THEATRE ARK BLOG
Rehearsing The Tempest
By Robyn - 13/11/11
It's Saturday 5th November and today we have a Theatre Ark rehearsal. We arrived and all made ourselves a hot drink, snuggled on the eclectic mix of sofas, and all had a catch up on what we've been up to during the week. The warehouse is always so cold, but it's such a wonderfully dynamic space to work in. The space itself is so different to anything I'm used to and it lends itself to a lot of creativity.
We started by looking at the themes in The Tempest, and there are a lot! When we were brainstorming we found that one idea would link to another and a lot of the ideas we came up with were cyclical. When we have a rehearsal where we look at the script in depth, it always makes me appreciate the text. There are so many details and links and complex themes that you can't see unless you look deeply. I'm glad we have Anna who always has a brilliant insight into the meaning of the text. She has so much passion and knowledge and she helps us out with some of the weird words Shakespeare uses.
I love working with Ian, our director because he makes us work slowly, which really helps our understanding. We never race through the text. I enjoy working this way because it takes away the pressure and we can think about the discussion and points that are brought up and develop our ideas as we go along.
After lunch we read through the last section of act three. This is only our fourth rehearsal since casting and already we have done so much! I can't believe how much of the script we have tackled. Not only is the quantity there, but we have also gone into a lot of depth and we understand the text and I feel that's really important. If we, as actors, aren't engaged in the script and story then our audience won't be either!
Rehearsals finished and we left the warehouse all singing sea shanties, which are guaranteed to be stuck in my head all week! I left with a deeper understanding of the text we covered and, on reflection, a further appreciation of Shakespeare. I absolutely love Theatre Ark. I am so proud to be involved in this project and I so admire the company for all the work we are doing. I feel so supported by Leah and Ceri who care so much about all of us. And I cannot wait for our next rehearsal!
Thoughts on The Crucible
By Jeriah Samuel - 06/11/11
For me, the best thing about The Crucible was the cast. In my opinion it's the cast that breathes life into the play, not the words on paper but each person's interpretation of them. Rehearsals were fun because the company was full of lively, friendly, focused individuals.
We were allowed creative freedom when building sets and creating scenes and were allowed to express our ideas in an open manner. We began to live our characters, to understand their motives, their hopes and dreams. We saw lines as thoughts and feelings.
I still remember our opening night. It felt surreal, like the audience was allowed a sneak peek into the lives of us villagers. I don't remember seeing the audience. It's almost as if I was living the play. It's a feeling you get when you experience it for yourself.