Rehearsing

Over the past four weeks we have been rehearsing for our final project 'Blackout' by Davey Anderson. As the script is not allocated specific characters or lines, we have had to identify which of us would re-enact James' thoughts and express them through a number of different scenes and sequences.

We first started off by reading through the script as a group and taking on a scene each to gather the concept and gain ideas of how we would like to portray the story. We then chose one person to be James in each scene and have the rest of the group either narrating, being his friends, being bullies or being his mother. This worked well as everyone had to contribute to most scenes apart from two scenes which were James on his own, reflecting on his actions and thoughts.

During rehearsals, we ran through each scene briefly and then worked in more detail during the second half or rehearsals. This was a useful tool as we got used to the script and structure and we were able to perform in depth with more emotion afterwards.

I found learning the lines for my part easier as I used imagery and my own memories and experiences of high school to feel the inner monologue which helped me to express myself more naturally.
We all found difficulty during scenes with just James as we wanted everyone to be involved equally, however we used our initiative and made sure everyone had a role and contributed their ideas. I expressed that we should all walk in through down stage, one by one, whilst questioning if James was okay which was effective as it emphasised our worry towards him and how distressed he was.

Before my scene, I also did an improvisation with the characters who would be on stage with me which helped set the emotion and physicality of the characters and engage with each other truthfully.