relax and exist as two characters who find each other attractive and want to be around each other, the lines eased up and the scene because more lucid and endearing. Josh and I worked with Devan concerning the passing of the switch and the fall near the end. we tried many different methods of the attack by Melchior at the end. The first being a slow motion hit, with Josh over me and I reacting. Devan and I would scream over the top of the hits as Josh then backed off. We tried working with this a few times but it always made the scene too stilted and uneasy. The hitting looked fake and over melodramatic. Even though I felt safe and comfortable, I could tell it wasn't working and if something were to go wrong in the performance both Josh and I could get seriously hurt. Tim then tried something new. During the hayloft scene where Melchior rapes Wendla, Josh stands a few center meters away from Devan and Devan feels the impact of Josh being there. Tim then transferred this style into the beating scene, so now after Josh had pushed me (and Devan safely landing me on the floor) he would step back a bit and then hit the air as I then felt the impact on the floor. This was extremely effective and felt more natural somehow. Having said this the hits were messy and the scream didn't quite fit. Jody who is the head of dance strand then came in to help Josh and I. She advised Devan on a cleaner way of laying me down, placing her hand on my shoulders and not under my arms and she choreographed the hits and reactions, having two in the stomach, two to the face and four near my chest, stomach and then gut.  She also said that the reason the scream wasn't working is because when you get punched in the stomach it knocks the air out of you so you literary can't breathe. She said it was more of a breathless grunt for the first few hits, then an agonizing scream for the rest. We tried this and I could feel the scene working so much better. As the end sequence had been sorted it eased my mind up and I could really get lost in the scene and be free. For me, the main reason why this scene was quite tricky to rehearse was because I didn't want the emotion of get too stale or comfortable, I wanted there to still be an element of surprise and horror when I performed it. I have learnt now though that rehearsals are used for this reason, they are there to experiment with different moods and choices. This scene has been a massive learning curve for me, as I have learned how to stage a fight and how to let go and just allow the scene to happen as if it is happening for the first time. 

As Devan and I share the role of Wendla, we have spent a lot of time together over the rehearsal process getting and comparing notes on the two different Wendla's. Whenever we did a character exercise we would always either be together or compare discoveries afterwards, and if our choices were different we would talk through them together. We decided that our character would be the colour yellow if she were to be a colour, the number seven if she were to be a number, the season of spring if she were to be a season and the a grape if she were to be a grape (Devan was a frozen grape though, representing the older and more experienced Wendla). It has been really liberating working on a character with another actor and I have really enjoyed finding Wendla with Devan. 

Overall I have really enjoyed these rehearsals because I have had another glimpse into what a professional one looks like, with the production team sitting in and having a read through and props checks and costume fittings. I have learned and gained so much from these rehearsals that will help me in the future as a hopeful professional actor. I noticed that some people were excellent at rehearsing, meaning they were always on their ques, always listening and awake in the space, on top of their lines and bringing their character choices into the space with them. Jackie is a good example of this. I have observed that she was always there and brought such strong and bold choices to the table that her character was set from the first day. Tim's direction has really helped me feel comfortable in choosing strong character impulses and safe throughout all the rehearsals. I've learned that you always have to bring a constant amount of energy to each rehearsal as then you will produce a very useful and effective scene. Getting on top of your lines quickly is also something I've noticed throughout my time at BRIT, but even more so now. Once you are off book it frees up your physicality and enables the director and your fellow actors something to play with. 

Personally, I think I have been very focused and awake during our rehearsals, being on top of ques and lines. Even though I wasn't always vocally strong and sometimes held back at the beginning, I quickly changed that and I hope I was good to direct and made my fellow cast members feel safe and comfortable on stage. As I said before, I have really enjoyed these rehearsals for common ground and found the independence of going off with Lizzie, Humera, Devan and Josh to rehearse very liberating which helped me develop my character with purpose. 

Below are some pictures taken during the Spring Awakening process:

Costume

As I mentioned before, Tim has drawn inspiration from the films '1984' by George Orwell and 'The Double' by Richard Ayoade as ideas for our set and costume. This is reflected in the costume and set style which echo's the 1890's period dress sense, being dark, plain, formal and lacking in sexuality. The costumes are mainly based on the ones seen in 'The Double' (see below) and I think these are very effective as they fit in with the atmosphere of the film and fit the characters. The suit worn by the lead is a little too big, as if he is wearing his father coat. This to me symbolizes an innocence within the character but also the time period. To me, costumes are vital to making a piece look together and atmospheric, but also projecting the character to the audience. I always feel more like my character whenever I'm in costume because I feel as if I actually am them. My costume for Wendla is more flamboyant than the rest, having a white lace collar and sleeves, the skirt being pleated and being rather short. This is because Wendla has refused to wear the plain sackcloth her mother and society begs her to wear. For me this shows Wendla's stubbornness but also free spirit and makes her stand out. 

Images from 'The Double' by Richard Ayoade.

Images from 'The Double' by Richard Ayoade.

Devan and I's costume for Spring Awakening.

Improvisation with Maya

Today we did duet improvisations with characters in the play who are influential to our own. I was paired with Maya who plays Mrs Bergmann, Wendla's mother. We decided to focus our scene around the breakfast table just before Wendla goes off to school. The improvisation lasted for about ten minuets and within that time we uncovered some really useful background knowledge about these two characters. 

The scene started with Wendla and her mother discussing a book Wendla was reading. This then changed into Wendla asking her mother about romance and babies. This was a really interesting topic because in the play Wendla doesn't stop until she finds out everything about reproduction. It developed into a convocation about what happens why the stalk comes. In the play I have a line 'A boy! That's why she had the flu for so long!' Maya and I discovered from this improvisation that Wendla's mother told her that when someone is expecting a baby boy from the stalk, they get a terrible flu for nine months, with regular vomiting and a bloated stomach and when someone is expecting a baby girl they get a really bad stomach bug, hence the vomiting, bloated stomach and slight weight gain. This was really interesting to experience as it gave purpose to that line which I have been struggling with slightly. We then moved onto Wendla's dad. Her mother doesn't like talking about it but Wendla becomes more curious and as the improvisation went on. We developed what we discovered in the hot seating. Although Mrs Bergmann never caved in, it was still very useful for character development to see each of the characters different reactions.

The improvisation helped develop our characters connection and relationship, but also helped Maya and I set up that Mother and Daughter dynamic. I found the tales which Wendla's mother told her about reproduction very interesting and it explained one of my lines in the play. Discussing the dad was also very informative because both of us saw each others reactions concerning the situation. The fact that Maya is a young mum came up, making us think that possibly she was in a similar situation as Wendla was. All of this is helping me to become this character and plan out her life. I feel as if I now have a comfortable bubble of Wendla's life around me and I can access that whenever I need it. I always find improvisations handy as they allow the actor freedom to make decisions about their character. The past few improvisations have been extremely helpful for me and I now feel completely immersed in Wendla's world and connected with Devan.

Improvisation with Animals

As part of today's aim was developing our character, we spent time focusing on our physicality, vocals and our characters existence outside of the play. Before we did the classroom improvisation, we explored our physicality using animals and breath. We laid down on the floor in semi-supine and steadied our breathing, going through several breathing exercises to control our breathe and work on our breath quality at the same time.These helped us become relaxed and ready to embody our character on a more physical scale. This is always useful to me as it grounds me in the room and opens my mind up to receiving new experiences and choices. 

Once we were relaxed and prepared, we were told to think of an animal that has similar characteristics and physical traits as our character in Spring Awakening, like a spirit animal. I knew the animal had to be inquisitive and bold but shy and sweet looking, At first I chose a Meerkat, thinking it would suit Wendla, but I changed it to a Kitten fairly quickly as I felt they are sweet and innocent looking but can be vicious and are very curious with wanting to try new things. (After the exercise Devan and I spoke, discovering she had chosen a cat. This worked brilliantly at showing Wendla at different stages within her life that Devan and I represent, I the more playful and niaeve and Deven being the more experienced but quieter). Kittens have a lot of energy and have a confidence for trying anything, even if it'd hurt them. 

Next we had to slowly embody our animal and start bringing them to life in the room. I started exploring and sniffing the chairs and walls, trying to climb onto things and looking into empty boxes and bags. I moved with haste and purpose around the room, immediately copying someone else if what they were doing looked interesting or exciting. After a few minuets of exploring the room to some music, we were then told to start interacting with the other animals in the room and respond to what was given to us. We also had to recgonise the human director in the room and react to him being there. I found the room very exciting and thrilling, being a small but excitable kitten. I would go up to the other animals, exploring them and then backing down if they frightened me or were too intense. After a while a rested for a bit, attempting to intimidate certain animals but backing off at the last minuet. 

The next part of the exercise involved a scale from 1 to 10, 10 being 100% animal and 1 being 100% human. As we went through the scale, some animal traits were clearly left behind, for example walking on all fours or the animal noise we were making, although some stayed. For example I noticed Saskia's character's animal was a fly and she kept the buzziness nature and skittishness of a fly alive, but more internal. I noticed I clung onto the curious nature of a kitten and continued to lead with my head slightly. My pace became slower but I still observed the teachers and other students until they either ran off or disciplined me. We kept going down the scale until we reached 2 where were we stopped changing and stayed there for the rest of the rehearsal. This is because it is helpful to still have a bit of the animal quality within us, still have that playfulness and jitterness associated with our specific animal. 

We continued moving around the room in out character. Different music was introduced with a more human quality than the track before. We responded according to the track, so altering our pace, mood etc. Now our characters were as they would be in the play, we started exploring the space. I noticed Jackie have very bold character choices which made her stand out from the rest. She had managed to incorporate her animal within her, creating an unique Headmistress. We were then allowed to interact with the other characters and I found myself instantly drawn to my friends, but my attention seemed to be pulling towards Melchior and seeing what he was doing. I started to copy him, only slightly and stand near him until he moved closer. Props were then added in, backpacks for the girls, over the shoulder bags for the boys (both genders having headphones too) and the teachers a notepad and pen. While most carried their backpacks on their backs, I swung mine around and played with it a lot more, not caring too much about it. This exercise helped me phsycialise Wendla, as that was one of my blocks. That kitten like nature which Wendla has will help with certain scene in the woodland.

Improvisation

Today we spent the whole lesson on character development. We did many improvisations, solo and collectively to help us explore our character's lives outside of the play.The settings and situations were form the world of Spring Awakening but not in the play itself. The first was a classroom setting. We placed the chairs in a lecture/classroom layout and all the students entered the class in character. Instantly the scene came to life, the teachers watching over us and correcting the students on sloppy appearances or bad behavior or for just the smallest offence. I went straight to the front, sitting almost immediately in front of the classics teacher Logospasm. As soon as she tried to teach, the rowdy school atmosphere instantly came to life and felt extremely real. The back row were messing around with Hans getting a few detention slips and Melchior being asked to leave at one point for talking back. The teachers all stood behind us and would call out discipline whenever someone disobyed the rules of the classroom. I found myself answering all of the Latin questions and ending up with a detention slip because I correct the teacher at one point (Latin is Wendla's favouirte and best lesson) The improvisation then moved onto lunch time, with the boys and girls on separate tables. I was really interested in seeing how the other girls would treat each other and how they would respond to the boys table being just opposite them. It became apparent that Wendla was the natural leader of the girls group as she spoke the most. Thea and I found ourselves giving some of our food to Martha for later as we knew she wouldn't get fed properly at home. Lizzie, Humera and I thought we might explore this later on in our woodland scene, playing with the dynamic of Martha's cruel home life and how we look after her in that sense. 

Once school had finished, the girls all clustered together in the court yard and watch the boys who were grouped together on the other side. The teachers again were watching us all making sure that once we have left we got blessed by the Priest and hadn't taken anything suspicious home with us. Music was introduced which seemed to amp up the after school vibe of feeling free. It gave the boys some confidence and Hans, Melchior and Morietz trailing behind all came over to the girls. I noticed Wendla was the first to speak to them and instantly found Melchior, Thea quickly followed and then the rest. The teachers then hurried us away and we all left school. 

The whole improv was extremely fun and freeing, for myself and the rest of the cast. It gave us an opportunity to all exist at once in three different settings which never happens in the play. It was great to see how the girls all reacted around each other and how being taught in such a suppressed school affected my character. It was interesting to see the different genders all looking at each other across the courtyard and seeing who would make the first move. As Latin is Wendla's favourite class I found it really useful to see how she would exist in that. Again this has been useful to get a rounded look at Wendla within the world of Spring Awakening and see what life would be like if I were really her.

Hot Seating

Today in rehearsal we looked at the acting game Hot Seating. This is a very good exercise for learning new things about your character, such as their life, history, personal interests and thoughts towards other characters. The contextual setting for the hot seating was that our character, so Wendla, had been invited to The BRIT School to be interviewed by the fellow students. All information would be classified. This would happen around the start of the play, therefore affecting out answers, responses and questions, so they wouldn't be affected by the action of the play. I was also very keen in discovering more about Wendla's past, as well as the other characters. 

Our group decided to set  a few questions that we would ask each character and then ask a few free questions leading on from their response. I decided to go first. Seth filmed my answers and I typed them up below:

• What's your favourite colour and why?Blue. Like the sky, because I always feel like the sky is really open and free and I like the feeling of being free. Oh and Blue really suits my eyes as they are blue too.
• What's your first memory? Going up to the apple orchid with my sister Ina and us picking apples and then making fresh apple juice in the afternoon. I don't know why I remember it. I think it was the first time I've ever been outside properly because we have a garden, a small garden, but we have a small forest by us but because I was only like five at the time I wasn't allowed to go in it by myself, and it was the first time I'd ever been in there. 
• What's your relationship like with your family?Um, I've got a very close relationship with my mother and my sister, um, not so much with my father because he left when I was just seven and then he died a year later. I don't know what he died of and I don't want to, don't feel the need to know, I'm fine not knowing really. 
• What's are your hobbies?I like reading, and um walking. I visit the poor which I really enjoy, that's a really fun hobby. I read historical things often there's a male in it and a female and they often fall in love and I like stories like that. Like romance although mother says I'm too young and aren't aware of it.
• What's your favourite item of clothing?Probably my ...see I would say my fairy dress, but it's not really my favourite. I think my favourite is this coat my mum got for me when I was about six. It's quite short and it's got lots of buttons and flowers over it and it just reminds me of being outside. It's blue and it's wool, so it's like a winter coat. That's why I liked it, it was like Spring in Winter
• What's your guilty pleasure?Chocolate. Mother only allows it on my birthday and Christmas.
• What's your favourite way to wear your hair?Loose and flowing down my back. Sometimes I like it when mother plates the front of my hair back and ties it with ribbon. 
• What causes you the most stress?Probably seeing mother upset because I know it's probably something that I've done and that doesn't make me feel comfortable. 
• Who was your first love?My Mother.
• What's your favourite song?It's, it's like this jazzy number by James Sherman and his Orchestra. It's really sort of...I don't know, it's not really suitable for my age I don't think but I always remember my parents putting it on and dancing around the sitting room to it. It always makes me feel something, even though I don't like dancing because I feel really exposed which I don;t mind but I'm not very good at it and I don't like doing things that I'm not good at and I don't like not understanding why I'm not good at things.
• What's your favourite subject at school? Probably Latin. Because it's so old and I love how its survived you know since like the Romans and it seems so romantic and it's like a lost language but we're still speaking it and I just think there's something really enchanting and magistic about that and I really like it. And I'm good at it as well.

Through hot seating I also discovered a fair amount about Wendla's past. For example her father isn't mentioned in the text, and Devan, Maya and I had discussed before that he had died, but it wasn't until hot seating that the story of him leaving mysteriously one day and then dying a year later only came up through hot seating. Afterwards I spoke to Devan and Maya about it and they said it sounded realistic. I found it interesting that her favourite lesson was Latin because she found it romantic and mysterious. Later on we did a whole cast improvisation where all the kids were in a Latin class, so that was extremely handy to see how Wendla would be in that circumstance. I found this process extremely useful and a great imagination exercise. I have always loved hot seating because I enjoy putting my own ''spin'' on a character and finding their past by myself. It is now more obvious to me who Wendla is and what she believes in. She has had a very cushioned and loving family life but has had enough and wants to explore her world for herself. 

When taking on the role of the interviewer, I was very interested in all the characters pasts and understanding their family and background. We started off using the questions as templates, but I soon found myself leading off them and asking more personal and specific questions for each character and spurring off their responses to the set questions we devised. For example, when interviewing the mysterious masked man we focused a lot on his past and how he came about doing the job he does. It turns out he does what he does due to personal experiences. He was beaten and abused as a child and came close to suicide himself before thinking that he could help others. He is younger than I expected and keeps his family close to his heart. This sparked questions such as 'Where is your mother now?' and 'How do you keep doing to job you are doing?' Besides these heavy questions we asked slightly lighter ones to try and figure out his personality. We got the impression that he was trying to do good in the world and stop young adults from doing something they might regret, as he almost did. It was also interesting to see his opinion on the suppressed society, as he spoke about how he thought this was the main reason for him having to do this job in the first place.

I found listening to everyone else as they were being hot seated very engaging as it brought out some answers that I didn't expect and lots of specific and thoughtful answers. I found out more about each character which helped my understanding of the play. It was interesting to see Ashleigh as the Headmistress without Jackie, as we could really question her about why she need oxygen and her background. It helped me as Wendla to understand her friends and teachers a little more. It was a lovely inclusive exercise as we were all watching each other delve deeper into our characters mind set and therefore develop the play character wise all together.

A still from Wendla's Hot Seating session.

The Mirror

As Devan and I share the role of Wendla, Tim wanted a clear way of showing to the audience that we are the same person at different points in her life. From the beginning we were told that there would be a mirror in Wendla's bedroom which would be a two way mirror, meaning that when the light shone on it the audience would be able to see through it, thus revealing either Devan or myself. During rehearsals Devan and I practiced mirroring each other, especially in the opening scene when we have to be as one, trying on the sackcloth and talking to our mother. At first we found this tricky to do but after practicing we managed to figure out a routine of trying on the dress and looking at ourselves in the mirror (this is done over My Body Is A Cage). We didn't get to try the mirror until the tech run, so we were all unsure as to whether it would look effective. During the run we played around with the lighting to make sure that when either Devan or I were behind it, the audience could see us. The image above is from the dress rehearsal and I think it looks extremely effect and atmospheric. It becomes a crucial part in the journey of Wendla, as it is how the older or younger Wendla communicates with the other. It's quite ghost like in it's appearance which contributes to the haunting atmosphere this play has.

Declan Donnellan Applied

Another practitioner which we have been studying this year is the director and theatre practitioner Declan Donnellan. He is a contemporary director and is joint director of the Theatre Company 'Cheeky by Jowl' who prodominatley produce classical theatre but make the plot and general overall idea more modern but still keeping a lot of the set and costume the same as when the play was written. This is similar to our production of Spring Awakening. We all felt that is would be wise and important to look at a practitioner whose idea's focused on character building and overcoming obstacles in rehearsals rooms and on stage. 

The first idea we looked at was Donnellan's ideology of Blocks. Blocks are things and situations which get in the way of you feeling comfortable and relaxed on stage. They can be physical or emotional. First we were asked to list all the things that we thought were our blocks and what we were struggling with when it came to rehearsals or existing on stage as our characters during a performance. Here are some examples:

• Over thinking the lines and being stuck in the same way of saying the line, so having the fear of it sounding boring or monotone
• Being too aware of the audience and causing nerves, thus affecting the performance
• Vocals not being strong enough
• Unsure of the blocking for some scenes and feeling restricted and awkward by that
• Not sure how to say the lines
• Lack of connection between two characters/actors on stage
• Not knowing how to feel all the time
• Fear of looking too robotic and not feeling free to explore the stage, being controlled by fear
• Not feeling comfortable in costume and feeling weird and subconscious when wearing it
• Not having the right character choice and not seeing where one can go with it
• Not liking or understanding the character which results again in thinking too much 

I've highlighted the ones which I feel quite a lot and ones in which I need to get over. After a short discussion, we discovered that the above blocks seem to be the main issues people deal with and can be fitted into the categories laid out by Donnellan in his book entitled 'The Actor and the Target'. The categories are:

• I don't know what I'm doing
• I don't know what I want
• I don't know who I am
• I don't know where I am
• I don't know how I should feel
• I don't know how I should move
• I don't know what I'm saying
• I don't know what I'm playing

Declan Donnellan teaches that the real Block we all experience is that we don't always understand how, as actors, we should feel about the problems we are facing. He states that the real problem with all the blocks listed above is the idea of the block being their in the first place. He says we need to stop over thinking about ourselves and think through the eyes of our character.  If we are focused on how we as ourselves are existing as our characters in their world and imagine ourselves saying their lines then we can never truly know what to do within the play; we can never be truthful. He teaches that we shouldn't always know how we are feeling, as it is that uncertainty which makes us human and therefore realistic in our characters. Donnellan says there is too much emphases on wanting to know everything about our character which takes the existence of our character away, he says we should just be alive in the moment. 

One theory he has to help overcome Blocks is the Target. A Target is something to focus on during a moment in a scene, similar to actions or objectives, wants or points of concentration. The principle is that whenever you are on stage, you always have a target to think about and sometimes look at.Your target should always be in your characters mind even if it isn't needed in the room or on stage. For example when I am talking to Melchior about Martha's beatings, my target is Martha even though she isn't in the scene. Donnellan produced six rules of the Target. They are as follows;

1. There is always a target
2. The target exists at a measurable distance
3. The target always exists before you need it
4. The target is always specific 
5. The target is always transforming (changed and determined by the target) 
6. The target is always active and in helping you pursue an action 

As well as Targets and Blocks, Donnellan focused on high stakes in a scene and how they effect the character's choices. Similar to Stanislavsky's actions and units, this is where an actor notices their characters highest stakes within the play and note them down; clearly stating the want and potential form the scene and then the loss and gain from that want and sight. As well as noting all these things down, you give the stake a sensible title which sums up the scene and then an imaginative, silly one to ease the tension. Devan and I worked on these together and here are Wendla's highest stakes:

The Wanted Beating/the kinky foreboding switch 

seeing: to experience new things and emotions 

gain: access to herself and the world Martha lives in

loss:she's stuck, she could go insane with the want and her curiosity could get her into sever danger

Reproduction Discovery/the truth about the stalk

seeing: to find out where babies come from, about her beginning and why she is in the world, understanding herself

gain: the understanding of herself and humans, understanding her primal self

loss: find out how they are made somewhere else which could be dangerous or not being able to access the adult world so she can never mature, stuck in a child-like frame of mind

The Hayloft/scary realization for Wendla

seeing: she needs to escape from Melchior, it's outside social order, she sees herself as an outsider

gain: she has gained new experiences and got away safely 

loss: her innocence and respect from her mother

The gain is something which your character gets out of from doing the high stake and the loss is something which your character could lose if they didn't do it or if they did. These exercises helped me immensely with getting over my personal blocks and again just developing my character along with Devan.  

 

Michael Chekhov Applied

Michael Chekhov was a firm believer in the actor using his/her imagination to create their character and make it personal to them. We studied Chekhov in depth during acting technique but Tim did this exercise with us to deepen our character work. This exercise marked the first of many acting and character developments we did in order to strengthen our  choices on stage. After a few vocal and character warm ups, Tim took us through this exercise:

We had to close our eyes and imagine our character standing in front of us. We pictured what they looked like and noted it down. I pictured Wendla as wearing a light pink satin fairy dress with a frayed hem as it had been unpicked so many times with rough light brown shoes and white long stockings which had been rolled down. She had thick long auburn hair which curled at the end, pale skin with a few freckles over her nose, large hazel eyes and a slim figure. Her chest had just started to develop and was made obvious by the ill fitting fairy dress. She was medium height and had a sweet and innocent look to her. She used her eyes a lot and secretly enjoyed being the centre of attention.  
After we had a clear image of what our character looked like, we then had to breathe them in on our in breath and slowly over a count of eight we would be come the character we had pictured in front of us. We then took on our characters physicality and pictured them doing an activity but being distracted b something else (linking this in with Stanislavsky's circle of attention exercise) I pictured Wendla eating breakfast but not being interested in it as her chest was hurting and she couldn't understand why. We then took on this action and started doing it.

After a while of living in the action, Tim got us to shake off the first presentation of our character and close our eyes. We had to see our character again, this time looking completely different.  This time a taller and more developed Wendla was standing in front of me. She has curly black hair which had been plated at the front but allowed to run free down her back. Her eyes were brown with long lashes and she had slightly fuller lips and cheeks. Again she was in a fairy dress but this time it was longer and less ''fancy''. It had a rip near the hem and was a washed out grey with lots of peeling off lace around the collar line and sleeves. Her boots were jet black and neatly laced. She had a brown leather backpack on one shoulder and mud on her knees from climbing the tree. 
Once we had this new character in our minds, we then had to see them doing another action, this time breathing that in over a count of ten. When we had merged into our new character's action, again being distracted by something, Tim added on another factor; seeing how our character would respond to being either hot or cold. My second action was sorting out food and clothes for the poor family I visit but I couldn't stop thinking about my body, my feelings towards Melchior or how reproduction works. I started to get hot, fanning myself with the clothes and putting the cool jars against my face. I noticed afterwards that Wendla likes the sun but hates being hot, so when she got warm, she tried everything to cool herself down. Just after I had cooled myself down, I began to feel cold which I welcomed. I noticed that feeling cool wasn't a problem for Wendla, it just made her work harder as a means of warming herself up. 

Succeeding this exercise we then all feedback about how our two characters looked and what it was like to perform two actions of theirs not stated specifically in the play. I discovered that Wendla didn't like the heat as it slowed her down and she is quite a fast paced character. I also realised that she thought a lot about Melchior as to her he has all the answers to her questions. This exercise was extremely useful for me because up until now I had struggled slightly with picturing Wendla outside of Spring Awakening, so through doing this I have no gained a new knowledge of my character. I spoke to Devan afterwards and one of her actions was sorting out food and clothes for the poor too. We hadn't planned this so it felt really good to see that we had done the same action, as I now feel that we have a good connection and shared understanding when it comes to Wendla.

Mike Alfred Applied

Mike Alfred's was a strong believer in actors and not the set. He believed that an actor should be able to be completely engulfed in their character without the need for set or costume and that the actors preparation on the character should be projected clearly enough onto the audience without the need for visual help. Due to this. Alfred devised many exercises to help the actor get into their role and become their character. One of his exercises which we did was noticing withing the play what your character says about themselves and what others say about them. This is a good start to building your character and seeing the plain facts which the playwright has presented for you. Below are a few quotes concerning how my character exists within the play:

What my character says about herself:

• 'I don't want to be fourteen'
• 'Perhaps I won't be here at all'
• 'I'm going to dress like a fairy queen underneath' 
• 'I would have run away long ago'
• 'I would have asked her'
• 'Melchi Gabor told me'
• 'I seem to be lost'
• 'I lay on the grass for ages dreaming'
• 'I dreamed I was a poor beggar child'
• 'I go hot and cold all over whenever she talks about it'
• 'I've never been beaten in my life'
• 'I've sometimes tried beating myself to find out'
• 'So now I've become an Aunite for the third time, with one niece and two nephews' 
• 'I really don't have much sense'
• 'I still have no idea how it all happens'
• 'I won't get better, I've got dropsy and I'm going to die. Mother I'm going to die.'

What the other characters say about my character:

• 'Other girls are so gangly and awkward at your age. You're the opposite.' Mrs Bergmann
• 'You're talking nonsense Wendla, utter nonsense!' Thea
• 'I'd be proud if I were you' Martha 
• 'Just look at the way she walks, her level gaze, the way she holds herself, if that isn't pride!' Thea
• 'I would say you were a wood nymph that's fallen out of the branches' Melchior
• 'I've heard that you often visit the poor' Melchior 
• 'So you visit the poor because it gives you pleasure' Melchior 
• 'You, Wendla Bergmann, toss your hair and laugh' Melchior 
• 'I know where you get this from, Wendla, from stupid children stories!' Melchior
• 'Stop it Wendla, I'm not going to beat you' Melchior 
• 'When will you ever grow up' Mrs Bergmann
• 'I love you as little as you love me' Melchior
• 'His transgression may yet bring about her happiness' Mrs Gabor
• 'I told her to stop her daughter from climbing into haylofts' Mr Gabor
• 'I'm sure she hates me because I took away her freedom' Melchior
• 'You're going to have a baby Wendla. You're expecting a baby' Mrs Bergmann
• 'I killed her. I murdered her' Melchior 

I've highlighted the key quotes which I think sum up Wendla and her characteristics. This exercise helped me see plainly what Wedekind had written about my character and was a good foundation to start building my own interpretation of Wendla. I found it interesting that Melchior is the one who says the most about Wendla, and I believe this is because when they are around each other they seem to be on the same level and therefore feel a strong trust between each other. During the woodland scene Wendla opens up to Melchior, revealing her hidden desire to get beaten and then asking him to fulfill that. Wendla is different to the others girls in that she wants to explore the unknown and will seek it until she finds it. I think the way she acts around her friends is interesting because she seems to be the ''leader'' but wants what Martha has. These points back up Wendla's innocence due to the suppressed society she lives in and through doing this exercise I have gained a wider understanding of Wendla and the world in which Wedekind created her in.

Teaser Trailer

Nairac suggested from early on that a good way to promote the show would be to do a teaser trailer and post it on all our social media websites (such as facebook, twitter and youtube) with the dates at the end. So, in December some of us spent the day in Hamstead Heath filming small moments from the play or bits which summarized the feel of Spring Awakening. For example there was a shot of my playing in the woods and of Josh (Melchior) and Harvey (Morietz) talking in the forest. Nairac edited it and this is the end result:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ua0Z8MTf68c&feature=youtu.be

It was great fun to film and helped me get into my character, as I had to chose suitable clothes for Wendla which got me thinking about what she would wear on a day off from school. In my opinion it was good promotion for our show as it kept up with social media and was a good visual teaser for our show.

Promotion

This week we started thinking about promoting our play to the public as ticket sales would soon be opening at the box office. After a cast meeting in the library, we decided that we would hold a cake sale to raise money and set up social media accounts to promote the production. Eilliot was in charge of creating and managing the Facebook and Twitter pages and some members of the company made posters to display (such as the ones above). I think we managed the promotion and fun raising very well, as she created a buzz around our show due to each cast member sharing and tweeting about it and also managed to raise a substantial amount of money from the cake sale. I found this process very exciting as it made the play seem real somehow and I had a lot of people coming up to me asking when and where they could buy tickets. 

Laban Effort

In rehearsals recently we have been looking and practicing Rudolph Von Laban and his 'Laban Efforts'. The Efforts are a system of describing and applying movement, observing the way in which an actor vocalizes and physicalises their character, thus unlocking the key identity of their character. 'All eight efforts are of equal value and together make up the complete human potential of ways in which we function.' Many theatre practitioners, such as Mike Alfred's, use the Laban technique when discussing a characters internal and external movement. 

The Efforts are made up of six elements according to how the movement is performed. These elements fit into three categories: Weight, Space and Time (speed/tempo). Weight doesn't have anything to do with personal bulkiness, as many ''heavy'' people can move with extreme lightness, it is more about the levels of intensity and gravitational pull when moving. Space concerns how one moves around it and how you relate to it directionally. Here are the elements:

Weight:

• Light- Operating with ease and without effort having no barriers to break through or resistance to overcome. There is a freedom from gravity with all your energy swaying upwards, like a cloud is lifting you up.
• Strong-There is some level of intensity constantly having a barrier to break through or a resistance to overcome, as if one is moving through mud or sand.

Space:

• Direct-A total level of focus and sense of purpose, you know what you want and you impose yourself on the world, initiating what it is you want. You lead with your aim and always know where you are going, in other words you make things happen.
• Flexible-This implies you have no focus or purpose but are completely available and vulnerable, being open to affection. You are moved by impulses, receiving and taking in, absorbing whatever comes your way. You allow things to happen to you. 

Time:

• Sustained-Implies a continuous unbroken movement and energy, flowing from one physical state to the other. Movement tends to be curved and soft, there is nothing abrupt and mobility tends to be slow.
• Broken-A constant renewed amount of angular and abrupt fast energy, the impulses being refreshed second by second. 

The Archetypal Efforts are the three-way pairing of these elements and as I said before, they can be applied to both movement and vocal qualities. The combination of the two can give a character depth and help you understand their physical and emotional sates, as well as their internal one.

Light/Flexible/Sustained=Floating

Light/Flexible/Broken=Flicking

Light/Direct/Sustained=Gliding 

Light/Direct/Broken=Dabbing

Strong/Flexible/Sustained=Wringing 

Strong/Flexible/Broken=Slashing

Strong/Direct/Sustained=Pressing

Strong/Direct/Broken=Thrusting/Punching 

If a character moved around in a Slashing manner, you might think they are angry, tense and harsh, with a thuggish personality. This immediately affects the status of the character and they way others react to them. Making a subtle change of making them move with more of a Thrusting focus, this could instantly uplift their performance and change their characteristics to being more forward and direct with a self confidence. A character can play around with two efforts at once, both internally and externally. For example a character could be Wringing on the inside with perhaps stresses and strains from life but on externally present themselves as Gliding. This shows that they are trying to cover up their troubles, instantly adding another level onto the character. 

We explored all the Efforts through movement which I found really interesting to see how one element can change and alter the overall intensity of the movement. A lot of commitment and self awareness is required when trying out these elements and I noticed when we tried out Dabbing and Thrusting/Punching, not everyone was as committed or as comfortable as we were when we tried Floating and Slashing. I think this was because Floating and Slashing had defiant and direct movements which we often explore in our everyday lives, whereas Dabbing and Thrusting/Punching required a more abstract movement. After we all had tried the Efforts, I felt more comfortable focusing on all of them and discovered that when you layer up different Efforts and apply them physically and emotionally, both external and internal, you have a rounded character with a deep and bold purpose. 

When exploring my character Wendla, I discovered that internally she was Wringing in her vocals and Slashing in her physicality. This contrasted with her external Pressing vocally and her external physicality of Gliding.  Vocally this represents her inquisitive nature and her desperate desire and need for knowledge and to find out new things. She won't stop until she finds out everything that she doesn't understand and Devan and I both agreed that Wendla is quite a stubborn and intelligent character, in other words always wanting to know more. The Wringing symbolizes the oppression she feels from her Mother and she can't understand why she isn't being told about reproduction. Physically this represents her youth and confidence but also how she is quite exposed. Wendla has a lot of self confidence but can snap slightly when things either don't go her way or when she doesn't understand something. After doing Laban I feel as if Wendla is now more rounded and I know how to move around the stage more. 

Script Analysis

As part of clearing up what my character wants in each scene, Devan and I gave each moment a title and a sub-heading, thus enabling us to see openly what our character got out of each scene:

Act One, Scene One
Wendla complaining about the length of her dress: not wanting to lose her childhood dress and therefore not wanting to grow up but has a need for knowledge and a want for maturity. 

Act One, Scene Three
Wendla and her friends meet in the forest and catch up:opening up about their feelings and finding out about Martha's beating and how it is done, sparking Wendla's interest.  

Act One, Scene Five
Wendla meeting Melchior in the Forest, starting a convocation and discovering new experiences: Wendla discovering her desires and testing Melchior, seeing his confusion and the effect Wendla has on him. 

Act Two, Scene Two
Wendla finding out how babies are made due to her becoming an auntie for the third time: finally feeling informed and knowledgeable. 

Act Two, Scene Four
Wendla testing her new found knowledge: feeling confused by her inner emotions and by what she thinks is right. 

Act Two, Scene Six
Wendla sorting out how she feels now: noticing that she has changed and realizing she has done something wrong. 

Act Three, Scene Five
Wendla expressing her feelings and concerns to her mother: trying to find out the truth from her mother and excepting her fate. 

As well as noting the titles of my scenes, I annotated and broke down each moment my character was in. Below are some pictures of some parts of the text which I found hard to find the truth of, so I focused more on them:

 This is my very first scene, and to begin with I was struggling with finding the truth of the language. I started to break down each line into different actions and worked on the scene with Maya, freeing ourselves up physically as both as agreed with Tim it was looking too stiff. Once I had worked out my characters underline objectives of what she was saying, her overall objective for the scene (wanting to mature but hold onto her childhood dress, firstly because it suits her better and secondly because there's a small part of her which doesn't want to throw away a childhood memory) became clearer. 'The dress is too long mother. Why did you make it so long?' is my characters first line and here her objective is to state/to complain/to question. Personally I think this summarizes up Wendla well, she is always questioning things she does not understand and somehow manages to convince people so she gets her way. 

 This is the end of the first scene and again I struggled with the language being presented. Even after I added in the objectives or targets, I was still finding the text tough. After reading through the scene a few times I realised I wasn't pausing at all and was just rushing through the lines, I wasn't allowing the lines to breathe within the scene, So, I broke up the text into pauses and moments and suddenly it sounded better. Tim told me to not let the lines restrict my physicality, so once I moved around and did what my body wanted to do, the lines flowed more naturally. 'Oh no.' is another line I was finding hard as it was so short, but after I found the objective, to protest, it became easy and I found myself saying it automatically. Maya and I developed a stronger mother-daughter relationship as rehearsals went on and I felt this scene getting stronger.


                                                                                                                                                              

This is the first scene I have with characters the same age as mine. All of us were finding it hard to find the truth of this and just 'freeing it up'. I think part of this block we had was because this scene takes place in the forest and as we were in rehearsal rooms we only had chairs to represents the tree and parts of the set. Although this shouldn't have affected our performance, it was difficult to feel free and allow the lines to flow. I particularly found the opening lines tricky 'How the wind sings around your ears'  and 'Let's go to the bridge. They say whole trees and bushes have been swept away by the flood. The boys have built a raft. I heard Melchi Gabor almost drowned last night'. as again I found them un-natural and  stiff. Tim said that the first line is more of a correction in respond the Martha's statement, so my objective became to correct. As for the next few lines, Lizzie, Humera and I all agreed that Wendla was trying to convince Thea and Martha to go to the bridge, as she knows that's where Melchior is going to be and she wants to ask him questions. Throughout this scene I also noted down which part of Wendla's lines were 'silly' and what were 'serious', as she often says a lot of things which are mature or not and this helped me to free up my physicality. 

This last page of this scene is the most crucial, as it is where the beating takes place. My objectives for this scene have always been clear; wanting to discover new experiences, such as being beaten, and knowing that I could get that from Melchior. At first, Josh and I were making the scene too preempting, and making it far too weighted for what it was,  After Tim spoke to us about the lightness and innocence of the scene, we immediately changed the way we said the lines and became our characters. Wendla and Melchior are attracted to each other and unknowingly flirt for the first half of the scene, this changed the dynamic completely and made the sudden change in Melchior at the end even more prominent. The problem with the end page was that Josh and I were pausing between the lines and again making them too heavy which resulted in the scene sounding melodramatic. After we noted our objectives and got the scene more pacey, it became more realistic and the lines didn't sound fake anymore.

I have found the language in this play quite tricky to get a hold of, and I think it maybe due to the fact that the language is classically written but sounds modern, and for a while I found that hard to get my head around. However, after focusing on my objectives and once my I'd learned my lines I found it easier to make the lines sound like I was saying them for the first time. I noticed that Ashleigh and Jackie's vocals throughout the rehearsals and the performance were brilliant and that they made the accent and complicated words sound easy and natural. Even though we didn't study Stanislavsky in depth this year, I still used his methods when getting into my character and relaxing before going on stage.

Acting Technique

During acting technique we studied many theatre practitioners and their methods. These corresponded over to 'Spring Awakening' and our character development which I found extremely useful because I could select which practitioners theory I liked best and then apply that to both Wendla and my other Common ground roles (such as Max in The Grinch). Tim also did more detailed workshops during our Spring Awakening rehearsals , focusing on Chekhov, Alfreds and Donnellan specifically. Here are some of the practitioners we studied during acting technique and how they helped develop my character and widen my theatre knowledge: 

Uta Hagen
Even though we didn't study Hagen in as much depth as the others, I liked her theories of excepting yourself and your character, so I researched her even further and discovered her book 'Respect for Acting'. The more and more I read it uncovered points and exercises which I've found extremely high in utility. Hagen teaches that you should 'aim for a cat's spontaneity; unanticipated involvement in the moment' and find 'your own identity and self knowledge' as they are the main sources for the possible futures characters one could portray. This also helps bring about a genuine life for your character. Another aspect from Hagen's theory is that 'you must adjust to tell the story' which I think is absolutely vital. As performers we have a responsibility to tell the journey of the characters we are portraying and bring to life the world of the play, while making this as clear as possible for our audience, who are experiencing Spring Awakening for the first time. Throughout rehearsals, Josh and I have struggled slightly with the Woodland 'Beating' scene, as neither of us want to hurt the other. Uta Hagen however notices this and states that 'truth in life is not truth on stage; you can't really hurt someone'. This applies to the woodland scene, as both Josh and I needed to realise that we weren't hurting each other and trust the staged push. As soon as I confirmed with Josh that I felt comfortable and secure within the scene, it massively improved. 

Mike Alfred
Over the course of Common Ground we have studied Mike Alfred's 'Different Every Night' extensively and I find his method's extremely useful. Both Tim and Jack did exercises with us from Alfred's book, the main ones being noting what our character says about themselves and what others say about them and then stripping back all the props and concentrating on the world of the play, seeing your character existing in different circumstances. Similar to Hagen, Alfred concentrates on storytelling and the importance of character work. I found his exercises very useful, especially viewing my character outside of the play; it deepened my understanding of Wendla and helped Devan and I find a 'common ground' with each other. Devan and I worked closely with Alfred's techniques and together we cultivated a deeper understanding of the shared character. 

Michael Chekhov
Chekhov focuses on experiencing the truth of the moment and finding the inner event which is an actual experience occurred in real time by the actor. Chekhov calls this the 'Creative Individuality' of the actor, not being tied to his/her personality. This then allows the actor to discover an internal emotion which will then be projected onto the audience. Chekhov's teachings are very similar to Stanislavsky's as both concentrate on imagination, feeling and atmosphere. He believed that inner and outward gestures were different so we did many exercises exploring how our charactrer was feeling verses what they were saying. Imagination is a massive part of Chekhov's teaching, so we did certain exercises focused on this, picturing our characters in moments just before a certain scene started. For example I portrayed Wendla picking Wood-ruff before Melchior came. I found this very useful because it enabled me again to picture my character outside of the words written by Wedekind and take control over what she did. This strengthened my impulsive choices which is also another factor Chekhov focused on.  

Declan Donnellan
Donnellan has similar theories again to Stanislavsky, but calls actions 'targets', being situations and aims that the actor should strive to in each scene. We did a lot of exercises concerning this, realizing what our character wanted and striving through to achieving that. We mainly focused on Blocks which we experience on stage. Donnellan concentrated mainly on the blocks an actor experiences while on stage and during rehearsals, as he believed that if you had these blocks in your mind, you could never fully commit yourself to your character, and therefore you wouldn't be immersed in the play. Donnellan wasn't a trained actor (as the other practitioners are) so noticed that some performers looked stiff and tense onstage. He put this down to mental and physical blocks, such as not knowing where to move on stage or not knowing what you are saying. Once you have overcome these blocks by working through them, then you can immerse yourself in your character. Dennellan also teaches that for each scene, the character has a want/a seeing, a gain and a loss with a suitable title. Jack did some work with us on these and we noted down what our character wanted in each scene. This helped me immensely because previously I had struggled with always knowing what Wendla really wanted, as her society was so suppressed it was hard to grasp what she knew and what she didn't. Concerning the actor and his/her target, Donnellan believed that there was always a target for each scene. Tim also developed this with us later on.

Sanford Meisner 
Not everyone likes Meisner's methods and guaranteed we have only skimmed on half of his methods, but personally I get along with the meisner exercises we have done so far. He teaches emotional recall and sense memory, creating acting from an internal source. In year twelve I did a Meisner workshop and loved the deep connection I felt from the other person. Jack then expanded on this in acting technique, first doing the standard exercises as ourselves (repeating what the other person stated about you) and then as our characters. This helped me get into my character internally which I haven't been able to do before. Doing this exercise with Devan helped us connect with each other on a deeper level and notice the change in our character. 

Having studied these practitioners in depth, I found myself applying their techniques to my other common ground roles. In The Grinch I played Max, the Grinch's dog, so I focused more on Uta Hagen's theory of imagining yourself as the character and then as yourself out of the character and seeing how you would change physically into them. Declan Donnellan helped me realise the blocks I had on stage when it came to Blue Skies, as I found getting out of my head extremely hard. Donnellan teaches that an actor can never be comfortable on stage if they have mental and physical blocks, which is something I defiantly had during the Blue Skies process. After noticing these blocks such as I don't know what I'm doing on stage, I was able to overcome these and live in the moment. Even though we didn't study Stanislavsky in as much detail as we did last year, I still applied his relaxation exercises before I went on stage for each performance throughout Common Ground. As my role in Spring Awakening was more naturalistic than my other roles, I noticed I was using more characteristic exercises for Wendla, (such as improvisations, imagining my character in different circumstances and detailed character questions) and then mainly relaxation and truth exercises for my more physical roles.