Let the games begin

The cast have been competing in a series of challenges to work on the competitive nature we see at Enron. We have done the research, now it is about working out how it feels for us individually and for us as a group of people and the effect we all have on each other. We can then take the ideologies we discover and the atmosphere we create and feed it into our work.

The first challenge was the plank challenge. Admittedly when Ben mentioned the idea I was not a massive fan, probably because I knew it was a competition I couldn't win; and if there is one thing that Claudia and I share it is an (occasionally) unhealthy competitive nature. Looking around the room at the physically fit company I was in, I entered this particular challenge with a bleak outlook. My prediction came true; although I was determined not to be the first person to drop I was within the first 10; a disgraceful performance, but when my other competitors began to fall shortly after and I observed the array of talent left, I could see that I would never have stood a chance. Ben then asked those of us not competing to pick someone to support. With Iris being the only girl left at this point, us 5 girls stuck together and all got behind her. We cheered and offered encouragement (possibly some threats), anything to keep her up. Eventually, not even our words of wisdom could battle gravity for Iris and she dropped out in a very respectable 3rd place. So then it was down to Courtney and Vlad and I took my chances with Courtney. Now there were about 11 people surrounding each boy, screaming at them to keep going and screaming at the others to give up. Accusations of cheating were flying around the room and any underhand tactics were allowed, as long as the other team didn't catch you. Although I did not win, Courtney did and that was as close to winning as I was going to get with the challenge.

Why was getting a group of students to plank, scream at each other and take on the character of a dance mum helpful in our character development? Because it showed us everything someone needs to ignite their competitive nature. Entering the challenge with my mind set meant I was definitely going to lose. If you don't have faith in yourself to win, then what's the point in even trying; you are your own worst enemy. That teaches us many things: we must have confidence in other characters- 'I believed in Enron'- we have to believe that this company is going to work, even though we know the ending we must believe in those moments that we are working for a company that is godlike and untouchable; it is what will make the story work for us and the audience, we must have confidence in ourselves to pull of these characters, which on a personal level means letting go of inhibitions and doubts because they are going to become the very thing holding me back and finally we must believe in the piece- we want this piece to be the best? Then we have to believe it is. This challenge also revealed a nature in all of us that we can all channel in the creation of the play and our characters- we are animals, competition is our nature, it is a survival instinct and to survive in the business world you must tap into that. I have nothing against Vlad and yet some of what I was saying to try and persuade him to drop just so I could win, is unacceptable, explained only by the need I felt to be on the winning team. It is instinctual, beneficial, egotistical and it feels good. The joy and excitement Enron generated was by making people believe they were winners. We need to know what that feels like and on a deeper level what we sacrificed to achieve it. The importance of winning is something Claudia and the company share and this exercise allowed me to access the recesses of my body and mind that crave this like a drug which is hopefully something I can refer to as stimulus.

Our second competition was a devising challenge which was something I was more confident walking into. The team leaders: Tat and I, Alfie and Amber and Sam and Charlie. We were given a group to direct in a physical sequence to appear at the end of scene 6; a pinnacle moment in our physical timeline seeing as this was written in by the playwright. Tatenda and I used the phrase organised chaos as our inspiration: its mad and crazy but ordered and precise. The world Enron created was bizarre to the outside eye and the audience should feel that, but the companies work was slick which was why they continued as long as they did, so the combination of the two was what we wanted to bring. We worked with 2 tables and 3 props- paper, phones and keyboards. The paper was dropped, but then promptly picked up by someone following, a phone was picked up thrown around the group and then someone would stand still take the call and then carry on and keyboard leads were used to walk the employees like dogs and then they got up and continued to type; so to reiterate, hectic but stylish. I am happy to report that our team won and I'm sure Claudia and Lay would be very proud. Although, on a level similar to the plank challenge this allowed me to experience what it is to spend energy and get a reward for it and it fed that element in me that wanted Claudia to beat the group led by 2 Skilling's.

Bad day at the office

Today was not a good day. We did some good rehearsing for a time, but this will be recorded as the Enron cast's bad day.

We worked through two scenes today so I'll start with that. Firstly Sam, Tat, Kai and I worked with Ben on the split scene which was a really interesting dynamic to work with. Working in a split scene is a test of concentration and is a demonstration of how well you can build and invest in your world. Kai and Sam share a scene that is very active and upbeat, a scene of high energy and light humour. Sam and Kai's scene is the kind of scene I find myself wanting to watch when I'm not speaking; I find myself taking a glance at them working because they are producing work that is enticing, fun and witty and so naturally you are drawn in. However, I am not their audience in that scene- to me they do not exist in that moment. My scene is about Claudia and Lay sharing a mother and daughter moment, which contrasts the nature of Jeff and Andy's scene, but my investment in my world will be paramount not only in building a good character and relationship in this scene, but helping the audience stay on track in this duel scene and matching the work of the boys on the floor.

I love this scene because it is the first time we see a flip side to Claudia's character. We see a more vulnerable person, a childlike side being bought out by this mothering figure of Lay. Working alongside Lay in our first private scene is a pure joy and something I feel is important to record and talk about because it was the light of a dark day. Tatenda oozes a regal, commanding vibe which creates such a rich atmosphere, yet in this scene Claudia is deliberately contrasting this because she is having a tantrum- if she can't be happy, neither can anyone else. The clash of these two natures in this scene is how we will create sparks which will contrast, but hopefully match the energy the boys bring on the floor. My concerns about this scene currently reside in the feat of making our scene as entertaining as Skilling and Fastow's. The natural comedy Kai brings to his role is so entertaining, so then to be the one to bring a downer on the whole scene; I almost want to tell Claudia to get a grip and shut up so we can all focus on Fastow in that moment. However what I need to remember is that Claudia has been genuinely hurt at this point: her dreams have been shattered, she feels betrayed and worthless and this is her acting out. Our section of the scene may not be lighthearted or go down in the history as the most comical and yet the entertainment and drama will come from the relationship myself and Tat form onstage, fuelled by the raw necessity our characters feel to get their point across. It will be an interesting combination to watch onstage and as Claud and Lay always follow the boys, we have to match their energy and intensity by investing in our world as much as they do. It creates that competitive fight that Enron is all about: to be heard, to be on top, to be the best.

The second scene we blocked today was the analyst scene. You could say the extent of Claudia's role in this scene is opening the doors and that's it, job done, but what I got to do here was watch. There aren't many plays and rehearsals in which when you are told to 'just watch' that you enjoy it- it isn't the meatiest task to be given, but I really enjoyed just experiencing this world that is being pieced together each week as we work. I was observing in two minds: number one as Olivia, getting to revel in the excitement that this world gives me, for me as an actress, it's like being a child at Christmas; it comes around every year and yet each time you get just as excited. Then I observe as Claudia, bitter and begrudging of Skilling as he obtains everything I wanted. Both gives me emotional stimulus in my gut which is something I want to carry through into the next scenes, an energy that I hope will translate onstage and inject passion into my following scenes which is informed entirely by the stimulus of the world and the character.

And now for the elephant in the room- why was the rehearsal so bad? If you took into account how personally productive I found it, it would appear to be a very successful rehearsal, but here's the catch. Forgetting the details of the incident, today our ensemble forgot the core thing holding us together; we are a unit, a family and when we decide to turn on one another, we lose a relationship and connection that we have all seen grow and form over the weeks. And it was really sad to see that in question today. Our rehearsal finished today with Ben reminding us that if we repeat what happened today, we will let him, ourselves and each other down. What he said to us today was harsh but it needed to be said- at the end of the day as a group of people, we are responsible for each other's actions. This is a unit reliant on communication, care and trust- without that we are left with nothing. If we forget that these people are our family for the next 5 months, not just out of necessity, but because we are coming to know and love people we have not been able to interact with previously, we will lose a component that makes this all so magical. That bond is so precious, so special and yet fragile- one person could destroy that and without it we lose a spark that lights up this whole piece. Having a bad day today is okay, as long as we move forward heeding the words that have been spoken and making an internal promise to sort it out- there is no other way if we want this piece to come to fruition.

Let's Trade

Today was a learning curve- both in our development in creating the world and our creation of the physical aspects to the piece. Today we devised the physical sequence for the trader scene which threw us into the hectic mess that is the trading floor seen at Enron. This video explains what the traders at Enron were like:

“No one was more aggressive than the traders.” 

“If I step on somebodies throat on the way that doubles it, well I’ll stomp on the guy’s throat.”

“A new economic religion.”

Sources like this were really helpful when informing our work today. We had to get to grips with the violent necessity of the work these men and women carried out, whilst depicting the sacred ritual which existed on the trading floors of this major cooperation. It is moments like this in the play that will make or break the atmosphere of the world we create which will have a huge impact on whether we are able to immerse the audience in the story. If we can make our physical representations truthful and slick then we will be able to represent this sector of the business well and yet if we allow it to become sloppy and uninformed, the piece as a whole will become less mature, which will destroy this piece entirely. To make this play not just good but great, we need to bring a level of maturity and understanding that perhaps would not be expected of a group of students. We have no hope of understanding the business world from personal experience, so our research and dedication to the facts and artistry of the reality we are representing in our 'fictional' story, is of the utmost importance. 

To find truthful physical stimulus you need look no further than the trading floors and their abundance of hand signals used constantly to communicate with one and other. This video shows some of the many signals used:

I also made reference to this article in my research: Trading Pit's Hand Signals

Both of these show us the aggression and specific movement we need to channel in our physical sequence for the trader scene. From today's rehearsal I believe the key to this scene will be the confidence in what we are doing with our hands and bodies. As I am not going to be in the sequence today my main job was to watch and feedback to the group what it looked like. When we started it looked like a complete mess, but that was to be expected and with a scene (and indeed a play) like this it isn't so bad to have some of the components a little rough around the edges. However there's messy and then there was what we were producing at the start of today's rehearsal. The problem was that people had taken a glance at a video or picture of trading pit hand signals and then just made up their own movements. For this scene to be effective we need to know what we are doing with our hands, otherwise it is really obvious that the movement is not founded in truth and therefore the audience won't get on board. This piece could be a high energy, interactive moment which would pull the audience directly into our world; that is, if we know what we're dragging them into. After today's rehearsal it is clear that as a company we need to go away and do some thorough research on this part of our world and come back all on the same level of knowledge so as to make this movement and our world not a stab in the dark at what we think it would be like, but knowing exactly what went on in these chaotic trading floors.

Another element that will push this scene to be better is our ability to connect with the music we are using. The track is going to be one of the biggest aids when bringing the atmosphere of the trading floor to life, but I think as a group because we have focused so much on getting to grips with the movement, we forget that it won't work if it doesn't compliment the track we are using. I think as a general target, we all need to start to let the soundtrack of the whole play effect us, in the same way the text does. It is a key component to the piece and we need to start using it to enhance and develop our actions onstage. 

Side Stretch

It seems that side stretch is fast becoming part of the ritual of the Enron rehearsal room. Recording and understanding the significance of this warm up is important so as to make it something I do for a specific purpose and not just as a passive movement.

Step 1

Step 1:  we walk around the room and when we feel the need to we: stand still with your legs wide, raise your arms above your head and arch your neck backwards releasing your breath on an 'ah'. This should open you up both physically and to the space you are working in, making you focused and aware.

Step 2- when we have completed step 1 enough times to become sufficiently focus we assume the warrior pose in a space in the room. The aim is to connect with invisible lines that run through the space, our body and the atmosphere. Remaining silently strong and focused whilst waiting for others to assume this position allows the energy you gained from step 1 to be transferred and maintained.

Step 3- when everyone has completed steps 1 and 2 a person in the ensemble calls whether we are going right or left first and then we go right to left with our arms 8 times. Keeping the lines in your arms and counting aloud normally creates an atmospheric environment in the room.

Step 2

Step 3

Step 4

Step 4- after you reach your final 8 count, you twist your hips to face the direction of the last count lifting your hands into a diagonal parallel, an extension which should coincide with the line your legs are making. If you went from your toes to your fingers you should be able to draw a diagonal line.

Step 5- keeping your arms in parallel you slowly bend at the waist so your hands come down to position themselves one hand on either side of your front foot.

Step 6- stepping your front foot back you come into a plank position which then leads you into a press-up aiming to keep the transition from each movement as smooth and controlled as possible.

Step 5

Step 6 

Step 7

Step 7- after your press-up you move your arm nearest to the back of the room under your torso and use this motion to roll the opposite way onto your back so you are laying flat.

Step 8- slowly raise your arms and legs at the same time with your ankles and wrists crossed over each other with the aim to crunch your abdominal so you can see through the hole in your legs. Breathing is key in this position and you should hold this position until the room generally decides to lower back down to flat.

Step 9- after taking a moment to regain a normal rhythm of breath, roll back over onto your front and push yourself up into the sphinx position. When there, rotate your head slowly from left to right trying to take in everything you can see and sense in the room.

Step 8 

Step 9 

 

Step 10 

Step 10- after completing step 9 lower back down to flat. Then push your bum up and back so it comes to rest on your heels whilst extending your arms out into prayer position. Take a moment here to breath as if through your toes and experience the difference in breath when in this position.

Step 11- after time in position 10 flip your palms to face upwards and drag them backwards lifting the top half of your body up into kneeling. Take a moment here to rest and slowly feel the rotation of your body; your breath, physicality and mentality and when you feel the urge to stand and finish the rotation, come to stand in neutral, exuding energy towards the horizon.

Step 12- once everyone has come to the end of step 11 the room should be alive with the energy the actors are giving out. The focus should have peaked in this moment. Then our director will shout 'HA' and we jump back into warrior pose. The aim is to say and move on the 'HA' as if simultaneously without delay.

Step 11 

Step 12/1 

The aim of side stretch is to obtain the energy and focus that our rehearsals require. Taking a moment to get in tune with our bodies and minds sets us up for a good rehearsal full of positive energy and creativity. Side stretch should become not a serious of steps but a flowing transition, not separating any movement, but allowing them to become one move. It shouldn't be performed, but experienced and lived and it is important that if it doesn't work for one rehearsal with time and practice the exercise will become an easy entry point into the alive, constantly moving world of the play.

THAT Scene pt.2

Sam and I came in this Friday to work on Scene 2- the one which we tried and failed to work on this Wednesday. Ben was correct; it was definitely something me and Sam needed time alone to work out. The first time we attempted to block the scene, we couldn't take it seriously for more than 1 second; but that is what we expected. After that we took about 10 minutes to sit and laugh about this as Sam and Olivia and then continued, attempting to work as Jeff and Claudia, and if not at that level just yet, as a more professional version of ourselves. We still had awkward  moments and things we had to address that neither of us particularly wanted to mention, but eventually we were able to get comfortable with the scene and were ready to show it to Ben. Ironically for two people that didn't feel particularly comfortable with the scene, to be told that we'd done too much, was amusing. However in a way I'm glad we did because now I know that I don't have to go so far and so whatever happens now, can't be any worse. I think it is one of those things that once we get further on in the process, will be a moment that is so irrelevant in the grand scheme of things, that the fact that it made me uncomfortable will be laughable. However for now I am happy with how it is and I do feel much more comfortable with the whole thing which is important. 

I wanted this role because it was challenging and this tests that- it asks me to ask myself if I was prepared for that? The answer: perhaps I didn't know the specific challenges, but I'm ready to tackle them as they come. Although writing this now it seems as if my professionalism and willingness to give myself over to the character and the process is slim to none, but those feelings are just personal thought processes and the truth is that she is pushing me so far out of my comfort zone, but that is exactly why I wanted the chance to play her. Every day I'm slowly realising that a women that I saw as my foil is someone that I enjoy coming to know. As I come to develop an understanding of her mind, body and soul I see that she has so much depth and texture and she makes me so happy and excited to play. This is difficult, there is no contesting that, and yet it is moments like this, moments in which I feel so uncomfortable, that my inspiration to make the scene work has to come from outside of my own head; it's her I want to make it work for. It is a connection to a character that is proving to be so compelling and it is wonderful to sit here and begin to reflect on work that I would never have believed possible for me to do and the fact is I haven't done anything yet! I have mentioned many times now that the power of the play is that through the creation of these characters you come to love them and develop a sympathy for them and that is so true; Claudia is effecting me and I am coming to love a women that I logically having nothing in common with, a concept that is so thrilling for me as an actress.