Character Study- Little Women / The Last Resort

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 Little Women

  For our production of our adapted play version of the infamous ‘Little Women’, I will be portraying Elizabeth ‘Beth’ March, the second youngest sister within the March family, who unfortunately contracts a deadly cast of scarlet fever, with was notorious within the 1800s for tearing families apart.

  Beth acts as a supporting sister to Jo March; Beth's main purpose within the play is to demonstrate the positives of the March sisterly bond, only for her longing for the family to stay together to be met with cruel irony as she passes first out of all the sisters in Act Two, Scene Nine, ultimately splintering the family indefinitely- her drive to hold the family together is shown early from the play up until her dying moments- including her first line of the entire play within the prologue: "I only wish we could all stay together", which is sourced from Jo's emotional memory of her sister, rather than her own words, which holds manor significance in how I plan to deliver these line in comparison to how I plan to deliver the majority of my lines; every other line is Beth as a character, I interpret this line however as Beth being more of a memory (the prologue is set shortly after Beth's tragic passing, therefore I feel Jo's memory of her sister would be tainted and be more reflective of her own emotions in that moment rather than Beth's)- I plan to deliver this line in a much more despairing tone than one I may not normally use for Beth, since this reflects, in a twisted case of irony, Jo's wish that she stayed with the family, so she could fulfill Beth's most dire wish- which only matches with her protective nature whilst she is alive- this line in itself co predicts some of Beth's final words, in which she expresses that shes the one leaving the family this time, but shes ready to accept the separation and she's comfortable passing with this knowledge- this line demonstrates more of Jo's denial rather than her own. To portray this, I have rehearsed to drop my tone and plaster a forced smile onto my face- although if I were to say this line in most other instances before her contraction of scarlet fever, it would usually be a lot more upbeat, in the reflection of a naive childlike view into Beth's wish, rather than the perspective of Jo and her harsh reality of her death. In spite of this, once this line is said, and I disperse from downstage, I must quickly juxtapose and naturally fade into the character of Beth, who- at this segment within the play- is imply a whimsical child whose sheltered to the harsh reality outside of her home, and is just absorbed in the serenity of home and her family, particularly her sisters.

  On top of this, I wanted to create a demonstrable contrast from her livelihood at the beginning of Act One to the beginning of Act Two- it's stated she never recovers her original strength, therefore I feel the more timid and quiet side of my character is better expressed primarily during Act Two, rather than the beginning of her journey- her inner presence needs to be shown in a way that the audience can clearly sense the shift in energy throughout the play- though it seems Beth's journey is excruciatingly linear and cut short due to her passing, I wanted to sculpt a clear path for Beth, a character who clearly states that she could never imagine an ambition for the future because family was all she could fixate on, since that's the only thing she had ever been exposed to- which was a peculiar challenge, as many past adaptations, including both filmed productions, didn't seem tk draw from this perspective, and kept her highly pensive and timid the duration of her screen time, which isnt the image of Beth which I've created; to me, Beth is a child who had her family, her hobbies, and her life ripped from her, and she chose to die peacefully rather than fight for a life she could have had because she felt her love was her only contribution to society- which is all she had chance to show- I'll show this throughout the play by externalising her inner presence into little gestures, such as little giggles and subtle hand movements when she feels content around her sisters, opposed to when somebody unfamiliar is around, then she will become more reclusive- not introverted, pe say- just more 'masked', in order for her to slip into society's standards in her eyes.

  Further showing her external childlike aura, I plan to utilise her prop doll- Joanna- her most obvious symbol of her childish innocence, and give myself and the doll matching hairstyles throughout the course of the play- showing Beth's emotional connection not only to a literal object of her childhood, yet rather metaphorically her connection to the security of her childhood with having such a tight knitted bond with her sisters; I believe Beth should have a half up half doen twist as not only does it fit with the etiquette of the time, where young girls cannot tie their hair fully up, but it also shows that she aspires to follow Meg and Jo into their endeavour into womanhood, not for womanhood itself, but instead to follow her sisters blindly to not break the family. I drew direct inspiration for this notion from the 2019 adaptation's hairstyle for Beth- I believe it truly showcases her spring in her step through just a glance due to the free flowing nature of the hair, especially during the first half. 

  My character only starts to show glimmers of maturity whilst onstage after her initial diagnosis of scarlet fever- although Beth always carried herself as grateful and courteous, her emotional maturity begins to sprout after she is, in a way, humbled by her mortality, and begins to accept the negatives of life, except instead of trying to shelter herself from them- she embraces them as part of the little part of life she had left. The most notable example of this is her first encounters with Aunt March in both acts of the play; when she encounters Aunt March for the first time within Scene One of Act One, she opens the door for Aunt March, only for her to slam it right back in Beth's face, in a literally and metaphorical sense, whereas in Act Two, she doesn't move from her piano stool once Aunt March makes her presence known- it's not I interpret this as Beth holding a grudge against her Auntie, as I do believe Beth's naive good nature is what builds her character, however I do believe she sees her mortality as an escape of trying to please everyone she met; to give herself a chance to feel at peace for as long as she can ignore her fate, which I believe perfectly demonstrates Beth's character leading to her death, where she begins to see together both dual parts into one settling form on her death bed- making her character development, in my eyes, a cyclical structure; in both the way she can accept her love for her family while not letting it impact her decisions to let go.

The Last Resort

  For our production of the comedic British play, I will be portraying Becky- a 14 year old girl who runs to the beach to find the man who impregnated her in order to start a family, only to be let down and overwhelmed by her suicidal feelings. 

  Becky is one of the few characters within the play to not be in a group throughout the show, and demonstrates her thoughts and feelings through soliloquies, rather than interactions with other characters for the most part, truly signalling her isolation and depravity of a support system, which is prevalent for most of the play- even during moments where she tries to paint a picture of delusions that she's going to have a happy family with the man that "did it" to her, because- in her head- she loves him. I have decided to utilise this by always being close to where another group should be, but always too far out to reach; for example, when referencing the posh family 'The Bright Family'- "That family over there, they seem like a nice, happy family. Maybe that'll be me and Dave someday. Perhaps." showing that she physically cannot get that reality she dreams of- since shes plagued with the harsh reality that shes trying to flush out with that just out of reach vision. 

  Throughout the piece, I plan to elevate her desperation with every monologue; as the illusion slowly break that she isn't doing to be able to find her fairytale ending, and that façade breaks tight in front of her, she also begins to mentally break, almost to breaking point with her final monologue, being one of the most crucial moments for Becky as an individual; the moment where she is her most emotionally vulnerable- as she watches another near sexual encounter as a result of the toxicity of seaside nightclub culture. I will quicken her pace of breath, showing her anxiety over the reality of being raped settling in fully, showing her realisation that shes just one girl inadvertently never ending cycle, which, at this point, I have experimented in numerous ways in order to find a naturalistic balance of this disturbing reality sinking in through my expressions, such as tensing up my body, collapsing onto the floor into a ball sobbing, arching my eyebrows, and forcing a horrific insincere smile through tears. 

  For her outer appearance, I want to leave subtle hints of her pregnancy, without fully giving the notion away from the beginning- I want her first few appearances to be shrouded with mystery to a non observant member of the audience, in favour of making the reveal all the more impactful; I plan to wear quite relaxed clothing, such as an oversized hoodie with loose pants, however, I feel a full face of wuite layered makeup should also find a way into my outer appearance  not only to show she wants to keep the illusion to the older man that she is pretty enough for him to stay, but it also serves as a purpose to demonstrate that Becky is making her true thoughts in favour of denial- which ties in to be the main theme of her character; until she finally breaks.