Period Scene Reviews

Christae and Sophia

I felt like these guys did a great job. Sophia was so adorable and played the servant role very well. Her posture was definitely influenced by the corset she was wearing but she took her place in society as well. She didn’t over do it which is what Lydia does. Christae had a nice upright posture and seemed very constricted in her corset (nice corset by the way!) She had a tendency to look up a lot which made her “status” seem more real to me. And actually, come to think of it, Sophia was looking down a lot so that fit perfectly as well! I loved how their interactions were minute. They rarely looked at each other in the eye which also sends out a “status” signal. Overall, I felt like they did a great job!

Nicole, Danielle and Jen

I thought Danielle was absolutely fantastic. She played the rigid Lydia very well. She seemed very stiff and constricted in her corset. I think out of the whole class, she did the best in showing how hard it was to “be” back in the 1700’s. I loved her facial expressions as well. She was very entertaining to watch. Nicole seemed a little more relaxed which is ok and I am guessing was a character choice. I loved how she seemed to flow to where ever she was going. Lots of buoyant energy with her. I did notice that she was bending over a lot and didn’t know if that was period. She wasn’t slouching or anything. She would hinge from her hips but was that appropriate for the time? Jen M. did a great job as well playing Lucy. I loved her sarcasm and her impatience with Lydia. I felt that she really showed her “manners” but also kept her status. The way she would interact with Lydia was hilarious. It was nice to see my scene done with all three of the characters and how differently the scene was portrayed.

Zak and Mallory

Zak was absolutely hilarious in this scene. I really think he captured how annoying and uncomfortable it was to wear corsets back then. I loved how he would struggle to get the rose every time Mallory dropped it. I thought his standing posture was really nice and masculine but when he sat down, I saw some of it go away. It wasn’t much but I guess that goes to show how hard it is to be in those damned things. Mallory looks very natural in a corset but that is probably because she has had so much experience with wearing corsets in shows. I liked how she always seemed to walk or sit “taller” because that was probably the idea of what a corset was used for. She also had a pleasant buoyancy to her movement and really knows how to glide across the stage with grace.

Matt and Roberto

Roberto was super fun to watch and it was interesting watching his posture throughout his scene. I felt like maybe his corset wasn’t tight enough or something. I could see the posture most of the time but it looked like he fell out of it a few times also. He really does know how to carry himself in a very gentleman like way. It was very refreshing to see. Matt, on the other hand... JK! Luv u Matty! Matt’s posture was totally different from Roberto’s. Some of that is obviously their different stature but I found it interesting that Roberto would tend to lean down and Matt would lean up in posture, almost backwards. I don’t know if that was a character choice but it really seemed to work given the circumstance in the scene. I think Matt did a great job in keeping his movement very genuine. I really enjoyed their scene. It was hilarious!

Now, for my scene! Which I thought was not nearly as good as everyone else’s, but I really tried to put true effort into it. For example, I just recently lost some weight and my “Irish” corset was not tight enough. I made sure that for the performance that I wore tons of layers so that the corset would be tight enough for me to feel the effects of it and how it affected my movement. Let’s just say that I got really claustrophobic and hot really fast. I can definitely tell the difference in my speaking patterns when I am wearing the dress and corset. It was like I was forced to speak more eloquently. Funny how clothing can affect you that way. I am a person who slouches a lot but I felt I did a fairly good job in trying to maintain good posture during my scene. I am so glad I didn’t live in this time period because I think I would have killed someone. I bet they were typically pissy back then... who wouldn’t in that clothing! I loved working with Taylor. She is so fun to act with. I really felt like she took on her character very well and really exaggerated it probably like they would have back in 1775. It probably helped that she was just in “Major Barbara.” I really would have liked her to wear the corset and put on a dress for the performance though. For me, it creates a transformation and I think she would have been even more awesome if she dressed the part. Other than that, I really enjoyed working with her!

Everyone saw my makeshift fan... I will bring it Saturday again for everyone to see and to turn it in to Jenn.