Rehearsal 7 - Key pointers

• Care about what you say - understand the text and the subtext, don't throw away the lines use every word you have to project meaning.

• Be in character prior going on - before entering the stage take the time to find your character, perhaps walk or talk in your character to ensure that you bring energy on stage and can emerge yourself in the life your character is living.

• Don't allow large gaps - bounce of the other characters in the scene, be energised, alert and alive. Allowing gaps of silence kills the scene as the energy dies down, only allow gaps of silence if it is justified in the moment.

•  Visualise surroundings - imagine the scene surrounding you. Visualise the small details like the cracks in walls, creaking of floor boards or the dust. Imagine what it is like to live in that era, in the scene as it helps you not only become your character but live as your character. Have an opinion on your surroundings, do you hate it? love it? long for it? and so on.

• Don't be repetitive - keep changing the scene up, moving into different spaces, use the props around you allowing yourself to make instinctive choices as your character. Repeating the same movements makes the scene boring and stops your from living in the scene, as you think about the movements you have previously done like "oh right, now i have to move here, speak, move" it creates a rigidness that hinders the flow of the piece. 

• Have an opinion - always have an opinion on both what your saying, what others are saying and the other characters in the play. Doing this makes you more aware of your reactions and interactions with the others on stage and creates a more well rounded character for yourself that you understand, this also interlinks with knowing the relationship you have with the other characters.

• Use the space - don't clump together or make every interaction a personal circle of attention, open up the space, use all areas as it visually looks better and more inviting for the audience as they are able to see and hear whats going on, it also is realistic as when you speak to people in a space you are often not really close to one another.

• Don't devoice - don't reduce the sound of your voice at the end of your line, it kills the energy and stops the audience from hearing what you say. It is also un realistic as in real life people will speak an equal level until the end of their sentence. Use the all round power of your stomach voice and project.

• You have something to loose - throughout the piece act like you have something to loose. Every character has something to loose if the cherry orchard is sold and this needs to be expressed, the characters are passionate and desperate.