Improving energy levels

In our final week of rehearsals before the show (2^nd – 6^th Dec) we spent our rehearsals running through the show up to three times a day. In these rehearsals we would continue to tighten up scenes to make the show as big as we could. One way we did this was ensuring that the energy never dropped, something we had been continuously struggling with since our very first rehearsals off-script.

In our final rehearsals we were constantly receiving feedback from the second years that helped with our show and their main note was that the pace was slow and our energy was low. We were good at starting Act 1 with lots of energy but by the time we were at the Ball scene in Act 2, Scene 2 the pace would’ve slowed to a snail’s pace and there was dead air. Keeping the pace of our piece up was important as when performing to our school audiences it was crucial for us to ensure that the children would not get bored. This meant that we had to tighten up our transitions and make sure there were never any static moments on stage.

One way we did this was by creating business within our small groups or pairs as we made our entrances and exits, such as chatting. In my first entrance Becky and I produced a small piece of business where we would talk about selling our vegetables as we made our way onto the stage. These small bits of business taking place on stage meant that the energy would not drop and helped keep the pace of the show moving swiftly. I also found that these bits of business helped me in developing my character as it meant that Becky and I could develop the relationship between our two characters who worked with one another in selling fruit and vegetables to the villagers of Merrivale.

It was always important that we never exited in silence otherwise scenes would become flat as we made our way off awkwardly. By having small conversations as we exited helped create the friendly and energetic atmosphere of the village of Merrivale.

By our final rehearsals on the 6^th we, as a company had worked to develop small techniques in ensuring we could keep up a strong energetic performance from the moment the lights went up in Act 1, Scene 1 to our finale walk down.