Single - Applying Acting Styles - Blog 22 - 15/11/16

Paul blocking script, helping with prompt, watched advice scene with notes

Today I continued to work on our scene from People, Places & Things as Rob won't be in for the next few weeks due to outside circumstances. I performed my opening section a couple of times in order to find the correct volume. Although at the start, I need to be very loud, when Ollie and Lorna start talking, I need to make sure I'm not too loud or they won't be heard over my hollering. Luckily, I think we were able to achieve this. I then wrote down on my script all of my movement. I spent the rest of the beginning of the lesson aiding the others throughout the scene by practising my set changes and prompting the others as they attempted to perform without scripts.

I then went on to watch a performance of our section Advice For The Young At Heart online and make notes on parts that I liked or found interesting. The version I watched was the 2013/14 tour version by Theatre Centre. Below are the parts I thought we should include in our version:

• Kenny is very calm and collected in the opening while Sam is very frantic and panicked.
• When Kenny wants to continue "hunting", Sam turns away at the thought and distances himself.
• The section where Kenny teases Sam for meeting a girl is very fast paced and childlike which works very well to portray the brotherly bond.
• However, when Kenny discovers it's been going on for 3 months, he becomes very stern and betrayed that Sam had kept it from him for so long.
• When the scene switches from Kenny and Sam to Candice and Sam, the lighting changes and a sound effect plays.
• Whenever Sam walks towards Candice, she walks away again to keep her distance.
• Sam is always very jokey with Candice until he mentions how ungrateful she is.
• When Candice tells Sam to leave, he goes to walk away but she then calls him back asking why he let Kenny push him around.
• When things get more heated, Candice stands more and gets more in Sam's face.
• When he calls her pudding, he does it intentionally to irritate her as a joke.
• During the part where Ryan texts Candice, the two actors use their pauses very effectively.
• When Kenny next comes on, Sam stands to the side facing away the front and Kenny explodes onto the stage with energy and anger.
• When accusing Sam of having a black girlfriend, Kenny is very loud and angry but when Sam admits it, Kenny turns away in disgust and embarrassment.
• Throughout the section before the fight, Kenny keeps on lunging towards Sam to suggest that he's going to hurt him.
• When they're not in each others faces, the brothers are very distant and are on different sides of the stage.
• When saying "I'm brain-dead because what you think of me matters", Sam sounds more sad and disappointed in himself rather than sarcastic.
• The fight scene was very energetic and frantic but last quite a while.

Next lesson, I will work on the Sam and Candice scenes with Hope.