Devising Journal #9

This week, quite a number of us were absent. Dr Shan asked us if we have been meeting up in person to devise and rehearse. I knew what the answer was, and my heart sank. Truthfully, it has been very difficult for all of us to meet up and do things altogether, but whenever I suggested we gather to rehearse - even in smaller groups, my ideas would quickly be shut down by the more critical members of the class. Without a full approved script, there was little I could do in the way of script analysis except for work on my characterization of Xiao Qing and create a clear picture of who she is to me.

We began the seminar with a hot seat for each character. The four main characters took turns to sit on the black box, where the rest of us would direct questions at the actor, and they would answer in character. I was particularly intrigued by Bai Suzhen in which her entire demeanor changed throughout the duration of her session. When it was my turn, I felt that it would only be appropriate if Xiao Qing was heartbroken when Bai Suzhen chose to imprison herself for Xu Xian's sake, and so her relationship with the ungrateful Xu Xian must have been strained. I also reasoned that Xiao Qing would probably see Xu Mengjiao (now confirmed as a girl) as a daughter during those long 8 years in which she was imprisoned, where she took care of Xu Mengjiao out of love for Bai Suzhen. Xu Mengjiao, then, is the child in which she showered with all her repressed love while hoping that Bai Suzhen might one day return to them.

This week was the first week in which we were able to present a complete version of the script. We agreed to drop the poems from the early stages of the devised work after realizing that they simply do not fit in with the realist scenes, and that they hold little purpose in terms of plot when placed in the context of a relatively linear storyline. On the other hand, Three Lives and Lost allowed us to get a look into the heterosexual couple's inner world, and therefore there was a reason for us to retain those scenes. We were told to continue adjusting our scenes for narrative coherence and language. For this session as well as the rehearsal session before class, we focused on extending Lost and working on the laundry scene.

We planned for a series of rehearsals over the course of the next few days so that we could work out the last couple of scenes, especially Three Lives. With under three weeks before our show day, the intensity and frequency of our meetings were definitely picking up pace.