Session analysis

Entering the room

When we first entered the room there was loud dub-step music playing. At first I didn't really take any notice of it however the conversation I was having was effected. We had to speak louder and what we were speaking about became slightly more exciting. On further inspection I realised it was actually making me pumped for the work ahead. The pulsating beat and the heavy bass was affecting my inner rhythms. When we had to discuss the way the music made us feel it was very apparent that everyone had similar feelings towards the music. We can definitely utilise this feeling to invite the audience into this world of business and high risk we are creating. In every single scene the stakes are high and in order to make the audience buy into it we need to create a fully formed world. This can be done through using the 5 senses. The sight box will be ticked with our set and costumes for sure, the music will cover the sound and touch I feel especially if we blast the music they'll be able to feel it inside of their bodies. Simply by entering the room I could already begin to see the world we will be making over the common ground season.

Warming up with ninja 

We played a game of "Ninja" in order to get our bodies warm and ready for physical work. This was a slightly successful exercise. In my opinion half of the cast through themselves into and truly committed to the moment, without hesitation or questioning the exercise, whereas some people held back and didn't fully go with what was happening. We need to isolate this as a problem and solve it before we go on to make work that goes into the show. It was exciting to watch a string of ninja strikes especially when people were taking risks however when the action dropped it became very apparent. I feel like this could be a metaphor for Enron. If we manage to have a full play of non-stop committed action we will be successful. 

Mice 

Our directors vision for the opening of the play is for a group of mice to be moving around the space, discovering "business clothes" and slowly dress in them and become more human until they are fully dressed. We started off by exploring how mice would move across a space, interact with other mice and simply cross a room. We paired this exercise with music to give it a more frantic intention. Through this experimentation we found different base movement that we could use for the actual production. We made decision like knees should never touch the floor and there should always been an on edge sort of feeling. In order to improve this work it is vital for whoever takes part in this section to do an animal study to deepen their understand on what it is to embody the physicality of a mouse. In another post I will complete my own study using YouTube clips and my own experimentation. 

Expectations

I have very high expectations from every aspect of this production. I have high expectations from myself to take risks and make bold choices from the word go, to get off book as soon as possible in order to aid a smooth rehearsal process and find the best choices without a script in my hand. I expect myself to do in-depth and analytical research into the historical context of the play and a comprehensive, instinctual and intellectual interpretation of my character. However I expect just as much from my cast mates. I want to be able to work in a room where I feel supported and able to just through myself into everything and someone will be there to catch me. I expect everyone to be giving 100% of their effort into telling their part of the story no matter the size or shape. The play will only be as strong as the ensemble we create and as long as we are connected to the play anything will be possible. 

Raptors 

We did an interesting exercise here in partners we had to mould each other into shapes personifying greed. This was to inform the shape and movement of the "Raptors" that appear in the play. The directors vision wants these to be metaphorical instead of literal dinosaurs. I like this choice because it adds a depth to the play that will (most likely subconsciously) read on stage. It was interesting seeing the different interpretations of greed as all boasted distinct characteristics but a lot of similarities cropped up too. There was a heavy laboured dynamic to the movement and a definite ugliness to the shapes. This was a useful exercise as it allowed us to connect physicality and elements of the play together to form our own unique interpretations. In order for this process to go smoothly we will need to be contributing like this all the time so we have a fully shaped piece through discovery and physical experimentation. 

Being cast as Skilling 

When I found out I would be playing Jeffery Skilling in this production I was absolutely ecstatic, I felt like I had leaped over an obstacle and that I had been given an opportunity to play a role that takes complete and total transformation. This will be like a culmination of all the skills and techniques I've learnt over the past 3 years at BRIT. I will have some many sources to inform my characterisation; the real life Jefferey Skilling; the written character on the page and how the director sees this character within this production. I feel especially like this is a triumph as I traditional would not be cast in this role and that I am breaking a mould with this casting. I definitely feel a pressure with this role as well because many (if not all) of the boys audition for this role. So even people who are in my cast would want to be in my position. This makes me feel like their are going to be people out there wanting me to fail so they can say they would've done a better job. I have to acknowledge this and continue to give a good performance regardless and know that I don't have to "please" anyone.