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.