Show 1
Show one was probably the most challenging night considering that our dress was only a few hours prior to curtains up nerves and wavering confidence was felt all around but the pride and hard work we had put in during rehearsals carried us through. It is fair to say that Enron was quite a tech heavy show and i believe that it accented our performances perfectly though it did go wrong a few times on opening. Having built expectations and worked on Enron for months the tech malfunctions played heavy on the casts mind but we didn't let it hinder our performances and i think of it's more of a testament to us that we found solutions to each problem.
In terms of my performance and scenes on the night i found a freshness and a new energy to scenes that i'd read, practised and performed numerous times. I think that this was partly attributed to nerves and a kind of "screw it" attitude i held going into it. Once i ran on into the first scene and delivered my first line it felt as though the audience immediately warmed to me which i didn't anticipate at all, i expected them to find me creepy and strange (which they did) but apparently in a lovable way, adding a completely new dynamic to my personal perception of Fastow. Scene one evoked a lot more laughter than expected and i through the comedy i think the audience became attached to Andy building pathos for his eventual demise. Although the nerves added a zip to my performance and i felt as though the lines were coming to me as my cues did it also fell off a few times and i mispronounced or misworded an occasional line. At the time i gave myself a bit of a hard time for it but upon reflection it only made my other performance stronger and gave me the incentive to move forward and do better. My scene with the traders and other scenes with sam went incredibly well with great audience reception. The raptors were well received as well, my favourite part probably being the preset for the interval and being given a free pass to screech at/horrify strangers. The death of the raptors though amongst faulty gun problems was excellently performed and solved by Will i think having to drop the firearm and strangle the remaining raptor.
After the show we went out to a very excited and generally very pleased audience, the one criticism i received was on my volume which i've received before and i'm very aware of my need to improve on.
Show 2
The second performance, i believe, only built on the success of the first one only with a significantly calmer and generally more comfortable cast. Although i was fighting off a bit of a cold for this show i made sure i was hydrated, eating well and looking after myself leading up to the 4:30 showing on the 24th. It was stressed by teachers and tutors before but this is where the point of looking after yourself and staying on top of personal health during show weeks really hit home. I'd be lying if i said chugging bottles of Evian and eating an almost unhealthy amount of oranges wasn't out of stress but i'd been too laid back in this time period and definitely learnt my lesson for the coming performance. Having this sore throat i feel slightly dulled my performance for this show, ben commenting on the fact that there wasn't the same zip as there was to the first performance. If it wasn't the illness physically effecting it was probably psychological, knowing that I'm not 100% and trying not to snot on audience members in the front row holding me back. One thing that i did notice in this performance was a stronger emotional connection for certain scenes which I'm putting down to exhaustion in a Grotowski-esque manner. If i were to pick a moment of evidence for this it would be in the 9/11 scene when i found myself in tears stumbling off stage in a scene where i'd struggled to find emotional connection since the initial blocking. Despite the factor of illness and fatigue, from strong collective audience feedback that the performance went really well and as a cast we were very much on our A game. The tech elements also fell into place, once again only elevating our hard work.
The 4:30 audience invited a younger and more energetic audience which i feel may have slightly informed the show pushing us in terms of volume and ability to pace ourselves leaving gaps between laughter and the continuation of scenes whilst maintaining a certain rhythm to scenes.
Show 3
This final showing was personally my favourite performance, not to forget that we sold it out or whatever no biggie. I had a number of friends and close relatives in the audience which kept me on my toes and wanting to perform well but the previous shows gave me all the confidence i needed to overshadow nerves and anxiety with excitement. I felt confident and supported by my cast, we owed it to ourselves to put on a show equally brilliant to the previous two. We did that. And then some. The initials scenes went almost perfectly and although the form of trader scene fell off a little, we brought it back and carried on with professionalism and unity. We put everything we had into each of our shows, our hearts and souls but for this one (maybe it's sentiment) i feel it was received well and shared the most with the audience. It felt less as though they were watching us and more like they were on a journey with us if that makes any sense at all. I had the most fun as a raptor on this night, i really felt comfortable in sustaining the movement in my body and building on it finding moments to add little things and react to action in the ongoing scenes. The raptor death scene i don't think ever went completely to plan forcing Will to choke a raptor or two to death each night but this didn't seem to hinder the impact of the moment too much seeing as the audience consistently commented on loving that moment on each of the three nights. Tech was probably the most consistent on this night, i personally didn't have any tech heavy moments throughout the show so i didn't tend to notice the faults but it definitely had an effect on cast morale and the satisfaction of things simply going to plan was felt.
As we did for all of the shows, before our call we'd engage in a side stretch, looking around the space in our final warm up i realised how grateful i am for everyone involved in making that show and what they brought to the process. It wouldn't have worked or been the same without anyone in that theatre. Over the rehearsal period, this group of classmates and a teacher became support, strength, and maybe a slap in the face when we needed it. I'm eternally grateful for the experience that they all helped to mould and shape into one of the best things i've ever had the opportunity to be a part of. I don't think i'll ever forget Enron. and if i do, i now have a tote bag with a list of common ground plays on it to remind (TOTE MEANS "TO CARRY", that's where it comes from, ur welcome)
finally i know what tote means.
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