Rehearsing with set and the two younger children

Today was the day we were able to rehearse in the new theatre as well as being able to utilise some components of our set for the first time. We also had one of the young children; Fenton, there to help the character experience what it would be like with one of them on stage.

Rehearsing in the space not only helped me get a feel for it, it also helped me understand some of the notes I had previously received during other rehearsals. For instance, a note I would get quite frequently would be to look at my vocal choices. I had previously researched some typical accents of 1960's Britain and found it to be much softer yet slightly more clipped than a modern london accent. However during rehearsals jack would comment that it wasn't quite there yet, and being in the space, I could see why. The acoustics of the new theatre aren't very forgiving, compressing much of the sound within its walls, therefore making it harder to be heard. I found myself having to project a lot more, and this made it harde for me to maintain my accent. This in turn changed my depiction of the character completely as, it made my voice harsher, which impacted on my physicality, making me seem a lot more menacing rather than someone who is humbled with a sinister undertone.

Rehearsing in the space also gave me a chance to better look at my physicality and and to also understand where my character would move on stage and where he wouldn't, as well as the manner in which he would move. I found myself bobbing quite a bit in between the actors and the characters on stage, which became a bit stagnant as the rehearsal went on. I think that this is something I should tackle early on; funding new and fresh ways to move in between the points where I am not talking. I also need to find ways of delivering the lines in a way that is always fresh by finding new movements each time.

Having Fenton in the rehearsal was interesting, as I could tell it really helped both Elizabeth and Ffion get into their characters a bit more. Having one of their children their not only gave them, I think, a physical presence to work with, I think it also gave them an emotional presence to work with as well, giving them a root to which they can apply their characters emotions to. For me I found it interesting having another character there as it allowed me to focus my speech into another being. It also helped me for when I have lines referring to him or his father as it gave me a visual and therefore emotional link to it making it much more real and believable.