by Blake-Paul Francis
The Rimers of Eldritch – Lanford Wilson
Directed by: Jess Millward
Initial Response to the Play
Before I was casted, I read the play 3 times with no prior knowledge or research of the play, this allowed me to create unbiased opinions to the characters and storyline.
Wilson in my eyes is intelligent when it comes to his writing style, by this I mean that no matter how many times you read it, you will discover something new. The play is constructed of many times jumps within a period of time that is within the play. I first discovered that the title is a large clue into how it is written, in which a ‘rimer’ is a versifier or poet, this allowed me to determine that the play is written in a very poetic structure. My initial impressions were slim, and I was left confused after my first read of the play due to its order of scenes. However, I was able to gather enough information to establish that the play is set out as a murder mystery in which you discover that each townsperson has blame upon them regarding the murder of Skelly. I found that this isn’t just a play but a warning of injustice and corruption to any reader and it can be reflected to modern day situations. It outlines the phrase ‘never judge a book by its cover’ and the consequences of ignoring this message.
Casting
For our casting process, we were provided certain pages from the play in which we used as our audition material, from these I had the option as auditioning as two different characters. I really wanted to stray away from what I usually tend to go for when it comes to being casted, therefore I chose to audition as the Character as Robert. I was really pleased that Jess set out our auditions as she would within the industry as I believe it gave me preparation for when I leave Leeds Conservatoire.
I was happy being casted as the character of Walter however I do feel that I knew beforehand that I would be casted as this character due to me fitting into the type-cast. However, I was excited to explore Walter and I got to discover his importance of being classed an an ‘outsider’ character and also being separated to the actual storyline therefore finding ways to tell my own story. My biggest struggle with Walter was establishing his journey throughout the play, it seemed at first, he didn’t have an emotional arch or change unlike the other characters of the play and showing the change within him was my biggest challenge, the thing that helped me conquer this was using the Unbroken line of action (a Stanislavski acting technique) by fabricating Walters’s life through the given circumstances within the play. This allowed me to realise that Walter wore a ‘mask’ that began to subtly slip off towards the end of the play and therefore I began to experiment with hidden personality traits.
Research and Analysis
Understanding the text
During the first couple of weeks of rehearsal we integrated table reads and analysis on top of our physical rehearsals, something we did during this process was uniting the script, in which during this we extracted all the facts within the play. This really helped me establish a deeper understanding within the play as we were also able to rearrange the scenes in chronological order. A discovery I made with Walter in this time was his constant use of seduction to get himself out of argument and bad situations. This really helped when it came to the individual calls because I was able to offer new things within the scenes I played with Cora. (See 1a)
Research
I began my research by looking at the Social, Historical and Political context of the play and the playwrights, this gave me insight into a selection of things such as: The recurring themes and messages within Wilson’s plays which really cemented the purpose of the play as a warning. When researching the play itself I discovered the recurring themes of toxic masculinity and gender roles, this was quite useful when playing Walter as I was able to use his gender status to take control of the scene and other characters. One of the most important things I took from my research for Walter was his purpose within Eldritch. I concluded that Walter represented social unrest and a ripple within the water as he had entered this isolated town and caused havoc with his actions. (See 1b) In addition to this as a company we offered references to other films, plays and tv shows. I focused on the character of Luke in Gilmore girls which gave me a foundation for Walter in which I could build on. (See 1c)
Alongside this I spent a lot of time researching hair and costume for my character (see 1d). During this I realised I had to factor in that my clothes and hairstyle had to have slight difference to the other characters due to the fact that Walter is an outsider to the town.
1a.
1b.
1c.
1d.
Character Process
I began my process by highlighting what other characters in the play say about me and also what I say about myself, this gave me an understanding on how he was perceived by the playwright and other characters and additionally how their opinions would affect the way I played Walter.
One of the exercises I used to help with my process was Stanislavski’s technique physical actions, I have discovered within my process that I further develop my character when I complete mundane actions in character. For this exercise I focused on cleaning and how Walter would do it differently. This is due to him being in a workplace setting within the majority of his scenes. I experimented with this technique within rehearsals, incorporating smoking cigarettes (fake), adjusting and adding to costume (Apron) and using a cleaning cloth therefore to give my character physical actions that I could adapt depending on Walters emotions.
An exercise that my director Jess brought to the rehearsal room was the idea of writing down 50 adjectives (See 2a) about my character and then highlighting ones that I believe describe me and also the ones that are nothing like me. This allowed me to realise what personality traits of Walter that I would need to project more, especially the adjectives that didn’t describe my own personality.
I also found that using the Uta Hagan exercise of ‘Place’ in which I established the things that surrounded me within the scene and placed them throughout the set. When experimenting with this I found that it made me enhance my inner thoughts on how the environment around me affected my actions and feelings.
In further development I adopted the process of transitive verbs within my script (see 2b) this was pivotal in my experimentation because it allowed me to change the meaning and delivery of a line by just physicalising it with a verb.
Finally I was asked by my director to find an animal in which I felt like my character represented (See 2a) this wasn’t something I had used before but I found that it really shaped the way I moved as Walter and painted him out to be a predator within the town which gave me some great offers.
2a.
2b.
Reflection of process
Throughout the whole project I further developed my process and made discoveries on how effective it is, mostly I have discovered that I need to add a lot more time to research the play into my process as I found my deep understanding of the text allowed me to make more connected and intellectual choices within the rehearsal room. However on the other hand the project made me realise how important, analysing and reading the text multiple times is, this was due to the confusing order of the scenes and hidden messages therefore In the future i need to further implement this as it allowed me to understand the text and language a lot better than when I first read it.
Physical work
One of the most important part of the rehearsal process for me was warming up both my voice and body, I found that having some time to myself to really focus on what my body and voice needed allowed me to switch myself into a professional environment and really focus on the rehearsals ahead, however in the future I need to establish a warm up that is more consistent.
When it came to changing my physicality to further advantage my character I struggled at first as I felt like I couldn’t choose which direction towards movement to take, however one of the ideas that was provided by my director was to align Walter with an animal. Due to Walter’s trickster and predator personality I chose a fox. This really helped me adapt my movements especially my walk. This exercise allowed me to establish a foundation of my movement and in further rehearsals I found that my movements unconsciously developed.
I also delved into my work around Laban during my process to help my character. I started by establishing that Walter represented the effort ‘glide’ on the outside and ‘punch’ on the inside. One scene that these efforts really benefited me was during the scene labelled ‘hawaii’ in which I had to keep the secret of Patsys pregnancy to Cora, therefore I had to be calm on the outside but show the stress I had on the inside. I think these efforts further supported my choice to make Walter unpredictable. I further developed my efforts by applying them to activities outside of the rehearsal room such as at home and in the shop. By doing these small, mundane activities I saw that it made my movements bolder in the play and rehearsal room.
Inspiration
A piece of media I drew inspiration from for my character was Luke in Gilmore girls(See 1c), I first watched a compilation on YouTube during scenes when he was working in a diner. The actor Scott Patterson was able to bring out an aspect of non-chalant and swagger in my character movement which I believe really helped with my choice of Walter’s flirtatious personality.
Singing
For this project I added something completely new to my process and rehearsal time. This was incorporating a song into a play and learning my harmony. I struggled with this part a lot due to the fact that I kept forgetting my starting note and due to this began to sing the wrong note within the song. I think further in the future I need to establish a way to fully memorise my harmonies and notes possibly by having further conversations with the musical director.
Director Notes:
I was very pleased with the amount of time I was able to spend with my Director through individual Rehearsal calls as It helped me with the development of my character and process. As an example I was told to focus on having thoughts on my lines, this was due to me breaking up the text too much and it sounding too separated. To resolve this issue I took out the punctuation in my lines so that I could limit the space between each sentence and focus on my character thoughts hitting me faster. In conclusion this made my delivery of the lines more naturalistic and it was particularly helpful when I had a large portion of text. Another director note that I need to further develop and focus on more is my non-dialogue cues. due to the fact we had a moveable set, I was asked to help in moving the set to the correct place for the next scene, however due to my focus on my actual acting I sometimes forgot to do this. Therefore in the future my director expressed how it would be helpful to write this down on my script aswell as my journey across the stage so that I have a better time remembering these kind of cues.
Overview:
In conclusion I was relatively happy with how this project turned out my only setback was my lack of confidence in myself however I can see this dramatically improving especially since my first year at Drama school. I believe it outlined parts of my process that work well for me and the parts that I need to develop and add to so that I’m more prepared. For future projects I really hope I can show my potential with roles that I’m not typically cast for as I want to be able to show my versatility as a performer and in roles. To tackle my setbacks I’m going to explore and research different methods regarding confidence as an actor and also hopefully broaden my knowledge of practitioners so that I can find more techniques that will help my future performances as an actor both in drama school and in the industry.
Thankyou for reading!
