The love affair of Claudia Roe and Mike Alfreds

A lot of the advice I have been given in this process and a lot of the approaches we have taken in rehearsal have reflected the work of Mike Alfreds and thus Claudia's character got a second love affair.

From the start of our process I adopted a Mike Alfred's technique to begin my text work. Alfreds asks his actors to action their scripts so as to bring the text to life This is a page from my last scene in which Claudia sees Jeff for the first time since he fired her; obviously a little awkward. Therefore employing Alfreds' technique of actioning, I came up with 4 objectives for the lines. When working on this scene Charlie and I have been able to work with Alfreds theory of developing the actions into physical gestures. The 4 objectives for this scene all seem to centre around Claudia belittling Skilling and metaphorically saying 'I told you so.' To do this I started playing with these objectives in their extreme forms; with my voice, by pushing it's patronising tone and with my physicality by invading Charlie's personal space, with the confidence that he is so broken that he couldn't push me away. Obviously to an audience these actions look very childish, which to an extent Claudia is in this scene, but with Claudia being Claudia her voice and physicality wouldn't show this so blatantly. However playing with the extremes means I can find a happy medium. Knowing my purpose onstage means I can carry it out better and playing around with my actions and intentions allows me to breath new life into this scene.

Alfreds looks for truthfulness in his work; he does't want his actors to pretend to be he just wants them to be- to live, become and be true to the character to the extent that the line between fiction and non fiction should become blurred. With someone like Claudia, me pretending to be her wouldn't work- I am too different to just make an educated guess. Therefore I need to research and dedicate myself to coming to know and understand her so it is not just a stab in the dark, but a well informed, mature response to the character and the stimulus it produces. For a women that is so self assured, if my portrayal doesn't match her on that level, it will just be unconvincing. For someone of my age and experience to have any hope of playing this character well, I will have to be unrecognisable as myself onstage. 

If you ask someone who Mike Alfreds is, the work they are most likely to know is his book 'Different Every Night'. The title of said book is a fundamental aim for our cast. This play has the potential to be playful and fresh every time we perform- whether in a rehearsal room or for one of our shows in the New Theatre. Being able to be playful with this piece will bring a dimension to the performance that a clean cut show wouldn't- it brings raw energy and excitement which means we could have the same audience every night and they would see a different show. If we can have a mixture of Alfreds ideas about structure, rules, playfulness and truth and we can create a dynamic performance which takes an admittedly messy play and make it into something magical. 

How do you make a tie sexy?

In answer to the aforementioned question- who knows? Although I do know how to answer it a little more succinctly after today's session. To transition from the opening scene into the second scene Ben has asked Sam and I to create a movement sequence to get us from one end of the platform to the other using Skilling's tie. I loved the idea when it was told to me; I think it was something I needed and wanted to transition with because the time in between became a little cloudy as to what to spend it doing. So I was keen to start devising.

Our first block occurred before we had even begun as it would appear that I am unable to undo a tie; apparently of all the skills 17 years of life has taught me, undoing a tie is not one of them. So we had to sort that out initially because I was making the whole thing look sloppy and unprofessional, clearly indicating that it was a student on the stage not a 40 year old business women, who has encountered this situation plenty of times (3 to be exact). Weirdly it shouldn't be an issue, but it was one of those things that frustrated me because Claudia would know and I didn't and it's those gaps that start to make me uncomfortable because the clear differences between myself and my character show and that makes me nervous. Yet I suppose the main thing here is that I learnt to undo a tie so it was no longer a problem. 

Sam and I were able to improvise, create and then consolidate a sequence of moves quite fast, so the material wasn't the thing that needed improvement; it was the emotional impulse and connection we had to the movement. When Ben watched our sequence his direction centred around us trying not to do the moves just because it was choreography, but because of the need these two characters have to do it. Truthfully, the reason Claudia has sex with Jeff isn't because she is romantically invested, it is because she can and she wants to- part of me believes that the only way this women could express any connection with a human being beyond formal obligation was in a sexual way. The world of business- especially for a female in that time- was often one of perpetual sexual connotations and Claudia embraces this; it's not romantic, it's not personal, it just is. Contrasting this we have Skilling who genuinely cares for her, he loves her, enough to leave his wife. We therefore have this chemistry that comes together to make something electric onstage. Therefore we have to inject that energy into this instead of just stepping left, right and doing a little spin. Claudia and Jeff's relationship has iconic elements to it and the energy they share whether founded in sex, business, anger, hatred, competition or pity- they are brimming with animation and if Sam and I can pull that off and truthfully invest in it, it could become a vital source of energy in the play. 

Learning to walk and talk like Claudia Roe - the talk

On the long list of 'things I don't share with Claudia' one of the most obvious ones is that we have completely different accents. Perfecting your vocals for any character is essential, so when it is someone with a different accent you have an even harder job; if my accent isn't convincing then all the other elements that I have built her character with will suddenly share the same quality- amateur and fake. For a women who uses words in such a calculated, effective way, her voice has to have a quality to match. Her voice has to be just as perfect as everything else about her person.

Although I have been rehearsing in an American accent for weeks having an accent coach in to actually tell you what your mouth is doing to make the sounds, irons out an creases in your technique and she was also able to answer the specific questions I had regarding things I couldn't quite get my tongue around. As far as mouth placement for different sounds the key rules I learnt were:

• The Enron cast's new motto- flat, back and wide. These are the three things that describe the mouth and tongue placement for an American accent- flat tongue, speaking from the back of your mouth with you mouth wide open.  When getting into your accent it is a good phrase to repeat over and over so as to adjust your mouth to it's new setting. 
• The l sound used in the American accent is called a dark l. The word 'little' contains both a light and dark l sound, with the first l sound being light and the second dark. That 'ul' sound created at the end of this word is the sort of sound an American accent will use to form the l sound. 
• The t sound is made by placing the tip of your tongue behind your front teeth instead of how a British accent places it, past the front teeth and onto your lips. 

Something a little random that I finally addressed with the accent coach today is one word that I cannot say without turning from a DC accent to a thick New York accent; the word 'divorced.' This word from Claudia's monologue has taken on a life of it's own and I can't help but do it in a New York accent and I have no explanation as to why. However our coach was able to to tell me that when I make the 'or' sound I needed to stretch the top of my mouth instead of keeping it rigid, which makes the sound lighter and rids it of the deeper, grittier tones of my freak New York accent. 

Even though my mouth had been forming these shapes and making those placements for weeks because I didn't know what I was actually doing there were inconsistencies. Claudia's voice has to match the smooth style that you see in every aspect of her character. Everything she does is to draw attention; it's something she needs to function. Her voice has got to be that of a women with command, sex appeal and 40 years worth of knowledge. Her voice will be such an important aspect when trying to convince people that I am that person because if my accent is executed skillfully, I've already won half the battle in my attempt to transform. Now that I have solid roots in the accent I can play and put my stamp on it, knowing that I have a solid foundation I can build on. Layering on all these elements is really starting to make me feel like I can give a convincing, informed performance.  

The REAL Claudia Roe

Jeff, Andy and Ken are all real; this begs the question who the hell is Claudia? If you read up about the play many critics and theatre enthusiasts will talk about the presence of Claudia acting as a foil for Jeff and yet I was curious as to how the detail in her role could be culminated if not based on someone true. My answer came in a surprisingly familiar, blonde, stiletto wearing women named Rebecca Mark.

 My first clue came in the form of a New York Times post from 2006 about the 10 Enron Players and where they landed after the fall. The article described her as 'Enron's flashy ambassador abroad' dominating the world of business in 'stiletto heels and a miniskirt'. The article also said Mark was 'widely reported to have been a rival of Mr. Skilling's to be named chief executive.' And if that wasn't enough proof, there was more. The article also praised Mark for being 'listed on Fortune's annual index of the 50 most powerful women in business'. So then my second clue arose. I was able to find this particular list from 1998 and filling the number 14 spot, just as Claudia did, is Rebecca Mark. The evidence is conclusive: Mark ran the Dabhol Power Company in India and Claudia "just happened" to run the same plant. Mark resigned in August 2000 when it was the clear there was no support left for her within the company. She sold her shares for $82.5 million and was never accused of any wrongdoing when the company fell. And now- she is president of Resource Development Partners who invest in water, energy and agriculture whilst Jeff is still serving his 24 year and 4 month sentence; so by all accounts Ms Mark did get out and she got out just in time.

The hints across 'Enron' leading to this connection are not only really clever and interesting for me to uncover, but oddly rewarding. At the start of this process and the beginning of everyone's character development many of the other central characters had stimulus to work with- they could find pictures, interviews, statements and articles all assisting them build a picture of who and what they're character was and is. Claudia was the anomaly to this rule. By uncovering her all to similar doppelganger, there is a sense that I have answered a whole heap of questions and filled in a piece of the puzzle in terms of my interpretation. Of course my Claudia Roe isn't going to be the same as Rebecca, not only because it is a dramatization and therefore some creative license has been employed, but because I do not want  a carbon copy, most probably because that is not all that entertaining. And yet having this glimpse into who this woman is, where she started, the parallels from her time in Enron and where she is now informs me about a core part of this women I am grappling with to bring to life. 

Dancing our way into the new millennium

When everyone brought in the new millennium I was 5 months old, but creating the party atmosphere needed is something I'm pretty sure a group of 17/18 year olds are capable of.  So what was it like:

From the footage we've been shown and a first hand account from our director about the scale of the celebrations, our understanding is that this was a party to end all parties; and not only that, it was an Enron party. There stamp has to be smeared all over this work; the flashy, classy, crazy atmosphere they built over the years coming together in a huge celebration; a celebration that was worldwide, but an Enron party, that has to top them all.

Ben had asked us to create a series of poses, the kind you would see on the front of a 90s magazine promoting Enron as the new, flash face of business. Using our poses we created a repeated routine, which could translate onstage into a dance. My moves were hand on hip, arms folded, looking over my shoulder, sat on the floor with my legs extended and crossed and standing with one leg kicked up and my hand and arm thrown backwards. All very glamorous, all very fake, all very Claudia. The idea of using poses to choreograph a dance seems a little over the top- hence why it's perfect for Enron. They were all about the image, at every angle picture perfect and so getting the employees to 'dance' in this way immerses us in a culture which was obsessed with the surface value of everything- on the outside everything needed to look perfect; it was what was underneath the surface that no one could see.

And if this wasn't already out of my comfort zone we needed to make Claudia's entrance even bigger to upstage the grandeur already being presented onstage. My entrance will occur on Mani's shoulders and today I was so shaky in the air. Claudia's entrance needs to be poised and controlled and yet what I was doing replicated a wild animal gripping Mani's hands so tight and letting out yelps of fear- so not exactly the aesthetic we were going for. Therefore this is something I definitely need to work on. Like everything else that has stumped me in this process I need to practice it and become comfortable with it before I can perform it successfully. It's the same with this entrance- to me it is so extravagant and embarrassing, but saying that just makes me sound like a broken record. Most of what Claudia does in this play makes me feel this way and it's just got to be something I embrace- not necessarily on a personal level, but in that rehearsal and performance space I have to learn to love it. Again, it's all about creating an illusion of control and beauty, no matter what may be happening underneath, perfect for our particular story.

When I get down onto the floor everyone creates a semi circle around me and performs the dance moves from my sequence. Even though it is something I have just I need to deal with, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous performing in this way. As an actor you want the audiences eyes on you for many different reasons and yet there are moments when they won't be and that provides a safety blanket. Everything in this scene means that I will be observed: the outfit, the entrance, the dance- there is no way of hiding. This idea can be a little daunting. I know that I am essentially being put on show and to become confident with that I need to generate some solid self confidence in what I am doing. Hopefully this will come when we revisit the scene, but today I felt idiotic. However the only reason an audience will see me as an idiot, is because I ooze that negative attitude. For 2 minutes of my life I am going to have to learn to enjoy this sort of limelight. It's a strange juxtaposition- an actress who loves to perform, but who when given the full limelight doesn't want it. Unfortunately what I want doesn't matter; Claudia would want every single persons attention in that room and what Claudia wants she gets.

Gliding and slashing with Claudia Roe

Today we focused on finding the quality of our characters using the eight Laban efforts, which are:

• Wring- heavy, sustained, indirect  
• Press- heavy, sustained, direct
• Flick- light, staccato, indirect
• Dab- light, staccato, direct
• Glide- light, sustained, direct
• Slash- heavy, sustained, indirect
• Float- light, sustained, indirect  
• Punch- heavy, staccato, direct

We experimented with all of the efforts paying attention to the different speeds, weights and direction moving around the space experimenting with both dramatized and naturalistic ways of moving within these rules. There are two that I identified with for Claudia's character:

Movement- glide
This choice was very easy for me to make and yet there are different variations of the gliding motion. One of the first things Ben picked up in the first weeks of this process is that when Claudia moves, she has a purpose; she plans it does and moves to effect someone, so the effect I chose had to be direct. Take Claudia's planned movements and her status and you find a women who refuses to rush for anyone- she moves around when needed but it is in no way hectic; it is always calm, cool and collected, so there comes our sustained motion. Not only does Claudia walk in heels, so automatically walks on her toes, she is the kind of women who would see heavy footedness as something ugly; it would ruin her sleek appearance, so her movements must be light. Gliding to me felt regal and powerful. Moving in this manner is a vote of self confidence in ones self to keep up this upheld, gliding motion. It is this effect that causes Claudia's movement to fit her overall aesthetic.

Voice- punch
Judging Claudia's vocal quality on this scale proved to be harder- I don't actually believe any of them fit completely with her voice. However for moments in the play I believe punch is an effect which can be seen in her voice. Claudia says a lot of horrible things, directly aimed at particular people in the aim of creating the most impact. The line that came to mind was the one we wrote in which was 'you know, your ideas sound just about as successful as your marriage.' It is heavy- after a scene in which Jeff opened up to her she is delivering an insult that is meant to hit Skilling hard. It comes out of nowhere and changes the whole tone of the conversation so you can see a staccato nature in her wit and replies when she is battling for the upper hand in an argument. Plus this line couldn't be delivered to any one else; it was designed and crafted in her brain, it was gift wrapped specially for Skilling and therefore direct. It is line's like these that indicate a punch effort in Claudia's words.

Identifying these are important because it gives you something more visceral to work with. When I move now or deliver a line, I can imagine these actions which will begin to exaggerate and push my character to the extremes that it needs to make a stand in this play. I think having a key word or effect to focus on makes your work more succinct and thoughtful.

My crazy, table jumping, keyboard tapping baby

If this scene was my baby, then I must be a bad mother for bringing it into the world I created today. Today I got the chance to direct the physical sequence that myself and Tat began last term. Due to a recent injury I obtained, I can thoroughly blame the effects of co-codomol for the crazy explosion of ideas that were translated to stage today.

My ideas began with Ben giving me a track to listen to over the break so I could start forming some plans in my head.

The track he gave me was: Knife Party & Tom Morello - Battle Sirens

I fell in love with the track, listening to it profusely as it became the stimulus from which all my plans began to form. Mix that with Ben's ideas and perhaps we have an explanation for what we created today.

Stage 1- For approximately the first 30 seconds the track builds up to the initial beat change. In my head I saw the energy and atmosphere of the world come seeping in as the audience waits for the track to kick in. As Skilling is already positioned onstage I would like him to take the time to look out over the balcony, imagining the Enron he will create and in the next minutes, those thoughts that only he is privy to at the start begin to appear before the audience's eyes- it is like watching Skilling's dreamworld come to life.

Stage 2- When the beat changes, a perfect cue for the explosion of Skilling's dreams to appear on stage presents itself. As our tables are on wheels I envision the ensemble entering in groups with people sat typing on the table and being pushed on by people talking on the phone. Each time the beat hits consecutively in that beginning section a new table enters and they line up: one upstage right, one centre and one downstage left.

Stage 3- In the following crescendo, the people sat down will clear the tables and leave room for the ensemble to take turns jumping over the tables, running across the stage, making the feel of the scene be one of the world being these people's playground. The tension will build as they jump and they will make one final jump into position onstage in preparation for the next section when the crescendo comes to it's conclusion.

Stage 4- There is then just over a 20 second period of time in which people can exit to get props, set tables in new positions and move across the stage in preparation for the main section of the track and indeed the piece.

Stage 5- The track's chorus kicks in and for 45 seconds the ensemble have a period of time in which to perform devised motifs they have created for their individual element. They will use it to interact with each other, move across the space in a direct, structured fashion, responding to the music and their surrounding, attempting to paint a picture of the world Skilling has created.

Stage 6- With Skilling at the front of the stage leading the ensemble and Claudia on the balcony looking on in dismay and bewilderment, Skilling and the ensemble track the sun moving across the sky right to left as time passes- 2 years complied into 30 seconds of the lull in music.

Stage 7- when the lull in music is finally interrupted everyone breaks the trance and in this last section of the music everyone has a different job onstage: the table pushers line up the 3 tables and make a walkway for Skilling to walk along from stage right to left, his very own walk way. As he reaches a new table the previous one will push around to the front of the line so the walkway continues across the stage until they reach the other side at which point they set up the tables in a triangle formation ready for scene 7. Once the tables are set and secured one person will bring a chair on from the wings so Sam can jump down and sit cuing the end of the track. Whilst this is happening the back of the stage is full of the busy officer workers which Claudia will navigate through to come to arrive in Skilling's office. By the end of the track the stage should be clear with just Jeff and Claudia ready for the next scene.

And thus Skilling's world is brought to life. What I wanted from this piece is a combination of style and raw energy- I want the theatre to come to life; the audience thought the play was mad and now they think it's scary in it's lunacy. Skilling is this ball of energy bursting onto the scene at Enron creating this new world of business. I want all that energy we see trapped inside realised in this piece to create this landscape that is frightening for an outsider to walk into which we see in Claudia's entrance. It's great to be able to get creative with these scenes because in the same way Skilling see's his world come to life, I got to see my ideas carried out by the ensemble. If this scene is polished and technicalities addressed it could be a moment in the play which captures the vibe Enron produced in the 1990s and the one it built it's name on.