understanding purpose etc

The week had been full of trying to make ideas, concepts, character journeys work in the devised and self-blocking the Shakespeare. NOT something I am well versed in! I have been getting into a stupor because essentially Adam and I have to do it ourselves and his focus – in a lot of ways, understandably – has been on the devised as he is director/editor. But we are Beatrice and Bene and it is quick important to me. I completely understand what I’m saying but how to make my body logically move to what I’m saying is, well, not a strength. And it isn’t with him either. So, I feel, we have a responsibility to put more effort in to create an exciting, dynamic performance. And I think Stu expects that, he doesn’t have as much time to spend on the ‘professionals.’ Quite frankly, I think we’re being unprofessional not working on it!

Yesterday, I went to get the bicycle from Stuart’s house, and rode down to the park where I spent time ambling up and down the field getting the words into my body.

Sequences like ‘Hero! Why, Hero! Help Uncle! Signior Benedick! Friar!’ are all punctuated with the feeling of someone who is struggling. And I have hated saying that line so much. But that’s because I’ve just been saying the line, not playing a strong enough action to it. So my goal this week is to spend active time by myself physicalising my scenes, I simply wont feel secure in the work otherwise.

The week has also brought up a lot of rethinking the purpose of my time here. With the Shakespeare, I’m – as you can tell – really working on understanding the words viscerally and trying to bring as much as myself to Beatrice as possible. We are much more similar than I initially thought.

The devised is funny this year, because, last year it became apparent early on that I was the star attraction, with the more interesting characters and I really relished in playing them. This time, I haven’t created both of them from the ground up and I disagree with a lot of the decisions that are being made. Not from my character’s points of view (though I have been fighting for the purpose of my character’s within the journey of the play) but the purpose of the play in it’s entirety. I think the danger with devising farce is that we end up making it for ourselves, and not only forget it’s for an audience, but it is for an American audience. So we have to adjust, adjust, adjust. Make the story pertinent to them, interesting to them, amusing to them.

Otherwise, we will realise, as we did in a lesser way last time, that we had to shift quite a lot after the first performance.

Right, that is my rant on that. What else did we do this week? Well, can’t remember a lot – it was fairly chilled. – but Friday, we all went for cocktails after the run then had a pool party then attempted to go to town. I was so glad I made myself have an early night. The others were up till about 6am and were shattered all weekend! Saturday Adam, Felix and I went on an epic bush/river walk into town, saw a snake - who was scary at first but then seemed very unimpressive - and had a lovely relaxed dinner at my favourite place MAMBO ITALIANO and as I wrote, I got the bike Sunday, which is super. Felix – who I’ve grown very fond of, he is super kind hearted and generous – also has a bike, and we rode to meet each other at the hot pools, after realising my togs are NOT suitable for lane swimming (I flashed my bits to an entire, stricken looking Indian family…) we headed to happy hour at Mahogany Ridge, where $3 mojitos were poured and we sat in the sun and idly chatted while testing Shakespeare lines on one another. Lovely. Finally, we got on our bikes and headed round by the river all the way back to the mountain – which is no easy feat! It was long and the river trail was closed in certain areas, because the river was running over it – we drove through and got very wet, giggling all the way, the sunset hitting the mountains on our right, the botanic gardens lit up with a wedding party on our left. Idyllic.

Then, Felix headed up the mountain and I continued on to the movie theatre, where a free pass got me into see the new Woody Allen, which I loved. LOVED. So charming and weird. I really liked Owen Wilson playing a hopeless romantic and the character choices made by the 20s character. I adore Woody. He’s so hit and miss. But always investigating what he is interested in. And he pokes fun at himself several times in the film. I imagine if he was 30 years younger, he’d be playing the protagonist.

Sigh. Sigh no more, ladies, sigh no more.