Week four with our Chameleons this morning and today we finally began work on the script! Following the reveal of everyone's characters last week; we were excited to commence work on the term's show. The morning was filled with character activities, games and scene work as the Chameleons launched into the massive task of creating their own version of 'The Three Musketeers.'
We started the morning off with a new game for the group this term called; 'the bomb and shield' game. In the game the group walk around the room and have to select a person to act as their bomb and a person to act as their shield. They then have to make sure their shield is standing between them and their bomb at all times. Our version saw the bomb and shield be replaced by assassin and bodyguard, in keeping with the musketeers theme. The group seemed to really enjoy it and most of them survived assassination!
Then the group played the shape game and had more interesting shapes to create. This week their tasks included a train station, a giant snake and a dining room table; which ended up including a dumpling or two.The group are fantastically creative when it comes to using their bodies to make the shapes this term and we had some fantastic ideas and physical images made!
Next we played another round of the fencing game from last week, where two people duel and have to do different actions to score points. Again this activity is a fun way for the group to remember all the different moves they have learned in a fun, challenging way. It seems that most of the group remembered all of the moves too- which was fantastic to see!
The chameleons then were asked to pick a character that they play in the show and walk around the room as that character. The emphasis with this game is on how the character moves and acts towards others. One person with facilitate the activity, giving the group instructions on what to do next. For instance, they will say that the group have to greet one another in character and think about what their character sounds like. Another is what does the character do with their hands? Are they holding something or just having them by their sides?
After the exercise the group got back together and discussed what it felt like to be their characters. Everyone had some interesting introspective comments to make about their character and things that they felt/did. This is a really useful exercise in getting everyone to think a little bit more about what makes up their character.
During the second half of the morning we moved onto scene work. The chameleons split up, with most of the cast remaining in the room to work on the first scene, while D'Artagnan and Rochefort stepped outside to work on their first meeting ever at the Old Lantern Inn. In the scene D'Artagnan comes face to face with his rival for the first time and the two end up locked in a sword fight. It was exciting staging the first sword fight of the play and building the rivalry between the two characters; as Rochefort serves as one of the main antagonists opposing the musketeers. The moves from our fencing game helped here, as both performers were already familiar with how to use each move and work it into their fight choreography.
Meanwhile the other team worked on the very first scene; introducing the Three Musketeers, King Louis and Cardinal Richelieu (another big antagonist for our heroes). It was brilliant watching the chameleons take these characters on board and add something new to them, creating an interesting and quite funny scene. We even got some audience interaction in (which was super fun).
Another week comes to a close then. The performance is moving closer and closer, with this being a much shorter term than last time- and there is still lots to do! The next few weeks will be busy indeed! As always the group performed marvellously and we're excited to see how the show progresses as the weeks go on; especially with such creative brains at the helm! As always, for now though, please enjoy some of our snaps from rehearsals (there were a lot today).
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