Rehearsals Week 3 - Rebecca Hulbert

Here is a blog post from Rebecca Hulbert, who plays Petra in After the Accident:

The final week of rehearsals is always my favourite time. There is suddenly a sense in the air of the excitement of the first night, (which is this Friday at The Poly), it almost feels festive but also has an edge of fear! It is the time when the whole team come together, so in rehearsals Anna is giving us costume and building set, while Jake is working on the projections, Paul is setting up lights, while we are all trying to frantically learn our lines and trying to work out who we are in the play and what we want from each other as characters, to give the play the truth and voice it deserves… And then we have Emma our Director bringing all of her visions together – it is like being part of a huge family, and that is one of the things I love most about putting on a production. We couldn’t put the play on this Friday without everyone doing their bit.

So I thought I would share our week with you:

Monday - This morning we were focusing on my character, especially the moments of intense emotions she experiences, so that definitely woke me, (and everyone else up in the room) the level of emotion the characters express in this play sometimes reminds me of a Greek Tragedy, and there is no hiding from their grief, you need as an actor to confront it, and really explore it to do it justice.

The afternoon was then used to fit the projections we are using into the play, as they need to be timed so precisely, that often it is as if Jake is on stage with us and the projections are another character in the play. Emma is very keen that the projections support what the characters are saying rather than become the focus.