Classical - Restoration - Angelica's Character Study

Angelica's Character Study

In Restoration it is extremely important that you research your character in extreme depth, Restoration theatre is perhaps one of the most important eras for theatre because of its heavy satire and parody off the political times, political leaders and the monarchy of the period. It shows various historical events through the parody of various playwrights during the era, I want to explore Angelica's extremely erratic lifestyle and emotion, she's a woman of the dark trade but she has so much more about her, I'm so excited to portray my version of the tedious and pride ridden Angelica Bianca.

Angelica Bianca is a woman of the dark trade who made her life on beauty and lust after the loss of her first and only husband, named in the script as "The General". She has been this way for a long time, especially throughout the Interregnum, and she has built up her pride and honour with the use of prostitution, her age isn't mentioned in the script but I have decided to play her at the age of 33, although not considered old in this time today it would be considered old or she would be considered and older woman, especially because she has already become a widow and the life expectancy was a lot less than it is today. There is so much to explore with this character because she is a lot more experienced due to her being older compared to the rest of the females, who are all aged around 19 and their early 20s, she has a bitter side to her, a crestfallen side to her that is hidden under cages and cages of pride and stone cold attitude.

Context of the Character

Angelica's role in The Rover is extremely important and highlights a traditional context as well as giving the play a function. Angelica shows that women were stuck in this era, they had to obey tradition of their family and if it didn't work out then they were either left to fend for themselves or rearranged in a new life with help of the male members of their family. She was married and I assume this was organised by her family and family of The General, she didn't have a choice in who she was marrying but women of this era weren't necessarily concerned about it, it was their fate and it was how every woman was treated so it was the norm in most aspects, although some women may not have been happy about their choice of man, maybe because of his looks, his wealth, his age or how he treated women, in The Rover Florinda is seen to hate every man she has been set up with by her brother Don Pedro, mostly because she wants to marry Belvile, she describes a man she is set up to marry as a "hated object" and how she wishes her brother would let her marry who she wants to. Angelica, however, was quite happy with her choice of man, he was young with good work, wealthy and regardless he would be out at sea most of the time due to his work, so it wouldn't be hard to maintain.

In my own personal characterisation, I believe that Angelica was always a girl full of pride, spoilt by her parents, she was adored by all for her innocence and beauty, when she found a man who could make her surrender her pride with seduction and love, it was the perfect fit for her and she couldn't be happier. I believe she truly loved The General, and this is why she refuses to marry after his death and give her body to drunk men looking for a night of passion, she doesn't want to give her true devotion to anyone else (except for when she meets Willmore, who is the only man fit for her other than The General). These traits in my portrayal of Angelica's character is important to the traditional context of the plot, she represents the hard freedom of women, although they wanted freedom it had hard prices that had to be paid. Angelica, after becoming a widow, is now free to do what she wants, since she is an older woman now and doesn't necessarily have the people in her life to help her out any more, but this was a curse because she couldn't work (or refused to) because she was a woman of wealth, and she had too much of a reputation and too much wealth to uphold, but I believe Angelica didn't want to let her life go to waste and live her days lonely with the reputation of a widow, making her seem older than she is, so she decided to become a prostitute of the age, but one of wealth and beauty, she didn't want to be a commoner, she wanted to seduce men and have them beg for her service, she wanted her beauty to be admired and have men at her feet, she wasn't ready to let her beauty go to waste and she certainly wasn't ready to give it up to another man, not yet at least.

I think this want for admiration was brought on when her husband died, she refused to have a reputation as a widow and she didn't want the void in her heart being unfulfilled, so she wanted to restore her pride and rebuild it, she wasn't ready for the burden of the older women in this period. Although during this era, I assume rich prostitution was almost unheard of, but Aphra Behn being a female playwright of the Restoration period wanted to explore how women of that profession and women in Angelica's position felt, she used Angelica to portray the true needs and wants of women, even when they're older, we are not objects to be labelled, being called a widow aged a women and it was a painful experience enough without gaining a bad reputation. Behn herself was (apparently) a widow, or she had separated from her husband, and this obviously put a label on her, I believe Behn wanted to express her true anger and need through Angelica and make sure that we as an audience (as well as an audience of the Restoration period) understood that women are not just things to put labels on and judge them purely on that, she also used Angelica to emphasise the weakness in men of that era, how they acted all high and mighty around women but when faced with seduction they became like a dog begging for a bone, she was hated for her portrayal of men and for the general dramatics that she portrayed in her work, and the idea that men would even pay 1000 crowns for a week or so with a famous beauty. Angelica is the devil on all men's shoulders, and I adore how Behn used this character to shame men of her period.

Research
 

I've already been researching a lot in the time period of Restoration in my research file but there has been certain parts of the research that has been particularly good for my character. I researched one of the most famous female actors of the Restoration period, Eleanor "Nell" Gwyn who was born on 2 February 1650 and died on 14 November 1687; she was a long-time mistress of King Charles II of England and Scotland. Noted and commented as "pretty, witty Nell" by Samuel Pepys, she has been regarded as a living embodiment of the spirit of Restoration England and has come to be considered a folk heroine, a lot of people compare her to the likes of Cinderella, as she quickly went from poor to rich becoming one of Charles' mistresses. I wanted to use Nell Gwyn as a possible inspiration for Angelica, Angelica however already being born into a fairly wealthy lifestyle, did not gain her reputation of beauty and wit until she decided to become a mistress and prostitute. Perhaps a satire of Nell Gwyn but highly unlikely, still a great comparison and you can definitely see how Angelica was used to satire those in Gwyn's position perhaps. "She was the most famous Restoration actress and possessed a prodigious comic talent. Gwyn had two sons by King Charles: Charles Beauclerk (1670–1726), James Beauclerk (1671–1680). Charles was created Earl of Burford and later Duke of St. Albans." I love that I can use a women in high power for her sexual desire to compare with Angelica, it makes the part of Angelica seem so much more real and it's something that I really appreciate in the history of women, I love the stories of women and their achieved freedom using their body, beauty and intelligence, it's inspirational and something I can use in the character of Angelica. Obviously, in today's society, no one would be willing to pay the equivalent of 1000 crowns to sleep with someone of 'quality', since the idea of a prostitute would never be classy, even a rich and beautiful one, it was hard to even think of how men would pay that amount of money for someone even as beautiful as Angelica, but this real life portrayal of rich, sexy, witty beautiful women using men for power and fame is something that has really increased my characterisation of Angelica, and this research definitely enhanced my performance.

Back Story

Every character has a back story, otherwise their motives, objectives and reactions in the play would be empty. Every real life human has been through different ordeals and experiences and it's so important that every character gets the right amount of back story to support them throughout their respected play.

Past
Angelica's past is a simple one, she was born into a wealthy family and always knew the life of being spoilt. She was a kind child and teenager, she was proper and knew the proper ways of being a woman in this period of time. Well educated, she was aware of the Civil War and politics of England and how men were constantly visiting her dream land of Naples because of banishment or get away. She met a young adventurer while out with her closest and trusted friend Moretta during carnival season, Angelica was 16 and ready to explore the world without the aid of her parents and servants that took after everything she needed. The name of this adventurer was George, he went by the name of The General and they had a wonderful time with each other in the summer time, exploring the colours and joy of the carnival. Angelica had been hasty of men before The General, she was young and free and didn't want to be tested, but her pride and wealth were destroyed by the kindness of him. He was genuine to her, despite being a man of that era, and they lived a perfect summer. After discussing with her parents her true feelings, her parents agreed that this man was fit for marriage, they organised with him and his family a wealthy marriage and they were to live together for a long time. The General was called out for work often across the seas, and this caused tension in the relationship, Angelica became more proud and within herself, becoming independent when her husband went away. They became bitter towards each other but still loved each other, their bitterness fired each others soul, it was rare but something imperfectly perfect. Angelica missed him every time he went away, and was unaware that at some point, he would never return. One time while waiting for him to come back, she received a message from an official saying he became incredibly sick overseas, and died on his way back to Naples. It was safe to say Angelica was heartbroken, she felt lost and unsure of what to do with herself. She vowed to herself that no other man would take her heart and destroy it, despite it not being his fault, she didn't want her pride undone and her power wrecked again, so she decided that she would sell the only thing that was worth anything to any man now because of her new status as a widow, her body and beauty. A horrible fate, but she felt like this was the only way to redeem her reputation.

Present
During the play, Angelica is in the highest point of her career as a prostitute. She became famous to all the new cavaliers on the island, and since it was carnival season once again in Naples, it was immensely popular for lust of a beautiful woman to be wanted by many men of all different backgrounds and classes. Angelica and her only trusted friend, Moretta, have taken advantage of the Civil Wars banished cavaliers and in general a man's want for sex, and they live together, making business and making sure their pride is never shot down by any man. Angelica wants to enjoy carnival season like she did when she was younger, but is halted by the attachment she has to the time when she was younger. With her new servant Sebastian and Moretta eagerly wanting to enjoy the summer sun, she sucks it up and ventures out of her house occasionally. When in business hours, she comes across a group of banished men from England, one of them particularly catching her eye, a young war roughed man named Willmore. She invites Willmore into her chambers, and being shaken by his charms and how much he reminds her of her late husband, she falls for his sweet nothings. Willmore doesn't want Angelica for love, he wants her for lust, but the void in Angelica's heart has been growing bigger and bigger, and ever since falling for Willmore the void seems filled, she needs him like she breathes, this sudden let down in her pride is something strange and Moretta sees this, she tries to warn Angelica but fails and thus has to watch her closest friend fall victim to the curse of love once again. Angelica soon realises that Willmore is actually toying with her, as he is more serious about a "gypsy" he has met during the carnival, she becomes bitter and angry and realises the time she has wasted falling so quickly for something so worthless. She becomes mad with rage and decides on a revenge, she wants to kill the man because the void in her heart has become so consuming that she wants to destroy the thing that has dug a deeper hole. After Don Antonio, a close friend and heavy admirer of Angelica stops her from shooting Willmore, she decides to give him life and lead off. Don Antonio helps Angelica throughout this ordeal and becomes incredibly devoted to her well being.

Future
Although Moretta disagrees with Angelica's decision, she understand that Angelica does not want to carry on with her life as a prostitute. Moretta decides to resign with her, as Moretta has found someone worth while to spend her lust and time on. Angelica becomes closer with Don Antonio, they eventually get married and live a happier life together, Angelica, although not as deeply in love as she was with The General, is happy with Don Antonio and feels safe with him and his devotion and passion. She has not seen Willmore in a long time, and is grateful for it, her void has been healed slightly, and she feels safe enough to carry on with her life without the pride being a barrier and restriction.

Description of the Character
Every character has certain aspects about them such as costume, vocal aspects, posture, personality and motivation. A different actor might play this part different to me, but this is how I would portray my character in terms of description.

Costume
My costume for Angelica is a formal Georgian dress, although not Restoration period it was extremely close. It was pastel orange with tints of pink and green with pink lace arms, it showed Angelica's wealth and her independence. It was low cut and suited to her being a prostitute.

Vocal AspectsAngelica is an older woman so her voice definitely wouldn't be young and full of life, I decided to use my chest resonator for Angelica and speak with the deeper tones to my voice. As an actor, it has taken me a long time to master and get used to the idea of a deep voice and use the deeper tones I know I'm capable of, and after discovering the way to use my chest resonator with full effect, making sure I warmed up suitably for this voice stance, I explored the deeper tones to Angelica to add age to her character and formality. Speaking in a deeper tone made my characterisation more solid, it gave me purpose in my movements and gave my character a higher status.

PosturePosture as a lady in Restoration period is extremely important. She must always be proper and walk with a glide, especially Angelica because she is a prostitute and she has a product she needs to sell to the customers. It's all about advertisement with a women of her trade, but because of her education and wealth she is incredibly proper with the way she advertises herself. My back must be straight, when I sit down my legs must be sat neatly next to each other and not crossed, and I must sit on the edge of my seat alert. Women were very proper during this period of time, and it's important that they remained this way, at least until they were out of a man's sight.

 

Classical - The Rover - Research File

Research File for The Rover

As with every play there needs to be a decent amount of research put into it to understand the background, the history, the playwright and whatever else there is to a play of this standard. Restoration is such a huge place of history, with so much going into the style of satire and parody, it's a great theatre form that has unfortunately surpassed our time, but it lives on in the heart of all actors. There are various areas I have to research specifically for The Rover, and I will do this in the following document below.

The English Civil War

The English Civil War started in 1642 and finished in 1651. It was various episodes of political feuds and armed battles between Parliamentarians, nicknamed Roundheads, and Royalists who were commonly known as Cavaliers (Willmore and his crew of wits are known to be banished Cavaliers travelling from England). It took place in the Kingdom of England and it started and prolonged over the principal of the manner of the English government. "The first (1642–46) and second (1648–49) wars pitted the supporters of King Charles I against the supporters of the Long Parliament, while the third (1649–51) saw fighting between supporters of King Charles II and supporters of the Rump Parliament. The war ended with the Parliamentarian victory at the Battle of Worcester on 3 September 1651. The overall outcome of the war was threefold: the trial and execution of Charles I; the exile of his son, Charles II; and the replacement of English monarchy with, at first, the Commonwealth of England (1649–53) and then the Protectorate (1653–59) under Oliver Cromwell's personal rule. The monopoly of the Church of England on Christian worship in England ended with the victors consolidating the established Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. Constitutionally, the wars established the precedent that an English monarch cannot govern without Parliament's consent, although this concept was legally established only as part of the Glorious Revolution in 1688."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_Civil_War

The Interregnum

The Interregnum was the period of time between the execution of Charles I on 30/1/1649 and the arrival of his son Charles II in London on 29/5/1660 that decided the start of the Restoration period, bringing a new era of theatre to the stage called Restoration theatre. During the Interregnum England was under various forms of republican government, "after the Parliamentarian victory in the Civil War, the Puritan views of the majority of Parliament and its supporters began to be imposed on the rest of the country. The Puritans advocated an austere lifestyle and restricted what they saw as the excesses of the previous regime. Most prominently, holidays such as Christmas and Easter were suppressed. Pastimes such as the theatre and gambling were also banned. However, some forms of art that were thought to be "virtuous", such as opera, were encouraged. These changes are often credited to Oliver Cromwell, though they were originally introduced by the Commonwealth Parliament; and Cromwell, when he came to power, was a liberalising influence."

The Interregnum was a short period of time but regardless a very important time in the history of the British Isles. "It saw a number of political experiments without any stable form of government emerging, largely due to the wide diversity in religious and political groups that had been allowed to flourish after the regicide of Charles I. The Puritan movement had evolved as a rejection of both real and perceived "Catholicisation" of the Church of England. When the Church of England was quickly disestablished by the Commonwealth Government, the question of what church to establish became a hotly debated subject. In the end, it was impossible to make all the political factions happy. During the Interregnum, Oliver Cromwell lost much of the support he had gained during the Civil War. Edward Sexby, previously a supporter of Cromwell's, felt disenfranchised by Cromwell's failure to abolish the aristocracy. In 1657, Silius Titus called for Cromwell's assassination in a co-authored pamphlet Killing No Murder under the pseudonym of William Allen. Sexby was captured when he returned to England and attempted to carry out the assassination described in Colonel Titus' book. Cromwell coerced Sexby into confessing authorship of the pamphlet and then imprisoned him in the Tower of London, where Sexby was driven to insanity, dying there less than a year later. High taxes required by the large standing army, kept due to the constant threats of Scottish and Irish rebellion, added to public resentment of Cromwell."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interregnum_(England)

Charles II

Charles II born on the 29 May 1630 and died on the 6 February 1685 was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland. Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the very peak of the English Civil War. Although the Parliament of Scotland proclaimed Charles II King of Great Britain and Ireland in Edinburgh on 6/2/1649, the English Parliament instead passed a statute that made any such proclamation unlawful. "England entered the period known as the English Interregnum or the English Commonwealth, and the country was a de facto republic, led by Oliver Cromwell. Cromwell defeated Charles II at the Battle of Worcester on 3 September 1651, and Charles fled to mainland Europe. Cromwell became virtual dictator of England, Scotland and Ireland, and Charles spent the next nine years in exile in France, the United Provinces and the Spanish Netherlands. A political crisis that followed the death of Cromwell in 1658 resulted in the restoration of the monarchy, and Charles was invited to return to Britain. On 29 May 1660, his 30th birthday, he was received in London to public acclaim. After 1660, all legal documents were dated as if he had succeeded his father as king in 1649. During the 1640s, when Charles was still young, his father fought Parliamentary and Puritan forces in the English Civil War. Charles accompanied his father during the Battle of Edgehill and, at the age of fourteen, participated in the campaigns of 1645, when he was made titular commander of the English forces in the West Country.[3] By Spring 1646, his father was losing the war, and Charles left England due to fears for his safety, setting off from Falmouth after staying at Pendennis Castle, going first to the Isles of Scilly, then to Jersey, and finally to France, where his mother was already living in exile and his first cousin, eight-year-old Louis XIV, was king."

Charles II was popularly known as the Merry Monarch, this was caused by the reference to both the liveliness and hedonism of his court and the general relief at the return to normality after over a decade of rule by Oliver Cromwell and the Puritans, he restored a calmness into the ruling over England, Ireland and Scotland. "Charles's wife, Catherine of Braganza, bore no live children, but Charles acknowledged at least twelve illegitimate children by various mistresses. As his illegitimate children were excluded from the succession, he was succeeded by his brother James. The Restoration was accompanied by social change, theatres reopened after having been closed during the protectorship of Oliver Cromwell, and bawdy "Restoration comedy" became a recognisable genre. Theatre licenses granted by Charles were the first in England to permit women to play female roles on stage (they were previously played by boys) and Restoration literature celebrated or reacted to the restored court, which included libertines like John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_II_of_England

Women on the Stage

1) Nell Gwyn.

Eleanor "Nell" Gwyn born on 2 February 1650 and died on 14 November 1687; was a long-time mistress of King Charles II of England and Scotland. Noted and commented as "pretty, witty Nell" by Samuel Pepys, she has been regarded as a living embodiment of the spirit of Restoration England and has come to be considered a folk heroine, a lot of people compare her to the likes of Cinderella, as she quickly went from poor to rich becoming one of Charles' mistresses. I wanted to use Nell Gwyn as a possible inspiration for Angelica, Angelica however already being born into a fairly wealthy lifestyle, did not gain her reputation of beauty and wit until she decided to become a mistress and prostitute. Perhaps a satire of Nell Gwyn but highly unlikely, still a great comparison and you can definitely see how Angelica was used to satire those in Gwyn's position perhaps. "She was the most famous Restoration actress and possessed a prodigious comic talent. Gwyn had two sons by King Charles: Charles Beauclerk (1670–1726), James Beauclerk (1671–1680). Charles was created Earl of Burford and later Duke of St. Albans."

The new theatres were the first in England to feature actresses; earlier, women's parts were played by boys or men. Gwyn joined the rank of actresses at Bridges Street when she was fourteen, less than a year after becoming an orange-girl. If strong clear voice, extremely good looks and lively wit were responsible for catching the eye of Killigrew, she still had to prove herself clever enough to succeed as an actress. This was no easy task in the Restoration theatre; the limited pool of audience members meant that very short runs were the norm for plays and fifty different productions might be mounted in the nine-month season lasting from September to June. "Gwyn was allegedly illiterate though unlikely due to the tremendous amount of lines she had to memorize. She often signed her initials as "E.G." She was taught her craft of performing at a school for young actors developed by Killigrew and one of the fine male actors of the time, Charles Hart, and learned dancing from another, John Lacy; both were rumored by satirists of the time to be her lovers, but if she had such a relationship with Lacy (Beauclerk thinks it unlikely), it was kept much more discreet than her well-known affair with Hart. Gwyn was slated to play a part in Killigrew's Thomaso, or The Wanderer in November 1664, but the play seems to have been cancelled. Instead, she made her first recorded appearance on-stage in March 1665, in John Dryden's heroic drama The Indian Emperour, playing Cydaria, daughter of Moctezuma and love interest to Cortez, played by her real-life lover Charles Hart. Pepys, whose diary usually has great things to say about Gwyn, was displeased with her performance in this same part two years later": "...to the King's playhouse, and there saw 'The Indian Emperour;' where I find Nell come again, which I am glad of; but was most infinitely displeased with her being put to act the Emperour's daughter; which is a great and serious part, which she do most basely."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nell_Gwyn

2) Elizabeth Barry
Elizabeth Barry born in 1658 (unknown official birth date) and died in 7 November 1713 was an English actress of the Restoration period, she was perhaps one of the most successful and definitely is one of the more famous first actresses known today. She worked in highly successful and huge London theatre companies throughout her lively career: from 1675 in the Duke's Company, 1682 – 1695 in the monopoly United Company, run by managers of the Duke's Company, and from "1695 onwards as a member of the actors' cooperative usually known as Betterton's Company, of which she was one of the original shareholders." Her stage career began 15 years after the first-ever professional actresses had replaced Shakespeare's boy heroines on the London stage. The actor Thomas Betterton said that her acting gave "success to plays that would disgust the most patient reader", and the critic and playwright John Dennis described her as "that incomparable Actress changing like Nature which she represents, from Passion to Passion, from Extream to Extream, with piercing Force and with easy Grace".

Barry worked for and performed in the Duke's Company from 1675 to 1682, taking the role of Cordelia opposite Thomas Betterton's Lear in Nahum Tate's 1681 adaptation of Shakespeare's King Lear. After the Duke's and the King's companies were merged together in 1682, she continued as one of the star performers of the new United Company, which remained for 12 years the only theatrical company in London, so her crowds were huge and her success still as lively as ever. The absence of rival companies left the actors in a weak bargaining position in relation to management, and when the United Company fell under the mismanagement of Christopher Rich (theatre manager) in the 1690s, the senior actors including Barry, Betterton and Anne Bracegirdle left to form their own collaborative company. Barry was one of the original patent-holders of the actors' company, which opened at Lincoln's Inn Fields with the smash hit of William Congreve's Love For Love in 1695 and continued to successfully challenge Rich's United Company. Barry achieved remarkable public approval and business success for a single woman in London in the late 17th century, especially considering that she was generally known to have a daughter by Rochester and another by the playwright George Etherege. Many actresses at this time achieved the prize of respectability by being married, usually to actors, but Barry never married. She retired from the stage in 1709, marking the end of an amazing actress.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Barry

Restoration Playwrights

1) Aphra Behn
Aphra Behn baptised 14 December 1640 – 16 April 1689 was a prolific dramatist of the English Restoration, one of the first English professional female literary writers, a strong point in the research of our play, she as a woman would write female parts extremely different to men, and as the rise of strong and famous female actors was apparent in the Restoration period, she could write truthfully to the female sex. She is sometimes referred to as part of "The fair triumvirate of wit." According to a lot of sources, there isn't much known about Behn's life except for her work as an author and as a spy for the British crown, the rest is suggested by theories and her troubles with the economy, there is almost no documentary evidence of the details of her first 27 years. "She possibly spent time in Surinam, although much of her fiction has become entwined with her apocryphal biography." Facing debt and poverty Behn embarked on a writing career, producing over 19 plays, plus poetry, translation and novels, becoming a mark in the female history of today. Despite success in her own lifetime, Behn died in poverty. The overbearing topics of many of her plays apparently led to her "oeuvre being ignored or dismissed since her death. Her reputation slowly improved during the 20th century, but she is still little known to modern audiences."

Shortly after her supposed return to England from Surinam in 1664, Behn had supposedly married Johan Behn. Some suggest he may have been "a merchant of German or Dutch extraction, possibly from Hamburg." History is uncertain about Aphra's supposed lover, Aphra continuously struggled with economics and this may have been driven by the death of Johan or separation of their marriage soon after 1664 (both possible, has never been confirmed). In spite of this, from this point onward the writer used "Mrs Behn" as her professional name as a playwright. Behn may have had a Catholic upbringing. She once commented that she was "designed for a nun," (which I assume is how she knew so much about Hellena's position in the play, she could write from her own personal feelings and experiences, and the fact that she had so many Catholic connections, such as "Henry Neville who was later arrested for his Catholicism, would have aroused suspicions during the anti-Catholic fervour of the 1680s.") "She was a monarchist, and her sympathy for the Stuarts, and particularly for the Catholic Duke of York may be demonstrated by her dedication of her play The Rover II to him after he had been exiled for the second time. Behn was dedicated to the restored King Charles II." As more and more political parties started forming during the Restoration period, Behn had decided to become a Tory supporter. By 1666 Behn had become latched onto the court, ("possibly through the influence of Thomas Culpeper and other associates.") "The Second Anglo-Dutch War had broken out between England and the Netherlands in 1665, and she was recruited as a political spy in Antwerp on behalf of King Charles II, possibly under the auspices of courtier Thomas Killigrew." This is the first well-documented account that has been discovered of her activities apparently, and it is especially fascinating to see her experiences of undercover work and comparing it to the likes of Hellena in The Rover, even if her experiences were later dated than the play itself. "Her code name is said to have been Astrea, a name under which she later published many of her writings. Her chief role was to establish an intimacy with William Scot, son of Thomas Scot, a regicide who had been executed in 1660. Scot was believed to be ready to become a spy in the English service and to report on the doings of the English exiles who were plotting against the King. Behn arrived in Bruges in July 1666, probably with two others, as London was wracked with plague and fire. Behn's job was to turn Scot into a double agent, but there is evidence that Scot betrayed her to the Dutch."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aphra_Behn

2) George Etherege

"Sir George Etherege was an English dramatist. He wrote the plays The Comical Revenge or, Love in a Tub in 1664, She Would if She Could in 1668, and The Man of Mode or, Sir Fopling Flutter in 1676. Soon after the Restoration in 1660 he composed his comedy of The Comical Revenge or Love in a Tub, which introduced him to Lord Buckhurst, afterwards the earl of Dorset. This was performed at the Duke's theatre in 1664, and a few copies were printed in the same year. It is partly in rhymed heroic verse, like the stilted tragedies of the Howards and Killigrew, but it contains comic scenes that are exceedingly bright and fresh. The sparring between Sir Frederick and the Widow introduced a style of wit hitherto unknown upon the English stage. The success of this play was very great, but Etherege waited four years before he repeated his experiment. Meanwhile he gained the highest reputation as a poetical beau, and moved in the circle of Sir Charles Sedley, Lord Rochester and the other noble wits of the day. His temperament is best known by the names his contemporaries gave him, of "gentle George" and "easy Etheredge." In 1668 he brought out She would if she could, a comedy full of action, wit and spirit, although by some thought to be frivolous and immoral. But in this play Etherege first shows himself a new power in literature. We move in an airy and fantastic world, where flirtation is the only serious business of life. At this time Etherege was living a life no less frivolous and unprincipled than those of his Courtals and Freemans. Etherege holds a distinguished place in English literature as one of the "big five" of Restoration comedy, inventing the comedy of manners and leading the way for the masterpieces of Congreve and Sheridan. Etherege's portraits of fops and beaux are considered to be the best of their kind, and he is now noted for his delicate touches of dress, furniture and scene, as well as vividly replicating in his work the fine airs of London gentlemen and ladies, perhaps better than Congreve. His biography was first written in detail by Edmund Gosse in Seventeenth Century Studies (1883)."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Etherege

Original Patent Theatres

1) The Duke's Company
The Duke's Company was one of the two theatre companies (the other being the King's Company) that were supported and sponsored by King Charles II at the start of the English Restoration era, when the London theatres re-opened after their eighteen-year closure (1642–60) during the English Civil War and the Interregnum. The Duke's Company had a partnership with the King's younger brother the Duke of York, the future King James II, he was a sponsor and supporter of the Duke's Company. The company itself was managed by Sir William Davenant, and started at the old Salisbury Court Theatre, occasionally using the Cockpit in Drury Lane. "After a year, the actors moved to a new theatre in Lincoln's Inn Fields, a building on Portugal Street that had previously been Lisle's Tennis Court (it opened on 18 June 1661). There they were joined by Thomas Betterton, who quickly became their star. In December 1660, the King granted the Duke's Company the exclusive rights to ten Shakespearean plays: Hamlet, Macbeth, King Lear, Romeo and Juliet, The Tempest, Twelfth Night, Much Ado About Nothing, Measure for Measure, Henry VIII, and Pericles, Prince of Tyre.[2] In 1661, their first year at Lincoln's Inn Fields, the company revived Hamlet, in a production that employed the innovation of stage scenery. Samuel Pepys saw their production on 24 August; he described it as "done with scenes very well, but above all, Betterton did the Prince's part beyond imagination." Davenant tried to make the most of the limited Shakespearean materials available to him. In 1662 he staged The Law Against Lovers, a heavily adapted version of Measure for Measure that blended in characters from Much Ado About Nothing. It was the earliest of the many Shakespearean adaptations produced during the Restoration era and the eighteenth century."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Duke%27s_Company

2) The King's Company
The King's Company was one of two companies that produced theatre who were given the rights to perform theatrical productions in London at the start of the English Restoration, alongside the Duke's Company, these two companies were the most famous in their time period for performing Restoration period plays, this existed from 1660 to 1682. On 21/8/1660, King Charles II granted Thomas Killigrew and Sir William Davenant, leaders of two extraordinary companies of their time, each official granting in the form of a temporary "privilege" to form acting companies, becoming an example for future Restoration companies. "Killigrew's King's Company fell under the sponsorship of Charles himself; Davenant's Duke's Company under that of Charles's brother, then the Duke of York, later James II of England. The temporary privileges would be followed later by letters patent, issued on 25 April 1662 in Killigrew's case, cementing a hereditary monopoly on theatre for the patent-holders." The first official and continuing venue that would hold the King's Company as well as all of its productions was a venue called the Gibbon's Tennis Court; in 1663, responding to competition from the Duke's Company's more advanced theatre in Lisle's Tennis Court, Killigrew built and opened the King's Playhouse, today's Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, which became a famous landmark for all new types of theatre, including the more popularly known theatre form called "Pantomime". This burned down in 1672 and was rebuilt and reopened in 1674. Killigrew left most of his interests in the company by the early 1670s and management was in his son Charles' hands after 1671. In 1682, the King's Company and the Duke's Company merged to become the so-called United Company, under the leadership of the Duke's Company's actors and other outstanding members.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King%27s_Company

Radio - Rehearsal Blog and Research

Radio Rehearsal Blog

In our new project simply named 'Radio' we have been put into groups with people who we don't normally work with and we have been given the task of looking up or devising a radio play to rehearse, perform and record for this unit. Radio has always been a major contributor to the performing arts, recording shows in many different genres such as comedy, thriller, horror and much more. There are various different structures of radio shows, such as a comedy panel show, a short story told with narration and characters, a series for a soap opera and more, there were endless possibilities for our group and we really needed to knuckle down and decide what we wanted to do for this project.

In my group was Leah, Jordan, Jess Dowbakin, Jess Wash and me. A very mixed group with different opinions and interests, it was sure that the initial process of deciding what we wanted would be interesting and maybe conflicting, or that's at least what I thought, but actually I wasn't phased by this at all because I love hearing other people's ideas and what they want in a project, with everyone's brains combined I believed we could either devise or pick a radio play that would really set us off for a good grade. In our first rehearsal discussion as a group, we came together and wrote down every idea that we wanted in our play. There were ideas of a supernatural tale, something not so magical and childlike, but something that was darker and more for an adult audience, this was when I contributed the idea of 'Crackanory'. 'Crackanory' is a show that is broadcasted on the comedy channel "Dave", since I am a big fan of the show, I thought this could be a great idea since we wanted to make something clever but with a few darker twists. The initial description of 'Crackanory' is:
"Imagine if Jackanory was set free from its childish shackles. What beautifully funny tales about life in the twenty first century would it unleash upon the world? Surely the best bedtime stories for the big kids in all of us… so make yourself comfortable and prepare to laugh and be entranced by a dose of Crackanory."

Basically, a satire of the child's story time show 'Jackanory', 'Crackanory' is a show that uses more realistic and adult stories focusing on political, economical tales that relate and affect people of the 21st century. A clever twist on the kid's show, it uses comedians who are heavily involved with the channel 'Dave' to read out the scripted stories and tell them in a childlike manner. When I pitched this idea to the group, they all thought it was a good idea, it gave us something to aim for, and because we already had examples of how the story was told and what type of characters were usually portrayed in these tales it was going to be an interesting guide to devising this sort of radio show. Leah thought we could take a spin off the Disney Princess stories such as Snow White and Cinderella, we could turn them into 21st century stories, making them contemporary and modern, giving them political twists and making them heavier than usual, using people who were that of everyday people. Everyone loved this idea, but as the rehearsal process moved on we weren't sure if we had enough time to devise parts, a script and sound effects for something this heavy. We discussed it and decided to find a play that brought our ideas together tightly rather than devising a whole new radio play, only because we wanted to get a solid mark and we felt that we wouldn't have enough rehearsal time as other groups if we spent half of our rehearsals devising the play and writing it.

The key to a good radio performance is a good and well rehearsed voice, timing, pace, breath control, articulation and separating your characters using your voice so your audience can tell the difference between the characters that you play. We as a group had to take this into consideration, and since we wanted to play more than one character we decided to look for a different take of a Disney princess story, one that included different characters that had potential for different voices, so we could explore with our potential. Jess Wash found the simple story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, although it wasn't exactly what we were after (something with a contemporary, adult-like 21st century twist) it still had a lot of characters and it fitted all of us well, so we decided to scrap our devised idea and work on this play. It came along with the original characters of Snow White, which Jess W played, Prince Charming and The Huntsman, which Jordan played, the Evil Queen and her witch counterpart that Leah played, the Mirror that Jess D played and the Seven Dwarfs, which we handed out to everyone. However, there was an extra part, which was the Narrator, and I really liked the idea of this part because it would contrast greatly with my two dwarfs Grumpy and Bashful. I received notes from other groups about my Narrator part and I was told that I had to slow down my pace because I was rushing and I was told to tell the story as if I was telling it to a little child before bed, I took in this feedback because I really wanted to get a good mark for my Narrator role and when finally recording and performing this play I believe I achieved that. It wasn't difficult to pace my words and to split up thoughts so I could tell the story, and I'm happy that I was given these improvement notes because I feel like without them I would have been amateur at this project, it really opened my eyes to see that you need to rehearse a radio play thoroughly, I didn't take it seriously until I realised how much we improved with every rehearsal and every run through we did and I wish I was able to see how important constantly running through our play was at the beginning of the project. I'm happy that our group picked this play though and we were able to trust each other with the ideas we had and the development throughout the project. It all together came out to be a really good project with amazing sound affects and great recordings, I'm thoroughly happy with the end result.

Radio Research

Before we started our project, it was important that all of us researched some radio shows and critically assessed the ways that they performed techniques, which contributed to the end result. We had to look at a range of radio dramas and other audio recordings in order for us to get a good idea on what we were going to encounter during our own radio project, we had to assess the use of special effects, the use of voice and more.

The Archers

One of the first shows we watched as a class together for the radio project was a show called 'The Archers', a show broadcasted on BBC Radio 4. A contemporary drama in a rural setting, The Archers begins with a delightful village like theme tune to start off the drama and to give it that sort of "country, light-hearted drama" feel. I believe this does set the scene of this drama very well, it shows it's contemporary and it suits the initial setting and feel of the radio drama, I think that the beginning of a radio show is always important because you do not get the setting and the feel from visuals because there are none, and this is what most people rely on when watching a show. Most TV dramas have beginning credits that set the scene for the show and this is why they've included this light-hearted, jolly theme tune for the beginning of The Archers. Also, it gives us an idea of the actual setting to The Archers, it reminds me of Heartbeat a little, giving us that country and farm like feel to the setting, I think this is clever and the theme tune definitely fits the title and the characters in the radio show. As well as the theme tune for a beginning effect, The Archers also uses various sound effects during the course of one of their shows to really give an idea of the current scene and what the characters are doing. Two characters, Pat and Tony, are moving a car onto a repair truck in one episode, and they are trying to get it to fit on, Pat is filling in for Tony's partner and it is proving difficult, a good scene with great timing and every word is said with good articulation and pace that fits the general drama setting, however want made the scene better for listeners was the sound effect of the truck moving, making a clean engine noise. It really made the scene realistic, and it put an image in my head of what it would actually look like if it were on a screen. The sound aspect of this show is really good, it definitely sets the scene and sets an overall imagine of the entire radio show even just by watching one episode, everything is pristine and I enjoyed listening to the show. The voices of the characters in the show are also really good, they sound like the type of people you would come across in a rural setting, and it really felt like a drama, I can slightly notice the slower pace of the lines in the show but that's only because it is radio, and you have to be careful with radio because they can't see you, and it is a lot harder for the audience to pick up on your lines if you say them too fast. To me, it felt no different from watching a TV drama of a similar setting, I loved listening to it because it was easy to follow and I can imagine all of the scenarios in my head with ease. A lovely radio show.

The Children of Witchwood

Another radio show we listened to was another story like show called The Children of Witchwood, broadcasted on BBC Radio 4 Extra. Set in a more urban setting than 'The Archers', The Children of Witchwood is a tale of horror and suspense, using elements of the supernatural, it revolves around the strange happenings that start occurring when a local college student, Jackie, goes missing. A lot of blame circles an eerie and weird family who live near a forest by the college, they are called the Cranford family, but another evil force may be at work here. In the first episode we watched as a class, Jackie goes missing in the forest and things start off getting weird. In one scene during the first episode, Jackie wakes up in a weird chamber, even though this wasn't specified, I knew it was due to the sound effects coming that were playing. It was a weird beeping noise, something like a spaceship would make, and it really set the scene for me. Similar to 'The Archers' it made it so much more clearer in my head what it would look like if it were on a TV screen. There were other sound effects as well, including an owl hooting and leaves rustling in the wind to signify that the time of day was night, and I thought this was really effective. It definitely gave the show some structure and showed the transitions between night and day, however there were some bad points to this show, I thought that the teenage characters in the show weren't voiced effectively, I could tell that they were older actors and it didn't sound like they were collect students at all, they sounded much older, maybe in their middle 30s, it wasn't something that really gelled with me, since the mother character and the children sound nearly exactly the same, it wasn't great. Nothing like 'The Archers' in terms of characterisation and this actually let it down, I like horrors and supernatural themed shows and I thought this made it sound more amateur than it should have been. This brought to light for me the way we should voice our own characters in our own radip plays, what if we all sound the same? It would be amateur and we wouldn't get a good mark for it, I want our radio project to be a good one, and I would hate it if our mark was brought down by our lack of creativity and carefulness in our voices. Overall, a good show but the actors could really work on differentiating the characters from one another, then perhaps the show would have been easier to follow in terms of character development. The voices were good in terms of articulation and pace, everything was understood, just not who was talking, which is obviously a problem to any member of the audience. However, the show was amazing in terms of the timing inside scenes, I could definitely tell when it was day or night because of the sound effects and this really made this show stand out, giving it a time stream and a real life perspective, also the owl hooting really fitted in with the horror genre. Not as good as 'The Archers' in my opinion, but definitely something that has a lot of potential and I would listen to again if they brought in more varied character voices.

Restoration Rehearsal Blogs - Blogs One to Four

Blog One for The Rover



We have officially started the Restoration section of our Classical project. In order to get a good grade I must contrast my part of Audrey from ‘As You Like It’ with my newly assigned part called Angelica, a high class prostitute and widow living in Naples. She is an older women, not too old but is recovering from the loss of her husband. Being previously married she doesn’t want to be involved with any other man and has set off her career as a prostitute. Because the Restoration period is one of the biggest for parody of the higher class, characterisation and satire, I need to make sure I am paying full attention in lesson and recording everything we do in these weekly blogs.

We are blocking the play in chronological order, and since Angelica isn’t in the play until Act Two I thought it would be a good idea to stay behind in rehearsal and watch the others and see how they are showing their characters in the first few scenes. The first scene includes characters called, Florinda and Hellena (two sisters who are close to receiving the fate of family tradition), Pedro, their older brother, who has taken on the role of making sure these family traditions stay in place and their respective servants, Callis and Stephano. Since I am playing an older woman compared to Florinda and Hellena, I wanted to check out their current characterisation and the notes they were going to be given. It is important because all women in this era were very similar and had similar fates, that of being married off to a man her family thought fit, however Angelica is someone who has seemed to escape a fate of becoming succumbed under a man she doesn’t want. I understand her previous marriage may have been arranged since she was married to a General and a general is something that many people respect, but she does talk of how happy she was in the marriage in her first scenes and I believe she was simply a woman of tradition back then, she met the General and was happy enough to marry him, although he was away a lot and probably did have affairs, she was treated very well and couldn’t complain at all. Florinda in the first scene is discussing with her sister Hellena how she does not want to get married off to anyone but Belvile, she thinks the men her brother has suggested are no match compared to Belvile and she is very in love with him. Florinda is a representation of freedom and I believe Angelica is too, but her freedom was forced upon her due to the death of her late husband, whereas Florinda would like nothing more than to have freedom to marry who she wants. I also think it was a good idea to watch the first few scenes of Florinda and Hellena because I wanted to see the posture, voice and characterisation of the two girls and how I could use that and portray it in an older woman. Jess Wash and Jess Grinter are the Florinda and Hellena in my cast, and I watched closely as they became two beautiful young women of the Restoration period in Naples. Their backs were poised and their chests slightly out, when they sat down their legs were always closed and placed lightly next to each other, not crossed over like we do today. They always greeted each other with politeness, and used their fans to communicate and express how they were feeling.

It’s good that I’ve picked up on the different characterisation and the way they are with each other, since I have a lot of scenes with Moretta and she is my older friend I feel like I can express my relationship with her more, Moretta is like my older sister and looks out for me when she feels I’m being naïve with men and love. Although Angelica acts like she is at the top of her game, I believe she is secretly looking for someone to fill in the role of the General because she misses the time when she didn’t have to worry about herself and she always had good company when she needed it.  Now her only true company is Moretta and her servants, and although she is quaint like this I think she has a hole in her life that she needs to be filled, and she attempts to fill it with the attention of different men, as she says in the play she is more pleased with men who look at the price and decide not to pay and just admire her beauty, instead of them actually paying the price and using her for her beauty. She is a woman of quality and wants to keep this image, even if her career choice says otherwise, and I’m glad that I saw how Hellena and Florinda were with each other because now I can engage on that and work on the politeness of my character, while keeping in mind that she wants to be powerful. Angelica is a sly fox compared to the other girls in the play, and I know that watching Jess and Jess would have helped me. Also, the way that Pedro treats his younger sisters helped me too, because I saw that men were not extremely kind to their female members of the family unless they were a mother to them. It gave me an idea of how to treat men I come across in the play, they aren’t kind to women unless they give them what they need, and Pedro is not up for giving Florinda or Hellena anything that they desire unless it fits in with their family tradition.

I’m very happy that I was able to compare my character in the play to other women; I feel it has given me an advantage in how I am going to play Angelica. Seeing how men act in the play as well has really helped me. I’m going to learn my lines for the first scene I am in during the rest of rehearsals for Act One, there isn’t a lot I can do other than collect ideas for characterisation and learn my lines so that I am fully prepared for when it is my time to rehearse, but I believe I have already made a strong correlation between the two girls at the beginning and my character Angelica. I am confident I am going to really succeed in this play, and now I understand how I want to play her, keeping in mind the traditions and ways of women in the Restoration period.

Blog Two for The Rover

This week we carried on with the play and I was finally able to explore my first scene, Act 2 Scene 1, I wanted to show my characterisation that I have picked up from the previous scenes and I wanted to also explore the potential of flirtation I could have with each male character. It's a very feisty scene, with elements of sword fighting, rivalry, sexual desire and fun. In it, I am stood upon my balcony with my fellow prostitute and only friend Moretta, in which we evaluate the customers who have come to purchase our "product", on a daily basis men from all over the place come and look at me and Moretta to spend 1000 crowns on either one of us, and we give them exactly what they want for so much of a week. Willmore and his crew of cavaliers come to mine and Moretta's house in hopes of checking out and purchasing us for a night or so, but after looking at the price they are completely stumped as none of them can afford it. Willmore, being the overly confident woman's man he is, decides that he is not thrown off by the price and will try his best to get Angelica in his clutches for one night. Don Pedro and Don Antonio make a brief entrance in this scene, flaring up the objectives and sub plot of Florinda's future wife. Don Antonio was in line to become Florinda's new husband, but he has been spotted here by Don Pedro (Florinda's brother) attempting to purchase Angelica's service, since he is so flattered and taken by her charms and looks. This causes a feud that Angelica is confused about, since she is unaware of the proposed marriage between the two families.

Looking into Angelica's character, I thought it would be a great idea to play her out as if she slightly enjoyed men fighting outside her house. It wouldn't happen often, but women (especially those of Angelica's social status) would have stayed in the house often because they had poorer or lower classes working for them and doing their work outside. They wouldn't have the joy of learning how to sword fight and I assume any upper class woman showing any enjoyment of the sport would be instantly frowned upon since it was such a masculine thing to enjoy and practice. However, it was a carnival, and throughout the play the leading women are seen to be enjoying a little reckless behaviour such as sneaking out and finding men to love and tease, an example of this is Hellena in the play, she is so keen to go out and enjoy herself in the wonders and colours of the carnival before she is latched onto her fate of family tradition. She goes out in disguise and pursues Willmore's attention and desire, along the way causing a bit of mischief in Angelica and Willmore's relationship to gain Willmore as her own. Angelica, being an older women, does not have as much time and free will as the younger girls in the play. She has already seen death, sorrow and has been through love and seen the selfishness of men many a time, but I think she wants to forget about the burdens that life holds for a women of her situation, she wants to be free and feel powerful with her youthful innocence once again, this sword fighting sparks is what sparks a desire in her, making her realise how much fun she is missing in this carnival in that first moment of excitement. I love the idea of women's secret freedom and power in this era, regardless of how little they had with men around. I wanted to emphasise that even older women, even with their proper attitude and their loyalty to being formal, can still have a side to them that the devil prescribes. When saying "Oh, Moretta! What's the matter?" I wouldn't seem horrified, I would play it out a little sarcastically, since I already am aware of what is happening out on the street because I can see it from my Balcony, but I want to know more at the same time and since Angelica believes Moretta has less persona to lose, she asks her to investigate. She watches the fight eagerly, I want the audience to see the desire burning in her eyes and movement, I want it to be apparent that she is a bird trapped in a cage, I feel like this part of Angelica is so important and I want to restore the youth in her, I want the audience to see how much she wants to be free of the life she has set up for herself, even if it is just for a carnival season.

I'm really glad I got to explore this scene thoroughly, even the motive and objective in one line has uncovered so much of my character and has given me so many ideas on how I want to play her. I really enjoy playing and portraying Angelica and I believe that if I carry this attitude on throughout rehearsals I can discover so much about her as a woman, a woman of that era and a prostitute of that era with her reputation and loyalty to being proper. No woman wants to be caged away to one fate, and that is shown throughout the whole play with characters like Florinda, Hellena and Angelica alike. In a way, I'm happy that Angelica is older because I can show it from a different point of view in terms of age, it gives the audience an idea of how all woman of all circumstances wanted to retain their youth, and had hardly any of it, even if most were accepting and willing to embrace this fate (which would be so frowned upon in today's society).

Blog Three for The Rover

Exploring the scene after my first, this is when Angelica and Willmore have their first encounter with each other. It's an extremely fiery scene with a lot of passion, tension and conflicting personalities, and it's something me, Rufus and Leah had to work on continuously together to make sure we got the right pace and the right type of friction to the scene, we all agreed that we wanted this scene to have such a build up but a calmness to it, we wanted the two high statuses of Angelica and Willmore to clash but at the same time, explode in perfect harmony. We wanted Moretta to be the water that cooled the fire, she was initially supposed to control Angelica  in this scene and look out for her as a friend and business partner, Moretta has looked upon Angelica's rising fame throughout the years and knows how much she can abuse it as well as fall victim to it. Moretta is the person in the play who knows Angelica most, and thinks she is incredibly foolish to give Willmore the privileged to even enter the house of such beauty let alone giving him her body and heart. Angelica knows Moretta's opinion but refuses to believe that Willmore, let alone any man who enters her chambers, could refuse her love and beauty in such a generous way, little does Angelica know this is exactly what Willmore does, as a fun and women loving cavalier. The scene is overly repetitive, with both Moretta and Angelica fighting off Willmore's high status with their clever words and seduction. The energy has a strike in each line said, until Willmore grabs Angelica by the waste and whispers sweet nothings into her ear that she, like any women wanting a young passion, believes. It's like two bombs setting off in perfect harmony, they want each other's power and glory, but Angelica wants his more than Willmore wants what Angelica has to offer.

Looking through this scene, there are so many lines that emphasis Angelica's character in such a powerful way. It was my favourite scene of the play because it formally introduced Angelica's vulnerable side as well as the inner passion she stores underneath her cold and hard persona, if played right, the audience will be able to see how much there is to Angelica's character without immediately stereotyping her as the "villain" of the play as some audiences tend to do with plays like this, since the initial writing is hard to understand for an audience of today without hard research and rehearsal (which we have had and the audience lack). One of my personal favourite lines that really shows her weakness is her aside to the audience, "His word go through me to the very soul!" and then she bounces back to her cold persona saying to Willmore "If you have nothing else to say to me.", I wanted these lines to have a complete contrast when said with correct pace next to each other to show how much Angelica is actually excited and happy in this moment of lust, but at the same time resisting the urge to show any sign of weakness because she still understands that Willmore is a customer and she is a product that needs to be bought, I firmly believe she has never given her body away for free to any customer before Willmore, and this pride she has built up for so many years is definitely too valuable to give up for a man she's just met, or is it? Angelica tries her last bit of pride by trying to persuade Willmore to pay the price she asks of him but he quickly throws her pride off by seducing her with words of love, that are (unknown to Angelica) completely shallow and empty, he eventually gets her into bed without paying the price Angelica asks of him and they share a night of passion together. Angelica, instead of the payment, asks that Willmore gives her his love and devotion, but this is a grave mistake since he lies through his teeth when saying he will stay faithful and devoted to her. In some ways I love that Angelica does this because it shows so much about her character, it shows how lonely she is and although she has men begging to be with her everyday, she wants true devotion and love for herself as a soul and heart, not just for her beauty and body.

I love Angelica's character in this scene and I'm so glad I know how to portray her in a right way for the audience to understand that she isn't pure stone, she has a heart that needs care. Due to Angelica's loss of her husband, I believe she has locked her heart up shut, deep beneath dungeons of pride and honour because of loss of her first husband. I believe she truly loved this man, and he was exactly the type of person she wanted to spend her elderly days with, and ever since becoming a widow and losing such an emotional connection she doesn't want to give it to anyone else and feels her body is the only thing she has to offer now to support herself, but when she discovers Willmore she realises how similar he is and that she needs a man's support in her life, she doesn't want to die alone and her chances of finding a new man are running low since since she isn't getting any younger and her parents are there to set her up with another man, like I assume they did with her first husband. I want to portray every emotion in such a stone cold way and I can't wait to experiment with this.

Blog Four for The Rover

This week we decided to work on one of the longer scenes in the play that I'm involved in, The Molo. This is the scene in which I confront Willmore about his affair with Hellena, or so Angelica thinks it is. Willmore met Hellena before Angelica, and has been playing them both throughout the carnival in hope for a fun time after spending so long at sea. Hellena is aware that he is flying off with Angelica and Angelica is aware of his involvement with Hellena, and in this scene Hellena disguises herself as a young messenger boy and pretends to be a messenger for Hellena herself. She reveals all that Willmore has done with her, and how he has been cheating on Hellena with Angelica and vice versa, Hellena in disguise and Angelica corner him into admittance and Angelica becomes flustered with rage and betrayal. She tries to keep her persona but cannot keep her emotions within her, this scene is definitely one in which we see Angelica's true lower status, when she is betrayed and her pride is shot down, she turns to violence and rage, I believe Angelica is a lot like me in which we both react in similar ways, I wanted to use this scene to really express how much of a victim she has been. She gave up work and her own pride, two of the only things she had left to survive on, for a man who had left her shallow the second it suited him. Of course she'd be angry, I would be too.

I wanted to combine my own personal anger in this scene with her, but I know that I couldn't become informal and modern with my movements and that was one of my notes throughout rehearsal, to improve my posture, in this scene especially. Constantly throughout the scene I would note down every part I felt like being heavy on my feet or started leaning too far forward when in the middle of confrontation, using certain words I say in my lines to emphasise and keep up with my movements. After continuous practise after practise of this scene, I became used to expressing my anger as a lady and as Angelica, I knew she wouldn't let her anger get the better of her in movement, just in her words, she's feisty and knows how to strike fear in anyone who dares get in her way just by her clever wit and pride. I knew I had to lead by my chin and chest, always keep an upright back and make sure that when I move I glided like a lioness on a hunt or a hummingbird in flight. I wanted Angelica to have two contrasting animal personalities, she is a lioness but has the gentle luring and beauty of a hummingbird, it's a perfect and conflicting combination. The comparison to two animals that are polar opposites helped and improved my characterisation dramatically, it's always advised you compare a character to an animal to gain a better understanding to how they are, how they would react in certain scenarios and how they would move, since all animals are different and have personal traits about them that are a lot easier to identify as they act on instinct rather than emotion like humans do.

I'm really glad I got to find my animal personality in this scene for Angelica, although a later scene in the play it is better late than never to completely work on posture and gain a complete understanding of how my character would react in a scenario like that, I'm really glad in a way that me and Angelica both are similar despite different eras, this is the first character that I have felt completely involved in emotionally and haven't struggled to pick up on how she would react, she's such a tough character to portray but I fully believe I can give her 100%.

Classical - Restoration "The Rover" Action Plan

Action Plan for "The Rover" by Aphra Behn

Read the Play Again:

Before any development in the play has begun, I need to first re-read the play and make sure I understand the full language and the meaning in the text. I understand that during the rehearsal process we will explore the language and that we have done previously in the Shakespeare unit, but I feel that to gain a real understanding of the language (especially in my scenes) I need to re-read the play and note down every word that I don't understand and make sure I get a thorough explanation of the definition from a reliable source. Also, re-reading the play may highlight any important pieces of characterisation I've missed, this is important because I want my character to be the best she can be, and the Restoration period is known for being a time of huge characterisation, so this is something I have to really work on during rehearsal time.

• Learn the language, pick out words that I don't understand, highlight them in a different colour in my script and write the definition of the word in the "notes" section on the back pages of my script. This will further my understanding of character objectives as well as my own objectives, and will make the language easier to interpret and give me a head start on how I'm going to say my lines and what emotion will drive them to delivery. This will then help other actors in their knowledge on how to react to my character.
• Thoroughly search the script for a mentioning of my character from other characters other than myself, gathering her reputation, past, present and perhaps future. Gather opinions from other characters and scenarios and piece together a solid character study for her. This will help my characterisation and give me a head start on the development on how I'm going to portray Angelica in the play.
• Get familiar with the different characters, their personalities and how they act around other characters, this will give me a good guide on how to portray my character around these other characters, gathering information about everyone's characterisation is important because then I can gather information on their relationship with my character and what they might think about her. This will in turn build a strong connection between each character and my own, giving the cast a stronger feel in rehearsals and we can then explore the emotional depth of each scene.

Background Research:

Background research is a vital part of the rehearsal process especially with a play such as The Rover. Being a play with great historical depth, it would be silly to go into the rehearsal without a good background knowledge of the play, the research is what gives you a base to set your character on, the setting, everything that makes a play. Without research (especially in this unit) it'll be extremely difficult to even pick at the characterisation that made this period so rich and exciting with theatre. It will be important to research about the people and culture around when the play was written, since it was written in 1677 (the late 17th century) I will have to research about other playwrights, the fashion and trend for plays and what the "stock" characters were for that era (if you like). Also, I'll have to look at the various trends in real life such as the clothing (which will relate to costumes) and the way ladies were treated in this period and what power they had over men, as this was a period known for its righteous attitudes to sex, this will benefit the characterisation of Angelica a lot.

• Research about the late 17th century theatre, the fashion in plays, the lifestyle of the exaggerated parody characters, and gain a thorough understanding on the women in the late 17th century. This will help my characterisation and everyone else's if we all put the same effort in, giving us an idea as to why this play was written and how audiences may have reacted to it, and who these characters were loosely based on, as we know some of the plays around this era were used to give digs at Parliament and such.
• I will research various historical and social events and happenings around the time this play was written, including The English Civil War, The Interregnum, Charles the Second, women and their first appearances on the stage and Restoration Playwrights. This will give me a huge understanding of this period and will help me with the characterisation of my character and how I would act around certain characters.

Character Study:

The best way to get the most out of a performance is the development of the character you are playing. I will look into and explore the personality, persona and the attributes of Angelica, since she is classed as "the most beautiful woman in the world" I have to make sure her cockiness and her confidence comes across, but also how she has been deeply hurt by the loss of her first husband. I will piece together a past, present and future for Angelica making sure it is appropriate to the background of her according to different characters in the play, I shall put this together from what she says about her life and what others say about it too, including other people's attitudes towards her and what they think of her personality. I'll explore how other characters act around Angelica as well as looking how she decides to act around others, especially the other women in the play and her new lover, Willmore, who she has fallen for even though she put herself under strict conditions that she will never love again.

• Working out the personality of my character and how I want to portray it will open doors in my characterisation and how I want to act around other characters in the play. This will in turn help other actors in their knowledge of how to react to me (as I've previously mentioned).

Rehearsal Process & Learning Lines:

Rehearsals are something that every play revolves around, without rehearsals there would be no play so it is important that every rehearsal is taken as seriously as possible. I definitely need to be considerate of everyone's time in the rehearsal, making sure that when it is their time to rehearse that I am quiet and paying attention to the scene (especially if my character is in it since I'm double cast) and that when it is my time to rehearse I am listening to the director, writing down notes in my script of everything she says and not talking during the scene to other people if I'm not talking. I need to bare in mind that it is not only my time but also everyone else in the rehearsal as well and I must not be selfish. I must maintain a professional attitude towards every rehearsal, regardless of how much I am needed, making sure that I am respectful of everyone there and I keep a professional and focused head on, these are all parts of being good in rehearsals. To keep everyone happy in the group we need to maintain a common courtesy and make sure that everyone is listening to each other and that there is no selfishness during rehearsals. Also, I need to make sure I am constantly taking into consideration the communication between people in my scenes because this will help us all out by making sure we try everything we want to in rehearsal and that we are all writing down similar notes in our scripts when rehearsing. I must make sure I am on time every day and that I am ready to go with my script and notes ready, also any other important things I need to bring to rehearsal such as props and what not. I must make sure that all of my lines are learnt for videoed run throughs, and that I am confidence on them so I do not let any of the other cast memebers down.

Classical - As You Like It - Development Blog

Development Blog

In 'As You Like It' there are a lot of scenes that need to be developed, adapted and discovered so that the play can be the best it can be. Since me, Dan and Sep have been given the task of tackling Act 3 Scene 3 we needed to sit down and discuss what we wanted with the scene and how we wanted it to take its journey. We originally sat down and started to brain storm what ideas we had and put them into a spider diagram:

Now while these are all great ideas (or so we thought at the time) we couldn't piece them together well enough. We sat down in a three and further discussed our ideas, deciding on what two to narrow it down too. We thought it would be best to way out the pros and cons to gain a real perspective on how well each idea would work and how we could portray them.

• The Joker, Harley Quinn and Batman

When discussing this idea Dan said it would be great for the visuals, especially if we were to set it in a forest, we could decorate the forest and make it look like a trap that Harley Quinn and The Joker set up, and before the initial trap takes place, The Joker could start randomly hitting on Harley Quinn and become distracted with his plans. It would fit the comedy of the play, and it would definitely be contemporary and different because of the use of a different franchise. Also, Batman would play a key part and have a lot of shots in action because he is assessing the situation and making sarcastic and critical notes about what's going on, it would make Jaques a key part to the scene (even though he has little to say) and it would really brighten up the character. All this aside, we came up with one big con as to why this idea can't go forward. A part of our assessment is to show characterisation and development through a Shakespearean character, however portraying another character (such as Harley Quinn) would not be the required fulfilment in our assessment and this would bring our grade down. We'd end up portraying characters that weren't in the play and in turn would make us fail the unit. Although this sort of events out in the party idea, the visuals would be less and we wanted something a little more abstract. Also, the risk still imposes on this idea and obviously not wanting to take the risk, the three of us put this idea to the side and decided to discuss the further ideas. I'm glad we came to the conclusion that this idea would get us nowhere, although we enjoyed the idea it wasn't suited to the unit or to what the grading criteria wanted us to do and it's important that we stick to our main characters. Dan and Sep are also happy to leave this idea behind, and both are glad we discussed it further and came up with this important con.

• The Essex Complex

'The Essex Complex' is an idea that was quickly spun out of stereotypical archetypes for Audrey, Touchstone and Jaques. It was originally the first idea that popped into our heads when discussing them, it's an easy go to idea that really features a satire, a parody on the life of people living in Essex. We originally found it hard to tie Jaques into the idea, which made processing the idea harder and slowed down our progress. We eventually came to the idea that Jaques could be Touchstone's adviser, but secretly jealous of his fortune he makes snide remarks about how he is trying to manipulate a much younger girl and then tries to ruin his plans further. However, what really stumped us was the setting. We wanted it to be in a posh bar somewhere with a lot of men in suits and younger rich kids all mixing together, kind of like the darker night scene, the double life of rich people. However, we couldn't think of anywhere that was cheap (or even within our area) that we could film in. We did come up with the idea of a street but thought that this would be an impractical idea due to the unpredictable weather at the time, bad weather can affect sound and filming equipment as well as the practicality of the acting. If it's too windy and rainy then no one is going to want to stand in that for ages doing lousy shots because the weather is too loud, it wouldn't be practical at all and would halt our progress in the long run. We eventually decided to scrap this idea due to lack of funding and back up plan, although an incredible set up with the use of parody and it fitting into our characters in a contemporary sense, the setting would be too much hassle and all the good work we could have put into this idea has a high potential of going to waste, this isn't something we wanted at all, we wanted something easy with our maximum potential within reach. I'm happy we came to this conclusion, it had a lot of potential in development but I personally think with this idea it can either have too much potential or too little, and with our time and taking in mind other circumstances, I don't think we could pull this idea off as clever as we wanted it to be.

• The Bar

'The Bar' is a more simple idea that doesn't give any present characterisation compared to the other ideas (An Essex Girl, Harley Quinn) this is simply Audrey as a barmaid, Touchstone as an older drunken customer and Jaques a drunk man overlooking the situation. In my opinion, this is a pro, because I can add a lot more depth into the character and I can add quirks of my own that aren't already there ready for me. This gives me a good chance to show off my characterisation, and it gives the boys a good chance too, it's more work but it definitely pays off and it gives us a chance to be more naturalistic, bringing it into the light of the contemporary. When we talked to Sally about this idea, she suggested the setting of 'The Wine Vaults' on Albert Road. I'd never heard of it before, but I went home and had a look at some photos and I thought it was a perfect place to film. It has great visuals and it looks like a proper authentic pub, it's a great setting for a visual contemporary Shakespeare project.

Inside The Wine Vaults, a picture of the bar Audrey
will use to serve customers including Touchstone
and Jaques

Me and the boys were really pleased with the idea and we decided to go ahead with this setting for the bar idea. Weather wouldn't be an issue either because we'd be inside a majority of the day, and also, the natural light would be great for filming. After discussing and comparing all of the ideas, the other two couldn't compare to this one. It was the most practical idea out of all of them and gave us the most potential in terms of characterisation, using a contemporary twist to Shakespeare and using a set that wasn't used before, a new idea and a new setting. All three of us were extremely happy with the idea and we decided to go ahead with this one. We cracked on with rehearsals and decided where everyone should go and what we needed. We thought it would be good if Audrey worked there as a barmaid and wore a revealing top, and that Touchstone were to wander in already half drunk from a previous bar and started hitting on her. Jaques would be slumped on a stool and would have his drunken say as well. We wanted a few extras, so we teamed up with Jen and Rufus's portrayal and decided to have it set in the same bar, so that the two stories would be linked and it would be a kind of "Easter Egg" in a way, a surprise for the audience, or whoever decides to watch it. There wasn't much blocking to rehearse for my character, only characterisation, I decided that I could pinch a little bit of the Essex idea and bring the dumb stereotype into play, it would really suit Audrey's character and we could again bring in the element of satire and parody, but instead of Portsmouth's night life of old rowdy men and revealing women. I learnt my lines and decided

Outside The Wine Vaults: An authentic feel, where Audrey
works and Touchstone thrives.

I'm glad we came to an initial idea and and blocked everything we needed to, although a kind of static scene, we can work with the film crew to overlook this and add shots of Sep as well to make it look professional and like a proper screen rendition of Act 3 Scene 3 from Shakespeare's 'As You Like It'. In conclusion, our idea gives us the freedom explore the full potential in terms of characterisation, filming, set and costume. I'm incredibly happy with our choice and compared to the other ideas, it shines out the most. The other ideas posed problems such as set that was either too expensive or impractical, characterisation lacking and visuals not being up to speed. I know as a group we wanted something creative and visual, but with the hint of simplicity and I can say we have achieved that. I'm glad we were able to cooperate and discuss our ideas and opinions fully, it's something we all wanted and I can't wait to start filming.