Michael Corbidge workshop

The Time is Now has been quiet of late, as there has been nothing uplifting to report (aside from some fonting which I have not yet blogged). However, I am pleased to say that one such day has put some of the zing back.

As part of the ALPs production of The Taming of the Shrew (18 to 21 May), we were lucky enough to have a workshop given by voice and text coach to the RSC, Michael Corbidge. I had made the mistake of looking at clips online and it worried me that we would be made to run around the room and do things outside my comfort zone. But I was wrong and the clips were misleading. Mr Corbidge was a wonderfully down to earth, humorous man who we all warmed to. He has worked with loads of famous actors but he never once mentioned this and I didn't like to ask. He was passionate about what he did and his enthusiasm was infectious. He made no apologies for it and this made it easy to throw yourself into it all and not feel self conscious.

We began with a warm-up which involved warming up your body and voice. Possibly actors resist doing this but in fact we could feel the benefit once we had done it. It helps to throw off the worries and thoughts of the day, or yesterday, and then you can be focussed on what you are doing. We stood in a circle and did various movements and made various sounds but none of it felt silly as everyone was doing it and there was a purpose, plus it was as if we had been given permission to do these things so there was no need to feel daft. I quite enjoyed it anyway and afterwards it did help you to feel positive. Michael focussed on posture and the best way for your body to be for speaking - head up, eyes forward, jaw relaxed, and standing on the balls of your feet, the middle point, rather than leaning back or slouching in our normal habits. There was the image of being pulled up by a golden rope through the top of your head.

It was a full and intense day so don't expect me to remember everything but I will try to give you a flavour of what we did. We covered many things such as how words convey their meaning - for example try saying "plain Kate" and making plain sound exciting or interesting. Plain conveys its meaning in the sounds. Michael connected us to the language - something that made a huge difference to me - by saying don't be shy of enjoying the words, enjoy saying them - their consonants, their vowels. And actually, when you start to say every word clearly instead of swallowing it or hurrying it, you start to enjoy it. Shakespeare's language is great and that is one reason the plays have endured - and I'd forgotten that. I know that sounds mad. I have to confess I wasn't really feeling my parts as a servant and a fruit seller, and I wasn't feeling enthused about the humour of the play. But Michael brought me back in touch with what I have always loved at school and beyond: language. Words. And actually for me (maybe hormonal who can tell) it was quite emotional to reconnect.

It is amazing how much he helped us achieve in one day. He had various techniques to help people say their speeches, so the key characters in the play such as Kate and Petruchio, Gremio, Biondello, Lucentio and Tranio, all had a go at saying their speeches. Michael would suggest small changes and ask them to say it again. And then again, with another change, and so on. By the third or fourth time, the speech had been transformed into something much clearer, more engaging, more exciting. Michael helped us to think about the meaning of the words and to bring out the important words, like people's names or places in the opening speech of Lucentio, and the importance of pronouns - I, my, you, your etc. He did exercises to help people respond to what was being said, rather than just saying their line back. He also helped people to say things in a much more natural way - this was through doing something else at the same time, so Kate had to put on a huge pile of jumpers while she was speaking and we all had to give Gremio an item to hold when he was listing his riches. It was a surprisingly effective method: suddenly the speaker had two things to concentrate on and they began to speak in a more natural way so it did not sound like a recited speech. Gremio (Jules) was saying how his brain had been concentrating on the second thing so he was not worrying about the words so much.

There were so many things he touched on, like thinking about the way you say monosyllabic words, or polysyllabic words. And turning things on their head, like getting Petruchio and Kate to have their war of words but to be meaning "I love you" when they were saying it. And softening voices so that you had somewhere to go - higher and louder and more exciting, instead of coming in like that with nowhere to take it. How you have to respond to someone immediately (start thinking of it four or five words before rather than taking a breath and having a pause after their line), how to stop breathing out between lines but perhaps to use sound with breath instead. How not to be afraid of sounds or words.  Someone in his past had advised him to think of a blind person, a deaf person and a foreign person sitting up in the gods and he had to make sure they understood the play, so you have to use visuals as well as your voice. A bit like TEFL teaching in fact where you use every means of communication.

Biondello had a long list of things to report which are supposed to be funny, but half the problem is the language now is things we don't understand, about horses and clothing. So he asked Marc to imagine he was a stand up comic live at the Apollo, to tell a funny story, and to put the speech into his own words. He then progressed to miming the story he was telling and it didn't matter that the words were strange because you got the sense from what he was doing. It was perfect for Marc because he never stops telling jokes - I had them all through Season's Greetings where he was my stage husband. So it was great to see him in this role - good casting.

So it was a very productive and positive day. Everyone enjoyed it and got something out of it. I am sure it is going to lift the rehearsals and the production.  So do come along. I have now got a small role as a prostitute in one scene as well as fruit seller and servant. (It was bound to happen). For me, he came along just at the right time, after feeling rather demoralised about the job hunting. It gave me a lift and reminded me about what I love and what is important. Sometimes a person crosses your path who is full of enthusiasm and life and energy and it's infectious and they remind you of all the good things and give you a bit of zing back again and you remember actually you must never lose that passion, whatever it is you are passionate about. Fonts, chickens, language, whatever. And he keeps chickens, so what more do you need to know.

Coming along

I have one interview, which is encouraging. I do find some things which are interesting so that is good. I am continuing to do the logic puzzles, which are fun. The chap liked the last one most of all and said it was more complicated; perhaps I am improving with practice. It's quite fun to think of themes for them which I take from everyday things - so yes, we've had one set in the theatre... of course!

Rehearsals are keeping me busy and in between I am making an effort to learn my lines. As my favourite comedians advised (via Twitter), repetition is the key. It seems that you just have to go over and over it until it becomes second nature. I suppose it is a bit like knowing the lyrics to a song where you hear it so many times, you know without thinking what is coming next. And all credit to Mr Ayckbourn, the language is very musical - the more you look at it, the clearer it is that he chose the words deliberately and (of course) did not just write anything. This makes it easier to learn, in fact, because there is rhythm and repetition and music there. Which our director has made us aware of. It is important to get the words right and not substitute your own version. For a start, it helps the next person because you are relying on the person before you to give your cue. It is funny though, how some lines go in and others you just can't get quite right. But there is time to correct this...!  It is really quite surprising how any of us can learn of all these lines (and not just your own but the ones in between.) As I do more, they are beginning to pop out of my mouth nearly before I've thought about it... That's how it all needs to be, soon.

It is a case of going over and over it again and over it once more to learn the lines. It is lucky for me that I have the time to do this. I admire people like our lead actress, who has lots of lines to learn and a busy life outside it, not to mention the director, who sounds like he is always busy. Which all goes to make it even more special that we are doing this together and it is so important to get it right for everyone else as well.  The nearer we get (there are 5 weeks), the more nervous I feel about actually appearing on stage in front of people, but some people (I'm not sure who) were watching rehearsals and laughing away the other night, which was very encouraging. I'm sure that people will laugh, because some of it is most amusing, specially the puppet show. I laugh at the funny lines every time.

I probably go on about it too much but I did not know I would find it this absorbing. All I want to do is to immerse myself in it and when one rehearsal has finished I can't wait for the next one - I probably should not wish the time away like this. Actually the days in between are vital to go over the last rehearsal's points and lines and to look at the next one. Lines are beginning to trip around my head, now, specially before bedtime. It is no wonder I have dreamt about the director too.

While I am working I have also found it quite uplifting to listen to some of the songs from musicals I like and for the first time I think I feel it is no longer a bit embarrassing to like them! This is all somehow giving me a new sense of freedom. There is much to learn and much to try and new challenges to face. But how cool is that? I was chatting to Richard about how he had started and how many productions he's been involved in. I really hope I can stay involved wherever I go. It would be nice to stay around here and make some friends in the extended group(s) - as it (rather surprisingly) seems such a big thing round this area.

Back to Act 2....

rehearsals continue

Rehearsals are continuing and I find them very absorbing - you can forget about all the job hunting and cares of the world when you are concentrating on something different. Last night a small "bump" was produced from somewhere and I duly tried it on under my jumper to produce a pregnant look. It might need a bit of tweaking but it gave me the idea of how it will be. I will need to think about how I walk, move etc. No running around the stage, not that I do anyway.

It was interesting to have a drink with a few of the cast afterwards and find out a bit more about them. Despite everyone coming across as confident and very able, they expressed the same worries about learning lines and so on that I might feel as a beginner. But I assured them that they had come across as very confident and professional, to which they looked astonished; but having a lot of experience between them, I am sure everything will be fine.

I have to do some thinking about the background of my character, Pattie. Who is she, what happened in her past etc? I realised that each of us plays as vital a part as any other, and so everyone is reliant on everyone else (literally) playing their part; we are all responsible for a small part of the whole and those parts will come together to make something bigger. Well, we can only hope so anyway. The play is a bit different to things they have done before, because it has a lot of conversations happening at the same time, so two conversations intertwine on different parts of the stage, which might make it a bit trickier remembering cues. Last night we were "blocking" which meant working out our positions and movements. I am right near the front of the stage for one scene, so I hope I don't take a step to the left and fall off(!) Two of us have a lot of "business" which is doing things with props, so that will be interesting and hopefully easier to do than imagining doing it while we don't have props available.

It sounds like the various theatrical groups in the town all know each other, in fact people take part in productions in the different groups, so there must be a large number of people who know each other from that. So it will be a good way to meet different people.

Treading the boards

Having always harboured a secret desire to be an actress, I have finally joined a theatre group in my local town. I went along to the auditions a couple of weeks back, not knowing what to expect. I explained that I'd never really done much acting before, apart from a dalliance with the camera a few years ago when we re-did "Dinner for One" and when I was at school, hundreds of years ago. I say when I was at school, as if I played the lead role in all of the school's weird productions. I didn't. All I can remember is Mr Grossman making us pretend to be motorbikes, and telling me I had a nice voice. But this remark has stuck with me.

I was a bit nervous at the auditions but everyone was friendly and they made me feel very welcome. We had to read out a bit of the play which is being put on at Christmas: Alan Ayckbourn's "Season's Greetings", a mixture of the usual seasonal arguments and wine-fuelled liaisons that do actually ring true. It's quite amusing in places. I only wanted a small role so read two of the smaller characters - except actually most of the characters have about the same amount to say really; there is one central woman around which everyone interacts.  I realised that most of the women at the audition had performed before and were very good, so although I had enjoyed it, I could not imagine that I would be chosen for a part with that much talent in the room.

However, the director must have seen something worth taking a risk on, as he offered me the role of Pattie. A woman with three kids who is seven months pregnant! Naturally, I accepted the challenge.

We have a busy rehearsal schedule and I have been to two rehearsals. I am quickly realising there is so much to learn - not in terms of lines, although I do have many - but in terms of the theatre. The stage is bigger than I expected. It is as much about movement, where you are standing and where you are facing as how you say the lines. Saying the lines is not the same as reading them out of a book. I will have to learn to project my voice. How, for example, do you convincingly cry or get angry? Maybe it's not so easy. And I need to learn terms like "upstage" and "downstage", "business" and probably lots more. But I can clearly learn a lot from the others. The woman cast in the main role told me she hadn't done any more acting than I have when she joined a year ago, so she has clearly taken to it like a duck to water. And I see that the director will of course be guiding and advising the whole way through. So it doesn't feel quite as terrifying as it might do. In fact, it felt strangely right to be standing on the stage. But I can tell that it will be a journey of challenges and ups and downs, and that sometimes I will wonder what I am doing there. But all in all I think it should be good fun.

Everyone seems very nice and as we will be spending a whole lot of time together, I am glad because it will mean knowing local people. The nicest thing is having something else to focus on other than job hunting and I have found myself feeling a little more productive the next day as a result.

A predictable and probably often-to-be-repeated misunderstanding occurred last night, as I chatted with a woman who had missed the first rehearsal.
"I haven't done any acting before," I told her. "And I'm pregnant, so that will be weird!"
"Ooh," she said, glancing at my figure, "how far is it?"
"It's 7 months..." (She looks confused), "No, I'm pregnant in the play! Not in real life!"
Much hilarity. She thought I looked a bit thin...
I'm looking forward to having the baby bump put on (well, not actually because I imagine it is going to be very weird, having not been in that condition before) - But I might put the picture on Facebook and see how many people I can fool...