Rehearsal 24th March

This was our last rehearsal before Easter and it was important to let the actors know what I wanted from them after Easter. We created a props list and split the cost of everything that we needed to get equally. As well as this I told them the style of costume I wanted them to bring back with them.

For Hedda: Long skirt with heeled boots, ruffled shirt with long sleeves and possibly a corset underneath. It was very important to also highlight that Ellie would need to tie her hair back due to the period in which this scene was set.

For Mrs Elvstead: Long skirt with flat boots, shirt with a plain black cardigan on and due to Chess's posture I definitely wanted her in a corset. Mrs Elvstead would not have been seen as the same social class as Hedda as she married into an already well to do family. Mrs Elvstead was her husbands mistress however his wife got taken sick and so Mrs Elvstead then became mother to her step-children. I want this to show not only through the acting but show through costume too. Her costume will not be as smart as Hedda's.

As the holidays were three weeks long I wanted the actors to have learnt their lines by the time we got back and this was so that we could introduce props into the scene.

Rehearsal 17th March

I was much happier this week with the feedback that we received from the class. It was clear that the actors had worked exceptionally hard but there were a few minor things that we needed to work on before the Easter break.

For example; Chess was told that her posture needs to improve so therefore I told her to go away from the rehearsal room and pretend that their was a piece of string holding her from the top of her head and stretching her out. As well as this I told the actors that I wanted them to wear corsets underneath their costumes. Not only would this make it more naturalistic it would also naturally help their posture especially when sitting down.

It was said that the tension was still not all there so I felt like the actors needed to let go. It could have been due to the fact that they were nervous however, I knew that they could really highlight the awkwardness not only through the lines but through their bodies too.
When Hedda realises that she used to pick on Mrs Elvstead I wanted this moment to be humorous yet quite awkward. Therefore after Mrs Elvstead states that Hedda said she would burn her hair off I made Ellie dramatically laugh it off. Just as when Hedda gets Mrs Elvstead's name wrong. Being the character with the higher authority but getting things wrong is not something that Hedda would normally do however, under the awkward tension she is. It was important to highlight this as I believe that this play can get a few laughs from the audience even though it is said to be a tragedy.

Rehearsal 10th March

After a performance in class I was asked to work and push the actors on the tension within the scene. With that in mind we ran the scene a few times so I could make notes and during this time I really felt like they were not letting go.

Due to this I made each of them sit alone and come up with an emotional parallel to every line that they speak. I wanted them to think about gesture, emotion and tone in their voice to make it more believable. I wanted for Ellie to make Hedda a lot more malicious in her ways and for Chess to create Mrs Elvstead to be naïve and vulnerable.

After this they both came back together and let go of any inhibitions that they once had towards the script. At first they did not want to do it as they were hesitant on letting go of their emotions, however with the strong emotional parallels it made the tension clearer which is what we needed for our scene.

Due to the era of the play women did have to be a lot more reserved in their manners so making them give it all in the rehearsal room was a good way of naturally getting gestures and emotion and then we could draw them back in and make them more subtle. It is easier for an actor to withdraw than it is to let go.

Rehearsal Sunday 3rd March

As it was very difficult to find time to rehearse, I had been working on an idea for set and blocking over the week so that I was prepared when going into the rehearsal room and I knew what I wanted.

I decided the set would be a naturalistic lounge setting, with an armchair, sofa, coffee table and sideboard behind the chairs. Whilst reading through the play I kept highlighting this sense of tension so therefore I felt that to cover the awkward silences we needed to introduce something for the characters to do instead of just talk to one another. Therefore I suggested that they drink tea during the conversation, with Hedda almost forcing the tea on Mrs Elvstead to make her stay and tell her all of the gossip.

When we all got into the rehearsal room I noticed Ellie and Chess had both been working on their character parallels as they appeared much more comfortable than they had last week. As they both felt confident with their parallels we began to block, it is a very difficult scene to stage due to the fact that neither character moves a lot. Yet, I kept reminding the actors of the tension between the characters within the scenes so that the movements on stage and the proximity could represent that.

I told the actors of my ideas towards them drinking tea throughout the scene. At first they seemed a little bit reluctant to it however, I told them that when they get to know the script more these added stage directions would come naturally. With this in mind we went through the script a few more times so that they could write down stage directions and get to know the play further.