Unit 6 + 7 - National Theatre Connections Evaluation

 Evaluation of my role as Older Stefi in 'Old Times' by Molly Taylor

I performed the role of Older Stefi on 16th March 2023 and I had such an enjoyable experience doing so. We had rehearsed and rehearsed whenever we found the time to, and everyone including myself had made sure to put so much heart and all our hard work into making it phenomenal. We owed it to ourselves to perform our piece amazingly. Our rehearsal beforehand was the best time we had rehearsed it ever, which for me definitely made me more excited yet also quite nervy, as I knew what amazing looked like and I really wanted to recreate it but 10 times better. I knew once I stepped out onto the stage however, that I would just have to store all the notes I had been given by Kelly and by myself, to deliever a really good performance. Waiting in the wings and waiting for the lights to dim is always the most nervous moment, as you're racing to get out and show everyone what you've been working on, but as time passes and the lights are still shining bright, the nerves begin to get into your head and I remember my hands were starting to go cold and shaky. With mine and Callum's scene being the very first, I had an understanding that it sets the scene, it introduces the audience to two characters unaware of how important they are, as it also gives them an insight into what the play they are about to watch is like. With that in my head, I shook off my nerves, waited for the lights to dim and walked swiftly on stage, careful not to fall over the rubbish in the corner, stood in my place and waited for the lights to turn on and begin Old Times.

Scene 1 went amazing. Me and Callum, who plays my twin brother Zafer, both said how it was probably the best we had ever performed it. Our emotions were high in the right moments, and I made sure to slowly increase my volume to highlight the annoyance and frustration in my voice in the situation I have found myself in. I knew my volume had to be loud anyway so that audience members at the back could hear also, but by raising it and quickening my pace further showed that I needed Zafer to understand what I was saying. The scene is all about Stefi revealing to Zafer that Tom Joy is out, yet the audience don't know as the scene never once mentions his name and Zafer and I never say what was on the message. This meant that I needed to subtly show my nervousness and horror to highlight that the news on my phone is not good at all. In addition, it's the first time you see Stefi and Zafer, so I wanted to show the brother and sister relationship there and our dynamics, like how I'm quite controllive over Zafer and his life, like how I question where he's off to. I believe that myself and Callum achieved this well, and I would just change my body movements slightly if I could do it again, by pacing to show my nerves and anxiousness. In addition to this, during our time together on stage, Callum and I upped the dynamics in our relationship and every time we acted I felt fully immersed in the character of Stefi. 

Throughout the rest of the play, I acted alongside the older cast, and I felt the chemistry was amazing. During our scenes, we matched each other's energy and kept the pace flowing, so that there were no dull moments that lacked emotion. We did fall into some small moments where people were unsure if it was their next line so there were definitely times of hesitation. Despite that, I felt that everyone heightened their emotions and responses to lines, to achieve the most real performance overall. I've loved working with this group of people so much, and I really hope we get to again soon! My chemistry and performances alongside each character was different. Some people played character's that Stefi either doesn't get on with, would tolerate, felt sympathetic towards or liked as a person, so differing those was a main aim for me. For example, Stefi and Belles relationship (played by Gracie) is rocky, they have subtle digs at each other, and ultimately leave on worse times than they begun with. I had to portray that growing dislike for her, whether that was rolling my eyes at her comments, or not looking at her whilst she's speaking to show disinterest. I felt that our transitions from the youngers to us olders in present was as seamless as we could get, as we all made sure to react to moments especially when our younger self would be in a state of panic or have something eventful happen to them. I found expressing that was simple, and would make sure to stand like my younger self to further highlight the similarity.

Playing Stefi was such a new experience for me. In the past, I've played sweet characters who have good intentions at heart always, so playing Stefi who is selfish and thoughtless was new yet interesting. I got to play a character who is constantly thinking of her next move, her next plan in life which to portray in her actions and the things she says was quite a challenge. I felt however, I portrayed her very well and how Molly Taylor wrote about her in the play's character descriptions whilst also adding mine and Kelly's creative and personal elements to her also. Next time, I would highlight her narrator side a big more and how she is the reason for the plays moving along. I had such a joy performing Old Times and honestly wish I can perform it over again.