Tuesday
Written by Frannie
We spent tonight collaborating to stage the ghost scene that I had written up from all of our ideas. I was engaged in a one-on-one conversation with an ensemble member during the initial discussion of how to put the scene on its feet, and as I returned to the group and heard the whispered, “Despair and die,” repeated again and again, I felt the energy in the room shift. Everyone was focused. The lines we’d honed in on came out one by one, and the choices we’d made seemed to really work. Physical positioning and movement was rough, but that was to be expected our first time through.
Afterward, I asked the group what they thought. Everyone was enthusiastic – it worked almost exactly as we had envisioned it. Our Richmond said, “Even with my eyes closed… Your voices really creeped me out. Like, I’m kind of having anxiety right now.” She laughed – she was okay, but we talked about the need to really differentiate the energy between Richard and Richmond. So we were glad that she spoke up!
We worked together to refine the movement in the piece, figuring out the best way in which to encircle Richard and then Richmond, as well as the most effective way to move between the two. We looked at Buckingham’s involvement in the scene – he is now essentially leading it, which is very powerful and effective. We then ran through the entire scene and let our Richard continue into her subsequent monologue. The whole thing was positively chilling.
This took nearly all of our time, and it was time well spent. “I loved this process,” said one woman. “It was so much more effective with the lines like that… Even though I didn’t see it staged [because she was on stage]. It transferred. It resonated. It was really intense.”
Friday
Written by Lauren
We got to the room, and it was very warm, which made it difficult to get anyone to start to do anything. Fortunately, after a few minutes, we were told that we could move to a different room that has fans. Everyone was ready to get to work after that!
We started the session with act 4, scene 4 when Richard enters. It was clarified that Elizabeth is Edward's wife. The scene between the two of them is the first time that someone isn't buying what Richard is trying to sell. Our Richard thought that the character should be touching Elizabeth in this scene. Our Elizabeth disagreed. It was discussed that Richard should then change his tactics to convince Elizabeth to listen to him. Our Elizabeth was getting visibly frustrated with our Richard, who was grabbing her arm and not listening to her. They got through the scene, though.
We went on to do a brief analysis on the scene. When asked what Richard wants in this scene, the woman playing him said that he wants Elizabeth to listen to him. When asked what Elizabeth wants in the scene, the woman playing her said that she wants Richard to know how angry she is. We then worked with the "power struggle" that happens between the two on the line "true love's kiss." They both did an amazing and hilarious job with the power struggle!