Week 2: Damn, this seat is hot
January 6, 2012
Friday 11 November 2011
Director David Farr began this week by hot-seating our characters for Twelfth Night. When placed in the proverbial 'hot seat', each actor answered questions in character. Where do you come from? How do you feel about the other characters? Are you a virgin? Armed with our knowledge of the text and our individual instincts, we answered the questions as truthfully as we could.
In Twelfth Night I'm playing Curio. Curio's lines indicate that his main objective during the play is to distract Orsino from his obsession with Olivia. There are also a couple of other clues throughout the play.
When speaking to Cesario, Orsino refers to Curio and Valentine (played by Sargon Yelda) as: 'nuncio's of more grave aspect.' (Twelfth Night. I. iv. 27.) So, I know that at this point in their relationship, Orsino thinks Curio is a bit of a killjoy.
Furthermore, Orsino tells Curio to go away in half of the scenes Curio is on stage. Orsino says, 'Stand you awhile aloof,' (Twelfth Night. I. iv. 10.) and 'Let all the rest give place (Curio and Attendants stand aside)' (Twelfth Night. II. iv. 81.), which indicates Curio is used to being in Orsino's inner circle, and is being asked to step outside it in Cesario's presence, which makes for some interesting power play.
Hot-seating in rehearsal gave me the freedom to add my own details to this information. I proposed that Curio is from a family of Indian business tycoons. His given name is Qureshi, but he changed it to Curio so people in the West could pronounce it. Curio was sent to public school at Merchant Taylors, where he met Orsino in the poetry society, and they became lifelong friends. Curio's parents have threatened to bring him back to India if he is ever out of work, so he asked Orsino to put him on the payroll. This way, Curio can stay in Illyria and continue to 'write his novel,' translation: drinking, smoking, hunting and running errands for Orsino.
This character history will be adjusted as required by the needs of the production, but informs my reactions, and helps me make choices about motivation - Stanislavski's key word. This character work also ensures the performance is grounded in my instincts, even if the words are not my own.
After hot-seating, David went straight into Act One, Scene One. On the floor, David allowed each actor to follow her/his instincts, fostering an atmosphere in which it felt like no suggestion was wrong — a very empowering way for an actor to work. After each go at a scene, David engaged everyone in in-depth conversation about what worked, and what could be more effective avenues of exploration. We worked in this way, scene by scene, throughout the week.
Useful tip for the week: 'o'er' is pronounced like the word 'oar,' whereas 'e'er' is pronounced like the word 'air.'
Photo: Amie Burns Walker, actor, playing Courtesan in The Comedy of Errors, Iris in The Tempest, and Chambermaid in Twelfth Night; and Jan Knightley, actor, playing First Merchant in The Comedy of Errors, Spirit in The Tempest, and Antonio in Twelfth Night.
(The What Country Friends is This? plays are; The Tempest, Twelfth Night and The Comedy of Errors, and are part of the RSC's World Shakespeare Festival)
by Ankur Bahl
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