Character's Challenges

Description:
This week's task has been to develop our characters even more. We continued with the exploration of techniques to see what would fit better to our character construction. The exploration of voice and body characterisation took place in these week's rehearsals too. As well, we were told which characters we were going to interpret in the play and in which scenes we were going to act. We tried to assemble some of our scenes knowing the people that were going to be in them.

Micaela's character and mine happened to be in the same scene, as part of the family; so we decided to create a scene together according to the existing outline.
In general, we joined with the people that are going to be in our scenes and started constructing the scene based on what we had developed from our characters.

Analysis:
I have found that the more I explore, the more I learn. For example, at first I naively believed that I had my character built up almost completely. After I had presented my ten-movement sequence, I thought I had done a good job and had most of my character. But it all changed when we had to work together and be able to turn those characteristics from the sequence to the scene.
I think this week was a bigger challenge to me than last one. This is because we had to start blocking, which means trying the scene in different ways.
In this new seen created by my partner and myself, we had an alternate dialogue addressing to the 'man'. It was characterised by the level of disappointment in both characters, the almost screaming voice    and the line we said together. Of course the wide-opened eyes and the voices we had developed before were also there. I believed the scene was pretty good according to the outline and the crescendo effect we were supposed to create. Anyway, I faced some bumps during the rehearsal; but they helped me improve my character.
The first one was that the screaming-like voice had no chance in the play; it was something that people didn't exactly liked on last year's play. So the first thing we did was explore different voice volumes and different ways of saying our lines which made us realise that there were better ways to do it. We used the stress in some syllables technique, to vary the ways we were saying things. This, being a basic exercise helped us know the change in the voice tone. Also, I was asked to stop blinking so much to take my time when saying my lines  and adding pauses to the scene. That was a problem for me, since I couldn't stop blinking and without noticing I did it several times.
As well, we were asked to start moving our articulations such as wrists and ankles while the other one was talking. This was done to add dynamism to the scene and some movement, since we had to be sitting all the time. We learned that we had to look deformed and exaggerated so we were in an uncomfortable position most of the time. This gives the audience a creepier idea of the characters.
The second one was that we were to change not only the voices but as well the tone we were saying it in. I mean, we said our lines in an angry and disappointed way; but we were told to say them in a nice way. This is where my challenge started. How was I supposed to say really negative lines in a nice way? It changed my whole perspective of the scene. I couldn't nail it. It was hard for me to change in such a quick way what we had been working with.
The third one was that since I couldn't figure it out, Renzo was asked to interpret a little, cute nephew which us, the loving and caring aunts were supposed to love. I say 'supposed' because this was a greater challenge for me. I am not exactly a child lover, but I had to find a way in which my lines could be said in a totally different way. I tried hard to pick an image I had from an aunt to be caring and nice to Renzo but it just didn't feel natural. As this didn't result, I had to find another way; I was asked to transport to the other extreme, instead of being nice I had to be evil.

I went to the complete opposite of what I was doing. I took the 'evil' inside of me to be able to do it in a different way. I started saying my lines in a different tone, voice and had different intentions. I was doing it in a meaner way. This was a little bit easier than the 'nice' character I was doing before. I felt much more free.
This whole process made me realise that we should challenge ourselves, but as well work with our strengths. That if something doesn't work on one way you should go the other way. You can be black or white. We should try to take advantages of the extremes and opposites and be able to link them to German Expressionism.

On the other side, the last rehearsal of the week showed me a different aspect of the play. I had to replace a person in one of the most depressive scenes of the play: the factory one. I realised how mechanic and routinely it was. I was able to experience from a closer view another aspect of the play. A more physical and automatic one. It taught me that even though we are all doing a German Expressionist play, there are different aspects of it along the scenes. By this I mean, that in the family scene, even though it is a black and white scene (depressive, sad, ugly, etc...) it is not as routinely and  mechanic as the factory scene.

Connections:
I believe there are some connections I did from this week's rehearsals to other Theatre things.
I can't help but link the rehearsals with 'Confesiones'. This is because I am experiencing the process Ana talks about during the whole play: the construction of the characters based on personal experiences and emotions. I feel that I base myself on thoughts and experiences and images whenever I explore different aspects of my character. I believe the link with this play will be a permanent one during rehearsals since we are constructing a character and getting involved with it emotionally and physically as the play refers.
Also, I can't avoid mentioning the last school play rehearsals. They all start with a basic outline and they start building up as we give ideas and construct the scenes. Of course there is a difference from the other ones in terms of production, since this year I am more involved in it; but they are similar in terms of the building up and rehearsals. They all require the exploration of different body, face, voice expression to try which way is better for our character and the scene.

Reflections:
Lastly, what have I learnt? During this week I realised it is not going to be easy. This process, the play as a whole. It will take a lot of time and effort. I noticed that I'm up for challenges, and that I will try as far as possible to fulfil the tasks. I have learnt the characters are not creates in a certain way. They can be mutated, changed, altered in order to achieve a better projection of the scene. We should aim and look for what's better for the scene and not for us. That we should be able to face the challenges, but as I already mentioned, to take advantage of our strengths. I learned that if something doesn't work one way, then we should find another one. To look for opposites, extremes. To be open-minded and watch the scene from different perspectives. To be able to be a child-lover when necessary. To change from one character to another. As well, that there are different branches and aspects of German Expressionism; that they are not all the same... This is showed by comparing and contrasting the scenes, watching how mechanic one is while the other one relies on the text and characterisation. Overall I have learnt that it is important to be able to change and switch characters without hesitating; that I should step outside of my comfort zone and accept the challenges demanded. That while creating a character you can face many bumps but you should explore the different possibilities and choose what is best for the scene.
Regarding the exploration side of this entry; in my case, I went to the extremes and opposites. I tried to make a 'nice' character at first but as it didn't work, so I went to the opposite side and acted an 'evil' character. I know these two traits are stereotypes, everything is relative according to each point of view, subjective. But, to what extent should we use the opposites? To what extent should we use the extremes? Should the aspects in our exploration only be black or white? Isn't there a grey area in the exploration, a middle point between the opposites? If we can't figure out a way of making one side work, should we instantly switch to the opposite? Or should we explore the middle points before jumping to the other extreme?

Ying Yang - a visual proposal of how evil and
good are sometimes mixed, even though they are opposites