From Rachel:
Brecht says theatre should be approached as showing one thing after another. I am thinking how powerful an approach this is to continue working through scenes. Do it this way. Do it again with these variances. Now let’s look at it from this perspective. Now from that. What can we gain from continuing to approach and craft as if every time is fresh and new? Not one thing that leads to another but approaching as if it is one thing we must do, and then another, and then another. And then see how the fit together and inform each other.
I cannot imagine that we would have gotten as far with the 3rd person narration of scene 1 had we not gone through all the other steps before. And even then, while the cast was valiantly and beautifully struggling their way through this classic Brechtian exercise, there were major discoveries (or discoveries of indecision or lack of clarity or lack of decision) and great clarifications and specifying of moments. It forced decisions. It brought decisions out. And it laid the entire process clearly and concretely and transparently on the table. For all to see.
The ensemble members are to be commended for their vulnerability and patience. This is a different path. Keeping our eyes open as we take it and allowing it to surprise us, even if it is or feels like one walked before, will continue paying off.
"I was not expecting that."
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Talk about "I was not expecting that!" Watching a rehearsal of scene one with third person narration (during Sunday's rehearsal) was absolutely enthralling. It was fascinating to hear the inner thoughts of these characters and although I've read it a hundred times, it was a brand new scene. I wanted to hear more of what they were doing and why. The scene became less about the story of Courage and the children and more about actors creating theatre. It really felt like I was watching spontaneous creation of art, and Kathleen using her signs to comment on the action only helped me to be more distant from the emotion of the story and more connected to the creation. I was a part of it, yet completely separate at the same time. I’m not sure if that makes sense, but it was such a fascinating experience that I really hope we can recreate that feeling for our audiences.
ReplyDelete-Kelly