We have been given our play "Earthquakes in London" by Mike Bartlett. This is a blog about the rehearsal process for the production.
Audition process:
We went through a different process for how we get cast this time. Instead of just picking people to play certain characters we actually had an audition process. 2 weeks of trying out different parts in which I tried out young Robert, Steve and Colin. 3 parts that are quite different but actually quite fun to try out. I must admit I'm very proud of the way my version Steve turned out since it was quite wooden although I didn't have much time to think about how to play him. I am quite proud of how I played Colin and Young Robert. I think I captured their personalities and charm or physicality quite well. The character I had the most and probably enjoyed the most was Colin despite me not actually knowing much about him at the moment. He seemed the most fun to play but that may have been due to the scene we had do which was very fun and got some very positive. Although I did enjoy Robert to, it was nice to play someone who was shy yet keen and somewhat innocent.
I was cast as Colin which I'm actually quite happy with since I had a lot of fun doing his scenes in the script and I apparently suited him quite well. I was torn between Colin and young Robert during the process but I am glad I got Colin because from the few scenes I've had and the descriptions of him given by Karen and people who've read it, I like the sound of him, someone who is very reserved wanting to be more than he is. That sounds simple but I'm gonna say there is definitely more to him than that basic summary but I won't know til I read the script.
Response to full text:
I didn't fully read the script until after the audition process had finished. I must admit that I was initially a little disappointed by it since it was hyped up to no end in class but overall I still think it's a very very solid play. I do think that it does have some utterly brilliant scenes and interactions especially those that involve the older Robert since in my opinion he's the most interesting of all the characters due to his change of character plus his relationships with everyone around him. Freya's struggle throughout the piece to and the lengths she goes to were also very engaging. Discussing the characters with other people also made me think that even though a character like Robert does some questionable things such as telling Freya to abort the baby, you can understand his motivation even if you don't agree with it. The other responses to the that I heard were quite varied with some people even saying that they cried when reading it. I didn't have that reaction but I was certainly intrigued by the characters arcs, motivations and overall actions. As I read it more I have no doubt that I'll pick up on more details of the script and like it more even though as of now I think it's pretty damn good.
The themes that I picked up throughout the the auditions and the read through were that of regret. All of the characters seem to have some form of regret or at least most of them. Robert for having his children since he never ever felt fatherly toward them, Colin since he regrets not really having lived much in the past few years of his life if at all and wishes for more, Freya seems to regret getting pregnant due to her fathers disapproval, and Sarah seems regretful of how she treats Colin. This could be an interesting element to play on with the characters although as of now I'm not too sure since the style is Brecht and I don't really know much about it. So I am definitely going to do research into that. Also the themes of pollution, over population and excess were apparent partly due to the script making them clear although I would've noticed them eventually. An interesting choice of themes especially the one about excess and how it is said to be shown in the play. Filling the stage up with as much set as possible sounds like a brilliant idea in my opinion.
My response to reading my character Colin is that I do find his character arc to be quite interesting and reading the script made a scene I had to perform multiple times seem different now. The scene in which I talk to Sarah about how she used to act now seems to have a different side to it. At first it seemed as though I was ashamed that how she used to act but now with the added context it's seems more that he's ashamed of the fact she has changed and this does seem to make some of the dialogue make more sense. I get a mostly reserved feeling from him and that he does want to escape the life he currently has. He has a wife that he is distant from and he wants to get out more, get more confidence meet women and just be a generally more free person than he feels he is. I spoke about all this with Chloe (Who is playing Jasmine) I asked whether or not her character is attracted to Colin and she said that she probably isn't in terms of commitment but probably a quick fling and that makes sense to me. She then asked me the opposite and I thought about it. My eventual conclusion was that he isn't directly attracted to Jasmine in terms of looks or general personality but does admire and love her free spirit even if it's a bit too blatant sometimes. That's all my current thoughts on Colin as of now but I'm going to go over the script and think more about him and even have to think about how to perform him in a Brecht manner.
Research:
From the research I've done and from what we have been told in class, Brechtian theatre is a style that focuses on not immersing you emotionally in a piece of fiction, it wants you to realise it's a play and then think about the plot/issues it's talking about from the most objective stand point as possible. So it will be unrealistic and have aspects that take you out of it such as a play I found where the director made the crew go on in their own clothes so you know it's a play. Brecht apparently believed that getting emotionally involved with something in a play clouds your judgement of the issues presented in it. Also I'm assuming Brecht plays are very balanced and not one sided. For example this play doesn't really have a clear protagonist and antagonist although people have argued that it is Freya and Robert respectively but all of them have flaws and reasonable motivations for what they do so it makes you think about it harder and it works in my opinion. Although I'm a little skeptical of the style at the moment. I'm hoping the more I look into it, the more interesting and exciting it will be.
Links:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-828KqtTkA
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