Today we saw our costumes and the set! Upon hearing we’d have a set that could spin, we all felt our heads do the same. The set and costumes are as glorious and romantic as we’d imagined, and it brings into perspective the world we are trying to place ourselves in.
Today we also continued asking questions. Of course, the answers bring up even more questions, all of which deepen our exploration and awareness of the world we are building.
“Why is this show worth putting on?”
- It shows the moral grey area when justice fails
- This led to a tangent on how ritualistic the killing is, and whether anyone could ever go back to normal after that, let alone justify it.
“Do you have a family? What are you risking here”
- I am going through a divorce, and I want the divorce case to go well
- Could be alimony, or it could be because I have kids
“What is your relationship to money”
- I didn’t come from money, but Colonel makes a good amount of money, so I grew into it
- How do I speak? This will indicate my upbringing, and likely whether I had money
- My costume is a business suit, how does that factor in?
- This was during the great depression
- Orient Express Ticket costs $20 ($800 adjusted for inflation)
- Am I in first or second-class seating?
After this, we looked at pictures from movies about the 1930s and imitated their body shapes. We then moved through the room doing activities under these constraints. I learned that there is tension on my torso, but little elsewhere. A useful idea was that my clothes are expensive and that I don’t want to wrinkle them. Furthermore, all of the clothes in this play are glamorous, meaning they are meant to convey a certain idea. At all times, the way I walk and talk indicates how I want people to see me.
After these discussions, we applied what we learned to our table reading. We identified that we have to use our whole body and a lot of energy to be understood in accent across the table. Naturally, this seems daunting for when we move into Klein, but it’s good to think of it now.
I learned a lot today, which was a huge success. Tomorrow, I want to become more familiar with scene two, since we will be blocking it tomorrow. I also want to work on being heard in my accent. Despite all the excuses for why I may be speeding or slurring through my lines, the solution is to really get my ideas across, which will hopefully become easier as I come to understand this scene more.