We performed the play 'Two Gentlemen of Verona' and I played the part of Antonio whom is Proteus's father. The performance went well and we all worked together collaboratively to bring the story to life and portray the comedic yet romantic themes throughout the play. When I first read the play 'Two Gentlemen of Verona' I felt that it would be difficult to perform due to the Shakespearean language and the story would not get across to the audience, however after studying the play for a few months and through my own personal research, class lessons and discussions I felt confident on the day of the performance to perform the play.
The first performance went well and we were given feedback afterwards to improve the evening performance. As Antonio, I was told to have more hatred and anger towards my son Proteus and be more disgusted and eager to send him away. I found this helpful as I put more energy and emphasis in my lines during the second performance to achieve this and I felt that the scene ran more effectively and the objective got across more clearly to the audience. It also helped Proteus to feed off my lines, so he could stutter and plead to stay which I neglected and refused to listen to which reflected the relationship of father and son and the disappointment I felt towards Proteus during the scene.
I felt the costumes in terms of performance, historical accuracy and how they defined the characters were definitely some of the plays strengths. I wore a black suit to portray Antonio which reflected the power and authority held by the character. The colour black represents the gravity of the situation and adds depth to the significant moment between father and son. The outlaws wore matching army jackets to be recognised as a double act and as they spent a lot of time in the forest; the army jackets are used to camouflage themselves which suggests they are hiding and awaiting trespasses to capture. Lance and Speed, whom are the personal attendants to Valentine and Proteus wore brightly coloured shirts with long trousers and an over sized hat. Speed wore illuminous pink glasses with exaggerated face makeup. The over enthusiastic sense of style portrayed the youthful, comedic sides of the characters who are full of mischief and quick wit. Julia had two costumes, one for playing herself which was a dainty pinafore dress and the second costume of a boys outfit as she disguises herself to follow Proteus to Milan where she catches him trying to woe another woman. The colours worn for the male character were dark brown, beige and white to portray a shabby character with not much wealth as the characters aim was to not stand out but fade in the background. The Duke of Milan (Silvia's father) wore a black suit with a white shirt to convey his strict manor, creating a serious atmosphere. He also held a cigar to show his strength and higher status in the play.
The costumes also worked well under the lights. The contrast of the black and white made the characters look very formal and the materials and colours used to contrast the characters with less power status such as the outlaws and Lance and Speed stood out and looked brighter and more unique.
In my scene, I entered confidently with Pantino following behind me which showed I had a higher status and he was my servant. I had my arms folded whilst pacing around Pantino to question him about sending Proteus away to the emperor's court in Milan. This was effective as it made the atmosphere curious and a sense of suspicion about my son Proteus. The pacing up and down the stage space also reflected that I was in deep thought and rationalising my thought process whilst in action. When I stated the line "Good company! With them shall Proteus go!", my movement became more fluid and relaxed which confirmed to the audience a decision had been made and I was going to send Proteus away. Whilst Proteus enters the scene reading through a letter from Julia, confessing her mutual love for Proteus and her desire to marry him, I catch him off guard by stepping up to Proteus slowly adding suspense, as Proteus hesitates and steps away from my character. This was effective as it emphasised the tension in the relationship between father and son during the scene and the fear felt from Proteus towards Antonio his father. I used a Stanislavski method of emotional memory during the scene and I imagined a time I was angry at my younger sister for not completing her homework which gave me the ability to connect to the higher status role and sense of responsibility towards another person. This exercise also helped me to fit into a mature and firm role. A key dramatic moment in the scene was when I said "No more of stay, tomorrow thou must go!" which was said in a harsh, bitter tone with raised volume which created a powerful startling moment. Furthermore, it allowed the anger to feel more direct as I held a firm gaze with prolonged eye contact.
To improve my work, I would like to work on using my vocal variation. In a short space of time my character showed curiosity, interest, anger, clarity, annoyance and frustration and I found it difficult varying my tone to express the different emotions and decisions. I found getting the balance of remembering the lines and making sure the audience understood what I was expressing was challenging and to improve this next time during rehearsals I will annotate each line with a clear 'want' from the character, a 'tactic' to achieve this want and an overall objective in the scene. This will help me to state each line with less ambivalence and have the confidence to portray a three dimensional character with thoughts, feelings and emotions.
Although I found parts of this scene challenging to perform, I found it helped me to develop many of my acting skills such as going within and thinking of personal experiences to connect with the scene. I also found being in the moment by practising mindfulness using meditations before coming onto the stage and listening to the opposing character rather than just focusing on my own lines helped to achieve a truthful performance.
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