On 04/05/14 I had a rehearsal that was, essentially, a work in progress.  I invited a few friends to come and see my show in the space with a few of the props.  Their feedback was as follows:

*More sincerity and honesty when it comes to performing the child-like self – to give even more the impression that she is lost in her own world – make it obvious when I am playing the younger version of myself and when it’s actually just me.  To make more obvious the game of hide and seek to show that she is dipping in and out of her childhood memories and reflecting on those experiences.  I could use the game of hide and seek to represent the older self playing with my younger siblings, the experiences and memories I dip into portrayed through my younger self.

* Swapping the blue sheet for actual water and use the water a little more.  In terms of aesthetic, the blue sheet wasn’t as effective as I hoped it would be.  I guess this is because, other than the rose that I throw into the ‘water’, I don’t use it at any other time during the performance. I’m thinking, to try to incorporate the water a little more, that I may change a little of the text in the final episode of the monologue in which I can brush my hand in the water rather than give the illusion that I’m inside a tent. This way I can also focus more on the stars that will be presented through the fairy lights strung in the beams above.

*Use a smaller space. Performing it in the space, the props that I did use, didn’t fill the space as much as I hoped and so it looked a little lost.  One of the ways to overcome this would just be to bring in the performance and occupy a tinier space.  This would enhance the idea that everything within her tiny environment is spurring of the memories she has and the performance can then be more intimate.  I’m thinking of having the drapes at angles which frame the edges of the performance, with the audience sitting on a mixture of bean bags and chairs as if they are peering into her world. See picture below. I have also bought another grass carpet and have now purchased some stones as ideally, I don’t want any of the grey floor to be seen.

The main thing is to keep rehearsing to iron out the creases!

The stage layout is almost like a sun…

Nicholls, N. (2014) Stage Layout.

To pull back the drapes to see into the secret garden beyond…

*****

An idea to incorporate the water more – create a love heart in the water using stones.

Nicholls, N. (2014) Heart in Water.

This however, took too long.  I like the idea of creating a heart as it relates directly to the moment as to when I’m talking about my family, but I’m going to need to do something that takes less time.  I need to do something that takes less than 30secs to accommodate the transition of one voiceover into the next and allow myself to ‘go to sleep’, so it is efficient and therefore, more effective.