By: Kara Parker

The Rimers of Eldritch – Lanford Wilson

Directed by: Jessica Millward

Initial Thoughts-

When first reading the script, I struggled to follow what was happening due to its non-linear structure. Although I was lost at points, I enjoyed the build-up to the horrific moment and the final court scene, thanks to the suspense and tension, I questioned how it could draw out qualities in characters and drive certain themes. I found a document that explained the plot and how to approach the play simply which helped to digest the play when re-reading it and helped pointed out things I might have missed. (see 1a).

1a

I was wary of this play as it covers sensitive subjects and I didn’t know who I would be cast as. I questioned if I could do this play especial if I was playing Eva due to her getting raped. I wanted to do this play justice because these events do happen and should be given the same respect and attention as any other play, even if it’s a hard watch. Lighting was a significant aspect of this play, as it distinguished which scene to focus on, since multiple scenes would play simultaneously; however, our performance space lacked lighting. I was concerned about how we would go about it, and if it would make sense to our audience without it.

Casting-

For casting, we were told that we had to audition with only a few days to prepare. Even though I was nervous about auditioning, this was good practise and professionalism, a way to prove my worth. That kind of mentality is what I brought into the audition, as I wanted to make a good impression on the director, Jessica (Jess). I’m always going to have a thought of; I could have taken the direction better but my biggest take away was conduction of self. To articulate my take on a character and thoughts on the play with clarity; giving my self-permission to take up time and space to collect my thoughts. As I tended to stumble and repeat points, having more to say but couldn’t.

I was casted as Patsy (act 1) who is a 16-year-old female who is infatuated by men and is materialistic. During the play, Patsy gets pregnant by a new man in town – Walter. Judge (act 2), who runs the court with corrupt bias views. This made me question what Jess (director) saw in me. As Pasty is a confident and dramatic character, far from me. In a meeting with Jess, she later revealed that I had a ‘comedic flair’ in my audition, which informed her decision. This gave me insight that what someone feels internally may not read as that externally and be different. This made me have trust and faith in myself and instincts as an actor, as I had self-doubt about my performance in the audition. Also giving me opportunities to explore my acting range as I never realised I had a comedic side.

Pasty is a prominent character, which I never had the experience of playing; pushing me out of my comfort-zone, which I later realised wasn’t as daunting. It felt like an ensemble piece, all characters having relevance and important since they’re a part of a closely knit town/community.

Research-

At the start of rehearsals, we underwent table reads, dissecting the text, ensuring we picked up the finer details, as that would later help with character development (see 1b). We did this efficiently by uniting the play by events, noting down the facts, given circumstances and whether the unit took place before or after the murder of Skelly, to know the order of events (see 1c).

1b 1c

Historical, political and social research-

An interesting discovery within my research was the opinions and laws around contraception in America, specifically in Missouri 1962, as that’s where and when the play is set. It seemed to be a taboo subject in the 60’s and frowned upon, which is why the last scene between Eva and Robert, (see 1d/1dd) reflects the lack of knowledge around sex and contraception (see 1e). If contraception weren’t a taboo subject, Patsy’s life could have turned out differently. Her pregnancy led her to marriage, which sealed her future as a wife whether she wanted to or not. The society, therefore, fails women like Patsy and rape victims like Eva.

We created a map of the town Eldritch, a made-up town in Missouri to plot where the places in town were located (see 1f). This visual aid gave me an essence of what it’s like to live in a small town. This plotted me in the mindset of Pasty and how bored she feels living in a rural area, as she refers to it as a ‘ghost town’ (see 1g).

Additional to having a visual aid, I and the company created a Pinterest board of these places (see 1h). This made me feel grounded in known what these places look like and everyone sharing the vison. Getting location down was not only essential for us the actors, but Lanford Wilson (author) as the play ‘solidifies for me’ (see 1i). Wilson not being able to write comfortably until he has the setting. It needs to feel real, as though the characters have lived there for their whole life or staying for a while like the character Walter (see 1j). Ironically most of his play are set in places he’s been, not purpose a decision.

1d 1dd

1e 1f

1g 1h

1i 1j

Lanford Wilson –

Researching the playwright enabled me to comprehend why he wrote this play, and what commentaries came from it (see 1j). I looked into his other work and found that they share themes of death, crime and outcasts (see 1j). Collectively, we wrote down the themes of this play to get the vison and direction that it would be headed towards. (see 1k) Wilson put parts of his life in his work, which made the dialogue feel very real and personal which is known as ‘lyrical realism’ (see 1j). Marrying everyday life with poetic language that holds emotional depth. This was helpful as it brought authenticity to the words and scenes of my character. Such as, when Patsy is complaining about her boyfriend Chuck to her best-friend Lena (1l).

1k 1l

Character-

From the table read, I picked up relationships and personality traits of Pasty, structuring it into a mind map (see 1m). Additionally, I looked into woman’s fashion of the time (see 1n), focusing on what Pasty aesthetically wants and what she actually has. I found the physicalisation of both Judge and Pasty, using specific movements to get into character. Pasty’s walk was a way to inhabit her, as I made it distinct focusing on the weight distribution, keeping it in the hips and legs, centring it on one leg to build an attitude of sass, especially when stood. With the Judge, hands behind back, tall, had a sense of leading from my nose since the Judge is investigating the case, collecting information. The essence of sniffer dog and giraffe (see 1o). This physical animal approach took me to the mindset of the Judge and advanced my progress as before, I felt uncomfortable because I didn’t understand this character to the depth that I do now. Although I didn’t spend as much time on developing the Judge, I knew they held authority and status due to their occupation and given circumstances (see 1p). The weight of bring Eva and the town to justice, holding the faith of people’s lives in their hand, very different from Patsy’s status and authority. I decided that the Judge is biased, already knowing who they will sentence as guilty due to the give circumstances (see 1p). Even though I share this role and some of the scenes were cut, I went in as if they were still there which solidified the Judge for me.

1m 1n

1o 1p

Analysis of process –

Along with my Patsy mind map, my exploration started with listing what my character said about other characters and what they said about Patsy (see 1q). In doing so, gained me an understanding of character relationships, Patsy’s intentions and how they read to other characters and other character’s intentions towards Patsy. This enabled me to play with how I treat and approach characters as Patsy. Such as, approaching her mother (Mavis) as this small, sweet innocent girl when she sees Skelly watching her through her window. With the objective of wanting to sleep with her parents because she is scared. Compared to how treats brother (Josh), speaking to him with an angry and threatening tone, true sibling rivalry (see 1r/1rr). However, I found the depth of Pasty when I answered Uta Hagan character questions. Though I didn’t use her exact questions, I used ones that a lecturer adapted from her (see 1s). I was afraid of making Patsy shallow and underdeveloped, as externally she presents as this sassy mean gossip girl especially in act 1; as a lot of her character journey takes place in act 2. I wanted to bring some of her internal thoughts and feelings to the surface to avoid making her one dimensional.

In the rehearsal space, I used the tactic of pleading with Peck (father) in a scene as my objective was to persuade Peck to get me a car. However, this tactic didn’t feel natural to my character. Jess suggested making Pasty have higher status over Peck, altering my tactics to nagging, guilt tripping aggressively and sweetly (see 1t/1tt). This felt natural to my character, and I was open to taking notes from Jess which helped to add nuance to her. I felt that Patsy was a more well-rounded character and Jess commented this to.

1q

1r

1rr 1s

1t 1tt

I used Stanislavski’s technique of ‘Given Circumstances’, understanding my characters wants and subtext, along with creating her objectives and tactics. In attempt of achieving them as well as actioning to keep my intention strong and have clarity to what my character wants (see 1t/1tt) (see 1r/1rr).

I took inspiration from the films ‘Clueless’, ‘Mean Girls’. Zoning in on Regina George’s confidence, treatment of others and school hierarchy in ‘Mean Girls’ (see 1u till 2:50, 1uu whole clip). In ‘Clueless’, I saw a parallel in Cher’s and Tia’s relationship, (best-friends) and Patsy’s and Lena’s. Both Cher and Patsy take their best-friend under their wing, treating them as a barbie doll to dress up, almost pitting them for having less whilst still maintaining a bond, with the ‘black, brown, blue and green’ line (see 1v till 2:22 (1vv).

1u 1uu 1v

1vv

Personal reflection –

The biggest challenged was working with unbroken line of action because of the non-linear structure. This made it hard to have a sense of what took place before the scene, leaving me feeling unprepared, forcing the emotion. I used the time walking into position to recall the scene before to combat the challenge. This didn’t always work as some scenes didn’t link to my previous ones, leading me deciding where my character just came from and their emotions (see 1g).

Playing two characters was a fun challenge as I approached them differently, Judge being a more physical exploration and Pasty being a more written one. This made me realised my process alters depending on the type of character.

During rehearsals, when working on a scene where I complain to Peck about having to get the bus and hinting that I want a car, I was nervous being observed as a teacher had come to see our progress. Jess had given me notes but my nerves had gotten to me, and I kept forgetting my lines. This had taken me aback; however, I was still able to take on the notes which made me feel proud for managing to keep my composure and be adaptive to Jess’ direction. Prior to having complete surety of my lines.

I grew to enjoy the structure of the play as it’s a smart engaging way to unfold a story. The broken-up events forces the audience to actively engage and observe the play. This was the case with me, initially reading the play. Having to be a detective to this montage of non-chronological events that have a ‘memory-like quality’ to it due to being scattered. I was pleasantly surprised that the teachers thought we could give a compelling performance with such a structure and was proud that the whole company told the story with conviction. This experience made me realise how precious the bond is between actor and director, as it’s a foundation built on complete trust and full commitment to the collaboration of creation.