By Aislinn Turner-24101018
The Moors – Jen Silverman
Directed by: Sean Linnen
Initial Responses
Casting
As we were not cast until rehearsals, I could explore the play with an unbiased opinion. I researched the play before reading it so that I could grasp the key themes and what the playwright was trying to achieve. I read the play three times to ensure an equal understanding of each character so that when it came to casting I felt equipped. A crucial theme in Jen Silverman’s The Moors was gothic horror which immediately led me to the Bronte sisters. On the first day of rehearsals we drew comparisons with stories like Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre helping me to collate character references. Discussing The Moors as a class through a gothic lens helped to see this 19th century centred piece in the contemporary light Silverman intended.
Casting was released the day before we started rehearsals which was slightly daunting because I felt I did not have enough time to prepare. In hindsight I liked the challenge, it pushed me to use the skills I had developed in first year for example, highlighting given circumstances and uniting the play. I enjoyed that there was not an audition process as it pushed me out of my comfort zone and forced me to play a role I would not usually audition for. I was worried when I was cast as Huldey in scenes 5 and 9 as she was the one character I felt didn’t fit into a gothic horror stereotype. Personally, there was not an obvious approach to playing her which pushed me to make bolder and more original choices, something I have previously been told to work on. This immediately made me act on impulse and let go of any inhibitions to fully grasp who this character was which led me to love playing Huldey.
Research and Analysis
Understanding The Text
Research
In the first week of rehearsals, as a class we united and discussed the play in detail which I found tedious but by the end incredibly rewarding. After hearing different people’s interpretations, I noted new discoveries in Huldey’s scenes which helped me to experiment with character dynamics and how Huldey acts both alone and with company. By the end of these sessions I had a good understanding of how to approach playing Huldey, in future I want to continue to explore more interesting perceptions of scenes to improve my performances (see 1a).
1a
When researching the social and historical context of 19th century England I found there were many similarities with today, typically regarding status, gender and sexuality. Through this I had a perception of what life as a young woman in the 1840s was like. I embedded this into Huldey’s character through movement, costume, status and appearance. Our class chose key areas of research regarding ‘The Moors’ and divided it between us. We shared our findings enabling us to build this world in the moors as an ensemble (see 1b). It was crucial to grasp the setting I was in because a key aspect of Huldey is that she desperately wants to escape the world she lives in. Studying the sounds, atmosphere and dangers of the moors to accentuate the bleak life these characters are living was intriguing (see 1c).
I found costume interesting as it affected how Huldey moved. I researched traditional 19th century clothing for middle/upper class women and discovered they usually wore corsets and narrow angled clothing. I strayed from this to subtly depict how Huldey is not like the glamorous women she dreams to be like and to accentuate her childlike presence, I discovered costume helps me to become fully consumed by my character in performances (see 1d).
1b
Character Development
Accent and Voice
I felt confident doing a general American accent as we had studied it with Jess, however I had little experience adding character to an accent. This accent helped to open my voice and achieve a healthier sound which I have previously struggled with in the past. I could not receive a one-to-one accent session with Jess due to time restraints. However, she gave me helpful notes later on in rehearsals which taught me about muscularity regarding general American. A challenge was Huldey’s cry at the end of scene 5 which needed to be melodramatic, I found it strained my voice and was difficult to safely deliver my following lines where she shouts at the Mastiff. I recalled previous voice lessons and engaged my core so that the sound did not come from the back of my throat. Jess assured me that it sounded healthy and gave me advice on how to take care of my voice afterwards highlighting the importance of taking care of my voice during the performance (see 2a).
I watched films such as: Little Women and My Girl as I felt the enthusiastic, youthful characters resonated with Huldey. I practiced by mimicking the accent and copying how they said particular words to understand the mouth placement of vowels and consonants. I then focused on adding nuances to transform my standard accent into Huldeys. In my mind she was in her mid-20s yet had an obvious childlike essence, I wanted to portray this in my voice through flipping between my chest and nasal resonators to create an adult nasal sound. Listening to Vada and Amy helped me to add qualities of both ages into my voice and was incredibly helpful in developing my character (see 2b).
2a
2b
2b
Character Process
My character exploration began with an overall analysis of Huldey through Uta Hagen’s Six Steps which allowed me to comprehend who she is and her living environment before adding any more depth to her character (see 3a). I then wanted to create a more fleshed out character so I used character questions which helped me dive into the details outside of the play and understand Huldey’s mind (see 3b).
I was keen to immerse myself into Huldey’s world, her days are repetitive and monotonous so I needed to envision exactly what her life looked like. I utilised Stanislavski’s Given Circumstances to discover time, place and Huldey’s intentions (see 3c). This was heightened by my use of objectives and tactics to add energy into scenes 5 and 9 (see 3d).
I struggled with scene 5 because my character spoke alone for most of it, I was concerned about having the most responsibility on stage and how to keep the audience engaged. Visually mapping out the emotional journey in each scene enabled me to understand how I can create multiple different feelings for the character and the audience in a short space of time. It also helped to heighten the stakes which Sean particularly wanted in scene 9, it enabled me to see the effect Agatha had on Huldey when approaching someone of a lower status to her (see 3e).
3d
Reflection of Process
My understanding of Huldey grew over time. Both of my scenes were later in the play so it was helpful to watch previous scenes and a different perspective of my character. None of my scenes were with Agatha (who has most control over Huldey) so I enjoyed watching earlier scenes and making my characterisation slightly different to emphasize Agatha’s effect on the household. To understand the inner workings of Huldey’s mind, I found given circumstances and analysed my scenes unit by unit to understand Huldey’s purpose in each scene (see 3f). This enabled me to have a lot more to play with in scenes and allowed me to be bolder in my characterisation as I had a deep understanding regarding the foundations of the scene.
3f
Practical Work
Physical Work
Before every rehearsal I did a full vocal and physical warmup (see 4a) before partaking in a whole company exercise. This allowed me to focus and feel settled before starting work on the play. I read through any notes I had made about Huldey and Sean’s notes from the day before to ensure I worked on them that day (see 4b).
Before this project, I only prioritised changing my physicality when playing a male. Physicality was a challenge for me in playing Huldey. I compared the physicality of children to adult females and incorporated nuances of both into my character (see 4c). When Huldey daydreams she portrays an adult persona therefore I made my movement much slower and collected, I clasped my hands in front of me to insinuate that she is more guarded and private. I felt there should be a sudden change in physicality when she stops daydreaming therefore, I used heavier footsteps and more exaggerated facial expressions whenever she was thinking intensely. I found physicality was the most transformative part of my process, it helped to ground my scenes and embody Huldey completely.
When not in a scene we were sat watching the action on stage, at first I was unsure of how to deliver the energy scenes 5 and 9 required of me after being static for so long. Using Laban aided my scene entrances enabling me to commit to the character and action about to take place. For scene 5 I chose flick to show her excitable energy, this giddiness is demonstrated when she sees the Mastiff as he is her only friend. I used wring as an internal effort, I felt it echoed her fears of being lonely forever which she persistently pushes down in the scene. In scene 9 I still used flick throughout the scene however, I incorporated slash as I felt her sadness had now turned to anger, I was keen to show Huldey’s inner Agatha. The new power dynamics introduced in scene 9 were much easier to grasp once I had chosen an effort. Keeping my centre of gravity in my chest allowed me to feel more central which let me move freely and flexibly, moreover leading with my chest naturally made me heavier footed which accentuated her child-like wildness.
Laban and the use of physicality has been a strength for me as I found the essence of my character easier to embody, I now have much more confidence to be able to use it in future projects.
Inspiration
I researched women’s physicality in the 1840s however I found little information, instead I watched period pieces such as Little Women and Jane Eyre for inspiration (see 4d). Upon first reading The Moors Huldey reminded me of Amy from Little Women, they both have an ambition to leave home and achieve fame yet they know the things stopping them from achieving this. I took inspiration from Amy’s bouncy physicality as a child and how she took up so much space in a room which I incorporated into my movement in scene 5.
4d
Director’s Notes
I had little experience working with a director so I was excited yet intimidated when rehearsing my scenes for the first time, it was usually up to us as the actors to initiate blocking. Looking back, I wish I had experimented more in my preparation with how I could have used the space in my scenes rather than focusing solely on character work. I enjoyed working with Sean, our director, who encouraged me to have fun on stage and present offers without worrying if it was the right choice. A note I received early on was to add colour to the words I was saying when reading Huldey’s diary in scene 5. Initially I used actioning, however I found that only changed my intonation on each line rather than painting a picture of what Huldey’s words meant. Sean asked me rigorous questions of how each event made Huldey feel and why she wrote it in her diary. For example, he wanted to be able to see in my face exactly what the weather was like when Huldey describes it as “bleak”. This helped me tremendously as I could now imagine Huldey’s days in The Moors and her feelings towards it. From this moment on, every time I had to read something from her diary I used this method to discover new thoughts Huldey had on the environment around her. I will utilise this in the future to discover colour in the words I am saying.
Overview
I wish we had more time to work on the play as I would have liked to have explored Huldey’s emotional makeup in more depth, I also felt I could have experimented more with how Huldey holds traits of Agatha. I found it was tedious focusing on the academic side of the play with the director for as long as we did however, it created an excellent foundation for the rehearsal process, I learnt so much about Huldey and the world around her. I want to use uniting in this depth in future to ensure I know the play and character well enough to be able to have fun with it. This project allowed me to make bolder choices and be more vulnerable onstage, it was an eye-opening experience and I have gained confidence and skills for future projects.
