Week 7 - Road

Due to only being in college Wednesday and Thursday this week all our lessons were dedicated to Road. After this week I do feel very disappointed in myself because I don't feel like I've put enough effort and time into this play like I should have. I'm annoyed that I've only just realised on the last week of rehearsal but it just means that this week and this weekend I will be working on Road none stop until I have improved. On Wednesday we started from page 17 of the script and wrote down feedback for each other. I got some feedback from Issie and Jack which I have been looking back to just like my previous feedback from Kirsty and Deborah.

 

 

My feedback from Deborah on Wednesday was:

 

• Improve on Manfred, Doreen and Lanes scene
• Search for the key longer in Bald and Doreen's scene and be flirty
• Remember your drunk
• Energy! and keep it high
• Say the line 'Don't Look' to the audience

After this feedback me and Jake who is Bald worked out that he would start searching for the keys on the left side and work to the middle of the audience and I would do the same but starting from the right side. We then would both meet in the middle where we would find the keys. I also have to act drunk and flirty for this scene so I thought I'd swap to each side and keep moving my feet to try and stand still because when your drunk you feel dizzy and as if everything around you is moving. To act flirty I will do embaressing flicks of the hair because when your drunk you think you look good doing it but in reality it's so embarressing so I think it would fit well. I also have to remember energy! because I want the audience to go home remembering me.

 

On Thursday we did a full run through of the play without interuptions and then at the end Kirsty and Laura gave us all some feedback. My feedback was:

 

• For everyone to remember to walk on stage in character no matter what!
• I need to be clearer vocally
• Slow down the pace when speaking
• Make Lane pull me from the bottom of stage to scullery
• Make 'Don't look' more giggerly, girly and put more action
• During Proffessor scene face front
• React to the proffessor during his last monolgue of our scene
• Remember to be northern when off stage for Mrs Bald
• If suppose to be watching Manfred be giggerly and react to him

Once I got this feedback it became obvious to me I really need to work on my vocal work which I've always had trouble with as I always speak quite fast. In order to resolve this I have been looking through my vocal exercies I have done and wrote about for voice on articulation to help me speak clearer so since then I've been using these exercies to help improve. I've came up with an idea of how I'm going to act when I say the line 'Don't look'. I'm going to point at everyone in the audience whilst saying the line and then turn around to put my leg up on the wall and look back to the audience and give them an over exaggerated wink. For the proffessors scene Laura suggested taking the recorder off the proffessor as Dor would see it as a spot light moment and look towards the auidence so they can see all the expression. We want to show the audience that Dor and the proffessor are close to each other and mayeb even good friends so that's the sort of relationship we want to put forward. I've been working on my northern acceent for Mrs Bald and have tried my best to bring the tone away from the one I use for Dor to show the different characters. Due to only doing the scene with Manfred a couple of times me and Kennedy thought about just being a bit giggerly as it's after we have been drinking and have her maybe rest on my shoulder because alcohol makes some people tired.

 

I'm going to be 100% committed to this play this upcoming week like I should of been all the way from the beginning. My priority is working on all my feedback this weekend and to go back Monday and to have improved. I look forward to performing and giving it everything I have in order to make sure the auidence goes home remembering me.





Week 6 - Road

The main thing this week was going over the play and getting feedback. I got quite a bit of stuff I need to work on. I've been trying to get feeback from everyone to help me improve as much as I possibly can. We went through Doreen and Bald's scene for the first time today and I need to work on:

• Acting drunk
• Act like I'm up for a bit with Bald but not until he finds my keys
• Act a bit flirty
• Energy!
• Giggle and laugh a bit to show that you and Bald know each other and to show a bit of flirting
• Accent!!
• Get lines on point

I've started by going over the lines at home (Monday night/Tuesday) and now I have them all on point. Today (Wednesday) we went over our scene with Hannah who helped a lot. I've already improved so much with the acting and I have the accent for that scene now thanks to Hannah and going over it today in Sarah's lesson.There are just a few more things to work on like saying one in the accent. Issie gave me the great advice to make a O shape with my mouth which is helping Nikey also suggested putting my tougue behind my top front teeth and try saying it like that. I feel like during my scene with Jake there has been much improvement and you can tell I'm drunk and Hannah didn't have any bad feedback about it once we finished with it so hopefully it's all good. 

 

I now know the accents for most of my lines I just need learn it for mine and Joe's scene and my last scene with Doreen, Lane and Manfred. Then I have the accent for all my scene which I'm hoping to get help with tomorrow which is Thursday. After that all I need to sort out is my voice for Mrs Bald and get my outfit for Doreen and I'm sorted.

Today (Thurday) due to only having 2 hours at college we focused on the people who have monologues which was Frank, Kennedy, Soph, Nathan and Nikey. We watched them seperately and have them all good feedback as well as stuff to improve on. After we went through the play from the beginning. Before mine and Kennedys scene we decided to go on laughing and giggerling so just before we stepped on stage we said something funny to each other and then it triggered us off. I think it was a good move as it shows we're close friends who can have a good old laugh together and shows the relationship between our characters Lane and Doreen.

Then it was my scene with the proffessor which I haven't got the accent for yet, I was hoping to do that today but we didn't end up having time. I think the scenes was at it's best today, I did get some feedback from Laura saying to be more flirty and happy when speaking about the memories and the people so I think I'll go over that scene with Joe during the weekend.

I'm happy with how far I am at the moment because I have improved so much since the beginning of the play with the accent and everything. There are a few more things I need to work on with the accent and I need to put the accent with the scene I have with the proffessor. I have to try and conqor the tone for Mrs Bald which I'll do over the weekend. Then all I have to work on is the scene with Manfred and Lane because I'm not sure on the blocking or anything there so I have to figure that out and then I'm ready for the performance. I know what I'm having for my costume so I just need to get that and then I'm completely sorted.

Week 5 - Road

The key things we've done this week is blocking scenes and going over lines whilst working on the accent at the same time. We worked on the pre-show which will be all the characters on stage in a freeze frame of something from one of our scenes. For example me and Jake are looking for my keys which happens in the scene with Doreen and Bald when she's lost her keys. Joe and Matt as the professor and Scullery are talking to the audience before the show starts and then they come around to us.

 

My blocking is that after the pre-show I exit stage right and then come on bottom of stage right with Kennedy  for our scene with Scullery. We walk from the bottom of stage right up to the top where he is and try to climb the wall and then we finally do. I then exit that scene stage left and then enter stage left again for my scene with the professor and exit stage left again. I then go round to stage right in order for me to be Mrs Bald behind the curtains and then enter stage right again for my next scene with Kennedy and Nikey. We exit stage left and then I enter stage left for my scene with Jake and then we both exit stage left together.

 

We went through mine and Joe's scene as we've not yet gone through it and it went okay. I got some feedback about rushing so I need to slow it down a bit and I need to add the accent in. I know all my lines and I tried to add the accent when learning them but I find it hard without someone saying it first so I can repeat. Luckily though we're now doing the accent in voice so that should help me and I've been asking Phoebe as she's really good at it and I might ask Matt as well. I have tried watching people online but then I'm not really sure if I'm saying it right as they can't exactly tell me.

I now know what my outfit will be for Doreen, I'm going to wear pink leggings with maybe a skirt over the top with a pink or blue top, a leather jacket, heels with my hair curly. I also might wear some hoop earings but I'm not sure yet.

I'm also trying to come up with a different tone of voice for Mrs Bald, I'm want to try and speak like Howards mum from The Big Bang Theory but I'm so bad at accents and changing my voice that it is a challenge. I will get the tone of voice in the end though because it will be really funny and she's quite like Howards mum in my opinion.

Week 4 - Road

Costume for Mrs Bald - I have been told that whenever Mrs Bald speaks she is off stage so I don't really need to think of an outfit but if I were I would have a night because Mrs Bald is in bed trying to sleep during the play so a nighty would fit perfectly. For Mrs Bald though I do need to do a different voice for her then I do with Doreen so that's something I need to think about.

 

We went in groups at the beginning of the week to help each other with monologues and scenes so we could help them improve. Jake and I went through the scene with Doreen, Barry, Bald and Mrs Bald. Deborah has changed this scene so Barry is now Bald and Mrs Bald has been cut as I'm Doreen and Mrs Bald. Our first run through didn't go as well as I accidently played as Mrs Bald and Jake played as Blowpipe. When we were finally clear of our characters we did it again and Nathan and Matt who were in our group gave us some feedback. They said to make sure we bring across our characters, interact a bit more with the audience when looking for the keys and when Jake says "How you doing? Do you a fancy a bit?" in a none sexual way as he is Bald now in this scene and maybe refer to a drink in his hand. 

 

We did some work on my first scene with Lane and Scullery as we haven't worked on it. I also tried it with the accent which I did find difficult but then I went with Laura and I think I have it. I just need to remember how to say it in the accent so I will be going over it. We performed it in front of the class and got some feedback.

 

I'm happy with my feedback as there quite a few good feedback that I got and I'm going to work on the bad during the Easter break. I also went through my scene with Joe for the first time which was originally Lane and the professor but it's now Doreen and the professor. I find this scene a bit hard as it kind of changes my interpretation of Doreen because the scene is suppose to be with Lane. I think this scene could show how Doreen is up for as much as Lane is and she doesn't just follow Lane around everywhere. It will allow the audience to see Doreen without Lane and maybe understand her a bit better. I did get a bit of feedback from this which I didn't mind because it was my first time doing this scene so I wanted feedback. The feedback that most people said was to be flirty with the professor because in this scene Doreen wants to get money out of him by sleeping with him and then he starts talking about his work so Doreen knows she's not going to get anything so just forgets it and stops flirting.

 

 

During the Easter break I plan to learn my lines with the northern accent and to practice my scenes to see if I can do bigger gestures and expressions to show more of my character. I also want to try and get my outfit for when we go back. I hopefully will have the northern accent by the time I go back if I practise which I definitely plan to do.

 

Week 3 - Road

We've focused on our characters a lot this week and what we think of them so I've been doing a lot of thinking on my character Mrs Bald and Bald. I see their relationship as they've been together for quite a few years and are now getting sick and tired of each other. They don't really want to be in each other's company, well I feel like Bald doesn't want to be in Mrs Bald's company. I think Bald is the boring type and Mrs Bald wouldn't mind going to the pub and getting drunk where as he would and would probably stay at home. I feel like Bald wants to seem like the man of the house by really Mrs Bald is in charge which he doesn't like so when she asks him something or tells him something he doesn't listen and does the opposite. I feel like she really enjoys annoying him. They have a daughter called Chantel who Bald is very protective over but Mrs Bald does mind her going out, having fun and enjoying herself. I'm not really sure yet why their houses is such a mess that Scullery thought know one lived there. I had the idea that maybe their just messy people or have moved in and didn't unpack which would suggest why throughout the play their in their house because they probably didn't plan on staying on the Road that long. It could just be the fact their really lazy and have loads of junk they haven't got rid of yet.

 

 

 

 

I am finding it hard to find out more about Doreen then I did Mrs Bald as hers was all in the script but Doreen is a bit more of a mystery. I have come up with a few things for Doreen though, for example I think she might have a small job as she's not trying to get money off anyone and she's able to go out buy some drinks and later on some chips. I do feel as she is very loose and up for anything but not as much as Lane. For example page 16 with Scullery him and Lane just start kissing and as Doreen goes off she says "Snog anything she will. Captain fucking Pugwash" which suggests she has a bit of class in the way she wouldn't kiss any guy who walked past. I think after going through the scrip a bit more I'll hopefully find a bit more out. I have been looking a people who have previously played Doreen to see what they wore and everything so I can get an idea of what to wear as this play is set in the 1980's. In the picture below Doreen is the one on the left and this is the scene I was talking about. I knew that Lane was on the right from the way she's look at Scullery so I'm guessing their about to kiss. This picture also supports my idea about Doreen not being as loose as Lane because Doreen is wearing leggings and Lane is wearing a short skirt. Which shows Lane is more of a 'slut' then her because she covers up where as Lane likes to show skin.

 

 

From the clothing they're wearing I can tell that bright neon colours, hoop earing, ponytail to the side or big hair and scrunches' in their hair was the style which gives me a lot of great ideas for my costume. My ideas at the moment would be to wear bright colourful leggings with a white or pink crop top underneath and a denim jacket with colour badges on it and maybe wear some neon heels or maybe even trainers or converses.

 

We did do a bit more on our accents this week and Kirsty gave us a sheet which will hopefully help me and I know I'm going to have to constantly practise to get it right. I also learnt my lines to my first scene I just need to know when to say them and try and add the accent to them which I have done a little but I don't know how I would pronounce certain things still like "Trough" because I'm not sure if I drop any letters or if I have to say it differently so I'll find out next week. I think it's coming along nicely, I just need to go through my scenes with Lane with Kennedy and discuss our characters, how we should act during certain scenes and learn the rest of the lines.

Week 2 - Road

We starting blocking this week and discussing our characters and how they act. My character Doreen is a flirty character and I think she would show that throughout the play so everything little action she does would be flirty in someway. After going through all of the scenes and blocking them it has helped me get a sense of my characters and their relationships with the other characters in the play. For example Lane and Doreen are best friends in my eyes, the both like to have fun, be flirty and have a good old laugh. I would say out of all the women in the play they are the most loose, they're not really bothered if boys want something from them because they will give it to them. I made some notes on Wednesday when we blocked pages 14-40. I felt like the scenes switched from funny to serious to funny to serious again. There was real comical bit with Bisto and his scene which I thought is a great scene and Luke plays Bisto really well. It's important for us all the remember energy! With everything we say and do we need to put a lot of energy into our voices and gestures.

 

This play is sent in Lancashire which means we have to learn a northern accent. We started this week and I am finding it really difficult as I'm not good at accents. Laura was helping us by putting up words on the board and saying how some sounds or letters change with others. She said them first and then we repeated, I did find this very helpful but at this stage I still need someone to say it first.

 

 

 

After this we went and tried it with our lines I picked the line "Oooh eh look here!" which is a northern accents comes out like "ooo a look ere". The good thing about doing this is now I've said it with the accent I can't actually say it without the accent which means I am getting their slowly, just need to practise. Laura also put up the alphabet and a, e, I, o, u and we had to go through the alphabet. For example saying ba, be, bi, bo, bu but in the accent. I did find it quite hard and needed Laura to say it first but I have been going through it and I think I'm getting it.

 

 

 

Week 1 - Road

Our new assessment is Road which is about life on a road in Lancashire in the 1980's. My first response to the play Road after reading the book was that all the character's are very open to each other about their lives and are very flirty. I see most of the women using sex as a tool in the play in able to get what they want from the men. They live in a bad environment in the way that none of them have a lot of money and most of them don't have jobs or have lost them. I feel like the only way they can enjoy their lives is to go out pub crawling and meet most of the people that live on the Road as that's what they all like to do. Even though they live in this poverty area they don't care, they still love the Road they live in and are happy with it.

The major themes throughout the play are sex, politics, alcohol, poverty, family and swearing. Sex is a major one because the women do use it as a tool to get what they want from the men and the men don't mind because they want some. During the play there are many references to sex. Politics is a major theme because this play was set in the 1980's which was when Margret thatcher was in charge and got rid of the union that put a lot of people unemployed.  I feel alcohol in the play is used to solve their problems in the way that it makes them forget what's really around them and they can have fun.  During the play everyone wants alcohol, for example Brenda who tries to get money of Scullery so she can buy some alcohol. The Road is a place full of poverty but they don't see it as that, they see it as their home. Family is a big theme as they see each other as their family since most of them don't have any family and everyone on Road are really close and they all know each other so it's like they are family. There is a lot of swearing in Road which is showing how uncivilized and how much it's so common in their social community.

 

My vision of road is that I see it as a very dirty area as in black bags full of rubbish would be on the side walk along with tin bins. The smell of smoke and alcohol would fill the air and you would maybe see the odd splatter of sick on the pavement. If I was going to set the play out I would have it so the audience were standing and all the characters would always be onstage. There would be scenes in chronological order and the audience would follow the scenes as they go on as if they're going down a Road.

 

I have been casted as Doreen and Mrs Bald which I am very happy about. I'm excited about the character Mrs Bald as she is very comical in every scene she's in. Her and her husband Bald have this kind of relationship where I see it as he's very boring and she loves to joke around with him. For example when Bald says "What do you think this is eh! Keeping decent ones awake likes this. My wife's awake here." and Mrs Bald replies with "I'm not". I think playing Doreen will be fun as she is a very loose character and flirty. She's great friends with Lane and I think it's very important that the bond between them shows. The bug problem for me would be the accent and I'm really bad at them but I'm excited to try and hopefully be okay at it but if not it's something I definitely need to work on.