Friday, August 27, 2010

Rehearsal 27th August

Today Kitty and I rehearsed with Hannah back in Bath, embracing yet another new rehearsal space and a new array of rehearsal props. We worked through the notes from our run in Cambridge last Friday (though it seems like much more than a week ago!), trying out new edits and ideas within the piece.
One of the notes that I found particularly useful was the encouragement to let the breath and giggles free- particularly in the first section of the play. It helped establish the childishness of the younger ages, and thus meant I felt freer within these units.
Another element we worked on was tidying and developing transitions between specific units. One of the major challenges of this play is establishing a huge event in just a couple of sentences, then leaving the emotion of that behind and moving forward in time (sometimes many years) in just a few seconds. I located the areas in which I need to solidify and secure my own emotional triggers in order to allow myself to do this, and am continually working to ensure I am totally familiar with these and able to get the most use out of them.
Another on-going working point is the establishment and acknowledgement of Virginia's age in each segment. Some of these are significantly easier than others. Perhaps the most challenging is to subtly show the shift in a couple of years. So for example establishing the 24 year old Virginia from the 26 year old- whilst also taking into account all the other elements of her life; her mental state, her feelings of vulnerability or periods of mania. I think this is perhaps the part of my work that requires the most attention at the moment, and is certainly the thing I intend to concentrate on over the next few days.
Kitty and I had found time to run the piece a couple of times earlier in the week, and I feel that this really helped the sequence of events sink into my bones. I feel far more able to trust that I know exactly where the piece is going and thus able to feel each moment as it occurs, rather than having a corner of my mind working logistically through the play as we ran it- reminding myself where the boxes need to be moved, or which items of clothing or props I need to use or set.
So next time we all meet will be the dress/tech weekend- where all elements will finally come together, where music will meet projection, costume, set and of course the words. It's all getting very exciting!!!

Friday, August 20, 2010

The end of phase one...

So, I have just returned home after our final day of the first phase of V&V. We spent the day in Cambridge to work in the last few pieces of music for the show- and once again had the privilage of working with Jeremy who continued to create wonderfully atmospheric, emotive and beautiful music. In the afternoon we ran the show with music, as well as most of our costume and props.
I felt quite overwhelmed when I realised just how much work had been created in such a short space of time, and privilaged to be working with such a wonderful collaboration of people. How often do you get to work with designers who can create an array of costumes in a couple of days, or composers who can write an entire show score in three rehearsals?! It has been amazing to be part of such a generous, creative, collaborative environment. Each and every rehearsal over the past three weeks has been emotional, encouraging, safe, testing, liberating, playful, weighty, thorough....(and though I'll stop there I could add numerous more words to this list...)
After a celebratory glass of champagne and communal picnic we left the beautiful college at Cambridge, and I think I speak for everyone involved when I say that the air was full of excitement for the next stage of V&V. Over the next few weeks Kitty and I will be rehearsing with Hannah before our tech and dress rehearsal weekend. It will be brilliant to finally be able to add the moving backdrop to the play, and I feel confident that its addition will add a whole new layer to the show.
So it is with excitement in my viens, lines running around my brain and a comforting sense of achievement that I give in to my increasingly heavy eyelids and embrace a well deserved nights sleep.

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Dressing the part

As we near the end of our final intensive week of rehearsals we have begun piecing together all the elements of 'Vanessa and Virginia'. We have been joined this week by our designer and tech team which has meant we have been able to begin working more specifically with props and costume. I have found this incredibly helpful in terms of establishing and embodying the age of Virginia. Not only does she span from age 4 to 57 throughout the play, but by page 7 I am already past my actual age. Initially this was something I found very challenging to portray but have found the use of specific costume changes work very much to my advantage. For example, adding the use of a jacket for her 20's, a cardigan for her mid 30's- 40's and a pair of glasses at her eldest have all helped me to realise and adapt a more appropriate physicality for each period. Introducing the use of a cigarette has also been useful and has allowed me to find both a concentrated precision of speech and an air of understated confidence for Virginia. As I have begun to work with appropriate props as opposed to rehearsal props it has felt as though the world of the play is becoming clearer and more natural, and I feel increasingly excited to incorporate the other elements such as the music and moving backdrop- which I feel will add further to the wholeness of the piece.

Friday, August 13, 2010

The end of week 2

So having just arrived back after the end of our second week of rehearsals I am feeling lots of things. Excited, motivated, overwhelmed, nervous and exhausted!
The week has gone really well. Starting off in Cambridge we had the pleaure of working with Jeremy Thurlow our composer who has created some beautiful music, capturing the emotion, spirit and depth of each section of the play. It feels such a privilage to have music created specifically for the work you are doing, and so wonderful to have the chance to work alongside music which serves the play specifically as opposed to music from elsewhere which happens to fit with each scene.
As the process has continued I have been struck again and again by what a huge challenge this piece is. This being for several reasons. Firstly, the fragmented nature of the script requires some huge leaps emotionally, and in terms of the characters age. As well as this, I have felt a huge responsibility to do justice to Virginia in my portrayal of her. Necessarily we are having to find a line between a character who is historically accurate, and one who can be interpreted and imbelished. It is taking me time to begin to trust in my instincts during rehearsals, and having read what seems like mountains of diaries, letters, biographys, novels and essays, I am tyring to use that as a basis for my own interpretation.
Towards the end of the week we began looking in much more detail at the voices of these two women, paying particular attention to the clipped, bright R.P accents which they require. This took a hold innitially as we delved into finding the emotional basis and impulse of each section, but necessarily now we have begun to embark on the challenge of marrying these two factors together.
One thing that strike me as we work further through the text is the relentlessness of the lives of these two women. It has also been encouraging to begin to see the entire piece, to get a feel for the whole story, to begin to see it up on its feet and living. Next week promises much more detailed revisiting to articulate and cement the work we have already done. Then on Friday we return to Cambridge to work once more with Jeremy and the music. All very exciting!

Sunday, August 8, 2010

Week One

So last Sunday we began our journey into the rehearsal of 'Vanessa and Virginia', we had a read through and then Emma gave us a few questions, one of them was what did we want the rehearsal room to be like and another was what were we most excited about. For all three of us the answer to the latter question was 'Possibility' and not quite knowing what it was yet. So Monday morning came and we filled our room with paper, crayons, pens, paints, books, material, books and more. We began by playing as ourselves as 6 and 4 and then brought into that play a friendship and then a sisterly bond. From that point on 'what it was' poured out of games, words, dancing and a 'haven of chaos' was made.
It is a luxury and a feeling of thoroughness that whenever we meet a new person in the script or there is an age change or an event we go to the books and learn all we can. Throughout our first week we covered an entire wall with years, facts, quotes and pictures and we are not even half way through the text.
As an actor one of the most exciting challenges of the script is finding the ability to conjure life-altering experiences in just a few words.
Next week brings a whole new set of questions and music and a few changes of scenery. So with a suitcase full of books, materials, pens, paper, shoes, brushes, sewing box, pictures, crayons, post-its and grapes we head for Cambridge.