Lessons
1
Today we did a readthrough as a class, the read through sounded really good and I was reading in for Eve which was really fun. I don't really like read throughs because it's like being put on the spot to do something you're not prepared for and I'm not confident with reading aloud incase I don't know how to say certain words but the practice definitely helps. I get a bit choked up when I read out loud as well, I'm not sure why, perhaps out of embarrassment but I don't like it.Through reading the play I was able to really notice how little main roles there are but at the vast number of people that are needed to make up an ensemble for the play to be realistic.
The read through was good and I look forward to be casted and finding out about set and costume.
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| Image sources from: http://www.tcs.cam.ac.uk/theatre/0032449-review-her-naked-skin.html |
2
We continued the read through. We were also given time to get into groups to figure out what we would be researching for our presentations the following week.
The role I have been casted as Eve Douglas which I'm very happy about. The character is sweet and gets more fiery as the play unravels. I feel as though this role will be challenging because I am going to have to make the class difference obvious between myself and the actress playing Celia. This is going to be difficult because naturally I'm very well spoken and I'm going to need to sound a little bit less proper and a little more common.
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| Taken from: https://ccmpr.wordpress.com/2017/02/09/ccm-slideshows-her-naked-skin/ |
3
We then shared the research we'd done in depth in our groups. I have put this research on the research section of this blog. Some of the new findings that shocked me most was the force feeding. Someone showed me a video of a man who volunteered to be forced fed via nose to understand what prisoners went through. To see the agony he was in with the officers being as gentle as they could really made me think about the amount of pain the suffragettes must have been in, especially when their doctors didn't care about hurting them or if they were to try and fight back.
I was also unaware that Emily Davison didn't die until 4 days after be trampled on by the King's horse which was awful to hear (despite also understanding that she was in a comba for this remainder of her life). Even the questionable 'did she jump in front of the horse or was she pulled under it?' got me wondering and sympathising for the women even more.
I think that with research came appreciation and inspiration to try our hardest to deliver a brilliant show that shows everyone how these women were treated and how important it is to appreciate these women and what they've made possible for what we take for granted nowadays.
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| Taken from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tTJUWmKI0E |
4
Casting took place today. I am going to be playing the role of ‘Eve Douglas’ -the 30 year old, new addition to the suffragette group.
We devised the opening to our show which represented the Epsom Derby on the day that Emily Davison was trampled on by the King's horse in 1913. It is important to capture the energy of the Derby, the excitement, anticipation and suspension. This then needs to juxtapose the sudden realisation and shock once Emily has been hit by the king's horse.
The opening consists of Emily Wilding Davison getting ready to leave for the Epsom Derby. This juxtaposes freeze frames of men pinning down suffragettes in the background. The stage is then cleared and footage of the actual derby is played. Then one by one we all enter the stage and being our freeze frames which depict our individual characters watching the race.
My freeze frames:
1 - Looking for horses whilst shading eyes from sun
2 - Standing on my tippy toes trying to see the race
3 - Reacting to first sightings of horses
4 - Still reacting, smiling, anticipation
5 - Eyes closed, fingers crossed
REPEAT
After this repetition, everyone beings to cheer on the horses and their eyes follow an imagined raced from the right to the left but as our eyes near the centre of the stage an actress playing Emily Wilding Davison stands out of our formation and is hit by Anmer -the Kings imagined horse. She then falls to the ground and the cheering fades as realisation of what has just happened spreads.
I will be cheering for Danny Maher’s horse ‘Prue’ during the vocal moments of the introduction.
The ensemble will lean back on one leg which will then propel everyone into the space and ready to assist the trampled suffragette. Everyone then exits in neutral except from the men who transition into the opening scene.
We also came up with our scene titles, to personalise the experience of creation:
Here are images of my character objectives, uniting of scenes and actions:
Because I am one of three of the actress’ playing the role of Eve Douglas, we all sat together and decided on a gesture that we would all resort to in order to keep some habits of the character constant throughout the transition of one Eve to the next.
We decided on simply holding onto one arm from behind (image below). A tapping of the arm or simply in general should also happen at points within each of our portrayals of Eve because she’s always agitated and thinking about when she’ll get her next smoke.
5
We made the transition from the boys first scene to the girls scene today -Scene Three - Smashing Eve. We really focused on dynamics and making our movement look interesting. This has been applied when we first enter from the four volts, walking seamlessly whilst weaving between one another. This also creates a busy feeling in the space and gives the audience a distraction whilst the men leave the space.
There are moments in this scene where suffragettes pass one another momentarily and have small conversations or nods which are exchanged.
My character on the other hand is new to the world of suffrage and the play doesn’t give the character any background information. Therefore I can only imagine her to be quite a separate and lonely individual. As her line ‘I’ve never been a part of anything’ suggests, she is currently not part of a family, friendship group or anything. As a result, I have decided to keep Eve's interactions on stage to a minimal during this scene. She takes everything in and try to impress those around her however her nerves don’t allow her to interact with other characters.
There is then a moment in which everyone joins each other centre stage to symbolise the unity of the suffragettes. Then Celia enters the stage and everyone disperses. I have decided to stay put in that centre stage for a while, watching Celia. I hope that this will show the audience that I am interested in Celia before I speak to her.
I have decided that the reason Eve needs to speak to Celia is because Celia (along with others) is in charge of the protest. Eve needs to tell her that she can’t smash the windows but doesn’t want to disappoint her or be outcasted from her last opportunity to be a part of something. This is was also later causes her to give in and smash the windows. Fear of being alone again.
We then ran the scene which went well for our first run through. I need to improve Eve’s accent hugely because to simply put it, it’s awful. I plan on really getting into the accent during half term, so for now I’ll just keep doing a trial and error practice attempt of doing it. Although I don’t want to get into the habit of performing with a bad accent so I might decide on just using my own voice for now.
This scene is having ‘Bad Girls’ as our music choice during the window smashing. This will then be interrupted by the men grabbing the women roughly and carrying them to the back of the stage. This puts us in the correct positions for the following scene and worked as a good transition. I really appreciate the use of modern music in this play that is set in 1913 because it reminds the audience of how far we’ve come. It’s also more relatable because everyone knows the track. The song makes me think about powerful people, it makes me realise that sometimes you have to be a little bad ass and mean in order to achieve things. It depicts the fact that you can’t just be a good girl and conform to life in the way which is expected of you all of the time. Sometimes you have to make a stand in order to achieve change and make sacrifices even if they don’t help you but the generations to come.
NOTE: I will have an outfit change. How will I do this here?
Some of the girls stayed after school to construct the next scene which was pretty straight forward and didn’t take too long. It was difficult to do this though because not everyone was able to stay after school.
6
We re-ran what we did in the previous rehearsal and then looked at the scene we worked on afterschool. The scene was good but with some direction and the rest of the cast being present, we made it a lot stronger and realistic. The use of including all of the women in the scene worked really well because it continues the idea of unity. The suffragettes fight together, are imprisoned together, starve together and repeat these things. I don’t believe the women doing this thought it was a hobby or commitment; it was a way of life. These women would have died together, and some of them actually did.
We reworked the Scene Four - Holloway is Open from last week. The use of including all of the women in the scene worked really well because it continues the idea of unity. The suffragettes fight together, are imprisoned together, starve together and repeat these things. I don’t believe the women doing this thought it was a hobby or commitment; it was a way of life. These women would have been willing to die together, and some of them actually would have.
In this scene I have carried Eve’s watchful eyes. She continues to look around and take in the new surroundings. She is absolutely shitting herself because many of the other suffragettes have been in prison before, whereas Eve doesn’t know what to expect and hasn’t even gotten in trouble previously; except from when she got a clean white collar grubby with her dirty hands -she never got in trouble for this again.
We even managed to get onto Scene Seven - Love At First Potato. It’s harder to act in this scene without the props because I need to practice peeling potatoes continually throughout the scene. When acting in the scene I mime doing this but always unintentionally stop. This problem will be solved once the prop is being used in the scene. Additionally, it will cover the ACTION in the scene which ultimately should make my acting more truthful as it’s contextualised and more casual.
The scene needs more drive behind it and I need to work on the balance between awkward pauses and pace so that the scene is truthful but not boring. My directors feedback was to work on the character's naivety and innocence and not to lose it. I think I will continue to use eye contact as the characters main characteristic to display her awareness of what’s around her and her feelings to these things. I also think that this scene is perfect to include Eve’s tapping and build up of irritation because she so desperately wants a cigarette until she then humiliates herself and her SUBTEXT changes from ‘I need a smoke’ to ‘Fuck! What can I say to make myself look like less of an idiot and impress her.’
Overall the scene needs a lot of work on accent, naturalism and naivety. I also need to remember where to put/get props such as blankets and potato peeling props.
Despite this footage being dated as quite a while after the play is set, this is what I imagine Eve to be doing at work. Sourced from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgrKfEqMhfY
FEEDBACK: Work on innocence and naivety for Eve.
7
We had a visit from the playwright of Her
Naked Skin - Rebecca Lenkiewicz. Many character questions received very
little feedback which I liked because it meant that the actors could really
take the characters any which way. It was difficult to make notes because I was
so engrossed with what Rebecca was telling us, but here are some of the notes I took during this
time:
8
We worked out the first transition between Eve 1
to Eve 2. Rather than making the scene end and then an abrupt change of clothes
occurring without a follow up, we’ve decided to do the transition within the scene.
By doing this, the transition is as snappy as it could be and the audience are
greeted with a change that happens quickly so they are less likely to question
the change in actresses. The continuation of the scene is also more appealing
than watching a transition happen in one place but then that new actor that has
taken over, appear a couple of scene later.
I think the transition works really well and the
transition is marked well with the handing over of the apron that I remove from
myself and place around Eve 2.
9
We ran the whole of act one which didn’t go as
planned.
10
For the first half of the lesson the female cast
,members worked on the bath scene. The physicality of the women in this scene
is probably the most important factor. Whilst the storyline continues to
unravel with Florence
Physically the women naturally try to cover
themselves with other body parts. This creates a really powerful image and the
audience feel a sense of pathos in the vulnerability of the women. I think the
scene is quite uncomfortable to watch because the prisoners are being forced to
do things they don’t want to.
I also play a character who offers Florence
I have decided that the suffragette I play in this
scene is more sophisticated than Eve. Middle class and gets on with all the
other suffragettes but is also similar to Eve in the sense that Briggs
terrifies her. Her vulnerability in the scene that comes from being naked also
takes a toll on any possible chances of confrontation although they would’ve
been almost completely nonexistent anyway.
I need to find out why I enter the stage with a
towel when everyone else doesn’t?
The second half of the lesson we spent learning
how to sing ‘March of the Women.’ Our singing teacher was great and managed
to teach us all how to sing in tune and even harmonise. Sticking to the style
of the music and high pitched singing was extremely difficult for me. I
struggled to maintain my pitch and project. However I am proud of how we all
managed to sound together, in tune or not, as an ensemble/choir we sounded
beautiful.
11 and 12
A lot of time this week was spent outside of the
rehearsal room. Some of it spent going over scenes with Tara
to work on pace and intent during our scenes. We focused on ‘Love at First
Potato’ by going over the scene normally, then by running the scene in an
improvised modern way using the subtext of the scene. This worked better for Tara than myself however did help with finding
connections between emotions and the text. Creating a modern equivalent meant
that I could react to the situation as I would today and then transfer these
emotions to the older styled text.
We also presented out scene to other cast
members who gave us feedback such as speeding up the whole scene however they
also appreciated the pauses that displayed the awkwardness we shared in the
scene. This worked best for me because it felt as though there was less
pressure performing in front of fellow cast members and having the time to
sieve through what needed changing until we felt as though we understood the
scene more.
Sadly Tara
often wants to rehearse with her love interest in the play Will whenever she
gets the opportunity because as a married couple they have more to discover
about their relationship and need to work on scenes. So the rest of the times I
was working on actioning and reworking objectives that had perhaps changed:
13
Today was a lesson that I believe focused on
character development. I think this was mainly because we were not in our usual
rehearsal room but was extremely helpful. A lot of abstract work took place
such as group work which consists completely of how one character makes the
other feel. For example, my body would contort and wither when I was faced with
Briggs and the prison guards but my lifestyle as a suffragette didn’t allow me
to back down. Despite me being a suffragette not being my character's
motivation to not back down so much as Celia and her first opportunity to be a
part of something. This caused a sort of cycle of finding strength but also
having that strength tested; finally having to regain it again. Of course this
is precisely what life was like for most suffragettes.
We also looked at Laban efforts which I have
already looked at and decided on. However, it was good practice being able to
play around with the laban efforts in a large space. By doing this I was able
to see what I thought these efforts should look like and other actors
interpretations of them.
There was also a moment where we all had to cue
and imagine that we were waiting to receive the vote. This wasn’t very helpful
to me and I found it difficult to physicalise my happiness and excitement
during this moment without faking the actions. Naturally I could do it but
making this moment abstract just felt false and acted to me.
Whilst working on Eve 3’s suicide scene we ran
an exercise that included all of the cast members whispering something into the
actress’ ear. This was either something horrible that we thought about the
character or a reason that she should kill herself from our characters. Because
I also play Eve I just imagined what would’ve been my character’s main reason
for wanting to take their life. I said ‘You’re never going to be a part of anything ever
again.’ This
I believe is one of the main reasons that Eve maintains so much hope and
resilience throughout the play. However, she soon loses Celia and her links to
suffrage altogether; leaving her hopeless and alone.
In this scene I carry Eve to her hospital bed and
when exiting carry off the bowl, knife and sponge.
14
The opening was reworked today because some of
us were lacking purpose. This was mainly to remind ourselves of what we were
doing and when we are doing those actions/movements. We then focused on the
opening to the female characters because it wasn’t as smooth as it originally
was. Instead moments had been lost and weren’t being shared with the audience
enough. This was fixed quickly but not thoroughly because we had to move on.
We then reminded ourselves of what we were
taking on and off of stage which helped to clarify with the ASM so that
everything was definite. We continued just looking over a few moment such as a
moment which happens in Act 1 Scene 5 - ‘Lights Out’. There is a
sequence where the prisoners walk in unison around their cell.
This was all being taking place while the male
cast members were working on neatening a scene outside.
We decided to run all of these moments and the
moments in between which was really useful. I felt as though I was a lot more
secure on what was happening when, where things sound be and I trusted that
other cast members would move things at the correct moments.
15
We did a full run in the space
16
We had a movement director come in today who
worked on the opening of the play. We started off with a warm up which was all
about exploring our bodies and the space. Ways we could move around without
physically walking and acknowledging others around us.
We then got straight into devising. We worked on
a moment where the males walk across all of the women’s backs. This I can
imagine looking nice but wasn’t the most comfortable thing to experience
personally. Depending on where the boys placed their feet, depended on how
painful receiving their weight felt. However this varied amongst us which
proved even more difficult. We’re just going to have to grin and bear the pain
because I like how physically symbolic this moment is. Of course women being
walked all over is a figure of speech (not anymore!) and even the hunched over
curled compact positions that we are in whilst being walked on indicated
inferiority and protection. The men don’t care about the the women they are
standing on to get to where they need to go and yet they wouldn’t be able to
take this trajectory without women impacting their lives. This includes mothers
birthing and nurturing them, wives feeding and organising their lives, nurses
caring for them, young daughters bringing them joy etc. This moment reminds me
of one of the monologues I auditioned with Called ‘A Woman of No Importance by
Oscar Wilde:
‘Men don't understand what mothers are. I am no
different from other women except in the wrong done me and the wrong I did, and
my very heavy punishments and great disgrace. And yet, to bear you I had to look on death.
To nurture you I had to wrestle with it. Death fought with me for you. All women have to
fight with death to keep their children. Death, being childless, wants our
children from us. Gerald, when you were naked I clothed you, when you were hungry I gave
you food. Night and day all that long winter I tended you. No office is too
mean, no care too lowly for the thing we women love - and oh! how I loved YOU. Not
Hannah, Samuel more. And you needed love, for you were weakly, and only love
could have kept you alive. Only love can keep any one alive. And boys are careless
often and without thinking give pain, and we always fancy that when they come
to man's estate and know us better they will repay us. But it is not so. The
world draws them from our side, and they make friends with whom they are
happier than they are with us, and have amusements from which we are barred,
and interests that are not ours: and they are unjust to us often, for when they
find life bitter they blame us for it, and when they find it sweet we do not
taste its sweetness with them . . . You made many friends and went into their houses and
were glad with them, and I, knowing my secret, did not dare to follow, but
stayed at home and closed the door, shut out the sun and sat in darkness. What
should I have done in honest households? My past was ever with me. . . . And you thought I didn't
care for the pleasant things of life. I tell you I longed for them, but did not
dare to touch them, feeling I had no right. You thought I was happier working amongst the
poor. That was my mission, you imagined. It was not, but where else was I to
go? The sick do not ask if the hand that smooths their pillow is pure, nor the
dying care if the lips that touch their brow have known the kiss of sin. It was
you I thought of all the time; I gave to them the love you did not need:
lavished on them a love that was not theirs . . . And you thought I spent too
much of my time in going to Church, and in Church duties. But where else could
I turn? God's house is the only house where sinners are made welcome, and you
were always in my heart, Gerald, too much in my heart. For, though day after
day, at morn or evensong, I have knelt in God's house, I have never repented of
my sin. How could I repent of my sin when you, my love, were its fruit! Even
now that you are bitter to me I cannot repent. I do not. You are more to me
than innocence. I would rather be your mother - oh! much rather! - than have
been always pure . . . Oh, don't you see? don't you understand? It is my
dishonour that has made you so dear to me. It is my disgrace that has bound you
so closely to me. It is the price I paid for you - the price of soul and body - that makes me love
you as I do. Oh, don't ask me to do this horrible thing. Child of my shame, be
still the child of my shame!’
As the last man walked over us, in cannon we all spread out on the floor in alternating directions which I think worked well because it showed a reaction to interacting with the men. An image that once again showed the negative effects of the 1913 man.
Attention was also given to the section of Emily Davison being hit by the horse. Which looks brilliant, a little messy but that’s only because it was just being created.
We also played around with slow motion and normal time during the race and have made a point of changing the moment that Phoebe gets up and walks off stage more dramatic by staring at the where Emily’s body would still be (to mark the moment), before also exiting. I like this because not only does it look good but to me it’s quite metaphoric. Emily Davison was last alive at the Epsom Derby, she never left there conscious or regain consciousness before dying. To me, that is the moment when Emily’s consciousness gets up and walks away from her body.I’d like to believe that she knew that this would happen and if she does acknowledge the state that she is in, then she was proud of her achievement and stepping forward as the first martyr of the movement.
The movement director left after making these moments flow better and then the boys worked on their scene. Then later there was a little time to work on the womens opening moment (Smashing Eve). We spent time painting the scene and our surroundings around us mentally. By doing this we knew what shops were where so that we knew what we were looking at and what window we were smashing. For example, I smash a hat window with a brown watteau hat and two black male top hats of different heights. This is a fancy shop for the middle to upper class citizens and is juxtaposed by a small open flower shop and a poorly dressed man selling newspapers at a stand.
We then ran the scene and there were a couple of changes which gives everyone more purpose. For example the reason that everyone is brought to the center of the stage is to welcome Eve who looks lost rather than everyone just coming together at one given time. Although this movement looked fine, there was no natural reasoning for it and so now (naturally) this moment is more truthful and purposeful. I also stay centre stage for a lot more of the scene which has opened up the stage more and has given me the opportunity to raise my voice when saying ‘Excuse me’ and so has also changed my objective because now I have to try harder to get Celia’s attention.
The actual smashing of the window still looks terrible but will be fine on the actual night because I will cue the sound rather than it being attached to the track. Once this is done, I now believe the line ‘I did it. I did it’ to the audience/window in disbelief which gives Celia the purpose of then snapping Eve out of her daydream and into the window smashing sequence.
During this sequence I am shocked at what I’ve done and also a little amazed at what everyone around me is doing. I think this is the first moment that Eve realises she is a part of something. I also think that she is immediately greeted with a thrill after she’s smashed the glass and isn’t afraid because she is a part of something.
This was a really successful rehearsal and I discovered a lot about my character ans the scenes.
17
Some ex Brit students came in today and ran a warm up for us today. These warm ups were fun and giggly which I really liked. My favourite exercise was one where everyone stuck their tounges out and had to try and talk to other people remaining this way. The result was that it was very difficult to understand the other people and very frustrating that I myself couldn’t get them to understand me. We all sounded like idiots doing this which made it really funny but we all also made it our mission to remain serious and try to articulate what we were saying more so that our partner could understand what we were saying.
We also did an exercise where we all got into a circle and the person in the middle did something silly, whatever they wanted to. And because as a cast we all felt connected and supported, we trusted each other and were able to perform some bizzare moments.
We then began rehearsing different things. Costume were in today so we were able to try on our costumes and make sure everything fitted. I love my costume so much and the fit was good. The only issue I see which isn’t really a issue but we only have one costume between 3 very varying height difference girls. I feel like the skirt is half way up my leg but will be to the floor on one of the other girls. Apart from that, it’s perfect colour wise, fit wise and period wise.
Later Tare and I spent some time with our director going over what the scene needed to pace it better.
Notes:
- Speed up the pace of the scene
- Work on physicality
- Maybe decide on a habit for the character
At the end of the day we all sat in a circle and had some heart to heart because it was our last lesson before christman. We all gave each other post-it-notes which said what we thought that person should work on. We also discussed what we were looking forward to next term. I said I look forward to what people discover about their characters over the christmas holidays and playfulness.
This is the Post-it-not that I received:
18
After our christmas break we ran our play. The run was really good, the best so far in my opinion but there are some areas that need to be improved. This includes the speed of the runs as this one run took the entire day and also secureness on the opening. If individuals including myself were more secure on making the diagonal line closer then the opening would run smoother and the boys would have less difficulty walking on our backs.
From the run I know that I personally need to work on improving incorporating an action for Eve (perhaps rubbing her hand a lot or something that reflects her craving for cigarettes?), the March of the Women song because I find it difficult to reach the correct pitch, I also need to focus on the bed scene where I tear the bed to shreds because I didn’t really know what I was doing in the run.
Antonia and Nancy did really well in their scenes. The chemistry they manage to create running that scene was great, especially since I’ve been filling in for Antonia, seeing that the two of them can just jump back into their characters relationship so naturally really highlighted their abilities as actress’.
19
Costume Parade:
I really like my characters outfit. There have been a few changes such as removing the original corset style belt because it was too modern because as they are in style at the moment and it wasn’t keeping to the period. This has been replaced with a material belt that is tied at the back. The hat is also no longer a part of the costume for Eve because it doesn’t fit on all of the Eve’s heads.
The costume parade went on for such a long time that we missed a lot of our rehearsal time and so were unable to do what we wished to this lesson.
In the afternoon we only got a chance to run the opening and act 1. The opening went really well, it’s beginning to look a little smoother although even this could do with smoothening still. The women’s entrance onto the stage also went really well, the cross overs worked and were smooth. There is also clear intention during this moment. I love this transition so much because it reminds me of smoke in the sense we all intertwine and twist around each other. It’s just fluid and free which is exactly what makes a brilliant transition. I also felt that I was being playful and free this rehearsal. Over the christmas break I did have a sit down with myself because I needed to rid myself of the fear of doing wrong, going through scenes too slowly and caring what others thought about what I was doing. So I went into the scene with a clear head, tried out a few different things and it was the first rehearsal that I wasn’t told to speed up the scene or anything really. This rehearsal also gave me confidence to continue doing this in future rehearsals. My biggest goal through this rehearsal process is to be playful and recreat always. I admit I find this difficult especially since a lot of my scenes consist of my character speaking to herself or quick moments where only a couple of words are exchanged but I will try my hardest to do this.
Act 1 in general needs to speed up because we should have been able to get onto Act 2 a little at least but I was very happy with this lessons rehearsal.
20
We pretty much did our own thing this lesson while scenes were worked on. I was just looking over the actioning I did on my script and also drawing out the stage dynamics and entrances and exits so I could work it all out in my head.
I also ran ‘Love at first Potato’ with Tara and we got some people to watch and tell us our intentions, whether we were being truthful, we tried switching it us a bit but having the peel in one place because we are being observed does disturb the freedom a little but in a good way because that also makes the scene more realistic. I attempt to achieve freedom but are unable to because I’m being watched which ultimately restricts me and means I am aware of my surroundings and delivering truth.
One of the scenes we working on was the bath scene in which my character (a random suffragette I have named Helen) gives her towel to Florence because she feels sorry for her. I believe Helen doesn’t know who Florence is otherwise she would have immediately given her towel to her out of respect. But Helen is a kind hearted suffragette with a beautiful personality and a loving family that are working class (Husband: Joseph, 5 children: Prue, Ruth, Angela, James and John). This scene shows her at her most vulnerable but her beauty still shines through as she offers her towel to a much in need Florence.
My feedback was that my intentions in this scene were really good which made the scene flow and realistic to watch. I was happy that this shone through because I really want this scene to make the audience feel disgusted. This is not a nice scene where we’re all in towels and the audience get to see a little flesh, it is appalling, we are embarrassed and I suppose I almost want the audience to feel embarrassed for having to witness the atrocity before their eyes.
21
Full run. However, I did go home after act one as I am currently so unwell and I think it would benefit my performance for tomorrow if I go home and rest. I am also not in the second act particularly so I wasn’t disturbing the rehearsal.
22
We did a full run again and this rehearsal I felt better, not amazing but definitely a lot better than yesterday.
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We ran act 2 today which went well. Act 2 is really a question of speed because some of the scenes are long in length and can feel a bit long to watch but are beautiful and truthful. If they could be sped up a bit though, they would be wonderful and easier to watch.
After the run we did some improvisation. There were various improvs but the one that I was in was Eve working in Limehouse and Matt played Mr Blair the factory owner who sexually abuses many of the women. The scene was fairly simple as it consisted of him making us feel uncomfortable and doing/saying inappropriate things. My reaction wasn’t much of anything because in all honesty I don’t think it would be. I am a factory worker that needs my job, I can’t say/do anything in response to what he chooses to say/do to me because it could cause Eve to lose the one thing that keeps her going and brings her in money. She hasn’t known anything other than limehouse. Also if you become subject to putting up with something then it becomes okay and I believe that Eve would have been aware that the things this man was saying and definitely doing were horrid, it would have also been the only affection she had received from a man. I don’t think she could have imagined another man treating her any better, she was alone and put up with Mr Blair almost in the same way that shop owners put up with rude customers - with a smile on her face and a ‘the customer’s always right’ attitude.
I learnt in this scene that Mr Blair makes some of us women stay behind after long shifts to try on the clothes we’ve made to see how they look. He makes us do this naked and then he always dismisses everyone except one individual who doesn’t leave until morning. All the women prey that it won’t be them and wouldn’t wish the things Mr Blair does to them on anyone.
This has ultimately strengthened my hate towards Mr Blair and given me a clearer vision of the dreadful things he would make Eve do. It has also allowed me to recognise where she has come from, adding onto her past which is not really mentioned in the play. It means that I have more reasons for her sadness and lonely entrance into the play along with her longing to be a part of something.
Tech
In the tech we changes the opening so that when reaching forward in unison with Phoebe we then all just look straight out when leaning backwards and forwards until she falls on the floor and then our focus is drawn back to her.
We did spend a lot of time on the opening because it just took quite a while to work on timing and test using the dry ice. I am well excited for the opening because it looks fantastic and we’ve worked really hard to get the piece looking the way it does. We raised funds for the dry ice, we brought in someone Theia to help us with movement and Phoebe’s rotating washing machine lift and it seems to be paying off.
Everything else was fairly straight forward it wasn’t really about us just lighting, music and cues. So ‘Smashing Eve’ ran fine and the prison cells were just a matter of standing and putting the chairs in the right places because our cells were lit. apart from that all went well although it was extremely long.
In my opinion although this was extremely boring the opportunity to be in the space again and practice using the entrances and exits was what I focused on and appreciated.
Tech was also for practicing with guns and smoking which was interesting to say the least.
Dress
This run was beautiful, I loved every second of doing the dress. The opening went brilliantly, and although there was no audience the atmosphere was incredible. I felt alive, electric and my adrenaline was going. I felt I was truthful and that all my personal scenes went well. After my scene in the cell I could not stop crying off stage, I was so emotionally there and I was distraught. I was also rather sad to be handing the character over, especially just as her fiery fight was beginning for me but I was proud of what I just did on stage. The other scenes that I wasn’t in were not all going as well and the performance took quite a long time but I think we’re just accepting that our play is extremely long.
What went well:
- Being emotionally connected
- Remembering entrances and exits
- Delivering truth
What could have been improved:
- Smoothness of the whole play
- Remaining positive off stage
- Smoke like a smoker
Her Naked Skin 7pm show Tuesday 23rd January 2018
I was extremely happy with how the opening and all of my scenes played out. The quick costume change leading to the scene where I tear up the bed was a bit slower because costume had put my prison uniform back on the hanger; but I don’t think the audience sensed a wait, it’s just I know that I've done it faster before. Emotionally this scene was not as good for me. It is quite a difficult moment to become emotionally connected because I have under a minute to do my quick change and place my body and mind to a different timezone and location. I then have to become extremely emotional and frustrated to the point of explosion so that I have the intention to make a mess of my cell. For me something was missing in this last scene of mine, I can’t quite put my finger on it (probably mainly just the lack of emotional connection which may or may not have affected my performance).
Now looking back on the night, I lacked positivity offstage too and was a bit harsh on myself, blaming my whole performance that night when in reality it was just the last scene. I still feel I delivered to the audience I just know that for me something was emotionally missing. I think sometimes you can give the audience what they want and not be emotionally connected but as an actor it doesn’t feel right and for me it definitely felt like I was cheating. I think also, because I maxed out in the dress rehearsal, I compared my performance which is something you should never do but almost always do as an actor.
Using the cigarettes in the play was a bit difficult and I know Tara and I have rehearsed linking arms which didn’t really work when we finally performed. Tara went to grab my arm and I had to just play it off and say ‘mind me cigg’. Also not having an ashtray near us also made the situation harder. And the smoke from the cigarette seemed to be attracted to my eye which stung a lot. But I managed to grin and bear the smoke, and find other ways to be intimate with Tara. Instead of linking arms Eve’s actions changed to things like ‘to whisper’ which meant I had to lean in more, or Eve would fiddle with Celia’s scarf and tug on her coat which meant the characters were able to keep an air of intimacy and privacy without burning holes in one anothers clothing. This actually worked really well for my next objective ‘To leave (but not without Celia)’ because it meant that rather than pulling her by her arm I was tugging at her coat which felt more realistic and instinctual.
Overall I am really happy with this performance, there is definitely room for improvement but the show was beautiful and I am so happy to be a part of the wonderful message we’re all sharing and I think our believe and honor does fire our characters up a lot to the extent that it makes the acting a little easier at moments in the play.
In the scene that Eve slits her wrist we struggled to put her bed dress on her but then we decided that it would be a good idea to take the chairs then the table as there were two chairs and only one table however I didn’t know that Roseby and Jimmy’s cue to leave was us moving the table. Everything ran smoothly but I did panic for about 10 seconds because she wasn’t budging.
Note: This show I feel I didn’t do to great but everyone else thought they did great.
What went well:
- Scenes felt natural
- Florence’s speech scene
- Projection
What could be improved:
- Place basket down quieter
- Get on stage faster
- Hammer timing?
- Take table off first
Her Naked Skin 4:30pm show Monday 29th January 2018
Show number 2 was completely different from the first one. The opening still went really well and the smash was still a little late in ‘Smashing Eve’ but everything else was different. Now a lot of the cast were not impressed with this show because it being a matinee performance, the audience were a lot more quieter and less responsive as they were younger; also things didn’t go as smoothly as they perhaps had the previous night. Now for me, I understand this but I also really enjoyed the performance. I played around with the scenes and it was different from the first night but I’m proud of that because I didn’t want it to be the same. During ‘Holloway is Opening’ I stumbled on my lines but it by far was my favourite mistake and I purposely stumbled on the rest of the lines Eve said to the prison official. This added to my characters fear and the lack of control she quite literally had over it.
One thing I made sure I didn’t do that I had done in the last performance was lean too far forward in ‘Love at First Potato.’ I noticed that in the first show I felt as if I was hunched over the bucket as I was peeling the potatoes and decided I wanted to open myself out a little more to the audience. I also placed the basket down more gently this time.
Also my potato peeling was actually quite good in this scene and I feel like when I dropped the knife in the pot it was the most realistic because rather than preempting it, I rested the knife in the pot, fiddled and wiped my hands on my apron then went in search of it.
Part of the issue with losing the knife was that I first imagined there to be quite a big pot in which you could easily lose a knife. But having a tiny bucket that you have to make seem like it’s even possible to lose a knife is quite difficult but I think we pulled it off.
Now something that was quite irritating during this show was the open sharing of negativity during the run. Everyone was feeling it because it was verbalised everywhere you went. There were cast members upset with how their scenes went, a steward talking with costume commenting on our lack of energy and bad showmanship along with costum who were commenting on how rubbish the show was and how they can’t wait to move on to the musical theatre shows. Now this was like a stab in the back and it was awful because the show wasn’t even over yet and we were subject to such negativity. Costume even left during the show and when I needed them for a quick change they were nowhere to be found. Yet again there was a delay with me getting on stage because the costume team weren’t doing their jobs.
My bed tearing scene actually went really well, I coloured my words differently and the audience laughed at the irony of the fact that I was asking for the light out again before I smacked them in the face with the tearing of the bed which I think shocked them.
One of the things that didn’t go as planned was that my cigarette wouldn’t light and so I was just holding it. Luckily I can get away with this as there’s a lot of action going on in ‘All hail Florence.’ But for the last performance my two aims are to get the ciggy lit and for the smash of the window to be on time.
Note: This show I feel I did great but everyone else thought they did awful.
What went well:
- Playful in scenes
- Put basket down quieter
What could be improved
- Get to spot in cell faster in ‘Lights Out’
Her Naked Skin show 3 Monday 5th February 2018
The final show but it will never be the end for this amazing feeling. I know it has touched so many people. I have been approached by individuals that it has inspired. I have been inspired and so has Eve Douglas. I have loved the journey Eve and I have faced together and all she has taught me. In my opinion Eve represents all of us, she knows nothing, she is not a part of this huge amazing thing that advocates change but she is capable of becoming one of them.
The show was beautiful. I’ve always had trouble with feeling the line ‘I’d murder for a smoke’ because I quite literally hate and am against smoking but I managed to hit it in this performance. I felt it, I wanted it, I needed it. I imagined Johnny Depp and he became my smoke and the emotion came naturally. I also finally hit the smash at the right time and when the men whisked us off stage it felt so real and intense. I did actually hurt myself a little at this point being roughed up made it all the more real.
In ‘Holloway is Open’ I really took in my surroundings. I saw the metal frames, rusty bolts, endless hallways littered with women that look fragile and hollow which is partially what makes Eve more petrified. I think this also adds a sense of the audience being in the scene and yet not in the scene. We are able to see the room beyond them and yet not them -this traps them in the room and yet doesn’t allow them to exist or be acknowledged.
My potato peeling was awful in this show, maybe I let nerves get the better of me but chunks of the potato were coming off rather than just the skin. Besides this I do believe the scene went well. Yet again it was different from the previous two performances which I appreciated. It wasn’t my favourite but it also wasn’t a copy of either of the previous shows. I didn't cop out, I kept pushing the character and her objectives.
I also got back on stage this time with no delay for the tearing up the bed scene and I purely think this was because I told costume to just leave my costume for me to sort out. The lack of professionalism from costume was really irritating throughout this process. Everyone thrived with their roles for the show except for them. Facetiming friends and complaining about how bad the show is, is not okay. And everything ran smoothly without them interfering with my things. It is clear that I am annoyed with costume’s conduct and that is simply because the show could have ran so much smoother if they compromised more or tried to help where it was needed/requested.
One thing I tried to focus on in the scenes was Celia, I made sure Eve was looking at Celia a lot more than I had done the two previous nights. I wanted there to be a pull/push force between the characters because they ultimately are two opposites that later attract.
I chose not to reenter the bath scene after I leave because it didn’t feel right, and everytime I enter, I am then leaving immediately after. Another thing that I added into this scene in the second and third performance was my embodiment. I already close myself off to look small and vulnerable but one thing I didn’t think about was how to make myself seem skinnier as though I’d been on hunger strike. By sucking in of course but most importantly bending over (especially hanging my head forward) makes each bone on my spine protrude making me appear to be just skin and bones.
What went well:
- Playfulness
- Quick change
- Hitting the smash
- Lighting the ciggy
- Awareness to surrounding
- Attraction to Celia
What could be improved:
- Costumes understanding of their job role
Overall
Each show has varied so much and yet each has achieved a standing ovation. I think overall things ran smoother in the first performance but this was also most likely because we rehearsed fully on the day and it was close to all the other previous rehearsal compared to the last 2 shows which had no previous rehearsal and were weeks after any proper rehearsals.
The only improvement that I can think of is touring the show round the world to make improvements on the human race rather than my performance.
Looking back on the work and rehearsal process, I am able to reflect on my development of the character. First in the exploration of Eve’s innocence and then when filling in for Antonia, the variation of innocence. Also getting the potato scene to work took a while as there was something missing but constant rehearsal of this scene meant that this was achieved.
Creating the foundation for the character and whole plot has been one of the most difficult and amazing moments to work on. And I had feedback from audience members on great characterisation with physicality and accent. I really worked hard on these two things so am grateful for their recognition.
Improvisations also allowed me to unlock a lot about Eve Douglas, especially for the last show as we all came in early to so some improv.This automatically changed moments within the last show as I was able to give Eve new intentions.
To conclude I know that of course there are always improvements that can be made but I find it very difficult to pin down the improvements that could be made. This is mainly because all wrong doings were accepted and dealt with and so were no longer accidents. I am so proud of this piece, me and my cast because we did that and that was beautiful.
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