AYLI, rehearsal 18: ACTOR'S CHOICE 2

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Our second night of scenes proposed by the actors for us to dig into.

3.5 (PHOEBE)

3.5, 2-20.jpg

The first was 3.5 (PHOEBE), and we continue to find nooks and crannies in every character. This time some of the moments that Julia and Chas had worked out in the scene triggered more unspoken reactions which gave us more hope for Phoebe being “redeemed” and not just some country mean girl. Silvius’s “I would have you” became such a simple, heartfelt statement that it was clear (to me) that Phoebe, shaken by her infatuation with Ganymede, could for once look at him and see a loving, devoted man who wasn’t that bad after all.

It doesn’t last, of course, but at least it plants a seed that, hey, these two crazy kids belong together.

We continue to itch for a stage without a skeleton in the way — but soon! And then — blocking! Turn, turn, kick, turn, yes, it will work! (Set crew Sat, 9ish–1ish.)

THE GANYMEDE GAME

Then it was on to the Ganymede Game. I had about four scenes on the docket, but we ended up working on just one, 4.1 (ORLANDO WOOS), because it’s the heart of the Ganymede Game. For those following along at home, here’s the deal:

  • Mariel has to juggle three different personae (presented here from the top down)

    • /Rosalind/

    • Ganymede

    • Rosalind

  • Robert (it finally dawned on me) has two:

    • /Orlando/

    • Orlando

Confused? It’s easy. As far as Orlando understands what’s going on, he and Ganymede are pretending to be /Orlando/ and /Rosalind/. He doesn’t know that the teenage boy he’s fast becoming friends with is Rosalind underneath. And it dawned on me last night that it’s the Orlando–Ganymede relationship that is the core of the scene. We have to see Orlando falling in love (and not in a creepy way, you perverts) with this boy, so that when he finally understands who Ganymede really is, he groks what a great girl he’s fallen in love with.

So my goal was for us to untangle who’s speaking at any given word. We started by sitting in a circle and reading through the scene, using ridiculously different pitch levels to distinguish who’s talking. We were not trying to “rehearse”; exploration and decision-making were the goal, much like our Lessac and Vocal Sequence exercises.

We did that a couple of times, discussing, wondering, exploring. Then I had them stand up, facing each other. Any Orlando–Ganymede lines were spoken facing the other person. Any /Orlando/–/Rosalind/ lines were spoken facing the audience. Rosalind lines were spoken facing the audience, but with a step forward “out” of the scene. (The ridiculous pitches were still a thing.)

It was tough but fun: we now have a clearer picture of all the shifting layers of persona onstage, although of course we didn’t nail down every detail. As Mariel said, if only we had three months to work on this show!

I think we’ll want to look at making those shifts deliberate choices onstage, i.e., we can see Orlando make the shift (and we can see that he’s always just a little behind Ganymede). Rosalind’s gear-shifting is much more smooth, of course. She is a magician. But there are those wonderful moments when Rosalind speaks as Rosalind, not Ganymede or /Rosalind/ — and that’s where the thrills down the spine come in.