Kapow!

Also compliments from me. It gets better and better. Very excited now!!!! These are the notes I would have given if we had time. Many of them are technical and some are for me or Thomas or Fabio or Tory to address. Read and take note...and no hangovers on Tuesday otherwise you know what I will be doing with that sword......

Notes from Run 13.03.09

Scene notes mostly technical

Tango: make sure you look up especially when you re walking…(I particularly noticed Gudrun looking down.) Gudrun make sure your hair is off your face.

Scene 1: Need to think about where Johnny starts…would be better if he started outside of the picture. Would like to put back in you doing their things (scrubbing , writing etc.) play he piano with big hands. Maybe we need to choreograph the J and M in this scene a bit more. Also I think you might need to overlap each other a bit more. The play needs to open with a bit more of a punch. Scene 1 was however much better. Mikey can you take Krish off a bit sooner.

Scene 2: better. (look at overlapping lines.)

Scene 3: J and M need to overlap more on the bringing of presents as soon as one present is put down the next comes on. Johnny you need to smile more. Again maybe we need to choreograph where the presents get put a bit more carefully.

Scene 4: Train noise start earlier and Johnny says and still he sleeps as he walks across.
We need to rehearse the getting off of the presents (Heather and Johnny) with Fabio.

Scene 5: Can Fabio work with Heather on dance. We also need to choreograph the proposal bit and the sighing…is it possible to do all that bit in the lean over position?? Heather only use eye glasses for looking at things close up – like the opal ring- Johnny say don’t listen and soon in this scene. Heather stay behind Mum for taking the piss bit of this scene. Stay still. Mikey say scene title straight after the end of the scene.

Scene 6: This is the best train scene.

Scene 7: Much improved. Work on timings - (when do men enter). Men your movements need to be more about ‘horseflesh ) i.e: more examining her than having sex with her…to distinguish from the next scene.

Scene 8: We need to re:do the transition into this scene. We really seem to be getting somewhere with this. Mikey great speeches. Johnny much improved but needs more enjoyment.

Scene 9: Still not quite working – my fault. We need to do this in costume. Who strips???? Should Kevin be with Jovanna? All girls except Zoe should go during Jovanna’s outburst. Does Zoe need a negligee?

Scene 10: Does Rops need music? Can it be more violent? J and M make sure you are looking at the pictures when you are flicking through the books. Sex in this scene was very good. (good for me anyway!).

Scene 11: Very good and solid this scene.

Scene 12: Should Judea be standing in the picture gallery scene? Mostly we don’t see her. We need to work the wives getting on and off for this scene. Kevin check pronunciation of Limoges. Key section good here but you need to organise yourselves a line run. End of this scene Johhny and Mikey do ‘soons’ out to the audience more or to each other???. Can one of you cross behind?

Scene 13: I think we need the title for this (and possibly music for his entrance) Jasmine don’t actually kick her when waking her…just shout in her ear.

Scene 14: much better.

Scene 15: very good.

Scene 16: Jo too much wandering with phone keep stiller. We can work on this scene again.

Scene 17: Very nice from dead women, J and M and Jo. When she says I dismiss you all for the night J,J and M could all laugh and smile before saying madame.

Scene 18: Lines, Lines, Lines on first section. (no excuse for this!!!) Women also more sounds needed when she first enters..(Ie: liven up this whole first section before Gudrun does her bit – see it as your warm up for your big bits). All much improved here. Would like Fabio to do more work on Judeas lines I think we could have more dancing before she speaks…(we need music for this Allie/Krish)
Scene 19: Much better both. Sex movement more theatrical – like Allie leaning back and circling? Dead women a bit louder especially when you first come on - and come in a bit earlier – work out when together. Positioning of piano for this scene???

Scene 20: Krishs entrance in this scene…he needs to be noticed. Check this. Otheriwise this scene is exciting.


EVERYONE: AN EXPERIMENT:
THINK ABOUT THE QUALITEIS YOUR CHARACTER DOES NOT DISPLAY CAN THEY BE ADDED WITHOUT LOSING SENSE OF YOUR JOURNEY. (LIKE IF YOU ARE GENERALLY VERY SERIOUS CAN YOU FIND HUMOUR, IF YOU ARE ALWAYS CRYING CAN YOU FIND STRENGTH ETC.) MAKE THEM MORE ROUNDED.

INDIVIDUALS: YOU ONLY NEED TO READ YOUR OWN OF THESE.
Mikey: Vast improvement. Really beginning to make sense. We will work on your journey alone next week. You need to think about how you can change the pace at times without losing your character which is great. You also need to concentrate on being up beat on coming in particularly with titles with feel energy and focus so that we do not lose them. Remember your function is to comment, take piss, and narrate….(in exactly the way Here’s Johnny works!)

Johnny: An improvement but still along way to go. Your spiritual and actual absence at times in rehearsal has meant you are a bit behind with learning the piece but it is not too late to sort this. This means you can’t relax and enjoy yourself and the butler needs to enjoy it. I more and more see these two as the lynch pins of the piece the way we make it in to a good piece of theatre. We will work together on Monday to try an crack this. You need to focus on him enjoying himself and we need to look at a posture and gestures and a physicality for the butler. I thin upright and big gestures but think about it over the week end.

Aimee: SIMPLE PLAIN PRACTICAL AND UNSPOILT GIRL NOT ACTIVE
Much improved. Still keep working on playing the intention and making her practical and straight forward. Lots of the work we did however has much improved your scenes and is making it easier for you to play it all. You really need to be overcome by Kevs charms. He tempts you and you give in. Let me see you giving in.

Jovana: THE DIVA MADE VAIN
Still very good work. Your scenes are exciting and fun and your character is just right. Really do the work on finding the detail of the transitive verbs and also the images in the language so we begin to add more texture.

Zoe: THE RAPE VICTIM WHO STARTS TO FIND HERSELF
Very good work throughout. These scenes are really flowing. You don’t indulge them which is good. Without changing what you do keep remembering that The Marquis is very powerful – see how that affects you.

Jo: TRYING TO SURVIVE
Again good work throughout. I feel we need to look at the phone scene. I might have messed it up for you. I am sure it is quite straightforward really. Keep looking at the detail of transitive verbs but make sure they all follow a journey thought your scenes.

Ali: BRAVE, COURAGEOUS FINDING HER MOTHERS WILL, ACTIVE
You have really worked on this and your costume in particular has improved. However you are playing too much of the scenes on a sob..which does not allow them to have texture. Remember that she is the brave girl the one who discovers she is like her mother. How can you be more like Rach as mother?

Jenny: THE ACTIVE ONE WHO HAS ACEPTED HER FATE AND WHO HAS GROWN UP!
I like what you are doing very much. You are active and feisty and that is good. You need to be the girl who has found herself who accepts her fate but at least she has found herself. We will work on 21 next time.

Kevin: Persistently strong and interesting work. By the end you are really good. You need to do much more work however on your text..trying to find textures and details. At times you tend to get stuck in a mode of smooth talking . Work on the images, work on the slimy charm, He is one of the sexiest, richest and most powerful men in the world as well as one of the most violent and dangerous. A hard thing to play but you need to be that. Talk to Zoe etc about the Marquis de Sade lecture.

Rachel:
Great improvement. Love stance and voice and last scene. You really seem strong and it is beginning to be funny and real just how a I like it. Keep working on that strength so you can draw the comedy out of your lines and your entrance.

Heather: Good work. We need to think about her physicality again as you have sort of lost that a bit. We also need to look at your whole journey. The song needs to be bigger and more showy…as if the nanny is demonstrating her grief. Maybe it needs to be quicker. You haven’t been well this week so it has been hard to direct to you. You also need to make sure you make connections between scene 1 and 21.

Krish: Vast improvement. So that was a good excersise. And actually I still believed that you were blind. I look forward to the blind fold work. Keep working on detail and texture and give Jean Ives a sense of humour too! Find his strength..because although he is no use he can be strong.

Jasmine: Great work Jasmine..really funny and excellent timing. Don’t set too much keep entertaining and scaring us. Your volume is great..really lifts things.

Judea: your work is always strong and powerful. You are a great performer. Now keep working on the detail of that speech (it got so much better when you did) Keep remembering that she is very clever and manipulative. I think I’d like you to do more work with Fabio.

Catia: you go from strength to strength..and I think strong is what you really are…I love the tragedy you have put in but don’t lose the power she has. She is monumentally powerful and driven (by blood lust) as well as funny and tragic…!! Go to vampire lecture on Tuesday morning??

Gudrun: Better and better and better…now really start to enjoy that big speech..the singing is great the passione is great the humour is great. Work on movement sequences so that they are elegant.