Staging and meaning: Act 3 Scene 2

I have now developed my understanding of the lines where I describe sighting Orlando in the woods to Rosalind. There is a teasing element to this as my character knows the information which Rosalind is desperately yearning to know and enjoys this playful teasing and watching her swoon. Before this it was staged on the stage floor beside Rosalind. To utilise the climbing frame and much as possible and to heighten the girl’s excitement the staging now consists of me climbing the frame to tell her dramatically of how I saw him. I feel the act of being on the frame and this point aids the tone of my character and playfulness between the two cousins.

In response to a long list of Rosalind’s questions I say “You must borrow Gargantua’s mouth first: tis a word too great for any mouth of this age’s size”. I researched Gargantua meaning: Gargantua is a giant with an enormous appetite for food and drink from “Gargantua and Pantagruel” written  by a medieval write Rabelais. I have altered this line now as I know it’s meaning as she is further teasing Rosalind and this adds to the effect of the light-hearted nature of the scene.

Tim’s direction:

I was originally saying “Cry holla to thy tongue I prithee it curvets unseasonably. He was furnished like a hunter” all at one pace with no thought change. I now understand the meaning of these lines as she is telling Rosalind to stop interrupting her story and then goes on to say it. As Celia’s mind switches from Rosalind at present to the scene of Orlando which took place earlier, I have shown this now by slowing down the pace and changing the tone to be lighter as she goes from one to the other. This has developed my understanding of the section and my physical changes as I guide my hand across when describing Orlando in an attempt to “paint a picture” but no not when talking to Rosalind. This will illustrate to the audience the meaning of the scene much more clearly.

Act 4 Scene 1

Equally I have now understood the thought change and meaning of the words “Go to.” as this is directed towards Rosalind who is urging me to quickly pretend to marry Orlando as she pretends to “woo” him as Rosalind. “Go to. Will you Orlando have to wife this Rosalind” has a thought change in the middle as she goes from saying “will you stop” to Rosalind to actually doing as she asks.

Staging meeting Oliver:

To portray Celia’s engagement and intrigue for Oliver, I come down from the frame as I see him playing with my hair and clothes to communicate a sudden unexpected sense of self-consciousness that has come over her as she meets Oliver for the first time.

He beckons for Rosalind and Celia to sit down as he tells his story of the bloody handkerchief. This staging is more spaced out than before as we are not all crowded around together in a clustered manner. As Rosalind receives the bloody napkin and swoons this is a comical change intone compared to the seriousness of Oliver’s story and our staging reflects this, breaking he earnest moment to rush together, me trying to revive her for her sake and not to blow our cover of disguise, with Oliver confused as to why a “man” would behave in such a way. This is comical for the audience but I do not feel as characters we see this moment as funny as I am swooning for Oliver whilst focusing on helping Rosalind/Ganymede and it is an awkward moment of confusion amongst us which we try to hide.