Shelley Mary

2

Shared Experience has been instrumental in pioneering a distinctive performance style that celebrates the union of physical and text-based theatre. We are committed to creating theatre that goes beyond our everyday existence, giving form to the hidden world of emotion and imagination. We seek to explore the relationship between the world we inhabit and our inner lives.

Text plays a major part in our productions as we strive to offer our audience not only visual excitement, but also deep emotional engagement and intellectual stimulus. We see the rehearsal process as a genuinely open forum for asking questions and taking risks that redefine the possibilities of performance. At the heart of the company’s work is the power and excitement of the actor’s physical presence and the collaboration between actor and audience – a shared experience.

Shared Experience

“Shared Experience are in a league of their own” Time Out

Image : Naomi DawsonActors : Kristin Atherton, Ben Lamb

Shelley Mary

3

In our everyday lives we hide much of what we think and feel, for fear we would be considered foolish or even mad. I believe we have a longing to see expressed in the theatre that which we conceal in life; to share our ‘madness’ and understand that we are not alone.

Central to Shared Experience’s approach is the desire to go beyond naturalism and to see into the character’s private worlds. There will be moments on stage when we literally enact whatever a character is secretly feeling or imagining. In more realistic scenes the social façade is a thin layer beneath which bubbles a river of suppressed emotion. During rehearsals we encourage actors to allow this bubbling emotional energy to explode and take over. In a scene where someone is secretly feeling very angry, when we allow the inner to erupt onto the surface they may viciously attack the other person; if the other character is feeling afraid they might crawl under the table. Having allowed the inner to erupt, the actor must return to the scene and struggle to conceal it. Although we may see two people drinking tea, we sense that underneath the social ritual it is as if murder is taking place.

This emphasis on subjective experience runs through all areas of the production. For example, the setting of the play will be more expressive of what a place feels like than what it realistically looks like. In Jane Eyre everything on stage was grey or black to express the loneliness of Jane’s inner world. In War and Peace the set was a hall of mirrors to suggest the vanity and narcissism of the aristocracy in Tolstoy’s Russia. In The House of Bernarda Alba the house felt like a prison. We decided to make the door colossally large and encrusted it with locks and bolts. It is this emphasis on the ‘inner’ or the subjective experience which characterises expressionism and it is at the heart of Shared Experience’s approach.

Polly Teale

Shared Experience and Expressionism

Image : Naomi DawsonActress : Kristin Atherton

Shelley Mary

16

Rehearsal Diary Excerpt Cecily Boys, Assistant Director

Wednesday 29 FebruaryWe started the day by looking at the scene where Mary first returns home after six months in Scotland. Mary was sent away because of the tension between her and her stepmother. In order to explore Mary Shelley’s and her stepmother Mrs Godwin’s movement, Polly led an exercise in which she gave the actors a task: Kristin (playing Mary) was to think about rediscovering her home and Sadie (playing Mrs Godwin) to assert her authority over the household. The actors were asked to work without words, but to use physical moves to pursue their objectives, whilst also reacting or ‘answering’ each other’s movements. This focused the conflict of who ‘owned’ the space and the different characters of the stepmother and teenage girl in opposition. Polly also explored how the women move around William Godwin, Mary’s father (the only, but highly influential man in the household).

We then looked at Act 1, Scene 4 with Mary and Godwin in his study, finding both the distance and the deep connection between father and daughter. The actors explored the

balance between the two characters’ joy at seeing each other again and Godwin’s anger at Mary’s inability to get on with her stepmother.

At lunch, there was a Progress Meeting with representatives of all the co-producing partners in this show. There was much to discuss, from the tiniest of details on a prop, to the grand plan for the tech – for a show with 39 scenes in total, that’s a lot!

In the afternoon, we began by looking at Act 1, Scene 5, when Shelley arrives late at night at the Godwin’s household. Ben (playing Shelley) focuses on what Polly dubs ‘The Shelleyan Energy’, his passion to help people and to defy stultifying convention. At the same time Godwin must try to calm the young man down, and focus him on the details of obtaining the loan, which the two men both need in order to survive. Shelley grapples with the excitement of being in the study of his hero whilst also wanting to be taken as an equal. Both men are committed to the same social cause, but age and experience divides them in their approach.

Liz Ranken, Movement Director, was in today as well and worked on the drowning sequences. It’s fantastic to see how different pieces of fabric (traditionally a woman’s domain) become the water, submerging the women.

Finally we looked at Fanny and Shelley meeting in Act 1 Scene 5, as Fanny lays out a bed for him in the study to stay overnight. Historically, Fanny Imlay was known to be shy of the irregular skin on her face (perhaps a birthmark or pock marks). Fanny was described as ‘anxious and exceptionally sensitive’, perhaps a legacy of her mothers death which left her an orphan. Polly asked Flora as Fanny to think of herself as a deer that could startle at any moment if Shelley moves too quickly. At the same time, she asked Ben as Shelley to try to tame and connect with this kind and fragile young woman. The delicacy of the burgeoning relationship between the two became more apparent. (The relationship is such that, eventually, Fanny asks for Shelley alone to bury her body after her suicide).

Image : Naomi DawsonActors : Shannon Tarbet, Ben Lamb, Sadie Shimmin

Shelley Mary

17

The spectre of suicide and death haunts the play: three of the women either attempt suicide or succeed in doing so and Mary and Shelley’s first-born baby, Clara, dies.

The image of a woman drowning is the main expressionistic physical element in our production. The play opens with Mary Shelley imagining her mother’s attempted suicide. Mary Wollstonecraft attempted suicide when she was abandoned by Fanny’s father who had embarked on another relationship.

During the first week of rehearsals the Movement Director, Liz Ranken, leads an exercise involving the whole cast, where all the actors lie on the floor and are asked to find and explore within themselves the feeling of abandonment and then to physically embody that feeling.

The whole company is asked to imagine they are on a bridge, about to jump, emulating Mary Wollstonecraft when she considered suicide. Liz describes the atmosphere and the darkness and heavy rain…the sounds and smells. Each actor in turn takes a jump off ‘the bridge’ into the river. After this, Liz, Polly and the company discussed ideas of how they might present this moment in the play using elements from the drowning improvisations.

During the second week of rehearsals Liz and Polly work with Flora Nicholson, who is playing Mary Wollstonecraft, to look at the drowning scene. Rehearsing the movement sequence for this scene, Flora jumps off a crate onto the ground, trying to express the quality of water through her physical movement; she is creating the effect of being physically taken over by the waves. Liz suggests that when she jumps, (into the river) “there should be a brutality”. First she shows the great physical impact of her body entering the water, the struggle between the body’s instinct to survive and the overwhelming currents in the river Thames. As the body loses consciousness she makes softer, more fluid movements, as she ceases to struggle and is carried away by the shifting tides of the water. They run through it again, this time with the music, composed by Keith Clouston, which is the sound of waves, over low minimal piano notes. This adds clarity and atmosphere to the scene. The company pause to discuss Flora’s costume change to the following scene, where she will be playing Fanny. Polly notes that this quick change from Mary Wollstonecraft to Fanny could be very helpful to Flora: “Fanny’s been carrying that suicide attempt all her life; subconsciously burying it; so it’s interesting that you’ll have to go so quickly into playing Fanny after this scene.”

Drowning Imagery

Image : Naomi DawsonActress : Flora Nicholson

Shelley Mary

18

The legacy of Mary Wollstonecraft’s suicide attempt and death impacts greatly upon Fanny and Mary. Kristin Atherton playing Mary Shelley believes Mary feels responsible for her mother’s death - and then later for Fanny’s and Harriet’s, Shelley’s first wife. In the first drowning scene Mary describes her mother’s attempted suicide as we (the audience) watch it, and Mary tries to save her, holding on as her body rolls away, calling out for her in vain. This sense of loss is a theme that continues throughout the play, when she loses her father, her baby daughter, and her sister Fanny.

The second drowning scene comes after Mary receives a letter from Shelley’s wife imploring Mary not to allow Shelley to abandon his wife and baby. This evokes memories of her own mother’s suicide attempt when Fanny was a baby. A discussion follows between Flora, Polly and Liz about how someone committing suicide might feel they are protecting their baby by killing them too, and that Harriet may hold on to the baby in this scene for comfort as well as a kind of protection. Flora runs through the scene again, this time holding the baby bundle close to her chest with one arm while her other arms flail as her body is dragged back and forth by the string of currents. Then they explore letting go of the baby bundle, so the material unravels softly as if it becomes a wave.

Visually presenting drowning in our production is so essential because it emphasizes the presence of death and history repeating itself in Mary’s life. Both the drowning scenes are in Mary’s imagination and Mary’s dreams are an important theme in the play. The element of water has connotations of dreamlike states, fantasy and timelessness, as well as female intuition.

Aisling Zambon O’Neill

Image : Naomi DawsonActress : Shannon Tarbet

Shelley Mary

25

The scene of Mary Shelley imagining her own mother’s attempted suicide is the scene that opens the play.

Act 1, Scene 1March 1815. The mouth of the Thames. Mary is standing alone on the deck of a ship. There is a book in her hands.

Mary: (reading) Her first thought had led her to Battersea Bridge, but she found it too public. It was night when she arrived at Putney, and by that time it had begun to rain with great violence. The rain suggested to her the idea of walking up and down the bridge until her clothes were thoroughly drenched and heavy with the wet.

We are plunged into Mary’s imagination. Darkness. Rain lashes down. We see a woman – Mary Wollstonecraft – holding out her arms to the elements, drenching herself. Then she climbs onto the edge of the bridge, and jumps into the water. We hear the sound of the water pounding in her ears, see her struggle to stay under, groaning and wailing with frustration. Finally she becomes senseless, giving herself to the water.

Mary: Mother...

Discuss:The impact on Mary on reading this about her own mother.

Do:Cecily mentions in her diary, that the company used pieces of fabric to create the illusion of water. Consider what type of fabric would be best used. When chosen, explore the various ways to use this fabric, in groups, creating dramatic moments to convey:

senseless, giving herself to the water’

Scene Study

Image : Naomi DawsonActress : Kristin Atherton

Shelley Mary

26

1. Improvisations about William Godwin

William Godwin was a celebrated political theorist, who at one time was so famous that a man walked all the way from Edinburgh to see him in London. He envisaged a future utopia in which the ‘perfectibility of mankind’ would make people immortal. In an effort to stay true to the principles of absolute honesty as well as process his grief at the death of his wife, Mary Wollstonecraft, he wrote a candid memoir in which he told very personal details about her illegitimate daughter, Fanny, and her suicide attempts. These were scandalous stories at the time, damaging both his reputation, Mary Wollstonecraft’s reputation as a feminist, and that of her sisters’ school in Ireland.

Exercises

! One person plays the role of William Godwin. Others play the role of his peers at a dinner party. Improvise a scene when he is at the height of his fame. Imagine you are at a literary soiree where Godwin is asked for his opinion on every subject of discussion, intently listened to, praised and offered many other invitations.

! For the following improvisation one person plays Fanny, aged four, another person plays Godwin and the rest take on the role of his peers from the previous scene. Now improvise a scene after Mary Wollstonecraft’s death. Godwin and Fanny are walking in the street and they meet those people from the previous improvisation’s soiree. They have read the Memoirs and now do not want to socialise with him, or listen to him. See how far your characters go in expressing their disapproval of Godwin’s publication.

Consider the following:

! How would a man like Godwin react to this treatment?! Do you think Mrs Godwin’s reaction to Mary reading the Memoirs is extreme? ! How much do you think Fanny understands at this age, regarding the damage done by her stepfather’s writing? What effect does this have on her through her life?

2. Improvisations about Shelley’s experiences at school

Percy Bysshe Shelley was badly bullied during his time at Eton. He refused to ‘fag’ (be a servant for) older boys at the school and was known as an outsider. The other boys used to enjoy what they called ‘Shelley Baiting’. Shelley was a prolific reader, and would go down to the river to read. The boys would find where he was reading, chase him through the fields, knock books out of his hand, kick him, tear his clothes and pin him up against the wall to throwing muddy balls at him. In retaliation, Shelley would have fits of anger and fight back, like a wild, caged animal.

! Choose an actor to play Shelley whilst he was at school. Improvise a ‘Shelley Bait’.

! What is the point at which you feel someone like Shelley would retaliate and fight back? Imagine all that energy converted into Shelley’s political beliefs and convictions. Try reading his poem Queen Mab to the bullies, as a way of fighting back.

! Think how, in his future life, someone like Shelley might try to convert his bullies without violence.

Exercises from the Rehearsal Room

Shelley Mary

27

3. Mary and Godwin - Scene Work

Mary wrote her novel, Frankenstein, about an austere creator of a monstrous being who is very powerful but desperately in need of affection and forgiveness for its mistakes. At the end of the play Mary tells her father, after he has rejected her for two years, what her novel is about:

Mary: “It’s about... about a man who is... driven, consumed by the desire to explore the very limits of his powers... of science, of knowledge. He creates a creature... from the parts of other humans. A living being. But when he has created it, he finds he cannot countenance its needs – its need for love, companionship, respect, its whole monstrous reality. It pursues him, across mountains and seas. Across the wide world. They come to hate each other.

I thought of you a lot, while I was writing. All your ideas about... humanity, they have all been there to draw upon. If I ever doubted how much I’ve learned from you, I do not doubt it now.”

Godwin: “And I am the monstrous creator, I suppose?”

! One person plays the role of Mary, and one plays Godwin. Imagine what Mary is trying to say to her father, in describing her novel, about what she believes a parent’s (the creator) responsibility to their child should be. See if you can use Mary’s speech to make her father understand the pain she has suffered as a result of his rejection.

! Consider how it feels for Mary to confront the person who has formed her life with his strong and unforgiving influence, whilst also craving his approval. Try the speech letting out all Mary’s anger with the objective to attack/ shame/blame and then try again wanting to win back his love and approval.

! Now read through Act 1, Scene 4 with these thoughts in mind. How does it impact the scene?

Cecily Boys, Assistant Director

8

PRACTICAL EXERCISESPhysicalising an emotionIn groups of six, choose three characters from a particular scene in The Caucasian Chalk Circle. Identify each character’s feeling (the predominant, or a dominant one within the scene), for example do they feel anger? Fear? Love? Three of the six actors should be cast as the characters, with the other three playing their feelings. What sounds and physical shapes demonstrate these feelings? Don’t be afraid to be quite abstract.The three characters all have a simple set task to complete, for example, packing and un-packing suitcases. They are aware that these physicalised emotions are following them and trying to interrupt their task; yet they must try to carry on with their set task.• How hard is it to ignore or repress strong emotions within you?• Do the characters in the play manage to suppress their feelings?

Group story-telling• In groups of about 5, sit in a circle. Each person in turn creates a sentence of a story. The sentences must follow and make some sense – no matter how fantastical! To begin with, give your story a title, for example: ‘The Deep Dark Wood’, or ‘Adventures in the New World!’ Once you have created the story, act it out exactly as it was told, creating the scenes and images within the story.

Circle of Power• The group stand in a circle• One person stands in the centre and embodies an object, living thing or concept. They make the statement: ‘I am more powerful than you because I am…’ For example ‘...I am a wasp’, or ‘…I am a knife’, or ‘…I am electricity’• Someone else enters the circle and challenges their position of power by stating they are something else more powerful. If the first person in the circle is convinced they step back into the circle and the challenges continue.• If the 2 people in the circle do have consensus on who/what is more powerful and therefore who should step back into the circle, the whole group should reach consensus or take a vote.• And so the game continues, until it reaches it’s conclusion;; a power that can’t be challenged. There may be group consensus on this or the game may highlight the various perspectives in the group and is an opportunity to discuss differing view points.• Try this game choosing characters or themes relating to The Caucasian Chalk Circle. For example ‘I am more powerful than you because I am love’.

‘What do you see when you look at me?’The aim of this exercise is to help the actors get into their character and develop relationships. It is useful to identify the sub-textual, inner connection between two characters, particularly lovers. The exercise brings out the impact of the physical presence of two people; reading each other through the eyes, body language and instinct.The actors playing Simon and Grusha stand opposite each other, close together. The actors ask ‘What do you see when you look at me?’ and the characters respond with what they truly see; it is honest, they should say what their characters would never say in the context of the play. They can describe what they see physically, emotionally and intuitively.Then, in the context of their first meeting, they ask each other;; ‘What do you think I see when I look at you?’ They take turns to respond to each other, using single words or sentences to describe how they think the other sees them.

9

EXPRESSIONISMAT SHARED EXPERIENCEIn our everyday lives we hide much of what we think and feel, for fear we would be considered foolish or even mad. We believe there is a longing to see expressed in Theatre that which we conceal in life; to share our ‘madness’ and understand that we are not alone. Central to Shared Experience’s approach is the desire to go beyond naturalism and to see into the character’s private world. There will be moments on stage when we literally enact whatever a character is secretly feeling or imagining. In more realistic scenes the social façade is a thin layer beneath which bubbles a river of suppressed emotion. During rehearsals we encourage actors to allow this bubbling emotional energy to explode and take over. In a scene where someone is secretly feeling very angry, when they allow the inner to erupt onto the surface they may viciously attack the other person; if the other character is feeling afraid they might crawl under the table.

Having allowed the inner to erupt, the actor must return to the scene and struggle to conceal it. Although we may see two people drinking tea, we sense that underneath the social ritual it is as if murder is taking place. This emphasis on subjective experience runs through all areas of the production. For example, the setting of the play will be more expressive of what a place feels like than what it realistically looks like. In Jane Eyre everything on stage was grey or black to express the loneliness of Jane’s inner world. In War and Peace the set was a hall of mirrors to suggest the vanity and narcissism of the aristocracy in Tolstoy’s Russia. In The House of Bernarda Alba the house felt like a prison. We decided to make the door colossally large and encrusted it with locks and bolts. It is this emphasis on the ‘inner’ or the subjective experience which characterises expressionism and it is at the heart of Shared Experience’s approach.

Polly Teale

10

INTERVIEW WITH

NANCY MECKLERDIRECTORWhat inspired you to choose The Caucasian Chalk Circle and what is your vision for this production? I first saw The Caucasian Chalk Circle when I was 20 and it was such an overwhelming experience, that it has always been in my mind to have a go at putting it onstage. Several years ago I directed Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dream Coat at Leicester. I really enjoyed working with children’s choirs onstage in the production. When I was reading The Caucasian Chalk Circle for Shared Experience, I suddenly realised it was a perfect piece for having a chorus and that we might recruit two choirs in each city we perform in.

Next I contacted the composer Ilona Sekacz who I knew to have an involvement with choirs. She immediately agreed that this would be a great opportunity to expand the music in The Caucasian Chalk Circle and that having choruses onstage would give the piece an added dimension. Everything will feel larger and heightened and more epic by their presence.

It will feel like a whole community is putting on the piece for our audience and I find it exciting that it is the actual community we are performing in.

How do you plan to approach the rehearsal process? Part of our rehearsal process is about creating an ensemble. Often the actors are strangers to each other on the first day. We use games and exercises and physical work to build up a sense of them feeling organically connected to each other. In this production we will start off with an emphasis on the music as there is so much to learn, and the earlier they learn the music, the more comfortable they will be about concentrating on the text.

When directing a play do you ever feel scared about how it will turn out? Well… an excited fear. Polly and I are committed to choosing projects that are frightening and challenging at the same time. We decided that we’d only do plays that frighten us.

23

The Caucasian Chalk Circle

WHAT DO I WANT?Each character in the production has an over-arching ‘want’, something that drives them through their lives and the play. This is called the Super Objective. There is also an ‘obstacle’ that stops them from achieving their objective. During rehearsals, Nancy, the director and the actors discussed what each character’s objective and obstacle might be. These are never carved in stone as through the rehearsals ideas grow and change.

Katherine ToyCharacter - Ludovica.Super Objective -­ To blame the stable boy (to frame him) for raping her, in order to protect her own honour, as she was caught in flagrante with him.Obstacles - She has to lie convincingly and is unaware of how worldly and sensual she appears and of how transparent her testimony is.Favourite Line - ‘I said ‘Do not do that stable boy’.’

Jed AukinCharacter - Bizergan Kazbeki (Fat Prince’s Nephew).Super Objective -­ To be powerful.Obstacles - The People who are uprising.Favourite Line - ‘Um, you will be hanged by the neck until dead and so forth and so on.’

James ClydeCharacter - Azdak.Super Objective -­ To establish his version of justice.Obstacle - His own cynicism.Favourite Line - ‘How often have I told you? I don’t have a good heart. I’m an intellectual.’

Matti HoughtonCharacter - Grusha.Super Objective -­ Survival.Obstacle - To live life on her own terms.Favourite Line - ‘Never be afraid of the wind, Michael. The wind’s a sad old dog too. He has to push the clouds along and feels the cold more than anyone.’

Peter BankoléCharacter - Simon Khakhava.Super Objective -­ To earn a reasonable salary in order to settle down and start a family.Obstacles - The dangers of life as a soldier during a violent uprising.Favourite Line - ‘Ah, but a fart has no nose.’

Discussions pointsCharacter: • Choose one character in the play: what is their Super Objective in: a. The whole play? b. A particular scene?• Who do you believe to be the most powerful character in the play?• Which character did you have most empathy for & why?

27

A MOVEMENT REHEARSALThe Movement Director, Liz Ranken, begins rehearsal with a warm up: a sequence of stretches and breathing exercises, building from slow, calm movement to more energetic exercises.

This particular rehearsal focuses on the soldiers in the play. In an improvisation, Liz and Nancy ask the actors to explore the soldiers’ physicality through a series of questions:

• How does a Captain behave? • How does the lowly Soldier react to orders? • How does the Prisoner respond to a soldier’s cruelty?

The actors play with the status of their allocated character. Liz asks the actors to focus on tension within the body of the soldiers; tension in their chests, an upright physical posture and their heads held high denotes power. The actors play out the improvisation, allowing dynamics and ideas to develop. As they continue the exercise, Nancy and Liz pick up on a particular moment and give guidance to the actors, for example; that the soldiers should have rigidity running through their whole body which never relaxes, that they should have clenched fists as though they are ready to fight at any moment.

The actors then go straight on to rehearsing a specific scene in the play, using some of the character ideas and physicality arising from the improvisation. The physicality is hugely important to the way a character is perceived by other characters in the play and by the audience. Having experimented with certain behaviour and gestures, the actor can now start to use this material in the creation of the character.

28

PRACTICAL EXERCISESBall pattern• Keep the ball up in the air. Whenever you hit it shout your name• Stand in a circle and create a pattern by always throwing the ball to the same person and shouting their name • Repeat the pattern• Later introduce a second ball: throw it to someone else and thereby create a different pattern.

Sound & Gesture• Stand in a circle. The first person makes a random, free, movement and sound towards the person on their right involving the whole body.• That person should then repeat this movement and sound and create a new one which they pass to their right and so on around the circle.• Respond quickly, don’t think about them, just follow your impulse• Ensemble-­together version: The whole circle repeats every movement and sound at the same time. Try to build up a group rhythm.

ZombieThis is an effective ice-breaker and ensemble game, where the group pursue a collective objective together. • The group is seated on chairs throughout the space. • One person is designated as being ‘zombie’ and they are asked to vacate their seat and stand at the opposite end of the space. The person who is ‘zombie’ wants to become ‘alive’, so is given the objective of moving across the space at walking pace to sit back down in their chair, which will give them ‘life’.• The group is given the objective of preventing the zombie from sitting in their chair. To do this, one of them must make the choice to leave their own chair and sit down on the zombie’s chair. • If someone does this, the chair which they have vacated becomes the zombie person’s target. • Once a member of the group has left their chair, they may not sit back down upon it. • If the zombie reaches the target chair, the leader chooses a new person to be zombie. Usually there will be someone on their feet who is the obvious choice as the next zombie.

Warm Down; Group CountingThis is a good exercise for group unity, focus and listening. It works well both before a performance and to make a point on acting: you have to receive in order to relate. In other words, you have to listen to what other people are doing in order to know what to do yourself. • The group stand in a circle, shoulder to shoulder, with their eyes closed. The task is to collectively count to ten out loud with everyone saying a number, no-one saying successive numbers and no- one speaking at the same time. • If members of the group speak at the same time the leader directs them to start again. • The group may not get to ten, but that’s okay. If they get to 10 easily they continue with the aim of getting to twenty and so on.

29

Image transitions• In groups, create three frozen images: the first a happy family scene;; the second an image capturing the stress, panic and fear of emigration; and in the third image show how the second image has affected the once happy family. What’s changed? What are the overriding emotions that you need to show in image three?

Statues• In pairs create 2 statues of: 1) A strong and turbulent emotion 2) A person trying to present a calm exterior to the world whilst this buried emotion runs riot inside them.

Chair exercise• Two chairs are placed in the empty space and two actors (A and B) each sit on a chair. Each actor is given a ‘want’, which needs to work in opposition with their partners ‘want’. For example: A: to punish B B: to want forgiveness from A• Using only the chairs and their position relating to the other person, each actor must try to change the emotional state of the other. No words or sound needed!• One person ‘speaks’ by moving their chair in relation to the other, then the second actor ‘answers’ by moving his/her chair. Each person’s physical ‘sentence’ is complete when he/she places their chair back on the floor. The actor must stay in contact with his/her chair at all times. They pursue their ‘want’ in opposition to their partner. Their objective is to win their case and to change/ dissuade the other actor in theirs.

Status• Each member is given one card from 2 to 10 (2 being the lowest and 10 the highest)• Don’t look at the card but hold it on your forehead so that everyone can see what status you have, (only you don’t know which number you represent)• Imagine you are at a social event. Try to figure out what status you have by the way others react to you. At the same time treat people according to their status• Finally the group should try to line up in the order of the number they think they have• Consider the characters in The Caucasian Chalk Circle. Their outer status is how they are perceived. Their inner status is how they perceive themselves. These may change according to different situations. The difference between the two may create conflict.

31

ASSISTANT DIRECTOR’SREHEARSAL DIARY EXTRACTSRehearsal week 1Monday 17th - Friday 21st AugustSo far, our director, Nancy Meckler has been working with the company to build an ensemble and create a strong sense of communication and trust. We have also begun character development, using a variety of exercises to help actors think about their characters’ wants and needs and how they go about fulfilling them.

Ilona Sekacz, who has composed an original score for the show, has been working the group hard. She has been teaching the actors and musicians the fabulous songs she has created, which are influenced by the styles and sounds of the folk music of Azerbaijan.

Liz Ranken, our movement director ran an exhilarating morning session. Her workshop encouraged the actors to experience how our emotions, surroundings and background affect our physicality.

Everyone is extremely hard working and there is also a lot of laughter in the room as we discover the wit and humour in Brecht’s text - we think it’s going to be a fantastic Shared Experience!

Rehearsal week 2Monday 24th AugustToday was our first day at the West Yorkshire Playhouse in Leeds. The company were welcomed by the fantastic staff and taken on a tour around the building. We have two brilliantly equipped rehearsal rooms to work in, lots of props and a ‘mock up’ of the set. This helps the actors to begin working with the shape of the set and the props. We have been discovering that Brecht loved props and Nancy is working with the actors to discover the character’s emotional journeys and also the ‘journeys’ of their props.

In order to encourage the actors to think about how a person achieves their ‘wants’ in life, Nancy ran a fascinating improvisation. Two actors were each given a chair, one of them was told that without using any words they were to position their chair and sit on it with the intention of punishing the other person. The other actor was then asked to respond to this position by moving their chair and sitting on it in a position which asked for forgiveness. This was repeated so that a dialogue was created with each actor trying to achieve their want as actively as possible. Nancy then added another layer to the emotional content of this improvisation by putting an obstacle in the way of the actor. Now the person doing the punishing ALSO has to convey that they don’t want to lose their partner’s love and the person asking for forgiveness ALSO has to convey that they don’t have much time.

This distilled form of communication enabled the actors to explore how humans go about achieving their wants and also encouraged them to think about the power of communication through physicality. Since this exercise was introduced it has been used to great effect to help the actors get into scenes before uttering any words- simply playing their characters wants and reacting to what is given to them ‘in the moment’ from other characters.

32

Wednesday 26th AugustOne of the scenes we rehearsed today was the scene in which Grusha is trying to get a room at an Inn by befriending two upper class ladies. The status of the characters in this scene is rather complicated; Grusha is pretending to be very rich and high status so that the upper class ladies will let her stay with them, the two upper class ladies have always felt high status but are now in great danger and the Innkeeper, who has always been very low status, now holds all the power.

Nancy helped the actors understand these tensions by giving the characters an external status (what they are showing to the outside world) and an internal status (what they are feeling but not showing). We have created a vocabulary for status through exercises in rehearsals so that the actors understand what playing a person of status 1 (very low) is like compared to that of a person of status 10 (very high). The actor playing the Innkeeper had the challenge of finding a way of playing a character who externally appears to have a status of about 4, but who feels much more like a 10 inside.

Thursday 27th AugustLiz Walker, the puppet trainer, came into rehearsals today. We are using a puppet for the little boy, Michael who grows from a baby into a toddler during the course of the play. The whole company has fallen in love with the puppet and it is extraordinary to see him come to life when handled in the right way.

Learning how to move the puppet on stage has been a source of much investigation and experiment. We’ve tried lots of ideas and it’s all been really fun. There is a mixture of precision and emotional connection to moving the puppet, it is also very strenuous on the hands and the actors have been asked to do special hand exercises to build up their strength!

Elle WhileAssistant Director

The Puppet

33

INTERVIEW WITH COLIN RICHMOND

DESIGNERWhat were your initial starting points and what kind of research did you do?Nancy and I discussed lots of possibilities of how to stage The Caucasian Chalk Circle. We were initially working from an old text, as this is a new version. We gleaned any information we could about past productions, the work of Brecht; through his writings and other people’s accounts of their experiences of him. Basically it was trying to understand the text. After we had a couple of conversations about this and got our heads around the plots, sub plots, individual stories etc, we decided on how best to stage the show.

We looked through a great number of different references before we hit on where we got to eventually. These references included Afghanistan, and Iraq; looking at forgotten lands and places of mass destruction in small communities and the effects of war on an innocent place and people. This included those attacked by hurricanes (‘Hurricane Katrina’ for instance) and other natural disasters such as floods. It was the minutiae of detail that Nancy and I seemed drawn to, that of domestic scenes, piles of shoes abandoned, wardrobes tossed on their sides, elements of domesticity in juxtaposition with each other, a sad jumble sale of people’s lives.

This felt like the best point to start creating our little world, building our set out of the ruins of a destroyed community at the hands of corrupt people. Then to make theatre simply out of old odds and ends, found items, as though this play within the play is an impromptu affair. It is so strong a story that it can be told in the simplest manner, with the simplest of things. It felt right, and in reference to Brecht’s work; simple story telling in a relevant and current environment.

How have you incorporated the presence of the community chorus in your set?We always knew there would be one factor that we would have to embrace open armed, that being the 30 person community chorus. The conundrum came in the form of where best to place them as part of the action? We never wanted them to be an add on... they are as integral to this production as any other element, or person and so they in essence provide us with our backdrop. In a way, it’s like we are playing the piece in the round, at times they participate, at others they are spectators.

They sit amongst the assembled remnants of the community’s lives; as much a part of the structure, and as much an integral part of our story as any of our forefront actors. The biggest challenge was where we put them and we agreed from the start that they should be ever present through out and engaged with the story at all times.

How does the use of reclaimed materials and objects in the set help to convey the emotional life of the play along with the physical environment? It was important for us to make the structure that the choral members sit on out of old reclaimed furniture, be it old bedside tables, arms chairs, car seats, stools, baskets, suitcases. It was driven in that direction from images we felt drawn to from the outset.

The items are domestic and dotted amongst it are old angle poises, old speakers, standard lamps, people’s kitchen floors, cornicing from their living room. This gives us a sense of community and allows us to relate to and recognise parts of the setting, to somehow feel involved in this community.

41

SCENE STUDIESSCENE STUDY 1:In small groups read the scene below (Act1, The Noble Child) when Simon and Grusha meet for the first time and discuss it considering the questions below:

• What are Grusha and Simon very first impressions of each other?

• Where have both the characters been just before they meet?

• Is Grusha offended or flattered that Simon has watched her at the river?

• What does Simon want from Grusha?

• How does he try to get what he wants?

• Has Brecht/Alaistair Beaton written a romantic scene here?

Now do a contemporary version of this scene, using your own language and modern context. Then go back to the original text and play the scene again.

Discuss how this exercise affected your understanding of the text: in terms of your understanding of the characters and how they feel, what they want and what their obstacles are in this scene.

Excerpt from Act1, The Noble Child

GRUSHA, with a bundle of big green leaves under her arm, tries to enter the palace.

SIMON: Not in church, darling? Bunking off, are we?

GRUSHA: I was all dressed and ready to go, but then I was told they were a goose short for the Easter banquet. So they sent me to fetch one. I know about geese, you see.

SIMON: They sent you for a goose? (Pretending to be suspicious) I’d better take a look at this goose of yours.

GRUSHA doesn’t understand.

SIMON: You can’t be too careful with the fair sex. They say ‘I’m fetching a goose’, and it turns out not to be a goose at all.

GRUSHA steps boldly up to him and shows him the goose.

GRUSHA: If that isn’t a fifteen pound corn-­fed goose, I’ll eat its feathers.

SIMON: It’s a queen among geese! That one’ll be earmarked for the Governor himself. And the young lady was down at the river again, was she?

GRUSHA: Yes. At the poultry farm.

SIMON: Ah, yes, at the poultry farm. Down by the river. Not up by the willow trees, then?

GRUSHA: No, I only go up there when I have clothes to wash.

SOLIDER: (Meaningfully) Exactly.

42

GRUSHA: Exactly what?

SIMON: (With a wink) Exactly that.

GRUSHA: I’m not supposed to wash clothes up by the willows?

SIMON: (With an exaggerated laugh) ‘I’m not supposed to wash clothes up by the willows?’ That’s good, that’s very good.

GRUSHA: Soldier, I don’t know what you mean. What’s good about it?

SIMON: (Slyly) ‘If everyone knew what everyone knows pretty young girls would be kept on their toes.’

GRUSHA: I’ve no idea what everyone know about the willows.

SIMON: Not even if there’s some bushes on the other bank? And from behind those bushes you can see everything that happens when a certain person goes to ‘wash clothes’?

GRUSHA: And what happens? Can’t this soldier say what he means and be done with it?

SIMON: Something happens. During which maybe something can be seen.

GRUSHA: The soldier doesn’t mean that I dip my toes in the water on a hot day? Because that’s all that happens.

SIMON: Oh, more than that. More than just your toes.

GRUSHA: Well, my foot at the most.

SIMON: Your foot – and a bit more besides. (Laughs loudly)

GRUSHA: (Angry) Simon Khakhava. You should be ashamed of yourself. Hiding behind a bush on a hot day waiting for a girl to dangle her legs in the water. And probably with a few other soldiers for company. (Runs away).

SIMON: (Calls after her) No, I was alone! (As the SINGER takes up his story, SIMON runs off after GRUSHA.)

Peter Bankole

43

SCENE STUDIES SCENE STUDY 2:Select a section of the scene below (Act 5, The Caucasian Chalk Circle) - the conclusion of the case to determine which mother Michael truly belongs to. Rehearse it with your group, decide on the area you want to perform in. Is it in the round? Proscenium? Traverse? What props/furniture are you going to use if any? You can change elements of the script if you wish. For example, you can repeat lines or have two actors play one part simultaneously, or physicalise rather than speak the text. What would you do if you were unable to speak and had to express everything with your body and with sounds? Imagine that you are mute and this is the only way you can let people know what you want. What if one person expresses what the character is feeling whilst the other speaks the lines and tries to deal with the situation? What happens if they have to try to control their inner self? Present it to the rest of your class.

Excerpt from Act 5, The Caucasian Chalk Circle

AZDAK: Plaintiff and defendant! The court has considered your case and has not formed a clear view as to who is the real mother of this child. My duty as judge is to choose a mother for the child. We will have a test. Shauva, get a stick of chalk. Draw a circle on the ground. (Shauva does so) Place the child in the circle. (Shauva does so. The child smiles at GRUSHA) Plaintiff and defendant. Stand each side of the circle. (They do so). Each of you take the child by the hand. The true mother will be the one who has the strength to pull the child out of the circle.

2nd LAWYER: (Quickly) Objection! Your Honour, it’s not right that the fate of the child, and with it the fate of the vast Abashvili estates should be determined in such a dubious manner. And I would add: that girl’s accustomed to physical labour. My client does not have the same physical strength.

AZDAK: She looks well fed to me. Pull! (GRUSHA lets go and the GOVERNOR’S WIFE pulls the CHILD out of the circle. GRUSHA stands there dumbfounded.)

1ST LAWYER: (Congratulating the Governor`s Wife) What did I tell you? Blood will out.

AZDAK: (To GRUSHA) What`s the matter with you? You didn`t pull.

GRUSHA: I didn’t hold on properly. (Runs to Azdak) Your Honour, I take back what I said about you. I beg you to forgive me. Let me at least keep the child till he`s talking. He can still only say a few words.

AZDAK: Do not attempt to influence the court! I bet you only know twenty words yourself. All right, I`ll do the test one more time, just to be on the safe side. Pull! (The two WOMEN again take up their positions. Again GRUSHA lets the CHILD go.)

GRUSHA: (Despairingly) I reared that child. Do you want me to tear him in two? I can’t do it.

AZDAK: (Stands up) That’s it. The court has decided who is the true mother. (To GRUSHA) Take your child and go. I advise you not to stay in town with him. (To Gov`s wife) And you get lost before I send you down for fraud. The governor’s land goes to the town and will be turned into a much needed children`s playground. I hereby rule that it will be known as Azdak’s Garden. (The GOV’s WIFE faints and is taken away by the ADJUTANT. The LAWYERS have already gone. GRUSHA stands stock-still. SHAUVA leads the CHILD to her.)

44

PRACTICAL EXERCISESForum theatre• In small groups, identify a key line in the play. For example: ‘Terrible is the temptation to do good.’ (The Singer talks to Grusha as she is about to take the child in Act 1)

• Improvise a scene, with a central character, that conveys this problem – for example;; being a witness at the scene of a crime.

• Rehearse the scene, aware of the protagonist’s moment of choice.

• Each small group play their scene for the whole group. The leader ask the audience;; what is happening? What does s/he want? How does s/he feel? What is the problem?

• Then play the scene again, this time the audience must shout out ‘Stop!’, when they see the protagonist do something they think s/she should do differently to change the outcome of their situation.

• The audience member should replace the original actor and show how they would deal with that moment differently. The other actors must respond truthfully as their characters would.

• The audience may also ‘hot-seat’ any of the characters in the scene; asking them about their feelings, intentions and actions.

• Afterwards, the group may want to discuss or debate various topics that come out of these scenes.

Nick Asbury

8

Monologue

In small groups, read through Amanda’s speech below. And then try performing the speech using these 2 different objectives:

1. Amanda wants to prove to Tom that she is of value and importance (emphasise the status and wealth of her suitors)

2. Amanda wants to inspire Laura to become a Southern Belle in her own image (try to involve and excite Laura with the story)

The Glass Menagerie, Scene 1

Amanda:

“…My callers were all gentlemen – all! Among my callers were some of the most prominent young planters of the Mississippi Delta – planters and sons of planters!

(Tom motions for music and a spot of light on Amanda. Her eyes lift, her face glows, her voice becomes rich and elegiac.)

There was young champ Laughlin who later became vice-president of the Delta Planters Bank.

Hadley Stevenson who was drowned in Moon Lake and left his widow one hundred and fifty thousand in Government bonds.

There were the Cutrere brothers, Wesley and Bates. Bates was one of my bright particular beaux!

He got in a quarrel with that wild Wainwright boy. They shot it out on the floor of Moon Lake Casino. Bates was shot through the stomach. Died in the ambulance on his way to Memphis. His widow was also well provided for, came into eight or ten thousand acres, that’s all. She married him on the rebound – never loved her – carried my picture on him the night he died!

And there was that boy that every girl in the Delta had set her cap for! That brilliant, brilliant young Fitzhugh boy from Greene County!”

Question: Did the change in objectives bring out different aspects of the speech?

Emma Lowndes

Tennessee Williams, Notebooks

15

In our everyday lives we hide much of what we think and feel, for fear we would be considered foolish or even mad. We believe there is a longing to see expressed in the theatre that which we conceal in life; to share our ‘madness’ and understand that we are not alone.

Central to Shared Experience’s approach is the desire to go beyond naturalism and to see into the character’s private world. There will be moments on stage when we literally enact whatever a character is secretly feeling or imagining. In more realistic scenes the social façade is a thin layer beneath which bubbles a river of suppressed emotion.

During rehearsals we encourage actors to allow this bubbling emotional energy to erupt and take over. In a scene where someone is secretly feeling very angry, when they allow the inner to erupt onto the surface they may viciously attack the other person; if the other character is feeling afraid they might crawl under the table. Having allowed the inner to erupt, the actor must return to the scene and struggle to conceal it. Although we may see two people drinking tea, we sense that underneath the social ritual it is as if murder is taking place.

This emphasis on subjective experience runs through all areas of the production. For example, the setting of the play will be more expressive of what a place feels like than what it realistically looks like. In Jane Eyre everything on stage was grey or black to express the loneliness of Jane’s inner world. In War and Peace the set was a hall of mirrors to suggest the vanity and narcissism of the aristocracy in Tolstoy’s Russia. In The House of Bernarda Alba the house felt like a prison. We decided to make the door colossally large and encrusted it with locks and bolts. It is this emphasis on the ‘inner’ or the subjective experience which characterises expressionism and it is at the heart of Shared Experience’s approach.

Emma Lowndes & Imogen Stubbs

Tennessee Williams, Notebooks

(Stage Directions, Scene One, The Glass Menagerie)

Laura: What?

Jim: A pillow!

Laura: Oh… [Hands him one quickly.]

Jim: How about you? Don’t you like to sit on the floor?

Laura: Oh – yes.

Jim: Why don’t you, then?

Laura: I – will.

Jim: Take a pillow! [Laura does. Sits on the other side of the candelabrum. Jim crosses his legs and smiles encouragingly at her.] I can’t hardly see you sitting way over there.

Laura: I can – see you.

Jim: I know, but that’s not fair, I’m in the limelight.[Laura moves her pillow closer.] Good! Now I can see you! Comfortable?

Laura: Yes.

Jim: So am I. Comfortable as a cow! Will you have some gum?

Laura: No, thank you.

Cont/

19

Scene Study – Scene 7

In pairs, read through the excerpt of Scene 7 below, when Jim O’Connor and Laura are alone together.

Discuss and consider the following questions:

How does Laura feel being alone with Jim?

What are Jim’s initial impressions of Laura?

Jim says that he suffered from an inferiority complex like Laura. Does this surprise you? How do you think this has affected his ambitions? Do you think Jim will fulfil his dreams?

How does Laura make Jim feel when she talks about his singing?

Decide what the crucial moments of the scene are. Create a sequence of images which when put together tell the story of the scene.

Give each image a title or a headline to describe the essence of it.

Run through the images in sequence and now for each action image, create another parallel image of this moment, which demonstrates how the characters are feeling inside, this can be abstract and expressionistic, rather than naturalistic.

Now go back to the script and read through again. Discuss how this exercise affected your understanding of the text: in terms of your understanding of the characters and how they feel, what they want and what their obstacles are in this scene.

The Glass Menagerie, Scene 7

Jim: Hello, there, Laura.

Laura [faintly]: Hello. [She clears her throat.]

Jim: How are you feeling now? Better?

Laura: Yes. Yes, thank you.

Jim: This is for you. A little dandelion wine. [He extends it toward her with extravagant gallantry.]

Laura: Thank you.

Jim: Drink it – but don’t get drunk! [He laughs heartily. Laura takes the glass uncertainly; laughs shyly.]Where shall I set the candles?

Laura: Oh – oh, anywhere…

Jim: How about here on the floor? Any objections?

Laura: No

Jim: I’ll spread a newspaper under to catch the drippings. I like to sit on the floor. Mind if I do?

Laura: Oh no.

Jim: Give me a pillow?

25

Kindertransport

ExerciseIn groups of 6, choose 3 characters from a particular scene in the playKindertransport. Identify each character’s feeling (the predominant or adominant one within the scene), for example do they feel guilt? Fear? Hurt?3 of the 6 actors should be cast as the characters, with the other 3 playingtheir feelings. What sounds and physical shapes illustrate these feelings?Don’t be afraid to be quite abstract.

The 3 characters all have a set task to complete, like cleaning or packingand un-packing suitcases. They are aware that these physicalised emotionsare following them and trying to interrupt their task; yet they must try tocarry on with their set task.

• How hard is it to ignore or repress strong emotions within you?

• Do the characters in the play manage to suppress their feelings?

In pairs create 2 statues of:

1) A strong and turbulent emotion

2) A person trying to present a calm exterior to the world whilst this buried emotion runs riot inside them.

Photo: Lily Bevan Photo: Marion Bailey, Lily Bevan, Noah Birksted-Breen

Hidden Truths

At Shared Experience, we are committed to creating theatre that goesbeyond our everyday lives, giving form to the hidden world of emotionand imagination. This is because in everyday life we often cover overour true feelings. Whether they be excitement, anger, desire orjealousy – it’s rare that we’ll truly expose ourselves by laying our fulltruths bare! In Shared Experience productions, we explore ways ofexternalising this often hidden inner truth. That way, hopefully theaudience and company can enjoy a shared experience of empathyand truth. To explore this approach, try the exercise below.

30

Kindertransport

Create a scene, in small groups, with two people playing the two sides ofEvelyn: the external, seemingly ordered, tightly controlled woman and theinner Evelyn full of fear, aggression and depression.

Choose a situation with some conflict within it, perhaps Evelyn’s husbandleaving, or Faith being in trouble at school or even an everyday scene, suchas a row in a shop over being short-changed.

Both Evelyns must be in the scene at all times. They must be in physical contact.Evelyn wants to control and subdue the inner Evelyn who wants to be heard.

The other characters in the scene can only see the outer Evelyn. What happens?

Exercise

Photo: Pandora Colin

What Do I Want?Each character in the production has a ‘want’, something that drives them through their lives and the play.This is called the Super Objective. Also there is an ‘obstacle’ that stops them from achieving their objective.

Throughout rehearsals, Polly, the director, and the actors discuss what each character’s objective andobstacle might be. The actors discussed the ideas below in the very first week of rehearsals. These are nevercarved in stone because through the rehearsals ideas grow and change.

32

Kindertransport

Character: EvelynSuper Objective: To maintain absolute control in order to protect herinner child.

Obstacles: All feelings: a sense of worthlessness; feelings ofhelplessness; need of love; guilt; fear of anger and fear of annihilation.

Favourite Line: ‘I think, Faith, that this conversation must come to a close.’

Character: FaithSuper Objective: To make Evelyn happy; to be a good daughter.

Obstacles: Her need to be true to herself.

Favourite Line: ‘I don’t think I need two teapots.’

Character: The RatcatcherSuper Objective:To be free.

Obstacles: His fear of freedom.

Favourite Line: ‘I will take away the heartof your happiness.’ Character: Lil

Super Objective: To be a good person; to do the decentthing; to care for others.

Obstacles: Her need to protect Eva and then Evelyn.

Favourite Line: ‘And I want to keep you. Like no one everkept me. I don’t care if it’s hard. I’ll do right by you.Somebody has to in this godforsaken world.’

33

Kindertransport

Choose one character,what is their SuperObjective in:

a) the whole play?

b) a particular scene?

QuestionTwo chairs are placed in the empty spaceand two actors (A and B) each sit on a chair.Each actor is given a ‘want’, which needs towork in opposition with their partners ‘want’.For example:

A: to punish BB: to want forgiveness from A

Using only the chairs and their position relatingto the other person, each actor must try tochange the emotional state of the other. Nowords or sound needed!

One person ‘speaks’ by moving their chair inrelation to the other, then the second actor‘answers’ by moving his/her chair.

Each person’s physical ‘sentence’ is completewhen he/she places their chair back on thefloor. The actor must stay in contact withhis/her chair at all times.

They pursue their ‘want’ in opposition to theirpartner. Their objective is to win their case andto change/dissuade the other actor in theirs.

Exercise

Character: EvaSuper Objective:To belong, to be prt of afamily and to survive.

Obstacles: Her fear of rejection by theadult world.

Favourite Line: (Evelyn’s)‘Well blood is all I haveleft. Gallons and gallons of the freezing stuff stuckin my veins.’

Character: HelgaSuper Objective: To survive.

Obstacles: Her vulnerability and her need to love and tobe loved.

Favourite Line: ’Do you understand what I mean aboutyou’re being my jewels?....We all die one day, but jewelsnever fade or perish. Through our children we live. That’show we cheat death.’

14

When you are interpreting a play, which comes first for you: the physicality or the text?

Of course you start with the text in planning the production and working with the designer, but once in the rehearsal room, whenever I can I start with the physical. We do explore the words in depth, but if you start with the text, it can be hard to work in a strong physical language. There are moments in this script that call for a real physical explosion. Because of the process and the exercises each morning, the actors are more physical and freer in the space. I try to create an environment where they’re used to relating to each other through movement, so that the visual becomes as important as the words.

Does it make it difficult if they have a script in their hands at the start?

I ask them to learn their lines after we’ve gone through a piece of text once. But sometimes we’ll feed lines in to them, for instance if we’re rehearsing an intense scene between Cathy and Heathcliff, it gives them a chance to be led by their bodies.

This is an unusual rehearsal process that some actors might not take to. How do you make sure that you’ve chosen the right ones?

I start by meeting actors and ask them to do an ordinary text reading. Then we call them back and have a go at some exercises – I try to call them back in pairs so that I can see how they work with people. It’s a great chance to see how they respond to the process – will they really go for it? And if they also read the part well then we can take a chance.

Have you come across some really difficult moments in Brontë?

All the time! We try things, and if they don’t work then I’ll come back to it later. We’ll learn from the audience, as well, so it’s a continually evolving process. It’s important to me that everyone in the room can help to solve problems. Actors often say this is one of the things they find special about working with Shared Experience – that everyone can contribute to the process and all ideas are tried. It’s important that everyone has a sense of ownership.

Interview with the Director, Nancy Meckler

Kristin Atherton (Charlotte Brontë) and Nancy Meckler (Director) Photo: Ellie Kurttz

Do you have a favourite Brontë sister?

No! That’d be like having a favourite child!

Do you have a favourite Brontë novel?

If I was to re-read one, I think it would be Jane Eyre.

22

Read the scene in groups, discuss it and then consider the questions below.

Emily picks up the dog lead and the manuscript of Wuthering Heights. Emily whistles to her dog. Charlotte steps in front of Emily barring her way to the door.

Charlotte: It was not my choice to go away. I didn’t choose to spend my every moment with a spoilt child and a miserable baby. To be ordered about ‘til I was dead on my feet, day after day. I did it for you. That you might be here and not parted from what you must have.

Emily: Then let me go to it.

The door opens and Patrick stands in the doorway. He has only a little sight left and has used a stick to navigate the journey to the kitchen.

Patrick: Why are there voices raised in my kitchen?

Charlotte: Father. You should have rung. You should not –

Patrick: I should. I should not. It is not for you to tell me what I should or should not do. I should not have had to leave my chair if it wasn’t for your quarrel. What is it about?

Charlotte: We were…….in disagreement over what to cook for dinner. (Pause.) Emily has made soup but I would rather –

Patrick (To Charlotte): Go and lay a fire in my study. I shall need you to accompany me to afternoon prayers. My curate has gone to the hospital. The man who has lost his hands to the loom, he has become ill.

Charlotte leaves. Emily stands, still dressed in her shawl and holding the manuscript of wuthering heights. Patrick reaches out and touches the manuscript.

What are you reading?

Emily: A book.

Patrick: Is it good?

Emily: I….don’t know. I have not yet finished it.

Patrick: But you must have an opinion..

Emily: It is……..unusual.

Patrick: Unusual. I am intrigued.

Emily: It is not so very interesting….

Patrick: Read it to me.

Scene Study

Stephen Finegold (Patrick Brontë/Rochester/Bell Nicholls/Heger) and Kristin Atherton (Charlotte Brontë) by Ellie Kurttz

23

Emily: It would not be to your taste.

Patrick: How do you know? (Pause.) Wherever you open it. The next sentence. What is it?

Emily opens the book and reads. Cathy enters agitated.

Emily: (with Cathy speaking her lines a little afterwards) “Can you keep a secret?” Cathy asked, as she closed the kitchen door. “It troubles me and I must let it out. Where’s Heathcliff? He must not hear us” she knelt beside me at the hearth “for today Edgar Linton asked me to marry him and I accepted”.

Cathy: Now quickly, say whether I should have done so. Say whether I was wrong.

Emily: You accepted him. Then what good is it discussing the matter. It is done. You are to be Edgar Linton’s wife.

Cathy: But say, say whether I should have done so.

Emily: You will leave a comfortless home for a wealthy, respectable one. So where is the obstacle?

Cathy/Emily: (Cathy clasps her stomach and then her heart) Here and here. In whichever place the soul lives. Oh Nelly, in my soul and in my heart, I’m convinced I am wrong.

Patrick: (interrupting) You are right. It is…..unusual. Tonight we shall eat in the dining room and eat well. You will stay indoors and help your sister to prepare our meal. You may use the rest of the week’s house keeping. It is an occasion, is it not? I am to see my only son.

QAfter reading through a scene with the actors, the director, Nancy, asks lots of questions about the scene, such as; what do the characters want, what might prevent them from achieving their wants, what has happened just before?

Here are questions you may wish to explore:

1. How does Charlotte feel about her last year away?

2. Why does she tell her Father that the argument was only about the dinner menu?

3. How does Emily feel about reading her work out loud?

4. Does Patrick know that it is her manuscript and not just a book someone else has written?

5. How complicit is Emily with Patrick in pretending it is just a novel and not her work?

6. How exposed does she feel?

7. Why does Patrick ask her to read? Is it cruelty or an act of love?

8. What does he feel about Emily?

9. How would you stage this scene?

10. Is Emily aware of Cathy or is it just us the audience who see her?

11. What is the level of tension?

12. What are each characters’ objectives?

13. Physically what is in the room and how does that affect the scene? (What about Patrick’s near blindness?)

Stephen Finegold (Patrick Brontë/Rochester/Bell Nicholls/Heger) Photo by Ellie Kurttz