Week 27

 Monday 29th April 2024

On Monday we continued running through the opening scene of Radium girls, just further developing the singing section- adding in characters that are in relation to Mr Roader and have an element of blame when it comes to the deaths of the dial painters and knowing about the effects of radium. I love this element that we've added, because it straight away allows the audience to ask questions further than what's obvious to them. It also forces them to pay a different kind of attention to these characters, and view their development and the things they do in a slightly different way that benefits the story in a very impactful way.  This also made the stage craft more interesting, creating a very striking image for the audience- starting the show off in a very powerful way. 

We also started running through scene 3, focusing on the relationship between Kathryn and Irene's interactions- compared to the way they will both interact with Grace. I think its important to understand the change in dynamic and delivery depending on the relationship between different characters, for example Irene and Kathryn naturally are quite snappy yet very giggle with each other- being cousins and having that very strong sisterly sense to them both. Yet the way Kathryn interacts with Grace has a very different sense to it, their best friends yet she doesn't hold this sense of sibling rivalry that she does with Irene. Personally I really love this scene, and have enjoyed playing around with it. 

Tuesday 30th April 2024 

Tuesday was a continuation of rehearsals from Monday, shifting the focus from character relationships- to Kathryns characterisation in scene 3. Originally Kathryn was approached as just very talkative in this scene, and I knew that I was lacking characterisation with her, but after discussion with the director we established how different we want all three girls to be across the show but especially in this scene, as its only mainly the three of them talking throughout it- making it very easy for them to blend into each other and not feel like separate deeper characters. Kathryn has quite a lot of control over the conversation that happens within this scene, carrying a lot of dialogue and create reactions and responses from both Irene and Grace. Her presence in this scene needs to be identifiably different from the other girls, whilst also matching what's being said throughout her dialogue. It was established and discussed that Kathryn is definitely a romantic in this section of her life- loving the idea of love, and having nothing to tell her otherwise. You can tell she is still young and foolish, but we see her excitement and purity with how she idolises it and it's hart warming. To make this clear in my performance I made her discuss of love feel bigger and genuine. Not in an over the top way but in a friendly way that is relatable to a younger audience. 

I also had my first opportunity at blocking scene 7 and getting it on its feet. I was quite nervous going into this scene as it's a very intense and emotionally demanding- wanting to do it justice and correctly portray the true emotions my character experiences. Although we were mainly just blocking it today, I still asked some of my fellow actors to give me some notes on what they thought I could improve on. The main bit of feedback I got was surrounding my physicality- as Kathryn is a women of the 1920s so her physicality needs to reflect that. I have a habit of becoming to sporadic, when I really get into a scene, which meant my physicality of this character would drop at times, so now have made a mental note to make myself practice this physicality and focus on how how it effects the way she moves throughout the scene and her gestures. 

Wednesday 1st May 2024 

Standing at the Skys edge!!

We took a trip to London to see standing at the Skys edge, a beautiful play that explores the lives of very real characters throughout time in Sunderland. Its stage craft is incredible and very smart, with amazing and artistic set- great directory and very powerful performances. I especially loved the discreet but creative moments that were planted throughout scenes, for example two actors in a darkened blue light symbolising the past memories of a relationship, whilst we see its current statues lit in a lighter blue- highlighting the destruction that is being coursed within the relationship. I would love to go and see this show again, it was incredible!