Who am I?
My name is Claudia Roe. I was born in 1954 in Missouri and gradated from Baylor University in 1976 with a BA in Psychology and a Masters Degree in International Management a year later. I am divorced from Thomas Mark and we have twin sons together. In 1982 I joined Continental Resources. In 1986 I started working part time for Enron and in 1990 received an MBA from Harvard Business School. In 1991 I was made head of Enron Development Cooperation. In 1996 I became their international CEO.
What time is it?
Scene 1- 1992 7pm a clear night.
Scene 2- 1992 9:00pm the clear sky is now scattered with stars.
Scene 3- 1992 10:00am it's warm enough to be comfortable in a short dress and heels (but when isn't it.)
Scene 5- 1993 2:00pm it's rainy and overcast.
Scene 7- 1995 3:00pm it's clear but cold.
Scene 9- 1999 11:55 pm the clouds tonight are just the smoke from the new years eve fireworks display.
Scene 3- 2000 5pm it is cold and slightly windy.
Where am I?
Scene 1- at a busy office party half way up the building.
Scene 2- the top floor of the building in am empty boardroom office.
Scene 3- Lay's office.
Scene 5- Lay's office.
Scene 7- Skilling's new and improved office.
Scene 9- at the companies new years eve party on the top floor, a room with a view.
Scene 3- the rooftop of Enron.
What surrounds me?
Scene 1- employees holding champagne glasses and filing cabinets on the edge of the room that have been cleared to make room for the party.
Scene 2- Skilling, pens and papers on the boardroom desk, a few items of clothing.
Scene 3- Lay and Skilling, particular items from Lay's office: chocolate box, photo frame of Lay's family and golf clubs propped up in the corner.
Scene 5- Lay and her office particulars.
Scene 7- Skilling and the flash new additions to his office.
Scene 9- employees, slightly giddy from the celebrations.
Scene 3- the fresh air or maybe just cigarette smoke,
What are the given circumstances?
Scene 1- I have got all dressed up so I look good in front of my employees, I am enjoying small talk with Lay and Skilling and I am looking forward to seeing Skilling after.
Scene 2- I have just had 'quick,clothed sex' with Skilling and am waiting for the moment to drop the bombshell that I'll be becoming president.
Scene 3- I am preparing to fight for my presidency and will trash Skilling in the process.
Scene 5- I am still fuming at Lay's decision to give Skilling the job and am trying to guilt trip her with the end goal of getting what I want.
Scene 7- I am coming to Skilling reluctant because of my pride, but friendly because I need him on my side.
Scene 9- I am walking in to this party going out of my way to upstage Skilling and have all eyes on me.
Scene 3- I am broken by being fired and have lost it and try and let Skilling understand what he is done and what a mistake he has made.
What is my relationship?
Scene 1- I enjoy having everyone's attention on me and enjoy Lay's company and enjoy the challenge of Skilling's.
Scene 2- I like what Skilling can give me, but love never crossed my mind. I am in constant competition to win an ambiguous battle that the two of us always fight.
Scene 3- I love Lay and am confident 15 years of friendship will win me the presidency and now Skilling is just a nuisance that needs to be quashed.
Scene 5- Initially very icy due to my resentment of Lay's betrayal but more than that a mother and a daughter, first fighting and then playing on each others emotions.
Scene 7- I am a little sheepish around Skilling but soon reinstate our old sharp witted banter.
Scene 9- I love everyone and they all love me and everyone I don't love, I love the fact they hate me because frankly I am the shit.
Scene 3- I have never been so angry with someone and have no boundaries in expressing this.
What do I need?
Scene 1- I need attention,
Scene 2- I need to win.
Scene 3- I need to destroy in order to win.
Scene 5- I need to get my way.
Scene 7- I need to build bridges.
Scene 9- I need to upstage.
Scene 3- I need to release my anger.
What is in my way?
Scene 1- Skilling undermining me.
Scene 2- Skilling trying to tell me he loves me and ruining the carefree fun we were having.
Scene 3- Skilling.
Scene 5- Lay not believing in me (again.)
Scene 7- Skilling being smug and not taking me seriously anymore.
Scene 9- Nothing.
Scene 3- Skilling pretending everything is okay.
What do I do to get what I want?
Scene 1- I take every opportunity to turn eyes to me.
Scene 2- I patronise Skilling and put him in his place.
Scene 3- I destroy Skilling by making harsh, cutting remarks to knock him down.
Scene 5- I play on Lay's emotions to make her feel guilty.
Scene 7- I give Skilling the woman I know he loves.
Scene 9- I do everything extravagantly: my outfit, my entrance, my performance.
Scene 3- I tell Skilling the honest dark truth.
Saturday, 24 September 2016
Claudia Roe Inspiration
Admitting that Claudia Roe is dissimilar to me leaves me needing to find ideas, images and inspiration for her character. And the one place to start with Claudia? The colour red.
When you think of a hard-headed business women you may not think of Jessica Rabbit, but when you think sex icon in red, you may come to a similar conclusion. Jessica Rabbit applies to my representation of Claudia Roe in no other way than aesthetically. Her characteristics are found elsewhere with other women and yet her look channels Jessica very closely. In both characters, a certain element of their power and confidence comes from the way they look- they know the effect it can have. Although a cartoon, Jessica's exaggerated physicality and vocal quality is something I can observe and then adapt to fit a more naturalistic style. The way she moves, every moment being specifically placed for effect is something I can bring to my interpretation of Claudia. Claudia doesn't just walk; she walks purposefully. She knows that every time she walks away from Skilling he should be left draw dropped as he watches her walk away, she knows every time she interacts with a trader that a handshake represents both polite business etiquette and a assertion of power over her colleagues. Every movement will not be so exaggerated and frankly, so plainly sexualised, but the confidence that can come with subtle deliberate choices can project outwards, effecting the other actors onstage and consequently the audience. And of course, if we are looking for an icon who wears red the best, we need look no further.
Taking inspiration away from the cartoon and into the characters, Stella Gibson from 'The Fall' at first glance could be a poster for Claudia: the blonde hair, the suit, the confident pose, the face of angel, she would be the perfect candidate for inspiration. Not only that, but her character reflects Claudia almost perfectly: she is a chief detective, so operates in a male dominant system and therefore uses her femininity to manipulate a situation. Although Stella deals with a psychotic serial killer, the intense relationship we see formed between Stella and for all intents and purposes her nemesis Paul Spector, has elements of the power play we see in the relationship Roe and Skilling have. Her attitude and the atmosphere she brings into a room is something I would aim to bring to my interpretation of Claudia.
Although it is important to find people and performances to inspire me it is essential that the Claudia I present to an audience is one that is inspired by the unique choices I make onstage. I do not want to copy anything, but taking hints from appropriate places can only enhance my performance; it would be arrogant to assume that every decision I make onstage is right. When experimenting with such a strong female character, I think it is only natural to look to those who I believe represent the same level of dominance and class that Claudia does because by understanding what a strong women is to me, I can transform into the complex, powerful women that is Claudia Roe.
Taking inspiration away from the cartoon and into the characters, Stella Gibson from 'The Fall' at first glance could be a poster for Claudia: the blonde hair, the suit, the confident pose, the face of angel, she would be the perfect candidate for inspiration. Not only that, but her character reflects Claudia almost perfectly: she is a chief detective, so operates in a male dominant system and therefore uses her femininity to manipulate a situation. Although Stella deals with a psychotic serial killer, the intense relationship we see formed between Stella and for all intents and purposes her nemesis Paul Spector, has elements of the power play we see in the relationship Roe and Skilling have. Her attitude and the atmosphere she brings into a room is something I would aim to bring to my interpretation of Claudia.
Although it is important to find people and performances to inspire me it is essential that the Claudia I present to an audience is one that is inspired by the unique choices I make onstage. I do not want to copy anything, but taking hints from appropriate places can only enhance my performance; it would be arrogant to assume that every decision I make onstage is right. When experimenting with such a strong female character, I think it is only natural to look to those who I believe represent the same level of dominance and class that Claudia does because by understanding what a strong women is to me, I can transform into the complex, powerful women that is Claudia Roe.
My First Impressions
First Impressions of the Text
'Enron' has so many themes surrounding it: business, power, money, relationships, domination, humiliation, all of which come together to create a play bursting with contemporary energy, intellectual writing and experimental ensemble pieces. 'Enron' is what I as a 21st century actress live for. On my initial reading of the play the excitement the mere prospect of performing 'Enron' gave me was immense and surpassed the enthusiasm any other play has given me to date. The chance to work on a piece that reminded me of everything I love about Theatre was one I felt a compelling need to be a part of.
Being introduced to our main characters: Skilling, Lay and Fastow, we are drawn in to their world, through their unique characteristics, ranging from Ken's southern charm to Fastow's dark secrets. As a reader you are delighted to see the range of characters presented to us in 'Enron.' As they are all real people, there is also a sense of danger as we are dabbling in the real world of business and scandal whilst employing a certain degree of artistic license. Coming to understand men that were viewed by the world as greedy, self serving businessmen, becoming almost complacent to their deceit as you allow yourself to come to know them and whether love or hate, you develop a relationship with them by observing their broad spectrum of emotions and characteristics. They become people not figures.
Claudia Roe is not real; in fact out of the four protagonists, she is the only one who didn't exist. However she is essential in the plot of the play, acting as both a doppelganger and a foil for Skilling as their relationship constantly changes between friend and foe. She acts as an oracle when the business crumbles and mirrors Skilling's rise and fall of power as she makes her own similar journey. In the context of the play she brings class and sex to a world of male dominant business- she is the red in a world of grey.
Why did she appeal to me? For the same reason she would call out to many female actresses; she is smart, sexy, ambitious, dominant and emotional. She won't be second best and can manipulate a room and people at the snap of her fingers. She covers a variety of elements that some of the most revered heroines contain and therefore became a representation of everything I wanted to transform into. She couldn't be more different from me and yet this drew me to her even more. Yes I may be ambitious, but my thought process when it comes to getting my own way, doesn't even correlate slightly with hers. She opens up a whole new dimension, not for just me as an actress, but as a women. She became my heroine when I read her for all the wrong reasons, which is secretly the most refreshing thing to happen to me for a long time.
'Enron' has so many themes surrounding it: business, power, money, relationships, domination, humiliation, all of which come together to create a play bursting with contemporary energy, intellectual writing and experimental ensemble pieces. 'Enron' is what I as a 21st century actress live for. On my initial reading of the play the excitement the mere prospect of performing 'Enron' gave me was immense and surpassed the enthusiasm any other play has given me to date. The chance to work on a piece that reminded me of everything I love about Theatre was one I felt a compelling need to be a part of.
Being introduced to our main characters: Skilling, Lay and Fastow, we are drawn in to their world, through their unique characteristics, ranging from Ken's southern charm to Fastow's dark secrets. As a reader you are delighted to see the range of characters presented to us in 'Enron.' As they are all real people, there is also a sense of danger as we are dabbling in the real world of business and scandal whilst employing a certain degree of artistic license. Coming to understand men that were viewed by the world as greedy, self serving businessmen, becoming almost complacent to their deceit as you allow yourself to come to know them and whether love or hate, you develop a relationship with them by observing their broad spectrum of emotions and characteristics. They become people not figures.
Claudia Roe is not real; in fact out of the four protagonists, she is the only one who didn't exist. However she is essential in the plot of the play, acting as both a doppelganger and a foil for Skilling as their relationship constantly changes between friend and foe. She acts as an oracle when the business crumbles and mirrors Skilling's rise and fall of power as she makes her own similar journey. In the context of the play she brings class and sex to a world of male dominant business- she is the red in a world of grey.
Why did she appeal to me? For the same reason she would call out to many female actresses; she is smart, sexy, ambitious, dominant and emotional. She won't be second best and can manipulate a room and people at the snap of her fingers. She covers a variety of elements that some of the most revered heroines contain and therefore became a representation of everything I wanted to transform into. She couldn't be more different from me and yet this drew me to her even more. Yes I may be ambitious, but my thought process when it comes to getting my own way, doesn't even correlate slightly with hers. She opens up a whole new dimension, not for just me as an actress, but as a women. She became my heroine when I read her for all the wrong reasons, which is secretly the most refreshing thing to happen to me for a long time.
Wednesday, 21 September 2016
And so it begins
When we arrived for our first rehearsal there was a high energy in the room; a mixture of the excitement to begin this process we had for a long time anticipated but also because since Friday's cast lists had been sent we had been speculating who was who. Although our introduction to the play is important, our focus was not in the room at the beginning because we were all waiting to find out who our characters were. After finding out we all settled down a lot more, in so much that we were still buzzing, but we weren't focusing on something that distracted us from the task we were meant to be completing in the room today.
Obviously finding out that you will playing the character you wanted is hugely rewarding and it makes the prospect of the work will be doing over the next months more enticing and exiting. There is a definite sense of fulfilment that your work has payed off, especially when the casting defies many others expectations. Focusing on the opinion of others is not especially productive, but most certainly human, so being able to prove that you are capable of challenging yourself in every aspect of performance is a boost in confidence for me and my cast members. And yet I haven't even started my work on this play and know there will be weeks where I doubt myself, the play the process and become frustrated; that is all part of devising, rehearsing and performing a play, so beginning on this positive note will hopefully propel me forward to create the best work I can.
Our rehearsal began with Ben introducing us to the world of the play; the concept, themes and shape the whole piece should form. Already researching the context surrounding the piece as part of the audition process gave a lot of us a foot in the door with the introductory stages of rehearsal. I believe that what attracted many people to this piece and most definitely what attracted me was the fresh, slick style that took many bizarre risks throughout the piece so hearing that the concept we would be working with and towards mirrored our weird and wonderful expectations made us eager to get started and get creating. With 'Enron' being a massively ensemble heavy piece, even those who did not have a huge amount of lines were willing and ready to get behind the play which is of course the best thing you can ask for when performing in this style. The general consensus at the beginning of our rehearsal was that everyone was going to be a part of this performance and more importantly everyone wanted to be.
We started our rehearsal with a physical warm-up; an exercise that heavily foreshadows the type of work we will be doing in the future. 'Enron' has physical sequences laced throughout it so it is imperative that we prepare properly in the space. Thus, cue side stretch. Side stretch is a yoga sequence focusing on engaging the body and the mind, helping to create and enhance the energy and atmosphere we want to create in our rehearsal space. Today was about learning how we can go about this warm up so in the future we will not be guided through it, but automatically know that this is how we will be starting our rehearsals. I think side stretch is really going to work for me because it is not a pressured warm-up, in so much that you feed of others energy and compliment the room by exuding the type of energy you want the rehearsal space to be filled with. It allows you to find your own balance both personally and in the whole room, finding ways of supporting yourself and the rest of the ensemble.
I was so pleased that our time today was used to run the play. No direction, frankly no clue what we were doing, but allowing us to use the energy that we had built up and dive head first into the piece. We surely did not create any solid material that will be carried all the way to the performances in January but we created a foundation upon which we can now build. Taking the risk of choosing a play which is, in a word, crazy was a little daunting, so being able to just be a little crazy, freeing yourself up to the piece, the ensemble and the space and opening yourself up to the prospects of where this piece is headed was the most useful way of spending our time today. Knowing that no body in that room had a higher understanding or premonition of what they were doing was comforting because it guaranteed mistakes which in turn did not make them so taboo. We are all aware that further into this process we will not be doing this on stage; rehearsal and technique will have to become more structured and demanding and yet I think the point of starting a process with a run like this is to remind us that whatever happens throughout this process, without freedom, energy and excitement we don't have a piece. Running the play today reminded me why I chose the play and why I love it; it's draining, but it only drains out good work, something I hope to remind myself of in the weeks to come.
Obviously finding out that you will playing the character you wanted is hugely rewarding and it makes the prospect of the work will be doing over the next months more enticing and exiting. There is a definite sense of fulfilment that your work has payed off, especially when the casting defies many others expectations. Focusing on the opinion of others is not especially productive, but most certainly human, so being able to prove that you are capable of challenging yourself in every aspect of performance is a boost in confidence for me and my cast members. And yet I haven't even started my work on this play and know there will be weeks where I doubt myself, the play the process and become frustrated; that is all part of devising, rehearsing and performing a play, so beginning on this positive note will hopefully propel me forward to create the best work I can.
Our rehearsal began with Ben introducing us to the world of the play; the concept, themes and shape the whole piece should form. Already researching the context surrounding the piece as part of the audition process gave a lot of us a foot in the door with the introductory stages of rehearsal. I believe that what attracted many people to this piece and most definitely what attracted me was the fresh, slick style that took many bizarre risks throughout the piece so hearing that the concept we would be working with and towards mirrored our weird and wonderful expectations made us eager to get started and get creating. With 'Enron' being a massively ensemble heavy piece, even those who did not have a huge amount of lines were willing and ready to get behind the play which is of course the best thing you can ask for when performing in this style. The general consensus at the beginning of our rehearsal was that everyone was going to be a part of this performance and more importantly everyone wanted to be.
We started our rehearsal with a physical warm-up; an exercise that heavily foreshadows the type of work we will be doing in the future. 'Enron' has physical sequences laced throughout it so it is imperative that we prepare properly in the space. Thus, cue side stretch. Side stretch is a yoga sequence focusing on engaging the body and the mind, helping to create and enhance the energy and atmosphere we want to create in our rehearsal space. Today was about learning how we can go about this warm up so in the future we will not be guided through it, but automatically know that this is how we will be starting our rehearsals. I think side stretch is really going to work for me because it is not a pressured warm-up, in so much that you feed of others energy and compliment the room by exuding the type of energy you want the rehearsal space to be filled with. It allows you to find your own balance both personally and in the whole room, finding ways of supporting yourself and the rest of the ensemble.
I was so pleased that our time today was used to run the play. No direction, frankly no clue what we were doing, but allowing us to use the energy that we had built up and dive head first into the piece. We surely did not create any solid material that will be carried all the way to the performances in January but we created a foundation upon which we can now build. Taking the risk of choosing a play which is, in a word, crazy was a little daunting, so being able to just be a little crazy, freeing yourself up to the piece, the ensemble and the space and opening yourself up to the prospects of where this piece is headed was the most useful way of spending our time today. Knowing that no body in that room had a higher understanding or premonition of what they were doing was comforting because it guaranteed mistakes which in turn did not make them so taboo. We are all aware that further into this process we will not be doing this on stage; rehearsal and technique will have to become more structured and demanding and yet I think the point of starting a process with a run like this is to remind us that whatever happens throughout this process, without freedom, energy and excitement we don't have a piece. Running the play today reminded me why I chose the play and why I love it; it's draining, but it only drains out good work, something I hope to remind myself of in the weeks to come.
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