Blocking
Learning where and when to enter and exit will be a challenge, the stage consists of seven entrances and exits. This process started with me writing down all blocking notes in my script. Eventually this should become second nature, I will learn the pattern of the piece and know when and where to enter and leave. However, learning both this and the lines for the play will take difficult. If I start now, everything should run smoothly.
Blocking is vital, it gives the piece shape and allows all the characters to exist throughout the play in a harmonious manner. However, the blocking also allows one to begin to develop a character and discover the relationships characters have with one another.
Character
Alexander is a happy child, he finds joy in God, music and his family. When he is asked to choose between music and his family he becomes angsty and eventually runs away. When he reenters the play eight years later, he has grown and matured, he becomes shy and reserved. He feels that he is not happy, he has gained everything he ever could want from music but without his family, without Melissa he can not find joy. This relays to my characterisation as it makes him kind and loving but held back, not willing to show everything. When he first meets Thomas after years of absence, he does not hug him straight away but waits for his response. He is almost frightened when he meets the people of his past.
Costume
We have also received the costumes for our characters which helped me enormously with visualising exactly what Alexander will look like and some of the mannerisms he may have.
This is a picture of the costume...
The red shows his passion, he has passion for music and Melissa, he is the type of person who does things one hundred percent or not at all. The costume also allowed me to think of the time period and the way in which that will effect the way he walks and talks. He will not have the modern teenage way of standing and is unlikely to slump in his chair, he is from the landed aristocracy, after all.
