I ask the group what they want to do today. One participant wants to bring up a concern. She says people are getting bored because we are sitting and reading and talking. We talk about the importance of this part of the process, in which we read the play scene by scene as an ensemble and discuss its meaning, impact, and dreams we have for staging it. An ensemble member advocates in support of this process, while two other ensemble members don’t want to stop much for reflection.
After talking more with the group, we come to a collective compromise. We decide that we will continue our seated reading (I tell the group that it is still important to check for comprehension and deeper thoughts), and that we will prioritize getting every scene on its feet as we finish them in each session. This allows the ensemble to engage with the scene as audience members, and to gain a new level of understanding and engagement!
I ask the group if they want to move forward in the play, knowing we will have to go back next session, or go back now and move forward next session. A participant suggests getting Act 1 Scene 1 on its feet so we get it cast.
We start running through the scene on our feet. I encourage a participant to really flatter Lear with her line. She brings more intention to it the second time. After doing the scene, we reflect on the importance of getting scenes up on their feet once we understand what’s going on. “Everyone wants to be in the show but no one wants to put in the time and work,” a member says. We remind everyone that it will be a slow process but it is an integral part of the process.
Kyle changes the subject, “Do you want to know something about Shakespeare?”
A participant: “You’re going to tell us anyway so go ahead.”
Another participant: “Thank you for saying that!”
The room erupts in laughter.
Kyle: “You’re damn right I’m gonna tell you,” he jokes.
We talk about the formality/informality that is shown through “thee/thou” versus “you/your”. We discuss how France changes his use of this language as he scolds Lear. I talk about how rhyme appears in this scene and how it indicates the romance between France and Cordelia.
We decide to play a game that focuses on getting us up on our feet and focused on embodiment – Freeze Frame. Kyle walks the group through it and we try it out. One member laughs a ton as she tries the different scenes. A participant jumps in but can’t stop laughing to start the scene, “This is the first time I laughed this good in a while.”
We wrap up the game and chat. “I’m super happy now that I know about this,” a participant says. “I’m so eager, the anticipation is killing me to see where we’ll be in the winter, in June.” She reflects on how hard the game was for her – “It’s easy to reenact what happens in here. It was challenging to get into the real world [scenes]. I’m trying to get outside of this place. This is a breath of fresh air. I only know inmate-officer and inmate-inmate here.”
Kyle talks about removing inhibitions through improv. One member talks about how she’s been working with all the new members in her unit – “I got them all in training,” she jokes.
A participant reflects on trying Goneril in the scene we ran: “I don’t think I could do that part. I thought I could do any part but there are some I could do better than others.” She expressed her excitement to try Cordelia. A participant talks about her process with roles: “You make the part you want it to be. I made my ‘garbage’ role exciting.”
She reflects on the “sass” she gave Kyle, “When I’m sarcastic – it’s easier to be someone who is not me.”
Two members talk about one-line parts they remember playing as kids and how they still remember them. “There are no small parts,” A member says.
The conversation around reading vs embodying scenes has led to an interesting and engaging new way of processing King Lear for our ensemble. As we continue to digest this play over the next few weeks, we remain excited to see how getting up and playing impacts our understanding of this work.