Having read through the script, we decided to block the scene. So far, we have been beginning and ending each scene in a circle as a motif, to show when one scene begins and when another ends. Therefore, we had to begin this scene in the same way that our previous scene ended (in the same circle). Rhiannon then gave us gestures and/or small movements to do on certain sections that made sense and were quite obvious. The purpose of this was to give the audience something to look at whilst listening to the story develop. Our movements also aim to help the audience imagine the scene and the events unveiling (for example on the verb "dazzled", we all shield our eyes with our hands to emphasise how bright the lights were). As to not make this scene too repetitive, with gesture after gesture, we included moments where we step out of the circle and back in, and also a change in levels (when we sit down to represent getting "into bed" and also for the robbers who "sat round the fire"). [The picture on the left shows a character profile I decided to do on my character of the little Robber Maiden. I decided to do this activity to give me a better understanding of my character to therefore give my lines more feeling and meaning.]After blocking and running this scene a couple of times, we ended the lesson by running through the first scene (my scene) for the first time since the first week of December! Amazingly, we managed to remember almost all of the movement and cues. We missed out one little section (a return to the original circle to do an ensemble move and then return back to a straight line at the front) but everyone remembered it once I reminded them about it. Next lesson, we shall look at Oliver's scene and then run as many scenes as we can (starting with scenes we haven't rehearsed the longest).
