Sav and I ran through our lines together a couple of times and then began to block our scene. We together drew out our scene and the movements our characters make in the scene, as we are really focusing on the blocking in this lesson. I feel reflecting on past performances I have always focused more on learning my lines & characterisation rather than the blocking and the physicality. Which I want to do differently this time around as Shakespeare is very physical and I feel much more in tune with my body since beginning Shakespeare due to the Stanislavsky exercises we have been learning, about freeing your body and mind.
In this scene myself and Sav feel it is very important to maintain playful attitudes as Olivia and Viola do play with each other and wind each other up. We want the audience to find this scene humorous and fun to watch. We have carefully read through the scene and have made decisions about how to deliver certain lines or what our body language will be like at points in the scene.
We have decided due to status hierarchy in the scene that Viola never comes to close into contact with Olivia. As I was told today we are performing Twelfth Night at One Church in Brighton Old Steine and the audience will be in Arena and the cast will be on stage the whole time, similar to Dracula, but we will be sitting in a semi circle at the back of the stage. This I have drawn on our blocking plan I drew in today's lesson. Olivia will already be on the stage sitting on a chair with her veil covering her face, and Viola will enter the stage from the back of the stage and stand opposite Olivia, slightly behind her, but still in full view to the audience, we leave a big gap between the two characters and they only come into closer contact when Olivia moves from her chair, over to the window, (as we are envisioning in the scene) and unveils her face to Viola(Cezario). When Olivia begins questioning Viola about her parentage, and making jokes about her looks and Orsino, she begins to move closer to Viola and circles her once, portraying her higher status to the audience and to Viola, when asking about her parentage. Viola never moves closer to Olivia, as she feels she does not have the right and we want to portray the difference in statuses in this scene to the audience. Viola becomes very uncomfortable when Olivia comes closer to her, and I will portray this through my body language and facial expressions.
After circling Viola, Olivia orders her to leave and go back to her lord, who is Duke Orsino. Olivia delivers the line "GET YOU TO YOUR LORD, I CANNOT LOVE HIM: LET HIM SEND NO MORE! " When she has said this, Viola retreats back as if to exit the room and looks defeated, she feels she has done all she can and Olivia is not accepting anything she is saying and as Viola begins to leave. Olivia panics and runs after Viola, grabbing her arm and almost flirting but pleading with her as she has developed a thing for Viola in this scene, which Viola does become aware of towards the end, hence her awkwardness and confusion which I will portray. Olivia pauses after saying this and thinks for a moment to herself, and chases after Viola saying " UNLESS, PERCHANCE, YOU COME TO ME AGAIN" I came up with the idea to emphasis the YOU, in a sassy and flirty way, as this is Olivia hinting that she wants to see Viola again,and it adds humour to the scene, which I love.
When rehearsing this scene, I decided to try and break away from Olivias grasp and looked very uncomfortable but quite amused at the same time, as Viola I feel probably finds it quite funny that Lady Olivia, fancies not Orsino, or any other man who wishes to marry her, but HERSELF, a woman, pretending to be a man! Olivia tries to give Viola some money, which Viola rejects, and I chose to deliver this line very sarcastically "I AM NO FEE'D POST(this means a messenger who accepts rewards),LADY, KEEP YOUR PURSE. MY MASTER, NOT MYSELF, LACKS RECOMPENSE"
I do not think Viola is personally insulted by Olivia trying to give her money, I feel she can notice that Olivia has taken a liking to her, and she is doing her very best to reject her feelings and the maintain professionalism and loyalty to Orsino, as she would anyway as Viola has feelings for Orsino, and has learned that Olivia does not have any feelings for him. Viola exits this scene, after the last line " FAREWELL, FAIR CRUELTY" This again is a sarcastic line, but is delivered with humour, it is banter between the two characters, and Olivia does not take it personally that Viola has called her CRUEL. I exit the same way I entered, and walk to the back of the stage and will probably sit back down. Leaving Sav on stage to deliver Olivia's monologue, positioned in centre stage.
I have set myself a target in today's lesson to be as physical as possible, and to also learn how to stand and walk like a man, I have been watching videos about posture and have been watching the way men walk in the street or my male friends. I feel this will help me as physicality is a weak point for me sometimes and this role is challenging for me as I usually play feminine characters, who have a grounded and strong feminine posture, so this character is very new to me.
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