Week 1

'13'

When Karen told us that we were going to be doing the play '13' written by Mike Bartlett and let us have a read of act one I was already excited. I liked the fact that is had many characters and not just a main one and how the characters cross paths because they all have the same dream. The play is set in London during 2010. It has the themes of death, issues and morals and it is believe that Mike Bartlett was influences by public opinions, the news and the Bible. It also seems to be about politics around 2010-2011. I think it's going to be interesting to perform as Mike Bartlett said it should be performed in a circle so we're going to have to come up with some ideas on how to do that.

My thoughts/ finding my character

Once I had read act one and had read as Shannon and Alice, I wanted to read more. I read through the whole play to see which character I wanted to try and which character I was more like. The first character I liked was Ruth because I knew it would be a challenge for me to learn the lines and she is nothing like me so it would of been good to go deep into her character. My seconds character I like was Rachel because she showed a lot of emotion to the audience that at the moment I can't do so it would be another great challenge for me. My last character was Holly, I liked Holly because of her whole background and the fact that she is opinionated and rude but it's because she's been through a tough life "Why would God let me be born into a fucked up family with no money and a shit life".  I also felt as I was more like her in the way of her being a student with no money and going through a rough time. 

Casting

When it came to casting I decided to go up for the roll of Holly since I thought she was the better option for me and I could relate to her more. I did various scenes with Brandon and Milo who were going up for the character as Mark. Once Karen told me she has gave me the roll of Holly I was thrilled and wanted to start finding more about her to help me develop her character more.

Behind the scenes/ my character

After been given the roll of Holly I decided to read through the scenes Holly is in to try and find out more about her attitude to certain things and the way she acts. I also searched up the women who played Holly in the performance at the National Theatre which was Lara Rossi. We also had to change the characteristics of my character. When we blocked the first scene with Holly in Karen explained that I needed to act the way Holly would and not act as I would. I began thinking of how Holly acts to certain characters in the play for example Mark. Holly has been sleeping with Mark for a long period of time, she now wants it to stop but is scared to tell him because of what he might do "What we do. I don't like it". She acts very differently to Mark then she does with the rest of the characters. She comes across very rude, opinionated and horrible but then when she is with Mark she doesn't stand up to him because she is scared of him "and then - she - Holly said I was scary". She also acts nice and sweet when it comes to her grandma Esther even though she easily takes money off of her "Thirty?".

Strengths/weaknesses

At the moment my weaknesses are sharing ideas with the group and involving myself when we are discussing ideas. I need to focus more on developing my character and showering the audience Holly and not me. I need to think back on previous workshops to see if they can be used in any of the scenes to help them become more interesting. I have been helping out people develop their characters personalities and what I think they should wear. My personal aim is to find out more about my character and see how I can develop her further.