Double - Auditions for Actors - Blog 16 - 09/11/16

Today, we performed our monologues again to the whole class and received notes on how to improve.

After performing it the first time, I received the following notes:

• Take your time when waking up, it doesn't need to be fast to be funny.
• "Starveling" is a name, not a expression.
• When talking your dream, laugh it off. Your character finds it utterly preposterous.
• Understand your character more, he's a very creative character to perform and the better your understanding the better your performance.

After my runthrough, I decided to look more into my character and research online for a character profile/analysis. Below is the research I found:

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Bottom)

"A weaver by trade, he is famously known for getting his head transformed into that of a donkey by the elusive Puck."

"His first thought is that he has fallen asleep in the woods during rehearsal and has missed his cue. He quickly realizes he has had "a most rare vision". He is amazed by the events of this dream, and soon begins to wonder if it was in fact a dream at all. He quickly decides that he will "get Peter Quince to write a ballad of this dream", and that "it shall be called 'Bottom's Dream,' because it hath no Bottom". Upon being reunited with his friends, he is not even able to utter what has happened and says "For if I tell you, I am no true Athenian"."

(https://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/m/a-midsummer-nights-dream/character-analysis/bottom)

"Bottom's role involves dancing, singing, and laughter. From his first introduction, Bottom is presented as courageous and outgoing. He is confident in his ability to play any, even all, roles in "Pyramus and Thisbe." For example, he says his performance of Pyramus will cause the audience to cry a stormload of tears. As the audience realizes, this confidence is misplaced, and Bottom is little more than a swaggering fool — indeed, an ass, as Puck's prank makes apparent."

"Although Bottom is the locus of comedy in the play — he's a traditional Shakespearean clown — he also draws the audience's attention to serious themes, such as the relationship between reality and imagination."

"Through him, Shakespeare implicitly validates the vision of the artist."

After conducting my research, I feel that I understand Bottom a lot more and can appreciate the humour within my monologue a great deal more. I then gave my monologue another go and received the following notes:

• Very good opening, waking up was drawn out just enough and the yawn and snore added a lot more comedy.
• Explaining the dream was better but don't be afraid to go for it and properly laugh it up.
• When talking about "Bottom's Dream", change your tone as it is very similar to the rest of the monologue.

Next time, we will work on these again.