AAS (38) - Going over CIDN

Apart from the final section where the class worked on their "Government Inspector" scene, we spent the lesson polishing our "Curious Incident" scene. There were three things that needed work on which he have now corrected:

• The First Lift:   Despite our work on this lift in the previous, it still wasn't working, but we have now worked out why. The reason it wasn't working was because we weren't all in the right place at the right time, and we also rushed it a bit. In the slow motion section, whilst the two Ollie's do the lean, James walked towards the back - but now we have changed it so he walks round on the spot, so he is ready for the lift, rather than having to walk into it. Also, instead of Ollie having a run in for the lift, he now steps into it, simply lifting one leg at a time. Our other problem with this lift was how we turned it, and Ollie's legs. We have to ensure that Ollie's legs are in line with the rest of his body - this may sound simple but it is so important that his legs aren't lifted higher than his shoulders, as this would then make him slip forward and his weight would not be equally spread. Moreover, it is also essential that I lead the turn, as otherwise Ollie is being pulled away from my shoulders.
• Lines:   We spent a lot of time in this lesson, learning lines and fitting Ollie's lines in time to the pre-recorded vocals. It is essential that Ollie knows all of his lines (especially for the Ed section) as otherwise the timing would be wrong, or worse, the pre-recorded dialogue would then not make sense.
• "Train coming, train stopped (reprise)":    The second time the "train coming, train stopped" section of dialogue is repeated, our staging is different. However, today we clarified the movements. As we had to change the order we came in on (due to our places for the next scene), we had to alter our movements. We worked out how many steps we would do to come in and when we would turn, etc. It is crucial that these movements are as precise as possible, because if someone's head turns a fraction of a second after everyone else's it would be really obvious.