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.
No comments:
Post a Comment