Star Chamber.

Script.

During the rehearsal process i used my script to write notes about my character, the blocking, how lines should be delivered and of course to learn my lines.

This is my first section of my script. As you can see a couple of lines were cut. This was due to the change in some of the characters and the way other people said lines they didn't seem to fit in. It was easier to cut them completely than to try and fit them around the other characters as they weren't too important.

The second page of my script had my main chunk of text on. A lot of the notes around the edge were blocking and reactions to other characters.

I found it important to mark on the script when other peoples lines were cut too. This was because when it came to learning my lines i knew other peoples ques and it was a lot easier.

Also marking on the script where my character changed.

Star Chamber.

Fourth Rehearsal.

Due to illness this was my final rehearsal i did before the dress rehearsal. We ran the whole show again but stopped quite a lot to take notes about improving out characterisation. I felt by this point i had learnt my lines well enough but my character still wasn't as developed as i had hoped. Some of the lines i was unsure of how Xenia would be saying them and the relationship between her and some of the other characters.

After this run through i was told a few things to improve my performance. The first was right at the start when Sophie and I were saying the line "It's the sweetest house I've ever seen you know, i went there last year". It needed to be said much louder than the rest of the people talking so the audience could hear it clearly and understand that the change of character was happening.

Another weak point that i think a lot of us struggled with was reacting to other peoples lines. As a lot of the speech was said over the top of one another it was difficult to hear the things we needed to react too. And even when people had lines by themselves people still weren't reacting. The two main points where when Mrs Farmer was reading the letter we all needed to be doing something. This may be listening to her and reacting by using facial expressions or completely ignoring her. But either way we needed to be doing something here. Another point was when Hester says the line "I think we ought to hear everything, don't you?", this was a vital part we needed to react too. No body wanted to hear all the details so we need to look as if this is true. For example pull a face, look away from Mrs Farmer or speak to somebody else as if your not listening.

The final point i got given during this rehearsal was that my first few lines needed to be said quite quietly because this gives people a reason to ignore me. When i finally say "order order, we ought to get on with the meeting" i need to stand up and make a big deal of it trying to get peoples attention and getting slightly annoyed that people aren't listening.

Star Chamber.

Costume.

The costume for each character had to be very believable and within the time period the play was set in. As everyone in the meeting were actors and actresses there attire would be quite posh looking and eccentric, as they are all wanting to be the centre of attention at all times.

My character is very well dressed according to the script. I feel she would be wearing some sort of dress and small heel as this is something a lot of the women wore in 1920's. Some examples of the type of clothing they wore are:

This image shows a very well off woman from the time period. Her clothing and make up is very theatrical in its own sense being very bold and standing out.

This photo i think is very similar to the style of the characters in Star Chamber, due to the fact it is set in the winter with references to the weather being bad. This would mean the characters wear big hats, coats and fur.

Pictured below are the costumes we decided on. As my character was being played by three different actresses we had to try our best to make our costumes look as similar as possible because there wasn't three dresses the same available.

Star Chamber.

Third Rehearsal.

This rehearsal was the first time we ran the whole show with all the characters and the change overs. All in all i think it ran quite well as a show. But it was clear that people still were unsure of there characters and there lines. Me being one of these.

I found after this rehearsal that i knew a lot of my lines when going through them in my head, however when it actually came to acting them out a lot of them slipped. I think this is because i hadn't been practicing with lots of people speaking over them, like they do in the play. I had just learnt my ques and was running them like that. This is something i needed to work on for the next rehearsal.

During this rehearsal we still stopped to change any blocking that needed doing. A lot of points that were made about Xenia was that she needed to look more in charge of the meeting and make sure she looks like she is trying to speak at all times when others are speaking. The line "It's very gratifying isn't it? I ran the roundabouts last year and i swear I've never enjoyed anything so much in my life." Needed to be said to EVERYONE rather than to the people next to me. I found by changing the tone of my voice seemed to make this work better.

When everyone speaks over the top of each other i need to make sure i look as if I'm trying to talk but keep getting interrupted. This results in me finally saying my line "Order, Order..." This way it makes the line more believable and i am able to deliver it with more conviction.

Star Chamber.

Second Rehearsal.

As we didn't get onto blocking my section in the first rehearsal this is the place we started today. As i wasn't really sure of my character and my lines at this point i was sort of just running through the lines and writing on my script where i needed to stand/sit.

My first few lines are trying to get the rest of the groups attention and trying to start the meeting which means the lines are said over the top of other peoples. When we first ran this part it didn't seem to work because people were finishing there lines before someone else started. This resulted in my saying my lines on my own and them not really making any sense. This is something we made a note on and decided to work on in the next rehearsal.

When i said the line about Atherton smelling bad i needed to do this very dramatically and over the top. This is something my character would do quite a lot as she is very theatrical in her everyday life. I felt as if i needed to go up to the dog to make this believable, also when asking someone to take the dog out i felt as if i needed to use the front of the stage to really deliver this line.

I don't really think this rehearsal went well because i wasn't really sure of any of my lines so i didn't feel in character very much. I think for the next rehearsal i needed to be more sure of these to start character development.

Notes after first rehearsal.

After the first rehearsal the group were told that next rehearsal the girls needed to have some sort of character shoe to help get used to walking in heels. Also each character needs to think of something they could be doing during Mrs Farmers long speeches, for example Xenia could be doing her make up or filing her nails.

On a more specific note i was told i needed to make more of the smell of the dog. It needs to be even more dramatic than what i was doing and make it quite comical.

Star Chamber.

First Rehearsal.

The first rehearsal started by the cast deciding how the stage would be set up. We had to take into consideration that all the characters would eventually be on stage at the same time and it was important that the audience could see and hear everyone.

The play is set on an old west end stage so it needs to look like this from the way we have the set. The picture opposite shows an initial design. This is how we blocked the first rehearsal. If any thing didn't work in this rehearsal period it can be changed later on.

In the first rehearsal we didn't actually get to block my part because my character has been split up between three of us. During the rehearsal however i was thinking on various things to could do to find out more about this time period and what my character would be like.

I've decided to look at TV programmes such as "Are you being served", "Acorn Antiques" And "The Vicar Of Dibley". These are all programmes either within the time period as Star Chamber or the characters are similar in them both.

Observation.

On the train on the way home i noticed two elderly ladies sitting opposite me. They were aged roughly 55-60, which is older than what i think my character would be. The came across quite well off and they way they spoke made them sound important. They were having a discussion about the theatre (which is what made me think of my character). Both were sat very lady like, with one leg slightly tucked round the back of the other, and sat upright. When they were speaking to each other they maintained eye contact and didn't interrupt the other person.

By watching these ladies it gave my a basic idea of how i could play Xenia, however not quite as nice as these ladies were because she does tend to get a bit snappy within the play especially towards Dame Rose and Julian.

Star Chamber.

Research.

Star Chamber was one of ten one act plays Noel Coward wrote. The play was first performed in London on the 21st March 1936 and was only performed once in its original run.

The characters each have there own individual style and sense of humor. After the initial read through i thought that this play was very similar to "The Vicar Of Dibley" as some of the characters seemed really similar. Also the fact that in the TV programme they often hold committee style meetings. After watching a few episodes of this i noticed that we could use the some the the characteristic of the characters in "The Vicar of Dibley" and apply them to the ones in "Star Chamber".

For example character "Letitia Cropley" is very similar to Violet Vibart as they are both the types of characters who don't really contribute to the meeting very much and are the older members. I think that "David Horton" is very similar to Mr Farmer (Mrs Farmer in our interpretation) as they are the only normal ones within the group. Everyone else seems to be very over the top and melodramatic.

I think Xenia is a mixture between a few characters in The Vicar of Dibley. I think her position in the group is very similar the the Vicar Geraldine Grainger due to the fact they are both the head people in there society. However i imagine Xenia to have a personality slightly similar to that of Alice Tinker, perhaps not quite as dippy. Because Xenia is very close to her dog and talks about her dog an awful lot it kind of makes her seem a slightly senile. I took this idea to the next rehearsal and tried to put it into practice.

The plot.

A meeting takes place of the management committee of a theatrical charity, the "Garrick Haven Fund", to benefit a retirement home for destitute actresses. The committee consists of actors, who sit around a table. The stylish president of the board, the actress Xenia James, is accompanied by her dog named Atherton, who is Xenia's best friend. The dog is banished to the prop room for smelling bad.