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.
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.
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