Rehearsal Notes

These are a few pictures from our last rehearsal before the tech run this afternoon. We ran through some of the scenes which lacked energy and just did a quick line run. Poppy, Hayden and I practiced the scene where Orlando and Rosalind meet for the first time in the forest because this scene in particular was the weakest of our scenes and it is the most crucial. Jack blocked certain movements with certain lines so Poppy and Hayden had something to play with. We decided that Celia would be eating an apple so we asked Ellie, our stage manager, to get one by this afternoon so I could rehearse with it.

                                                                       

I noticed during these rehearsals that Poppy and Oisin had fantastic energy and enthusiasm which enabled them to take on board Jack's notes and make them their characters own. I was really impressed by Josh's performance throughout all of the rehearsals because I think he has made bold character choices and brought them to every rehearsal never once dropping his character energy and physicality. I think our tech run will go very well if we all just remember our exits and entrances and keep them snappy. We need to double our vocal and physical energy as the new theatre is a massive space and we are used to rehearsing in the small room 411. I think this could possibly be one let down to our rehearsals as we haven't had a set room we haven't had markings as to where our set will be, so I think the tech may be slightly chaotic in the sense that we will still be getting used to where the set is and getting used to the space so we do't get lost in  it.

 We have had many rehearsals for our production of 'As You Like It' and every week I have seen the progression of the play and how it all links together. I have really enjoyed these rehearsals because I've had a glimpse into what a professional one looks like, with the production team sitting in and having a read through. I've learned and gained so much from these rehearsal that will help me next year in Common Ground but also for my future as a hopeful professional actor. I have noticed that some people are good at rehearsing, meaning they listen and are on their ques, knowing their lines and when not on stage going through them, working on their character or watching quietly. I think some people find concentrating hard and therefore disrupted a few of the rehearsals. Even though it was annoying at some points, it was  a good learning curve for me, because no matter what's going on off stage you have to stay focused in the scene and listen to the director. Jack's direction has really helped me feel more comfortable performing Shakespeare and rehearsing. I've learned that you need to constantly bring energy to every rehearsal and to get your lines learned quickly because you can then play in the scene and give the director and your fellow actors more to play with. 

Personally I think I have been very focused and awake in our rehearsals. Even though I wasn't always on my ques and sometimes held back to start of with, I quickly changed that and I hope I was good to direct and that I brought lots of energy and sustenance for the rehearsals. As I said before, I really enjoyed the rehearsal process because there was always a good vibe in the room and I enjoyed the independence of going of with Devan and going through certain scenes, this also helped me a lot with my charaterisation to get a fellow actors view on my take of Celia.