The Woman In Black

The Rehearsing

People involved: 

• Costume lady
• Meg who does everything
• 2 stage managers who also do everything - Constanza & Beatriz
• 3 actors - Me, Ces and Keith
• 1 director - Grant
• Lighting and sound - Zoe, Meg and a bunch of guys

Thoughts on rehearsal process can be summed up by this quote:

"Until discipline is understood in a theatre, to be willing and reliant, obedience to the manager or captain, no supreme achievement can be accomplished."                - Edward Gordon Craig

Craig says theatre is like a ship, the captain knows what's going on and knows what everyone should be doing, and the crew gets on with their job. The biggest problem rehearsing was the lack of organisation. Time was poorly managed and if I wasn't so stubbornly devoted to theatre I might have not bothered. During production week, we all agreed after that we should have focused LESS on the acting (which should be perfect already) and MORE on tech (aka me and Mariana's entrances and exits). During rehearsals I discovered how painfully slow tech can be, and how important it is to repeat things (gestures, lines, whole scenes) over and over again until they're perfect. People think theatre is an easy option, but it takes a lot of hard work and constant energy. The sound also took a long time to work out, it needed to be at the perfect volume to hear dialogue over it, while the sound effect was still audible. Setting the stage and stage changes in the interval are complex, as is the lighting. I'm just glad I wasn't a stage manager. In terms of marketing, independence and initiative are crucial. The rest of the ship's crew aren't going to leave their own jobs to help you with yours. I learnt how precise and organised stage managers need to be, and how much passion and persistence is needed from actors and directors. I found it interesting, while watching them rehearse, how different companies must interpret the same script. This play could so easily be not scary in the slightest, but Avalon managed to make the audience scream - an impressive feat. 

The Show

The show received praise from the audience, and was generally a success. Although we were panicking slightly in production week the show ran smoothly (except opening night, obviously). I enjoyed playing the Woman in Black, and it reminded me why I love theatre so much, the best feeling is generating a genuine response from your audience, and making a whole room scream without even opening my mouth made the days of tech worthwhile. I love the feeling of working as a company too, I know that's how I want to work later in life: you just can't have a laugh with fellow doctors like you can with actors. 

Some moments of the show I liked:

• Keith jiggling up and down to pretend to be riding a pony and trap - easy comedy
• Spider the Invisible Dog and Keith's narration of her being sucked into the marsh - really image provoking
• The thumping sound - a rising action provides great tension
• Keith's versatile change of character - It is extremely natural, great acting