A-Z of Acting: D is for...

Development…

So, this week I was lucky enough to be back in Bedford performing some rehearsed readings as part of ‘Stage Write’. Starting on Wednesday, two brand new plays were performed each night, with the audience getting to join in after the pieces in a discussion to help the writers develop their work.
Out of the eight plays, I was involved in four, so I was extremely relieved that we would be performing script in hand.

For several people, including myself, this was a brand new experience and I was incredibly excited. I got to work with people that I already knew, and also people that I had heard of but never met!

Rehearsals kicked off on Monday and I rehearsed two of the four that I was in. The first was called ‘The Valley’, and was set in the USA. I felt slightly concerned about this one, as I had read it a few times and didn’t really understand it. It wasn’t until I got to rehearsals that I was told that it was only half of the play, and the second part hadn’t been written yet. The relief washed over me, I wasn’t being stupid!! I dragged out my American accent and we got to work. We only had 5 hours rehearsal plus a tech for each play so it was a very intense rehearsal process, but it was exciting! Decisions had to made and run with so that we could actually get through the whole play before performing it!

The second play was called ‘Our Brand New Future’. Like the first one, there was a lot of talk about technology, and how it affects our lives. I played a woman who had become a celebrity, and technology really didn’t do her many favours. It was a complete contrast to ‘The Valley’, but I enjoyed them both so much. Due to time restraints, we didn’t get too far into both plays in rehearsal, and I was desperate to carry on. But it had to wait until another day…

Tuesday brought rehearsals for the other two plays, which again were complete opposites to everything else. First up was ‘All’s Well’, a two hander about a rekindled relationship. Yet again I found myself faced with the daunting task of acting with someone insanely more talented than myself! I don’t know where all these actors have been hiding, but they all came out of the woodwork and put my acting skills to shame! This was also my first time being directed by one of my friends who I have only previously acted with before. I don’t know why I thought it would be strange having him direct me, but it was huge fun, working with 2 amazing boys certainly made my day!

The final performance that I was in was called ‘Cake’, which was a play written for radio. It revolved around a family who own a cake shop! This was right up my alley! I like not having to think too much when I work on plays (I probably shouldn’t admit that!), and this script was family friendly, with gentle humour, and fun for all. I loved it! Once more I had to whip out my generic northern accent, which was put to great use in several projects last year! As we were performing in the theatre and not in a radio studio, we imagined it as a live recording with a studio audience, which was lovely when we actually got to the performance.

Wednesday rolled around and it was a long day! We went back to the first two plays, which would be performed that night. We had another two hours of rehearsal, followed by a tech run. The morning was spent on ‘The Valley’, which grew on me as the rehearsal progressed. I became more excited at finding out what would happen next in the story, it was only a few hours until we’d get to meet the writer.
We had a few minutes break for some food before starting rehearsals for ‘Our Brave New Future’, when a man we didn’t know came into the auditorium. It was the writer! I suddenly felt pressure with him being there. I obviously wanted to do his writing justice, and I kept wondering if I was doing the right things to make the character into what was inside his head when creating her. I had a chat with him and became a bit more relaxed. It was really nice to have him in the room while rehearsing. We had a few questions about the script that he was able to answer straight away, and he said he really enjoyed it, bonus!

The performances of the shows went really well that night. The post-show discussions were good, but we were all gutted to find out that the writer of ‘The Valley’ didn’t know what she was going to do with the rest of the play! Aaagh! We want to know what happens! I really enjoyed ‘Our Brave New Future’, despite feeling like I was going to die throughout the whole play... As I was playing a celebrity, I decided that I would wear my new beautiful £5 leopard print shoes, only to find that I would be standing on a stage block in the same spot for almost an hour. Those shoes are high! I honestly thought that I would fall off my shoes, fall off the block and land in a heap about fifteen times. When I was finally able to get down, it was the biggest relief of my life!! Despite that, I think it was probably my favourite performance of the week.

There were two more plays on Thursday, but I wasn’t involved in them. Unfortunately I couldn’t make it over to see them and I was gutted. I heard they were fantastic. Ugh!
But I was back on Friday, ready for my two-hander! This one made me incredibly nervous. I was shaking before I went on. It was ridiculous, I knew what I was doing, I had the script in my hand! I had been fine in rehearsals, I don’t know what it was. Thankfully my nerves turned into fabulous energy and I had a cracking time doing the play. There was quite a long discussion after the performance which was good, there were lots of ideas about its development, and I wouldn’t mind giving the play another go after a re-write, I really enjoyed it! The character I played was the type of person that I really don’t like, but it was a challenge to try and make her into a real person, I hope I did okay!

After our performance I got to watch the other play that night called ‘The Widow’. It was performed by one man, and was almost an hour long. I was absolutely transfixed by the actor. He was amazing. When I was performing I was obviously aware that I had a script in my hand, but when I watched this one, I was amazed by how much I didn’t notice it at all. It was so well acted, and I did shed a tiny tear at the end, I will admit it! It got me thinking about how much I want to be a better actor, aaagh!!!

Saturday brought with it the final two plays, and I was sad that it was all going to be over. But we had a show to do first! Rehearsals went really well, and we got to run it a few times which was lovely! When we got to the performance, the room seemed to turn electric. People were laughing hard, and our performances really seemed to lift. I wouldn’t be going too far if I said I’m pretty sure every single person enjoyed it. I loved performing it. As much as I love the theatre, I wouldn’t mind getting into radio! It was fantastic!
The final play was about a drag queen. I won’t put the name of it up just in case it offends anyone, but it was another piece that I really liked. Again it was only a short piece as the play hasn’t been completed but what I saw, I really enjoyed. Unfortunately my ignorance came shining through during the discussion afterwards. When themes were discussed and people were debating over it, my brain just shut down. I had no idea what was going on! Big words were used, and I felt like I was the dunce in school again. It didn’t take away anything from the performance for me, I still thought it was fantastic, I just obviously don’t understand when people put messages into their plays.

When I was asked if I was free to be involved in the week, I didn’t really think about doing it for myself. I said yes because I wanted to help out people who have helped me, and it wasn’t about the acting, it was for the benefit of the writers. As the week went on, I found that I was learning so much, and I’ve actually taken lots away from the week. I’ve learned that I’m a very lazy actor and need to work on scripts more before I get into rehearsals! I’ve met and worked with some fantastic actors this week, and seeing them perform made me really push myself to try and get to that standard of work. People did come up to me and said that they enjoyed what I did, but I don’t think I was completely satisfied. I know they weren’t full polished performances, but I always want to do the best that I can.
I also came up with my own idea for a new play (yes, another one!), I know it’s hard for me to write, but I’m determined to get at least one draft finished pretty soon! There shouldn’t be any reason why I can’t do it. The writers that I met are just human, the same as me, if they can write something, so can I.

I’ve had lots of thoughts about doing more actor training, but I’ve never had the money to be able to go anywhere and study further, and work has come my way anyway, but this week has given me so much, and I just want to keep going! It’s so inspiring working in this industry, I’m constantly meeting new people that make me want to do so much. I just need to pull my finger out and get going!

Bring on the next challenge!

Nxxx


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