Fences - Rose Maxson

 Fences by August Wilson – Act 2, Scene 1

ROSE:

I been standing with you! I been right here with you, Troy. I got a life too. I gave several years of my life to stand in the same spot with you. Don’t you think I ever wanted other things? Don’t you think I had dreams and hopes? What about my life? What about me. Don’t you think it ever crossed my mind to want to know other men? That I wanted to lay up somewhere and forget about my responsibilities? That I wanted someone to make me laugh so I could feel good? You not the only one who’s got wants and needs. But I held on to you, Troy. I took all my feelings, my wants and needs, my dreams…and I buried them inside you. I planted a seed and waited and prayed over it. I planted myself inside you and waited to bloom. And it didn’t take me no eighteen years to find out the soil was hard and rocky and it wasn’t never gonna bloom. But I held on to you, Troy, I held you tighter. You was my husband. I owed you everything I had. Every part of me I could find to give you. And upstairs in that room…with the darkness falling in on me…I gave everything I had to try and erase the doubt that you wasn’t the finest man in the world, and wherever you was going…I wanted to be there with you. Cause you was my husband. Cause that’s the only way I was gonna survive as your wife. You always talking about what you give…and what you don’t have to give. But you take too. You take…and don’t even know nobody’s giving!

1) Read & Analysis the monologue like three times max.

2) Don't try to stick with one emotion.

3) Be your character.

4) React to Michael's facial expressions. 

5) Believe you're actually talking to Michael

6) Start off calmly so then you can get angry towards the end.

7) Don't make it seem staged or improvised.

8) Don't fake an emotion.

9) make it colourful.

Character Profile

Character Name: Rose Maxson

The title of the play I chose my monologue from is called Fences which was written by August Wilson. The original cast had the well-known grounded actor James Earl Jones play Troy Maxson  but now the modern version was played by Viola Davis and Denzel Washington. The play was written by August Wilson.

 

Brief Synopsis -

Fences is about

 

 

 During my monologue selection, my main focus was their themes: cause I feel that in order for me to accelerate in my monologue performance, I would have to be able to feel a sense of connection with the theme; before trying to get the attention of the audience. The reason why my main priority and focus is on that aspect is because I feel as an actress you should connect with your performance so then the audience could then grasp “truth” and “believability” in your piece. When I was also picking my monologues my main focus was to do as the criteria said; to meet the demands. To meet the demands I was suppose to perform a play that had been written since 1964 that are also suitable for my casting; as in I could genuinely play the role because we share a lot of similarities the characters and me.

There are some similarities and differences Rose Maxson and I have but the ideal similarity is our soul and our response to rejection.

 

Impact of the piece

To be quite frank the impact the piece should have on an audience is it should make the audience have empathy and sympathy for Rose Maxson. Also, make the audience understand her pain and see her soul through the performance

 

 

 

Ideas about how I am going to play Rose Maxson

* Find someone I have a strong connection with.
* Use the Meisner Technique and fuse it with the Method Acting.
* Work on my posture, she studies at Oxford  and she's the sort of person that loves to fit in so she would always be upright.

Shakespearean Research(tis the east and Juliet is the sun)

But, soft, what light through yonder window breaks?
It is the east, and Juliet  is the sun.
Arisde, fair sun, and kill the envious moon,
Who is already sick and pale with grief
That thou, her  maid, art far more fair than she.
Be not her maid, since she is envious,
Her vestal livery is  but sick and green,
It is my lady, O it is my love:
O that she knew she were!
Her  eye discourses , I will answer it.
I am too bold, 'tis not to me she speaks:
Two of the fairest stars in all the heaven,
Having some business, do entreat her eyes
To twinkle in their spheres till they in her head?
The brightness of her cheek would shame those stars,
As daylight doth a lamp; her eyes in heaven
Would through the airy region stream so bright
That birds would sing and think it were not night.
See how she leans her cheek upon her hand!
O that I were a glove upon that hand,
That I might touch that cheek.

Inorder to develop your acting skills you need to watch how other people's interpretation looks like and make things your own and see how they create their worlds and compare them to your own acting with the feedback that you are often given. In class we watched different interpretations of the above monologue and then compared them to the other interpretations and see who we thought were more truthful; in the moment. The first video we saw was a traditional one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSSLN4lSZM4&list=PL33B4BE0DC2D18D62
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8CYjM002qU&list=PL33B4BE0DC2D18D62
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C66ZNGq--D0&list=PL33B4BE0DC2D18D62
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRHkFik9QY0&list=PL33B4BE0DC2D18D62
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3MiaSG1SMQ&list=PL33B4BE0DC2D18D62
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0qao2xINsE&list=PL33B4BE0DC2D18D62
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OcU70BeZsY&list=PL33B4BE0DC2D18D62

In general there were some I particularly liked. For example the BBC (Ashley Walters) one because I felt I can relate to that since it was more truthful and sweet. However, I also liked the Royal Drama School one because of his interpretation of the text; it made it stand out because of how unique it was. In other words He  gave the shakesperean text life. There were some interpretations that I was  not sure of; it came across as reflective acting. But, I then, compared them to how I acted and saw quite a few similarites so I now know what sort of things to work on and how to play with my speeches in a naturalistic way; which is being in the moment. I also felt that in a few of the speeches there was forced emotions and others did not understand the text and so it came across in that way because of the one and the way in which the monologue. So, I now know how crucial it is to actually know the whole monologue alongside the play as well inside and out. There were some that I felt played it  a bit safe; in their comfort zones and didn't really let go because there was a lot of good potential actors I had seen. A couple of them rushed their lines as a result to this; couldn't seperate and change their thoughts,  they didn't allow us in their world they were a bit selfish.
It also made me realise that not enough preparation goes into my monologue; as in colouring the text bringing the monologue and lastly playing the character without holding back.

Contemporary Monologue 1, Character Log, Evaluation, Research

Auditions for Actors Unit 18

Contemporary Monologue 1

Seriously? I think you should go now. There’s my phone number so you can call and pop around when I’ve had a chance to tidy up, or maybe when my boyfriend's home. I’d like you to meet him. I think you’d get on. Anyhow, give me a call in a week or so when I’m less busy and we’ll catch up properly. I’d love to talk but I really must get to work, all right? (LIVID) Listen to me, I do not have to put up with your cockeyed view of the world according to Michael Cerwin, so I suggest that you nip any plans that you might have to control my life again in the bud, do you understand me? If you haven’t worked it out by now the reason I left in the first place was because you were a liar and a control freak Michael. If you want me back in even the remotest possible way, you’ll have to work on giving me some indication that’s changed, because if it hasn’t this is going to be a very short reunion. Am I making myself clear?

1) Read & Analysis the monologue like three times max.

2) Don't try to stick with one emotion.

3) Be your character.

4) React to Michael's facial expressions. 

5) Believe you're actually talking to Michael

6) Start off calmly so then you can get angry towards the end.

7) Don't make it seem staged or improvised.

8) Don't fake an emotion.

9) make it colourful.

Title and Author:

The title of the play I chose my monologue from is called B is for black. Courttia Newland is a Black novelist and playwright; he is also an author of the best selling novels, The Scholar (1997) and Society Within (1999).

B is for Black was written by courttia newland. However it was directed by Riggs O’Hara it was first performed on the first of October 2003 at oval house theatre in a production by the post office theatre company.  The play is the final play in the Chamberlain trilogy, continuing from the critically acclaimed and sell-out productions of The Far Side at the Tricycle Theatre and Mothers Day at the Lyric Studio in Hammersmith.

Brief Synopsis -

B is for black, follows the rise and then fall from the grace of Ben Nelson. A Black man whom attended Oxford, Ben eagerly begins his first day at West Chamberlain Arts (WCA), a government funded arts organisation. Ben is determined to show his new colleague, Imani; promoter of a local Pan-African movement, that he isn't just another Uncle Tom. However, when Ben's White middle class wife and father-in-law appear at the WCA office, Imani begins to doubt the validity of his claims. Does Imani want Ben to break his White middle class ties, and will she stop at nothing to achieve this.

Genre and style of B is for black:

When I was picking my monologues, my main focus was their themes: cause I feel that in order for me to accelerate in my monologue performance, I would have to be able to feel a sense of connection with the theme; before trying to get the attention of the audience. The reason why my main priority and focus is on that aspect is because I feel as an actor you should connect with your performance so then the audience could then grasp “truth” and “believability” in your piece. When I was also picking my monologues my main focus was to do as the criteria said; to meet the demands. To meet the demands I was suppose to get a play that had been written since 1964 that are also suitable for my casting; as in I could genuinely play the role because we share a lot of similarities the characters and me.

Character profile: The character I have chosen is called Kate Nelson. Kate Nelson is played by Emma Rand in a theatre production from the Post Office Theatre Company (2003). Kate’s character has a lot of conflict in the play. Her character is often livid(angry),  she is also ‘on the level’ as in she indicates honesty- in the line “if you want me back in your life in even the remotest possible way, you’ll have to work on giving me some indication that’s changed…”. The character I chose has been through a lot of deceit. For instance: there is a line in my monologue that she said “… I left in the first place because you were a liar and a control freak Michael.” To me as a young uprising actress that line proved to me how deceitful her partner was and why she has so much anger in her and some times I believe that some people that watch the play have a tendency of confusing her anger in the play with hatred. Rand’s character as Kate Nelson also showed me how she reacted to certain circumstances in the play this enables me to be able to deeply study my character emotionally.

An appeal about B is for black and my character:

 Just imagine it is a chilly day, now picture tiny rain drops falling on your head as you look up. The rain drops fall on your head like leaves that touch the ground in autumn right? Then all of a sudden you realise its raining but remember you have no umbrella; then the rain falls heavily and you’re absolutely soaking wet. As you walk you can sort of feel the weight of your legs trembling across the side walk. You see that’s how I felt when I was visiting Samuel French and Foyles. I actually chose my contemporary monologue from the way I felt that day; strange is it not? Anyway as I was reading the second monologue I chose I was intrigued by the way the author Courttia Newland pulled the attention of me (the reader) constantly. He used words that the youth of today would often say and as a youth that grabbed my attention even more. It was like I was there watching the performance live. I do not really read plays but I felt with this play I could relate to it, it was just so fascinating and interesting and to develop my character’s characteristics even more I am willing to watch one of their performances of this piece live and see how much more I’m drawn into the actual performance instead of the play. I’m doing this to see how my character Kate Nelson is meant to be portrayed as. This playwright is on the dot ever since I read this play and the two others I chose; I actually love his plays they are unique. They stand out! The reason this play also made me feel like that is the one for me as in that is the monologue I want to do was because of the way he wrote it. He is such a clever author and when we were deciding on which monologues to do in class I was determined to do B is for black because as a black British playwright and novelist he is on the ball. He knows what he is about and as a young uprising actress that is what appeals to me because he knows who he is and what he is about that is why I love this play. Courttia Newland is very talented and I respect his work.

Similarities:  I would have to say Kate Nelson as a character and I have a few similarities we both react to the way we are treated in the same way and I personally think this is an advantage. Although sometimes I can react differently depends on the scenario it’s the same thing with Kate Nelson. We both have also been with people that mean so much to us that act deceitfully towards us.

 

Differences: Kate Nelson has always been bitter because the playwright only slightly reveals her past but does not dwell on it too much in the play.  However I am not as bitter as her. I’m actually really different from her character. Although sometimes I could be bitter depending on the situation I am in.

 

Biggest challenge in playing the role:  Truthfully my biggest challenge in playing the role is actually the fact that I’m rarely angry it just happened to be a coincidence that the way I felt the day I visited the bookshop had a huge impact on my chosen monologues.

What I need to work on vocally, physically and emotionally:  To be honest I feel that physically I should work on quite a lot on my gestures (movements) because I researched more about the play online where I found out more about the author.  I had done further research because the play did not tell me how ex actly my character is like and since my character is mostly livid (FIRM ANGRY) I need to show how she often feels and how the author felt when he was writing the play. If I did not research much further; then my role would look fake and made up sort of like a cartoon even though my main aim is for the audience to see truth in my two min performance. If I was just saying the lines and doing no actions it would not make my performance affective at all it. Instead it makes me look as if I am rehearsing my lines in front of an audience and when I’m actually meant to be performing them. Vocally: I believe I should do vocal warm ups that I have been taught by Jackie and Sean Pol because that will enable me to project my voice on stage and be very clear when my character (Kate Nelson) is saying her monologue.  Emotionally: I personally think I should work on why my character has so much anger in her and when I look at the character Kate Nelson’s background it answered my question. I believe I can play the role because I know where the anger is coming from and how to react to the Michael character that offended my character (Kate Nelson).

Background info I will need to research about:

The background information that I thought I needed to know more about, was the character’s personal life. For instance: where she was from? Where she lived? As in was she poor, middle class or very wealthy. How old she was? If she had family who were they? Why did she act the way she did in the play? Her love life as in who she fell in love with. I would do a little biography based on how her life is like in the play sort of like a character log. I also thought I needed to find out more about the play and why it was written.

What impact should the piece B is for black have upon an audience?

To be quite frank the impact the piece should have on an audience is it should make the audience have empathy and sympathy for the Kate’s character because of what she has been through and how she has moved on. It should also make the audience understand why Kate Nelson is an angry person by Kate’s gestures (movements) and body language. For example: her facial expression changes from this ashamed character to a firm angry person. Also the eye contact she makes should let the audience feel the intensity in her eyes and make them see the truth within her eyes. 

 

Research

 

How I am going to play Kate Nelson

 I play the role of Kate Nelson, Kate is the loving wife of Ben Nelson. Throughout most of the play, she realises she still wants her ex Michael Cerwin back in her life. But she does not want to break off the realtionship with Ben because she still loves him. 

Brief Bio

Kate Nelson was born on April 10, 1992 ; and she was raised near Walthamstow in London. She is sixteen and not in education. She is black British. She has two other siblings called Keyshia(16) and Antwan (21) her mother is called Diana Lewis. Her mother is often referred to as Dee.

Winns Primary School- Kate went to and completed Winns. She was a bright student, very enthusiastic. Her father left her and her family when she was three, leaving her mother dee  as a single mum. That is also part of the reason why she feels she still has to keep Michael Cerwin in her life because she does not want him to feel as hurt as her, when her father left her and her mother for another woman. This did not have much of an impact on Kate Nelson because she didn't really have a bond with her father.

Hillyfield secondary school

She was very smart and a loud. She had a competitive side that was drilled in her in her early stages by her mother this would often make her compete in spellings bee and she felt that if she came first place all the time that she would make her mother proud of her. Unfortunately in year 10 her Mother passed away and she lived with her Grand parents. But her Nan couldn't bare the thought of losing her child and had a stroke. Her grandfather was the one who walked her down the isle and as he was walking her down the isle he said. Your mother would have been so proud of how far you have come. So smile and enjoy it will it lasts because things don't last forever. 

Waltham Forest College 

College life: She attended Waltham Forest; in college she still had the same mentality she had and was very often on top of things; always the top student. Until she met Michael Cerwin, the college's worst student and top player. He was actually smart kid. However, he took days off; during college  and half terms that he was meant to come in for rehearsals for a college play. But when he met Kate, he began to change his ways to impress her, but as a girl she done her homework and realised what sort of person she attracted and tried to put a stop to it, unfortunately she couldn't because she ended up falling for him.  This led to their relationship. But then he cheated on her with her best friend and she wasn't having it; so they decided to end the relationship.

Oxford University

Her life in university was going great until she met Michael Cerwin again, surprised she then said to him to keep his distance but he would often wait for her classes to end and stalk her to her dorm just to apologise. Then one day she said to him "you need to move on, you and me are no longer together. Ben Nelson, the best friend of Michael Cerwin, was then passing their little conversation and started to pay more attention to her; in university, as a result, he then started to develop feelings for her and he ended up telling her, how he felt. Kate then had to make a hudge decision between the two of them and chose Ben Nelson but still kept Michael Cerwin as a friend. Michael does not like the fact that Ben still won her over.

Background Research

The only family she has are just her mother and her sister and brother. Kate acted the way she did in the play because she is very close to both Michael and Ben. Her current boyfriend is Ben Nelson.  I also thought I needed to find out more about the play and why it was written. So I looked into the playwrights previous work and his remarks about B is for Black.  I thought of the idea of making a docmentary a short clip of what the other characters mean to me.

What makes an engaging or compelling characer is their charm and charsima. I created a character by using your imagination to create a new life; history for a character then turn them into a real life uman being so you can play that character. To make the people that I have pictured in my mind come to life; I need to write stuff about them down, like the way I picture them speaking; re-acting and communicating with others. The two main purposes for these development exercises were 1) to help solidify my characterization by imaging my character in a variety of situations; and 2) to work with the information I have. Knowing my character as I do, I have to write about her in a way which makes use of the knowledge I have. The image often used here is an iceberg: most of what I know about my character will never be seen (or, stated) directly. Much of it will never be used at all. However, it is good for me - the writer - to know everything so that I can be confident about playing my character and how she will react in any given circumstance. 1st development exercise: writing in the third person, I had to my character in an environment familiar to him/her, carrying out some habitual action (work, eating, sleeping, domestic chores, driving, shaving,), whilst in the grip of some intense emotion. She sleeps in a fairly decent old fashioned styled home. She wears ripped jeans so her pockets have a lot of patches in them from needles; she use to like to sow but she grew out of it. She has a really nice old pauls boutique purse her mother gave to her as a present.  My characters physical appearance matters a lot to her but she does not show it. Deep inside she is really frightened of how others perceive her. My character is 158.5 (5'2) athletic build and dark chocolate. Kate got given the nick name kai by her boyfriend; Her voice is Low and Husky. Her hand gestures are really sharp and always directed in two ways either side ways or to the front. She loves her Kitchen because she loves to cook and she is a cook. Her Kitchen is quite old fashioned

Her least favourite is parent's room because it makes her remincise about how happy the family was; how her father and mother made her feel, she always felt special and wanted but now is like she feels rejeted. Although she lives with Ben at his house she still has a room for herself for when she has to study. Picture this her door is painted red with recipe's of food all over it and a sign that says please don't enter unless you can cook; but enter anyway she is rarely in her room and it has no lock. Then turn the latch clock wise and walk into the room and as soon as you enter Kate's bedroom has Burgandy wall paper and her favourite inspiration Jaime Oliver. She has a king size bed that is on the left of her room because her father brought it for her before he passed and it has remained there ever since. Her bed sheets are pure white showing her purity and has  a cream rose pattern on it. In the middle of the her room she has a tinted white window and has three lemon scented candles next to the window on a tray and a desk.She puts the bag in the same part of her room for when she has to study which is right next to her wardrobe on the right side of her computer. She has a black bagpackwith white stones and thorns on the outside of it that says Kerrie Rocks that's her nick name that her boyfriend gave to her. The desk is black; it is sort of like a wooden sqaure without the bottom line. That is where she keeps her dell computer; her over due library books and then as for her bag she lives it underneath her stuy desk. On the right she has a wardrobe that she made in one of her construction classes that is fairly big it starts from one side of the room and ends at the other side. Her wardrobe is painted red with cook recipes on her wardrobe like her door. She wears a lot of biker jackets; she even has it in every colour except from Green and Pink just like ripped jeans and vest tops. She loved to give to charity she sort of lost some of her Mc'Donalds toys she used to get and her barbies. She sometimes wears her red and black silk Pj's. She is middle class and black british. In secndary school she liked a boy called Michael Cerwin. She believes in sex after marriage and she doesn't want to have sex with just anyone she wants it to be with someone she loves and someone who feels the same way. This shouldn't be a surprise but she is a virgin. She is self employed and owns her own company. Her favourite smell is the scent of roses. Kerrie Anne has a lot of hobbies, she likes to read, sing and listen to her rock music as I mentioned before. She likes to wear shoe's like timbalands, vans and furry slippers. rebook trainers. All her shoes are either black or red or caribbean blue. They are always fitted not too tight but not too loose either so it's just right. Her favourite clothes are any vest tops except from navy blue. The worst thing that could happen to her is loosing Ben. My character owns a  car. She often makes journeys like going for a walk in the forest to get wood to make a fire place. Her most treasured possession is the braclet her parents gave to her in primary and she has never taken it off. Her philosophies she lives by are firstly "life's too short to live the same day twice"; her other philosophy is "Never say never". She also lives by the philosophy "love is all matter's it matter's after all". Which sums up everything that's happens in life. She is an atheist but she used to be a christian but when her father passed away she began to question the works of God. Especially when she cried for help but no one answered and her father was left to die. She feels guilty that her mistake she had ever made was letting her mother know its okay to continue by making her heroin a daily chore. Kerrie Anne wants her old life back, she wants her dad back and for everyone in her family to get along like the way they used to. I don't blame her I would have wanted the same thing. Her deepest desire I would have to say is becoming a FBI; Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in the Behavior Analysis Unit (BAU). She loves Opera (Franz Schubert, Maria Callas) and Classical Music.

Character's Observations

I decided to take a trip to a public place where sitting and watching people could occur. So I thought some good places for this are: local landmarks. For example, the london eye; a museum. or any place where people move around as a natural part of their dailu schedule. I started off picking a specific movement trait to observe how fast or slow people walk or how different people gesture with their hands when they talk. It was helpful to write down quick notes; to draw sketches of the traits I observed. Later, I got with one of my partners that I perform my monologue to in any empty room available, to try and duplicate the observed movements. As I started to duplicate the movement,   I realised it was hard to remember them so I then tried to imagine the type of person I watched at westfield in white city and I also came to a conclusion to why they moved the way they did using my imagiantion. I studied individuals as they feel different emotions. I had done this in a public place where I watched people without being noticed. Then I heard people arguing; laughing, I watched how their body language had changed and their gestures become faster or slower. When a person looked sad to me, I thought of why exactly the person had done to make me think they were unhappy. I was observing the effects of emotion on the outward appearance of a person. This is important in character study considering that very few characters go through a play without feeling any emotion. I took many notes on the various elements of the visual display of emotion.

I made a lot of observations to help me play with my character's physicality and I found three people that stood out to me in Sports Direct. I wonder why, I mean notice that they all had different traits. For instance; this woman had a bounce while walking and I instantly thought she was in a happy mood but when I looked at her mood again alongside her facial expressions I thought to myself why do I think she’s happy, is it because she’s moving in a certain way; so I checked again then I realised she was actually upset/ tired, I remember what she wore as well. But the only reaosn why she had a bounce was because she was listening to a catchy caribbean song that she really liked. The song was so loud that even I could hear it and I recall it being Mavado House Top- Roof top. She wore the Hollister attire for employees and then I figured that it had to be stress from work that also played a part in how her body language was. Humans are quick to judge people by; just looking at them one, physicality they may have. For example: You may look at a teenage girl and say she’s got attitude because of how her body language and facial expression is. But that may not be the case; they may be thinking of something that makes them feel and react in that way. The other person that stood out was this quirky short fat guy. He actually looked a bit strange. He got on my train. The first thing I noticed was whenever he sat down he looked at the seat before sitting. I do that as well just to make sure if there is nothing dirty on the seat especially if I'm wearing white, red or caribbean blue.  He moved seats like five times as well. That's what I found strange. When speaking a lot of people do/say different things. Some people tend to move their hands gracefully others, well, others move their heads in an awkward way. Imagine a quirky person moving their neck from side to side that’s how this woman looked when she started speaking to me asking for directions.

Ideas about how I am going to play Kate Nelson.

* Find someone I have a strong connection with.
* Use the Meisner Technique and fuse it with the Method Acting.
* Work on my posture, she studies at Oxford  and she's the sort of person that loves to fit in so she would always be upright.
*
Evaluation & Feedback

You have achieved a Merit for this process. You are hard working generally and produce excellent practical work however you need to spend much more time on this part of the process in the future. An actor needs to really research every play and role in fine detail if they are to truly accomplish a complete and rounded performance. I know that many of you find the written aspects of the course a challenge but you will not be able to achieve higher grades overall unless you give this part of the process equal attention. We will discuss this in detail before you start exploring your next monologue.

Pass: You did very well for your first audition and I could see you were understandably nervous which did affect your performance and interview. Remember the panel want to meet you and the more you can be yourself and open up to them the better you will do. You particularly need to open up to redirection and be more creative in your response to that. If you focus on these elements then you will do much better next time and will improve your grade.

Contemporary 2- Preparation & Research & Evaluation & Feedback

Contemporary 2

Name: Kerri-Anne Bentley

Age:17-

Dob: April 30 1995

Ethnicity: Black British

Title and Author:

My monologue was chosen from BlackBerry Trout Face by Laurence Wilson. Laurence's first professional work as a writer was a trilogy of short plays. One of his plays is Surf's Up, produced at the Unity Theatre in Liverpool, 2002 and Contact Theatre in Manchester 2003; it was nominated for two Manchester Evening News Awards; Best New Play and Best Production. Mezz'ed Up was a Liverpool Lunchtime Theatre commission for the Unity Theatre in 2002. He then wrote Drug Runner's for the Bravo Channel, which was the channels first commissioned original drama. Laurence's first full length play Urban Legend, was produced at the Liverpool Everyman in 2004 and was published in the same year by Oberon Modern Plays, and was written during the attachment to the Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse theatre. Urban Legend won the Liverpool Daily Post Best Play of the Year. Laurence became the prestigious Pearson Writer in Residence at Liverpool Everyman Theatre in 2005  2006, and received a full commission to write a new stage play. Dark Tale, a twenty minute short play commissioned by Menagerie Theatre; for a short run at The Junction Theatre Cambridge for the Hotbed New Writing Festival, 2006. 2008 saw a collaboration with the NCH and Wells Bourne Primary School in Norris Green, which culminated in a short play about local issues called, When Worlds Collide. For radio Tin Man aired on BBC Radio 3 The Wire, January 2007 and Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band aired June 2007 on Radio 4. Laurence has recently been commissioned by 20 Stories High Theatre Company to write a new play for a 2009 School tour and is currently under commission by The Liverpool, Everyman Theatre.

BRIEF SYNOPSIS

Kerrie Anne sets about her daily task of preparing her Mother’s heroin. . . Jakey has just about had enough of life in a gang. . . Cameron is just too scared to step outside the front door. One morning, the three teenagers discover a note in the Frosties cereal. The note  was that their Mum Sherrel abandoned them: they were left home alone with no money and the only thing they could survive on is trout . 

Blackberry Trout Face is a bold, gritty and funny play, which explores universal themes such as family, loyalty and ambition. With sharply-drawn characters, crackling dialogue, and plenty of humour, we follow three young people as they struggle to cope in an exceptional circumstance. 

Genre and style of BlackBerry Trout Face: When I was picking my monologues, my main focus was their themes: cause I feel that in order for me to accelerate in my monologue performance; I would have to be able to feel a sense of connection with the theme; before trying to get the attention of the audience. The reason why my main priority and focus is on that aspect is because I feel as an actor you should connect with your performance so then the audience could then grasp “truth” and “believability” in your piece. This is very essential; when I was also picking my monologues my main focus was to do as the criteria said; to meet the demands. To meet the demands I was supposed to get a play that had been written since 1964 that are also suitable for my casting; as in I could genuinely play the role of Kerrie Anne Bentley.

Character profile: The character I have chosen is called Kerri Anne Bentley  is played by Nicola Bentley in a Theatre production for Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse. Kerrie’s character has a lot of conflict in the play.The character I chose has been through a lot of pain; especially when her father passed away; she was very close to him her mother would often say she was a daddy's girl; in contrast to this when Kerrie's father had passed her mother her mother started to take heroin and would ask Kerrie to make her heroin as a chore. To me as a young actress her history is painful

BlackBerry Trout Face& Kerri Anne Appeals: He used words and phrases that my generation would often use; say and as a youth that grabbed my attention even more. It was like I was there witnessing their struggle in a forum of an invisible ghost. When I read the play over and over again it’s like the play is on rewind mode in my head. I’m starting to get deep images in my head. Ever since I started reading plays I've started to enjoy reading the  plays and reading in general. But I felt with this play is I could actually make some of the things I do personal; to get a connection, I know her mum is in rehab and all but she acts like a tomboy I can do that so that's my starting point. It is fascinating and interesting to develop a character’s characteristics; that's my favourite part in playing a character is developing it's characteristics. I want to watch the piece live to get a feel of how my character physicality can be performed like. This playwright is really unique the way he writes his scripts is phenomenal; I actually love his plays because of the dramatic styles he uses. They stand out! He is such a clever playwright and when we were deciding on which monologues to do in class I was determined to do BlackBerry Trout Face despite what others felt best suited me because, BlackBerry Trout Face I felt would make the panel see a different character than what they have seen, I want to bring the tomboy in her even more to symbolise her male influence. I respect him and his work; I mean if you can write intriguing plays like this and get it published in my books you've made it. Per say, you are very successful.

Similarities:  I would have to say Kerrie Anne and I have a few similarities we both react to the way we are treated in the same way and I personally think this is an advantage. Although sometimes I can react differently depends on the scenario it’s the same thing with Kerrie. We both have also been with people that mean so much to us that act deceitfully towards us. Another similarity we both share is our fashion style. I mean like jumpers and ripped jeans with Air forces and so does she. We both have the same taste in music. She loves Rap and RNB and so do I.  Kerrie Anne has always been a mature teen in a small girls body because the playwright often refers to the fact that she is meant to do house chores, cook and clean for her little brother Cameron when Jakey the eighteen year old is not at home when he was the one that was left in charge by his mum the rehab run away.  We both speak softly and use a lot of gestures. Our facial expressions are similar in a way

Difference:  I'm really different from Kerrie-Anne. She has a strong passion for rock music. The only rock songs I know is we will rock you and hearts; what about love. She owns a CD with a whole play list of Rock songs. Whereas for me I don't listen to yet alone have/ own any rock CDs. I love traditional food and Chinese whereas with Kerrie she eats foods that I wouldn't dream of eating. Like, For instance; best believe she loves Sushi and Cod. Kerrie also eats fruits like Oranges and Tangerines; these are stuff I wouldn't eat at all because I don't have the same taste buds as her. I eat fruits like Apples, Pineapple's and I love grapes and strawberries.

Biggest challenge in playing the role of Kerri Anne Bentley: 

Truthfully my biggest challenge in playing the role is the fact that I'm not the daughter of a heroin addict. I haven’t really been in her position because my mum has never been in rehab and plus I'm the middle child but my mother don’t depend on me for things as much so I would not know how to go about playing her character as the rough, emotional tomboy. But firstly in order to  start playing more I would search for relevant plays that are made into films that I can watch. So I can at least get inspiration from the way the actress are playing the role of Kerrie; But I know I can begin with the tomboy act and the fact that tomboys are mostly girls with a lot of insecurities and that is why they dress like boys and talk to boys like they’re boys because that’s how they would fit in and if they’re talking to guys the girly girls will start to question why the boys accept them into their mini cliques (group). I'm not saying I am a tomboy but after studying them and the way they are I know how to portray them. Also, the other challenge is that in the monologue her thoughts have very different dynamics. At one point she thinks of her mother for quite some time then her thoughts change and she starts to think of her brother Jakey and Cameron.

What I need to work on vocally, physically and emotionally:  To be honest I feel that physically I should work on quite a lot on my gestures (movements) because as I mentioned before I researched more about the play by reading it and then I went on to find the background story of why it was written on-line where I found out more about the author. I had done further research and decided to create a background history of my character using what the author gave me to information simply because, the play did not tell me about my character in depth. I need to show how she often feels necessarily how the author felt when he was writing the play. If I did not research much further; then my role would look fake and made up sort of like a cartoon even though my main aim is for the audience to see truth in my two min performance. If I was just saying the lines and doing no actions it would not make my performance effective at all it. Instead it makes me look as if I am rehearsing my lines in front of the panel when I’m actually meant to be performing my monologue to them. Vocally: I believe I should do vocal warm ups that I have been taught by Jackie and Sean Pol because that will enable me to project my voice on stage and be very clear when my character (Kerri Anne) is saying her monologue. I need to have the correct tone of voice for this; so I should explore the different ways in which I can say different lines and make all of my: phrases, sentences .. etc more truthful. So it doesn't seem like I have just picked out a monologue because I was told to but instead I should make it feel real; it should actually also show compassion and how much I love performing not only the monologue but in general. Sixteen year old Kerri Anne Bentley ( Kerrie) is from the United Kingdom she lives in London; She lives in the borough of Hackney near Hackney Central- Kingshold Estate. September 25 1995. She is a tom boy and often dresses like Amanda Bynes character in the image on the right. She isn't rich nor is she middle class. She lived in an old fashion house near a small forest area. Ever since her father passed her mother went on a limb; and stopped going to work and paying the bills so therefore they're no longer middle class they are absolutely poor. Kerrie -Anne is now 16 she has a late birthday; so she is the youngest in her year. Kerrie has an older cousin the age of eighteen who is called Brandy Bromfield that despised her family because of family rivalry over her deceased father's property. The family feud started during the burial. Brandy was born on April 30 1994 in Homerton hospital just like Kerrie Anne in Hackney, London. In primary school Kerrie Anne was very bright, enthusiastic and funny. However, during her secondary school days Kerrie  started growing up and she had  a lot of feelings for her secondary school crush on the hottest guy she had ever laid eyes on; his name was Guyston. Her best friend Keyana realised this when she was having a sleepover at Kerrie's house and found her diary which had written evidence that she did like Guyston Daniel. However the feeling wasn't mutual because he was with someone else whom he liked very much. During secondary school Kerrie found out that her father had passed away while on a mission her father was a police officer. Before her father's death her family was very happy and everyone loved each other; to them Blood was thicker than water, until her father Jack Bentley passed away.

Emotionally: I should  generally work on getting in touch with my characters' inner teen emotions and how all of - what is happening to her with her mum and all and being forced to grow up is effecting her. Emotionally I need to explore different ways in which I can deliver the monologue and not just stick to one emotion. I want to use different emotions to make the performance more appealing to watch.

Impact of Blackberry Trout Face should have on an audience?

To be quite frank the impact the piece should have on the panel is, it should make the audience have  sympathy for the character I am playing Kerrie Anne because of what she has been through and how she has moved on. It should also make the panel understand why Kerrie-Anne is how she is by her nature. Through her speech and Kerrie Anne's gestures (movements) and body language. For example, her facial expression changes from this out going character into some emotional character. Also the eye contact connection she has should let the audience feel how she feels and should make her story more truthful.

What makes an engaging or compelling character is their charm and charisma  I created a character by using your imagination to create a new life; history for a character then turn them into a real life human being so you can play that character. To make the people that I have pictured in my mind come to life; I need to write stuff about them down, like the way I picture them speaking; re-acting and communicating with others. The two main purposes for these development exercises were 1) to help solidify my characterization by imaging my character in a variety of situations; and 2) to work with the information I have. Knowing my character as I do, I have to write about her in a way which makes use of the knowledge I have. The image often used here is an iceberg: most of what I know about my character will never be seen (or, stated) directly. Much of it will never be used at all. However, it is good for me - the writer - to know everything so that I can be confident about playing my character and how she will react in any given circumstance. 1st development exercise: writing in the third person, I had to my character in an environment familiar to him/her, carrying out some habitual action (work, eating, sleeping, domestic chores, driving, shaving,), whilst in the grip of some intense emotion. She sleeps in a fairly decent old fashioned styled home. She wears ripped jeans so her pockets have a lot of patches in them from needles; she use to like to sow but she grew out of it. She has a really nice old pauls boutique  purse her mother gave to her as a present.    

My characters physical appearance matters a lot to her but she does not show it. Deep inside she is really frightened of how others perceive her. My character is 158.5 (5'2) athletic build and dark chocolate. Kerrie Anne got given the nick name Kerrie by her boyfriend Trey; Her voice is low husky; her voice is quite  airy. Her hand gestures are really sharp and always directed in two ways either side ways or to the front. She loves her garden because that is where she goes and just think it's like whenever she's stressed out or angry she goes there to cool off.   Her garden is full of rose petals and other flowers. Her favourite part of her garden is the empty swimming pool; it's a bit dirty now but she loves to sit around it; reminiscing about her childhood and how happy she was. Her least favourite is parent's room because it makes her reminisce about how happy the family was; how her father and mother made her feel, she always felt special and wanted but now is like she feels rejected and unwanted. Picture this her bedroom door is painted red with music notes all over it and a sign that says please don't enter; but enter anyway she is rarely in her room and it has no lock. Then turn the latch clock wise and walk into the room and as soon as you enter Kerrie Anne's bedroom has Caribbean blue wall paper and her favourite Michael Jackson and Brandy Norwood the famous singer's posters on her walls. She has a king size bed that is on the left of her room because her father brought it for her before he passed and it has remained there ever since. Her bed sheets are pure white showing her purity and has Toy story 3 characters and Michael Jackson on them. In the middle she has a tinted white window and has three lemon scented candles next to the window on a tray and a desk.She puts the bag in the same part of her room for when she has to study which is right next to her wardrobe on the right side of her computer. She has a black bag-pack with white stones and thorns on the outside of it that says Kerrie Rocks that's her nick name that her boyfriend gave to her. The desk is black; it is sort of like a wooden square without the bottom line. That is where she keeps her dell computer; her over due library books and then as for her bag she lives it underneath her study desk. On the right she has a wardrobe that she made in one of her construction classes that is fairly big it starts from one side of the room and ends at the other side. Her wardrobe is painted red with music notes on her wardrobe like her door. She wears a lot of biker jackets; she even has it in every colour except from Green and Pink just like ripped jeans and vest tops. She loved to give to charity she sort of lost some of her McDonald's toys she used to get and her barbies; but she has thrown them away because she grew out of it. She sometimes wears shorts and a vest top but then she also wears her black mickey mouse pj's. My character dreams of achieving her goals and pursing them and getting out of her current situation of being left alone with no adult supervision and no one to talk to since she pushed her friends and their families away. She is middle class and Black British  In secondary school she liked a boy called Guyston Jester Daniels people call him Guyston or Jester. But they never got together cause the feeling wasn't mutual. However right before she was about to get in college she really likes a boy called Trey( Tremaine) later on they became a couple but then they broke up a few weeks after her mother ran away from home; Kerrie Anne broke up with him because she was really stressed and she didn't want him to feel neglected because she stopped spending a lot of time with him. Kerrie Anne is really old school; she believes in sex after marriage and she doesn't want to have sex with just anyone she wants it to be with someone she loves and someone who feels the same way. This shouldn't be a surprise but she is a virgin. My character doesn't do anything but take care of her siblings. She is unemployed and the only thing she can do is provide trout but her brother Jakey wants to show the family that he is a man that can provide for his family. Kerrie Anne has a lot of fears but the one thing she is afraid of the most is loosing the only person she really cares and loves; her mother. There is one thing she would change if she was born is the way she approached her mother's drug life situation. Her favourite scent;smell are roses. Kerrie Anne has a lot of hobbies, she likes to read, sing and listen to her rock music as I mentioned before. She likes to wear shoe's like timbalands, vans and furry slippers. rebook trainers. All her shoes are either black or red or Caribbean blue. They are always fitted not too tight but not too loose either so it's just right. Her favourite clothes are any coloured ripped Jeans and vest tops except from Green and Pink. The worst thing that could happen to her is loosing her mother; I believe she would then break down emotionally and commit suicide or take drugs to ease away the pain. My character does not own any cars but she does owns a: skateboard, bike and a scouter. She protects them like they're babies. She doesn't let anyone borrow or use them at all. She actually gets angry and hurts anyone that even touches them. She often makes journeys like going for a walk inn the forest to get wood to make a fire place. Her most treasured possession is the bracelet her parents gave to her in primary and she has never taken it off. Her philosophies she lives by are firstly "life's too short to live the same day twice" her other philosophy is "Never say never". She also lives by the philosophy "love is all matter's it matter's after all". Which sums up everything that's happens in life. She is an atheist but she used to be a Christian but when her father passed away she began to question the works of God. Especially when she cried for help but no one answered and her father was left to die. She feels guilty that her mistake she had ever made was letting her mother know its okay to continue by making her heroin a daily chore. Kerrie Anne wants her old life back, she wants her dad back and for everyone in her family to get along like the way they used to. I don't blame her I would have wanted the same thing. Her deepest desire I would have to say is becoming a poet and using her poetry to create world peace and love between everyone that has arguments or fights. She also wants new blue vans shoes.

Character's Observations

I decided to take a trip to a public place where sitting and watching people could occur. So I thought some good places for this are: a shopping centre, train/ bus station or any place where people move around as a natural part of their day. I picked a movement trait to observe such as how fast or slow people walk or how people gesture with their hands when they talk. It was helpful to write down quick notes; to draw sketches of the traits I observed. Later,on I got with one of my partners that I perform my monologue to in private, to try to duplicate the observed movements myself. As I duplicated the movement,  I also tried to imagine the type of person I watched at Westfield in white city and I also tried to understand why they moved the way they did using my imagination   I studied individuals as they feel different emotions. I had done this in a public place where I watched people without being noticed. Then I heard people arguing; laughing,  I watched how their body language had changed and their gestures become faster or slower. When a person looked sad to me,  I thought of why exactly the person had done to make me think they were unhappy. I was observing the effects of emotion on the outward appearance of a person. This is important in character study considering that very few characters go through a play without feeling any emotion. I took many notes on the various elements of the visual display of emotion.   I made a lot of observations to help me play with my character's physicality and I found three people that stood out to me in Sports Direct. I wonder why, I mean notice that they all had different traits.  For instance; this woman had a bounce while walking and I instantly thought she was in a happy mood but when I analysed; looked at her mood again alongside her facial expressions I thought to myself why do I think she’s happy because she’s moving in a certain way; so I checked again then I realised she was actually upset/ tired, I remember what she wore as well. She wore the TK MAX attire for employees and then I figured that it had to be stress from work. Humans are quick to judge people by; just looking at them one, physicality they may have. For example: You may look at a teenage girl and say she’s got attitude because of how her body language and facial expression is. But that may not be the case. The other person that stood out was this quirky tall guy. He was very tall and slim in build. He actually looked cool; there was something about his quirkiness that made me think I like the piercings and tattoo’s he had; it made him stand out as a different person instead of going with the normal trend he had his on trend type of thing going on; what surprised me was the fact he was not a goth. He got on my bus, so I went to sit behind him and look at his movements and how he acted. The first thing I saw was his tattoos they were actually, meaningful and about his family members that had passed away.  The human instinct is to judge a book by its cover and that’s what I had done. But this time, he done something that made me change, my thoughts about what sort of person he is. And that make me this, I When speaking a lot of people do/say different things. Some people tend to move their hands gracefully others, well, others move their heads in an awkward way.  Imagine a quirky person   moving their neck from side to side that’s how this woman looked when she started speaking to me asking for directions.

Background Research

The only family she has are just her mother(Drug addict) and her two brothers; Cameron(Camz) and Jakey(J.B.). Her other family member is their cousin Sherrel Anne Bentley as mentioned before. Kerrie Anne acted the way she did in the play because she is very close to her family especially her mother and brothers; she really has a lot of love for them. Her current boyfriend is a guy called Trey(Tremaine). I done a little biography based on how her life its like a character log. I also thought I needed to find out more about the play and why it was written. So I looked into the playwrights previous work and his remarks about BlackBerry Trout Face.  I thought of the idea of making a documentary for my characters that I have to play. To make them more believable and real instead of just making up a character. So I decided to ask my fellow class mates and a few friends. Penny Dobson, Claudia Dos Santos and Tracy Lomanga to help me out to make the documentary of Kerrie Anne. Penny plays the role of Sherrel; Kerrie Anne's mother in the documentary.Tracy Lomanga plays the role of Kerrie Anne's cousin in the documentary. Claudia Dos Santos is Kerrie Anne's best friend and she's known her since primary they went to the same school and college. They were practically brought up together. In the documentary Kerrie Anne tells the interviewer a secret.

BRIEF BIO

Kerrie Anne Bentley is a female was born in Homerton Hospital; and she was raised in hackney in London. She is sixteen and not in education. She is black British. She has two other siblings called Cameron (15) and Jakey (19) her mother is called Sherrel Anne Catherine-Bentley. Her mother is often referred to Sherrel in the documentary.

Manor Primary School- Kerrie Anne (Kerrie) went to and completed Manor. She was a bright child, very adventurous and enthusiastic. Her father was determined to make her become the next big lawyer and that is what she wanted to be. However Kerrie Anne remained the way she was until she reached Hackney Free.

Hackney Free secondary school

She was very smart and a loud eccentric character. She had a competitive side that was drilled in her in her early stages by her deceased father this would often make her compete in spellings bee and she felt that if she came first place all the time she would be feel her father would be at peace in heaven. Unfortunately in year 10 her father passed away and her mother and her found it hard to cope with their loss. Her mother began to do drugs which led her into her current rehab run away situation, Despite, being very active and positive at school when she went home she was a complete different person she would often be so quiet and very distant from her family members because of the hardships she witnessed her mother going through because of her father's death. She started to become this absurd character, she turned out to be a bit of a rebel that acted rude, less ambitious and fearful towards her peers and family.

College life: She attended B-SIX but she got kicked out in her first year for skipping her lessons on a regular basis. It wasn't entirely her fault it was because she had huge responsibilities that she found hard to cope with when her mother ran away from her home to the south coast with her friends.

How am I going to go about playing the role of Kerrie Anne?

* Re- read the play:It seems obvious, but the first place to get insight into my  character is by reading the play. Before making any decisions or judgements about my character, I read the whole play three times. The first read was a "pleasure read". I Just read the play as a whole purely for enjoyment purposes, paying no particular attention to my character. I Read the play a second time, this time recording everything that is said about my character, and every detail I can possibly find about the environment and people surrounding my character. Also I recorded everything that the other characters do to affect my character. The third time through, noticed everything my character thinks about he rest of the characters and every change my character makes to the world around them. I then had a good framework to start from.
*Making it real:Using my imagination to make a documentary to build a relationship between the main people that affect Kerrie-Anne to tap into any hidden emotions; that are not in the text, I could use to play Kerrie. One thing I do when I am playing the role of any character is to make the situation my character is in as real to myself as possible. In this case the characters are supposed to be my brothers my blood and I am meant to love them unconditionally. I use what the text gives me as the information I need to make a reason to lure Jakey into  wanting to stay and then I'd act how I normally would if I was in that situation but as Kerrie- Anne. I love spending time creating a background for my characters; researching certain qualities that my character may obtain; how to portray those qualities to my audience, in this case the panel. If it is not already supplied of course. After all, if I believe that I am Kerrie-Anne and that I am in the situation she is in, then the audience will connect with my monologue and will believe my piece. Also I am working on being confident in myself while performing or speaking to the panel. I have noticed that nobody wants to see somebody who is too shy to even say a lie, they want to see somebody who is having fun up there and is taking risks despite what they feel inside. I have  learnt to make the work personal because there's Yvonne the performer and the other Yvonne who is still trying to figure out who she is.* Developing my character:When I develop any character I play he role of, the main thing I discover is my Motivation in the scene. I then remind myself of the 5 w's. What just happened in the previous scene, why am I here?, when did I get here?, where am I?, who am I?*Character DevelopmentDon't make yourself the character but the character yourself.

Documentary

The documentary I had done was purely based on the people I thought had the most impact on Kerrie Anne Bentley. In Kerrie Anne's life which is her mother; cousin and best friend. To try and get an inner connection with my character to enable me to play the role of Kerrie Anne to my strength I decided to get a few of my peers together and make a documentary. I made the documentary using my camera and it was filmed in my fellow class mate's house(Tracy Lomanga). The documentary consist of the  two of the main characters and an extra, Kerrie Anne's Mother, Brandy that is her family member and  her best friend(Keyana). 

Here is the documentary about Kerrie Anne Bentley background story. That I have filmed. Here is a link to Brandy's documentary.

 

Evaluation & Feedback

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