I believe my overall role and contribution to the rehearsal process was positive. I was open to helping throughout the play, although I was not in Act One I helped with 'Footman Wilson' bringing chairs on and off. This not only gave me something to do during this act but also made the blocking easier and more fluid.
There were points in the rehearsal when I could had more focus however overall I thought I stayed energetic and focused to a fairly high level. Some rehearsals were very long and I found these hard to keep the same level of professionalism as I would ordinarily bring to shorter rehearsals. This is a skill that the process has helped me learn, it is something that is vital in the life of an actor as long rehearsals are not uncommon.
There were points in the rehearsal when I could had more focus however overall I thought I stayed energetic and focused to a fairly high level. Some rehearsals were very long and I found these hard to keep the same level of professionalism as I would ordinarily bring to shorter rehearsals. This is a skill that the process has helped me learn, it is something that is vital in the life of an actor as long rehearsals are not uncommon.
Outside of the rehearsal I did extra work with both Lucy and Toby. These two relationships were extremely complex, a best friend and my first love both of whom I haven't seen in eight years. The scene's in which we were reunited were the ones that required the most work. Me and Lucy discovered that a lot happens in our first scene together but it is just a page long. We worked hard at gaining that sense of importance and tension in that small space of time. The work outside the rehearsal allowed me to discover more about my character and his relationships, I could talk through what was happening and the sub text with the other actor at length, I think it really helped me grasp these high tension scenes.
Evaluation of the whole rehearsal process
The rehearsal process was extremely successful, we produced a very thrilling and exciting piece of theatre and told a wonderful story. The play did throw up some very big challenges but these were circumnavigated, sometimes more successfully then others. The play has a lot of scene changes, this posed both a blocking problem and an acting problem. The play had a lot of blocking to remember, seven entrances and exits and sixty three scenes, remembering it all was difficult and making the scenes flow in to each other was also a challenge. But also reacting to changing given circumstances quickly was also an issue. I went from outside a grand house in london to docks within five seconds, however these issues were dealt with effectively. We blocked the piece and had very few alterations which made it much easier to be in the right place and the right time. The dry tech also allowed me to really get a feel for the entrances and exits and the distances between them.
In the early days of the rehearsal it felt difficult to really understand the play as a whole. So much happens and it is such an epic story, this makes it challenging to tell. However, once we were able to run the whole piece the arc of the story presented itself and I found it much easier to understand what I was doing as a character and what the play was truly about.
The cast gelled really well and the rehearsal space felt open and free. There were very few tensions and overall I felt that this ability to experiment and take risks really helped the final show become what it was and personally helped me to develop character more thoroughly.
The cast gelled really well and the rehearsal space felt open and free. There were very few tensions and overall I felt that this ability to experiment and take risks really helped the final show become what it was and personally helped me to develop character more thoroughly.
