I was confident in what i was doing when performing and i think this was mainly down the preparation work we did together as a class; doing a very short run through, just saying your objective in the scene, and then one random line, and noting how much energy you needed. This all helped me realise the absolute power that was needed behind every single line, in order to carry the play.
The objective work, in my opinion, is really the most important part. It is so beneficial because, for example, if you lose a line; just knowing the meaning behind it, and what your character wants in the scene can either help you to remember the line / cue, or alternatively, improvise. I am sure that most scenes in our performance had some improvised lines in. This all draws back in to small, but important exercises, such as the last bit of the morning warm up; 'side stretch', where we work on reaction time, by responding to a shout given by the leader of the warm up. This makes you think on your feet, become aware and quick and active, meaning in the scene, if you or someone drops a line, you can think of a save.
The nerves were obviously building before the show, so we all became quite restless. The breathing exercises in semi supine, helped us to focus and relax, but also to get into character and the world of the play.
I think a really, really positive part of our performance was the set, lighting, music and costume choices. The fifties theme worked very well, and everyone looked smart and serious, which ended up contributing lovely to the dark vibe of the piece. The music at the end, when Hedda shoots herself, was so effective, as it contrasted the obvious vulgarity of Hedda about to pull the trigger of a gun pointed at her head, with quite a nice song, that had a nice melody and a lovely voice singing it. It made in dramatic but eery also. The lighting was really nice in my opinion, it set the mood and gave the feel of one room, as the play is set. It also became very fitting for the fifties theme as it was lit like a fifties dining room might have. The set also strongly contributed and brought together the feel of the one 'fifties' room. It was simple, but had close attention to detail, with books on the shelf that looked old, and old chairs placed with a simplistic wooden desk where the gun was kept.
Even though my one of my two scenes in rehearsal went quite badly, i believe that from an actors point of view, we did well in performance. I remembered to take bolder choices and also ground myself to the floor more, in order to cut out the unnecessary moving around stage. In the last scene, we did miss out a couple of lines but because we could all work off each other well, it wasn't noticeable and the scene seemed to flow. I think i brought energy to the play, but there could always be more. I could always learnt to project more and give larger gestures.
I very much enjoyed the whole rehearsal process of Hedda Gabler and the actual performing. I really liked the play and i think we performed it to a really good level. Things i have noted down, to learn from the show and rehearsal process is to learn lines a lot quicker and generally, take bigger risks on stage.
Music used: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HldwKlB5WHI
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