Following Fran

I don’t know what to write about today. It has been a week at the Globe now, and I fear that my brain is about to explode. There has been so much going on. Not only with the workshops and performances but also just being in an alien city. It is quite draining. Nevertheless I will continue to soak everything in until I’m drenched with wonderful learnings and experineces.

The Rose Theatre was another popular theatre in the Elizabethan era. Only several hundred metres from the Globe, The Rose (or what is left of it) often goes unnoticed. We were lucky to have a tour. Unlike the Globe the Rose hasn’t been reconstructed. What you see are the foundations that were discovered during the excavation of the site. It’s unbelievable to think about the goings on, and what the foundation of the Rose has lived through.

Two rehearsals today. First up we were playing with status. Each of us were given a card, and not allowed to look at it. Walking around the room we have to relate to each based on how high or low the card is. The aim is to figure out what your status is.  Although a fun game, it’s also interesting to see the different ways of conveying status. How much space do you give each other? How do people carry themselves? With status in mind, we created a range of freeze frames for the end of our piece.

Second rehearsal on the Globe stage, at midnight. After some energising warm ups we were ready to rehearse till dawn. We focussed on using the space and running through our piece. One of the most interesting aspects of working on the stage for me is the way the environment is challenging and comforting. Working on a thrust stage and open air theatre is really different. The ‘audience’ almost surrounds you. There are no wings to hide, no roof to protect, which you might say is the challenging aspect. But at the same time, that is what is so comforting. Having the audience so close, they are part of the performance, and the fresh air is refreshing and energising.

By two am we are all ready to hit the sack, and we do.

After a little sleep in, we met Giles Block (head of text).

I think it is the text that people either love or hate about Shakespeare. Love, because it is amazing. Hate, because it’s more difficult to understand. Giles was wonderful in giving us a few pointers that make it easier to both understand and speak Shakespeare’s text. A few little things like: ‘not’ should not be emphasized, the verb before should be. Stress words that are important and help convey meaning. Commas are generally a signal that indicates the previous word’s importance.

One piece of advice that I found particularly helpful was the way Giles discussed the rhythms. There is the wonderful iambic pentameter, but also others. Giles’ key point on rhythm is whatever feels natural and makes the most sense out of the text.

In the heat of the afternoon we went to see King Lear. I now understand how and why people faint in the matinee performances. I was wondering whether a tradegy would be different on stage to a comedy. Apart from the obvious (funny vs. tragic), it was relatively similar. I did really like the way the space was used. At some points there were characters in the yard which really emphasized that feeling of being part of the performance.

Another good old early morning rehearsal. 6am.  It was great to actually run it all on stage and see it taking shape. Everyone is on stage all the time which is really good as there is a lot of energy, but we also have to concentrate and know what is going on. The more time we spend on stage the more comfortable I feel and better about the performance as a whole. It is rather intimidating to to perform at the Globe. We have seen so many of the wonderful performances there, and on top of that the history.

This afternoon was great. We used our rehearsal time to rehearse individually. Andrew and I really worked on developing our scene. As our scene is driven by Hermia’s accusations it was good to find some depth.

To finish the day, a sword workshop. Loads of fun. We learnt all the basics of sword fighting. There is also a lot of history behind the weapons used and the way the style of fighting developed. But ulitmately it was great be able to use the daggers and swords.

A day of contrasts, followed by a night of waiata. We gathered as a company and learnt a waiata and a haka that we would sing after our performance. Two hours of singing brought New Zealand much closer to Southbank than ever before.

It really was crunch time. And our second to last day at the Globe.

Unfortunately we had our workshop with Stuart Pearce that day. Unfortunate because it was our one and only. Stuart is incredible. We did relaxation and breathing. We focussed on finding our note. Our signature note, which is our powerful healing voice. He also related our resonating chambers to the different elements. It is great to keep make new connetions and understandings between things I have learnt while being here. I have never heard of our voice being talked about in that way, I was trying to soak it all up. I left wanting to know more, and learn more.

We then had Glyn for the last time. We did a run through and Glyn was wonderful in tiding up our movement sequences. It was a rather sad occasion when the time came to say goodbye. We had worked with Glyn several times. I really admire her, and feel that I have her workshops have been beneficial in many ways.

After another quick rehearsal with Colin. The time arrived. We were in tip-top shape after having both a voice and movement workshop. A few jittery nervs here and there.

There really are no words to describe what it was like to be up there. It was everything. My heart was racing, my mind thinking way too many thoughts. But at the same time I felt focussed, and calm and (like I said) everything. I feel that the performance went really well. I enjoyed it, and I’m sure the audience did also.

After our performance we sung. We sung to thank the Globe and everyone that worked with us. We sung to Shakespeare and  his buddies. We sung to London.  It was truly special, to be up there representing Aotearoa.

This will be something that I will never forget.

Today was the one day designated as a ‘free day’ on our schedule. After a very intense week I was looking forward to a bit of a break, and a sleep in. However, in the world that is ever changing, there was a change in the schedule. Half of the company were roistered on usher duty at The Globe in the late afternoon. I was part of that half. But, I was actually rather glad. I would be on usher duty for ‘Merry Wives’, and very much looking forward to seeing it again.

For the most part of the day I was out exploring London. Spending time in the Camden markets, and having lunch at Shakespeare’s Head.  It’s hard to avoid the Bard even on my day off.

At 5:30pm we were assembled at the Globe and being briefed on the way the night would work. I had never realised how serious it is be an Usher. I was partnered with a lovely woman who was telling me all about the fainters and the different dramas that go on during a performance. Very interesting. I think the record for the highest number of faints in a single performance is up in the 42s (or something close to it). People faint in the yard during the afternoon performances. However I very much enjoyed seeing the ‘Merry Wives of Windsor’ for a second time. Just as hilarious as the first.

As one does, we spent the early part of our Saturday morning rehearsing on stage. Although a bit nippy, it is a wonderful time of the day to be working in that area. Today we combined the element work that we learnt with Glyn and related it to our characters. We each selected a line and weaved the elements through. Using my first line and playing with several different elements, I found a certain depth to the line that I hadn’t been otherwise been aware of.

Colin would remind me, there is no wrong. Although I found this exercise very helpful, I struggle to reflect upon it without using the words right or wrong. Some parts of my line seemed to ‘fit’ with a specific element, more so than others. I therefore learnt about my interpretation of Hermia and the way she feels in different parts of her dialogue.

After a breakfast break we were back rehearsing. This time running our shortened version of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’. As one does, we were sitting in a circle, the whole play took place around the outside of the circle. At first it felt rather strange. However, it is a great way to use the space, and see the dynamics of the scene taking place.  Who has the status?  Who is in pursuit?  As a result we also discovered different ways of showing this. The power of movement, and also the power of stillness.

For the rest of the afternoon we had a walking tour of Covent Garden. We had a wonderful tour guide, who shared a lot of history about the areas of London we passed through. We heard about Nell Gwyn, a very early and popular actress. There is also an interesting and entertaining range of street performers in Covent Garden.

A fun filled day.

Friday at the Globe.

Started rehearsing today. We are using the exercises and games that we have been learning over the last few days to play with some of the scenes. It is great to see the way you can play the game with the text and it becomes a scene. Quite often the scene takes a different path every time. That way we can explore the space and relationship between characters to see what we like. This was very useful in my scene with Demetrius. We played with the oral exercise, overlapping the lines and having pauses between lines to see what the effects were.

Today was rather full-on. We squeezed in a back stage tour at The National Theatre and a question and answer time with seasoned Globe actors who played Titania and Oberon. Very interesting to talk about the path their careers have taken. I left with more questions floating around my head than I arrived with.

We saw ‘Merry Wives of Windsor’ at the Globe this evening. At first glance the story line is complex. But I have never laughed so much at a show before. It was incredibly easy to understand and follow. Definitely my favourite (so far).

There is nothing like an early morning movement class on The Globe stage and watching the sun rise over the thatch roof. It is so peaceful one can almost forget that they are in the midst of peak hour traffic in London.

We were working with archetypes. There are 4 different archetypes which, in my understanding, are used as general characteristics of human nature. They can therfore help an actor embody the characteristic. Each archetypes, the King, the Soldier, the Fool and the Lover have a different freeze and action. In the stillness of the morning, and the energy on the stage it was very unreal to be marching across the stage like a Soldier, yet strangely wonderful.

For the rest of the day we were out and about in London exploring Shakespeare’s image. There are statues, paintings, and signs in many different places. We hunted down museums, cathedrals, pubs and public squares to see the differeft ways Shakespeare is represented. My favourite was the statue of Shakespeare in the Southwark Cathedral. The cathedral is very close to where Shakespeare would have been hanging out several hundred years ago. It is also one of the few in which Shakespeare is reclining, and above him is a beautiful stained glass window which depicts a range of characters and scenes from his plays.

After tramping around London for 6 hours I was exhausted. Luckily enough I had the night off… to learn lines.

Tuesday, we spent a lot of time with Colin today. It was really great, I started to get a feel for how he works. He has one guideline, “there is no wrong”.

We played with a few exercises focussing on unlocking the meaning, and finding the motivation in the text.

We started with physical examples – like pointing on every I/me/she/he/you.  It’s interesting to see the path that the dialogue takes. I found a few of the verbal exercises very useful. We played with the idea of overlapping lines, pausing for 5 seconds between lines, and repeating key words in scenes where two characters are having a war with words, for example Beatrice and Benedick in ‘Much Ado About Nothing’.  These exercises help actors to experiment with different reactions, to help build tension and emotion.

Today we also had a tour from heaven to hell, backstage at the Globe.  It was really great to look around backstage, how they store  all the sets. You can imagine all that goes on backstage during a performance,  all the make up and costume changes with limited space and time.

A very cool day.

Three amazing aspects of our third day at the Globe.

Our second movement class was with Glyn. We focussed on the elements. The elements, earth, water, air and fire each have a freeze. Each element has an energy of its own, a bag of emotions or traits. We explored each of these in  pairs. It’s really interesting to see how each of the elements feel, and the transition from one element to another.

We got our parts for our shortened version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream today. Colin has cast it as an ensemble. I am one of four Hermias.  Although I struggle to like Hermia, I really like my scene. She is having a bit of a hissy fit at Demetrius because she thiks he has killed her husband to be (Act 3, scene 2).  Our Midsummer Night’s Dream follows the interlinked story of the lovers and the fairies.

After getting comfortable with our new ‘home’, we ventured out of our haven of Southwark to go to the theatre in the Leicester Sq.  A smaller group of us went to see ‘Avenue Q’. Described as an adult musical, its a take-off from Sesame Street. Having no idea what the show was about, the first song “It sucks to be you” came as a surprise. Definitely one of the funniest, creative shows I have seen.