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.