#such chronic ensemble member energy

[thattheater-kid]

Just started watching ROTTMNT and this version of Donnie is giving “theater kid who keeps getting ensemble but still tries to steal every scene they’re in to the point that the director has to beg them to tone it down” energy but also “slightly insane almost burnt out gifted kid who probably knows how to build atomic weapons and definitely will use them against you” energy.

[jg-eunittwelve]

Cast shape + use of multi-role. I explored having the same actors play Kyle, Amy, and Laura, as Mum, Dad, and Dani, after seeing a parallel in the friends that Dean has chosen and his own family. Kyle and Amy also represent the opposite to the parents – they are young love, innocent and youthful, whereas the parents are a more mature kind of love, that is aged and stubborn. In the end I had to leave this concept behind entirely for Cast 1 and with Laura/Dani for both casts (due to cast size and availability of roles).

Cas Potterton and Bethany Bradford as Dean. Cas is a skilled actor who would be able to portray Dean well and bring first-hand experience to the table, as a transgender male (which also makes him the ethically correct choice). Cas would be able to give the most accurate portrayal of Dean and has a wealth of knowledge and experience to draw from that no one else in the class possesses.

Initially Beth was not a choice of mine for Dean, based on her past performance work and my previous experience working with her. However, she won me over during the workshopping of the script, proving that she can perform with naturalism whilst still being able to handle uncomfortable material with conviction.

Robert Hart and Sarah Garraway as Josh. Rob is a highly skilled actor, and I think that he suits the role of Josh well. He is committed and would be able to take on this heavily featured and complex character. I think that Josh would suit Rob in particular, because he can pull off both comedic and dramatic aspects of a character, as well as is prepared to challenge himself by stepping outside of his comfort zone both practically and academically.

I placed Sarah in this role because I think that she is an adaptable who would be able to take on this role well. During the workshopping, I think that she read quite well for Josh, and having females read for Josh opened my eyes to the options available to me when casting this role. Like Rob, Sarah also operates extremely well outside of her comfort zone, frequently pushing beyond the limits of what is expected and diving straight in. I do have reservations however, since she has a strong streak for lateness and can be inflexible with her own ideas.  

Alex Creasey and Alice Jackson as Kyle/Mum and Amy/Dad. During the workshopping of the script, these two stood out unexpectedly for Kyle and Amy. They naturally suited the roles and seemingly effortlessly captured the essence and chemistry of the characters from the start.

Alex has improved a lot as of late. The last time that I worked with Alex was over a year ago and overall, it wasn’t a positive experience. I had doubts about his work ethic and skill until recently, where I can see that he has started to focus more and grow. There was evidence of an increase in his acting range during the last college project, where he played Dennis, an elder with depression, and I have seen him pushing himself out of his comfort zone in our timetabled singing classes. Based these factors and conversations that I have had with people who have been working with him recently, I think that Alex is primed for this role, which carries the duality of both complimenting and challenging him. The main area of improvement for him would be in vocal projection.

I have worked with Alice a lot previously, and I know that she has a strong work ethic and level of commitment and professionalism. However, I do think that she needs to step outside of her comfort zone more often and challenge herself with different roles. I think that the role of Dad would be a great opportunity for this. Alice typifies femininity well, so I think that giving her this role would challenge her and force her to think differently about her approach to character.

Lachlan Madin as James Dean and Mum. I have a lot of respect for Lachlan as an actor, I’ve seen him carry a lot of weight on his shoulders in previous projects, and I’ve successfully worked with him myself. I think that he is a committed individual who is prepared to push himself. He takes material in well and is very easy to work with. For these reasons I have no fear putting him in these two roles where most others have one primary role to focus on. 

From the start, I have had Lachlan in mind as James Dean. He is the most similar looking to James Dean, and has worked with an American accent a lot in the past. I think that he would relish the challenge of having a real person to base his performance on.

During the workshopping of the script, Lachlan caught me off-guard. I had him in mind for James Dean only, but I found my scope broadened. He struck me the most as Mum, reading with an odd juxtaposition between his deep masculine voice and his soft, nurturing tone. From just those reading sessions, he brought rich emotional integrity and vulnerability to the table. This matches character perfectly, creating the perfect vocal foundation for Mum.

Emily Higgins and Chloe Taylor as Dani. Emily is an underappreciated actress in the group. This is either the product or cause of her not straying too far outside of her comfort zone. Even though Emily is like Dani personality-wise, I think that the emotional makeup of the character would challenge Emily both academically and artistically. She is also a reliable member of the group.

Chloe is a great actress but lacks a lot of motivation and drive. I assigned her a character that I think she could relate well to because I am not sure that she has the willingness to extend further. Chloe is prone to a negative attitude and is not always easy to work with.

Double casting and the SMT. The SMT is a role that is mostly unrestricted in the script. The only thing that Placey writes is that they should be ‘played by two to four actors’. I gave each cast 11/12 members of the SMT. With the potential of physical theatre and choral vocal work a larger number will allow more room for creativity and flexibility, and expansion of the idea to go beyond just the one school. This also gives the majority of the cast another role to explore, challenging them with ensemble work as well as character work. 

Dafydd, Hayley, and Sian are the only people who are playing solely SMT. For Dafydd, he has been given this role to work on his teamwork skills. Dafydd is very solitary, purposefully detaching himself from the rest of us. To progress at all, he needs to become comfortable with engaging with others, so that he can learn from them. He does not have enough chemistry with anyone to be able to play an individual character (since all characters either connect to Dean or amongst themselves). The role of SMT will challenge his personal skillset since he will be depended on to turn up and play an active part.

Hayley has been cast as one of the SMT because she is the only non-young person on the course, and therefore does not fit in with Placey’s vision of this being a play for young people to perform. 

‘There should be a heightened awareness in the case of adult characters that these are young actors playing adults’ - A note on casting, Pronoun by Evan Placey

As one of the SMT, Hayley would be able to blend in, and this could go unnoticed. What I think would be a better choice, would be for Hayley to take a creative or production-based role. This would better take advantage of her reliability, experience, willingness to contribute ideas, and magnetic energy that could help ground and unify the rest of the cast

I put Sian in this role alone because I could not fit her in anywhere else. I didn’t cast her as a Doctor because there is a chance that that scene could be very physical, and Sian can be uncomfortable in activities that involve heavy movement. Not only this, but she can be very shy and timid and second-guess herself chronically. Having a part that is so intrinsic to the rest of the scene won’t allow for second-guessing and being within a group might help her to feel more comfortable.