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.