At the end of last lesson, we chose some words to add to the movements that we had created in order to create a physical essay, summarising the main events within the play that are most important to the three main women. We decided that the lines of script that were said should correspond to the characters that each actor was trying to portray so that it was easier for the audience to understand who we were playing. Below is the piece that we created:
Carol says the line "It's sort of chaos. Isn't it. Once you've gone". This can be directly shown to be true when there is a chaos of overlapping words that are shouted at her whilst she is trying to break free of the first freeze frame that we created. This contrast of calm and chaotic summarise possibly what Carol feels when she's tried to commit suicide and by the influx of questions and opinions that ultimately follow that Carol doesn't want to hear. The amount of noise that the other people make whilst saying their next lines seem to almost trap Carol which could be how she feels after the birth of Anna due to more opinions that flood in from other characters.
The lines that are said simultaneously are:
Bonnie - "This is all the stuff I've wrestled to be told" which could show that Bonnie is finding out about her life through the physical essay as she watches it all unfold. "Me choosing to be here". "Now get the fuck out". These could both relate to Carol's state of mind as she chooses to live for Anna for 16 years and additionally could show that she doesn't want any support, she just wants to be left alone.
Anna - "I can't remember anything" could possibly link to Bonnie, showing that Bonnie doesn't know much about her life as Anna was never around to be able to tell her about her heritage. "Heads a bit swimmy" could show the impact of everyone's words on Carol (because they are being directed at her) which would have had a detrimental effect on her mental health.
John - "Do you feel steady?" "Do you understand what's happened to you?" The use of questions here makes Carol question her ability as a mother, which is why she is trying to break free from the pregnancy and responsibility that comes with it. The repetition of "steady" from John and Anna emphasise how none of the characters really feel as though they are in control of their own actions, especially Carol in this instance, as she is being forced back into life and into the role of a mother, physically by the other characters. The line "Yes constantly, I'm very controlling" is said sarcastically and by Jamie in Anna's storyline but this can also relate to Carol and John's relationship in the play as John seems to be trying to 'control' Carol's life so that she stays alive such as him suggesting another child after Anna. This line tails off after all the others, which I think gives it more emphasis, especially as Carol is being physically forced down as John says this line.
Jo - We decided to include Jo here because through John, we projected both John and Jamie (through the last line) and so by including Jo here, it made it so that the relationship that is most prominent in the three women's lives can be seen. "Really. Fucking. Stupid" could show how Carol feels about getting pregnant which means that she'll have to stay alive for longer and be a mother to Anna which I don't think she's prepared for. "Please stop saying sorry." "Shall I just go?"
After this, John and Carol say their line about vows. I decided to lean back and watch this conversation unfold which shows how Anna slowly watched her parents' marriage fall apart right in front of her eyes. I think that this somewhat shows the impact that Carol and John's somewhat failed marriage had on Anna as well as the loss of her mother.
As I am being pulled through Peter's legs, Bella and Lauren take on the role of people who have questioned what happened to her mother and why Carol decided to commit suicide - specifically Daisy. The lines that are said are: "Did she really flood her whole house?" "Is she happy now?" (this may imply that Carol is happier being dead rather than being alive) "Was it very dramatic?" "Did she see lights?" This questioning shows how some people will ask questions and hear the rumours about something tragic like this happening, which links back to a very early post about the play. It also shows how unsympathetic some people can be, especially the very young like Daisy was when she heard these lines, when something tragic happens. Moreover, these lines could be something that Bonnie wants to know about how both Carol and Anna died, especially the "Is she happy now?" This could have been a line that I could have used in the lesson where I took on the role of Bonnie/the hot seating lesson. Anna's response to these questions may show that she either doesn't want to answer them or doesn't know the answer to them because Carol or John never told the answer to her.
The repetition of the line "It's sort of chaos. Isn't it. Once she'd gone." shows just how alike Anna and Carol are, especially as they both suffer from post-natal depression. It also suggests the amount of abuse that Anna did to her body after the death of her mother which is summarised in the timeline on a previous blog post where the part of her life is shown as the 'mess'. It also suggests the breakdown of her relationship with her father (due to her hitting on him when she was high) which is only somewhat corrected after her time in rehab. This is shown by Anna calling him "Dad?" and John responding with "I haven't, I haven't heard you call me that in-". We decided to abruptly cut John's line off here to show that their relationship hadn't been repaired yet, as shown in Scene 5 when Anna says that they are "getting to a good".
We decided to have Bonnie say the final line of the piece with "That it goes no further, no deeper, no longer. That it finishes here." to show that Bonnie is determined to finish the tragedy that made up her past.
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