Today we rehearsed the biggest and probably most important scene that Chino is in, the one when he comes to Maria and ends up telling her that her brother is dead. I got a message from the assistant the night before, to remind me that we are doing this scene tomorrow. Thanks, that sweet and all but as if I did not learn this scene off by heart weeks ago. Its so much fun to do and it shows a glimpse of this character that I think is one of the most interesting in the show. we read it once to make sure that we all know where we are and then jumped into the rehearsal space and just went for it. The style of Phillip, the director, is to pretty much set a lot of things, at least when it comes to movements and were to be at what time. I think it is helpful for the opera singers who are usually told where to stand and what to do at what time, but it can be a bit discouraging if you want to engage in free and truthful acting but then kind of have to follow a more or less tight choreography. But it’s not to tight so it is still possible to find your own free moments and explore them so there are no real complaints here. The scene was fun, it has more energy, more drive than what I imagined it to be, but that fits well with my character. I was also told that I am still underplaying it, that I can make it bigger and bring it more to the outside rather than keeping it internal. Well, that’s a first for a start. Throughout most of my training, I was told to bring my over the top acting more to the inside, well now it seems i is a bit too much on the inside, at least for this director. I will have to do this scene again with the second Maria but this first go we had at it felt really great and full of energy and excitement. It is a very small space to act in, being more than two arm lengths apart from each other is almost impossible, which makes it even more intense and direct, because there is nowhere to go, nowhere to run. I now can not wait to do this scene again and work on some more refinement.
I also will try to incorporate some animal studies, just to give myself a movement character. I looked at playful but proud animals, and I think a young monkey would be a great choice. He is playful and proud at the same time, and there is a clear hierarchy in the monkey kingdom so everyone has to know their place in the group, just like in this gang. I will try to bring some of this into my physicality as I think it will help me, especially with this scene when chino feels more or less trapped in this room with Maria.