Evaluation

Performing '13' has been so great. We created a world and invited our audience into it. I feel as though we took each characters story and intertwined them with great energy which eventually lived through every scene. Our three performances were all very different and there were definitely moments that were testing but I have learnt more than I could have imagined about performing, listening and being present. The audience constantly reminded me of what this play was about and how certain moments impacted the play. I feel as though this applies to every member of the cast as we were always making new discoveries and this is really exciting. 

Opening night was in my opinion the play where I was most present. I think this is because Will said before we went on 'Dont try to be good, just listen.' This really stuck with me and became somewhat of a mantra to me throughout the season. However In this performance it was fresh in my mind. During this performance my favourite moment was when Ruth and Steph have a drink together. Phoebe and I really connected and lived through the scene. She was listening to me and I to her. There was a really nice moment where we weren't even speaking we just both genuinely laughed as our characters  at what I had just said, which felt rooted in our relationship. The audience also lifted us because they were laughing at the lines and I must admit it was so hard not to play it for laughs I had to fight to keep listening as dramatic as that sounds. This is something I know a lot of the cast struggled with, especially Nina as Edith. This is because Edith is such a fantastically eccentric character to play and Nina works so well as her. In every show the audience laughed at almost everyone of her lines.  However I know that Nina was living through that scene  the whole time because when you watch her as Edith she has a lovely dreamy kind of focus which never wavers. 

The second show for me was a test and if Im honest I played it from memory. The time before are performances was limited and from this I realize the importance of a really intense warm up. I read through my scenes before the show but its hard to get back into something that quickly and this all comes down to my own naivety about performing. The section I struggled most with was my speeches. I wasn't present I was in a memory of the show the week before and I wasn't strong in my focus. This was probably because I knew my peers were watching and I was focused on pleasing the audience and not performing. However Jesse as Rachel was not remembering. She was present and listening in every scene and wasn't scared to play and make discoveries. The split scene between Rachel and Amir and Ruth and Dennis was driven by Jesse in this show, Gus needed to listen to what she was saying more because he was slightly frantic, so many kore discoveries could have been found if he just slowed down. 

However in the second show lines seemed to disappear  Myself included. I feel like this is because we didn't look at the play for a whole week, However when performing in a split scene its vital that every line is continuous and in the right order. Josh never managed to say his line in the right place which was frustrating as That was my cue. After the first show I pointed this out but it continued to happen, the scene was apparently very interesting to watch because the focus was constantly changing and a created a climactic moment before the interval.

In every single piece the Beginning of the second wast electric. The whole audience was immersed and it was so exciting to watch. The audience were involved and in my opinion it set up a great energy for the second half. According to members of the audience I spoke to another captivating aspect of the piece was the box. This is something that fueled anxiety backstage but was so effective. Especially In scenes where it posed as the police station. I feel like it added so much to the piece as it shaped the lower section of the set. However it occasionally made noise during scenes and especially in the second show. This was a design fault and didn't take away from the action on stage. Adding to this the lighting in the dream section was really effective, a member of the audience later told me it made them feel uneasy, combined with the itching, searching ringing movement it was really quite strange. This worked really well in each performance, but closing the box in the last section was sometimes tricky as Molly couldn't find the pins. Especially in the last performance. Despite this is still looked interesting.

‘Listen to what you are saying.’ In the last show I really began to think about listening to what I was saying. In the previous performance my lines has got into and rhythm “the iranian regime is simply put brutal” I felt like I was trapped in the same delivery with lines like this. However during the last performance I listened to myself. It worked and especially in the last scene which for me worked so beautifully.  Gavin Phoebe and I listening and talking into one another. This scene evolved through each performance and I feel like all three of us were driving the climax. The play as a whole allowed 13 strong characters to tell a story of failure. the choral singing at the end of the second half   worked so beautifully and  bought the piece to moving end. I have learnt to play a tricky space, understood the importance of listening and began to live in the moment.