13/02/23 - 16/02/23

Week 20 of Milly's acting journey

On Monday 13th February, we spent the entire morning just getting straight on with Connections, and we were able to include small props this time whether that was an umbrella at the beginning of scene 2 to highlight its raining, and we would wear coats to further highlight we were outside. I found this allowed me to imagine the world 'Old Times' is set in as we were acting so naturally with props that would be used in day to day life. Our rehearsals on Monday were flowing and we got further into new scenes which was nice to venture into. Our full main cast was in as well, which has happened yet since starting our rehearsals which definitely made us begin to feel more prepared and at ease. After our break, we did lots more rehearsals and managed to reach scene 7, I took it upon myself to make sure I really knew the lines from scene 1 to scene 5 because those were key scenes that we would recap, so knowing those lines made acting and expressing the character of Stefi so much more natural and easy. On Monday, we spent a quick ten minutes going over our Pretty Woman flash mob dance, and Kelly told us what we should wear, important times and the main plan for the day so that we were ready for the following day.

On Tuesday 14th, we all arrived in full 1980/ early 1990's gear at Stockton Globe which was super exciting for me, and seeing everyone else all dressed up was amazing. Obviously it was Valentines day, so there were roses we were told before leaving for our flash mob, that we would be handing out after our singing. I found the entire experience so interesting, and it's definitely something I can write down to say I've been apart of. Everyone was complimenting us when we were handing out the roses, and there were some passer-by's who seemed so grateful for the flowers without having any clue what they were for. Overall, it was a great experience and the fact the Globe asked our course to do it, made it so special. Below are photos to showcase my day!

  

On Wednesday 15th, we had the whole theatre to ourselves which allowed both casts to move around more and be further away to allow us to hear each other, as the dance studio brings us close to each other meaning it's hard to hear. We definitely made use of all the space and we started another great rehearsal. We began a discussion about our character's costumes and what we think along with the production teams thoughts about their personal style. I always felt that Stefi was the kind of person who wouldn't prioritise her outfits, she would make herself look clean and presentable but wouldn't care for dresses or skirts. She would dress comfy and practical as she has others things to think and worry about like Zafer, her family and the cafe, and also the looming guilt she faces every day when reminded. I already have a green jumper that would fit the criteria, and I'd pair it with some plain blue jeans and white trainers. My hair would be out of my face so that once again, it's not something she has to faff on with. The rehearsal in a whole felt productive and Kelly had loads of flashlight moments which was great as it added so much more depth to the story we were trying to tell. 

On Thursday 16th, Kelly and Morgan had a discussion about presenting our work so far on the play to each other, so that we show the progress we have made and get some feedback from the other cast. We began by going over what we had rehearsed so far, all the way from scene 2 to scene 7 so that we could polish moments that lacked momentum and energy and bring it up to the right pace. As a cast, we found that the younger versions scenes should be punchy with lines and stay quick paced, since as kids you don't overthink what you'd say, so those were the scenes we went over the most to get it to that level that we desired it to be at. Soon before we knew it, both casts were ready to show what they had done so far, with Morgan's group showing theirs first. I loved watching theirs and there was so many moments where I just really felt their emotions. The way they used the set was amazing as well, and the transitions were seamless so you could really see all of their hard work. The main cast performed theirs next, and I got myself prepared to enter in. I found that it was the best time we had ever performed it, as we didn't stop we kept going, and since we knew we had an audience there was a good amount of pressure to just show everyone how developed and invested we had gotten with our own characters. Before we all left, we got our feedback from Morgan and the rest of his cast and they all agreed on how natural it felt and raw the emotions were. He obviously praised Jamie for Tom Joy, which I understand as he shows this vulnerability each time he acts, making the audience who are unfamiliar with the play question if Tom Joy is a good kid. Afterwards, we got some pictures for the posters to advertise our performance and then left knowing what we would need to focus on when we would come back after the half term.