This morning we had our fourth wonderful rehearsal with our Chameleons for their production of 'Alice in Wonderland!' We are very lucky to get such enthusiastic, imaginative and talented young performers on our projects and this term is proving to be no exception. The cast are working hard, learning lines and how to operate our fantastic (and whacky) puppets.
So what exactly did we get up to? Glad you asked. We got the ball rolling with a good catch up (we were off last week hosting an event at Exeter Library-which was brilliant) and found out what various things everyone was up to during their time off. We have a very busy cast, it seems, as everyone had an exciting story. After that and the usual bout of Boal and Captain's Coming we got down to shapes; everyone's favourite game.
Ben came up with some very abstract shapes this week, including a squirrel (which raised many an eyebrow). The aim of these shape making exercises is to encourage the group to come up with creative solutions to challenges together, and to listen to one another. The shape game features heavily in our projects because it is successful in doing this. The group made some fantastic shapes; including their very own monster!
The big talking point of the week, however, was the introduction of even more puppets! Joining the Caterpillar and Little Alice are the Doormouse and Big Alice. The cast set to work with these, coming to grips with how to move and control them within a scene. We started out with one of our earlier scenes; where Alice meets the talking Doorknob and is convinced to taste the juice and cakes there. Unfortunately she ends up growing larger and smaller as a result.
Both our Little and Big Alices are involved in this scene and we spent time rehearsing the transition between these, and how they could both interact with other characters and props in the scene. It took some trial and error but the Chameleons were patient and creative in the approaches to this challenge.
Next up came the famous Tea Party scene; which the cast had been excited for. We were particularly excited to take Emma's fantastic Doormouse puppet for a spin. The scene itself is particularly wordy (and is particularly mad) so it was one that always posed potential difficulty. We explored it in depth, thinking about how we could portray the scene on stage in a way that the audience could engage with. The puppet worked well alongside the cast and the scene was both appropriately mad and funny to watch.
So that's that, another stellar rehearsal. This week also marked the halfway point in the project- which is hard to believe; but they say time flies when you're having fun. Next week there will be more fun and games as Alice's adventure continues and we move ever closer towards the performance. Until then, take care and enjoy the half term!
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