When the Globe approves, it sings.

Thought process: 

I'll write the blog tomorrow...in a few minutes...after I finish this....after I have a good sleep...oh herrumph.  It's Tuesday and now so much has happened I'm too fecked to bother.  But I will.

Friday was a voice class and movement.  Voice was more of a low key-if-i-want-to-gleam-something-revolutionary-I-better-do-it-myself kind of thing.  We used a bit of Hamlet text and played with how distance works with power.  Also how a certain timbre in your voice is just as effective as yanking on someone's ear and hurling him at the ground.  Yes, that was actually exemplified for us.  Highly amusing.

The movement class was something more useful for me.  We picked animals for our newly casted parts.  I kept puzzling over the dying King Lear.  Glynn-duh was right, a dying lion would be too easy and a bit literal.  And I came up with a Bulldog.  I felt silly saying it outloud when we announced it.  But then when we put it into practice, it totally gave me inspiriation.  The bulkiness of their body, the heaviness and the lack of quickness.  I'd crawl on hands and knees, hands turned in and fisted, and heavily clomp around the space.  I'd try to be fierce and intimidating, but would have to rest my head on my arms for periods of time.  There's a reason why bulldogs have so many health problems and don't live long.  I think they are the cutest ugly dogs in the world.  I'd personally want one and call him "squeegee."  oops. Sorry. Tangent. 

We also had to pick a song that our character would sing in the morning in front of the mirror.  It could be absolutely silly but it would have to apply.  I'm afraid mine was not manly at all.  Demi Lovato's "skyscraper."  Yeah...ok.  I swear it wasn't as ridiculous as it sounds.  I did have a bit of trouble using that exercise though because I get sick to my stomach everytime I have to sing in front of people.  Especially people I know.  I don't know when, but somewhere down the line I began to panic everytime I had to sing.  Nowadays I do it pretty much only in drunken karaoke or in jest.  I do miss it though from time to time.

That night I had drinks out with a few of the cohort and on the way LF had given me a very nice reality check.  I also had one from SG the night before as I was obsessing over the script and making my character collage.  Both pretty much said, in their kindest way because that's just who they are: "shut up and suck up, Stacy."  My pride immediately recoiled and I had a moment of "buh-scuse me??"  But then it sunk in.  I've been an absolute "fanny" (thank you AK for the unattractive term that I now use all the time).  I've been given a huge gift of a part and it's my JOB to make it work.  Not my job to wahh wahh wahh all the way home.  So.  Thank you LF and SG. ...just don't do it again. ;)

Saturday School.  This day was both wonderful and shitty.  It began with Voice.  This time we were on the stage outside.  We were given random monologues to read and learn where the pockets of vocal death were on the stage and how to maneuver them.  Most of the class would be roaming around the audience seats, seeing the difference in sound from each seat, and you would be roaming the stage trying not to push and enunciating the crap out of each word and trying to make it sound normal and beautiful.  All this WHILE tons of tour groups mull around the space and annoying tour guides speak over you.  There was also a class of students from Rutgers, who've been here studying, sitting in the lords boxes watching you work.  uh yup.
I lucked out because my "random" speech ended up being my entrance monologue Queen Margaret.  I was one of the first one's up and thank God it was a piece I knew fairly well because that's when the people started hustling in.  My hands went to ice.  But it was the best experience.  The air changes slightly when you grab people's attention.  The stage gives something back to you.  And somewhere in there you begin to take charge, you move, speaking with authority.  It felt really good.  As JS said,  "That was terrifying.  But good."
Now, JS was the last to go up.  By then most of the people had gotten restless and just wanted to take pictures and talk amongst themselves.  But.  The moment this guy opened his mouth...  I've never seen anything like it.  Everything went still.  Movement, breath, air.  The air literally buzzed.  He used the stage in a way that said, "this is mine."  He played cheekily to our movement teacher.  AK and I couldn't help squeezing each other's arms and smiling.  That was power.  And that was beautiful.  But I wouldn't expect anything less from him.  He's become a good friend and I was very proud. 
What I learned from this, is that when the Globe approves, it sings.  And it sings using your voice.

Acting class.  oof.  Our first acting class in our roles.  The first half of the six and a half hours was dedicated to finding our "centre" in the character.  Does he live in the head, heart, will?  With Lear, he is unique in that depending on where you are in the play, he lives in each of them.  My overall thought is that my Act is in the Heart.  One of the challenges for me however is keeping that centre but still using the bulldog physicality. 
We also did a terrifying exercise in finding our character's ghost.  The idea is that everyone has something that haunts them.  Personal demons, per se.  In this exercise, we manifest them into actual people, have them follow you around and either physically or verbally be present.  Then you interact with other characters with your demon over your shoulder, first physically but then keeping them there in thought as opposed to an actual person hovering.
First order of business was to identify what the demon was.  For Lear, I chose madness.  His desperation against it.
Then you choose someone to represent that.  And yes, I chose our dear friend JS.  Now, before you start judging me on playing favorites or thinking oh you just did that because you know he'll play nice...it's actually the opposite.  I chose him because I knew he'd truly go after me.  He's not afraid of me (you can tell that sort of thing in people's eyes) and I know he realizes that there's a point to the exercise.  You don't do it full out, you miss out on something that could be truly useful.
Well...I chose right.  He did go after me.  Whispering in my ear, following me in my blindspot, saying things that were...exactly what they needed to be.  And through that I found the madness, desperation, and aggressiveness that felt right. 
I always have a tough time coming back from exercises like that but JS came round after and gave a hug, looked at me and said, "shake it off."  Her royal Pridefulness got her back up for an instant (never liking to be told what to do), then she remembered...he's right.  Shake it off.  And I did.

We then went outside again, and the focus was trying to create atmospheres in the space.  Oh, for me it was an epic fail.  The atmosphere of the Globe itself is so massive that it sucks everything out of you.  And I don't think we figured out how to play WITH her (the Globe) yet.
I still managed to find a few things for the character though and had a good moment with the character Kent (RM) so it wasn't a complete dud.  And in the walk back into the building, Tom gave me some nice feedback that encouraged me that I'm on the right path.

This is where things went a little sour.  I'm not going to bother with details but the next step was to, in our small groups, create an atmosphere for some specific scenes and find our overall gesture.  It didn't go well.  Much frustration and much confusion.  By the end of the night, AsK and I caved and stopped in to get a Chocolate and praline cheesecake to soothe our souls.  I was also lucky enough to have AK and RM drop by for a bit of a back massage (thank you AK) and a DCM (deep meaningful convo. thanks RM).  So I didn't have an excess amount of time to stew.

Sunday was the day dedicated to work.  I studied the text for a good five and a half hours.  analysis, line rewrites, writing lists of what my character says about self, others, what they say about me, imagery used, snore snore snore.  It put me in an absolute rubbish mood.  I didn't want to see anyone or do anything.  And was regretting that I'd promised to see a puppet show with RM.  But I went and...it was the best idea ever.  RM totally redeemed my day.  I love when that happens.  It was a nice semi chilly night, we had a good walk, and stopped in at a small cafe where I tried Bread and Butter Pudding for the first time, had a drink called Biceron (where basically there are three small jugs in front of you. One with chocolate, one espresso, one cream.  and you mix it all up. yup.), and had some really great conversations.  I really enjoy RM.  He's tricky in that you never know how much he's observing until later you realize "sh*t.  he listened to me blabber the entire time."  And he has a writer's view of the world which I've always enjoyed.  He thinks in stories.  Never boring.
The show was great, too.  It's meant to be a children's show but it was so much more.  The puppetry was so beautiful and the writing clever.  They built an atmosphere that made you feel a part of the town it was in.  It was magical. 

Monday was my self proclaimed day off.  I forced myself to do absolutely NO WORK.  And I forced myself to do everything alone.  It was a good idea.  I got up leisurely, walked to Covent Garden.  It reminded me Pike Place Market a bit.  Street performers, street vendors, it smelled of coffee and vintage clothing.  It was nice.  Then I maneuvered my way to Oxford street where I spent entirely too much money.  But I treated myself.  I've been feeling good and healthy lately (thanks to the five miles of walking we do a day) so I bought a few items that made me happy.  Afterwards, seeing as it was Chinese New Year, I walked through Chinatown and found pork hum bao.  Yum.  Reminds me of childhood.  Like, for real.
Then more walking to Piccadilly where I met up with an old friend/roommate Hayley.  She looked amazing.  We had tea and caught up a bit.  It was good to hear the honest truth on the work environment in London.  She, being a triple threat, and still only managing three or four auditions a month.  She used to go on that many in just a day in NYC.  It was a bit of an awakening.  Or perhaps a reminder, of the life I used to have and will have again after this rabbit hole world I'm in now.
She then scored me an amazing seat at the west end show Ghost: the Musical.  I needed a show that was so far from Shakespeare as possible. And it certainly was.  Surprisingly, and I do mean surprisingly since I didn't expect much, it was pretty good.  Great concept, great technical execution.  The talent (with the exception of the Oda May Brown) was blugh.  Great voices.  No acting whatsoever.  Tant pis. 

Right.  So.  It's time to go to another six hour acting class. I'm not going to lie.  I'm dreading it.  Big time.  Lord grant me the serenity...

Thinking of you x