Little Women Performance / Evaluation - Unit 8

Ned Moffat

So I played Ned Moffat in cast one and the most I struggled with in rehearsals was trying to make the character boring. I had been told by Tom, during rehearsals that I should slow down what I say when it comes to Ned and add small pauses to emphasise more on him being boring and uninteresting. During the dress rehearsal on the day of the show it dragged on a lot we ended up going over three hours due to stops and starts as people were forgetting cues and lines. I also missed my end cue which luckily in the show I didn't. The dance was also all over the place as during the dress run there was three pairs of dancers other than Meg and Mr. Brookes and when switching we because of the position we were in, we had to move past other people to get to the next dancer. So after the dress rehearsal all the dancers ran through the ballroom scene so that when the show came it would be fluid. 

For the show my first scene is scene 2, I come on and say my paragraphs talking about how much money the March family used to have then, moving onto talking about Theodore Lawrence while directing it to Sally Gardner as I mention that she is gossiping. After I have same mine they are followed up by Annies lines before Hannah lets the three of us into the house to watch the March sisters play. When the March sisters are doing their play I reacted by talking to Sally and Annie while also not paying attention as Ned is higher class than the March family so he doesn't care what they do. After that scene I was a bit upset as when saying my first line I got nervous and started stumbling so I decided to just speed through my lines which I knew instantly after doing that I needed to calm and relax myself. So when I got to my second line I made sure to relax myself before I started speaking then said it without any stutters and I was fluent with the American accent and also loud enough so that even the people at the back could hear us. For the ballroom scene I made sure to find the people we dance with first so that it makes sense when we dance with them, I make my way over to Laura first (who is Sally) I grab her hand and kiss it to introduce myself then I grab her dance card and write my name on it, after that i move onto Sienna and write on her dance card then I write on A'layah's, I then go and do the ballroom dance scene with them. My next scene is scene 10 where its me with, Sally Gardner and Annie again also with the addition of Fred Vaughn. This is where I managed to make Ned boring, I enter the stage holding Sally's hand making sure I direct her through the door first while keeping one arm behind my back to show that etiquette they would of had in them days. My line is also again directed to Sally where I mention the name of Theodore Lawrence again being one of the gentleman coming to the party. For this scene I was a lot calmer and added a bit of comedy in it with the laughs me and Fred (played by Will) do when we realise that Meg had overheard Sally the whole time talking about her. My next scene I don't have any lines I come on stage when my name is mentioned and link arms with Sally as it is mentioned that she marries Ned Moffat then talks Sally talks about the house we got we then leave off stage still with our arms linked. My final scene is the very last scene where I come on and get pushed by Jo on the street and mention how she got there. 

For my feedback I had been told that from one of my peers parents I was one of their favourites as I bought a little bit of comedy with the story. One of my peers watching the show had said that I fit the character very well and it was a nice contrast from my role as Mr. March, I was just a bit quiet in places where I think I was nervous at the start but then progressively got louder. Kelly had said that the whole cast had beautifully performed the story and made her cry 3 times and laugh on other places. She mentioned she was engrossed in every second of it and it was like a jigsaw that just perfectly went together. One thing I need to work on is even when nervous to be able to still speak loud and clear as I have the feeling that no matter what the nerves will always kick in the first time I step on that stage for a new show. I also could of worked on making Ned a lot more boring, other than that I had fun with the character and loved performing beside the people that I was on stage with. 

Mr. March

I play Mr. March in cast 3, this the role I was most stressed over coming to show day as I kept going over it in my head that I wasn't confident with the lines and I was going to miss all my cues and mess up my lines. The only reason I was confident was because I had been filming for 2 weeks of rehearsals so I missed quite a bit. So when I managed to get some rehearsals in I had missed a lot of Ned that I had forgot about Mr. March's lines and focused on Ned's. So that when it started coming up to show week I started stressing trying to learn my lines as fast as I could but they wouldn't stick due to me overthinking. When it came to dress rehearsal I grabbed my script and started going over my lines before I appear on stage, when I appear I managed to comfortably get through my first line as it was only the my daughter's names which I could say in whatever order they came and hugged me. The scene I struggled with in dress rehearsal was my second scene where Aunt March talks about taking Amy to Europe with her. I really struggled saying one of my lines as it just left my brain half way through so then I ended up repeating myself trying to understand what I was supposed to be saying until Kane stepped in and helped me. Then after that scene I got really upset and didn't think I was ready for the show in case that happened on stage so I tried just repeating over brushing up on them lines trying to get them stuck in my head ready for the show but I just couldn't with how stressed I was.

When the show came I made sure to always be behind stage so that I wouldn't miss any single one of my cues, so I kept a script with me helping everyone else telling them that it was going to be fine and that they're going to do amazing. When my first scene came on I grabbed the walking stick and came on stage with John Brookes, I then decided to wait at the door for them to run at me as I say their names one by one then walk over to Beth on the chair and stand behind her with one arm around her shoulder. For my next scene I came on in the background and started having a mini conversation with Delroy (who played John Brookes) about him marrying Meg. The next scene I started panicking about before going on stage, but then I plucked up the courage and grabbed the book and went on running my lines in my head before the audience could see me so that I had time to get in character. When I came in I sat in the chair that was for the father. Then Aunt March entered and I started reacting to what she was saying and what was going on around me showing how annoyed I was that she was here. I managed to also relax myself and get comfortable and get the words out perfectly without one stutter or one freeze, so when that scene ended and I walked off stage I got behind the curtains and started fist pumping the air from how happy I was in myself for actually being able to do it. My next scene was Beth's dying scene so I come on to comfort Jo and tell her not to cry whilst also breaking my voice so that it sounded like I was crying as well, we blocked the scene by me giving Jo a massive hug before I start talking then when I see her crying I wipe her tears and start nearly crying myself. We then walk over to Beth when Marmee and Hannah enter and all crowed round her before me and Marmee leave to give Jo and Bath their last moments together. The last scene was at the very end when a package comes for Jo and we all get excited for her since its her first ever published book.

For my feedback part of it is the same as Ned's which is the nice contrast between both characters. Kelly had also mentioned that I showed a good affectionate father that looked like he loved his daughters and was interested in their dreams especially Jo's book. I felt a lot more relaxed and calm as the father then when I did Ned and I think that was down to it being the second time I had done that show so most of the nerves were on the scene where I messed up in dress rehearsals. One of my peers mentioned how amazing we all are and I couldn't agree more when being on stage with them all. I also got told that there was clear understanding of the character and good development throughout my time on stage and my ability to reflect that was amazing for them to watch. If I was to do this again I would definitely make more time towards being more confident with the lines so that I don't panic as much as I did and won't go on stage showing that fear. As I feel a lot of what was wrong for me was being too under prepared, so next time when I finish filming if I was to ever have two roles again, learn them both equally. Once again I couldn't of asked for better peers to be on that stage with and also do a role like a father where its hard to show that love and care, but I took it on with stride and did it with the best to my ability and I'm happy to say I did myself proud and it was a good sendoff for a sad end of year show.