Poor old Jarrett

Tuesday’s rehearsals was starting to play more with Jarrett’s physicality and how drunk he actually is by this stage.

This opened out more character options for Simon and Matt as Hanson then starts to become slightly annoyed with Jarrett’s constant drinking. We spoke about the fact that Hanson up till now has probably always knew that Jarrett drunk too much but as he was his friend never really send anything. It’s only when Hanson really starts to examine himself and his friends that he realises that they are wrong.

Simon has started to use the drink as a reason why he becomes more and more irrational in the scene once Ellis has left. Drinking more and more whiskey and steadily becoming more and more inebriated.

McQueen starts off quite gently on Jarrett slowly working his way into him. But the defining moment of the scene is when McQueen is beaten quite badly by Jarrett and McQueen becomes more annoyed with Jarrett and decides to finish him off with the truth. We think Ellis’s exit is bad. But Jarrett is completely reduced to crying on the bed not being able to move.

Simon has been asked to look again at the script and to look at moments where Jarrett’s drunkenness slowly starts to occur. I want Simon to really have a natural progression into the later part of the scene where he is violent, drunk and angry.

We still like McQueen though because he’s forcing Jarrett to see his failings and making Hanson also realise where he’s gone wrong. We’re almost thanking McQueen for helping these men. Though the circumstances are quite distressing.

This sets up a great 2nd Act for the next scene between McQueen and Hanson.

And the next bombshell…

When is a game a game?

After numerous discussions about who’s playing a game in the 2nd half of Act there were some hard conclusions made which increased the scenes power.

Essentially McQueen is playing his own game. Ensuring that Hanson doesn’t want to kill him and at the same time making Hanson realise that Shelly is desperately unhappy and unstable. Shelly does think that McQueen treats her in a special way and she thinks that McQueen does feel like she is treated differently to all his other clients.

The way the scene develops is that we want Shelly to be all confident when she first comes in and is in control. She is dominant from the start, throwing her coat across the room to McQueen, kicking the door shut and then moving on stage to a position where she is on display and physically demanding that McQueen kisses her. She then plays with him teasing him at this point. McQueen is completely himself (or presenting himself as Shelly normally sees him) and laughs off his bruised and bloodied face as being jumped on by a jealous husband.

As the scene develops McQueen slowly ensures that whilst Shelly still thinks they are playing a game, McQueen gets all the information out of her to ensure Hanson knows exactly what she is like. But she does start to grow suspicious later on in the scene, as McQueen keeps looking towards the wardrobe.

We see the desperate side of Shelly when McQueen throws the money at her and at that point she starts to almost follow him round the room, clinging onto the hopes that they will run away together to some fantastical beach-side island.

This to Shelly is her fantasy she has stopped living in reality and clings onto the desperate hope that her life will change into her fantasy.

McQueen becomes colder and colder. Max spending a lot of the 2nd half of the scene looking away from her. As she clings to him and almost begs him not to leave her and the fantasy she had created.

He drives her to the point of despair as he tells her it’s not going to work and her only option is to pull the gun out. McQueen realising that his last option is to call on Hanson to come out of the wardrobe and have it out with his wife.

It’s all Boxing and Cat & Mouse

The idea of McQueen following Hanson round the room to try to listen to him worked really well. We used this as a basis to then break-down the moments where this should happen more than other times.

McQueen needs to get Hanson to understand the situation fully for him to eventually go along with it. So he uses every trick in the book to goad him into agreeing with him.

We start the beginning of Act 2 with Hanson sitting CS looking like he is in control of the situation. Though the mistake is when McQueen speaks he has already started on the path which leads to Hanson’s doom. Obviously didn’t learn his lesson from the first half. Curiosity quite literally killing the cat. McQueen turns slightly panicked by the thought of Shelly and then brings the conversation down to eyes level by sitting on the bed opposite McQueen. There is no longer a status difference as McQueen takes over describing a Shelly that he knows Hanson will not what to hear or believe.

McQueen uses this shocking information to his advantage. Probing away at Hanson all the time. Offering up suggestions that again ensure he isn’t the guilty party. Playing on Hanson’s masculinity. Ensuring that Hanson feels as if he’s still the powerful one. We see max almost play on his shoulder as if he’s Hanson’s devil like conscience. There are some great moments where the audience see each of their brains ticking over as they look out of the room into the auditorium for answers.

He starts to compare his situation with people that are in far worse circumstances than him so as to ensure Hanson has no other choice but to agree with him. When he is confronted with it being his fault he deflects this onto the other people that are suffering. The audience don’t see it, but deep inside McQueen’s mind he knows exactly what he is doing.

I wanted to offer McQueen the one chance to really sound desperate with Hanson by shouting at him to sit down when it looks like Hanson is about to leave. To give a moment of real tension, whereby Hanson stays but doesn’t allow McQueen to completely get his own way by going to the fridge and then sitting on the bed rather than the chair ushered by McQueen. This creates a great stand-off moment where McQueen then cleverly brings it back down again to play off of Hanson wanting to feel like he’s still in control.

The phone call is almost a relief to McQueen as this really helps to hammer the last nail into the coffin. The voice of his wife on the end of the phone is too much for Hanson to bear and helps McQueen finally persuade him to get into the wardrobe. A happy coincidence that she has phoned? Possibly. But by this point Hanson wouldn’t have stayed if he wasn’t almost already sold into the idea.

The beginning of the end of poor old Hanson…

Props Inventory

x 1 Tool Holdall - (Check)

Assortment of Tools (Look in Theatre)

x 1 'Do not Disturb sign' - (Check)

x 1 Pocket Diary (Check)

x2 Breakabke Mobile (Check)

x3 Balaclavas (Check)

x1 Hanson's knife (Check)

x1 Gaffa Tape for mouth (Check)

x1 Rope for arms & legs (Check)

x10 Photos of wife (Need to get)

Assortment of mini shorts for fridge (Need to get)

Mini Cans of lager (Need to get)

x1 Firing Gun (We have one for the show and a plastic one for rehearsals)

Fake Blood (Theatre has a bottle in cosmetic case)

Blood Caspules (Need to buy)


Set Specific

x2 Bedside Lamps

x2 Bedside Tables

x1 Telephone

x1 Dressing Table Mirror

x1 Dressing Table

x1 Chair

x2 Matching Beds (Build with rostrum)

x2 Matching Bedding

x1 Carpet for Stage floor and rug.

x1 Blinds for the window.

x1 Doors for Wardrobe (look in theatre)

x1 Mini Fridge (Check)

Character Traits

Q What defines the character physically from the Biog's you wrote? (Go back and study them)
Chris started to play around with scratching his head and biting his finger nails, looking nervous and agitated all the time. This really worked to sell the character.

Q How does Hanson walk? Look at other people? Being the Boss does he like to take on stances that make him look powerful?

Q Jarrett - If he has already had a lot to drink can we make him more lucid? Darker? Maybe looks tired or sometimes not completely focussed. Plays around more with the pliers.

Q Shelly - She plays on her sexuality and likes playing games. How does she walk across a room? How does she look at McQueen. How would she react physically to Hanson emerging from a wardrobe?

Q McQueen - How does he carry himself? When he's being hit he responds after the intial pain by physically re-adjusting himself. He's aware of status and always ensures he's directing his attention at the individual. Making sure he looks at people directly in the eyes. This will unsettle them and give the audience more to think about. Remember he's a master of improvisation and lies. Max has concentrated a lot on body language and the position of his body on the chair in relation to others as he's tied-up.

Creating small things on stage when there is other action and dialogue helps to build the believability and sub-plot that runs through the play. We must believe that these characters exist other than on the stage and that each of their lives have put them down a certain path that we can identify with physically on stage.

When looking at the script again look at the words and then think what can you physically be doing on stage at the time within your own personal space.

Notes from Rehearsals – Up to Page 46.

Setting the mood

We see moonbeams flooding through the blinds creating an eerie shadow across the hotel room. Then we see light emerge through the cracks in the door and the feet under the door of a person. As McQueen enters the space we want to technically create a sillhotte as he stand in the doorway of the hotel room. To give a feel of film-noir. Stark lighting beaming across the stage. We only see his face as he enters the space via the moonbeam through the window. He walks around the room. Places his coat on the bed and lights the two lamps. He then looks into the dressing table mirror (quite confident with a smile) and ensures he’s looking his best.

From the shadows

Three masked figures rush from the shadows, McQueen scrambles across the bed. Two of the masked assailants grab him, he tries to escape, they punch him back to the bed. Once he’s subdued he is placed firmly on a chair as the bigger of the three masked men throws rope and tape to the other two before putting the ‘Do not disturb’ sign on the outside of the door. They sit allowing their friend to take over. He wanders to the window winding up the blinds and ensuring all is quite outside. Then he starts to encircle the bloodied victim.

Building up Characters at the beginning

Before we hear McQueen speak we really want to build up the tension with the others and get a feel for each of their characters. We know the leader by now. He’s controlling the situation from the minute he gives the others jobs to do. (Tying him up). Hanson asks the questions at the beginning. We see once the address book has been examined that the three men react slightly differently. Hanson intimidating McQueen with his knife and asking specific questions. Jarrett never takes his eyes off of McQueen as if in some battle of wills. Ellis becoming preoccupied with the address book with a look of disbelief that his wife has betrayed him.

We see Ellis early on now as more nervous than in earlier rehearsals. Looking to Hanson for answers. Almost as if he is asking permission to speak. His disbelief turns to anger and he cannot control himself from wanting to hit McQueen. Constantly being ushered away by Hanson. Jarrett playing on the fact that his wife has been brutally murdered he seems colder with often a dark wit. We laugh when he asks McQueen if he thinks he’s ‘Fred Astaire’ we want the audience to believe that Jarrett is quite capable of doing some rather nasty things. Which makes it even more shocking when Hanson slashes his cheek after losing his temper.

Hanson is caught between wanting to seem professional by intimidating him and often losing his temper with the answers he receives. When Jarrett grabs his fingers with the pliers he makes no attempt to stop it. But after he becomes more and more curious with what McQueen is saying he eventually stops Ellis all together from hitting him as he wants to learn everything about his wife and the events.

Breaking them

McQueen is often in pain and tries several tactics to ensure his safety. He tells the truth (or what seems to be the plausible truth). He always backs up his statements by saying ‘Hey that’s how it is’ or ‘It’s a business’ so as to deflect the blame. He starts to cleverly appear not as a man who has been caught having an affair but providing a good service for the husbands. ‘Being them’ ‘I am you’ as he points out. McQueen sees that this might not be working and changes tactics by implanting a loose idea that he will change. He’ll go back to being a carpenter. Though he’s beyond convincing the three men of this. He goes for the jugular. Revealing the personal secrets of Ellis.

We have to remember that McQueen knows these men’s weaknesses or at least things that would break them through their wives.

McQueen sees Ellis becoming more and more volatile and waits for his moment to strike. Ellis has been examining himself in the mirror before looking at the knife. McQueen sees his chance before Ellis does something crazy. Leaving the poor Ellis distraught.

It’s a powerful moment when he finally breaks down and Jarrett laughs at him.

Ellis clearly upset but knowingly not having the guts to go through with it and kill McQueen he drops the knife feeling betrayed by everyone. Jarrett makes one last chance to apologise and console him, but by then Ellis is a broken man. The venom of truth taking effect in his veins. He leaves hurriedly never looking back.

Poster Design

This will be on SLT from next week.

Workshop 3

Sound that drives

We start with each character seated and upon listening to music and being offered with a theme we watch how the actors start to react to this sound whilst thinking about the music. This really helps to establish the state of mind with the character. Jennie preparing to go out, looking in the mirror. Thinking about being somewhere else. Simon deep thinking, seemingly always deep in thought about his life. As with Chris, looking into the beyond. Thinking about his life. Physically Jennie was more active, showing that her character always wants to be somewhere else or away in some dream world. Max more stationary as a lot of the sounds don’t tend to inspire the character as his actions are a lot of the time not necessarily what he has in his mind. Each person responded in a different way which is always encouraging.

Stage Picture

We create scenarios after that deep exercise that free the tension of what was a powerful last exercise. I’m painting the actors onto a canvas which helps for us to be aware of each other’s space and are continuation with status. There seems to be a real group understanding developing from each others individual personalities.

Isolation

Jennie wanted some specific exercises to really help her realise the characters intentions for seeing McQueen. By creating a room where no one else is listening to her and the rest of the cast and crew ignore her, we see how frustration turns to despair as she needs attention and everyone completely ignores her. Eventually we see max coached into helping her as she completely breaks down and collapses to the floor. The helpful comfort of Max ensuring she was OK. We can then work with Jennie and Max next time on how they become closer and trust one another before developing the characters further.

Conclusions – There is a real sense of characters and thought process that will be carried into the first scene reading as we put it on it’s legs. Coming back to more games and exercises as the rehearsal period develops.

Workshop 2

Groups A+B discussed their character biographies and then each spoke to the rest of the cast and crew about what they had been told about their partners character. This helped us all understand early relationships and status’s.

Each actor has an occupation and has to explain what they do to the other actor. This helped develop an understanding between what they did physically and how they react to the other actors in the space. Also seemed to bring some humour which creates more teamwork. Explaining lifting boxes and moving them from one part of the room to the other was very humorous.

Tube Improvisation – Allowing the three guys to develop their relationship whilst not being too fond of Max. Max annoys them by playing loud music but Jennie fancies him which adds to the torment of the other actors. They work together to try to get Max to stop his music without having to resort to physical violence. Max and Jennie end up leaving the tube together.

To help Chris reach the despairing levels of worry that Ellis has we put him into a similar situation the character may have experienced but using Max as the Bank Manager we increase Ellis’s anger towards McQueen. By the end of the improvisation we feel Chris is really going to hit out at Max.

Developing Jennie and Matt’s relationship we see how she can get round her husband by playing the nice sweet wife. She has to go out but Matt wants her to stay. They both develop this couple status as they fight to see who gets their way. Matt inventing the curry night was a nice touch. Jennie sitting on his lap really showed her playing with the idea of Shelly and her two lives.

Simon felt that he was always down the pub with his mates and what a coincidence when an improvisation was set in a pub. Vanessa played his wife trying to get him to leave. We start to see Jarrett and how he lives his life. Hardworking but also not really understanding of his wife’s needs.

Developing the guys and working on Ellis as the live wire we put Max in a pub situation where he is staring at Chris. The guys really start to play the status as we see the leader of the gang developing as Ellis is continuously held-back from hitting the cocky Max at the end of the bar.

Two Sides – Max on one side and Matt on the other, we see how Jennie reacts to the two different men as she tries to find her character and how each situation changes her towards them. She’s sweet and obedient with Matt and then appears sexy and darker with Max.

Someone has a secret – Simon comes on stage when Chris is telling a secret to Matt. We really start to see them as the three characters more as Chris and Simon battle to tell their secret to Matt. Matt controls them both and as we raise the stakes Chris becomes more violent as Simon becomes more confident that he’s Matt’s No 2. Ending up with them both almost fighting each other. The bickering and constant arguing seems to be in direct line with the characters of the play.

Summary – Perceptions and Status’s have been developed. The next Workshop deals with finding what makes the characters tick and allowing internal thoughts to develop from how the character thinks creating actions with sound.