One thing I will always take with me from this adventure is Sanford Meisner's repetition technique, I've never used Meisner as much as we have these past months, it allows for freedom within a scene which can allow you to build pressure, its about reacting as opposed to acting. in a scene, I think thats where I'm going wrong. In the space of two minutes this Meisner exercise can turn a scene from dull and sluggish to strong and full of life. The energy and pressure is so vital in our play that with out it the play doesn't carry the large and important message across to our audience, the wit is lost and the snappy lines and transitions keep the audience enticed and excited.
I enjoy playing my character 'Alice' at times she is comedic, other times she is sassy and other times she is just a lost young mess. I feel I could have greatly improved my performance of her and chosen more dynamic and distinct character choices but at the end of the day I tried hard, I will always be disappointed and want to try harder.
I am so appreciative of our cast, we all got on well, respected each other and every single person was there to help you if you were down, needed motivating, lost and confused. I am so thankful that this experience had such great people to spend it with as it made 'Common Ground' so worthwhile and joyous for me, thanks for that, Will!
I am also glad that we had such a great play, "13" never got boring and I was always finding out new information and realisations about it. I really admire how much depth the play has, it really scrambles your mind when you think about it. It's not a simple or straight-forward play and I love that, we could be weird, wacky and experimental throughout some of this play. Mike Bartlett is such an intriguing playwright, everything he writes is their for a reason and has a meaning, It will be a challenge to find a play that is similar to this. It broke boundaries and gave the audience a new perception on theatre, especially to those who don't know much about theatre or see much theatre.
Although I have had an amazing time throughout the last few months, their have also been some downsides. At times I put a lot of effort in but at other times I feel I could have pushed a lot more, I think my choices when I'm acting disappoint due to lack of confidence. I need to break from anything thats trapping me to do my best, and to not be afraid for asking for help.
I will take with me a great deal amount, how can you not after weeks and weeks of inspiring and challenging rehearsals. I will miss these times greatly but they have pushed me in a good direction in life, I am overwhelmed with what I have learnt. I have had a cultural, political, ethical and social all at once learning and will take these with me in my satchel of theatre knowledge.
