DAY IN THE LIFE OF ...

As part of our first work related to the play we did a “Day in the Life of” exercise, this is an improvisational, imaginative character exercise to get to grips with the norms of our characters and to be able to explore them in their natural setting. It was really interesting doing the exercise so early on in the rehearsal process as we had only just done a read through of the play so this exercise was dependant on our imaginations and commitment to the character, situation and the exercise and not on researched facts and already made choices. I think that it was a really good idea to do the exercise so early on as it allowed us to make more inspiring and interesting discoveries about our characters as we knew so little about them. It also meant that when we were working we had to make more instinctual and natural choices rather than ones that are dependant on research resulting in a more honest connection between us and the characters.

For me I think that this exercise was a particularly useful one as I feel that as I am playing a character far from myself, a middle-aged, upper-class, man, I could have been tempted to create a grotesque, stereotypical, caricature, however as the exercise was so naturalistic and focused on the everyday I felt that I was able to just be my character rather than having to create a false persona for him. Consequently I was able to make really interesting discoveries about my character and my relationships with other characters and the surroundings which I can transfer into my performance and character development.  

I found that along side my characters status was a grand sense of pride within themselves. This resulted in a lot of time spent on my appearance and care taken how I treat myself, especially comparative to the convicts. I think that the more disgusting and vile the convicts get the more pristine my character feels he needs to counterbalance the dirt. I also feel that it could verge on the side of obsession and the more contact he has with anyone or anything dirty or smelly he has to clean himself to get rid of the germs. At the same time I think that there is a religious element to it as well and that he needs to wash away the sins of the convicts and others to keep a clean soul.

I also discovered that the relationship between Collins, my character, and Philips is a strong one as they are both very high status and within the play they both support the idea of the play to help the convicts and to save Liz. I feel like this support within each other creates a strong, through professional relationship of which there is mutual respect. As a result of the development in this relationship I feel that proximity-wise on stage I would feel better and more secure closer to Philip on stage. Also I feel that my physicality would be more open to him than others and we would have a physical communicate to each other on stage.

Lastly I found out the reality of my status within the camp. During the exercise I found myself taking a stroll around the prisoners and checking that everything was okay however when I did this I realised that because of my status I wouldn’t really be mingling with the convicts and that was more of a guards job and I would me a lot more in the admin, running of the place. I thought that this would really affect how I would act if I had to come across any of the convicts and that I might be a bit awkward in dealing with them as I haven’t had much communication or interaction with them. On top of this I think that my character would be slightly intimidated by the convicts because although socially he is of a higher status, I think their “brutality”, confidence and “sin” would make him feel a bit weaker. 

Initial Reactions To “Our Country’s Good”

After our first reading of “Our Country’s Good” I was intrigued as to the undertone and sub-plot of which the political idea of punishment and retribution is questioned. I found this really quite encouraging as personally I am very interested in politics and how theatre can be used to raise questions to our audiences and this is something that I can explore and develop more as I research my character and the political arguments displayed. I thought that this argument regarding prisons and how convicts are treated and what’s best to do with them is still prominent in our society today and whether death is really the best way to deal with prisoners.

I thought that the development of the characters throughout the play is really strong and really allows the audience to connect with the characters and become invested in their relationships and the situations. I also think that this is really good because it proves the worth of theatre to our audience and it show how it can be used to bring people together and how the arts can be used to benefit people in their lives. I also think that the characters relationships hold the play together. I think that the morals of the characters being questions is a really interesting themes in the play and that those of higher status may actually have worst morals than some of the convicts and how that affects our society. 

The thing that I like the most about the play is the comedy within it. I wasn’t expecting the play to be as funny as it is and I think that the period dress could make people think that it is going to be a serious, dull play. However I really like that the play has a lot of potential to be really funny and to engage with the audience on a humorous level that still conveys a message. I think it also adds more to the characters, which is something that can be worked with and developed in rehearsals.