PLOT/TECH/DRESS
The lighting plot took place on Monday 21st January. This was the lighting designer, chief electrician, director and DSM plotting each lighting state and change.
Later the same day the cast were able to work in the theatre on stage for the first time. The technical rehearsal was relatively straightforward with only a few sound cues and minimal lighting changes as the director and lighting designer had tried to achieve a fairly naturalistic lighting design used simply to communicate location, environment and time of day.
Though the focus was on technical elements the actor were able to get used to the set, moving up and down stairs and the actual dimensions of the playing area which were bigger than the rehearsal mark up had allowed.
Many of the actors were also trying out elements of costume for the first time, which in a period piece has a significant influence on the actors and the way they move.
THE DRESS REHEARSAL
The dress was again without incident with only minor adjustments made to some of the levels of lighting states and sound cues.
The actors again developed their performances allowing them to grow to the capacity and size of the space. Projection and volume was an issue for many of the actors and this was noted in the dress and was something that the actors were asked to concentrate on moving into the opening performance.
Monday 11 February 2013
Final Rehearsals
Work done in the later stages of rehearsal
RUNS/TRANSITIONS
In the two weeks before Christmas we have concentrated on adding layers of detail to every scene and running scenes together working on transitions between scenes.
Once we had run scenes together we worked on running the two acts of the play and then running the whole play.
Some of the runs would be 'work runs' where we would stop and work on particular moments as necessary. Other runs have been noted and then the actors asked to work on these at the next rehearsal.
STORY
We have tried to concentrate on the story, each actor knowing their own characters story and how it serves and fits into the story of the whole play.
This has been done by re-telling the story of the play line by line as a company.
TENSION
We have worked at ensuring the story is punctuated by the characters point of highest tension. In rehearsal actors have identified individual moments of high tension, (a moment of pressure/emotion). The actors have found these physically and then explored their journey to that moment and then past that moment. Actors attempt to find and remember what that moment feels like physically; what muscles are engaged, where is there tension in the body, in the face.
INTENTIONS/OBJECTIVES/ACTIONS/THOUGHTS
In running individual scenes and several scenes together actors were encouraged to interrogate their own process - did they know their own characters intentions/objectives/actions/thoughts. These things are not interchangeable and different directors and practitioners use different terminology with different processes but it is important that actors find a terminology and an approach that works for them. We explored variations of these.
Actors were grouped into scenes and asked to find the point of highest tension in the scene. The actors then improvised these scenes using not their lines of text but their thoughts - speaking their thinking (or if they preferred their intention/action/objective for each line) aloud. They then ran the scenes again this time speaking the actual lines. The aim of this was to consolidate action and thought as well as simply the lines that are spoken.
- Runs/Transitions
- Story
- Tension
- Intentions/objectives/actions/thoughts
RUNS/TRANSITIONS
In the two weeks before Christmas we have concentrated on adding layers of detail to every scene and running scenes together working on transitions between scenes.
Once we had run scenes together we worked on running the two acts of the play and then running the whole play.
Some of the runs would be 'work runs' where we would stop and work on particular moments as necessary. Other runs have been noted and then the actors asked to work on these at the next rehearsal.
STORY
We have tried to concentrate on the story, each actor knowing their own characters story and how it serves and fits into the story of the whole play.
This has been done by re-telling the story of the play line by line as a company.
TENSION
We have worked at ensuring the story is punctuated by the characters point of highest tension. In rehearsal actors have identified individual moments of high tension, (a moment of pressure/emotion). The actors have found these physically and then explored their journey to that moment and then past that moment. Actors attempt to find and remember what that moment feels like physically; what muscles are engaged, where is there tension in the body, in the face.
INTENTIONS/OBJECTIVES/ACTIONS/THOUGHTS
In running individual scenes and several scenes together actors were encouraged to interrogate their own process - did they know their own characters intentions/objectives/actions/thoughts. These things are not interchangeable and different directors and practitioners use different terminology with different processes but it is important that actors find a terminology and an approach that works for them. We explored variations of these.
Actors were grouped into scenes and asked to find the point of highest tension in the scene. The actors then improvised these scenes using not their lines of text but their thoughts - speaking their thinking (or if they preferred their intention/action/objective for each line) aloud. They then ran the scenes again this time speaking the actual lines. The aim of this was to consolidate action and thought as well as simply the lines that are spoken.
Monday 19 November 2012
Rehearsal 9 and 10
This rehearsal saw the completion of the detailed scene work on Act 1 and starting to do this work on Act 2
Act 1, Scenes 12, 13, 14, 16
Started work on Act 2 and worked on scene 1, up to page 75 then some work on p.86 – 89 and p.90 – 92 and all of Scene 5.
Rehearsal 8
Overview
- Warm Up
- Status
- Detailed scene work
After a warm up we focussed on status. We discussed the importance of giving status as well as playing status. It is important to delineate clearly all the various layers of tudor society and allow this to inform physicality and physical interaction with other characters.
The whole company experimented with playing characters from each of the 6 layers of secular and religious tudor society.
Actors tried to incorporate their discoveries into their work on scenes.
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| Diagram of Tudor Social Structure For more information: http://www.historyonthenet.com/Tudors/society.htm |
The detailed scene work was on Act 1, Scenes 8, 9, 10
Rehearsal 7
Overview
- Warm up
- Line by line story
- Detailed scene work
This was the first rehearsal after a two week break. The company lead their own Warm Up, a physical
stretch and then a song and dance game.
The company tell the story of the play adding a line or so each. The exercise is useful for everyone to reconnect with the play and what its about, its story.
- Do we know the journey of the play?
- Do we know the story?
- Do we know parts of the story we are not telling?
We should know which part of the story we are telling and
how we fit into the whole
Detailed scene work on Act 1, Scenes 4 to 7
We considered what relationship Cromwell and Wolsey have and what they might think about each other.
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| Cardinal Wolsey |
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| Thomas Cromwell |
Rehearsal 6
Movement Continues
This was the last rehearsal before a two week break. It was a choreography rehearsal with the movement director.
The rehearsal took place in the theatre space. This was a great opportunity to gauge the actual size of the space, particularly useful whilst working on movement sections so that thought could be given to spacing.
Videos from this rehearsal are on the rehearsal video page.
Rehearsal 5
Overview
- Detailed scene work Act 1, Scenes 1 and 2
- Rehearsal task - fact and questions lists
- Rehearsal task - Act and Scene titles
Following a physical warm up the company began detailed work on Act 1, Scenes 1 and 2. These two early keys scenes introduce us to the two of the three worlds of the play, Anne's after life, and the world of James I reign.
There were two rehearsal tasks set for the company;
Task 1 - Four Lists
1) Facts about what exists and has happened before the action of the play commences.
2) Questions about what exists and has happened before the action of the play commences.
3) Facts about the immediate circumstances of the first scene.
4) Questions about the immediate circumstances of the first scene.
Task 2 - Titles
Label each Act and every Scene with a title. Something simple that summarises what happens and that allows the scene titles to offer a through-line of the play and give an insight into what the play is about.
There were two rehearsal tasks set for the company;
Task 1 - Four Lists
1) Facts about what exists and has happened before the action of the play commences.
2) Questions about what exists and has happened before the action of the play commences.
3) Facts about the immediate circumstances of the first scene.
4) Questions about the immediate circumstances of the first scene.
Task 2 - Titles
Label each Act and every Scene with a title. Something simple that summarises what happens and that allows the scene titles to offer a through-line of the play and give an insight into what the play is about.
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