Entry Five - Fight Choreography (Part Two)

Today we worked on fight choreography once again, this time focussing on the final battle at the end of the play. The big climactic fight breaks down into several stages: the first charge, the White Witch’s dominance, a duel between Edmund and the Witch, a duel between Peter and the Witch, Aslan’s arrival and the victory for the Narnians.

We started with a quick tutorial in stage-combat, covering the basic footwork, and the standard cuts and parries. Then we worked through the first charge of the final battle, where there is plenty of steel clashing against steel. Peter and Edmund find their confidence on the battlefield during separate duels with the White Witch’s minions. Neither Peter nor Edmund have ever fought in a battle before, but here they find their courage and inner strength to lead the Narnian people – fulfilling their destined roles.

The scene then jumps to another area of the battlefield, where the White Witch shows off her power, by turning a couple of Narnian warriors into stone with ease. She does so almost nonchalantly, which is a very effective demonstration of her supremacy. She then yells out a command to her minions. In the next section the Witch is about to claim another victim, when Edmund arrives and intercepts. She decides not to kill him outright, but instead have some sport. She mocks him for his earlier failings, taunts him, and easily defends his attacks. However, she underestimates him and pays dearly for it, as Edmund knocks her wand from her hand and smashes it. Outraged the Witch stabs him, mortally wounding him. She takes Edmund’s sword from him and prepares to deal a finishing blow.

It is at this point that Peter arrives, and drives the Witch away from his brother. At this point the White Witch is armed with two swords, whist Peter fights with a sword and shield (which he received from Father Christmas). Fighting with a shield is something that I’ve never done before, so it takes some getting used to. Coupled with the unusual dynamic (two swords/sword and shield) and we have a slightly complicated fight sequence on our hands. Nevertheless we ended up with a very dramatic duel, which builds up the sense of risk very effectively – the Witch is much more powerful than Peter and ultimately gains the upper hand. We didn’t get around to choreographing Aslan’s arrival, and timely intervention – but we now have the rest of the final battle worked out.

Whilst the fights were being worked out, other scenes were rehearsed with the rest of the cast to make effective use of the time. The scene when Susan and Lucy wake in the night and discover Aslan walking alone was worked out, along with the scenes which follow Aslan’s execution, and their arrival at the White Witch’s house, where Aslan revives all of the stone statues. I didn’t see most of this, but I happened to catch a run through of the first of these scenes and felt that it was very effective and poignant. The absence of the usual laughter and corpsing added a very genuine feeling to the scene, and that sincerity will hopefully run through the final performance. There are a lot of very effective scenes throughout the show, and once we perform them with complete sincerity we should have something very special on our hands.

Quote of the day: (“I’m only ten years old”) “Yes, but you are destiny’s child” Tom Chadwick (Providing the best kind of fight direction)

Entry Four - Children's Scenes and Act One

The first part of today’s rehearsal focussed on the scenes involving the four Pevensie children, and for the first time we were able to practice these scenes in full costume. Since we are playing characters who are much younger than we are, it helps a lot to dress appropriately, and in a style that befits the 1940s era. The sight of me in a blue sweater-vest, big shorts, long socks and school blazer certainly amused the rest of the cast as they arrived during the session. I am feeling a lot more at ease within the role; the costume helps, along with the fact that I have shaved off my beard for this production (which de-ages me by several years).

To start with we worked on the scenes where Lucy arrives in Narnia and meets with Mr Tumnus. The addition of costumes really helped to enhance the imagery, as we not only had Lucy dressed in a little dress and her hair in plaits, but also Tumnus wearing a red scarf and carrying an umbrella. The sight of the two of them walking together underneath Tumnus’ umbrella is still my favourite image of this production so far.

There is a lot at stake in this scene, especially for Tumnus, and there are several moments during his dialogue when he alludes to his higher agenda. As the scene ensues he struggles more with the moral dilemma he is facing, because he has found a true friend in Lucy (beforehand the notion of Sons of Adam or Daughters of Eve were mythological concepts and nothing more) and he feels reluctant to give her over to the White Witch. He also has self-preservation to consider, as his own life is at risk if he allows Lucy to walk free. There is a lot taking place during this relatively short scene, and Tumnus represents on a smaller scale the threat of something much greater which will eventually come into play. At this point Lucy is rather naïve to the magnitude of Tumnus’ dilemma, but later on she holds herself accountable for what happens to her friend.

 

We then worked on all of the scenes involving the children which take place outside of Narnia, in the Professor’s house. Starting from the opening scene in which the children make their journey to the countryside by train, and Edmund asserts his rebellious nature, much to the chagrin of his other siblings. Edmund continues to act out in the following scene by smirking and struggling not to laugh at Mrs Macready and the Professor. Edmund is probably the most established of the four siblings in these earlier scenes; Peter and Susan are assuming parental responsibilities, and Lucy is feeling nervous about being away from home (though she will find her sense of adventure soon enough).

We worked on the scenes when the children explore the house which leads to the discovery of the Wardrobe, and then jumped past the scenes in Narnia, continuing from the moment when Lucy comes back out of Narnia. This way we were able to experience the events in real-time, the way they seem for the other siblings, making Lucy’s lively outburst seem even more unusual.

We did a character workshop for about an hour where we contemplated the status of our characters, and the ways in which they present themselves and the way they move. We also imitated the movements of various animals to see which creatures most closely represent our own characters.

We carried out a full run through of Act One to end the session, which was rough, but very satisfying. It is a good indication that the show will be ready in two weeks, that we were able to make it through the whole first act without everything falling apart. The first half does have a very different feel to the second, as it focusses more intimately on characters, whilst the second is more of an ensemble based story which is more about Narnia and its inhabitants.

Quotes of the day: (The joys of forgetting lines)

Edmund: (To Mr Beaver) If it comes to talking about sides, how do we know you’re on the up and up?

Lucy: But what about Mr Tumnus, where is he? / Mr Beaver: I dunno! 

Entry Three - Fight Choreography (Part One)

Today’s session was focussed primarily on choreography, and covered three scenes: Edmund’s arrival at the Witch’s palace, Edmund’s rescue at the hands of Aslan’s followers, and Aslan’s execution.

The first of the three scenes only required a little bit of work, but to make sure the scene looks impressive, and also to ensure cast safety it helps to choreograph the motions. In this scene Edmund arrives at the Witch’s palace and wanders through her courtyard, encountering many stone statues of her previous victims. He then approaches what he perceives to be a stone wolf, before it suddenly leaps up and scares him, introducing himself as Maugrim: Captain of the Secret Police.

Edmund has been examining the stone figures throughout the courtyard, and so grows in confidence as he moves to the wolf. He leans in close, and then receives a shock when Maugrim’s eyes suddenly open, and the wolf grabs him by the wrist.

In the previous entry I mentioned that Edmund receives a lot of rough usage, and that continued here. The White Witch contemplates the prophesy; wondering whether it can be fulfilled if only three of the four thrones in Cair Paravel are filled. Having decided that Edmund is of no further use to her she decides to kill him, but at that moment Aslan’s followers arrive, and spirit Edmund away just in time.

This moment is done differently in each adaptation, and so it gives Tom our fight director (also Father Christmas) a chance to play around. Consequently there is a little bit of swordplay, which adds more excitement to the scene – The White Witch raises her sword above her head and starts to bring it down, but then one of Aslan’s soldiers intercepts and blocks her sword with his own. It’s rather cinematic! There is then a brief scuffle, as one soldier fights with the Witch, another fights the Dwarf and a third snatches up Edmund and runs back to Aslan.

Whilst the fight was being worked out, we worked on another scene involving Peter and Edmund preparing for the battle. They receive the news that Aslan is nowhere to be found, but they have to prepare for the battle to come regardless. This is a scene that we’ve invented for this adaptation, but its significance became really clear as we worked on it during this session, Peter takes on the leadership role that has been laid out for him, and the two brothers are unified by their cause, having been at odds with one another since the start of the play (even before they arrived in Narnia).

We then returned to Edmund’s rescue, and ran the full scene. This lead to another dubious line, spoken by the White Witch: “I would like to have it done on the Stone Table. That is the proper place. That is where it has always been done before.” (More corpsing ensued!) Eventually we’ll stop finding these lines funny and there will be a lot more tension.

Then we moved onto Aslan’s execution, which had already been worked on before Christmas, but now the actual stabbing needed to be integrated. I’m not sure what blade we’ll be using in the actual performance yet, but for the purposes of this session we used Tom’s newly acquired gladius (a short sword, but a HUGE knife!) which looked very imposing when raised up in the air as a sacrificial weapon. During the scene the White Witch makes a mocking speech to Aslan, before bringing down the blade, and then she marches away in triumph, followed by her minions. The scene is filled with activity, as there are a lot of bodies on the stage (almost the whole ensemble is present to play the Witch’s army). Everyone swarms around Aslan, cackling and jeering at him, and then they all draw nearer as the Witch prepared to kill the great lion. At the moment of impact there is a brief silence, before the minions all cheer loudly, and then follow the Witch as she exits.

Two rehearsals into the New Year, and the show is really starting to take shape. It’s a very encouraging sign, and soon we’ll start to bring costumes, props and even set into play as well.

Quote of the day: “I am a big angry warrior” James Bush (Getting psyched up as he prepared for his fight with the Dwarf during Edmund's rescue)

Entry Two - Rehearsals Resume After The Christmas Break

The first rehearsal of the New Year was primarily focussed on scenes involving the White Witch and Edmund. This commenced with the iconic scene when Edmund arrives in Narnia for the first time. This is a famous scene that is largely engrained within the consciousness of popular culture – particularly because of the Turkish Delight.

The iconography of this scene is something that makes this kind of production particularly exciting: to create such a moment within a live medium. There is so much potential within this scene, and so we are hoping to keep everything intact. One thing that bothers me about the recent film adaptation is that this scene is incredibly rushed, and a lot of the significance gets lost amidst some throwaway comedic moments.

This really can’t be the case as the scene is very significant with regards to the plot. Edmund succumbs to temptation, and the seeds are sown for an eventual betrayal of his siblings. The scene also alludes to several significant plot details which will come into greater significance later on, such as the prophesy involving two sons of Adam and two daughters of Eve.

There was some alarming beaching of health and safety, involving an unsanctioned temporary sledge. This lead to some hesitation during the first run-through of this scene, and consequently resulted in corpsing – which was further exasperated on certain lines. The “my house is between those hills” line reared its ugly head once more! Nevertheless, the first run-through allowed for everyone to get the laughter and mistakes out of their systems, and so the second run-through was a lot smoother.

We then moved ahead to the ending to Act One, in which Edmund arrives at the White Witch’s palace – and very quickly learns that he has made a terrible mistake. This is a very significant turning point for Edmund’s character. Having fallen under to enchantments of the White Witch he has shunned his friends and family in favour of her. He has been the sceptic amongst his siblings, and has shown little sympathy towards the Narnian’s and their plight. There has always been a glimmer of doubt for Edmund concerning his decision – as he’s making his way to the Witch’s palace he talks out-loud to himself, as though trying to feel justified in his own reasoning.

In this scene the Witch drops all pretense of being a kind and courteous figure, and reveals her true self. It is a very dramatic moment, one that many of us remember being scared of when watching the BBC version as children (”How dare you come alone!”). We took a little bit of inspiration from the film adaptation in our script, and so rather than erupting as soon as Edmund arrives, the Witch lulls him into a false sense of security first.

This scene really raises the stakes, and places the Witch in a very powerful position. Consequently it seems like a logical point to close out Act One. The ending to the scene is very much like a cliffhanger ending to a television episode, hopefully enough to keep audiences in suspense during an interval, before resuming.

If we were using child actors there would be a limit to how roughly we could treat Edmund, but since we are using older performers to play the children, Edmund gets treated very harshly in the ensuing scenes. There are moments when the implications are rather alarming, when you consider that the character is ten-years old.

The most problematic scene of this rehearsal was the scene in which a group of Narnian animals have just been visited by Father Christmas and are celebrating in the woods, when the White Witch chances upon them. There was more corpsing here than in any other scene, which was a by-product of ‘animal acting’ and having to pretend to be a statue, but being unable to hold it together.

Fortunately there was plenty of time to work on this scene and address the sticky-areas. This is scene that really cannot afford to be funny, because it is a very sad moment: a group of celebrating animals are effectively ‘killed’ by the Witch. When this scene occurs in the book, it is mentioned that Edmund – for the first time – feels sorry for others, and not just himself. He is also carrying a lot of guilt at this stage. The cruelty of the White Witch and her contempt for other creatures is showcased in this scene, and continues to build-up her power and status.

Quote of the day: “I am essentially Jesus-Cat!” Chris Harknett (Contemplating the responsibility of playing Aslan)

Entry One - A Brief Overview Of The Pre-Christmas Rehearsals

The surreal feeling that ‘this is really happening’ is something I’m still coming to terms with, along with the idea of the possibilities that such a show could (potentially) lead to. Rehearsals began with the first few scenes based around the four Pevensie children: of whom I am playing Peter.

The play begins with the four children travelling by train to the countryside, in order to keep them safe from the war. This scene is not in the book, but within the medium of performance it is very important to introduce these characters, and to also take time to establish their defining character traits; Peter as the eldest feels responsible for his siblings, and tries to be sensible and protective; Susan is more of a cautious figure, assuming motherly tendencies towards her younger sister; Edmund is the rebellious one, eager to prove his maturity despite his youth; and Lucy – the youngest – is imaginative and curious. Within all of the children there is an excitement and eagerness to explore and discover – which is particularly showcased when they explore the Professor’s house.

A significant obstacle that the entire ensemble has come up against is uncontrollable laughter, this was particularly noteworthy during the read-through (which took at least half and hour longer than it should have done). This was brought about by a combination of the delightful timely 1940s phrases (expressions such of “By Jove”, and “Don’t talk such tosh!”) as well as deliberately gleaning alternative meanings in a lot of the language.

Amongst these lines, some of the ‘worst offenders’ are:

White Witch: You see those two hills? My house is between those hills.

Father Christmas: These are your presents, and they are tools not toys.

Aslan: And, whatever happens, never forget to wipe your sword.

In spite of the uncontrollable laughter there were a couple of moments of sincerity where it felt really heart-warming to see the iconographic images start to come to life, in particular the sight of Lucy meeting Mr. Tumnus in the woods.

Even with rehearsals underway, I’m still coming to terms with the reality of this production. It excites me for a number of reasons; not just because of the nostalgia that comes from staging a production of a story I grew up with, but also because of the possibilities that such a production opens up. A story as popular as The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe could potentially take off, and be performed at any number of venues, and appeal to a wide demographic. Another possibility that introduces itself is the notion that we could stage productions of any number of our favourite stories, plays etc.

There was a limited amount of time prior to the Christmas holidays, in addition to the varying availabilities of every cast-member, but a schedule was co-ordinated which meant that every scene from the play would be covered before the New Year.

At this stage the show is very skeletal in structure, with many scenes having only received a small amount of attention due to the time restraints. However it is very helpful that every scene has been covered at least once – those involved within scenes already have some familiarity with the language and the movement, and consequently they will be easier to develop and bring more fully to life.

There is a lot of excitement about the way everything will look once the scripts go down, the fights are choreographed and we are able to add costumes and set (although the set will be fairly minimal). The intention is to have everyone off-script by the time rehearsals resume in the New Year. 

Introduction

I am twenty four years old, and have just graduated from university with a Drama degree and a keen aptitude for theatre and performing arts. Throughout the last several years my knowledge of the theatre industry has expanded (and continues to do so) and despite being inundated by overwhelming amounts of negativity and highly pessimistic reports about the nature of this industry, I find myself at the end of my degree feeling strangely optimistic.

I know that a great amount of hard work and dedication needs to go into any theatrical production, and that one can feel completely burned out by the time any production comes to an end. I have learned this by experiencing it, and have built up a significant body of experience over time.

I have not been handed anything, and don’t believe that I am blessed with any natural talent. This has lead me to work at my craft for years and years, to build my abilities from the ground up. It is a very gradual process, and can often seem like a thankless one (I have seen many people lose interest and abandon it altogether) but I have persevered, developing a very pro-active work ethic and also my abilities as a performer have reached a much higher standard than what I started out with. I always try to avoid becoming complacent within my own abilities.

I have partaken in productions which have been hugely successful, as well as productions that have failed spectacularly. I have had to deal with rejection on many occasions, as well as the demoralizing feelings that can emerge from criticism. As an actor you make yourself vulnerable, presenting yourself on a stage for all to see, which leaves you fully exposed to ridicule. I have experienced all of this, and feel that it has prepared me for the actors’ life within the real world.

This new blog is designed to chronicle the progress of an upcoming production of “The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe”. Theatrical companies, Brite Theater and Midsummer Madness Theatre Company are combining their efforts to bring this classic and well beloved tale to life.

The idea of staging C.S Lewis’ classic children’s novel is not a new one – as there have been many staged productions of this play before – but it is the realization of an idea that many within our respective companies feel very passionately about.

For a long time the notion seemed little more than a fanciful ideal, the sort of thing that would often be talked about, but that would ultimately never happen. However, about a month ago a small group of us put our heads together and made the decision that it was really happening. We then divided up responsibilities, and set about turning this idea into a reality.

I shared the responsibilities of casting the show, as well as adapting an original version of the script (published versions do exist, but we made the decision to write our own adaptation). The majority of the casting ended up being a relatively straightforward process, as we had access to a variety of very talented performers whom we have worked with previously, and many people just seemed like a natural fit for their characters. Another factor was people’s enthusiasm for the project: we didn’t hold auditions as we already knew what people were capable of, but a requirement for any potential cast-member was that they had to show enthusiasm for the project when presented with the idea of it.

As for the adaptation, we wanted to make sure that it was faithful to the original text – which consequently became the foundation of the script. There were many dialogue-free gaps which needed filling in, and we referred to the other adaptations (the 2005 film, as well as the 1988 BBC mini-series) to see how they dealt with such sequences. Drawing upon what we considered to be the best aspects of each version, we conflated everything together into our adaptation. We then went through the entire script and ironed out any difficult areas, making minor cosmetic changes in some areas, adding in small sections of dialogue in others, and sometimes trimming away any excess. It took a long time – and will probably require further alterations in due course – but once we’d finished, we felt very satisfied.

With the show cast and the script complete, rehearsals could finally begin. It’s time to venture into the wardrobe!