Strong start to the day with a new keepy puppy PB - 233!!!
I spent the morning within the ensemble, observing the scene of Beatrice’s ‘undoing’ by Deflores from the Carousel of Doom. Bloody hell what a beast this scene is. There are so many deft little shifts as the pair worm and weasel their way onto the same page - it’s really complex. It was great to watch Jamie and Collette work with Ricky. A new layer of nuance was carved out with each go round until, as a spectator, I felt sympathy for both parties. There were some lovely semiotics emerging involving blood money and absent partners. There really is no going back for either of them after Alonzo is murdered. It’s possible their coupling is inevitable. This dawned on me today after hearing “You’re the deeds creature” in context. She is. They are.
In the afternoon, we rehearsed Tomazo’s quarrel with Alsemero. It went through several drafts with stakes ratcheting up each time until we discovered the right level. The following scenes became a lot simpler for me as a result of this quarrel now operating as a generous springboard into Alsemero’s ‘madness.’ There’s a worm in his wee brain. The worm entered at the beginning, stayed dormant, re-enters when Diaphanta requests B shags him in the dark, engorges with Tomazo’s threats, multiplies a second later with Jasperino’s suspicions, until poor Alsemero’s 'stoic' mind has been gobbled to shreds and all he can do is reach for a completely batshit solution to prove his wife’s chastity and exterminate the bastard worm once and for all. I realised today... this all happens F A S T.
I’m enjoying getting to grips with the traverse. I’m finding the addition of the massive table is making this play an exciting and unique challenge for me as an actor. It demands a constant re-shuffling of instincts when dealing with privacy, intimacy, violence, aggression; as well as practical things like passing props. Today I tossed a key across a table and it was agreed it was sexy. I tell you it’s the little things.
Mylo McDonald (Alsemero)
