Much Ado About Meeting
June 13, 2012
So we had our first meeting as an entire cast. It was really great to see everyone together and get a feel for how we were going to work as an ensemble. We received the cuts for the script and had a few beers just to break the ice. I hadn't really realised how many individual speeches Benedick had, which proved quite daunting as my highlighter started running out.
Quite oddly, I could begin to see the characters from the script emanating from the actors playing them. Great casting.
One of my worries about playing Benedick is getting stuck in a rut and becoming very predictable with delivery and mannerisms. I think that once we get fully into rehearsals and exploring the army lifestyle then things will become clearer. I went for a run the other so it is only a matter of time I'll have washboard abs and biceps the size of my head. Very doubtful indeed.
Reading the script again, you tend to see completely different sides to Benedick that are so often missed. It is obvious that Benedick and Beatrice have had a history, shown when she is speaking to Don Pedro in Act 2 Scene 1. What happened? Why did it not work? These are the questions that I would like to find an answer to. It may be that he is genuinely just a bad person, proving that he goes on a huge journey throughout the show. Or was he just scared? Thus changing his journey quite substantially.
However, I may leave it a couple of days before I look at it again. My head hurts.
by Michael Totton
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