Rehearsals

Waiting for the Call On

I had three days to rehease and learn my lines before we went up for our first performance in the White Bear Theatre. It was going to be a challenge. Waiting for the Call On is set in 1889 in Wapping docks and written by Keith Wallis, and I was proud to be apart of it. I had to adopt the character of Lizzy who was in a long relationship with Sam who worked at the docks. However, it wasn't as hunky dory as that. Sam is a bear knuckle boxer and comes to close to death too many times but he feels that he must do it to get money as he can not seem to get work at the docks. 100 men waiting each morning for 2 jobs!  When Lizzy finds out, there is an up raw.
We as characters sat down and discussed our history as a couple and how we met, creating a whole new life for each of us. The hardest part of this when we had to incorporate our findings into our characters. It was a challenge but after a couple of improvisations of our first meeting/date/fight we found a connection.

Lizzy being a character from 1889 meant that she had different posture and mannerisms from a character these days, she lived in the slums giving a clear idea of how she would be and what kind of person she might have been. What also helped was the trip to the Docklands Museum where I found a variety of information on the history. I found it difficult to get the changes of emotion in the scene and needed to find something that created the emotion change for me personally so that the character would feel it too.

All this will be hopefully work out in time for the opening night, I just need to learn my lines!!