Dress Rehearsal

We only had time to run until the beginning of Act 3, however with the lighting all sorted, our amazing production crew on the ball and ready to go, the dress rehearsal went incredibly well.
They managed to pick up the pace a fair bit so we weren't over-running as much as we had in previous rehearsals, and my main notes were just small details. Both Abi and I commented that we were now at the point of being really picky with individual movements and tiny changes, rather than large alterations, as all the emotion and meaning was there.
I couldn't have been prouder for the work the actors and production crew have put in this week - it's because of them that we can say we have a show, and it's all come together in a way that I hadn't expected. There have been (so far) no major issues or technical hitches, our actress who may have needed a script has learnt all her lines and has done phenomenally well despite not rehearsing at all last week. All in all, the process has gone very well and I'm proud to say that we have a show.

It's just over an hour until it's curtain up in front of an audience, but I'm not worried. I'm excited and nervous to see it all finally come together, but I know that we've pulled it off, and I'm looking forward to seeing it afresh, without my notebook, so I can enjoy what we've done. According to Jon Whitmore, it is the director's role to "orchestrate and fashion infinitely complex and multifaceted performance experiences"(1) (1994: 206). Whilst Abi and I have been discussing throughout the production process what we would do had we more time, I strongly believe that over the course of three months, eight to ten rehearsals, and no budget, we have managed to produce a play that has meaning, integrity, and creativity. I sincerely hope this comes across to our audience.

(1) Whitmore, J. (1994), Directing Postmodern Theater: Shaping Signification in Performance, University of Michigan Press

Tech Day

So today was tech day - usually a day filled with stress, no food, lots of coffee, and inevitably fallings-out between actors, directors, and technical crew. But today was not like that; amazingly, things seemed to just work as they were meant to, and even the technical hitch or two didn't get in the way of a good day and bright spirits.

I spent the morning in the van with Josh and Freya, driving around Guildford looking for furniture. We were fortunate enough to be given access to an armchair from the Yvonne Arnaud, and sourced the other chair and mattress from Josh's and Freya's homes. Abi had supplied the bed frame, and the studio was being rigged with blacks to create the 2nd wall, and the lights were being tested. There were a couple of crossed and broken extension leads which set us back a little in the schedule, but overall things moved smoothly. The space had the appropriate claustrophobic feel that Abi had wanted, and the set was beginning to look cluttered and lived-in. Seeing everything in its own place definitely made everything that bit more real, but also a lot more tangible as we weren't just working from markings on the floor any more. The space was in front of us, the seating banks were set, so it became clear where the sight-lines were and what needed to be tweaked.

The lighting has been fairly straightforward also, moving from warm 'April' tones, through the various seasons to a slightly colder atmosphere that reflects both the time of year in the play, but also the emotions and tensions onstage. Once everything was rigged and focused, which didn't take as long as I was expecting, the plotting and cues were fairly straightforward. Luckily, Abi and I didn't have any differing opinions about the atmosphere of the lighting, and following a few suggestions from Dave, our acting Stage Manager for the day, we were able to create a full plot within a couple of hours.

I was only able to stay for half of the tech rehearsal due to meetings (a frustration I've been finding throughout the process - clashes of timetabling definitely isn't ideal), but the actors did seem comfortable in the space even just for a cue-to-cue run. Of course, energy was lacking, as was volume, however for a first attempt in the space it was a fair enough run. Tomorrow we've got an early start with a dress rehearsal at 9am to allow the actors to give it one last go over, then we're up at 2pm. I'm again confident that they'll manage well - I only hope my influence as a director has been a good one and they enjoy themselves as much as I hope the audience will.

Lit set, ready for actors!

Run Through #3

Today's run through was the best yet. The energy levels were incredible, and the intimate scenes between Alison and Jimmy were just phenomenal - the notes in my book just read 'WOW!!'. That's a very satisfying feeling as a director when everything clicks in to place.
There are still some issues around pacing - we only managed to cover Acts 1 and 2, both of which ran at just under and hour. But considering everyone was 90% off book, and they'd all remembered the majority of the blocking whilst holding focus, I'm not hugely worried. We've more run throughs next week before and after tech day, so I've no doubts it'll pull back through.

Something we're having to consider even more keenly however is the blocking - certain scenes look great from one angle, but then we have to remember and be aware of the audience on the other side. Whilst not being quite so extreme as working in-the-round, having a reversed traverse stage does have its own limitations, which we're working on throughout the process.

However, the emotional engagement of all the actors was amazing today, and made me really proud of the work we've done over the last few months. It made the dramatic moments even more so, and the contrasts particularly with Jimmy's character more poignant. I'm looking forward to next week, and it'll be great to see it all pull together.

Run Through #2 & Speedbump #3

Yesterday's run through was amazing. Such good commitment and engagement with the actors following a short character warm up that Abi led. I really get the impression that they're connecting more fully with their characters and getting a greater understanding into their onstage worlds. They managed to get through Act 2 to the end in just under 2 hours, which is a vastly improved pace from Monday's rehearsal. Although this still needs tightening, I now feel like they've gathered momentum and, depending on whether or not lines are learnt (which they should) Friday's full run through should go perfectly.

Found myself doing some more hands-on directing too, mainly with the boys' fight-scenes. It felt good to get involved with the actors and demonstrate to them directly how things can be done, as showing something physically often works better than just explaining. Similarly, the very last scene of the play is incredibly emotional and sees the character of Alison collapse during a monologue - our actress was struggling to get this movement looking natural, so between Abi and I we were able to both demonstrate to her how we wanted her to move, but also do some workshopping of movement with Abi pulling her back by her stomach whilst she spoke to create a sensation of falling that can be remembered.

At this stage, I've also asked the actress to revisit that monologue in terms of the words she is saying. Whilst she's memorised them and I know felt the gravity of their meaning at the beginning, we've reached that stage where it has become familiar. In this section, Alison is talking about her miscarriage - this is a devastating event in her life that would definitely  make or break a person, and the sense of failure, guilt, and trauma really needs to come through in order for it to have the impact Osborne intended. Taking a piece like that too lightly could be incredibly offensive, and so it felt right to encourage the actress to go back and look over the words she is saying, and really try and connect with that sense of loss and hopelessness.

With just a week to go until the show comes up, I'm starting to feel nervous again. Some more speedbumps have occurred regarding dress rehearsal clashes with lectures, and with limited time over the bank holiday weekend, it's a bit of a squeeze to rectify the situation. It may be a case of having a dress rehearsal straight after the plot/tech, which will put a bit of pressure on our lighting crew, but is doable. At the end of the day, we have a show, we have actors who have been incredibly committed, we've managed to get a production crew of willing friends, and it'll all be alright on the night!

The final leg - Run Through #1

Today was supposed to be our first day of running through the whole play; however, that is not how it turned out. We knew that one of our actresses wouldn't be attending, and that's a fair enough thing that we expected. What I didn't expect was for it to take an hour and a half to run through the first scene. That's as long as it took the first time we read through. Whilst I understand that it's been around 8 weeks since we covered it, I had (naively?) anticipated the actors to be pretty keen on their lines, so only need prompting on the blocking.

I was unsure of how to respond to this. With the show going up in 10 days, is it unreasonable for me as a director to expect scripts to be far, far away from the stage now? And for the actors to have taken it upon themselves to move where they feel natural, as I've been recommending now over the last week? I found myself disappointed by the run, and uncertain as to what to do next.

Tomorrow, we have another rehearsal booked - three hours, as opposed to what turned into one and a half today due to room booking clashes - and I would like to think that we'll be able to make considerable improvements to the run, with Abi standing in for the absentee. My plan is for Friday's rehearsal to be a proper run-through, with as many props and costumes as we have our hands on, so we've at least gone through it before the official tech and dress next week.

Perhaps it is because I am still getting used to this 'directors' role, but maybe tomorrow I will be a little firmer with expectations should things feel, in my opinion, sub-par again. Whilst I'm not worried about the final performance, I would prefer a bit more productivity in the run-through, and use it as a way of polishing the piece, rather than repeating rehearsals from two months ago.

Speedbump #2

Amazingly, this is only the 2nd issue that I've come across throughout this process - that is incredibly surprising, and not something I'm taking for granted. We've been very lucky with amazing cast and lots of good support.

Last night, one of our actresses got in touch saying she's unexpectedly had to return home for a series of hospital visits this coming week - we'd recently scheduled in two extra rehearsals to make sure everything's polished for the show in 10 days. This of course raises the issue of whether or not she'll be in a position to have memorised her lines and blocking, and the effect this may have on the production as a whole.

However, very quickly I'd decided that we would do whatever we could to accommodate her - whether that be allowing her to have a script in hand for the performance, find someone new, or just support her in her line-learning in a rather more intensive timeframe. At the end of the day, her health is paramount. If this were a professional production, it may call for a very speedy casting of an understudy; however, as a one-night-only assessment, I personally felt it unfair to put added pressure on her at this time. For me, I know that the rest of the cast will help work around it, and that this actress in particular is doing her best to minimise disruption. I can ask for no more as a director, particularly this late in the process.

I would never wish to be a director who my actors are intimidated of - this isn't a good working ethic, and I'd much rather be approachable and face problems head on than have to deal with unhappy people making rash decisions even further down the line. As such, I'm confident that not only will the actress do her utmost to maintain her commitment, but also that whatever the outcome, I'll have continued to learn along the way and how best to handle such situations.

Rehearsal #5 - pages 78-103 (to end)

So yesterday we finished the text - 25 pages, going through some of the most emotional scenes throughout the whole play. I was slightly concerned that after a 4 week break, it'd take some time to get into the flow of the story again, but I needn't have worried. The cast are very close to being off-book, which is impressive as it's a very wordy play, with complicated cues and lines. As always, they remembered the blocking almost instantly, and worked their way through the trickiest sections with confidence and relative ease.

Dr. Matt Wagner, my supervisor for the project, sat in on the rehearsal, and it was good to get an outsider's perspective for the first time. I realised as we walked into the room that no-one outside of the production had seen even a small portion of the play, so it felt good to be able to get some feedback. As I've eased into the role of the director now, it was less nerve-wracking as I knew what I was doing in the space and how I was able to communicate with the actors. One comment that was given was to be sure not to 'micro-direct' - this is something I've been attempting for the last few rehearsals anyway, giving the actors the freedom to see where their character takes them, rather than dictating movement. This allows a more natural flow on stage, and means that every action has a purpose and a drive, rather than just static movement.

We've now reached the point where it's all about runs, and so from next week it'll be scripts down, running the play as smoothly and frequently as possible. It'll be a chance for the actors to get the feel of the riding emotion throughout the chronology of the story, as well as allowing Abi and I to fine tune blocking now that we have measurements confirmed for our space. I'm keen to let the actors continue to move fairly freely with the work, having learnt the blocking quickly and getting a greater understanding of the words. However, I am definitely not afraid of pushing them further when it is necessary - I want this to not only be a good learning process for me in terms of the module, but also an incredible performance filled with meaning and emotion for the audience to get stuck into.

 Actors playing Boal's 'Wooden Swords of Paris' game, exploring body awareness and anticipation between one another.

Character Dinner

So tonight we embarked on a bit of an experiment. We booked a room on campus, bought some cold pasta dishes, a quiche, some salad, bread and butter, and a trifle. And asked our actors to come along and have a dinner party in their characters. I wasn't quite sure what to expect, but I thought it'd be a good way for everyone to get their heads back into the game after a 4 week break. I was looking for character dynamics, improvised interaction, instinctive responses, and generally anything of interest that may benefit or enhance the play.

The dynamics that came out of just a 25 minute exercise (such a thing like this must go for as long as is natural, and cannot be forced) were more than I'd anticipated, and were both very entertaining and telling.

The tension that arose when Jimmy stepped into the room was tangible, and the light-hearted chatter between Helena and Alison took on a bit of an edge. Jimmy stated "didn't we have salad yesterday?", unexpectedly highlighting the theme of mundane repetition that Abi had decided was a key element to really enhance in the production. Throughout the entire meal, Jimmy was provoking, baiting Helena into argument, and doing his best to belittle Alison. Poor Cliff (who, as one would expect, had the most food on his plate) continually attempted to keep the peace with little comments on the meal, complimenting Alison and hoping Jimmy would calm down.

As an overall experience, it was very informative for me as a director to see how much the actors had picked up on the characters from the text, and how comfortable they were to respond when moved away from the set script. This confirmed their characterisation and the work they've done thus far, and has put us in good stead for the final few rehearsals. I'm really happy with the way they have developed and their interpretations of the characters matches what I'd wanted to get from them almost exactly, which is why they've required fairly little emotional directing up until this point. I look forward to the next fortnight with the rest of the play coming together, and I think tonight's exercise will have strengthened their onstage relationships.

The final leg - Preparation

So it's curtain up in 2 weeks' time. That is a terrifying thought - we've three scheduled rehearsals left, though I've no doubt we'll put in some more hours in between. I can't believe I'm here already, having stepped into this role with no idea of who I was or what I was doing as a director. Now, I've got 2/3 of a completed play, and a much greater understanding of how I work in these situations.

Tonight, we've got a bit of a challenge. We are hosting a character dinner party. The room has been hired, we're in discussion about the food, but ultimately it'll be 2 hours of improvisation for the actors, and observation for myself and Abi. It'll be a good way to not only shake away the cobwebs of the Easter break, but also solidify the character relationships and idiosyncrasies that I saw developing throughout the workshops Abi had been taking. It'll also be a chance for me to get my head back in and pick up on the little subtleties that will make this play more than just a show, but a performance and insight into the human psyche.

Doing improvised scenarios like this provides both a safe environment for actors to experiment and see what comes naturally, and an opportunity for the directors to take in the atmosphere of a play without being tied down to the text. I'm intrigued to see what happens and what I learn from it.

Myself and other Directors

From the start of this process, I was concerned with the way in which I would be as a director. I felt that I didn't have the same approach as Abi - I wasn't hands on, couldn't think up clever, engaging warm-up workshops, and preferred to sit back and let the play unfold instinctively before making adjustments according to my own vision. Anne Bogart said something similar in her book A Director Prepares, in which she stated "I listen until there is movement and then I begin to swim"1 (2004: 2), referencing the way in which sharks will sit quietly at the bottom of the seabed until they sense vibrations of their prey. Rather than frantically searching for actors' motivations or actions, I wait until they move of their own accord and then make alterations as I see fit. It encourages me that other directors have a similar way of working.

I'm continuing to learn now that it is important, particularly in a co-directorship, for these differences in the way we approach the rehearsal room. This means that Abi and I are seldom at odds with one another, but rather compliment each other's work and attitudes, presenting different opinions and producing different results that merge towards the common goal of the play. Whereas I find it hard to develop workshops that access a particular part or theme of the play, I find it far easier to envisage the piece as an entire text, a whole period in time that develops and moves naturally in a linear fashion. This is mentioned by Katie Mitchell, who suggests that "Learning to hold the whole picture of what the audience will see in your head as you read the text is critical."2 (2008: 4) - and this is, luckily, what I find easiest. Whilst reading the play felt difficult, I was able to generate a 'film-like' version of it that I can now relate to my actors on stage, knowing full well how they are going to move from one scene to the next, and how their emotions and attitudes build in the context of several months.

Throughout the decades, directors have had different ideas about the best way to present a text, and these differences have sparked numerous debates. Some of these debates have been discussed in the book Re:Direction: A Theoretical and Practical Guide, edited by Rebecca Schneider and Gabrielle H Cody; as Cody writes in her introduction to Part III, 'Theatres of community and transculturalism', "While realistic Directors like Lee Strasberg would still privilege an 'angle of viewing', directors such as Artaud would strive for a profoundly communal experience."3 (2002: 217). This indicates that even the best directors throughout history have expressed unique and individual styles of directing which is evident in their plays themselves. Therefore, my own style coupled with Abi's ability to workshop and stimulate the actors should, in theory, produce a play that is both heavily grounded in textual analysis and understanding, and born from actor experimentation and evolution. Whilst my style relates to "the processes of reading and interpretation which determine meaning"4 (Rabkin, G. 2002: 329) in the text, Abi works best through physicality and improvisation; this combination of attributes allows for a full and complex production that is intellectual and instinctive.

Whilst previously I'd been nervous in the rehearsal room, unsure of my role as director and whether or not I was doing the 'right' thing, I now am confident in my position as the observer-director. I am free to interject the actors whenever I feel necessary, whilst also taking notes throughout Abi's workshops which give insight into the characters' subconscious actions and influence my scene work. It is encouraging to read about directors in the past who have had alternate ways of working, and how not one can be considered better than another. By establishing myself and what I am comfortable doing in terms of direction, I can move into this final chapter of the rehearsal process knowing that the way we've been working this far has been successful.



(1) Bogart, A. (2004), A Director Prepares: Seven Essays on Art and Theatre, Routledge
(2) Mitchell, K. (2008), The Director's Craft: A Handbook for the Theatre, Routledge
(3) Cody, G. (2002), 'Introduction to Part III', in Cody, G. and Schneider, R. (eds) Re:Direction: A Theoretical and Practical Guide, Routledge
(4) Rabkin, G. (2002), 'Is there a text on this stage? Theatre, authorship, interpretation', in Cody, G. and Schneider, R. (eds) Re:Direction: A Theoretical and Practical Guide, Routledge

Rehearsal #4 - pages 50-77

Yesterday's rehearsal was another great success, covering a large chunk of the play so Acts one and two are now complete. This middle section of the text is incredibly emotionally intense, as it is the buildup to Alison leaving Jimmy - there's a lot involved including arguments, emotional breakdowns, and the increasing tension throughout the scenes. However, as always the actors handled the text remarkably well and required very little in the way of emotional directing - this meant that for the majority of the day I was merely directing their movement and blocking to fit in with our traverse staging.

The very end of Act Two sees the confrontation between Jimmy and Helena reach a head, climaxing in her slapping Jimmy, and the couple falling onto the bed in an embrace. Up until this point we've skipped over a lot of the kissing scenes just as we were first getting into it. However, both Abi and I felt it very important to get the ending of this scene right as it will be followed by a second interval. Needless to say, it was a rather giggly experience - from a professional level, the actors handled it all incredibly well and after a few attempts at the slap we were able to choreograph the movement to make it both believable and practical in terms of staging. It was, as could be expected, an awkward scene to direct as they are two of my friends and coursemates, and making them embrace on stage does feel rather unnatural and odd. But in the end it was a successful scene, and as it's been done properly once, it'll undoubtedly be easier each time we re-run the scene.

Overall, I was really happy with the rehearsal and felt we've managed to get through a large proportion of the text before we break for four weeks for Easter. Similarly, I'm learning that I am a different kind of director to Abi - she is very good at the physical workshops and getting everyone warmed up and into character. I find myself wholly drawn to the text and interested in directing the emotion of my actors once their onstage. This realisation has helped me relax more into the role and feel able to take charge of certain aspects whilst not feeling like I'm missing out on others. Therefore the method of co-directing is working incredibly well, each of us complimenting and working with each other.

This version of 'Girls Just Wanna Have Fun' by Greg Laswell will be played at the end of the play. During another music/character workshop, both Alison and Helena were greatly affected by the song.

Past productions

The premiere of Look Back in Anger was on the 8th May 1956 at the Royal Court Theatre in London by the English Stage Company.  Directed by Tony Richardson, there are infamous rumours of audiences gasping at the site of an ironing board on stage, yet it was still described as "the best young play of its decade"(1) by Kenneth Tyan in the Observer.
 The original cast was as follows:

Alan Bates	Cliff Lewis
Helena Hughes	Helena Charles
Kenneth Haigh	Jimmy Porter
John Welsh	Colonel Redfern
Mary Ure	Alison Porter

It then transferred to America on the 1st October, 1957, at the Lyceum Theatre in New York, and ran for 5 months. It moved to the John Golden Theatre in March 1958 where it played for a further 6 months. It racked up a total of 407 performances, and was nominated for three Tony Awards in 1958: Best Play, Best Actress (Mary Ure), and Best Costume (Motley).

Over the last 50 years, there have been many revivals of the play, being received by many audience demographics and ages, and producing different effects. 2005 saw a touring production based from the Royal Lyceum Theatre in Edinburgh, with David Tennant as Jimmy. Rather than finding it to be an 'old generation' play, Thelma Good saw that "Jimmy Porter's angst echoes uncomfortably in our modern souls"(2); this is something I hope to get across in the production too. The way in which something seemingly so long-past can reflect on our current lives is a powerful thing in the theatre.

The 2009 production at the Northern Stage theatre in Newcastle was seen by Alfred Hickling to be a difficult one to watch - LBiA relies fairly heavily on the context of the generation in which it was written. The angry youth, misogynistic Jimmy, and lost lives aren't quite translatable to a modern audience, Hickling decided(3). The reception of such a play is therefore difficult to gauge as some audience members will reflect upon their own lives in the mid-1950s, whilst others see it as a 'good story' of the lost generations.

In their 2011/2012 season, the Roundabout Theatre Company in New York put on LBiA directed by Sam Gold. It received mixed reviews, a New York audience struggling with the "ultra-British"(4) nature of the play, however people were still encouraged to go and see if for themselves, experiencing the ever-present anger still rife on stage.

I want to stay true to Osbourne's text in reflecting the desperation and depression of his characters, whilst not tying it to the 1950s. Therefore, the play will be in an almost 'timeless' setting, influenced slightly by the 1980s and the form of social anxiety during the miner's strikes, but remaining ambiguous enough for any and all spectators to be able to relate to it.




(1) Tyan, K. (1956) on Royal Court Theatre archive, available at: http://www.royalcourttheatre.com/whats-on/look-back-in-anger/?tab=4
(2) Good, T. (2005) 'Look Back in Anger', Edinburgh Guide, 15 January, Theatre: Reviews, [online] Available at: http://www.edinburghguide.com/aande/theatre/reviews_05/l/look_back_in_anger_rtl.shtml, [accessed: 19 March 2013]
(3) Hickling, A. (2009) 'Look Back in Anger', The Guardian, 12 March, Stage: John Osbourne, [online] Available at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2009/mar/12/look-back-in-anger-review, [accessed: 19 March 2013]
(4) Teachout, T. (2012) 'Still Angry After All These Years', The Wall Street Journal, 3 February, Theater, [online] Available at: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204652904577191591501380790.html, [accessed: 19 March 2013]

Rehearsal #3 - Pages 33-50

Yet another very good rehearsal - having willing and talented actors does definitely help the process. I am however once again feeling rather overwhelmed. Coming into the hall I felt terribly inadequate, and though the run went perfectly, the blocking looked great, and the emotions were strong, I still couldn't shake a feeling of doubt. This is an aspect of directing I had not expected to come across.
Following the rehearsal, Abi led a character workshop. Getting the actors to lie on the floor, close their eyes, and imagine the characters taking over, whilst summoning various emotions and memories is a classic technique for characterisation. After this, Abi played various pieces of music and asked the actors to respond physically in character - this was a very insightful exercise for me to watch as it started to uncover layers of emotion that really help to build the play. But I wasn't sure I'd be able to run such a workshop - the ideas appeared so obvious once they had been said, but I had little creativity to make them up myself. This is something I am definitely going to work on.
It's no use if the director feels uncertain or self-conscious - they must lead the actors and help draw the play. So next week, I'm going to go into the rehearsal room with confidence that it is developing as I had hoped (which it is), and shake off this feeling of doubt.

Music character work

I am considering extending the project to include a dramaturgical study of Look Back in Anger, exploring past productions of the text and the reception they received. This will be confirmed following a meeting with my supervisor, but I will start looking into past shows over the Easter break.

Rehearsal #2 - Act One

I was very nervous for this rehearsal - it was my first experience of being a director. Me, in charge of actors, telling them what to do in order to get across a playwrights' words and intentions. Intimidating to say the least - my major obstacle I'm facing throughout this process is self-doubt. I don't see myself as authoratitive, have never thought myself as a theatrical creative, so suddenly wondered why on earth I'd decided to take control of an entire play.

The start of the rehearsal was rather shakey - one actor was half an hour late, and I wasn't sure how to begin the session. With only three characters involved in Act One, I couldn't think of a suitable workshop or warmup to do, nor did I have the confidence to take charge straight away. We spent the first half hour (whilst waiting for the other actor) looking through Abi's set designs and getting a bit of a feel for how the stage will be laid out. This did help me ease into the session, and I know that next week I'll be able to walk in with more confidence and awareness of what I'm doing. This is something I definitely need to work on - the reassurance of myself in the role of director, and an awareness of my ability.

The rehearsal went as well as I could have hoped. I'd planned to cover the first 33 pages - quite an ambitious feat, ending just a few pages shy of curtain down. Yet as soon as the actors stepped onto our minimally laid out space, I knew exactly where I wanted them and what I wanted them to do. Once they were in front of me, the script came alive and I could see it as the final production already. Straight away, I felt more able to direct them - I had no hesitations about stopping them mid-sentence and rearranging them, moving their heads, altering the emotions. And, what impressed me most, was that they responded and dutifully continued according to my direction. I know that is what an actor is supposed to do, but when presented with coursemates I'd had some reservations again about my authority. I needn't have worried as they're all working as professionals, and were able to take on board my directions without question.

We got through all 33 pages, and were even able to do a dry-run at the end of the session. Seeing my ideas combined with the beginnings of Abi's set was very encouraging; it worked, it flowed, and it had the emotional intensity that the script requires. The speedbump of my own doubt is almost cleared, and next week is set to be promising too.

Why direct LBiA?

I'd never read the play before the summer, when Abi expressed her love for it as a text. I dutifully bought myself a copy, and read it in almost one train ride to London. I thought it was fantastic - the wealth of words, the action, and simplicity of living, the reality of people. This was a play about life, without being cheesy. It was gritty, set at a difficult time, but easily transferable to current day. And it appeared straightforward - extensive stage directions mean the scene is set in your  minds-eye whether or not you see it translated on stage.

Director Richard Baron spoke of this in an interview with Alison Reeves, Educational Officer of the Royal Lyceum Theatre in 2005. Baron stated that "It’s a three act piece with good curtain lines and full of pregnant moments. It will be about relishing the theatricality of it as well as the exuberance of it"1, expressing the way in which the play is theatrical within itself, not requiring much additional direction.

This theatricality comes out in the way in which the production "replac[es] stage-sets of Belgravia mansions with a drab Midlands flat, and smart upper-class remarks with the angry anti-establishment rants of its hero, Jimmy Porter."2  (Lawson 2006). By harnessing the historical importance of the play's creation, regardless of the current age or manner in which it is being produced, a director can remind the audience of the importance of Jimmy's words, the anger and frustration within him, and the lack of compassion from society at large.

The importance of the setting of LBiA is being taken up by Abi for her project - focusing on her response to the space, and the way in which she is interpreting it. Through her research into the origins of the word 'anger', she found that it derived from the Norse word for 'narrow', and thus began creating a narrow stage set. Katie Mitchell wrote that "Building a complete picture of the place or places in which the action of the play occurs helps the actor enter and believe in the world in which their character exists."3 (2008, p.20), and in our case also allows the actors to feel physically a sense of confinement and frustration within close proximity to one another.

There is a lot involved in directing a play, especially one as complex and psychological as Look Back in Anger. However, Abi and I work well together - she being the very creative one, myself being more academic in my approach - and so compliment one another. I know that in a few weeks' time I will lead a workshop and she will take notes, so we make sure we're trying out each other's strengths and building on our weaknesses. It's going to be a good learning experience, and hopefully a successful production.






(1) Lyceum Education Department (2005) Look Back in Anger: Resource Pack, Edinburgh: Royal Lyceum Theatre Company [Available at: http://site.iugaza.edu.ps/ahallaq/files/2011/03/Look-Back-in-Anger-Resource-Pack.pdf]

(2) Lawson, M. (2006) 'Fifty Years of Anger', The Guardian, 31 March, [online] Available at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2006/mar/31/theatre2 (accessed: 4 March 2013)

(3) Mitchell, K. (2008) The Director's Craft: A Handbook for the Theatre, Routledge

Jimmy's emotions

This clip from the 1989 television version sees Kenneth Brannagh as Jimmy, in probably his most vulnerable speech. Whilst in my production I'm looking for a colder, darker, more angry response, you cannot fault Brannagh's depths of emotions that grow throughout the monologue. It is important in this scene to see Jimmy once again as that vulnerable little boy. However, I feel it becomes more powerful if he is almost unable to fully express his emotions, and rather maintains that bitter, twisted nature that his past has created in him.

Rehearsal Schedule

Currently looking very neat and organised - I've no doubt that soon there will be scribbles and changes to it. But for now, I can see the process mapped out, and it looks good.

Rehearsal #1 - Readthrough

I was really nervous about the first rehearsal. Abi had asked me how I wanted to structure it, and I had no idea - so we decided she'd run a short warmup workshop with them (being the more creative out of the two of us), and then we'd go straight into a dry read through of the play, with me taking notes along the way. This turned out to be ideally as to my great annoyance, a meeting I was in overran making me 10minutes late - not a good start for one of the directors.
However, when I arrived they were just about to start reading, so it was an ideal time for me to become engaged. It couldn't have gone any better. Hearing our chosen actors read out the words reaffirmed our casting decisions (which I'd been nervous about too), and put me right at ease. My copy of the script is completely covered in annotations and post-it notes, and already from just one rehearsal I'm starting to see it in my head.
We're working in a slightly different way to other directors - as Abi's focusing her study on space, she's the one who is largely deciding the size and shape of the stage, and the way in which the space is dressed. My interest is in the actors, and the way in which the characters are portrayed. This works very well, harnessing our strengths and complimenting one another's work without getting in each other's way.
So, one read through down, now it's time to start planning the rest of the rehearsals. With the Easter holidays taken into consideration, there are 6 rehearsals scheduled, equalling 18hours - for a one-night show, I'm fairly confident that this will be enough time. We shall see further down the line, but for now, I'm learning, growing, and gaining confidence.

Moving forward

We have a cast list! Four auditions were held, we saw eight people, and had five characters to cast.
It wasn't easy - having two co-directors can be tricky if you have different ideas. For Abi and I, it was the opposite. We'd not fully discussed the atmosphere that we wanted yet, and so each had a different gut feeling during the auditions.
The character of Jimmy was particularly difficult, as the play rests on him and his attitudes throughout the story. One auditionee was cold, calculating, and inherently bitter. The other had a lot of physical presence, a playful yet cruel approach, and was very outwardly angry. They'd produce very different atmospheres on stage, one being a lot darker than the other. At times like this, there is always the risk of disagreements and problems surrounding creative differences. Luckily, Abi and I work very differently but in a wholly complimentary way, and thus following a (45minute) discussion, we were able to come to an agreement. It was about which actor could provide the most accurate depiction of our Jimmy, closely looking at character descriptions, and the reactions of the other characters on stage.
Eventually, we managed to get through all my notes (of which I had made any, Abi preferring to just watch and absorb), and we have a cast. Five very strong actors, and those who didn't get a place have asked to join our production team which has gone from one to four in a matter of hours.
This has also made the entire process far more real. It's bizarre to think that on Tuesday we're having our first readthrough, and all of a sudden I'm directing a play. Not just an extract - the full play, set to take just over an hour, to be performed in just under three months.
Bring it on.

I Love You//I Hate You - audition game

The I Love You//I Hate You game aims to focus actors on their energy and the way in which they express different intensities of emotion. Standing 10 paces apart, they either evoke love or hate. Starting at 0-1 energy, with each step the line "I love/hate you" gets more intense, until they're face to face with their partner at level 10. The important thing I found was that at level 10, love and hate look almost the same. It is a physical, gut response that can be incredibly aggressive.

In the foreground, Luke (Colonel Redfern) and Abi (director) almost have the same physical reaction - Abi moves towards Luke, and Luke moves away from Abi, but they both throw their arms up and their faces become distorted with shouting.

1962 image

 

1962, Tower Theatre, Canonbury

The black and white photograph highlights the sentiment in the play – dull, dark, and shadowed. Not revealing what’s happening in the background.