Notes on Performances of The Rivals
Nice job everyone!
Kristin and Emily
Very good. Staging was excellent. Felt you both moved with purpose. Fans were a bit much.
I loved “never seen him more.” Loved the dramatic crying by Lydia and the nastiness “to a man because he could swim.” Very believable. Emily could project a little more.
Evan and Brandon
Brandon - it worked much better as a climax starting calm and not yelling. Felt there was a bit too much pacing. When you were still it was stronger, especially during the climax. Brandon - never break character when calling line. Stay in character always when on stage. Loved “Beard of a jew.” Open to the audience, we saw your profiles way too much.
Allison and Max
Loved your O’Trigger Max!! I missed some of Allison’s words at the ends of sentences. I really enjoyed this scene. Loved the reading of the note O’Trigger!
Cassie and Fabian
Loved “handsome enough.” Great Malaprop. Fabian - Better if lines were known. If you are reading a letter you can actually read the words, hand write them on the paper, it brings more to a scene and then you aren’t pretending to read in a scene. Stay in character when line is called. Good job!
Will and Amanda
Very nice! Loved Faulkland’s dramatic presence. Both of you don’t have upright posture. Work more to pull upward. Also felt that we were viewing your profiles a lot, especially Julia. Good job!
Ronald & Octavia
Octavia had his arms swinging almost the entire time, just notice those little ticks. Ronald said Linda instead of Lydia. I loved “Puppy I despise you!” Ronald seemed to be pacing a lot. Also Octavia snaps his fingers a lot, almost like a nervous tick. Work on lines more together to get more comfortable with each other and the text.
Toby and Miles
Loved “in the abbey.” You two were very funny. Miles nervousness at the end was comical. Loved “Valor - come and go!” Use stage space better. I felt you were running out of room toward stage left. Good job!
Kelsey and Nicole
ReplyDeleteI felt like there was a great connection with both of you. You both had a understanding of the scene very well. It was over the top and a lot of fun to watch.
Evan and Brandon
There was lots of passion and energy in the scene which was great. I think part of your scene was more on stage right. There was a couple of times where one of you smiled and it brought me out of the scene. Jack looked at the person feeding him lines, try to stay involved in the scene the whole time.
Max and Allison
Max is outfit was on point. The lines were all there and memorized. I felt like there needs to be more of connection between the characters. I loved how dramatic is was.
Cassie and Fabian
There were moments in this scene that were gems and priceless. The way Fabian was nervous speaking to Malaprop was charming to watch. The way Cassie moved like she was high status was perfect. She used her space in the scene very well. Fabian had great heels. I felt like there was great energy in the scene but when the line was called the energy between the characters went down. Great lines such as "Impudence Scoundral" and "Conceded prop"
Ron and Octavio
I liked watching both of you up there. I didn't understand the connection between the characters or why they were talking to each other. Octavio seemed nervous up there when he was performing and that is what I was focused on. I think if you were more confident with lines the nerves would go away.
Will and Amanda
They had a great connection. I like when Amanda grabbed Will's finger I thought that worked in the scene. I would ask Amanda to cheat out a little more and not always be speaking to will. Will moved out to the audience on different lines and that is what broke it up. Overall, great scene and great connection. very good!
Miles and Toby
Great use of props. I love the guns. It was a great touch. I felt like the scene was very conversational and they have been friends for years. It shows that they both enjoy working with each other and some actors just have that bond in a scene. It was really funny. Great reactions from both sides. It was like a tug of war match you could feel that in the end.
Nicole & Kelcee:
ReplyDeleteNicole's non-reaction to Kelcee's entrance was a humorous way to both start the scene and solidify the class difference between the characters. When Nicole truly incorporates movement and voice together ("High Ho"), it's really effective. Even though Kelcee stood taller than Nicole through the entirety of the scene, whose house it was was never questioned. There was really cool class dynamics and power dynamics.
Emily & Kristen:
I liked the separation of the standing small talk in the beginning and the "let's get down to business" moment when they sat down. The fans were used very well, especially for comic effect. Even when they increased their distance from each other, they used that movement to hook the other in their direction, which is cool. Their postures/nonverbal cues during breaks in the line spoke loudly.
Evan & Brandon:
The amount of testosterone, phew! Evan's head snap for "My wife, sir?" was excellently timed. When the characters cross each other, it brought intrigue into the scene and kept my focus on the relationship. Brandon's frustration came through beautifully through his physicality. Evan works as a fantastic physical foil for bombastic Brandon, breeding the comedy of the scene.
Max & Allison:
Max told you everything you need to know about O'Trigger before the dialogue even started. When one spoke, the other reacted physically, meaning they listened to each other. Good focus. I would have liked more dramatic blocking; they could have used more of the stage. But they owned what part of the stage they did use. Character and relationship were crystal clear.
Fabian & Cass:
Both of them seamlessly morphed into new people at the top of the scene. I found it quite intriguing how they changed physically when the confidence of their characters changed. Their lies, as well as the other ridiculous things they say, are said in a way where the audience could pick it up easily, and yet these lines were sincere, so the hilarity increased. The scheming in this scene! You could see excitement in the body and the wheels turning in their heads.
Ron & Octavio:
Octavio kicked the scene off with an authoritative posture. Ron enters, and heightens the braggadocio between the two. Their relationship, cyclical as it was, revealed itself well with the soft slap on the back. Good choice. Overall, I think a lot of repetitive blocking in the scene held it back a bit. One way, would have been to have Octavio move and cross and approach Ron in the scene, so that Ron didn't have to go back and forth around Octavio. I became very interested in the scene, when words like "zounds" and "puppy" were repeated; the were said and realized differently in the body each time. Good relationship and tactic change throughout.
Toby & Miles:
The physical movement of the character matched meticulously well with the movement within the dialogue. Seeing their words realized so well in the body, brought the scene to another level. I was cracking up. The character, relationship and especially the stakes came through strongly with their blocking. Toby and Miles complimented each other so well; it was great. The timidity of Miles and the confidence of Toby came so naturally and realistically that the humor of the scene profited greatly. The scene escalated really well.