My actors method

When reading my characters role in the play I saw it wasn't one of the bigger roles in terms of lines but it had more character development then other characters. My character in my view has turned psychotic  through her belief in Christianity. She creates one of the more dramatic strands of the story, by killing her daughter, violently. I feel inspired to develop this character as it is so different from myself. I want to research faith and what it gives people and what makes some people so obsessed with it. The only thing I can compare what she does to her daughter to is 'honour killings' which are known to happen sometimes within the Muslim faith when daughters disobey their faith. As a part of my process I intend to research this ritual and how parents can push themselves to that point.

As a part of technical development of my character I need to be able to do an american accent. This is with the two other cast members who play the part of my daughter and husband. I think the three of us need to make decisions about what particular accent we are going to learn and spending time working on it. I have friends from California who I can use as a source to practice lines. Making sure we work on our articulation and try our best to master it.

I tend to research the playwright of whatever production I am doing. This is so I can understand what inspired them to write the play and what message they are trying to get across. Going on from this to research the world of the play, so you can give a context to everything you and other characters are saying.

Trying to understand the objectives of this particular will be difficult. It is a role which travels to a dark place which I will have to get close to. This will require me to stretch my comfort zone. However, the content and subject matter she deals with is extremely disturbing so I will need to make myself emotionally available in rehearsals and commit fully but also make sure I can separate myself from it outside of rehearsals as to not damage my own peace of mind.

What is it going to take for us to be a good ensemble and create a successful production?

In order to create good ensemble work we are going to need to listen to each other's bodies, what are our physical and emotional limits are and making sure everybody feels safe. We need to develop a sense of trust between our cast. We need to have the ability to know what our comfort zone is but be able to expand it and push it as far as we can both physically and emotionally.

From the read through today, I could already tell who was thinking about what they were reading and who was just saying words from a page. It is really important as actors in this production and in any other that we listen to what our scene partner is saying and how they are saying. What offers are they giving us? A lot of scenes involving my character Sarah and her daughter are requiring me to react of what the daughter is saying. This is something I need to use in rehearsals and make sure I try react of what the other actor is doing and saying and make sure I don't get stuck in a habit of saying a line the same way each time.

To ensure we have productive rehearsals we need to have respect for our director and other cast members. This means being in on time and ready to work and not missing loads of rehearsals. If we all develop a sense of shared responsibility for the outcome of the production we will be more likely to do these things. In order to be ready to work we need to be able to leave the outside world at door and whatever people may have going on and make themselves emotionally available to work. This means engaging with your breath and opening your chest up. It is about making sure your body is ready for work, which requires you to fully stretch out before rehearsals.

When we begin to develop our characters it is important to have confidence in the choices we make but be open to constructive criticism from our cast or director, and be open to changing your ideas. I also think it's important to think carefully about how you critique the performance of others. Staying respectful and honest at the same time is often difficult but it is so important to do in order for everyone to feel safe and supported throughout the rehearsal process and performance.

Initial response to 13 by Mike Bartlett

After the first reading of the play with  the cast, I felt like it was extremely intelligently written. The play discusses subject matter which many members of the public and i'm sure members of our cast, may not fully understand. For example the middle east conflict, in particular Iran. This will be a challenge for all of us to research and try and understand. Its challenging because we are so far removed from Iran as a place but also from the Governments involvement within it and throughout the middle east. Personally, although I listen to the news and try to have a wider understanding of the world around me, i am still frequently challenged by the complexity of the issues involving our overseas conflicts. Another challenge behind this is finding reliable information. So many sources from the media are biased and not to be trusted. This means we must be careful when conducting research on the issue that facts are verified and that we can identify opinion from the facts.

I think the play also showed well rounded opinions and characters that you see surrounding the turmoil of war. We see inside the government, the radical 'do gooder' who wants a change but doesn't quite know how to achieve it, and the every day people who get affected by the issues. One of the most interesting moments of the play for me was the ending monologue from the perspective of the soldier. It allowed us to see into the reality of the war, where the fighting happens, as opposed to our often distant 'out of sight, out of mind' viewpoint we can often get in Britain because all our wars and combat currently are fought overseas. 

The play has left a lot open for both the director and the actors to interpret. There is space for ensemble work, and physical theatre but also for moments of silence. The set is also open, apart form the script states it must be performed with a circle. Before the read through today we talked through initial ideas behind the set, with our set designer for the production in the room. Here are some scribbles of possible stage ideas: