7 'Cherry Orchard' - Evaluation

Evaluation of our Cherry Orchard Performance

Basics:
In our performance I felt that our pace was the most improved aspect as we went from a boring and depressive play to a comedic play all because we sped up our pace. It is frequent in Chekhov plays for the pace to be slow as it focuses on quite depressive subjects and it tries to heighten the naturalistic style of the piece. Therefore actors often perform the plays in a dull pace. However this can make the plays boring to watch as they miss the natural humour to the piece and there is not much of an impact when something bad does happen. 

When we performed the Cherry Orchard we tried to have a fast pace throughout the performance. This was effective as it meant the natural comical moments were highlighted. For example when Firs said 'She came home. Can you believe it? The Mistress came home. We waited so long.'  he became over excited and he started wailing his arms around. His sweet reaction made the audience laugh. Also when a depressive subject came into the scene, we were able to draw the atmosphere down. 

However we weren't able to keep this consistent through out the performance as we had a memorial bell go off during our final act. When the character Boris said 'Some more water Please'  the bell went off during his speech so we all had to be silent for 2 minuets. up to that point the play was running at a very smooth pace but this silence did break up the play a little bit and it broke the atmosphere from the final moments of the play. Luckily the actor who played Boris immediately went back into his speech as soon as the silence was over. It meant that the play was able to carry on as if nothing had happened. I felt this didn't overly effect our performance as it was recovered well but it would have been better if the scene could have flowed straight to the end.

Stylistically:
For this performance we were focusing on portraying Chekhov's play 'The Cherry Orchard' in a naturalistic style. I felt that we did accomplish this aim as we used some of Stanislavsky's  system and skills like emotions. For example, in part 2 of our performance the actor playing Lyuba had to cry as she loses her house to someone she considered as a friend and the orchard is going to be cut down. when she started crying she collapsed to the floor and she made a sort of distorted breathless cry and when I heard the cry in the performance I thought she was actually crying as it sounded so painful. I felt this made her performance natural as she made me worry for her when she was on stage and she didn't over do it. 

Actor's Skills:
I think the best aspect of our play was the use of gestures and small movements as it made the characters come to life even when they weren't talking. For example in the final act when the family are about to leave the home for good, we had the servants in the background of the dialogue taking down the bookcase, antiques and was packing them away into boxes. It meant that the stage was empty when they finally left but it also showed a living working household even though they were on a stage. Also every character had 3 specific gestures that were repeated throughout the play. My gestures were holding my hands together, hugging my self by rapping my arms around my elbows and rubbing the back of my neck. because these 3 gestures were repeated in the performance it showed how we were creatures of habit and therefore made it more natural as it related to human instincts.  

Team Work and Support in Performance:
I felt that we did have great teamwork in the performance as we all reacted to the other actor's on stage and we all learnt our lines in order for the scene to be performed. For example, when Boris said 'To be honest she says all kinds of things' he is meant to fall asleep, snore and then wake himself up again. this moment worked well as all the other actors on stage all reacted to him falling asleep and then when he woke up again. Because everyone reacted it added to the comedic actions of Boris and therefore made it a very amusing moment in the scene. Subsequently this shows that having that type of teamwork between the cast means that they can produce stand out moments to the audience.  

Personal Review:
In my own performance I think that I was good at keeping constant movements that were natural and suited my character. For example, I was given a cup of coffee from Firs which I kept sipping from throughout the performance until I said the line 'my coffee in finished. Now to bed.' I felt that this was a very naturalistic movement as it showed how she could have finished her coffee and it showed a normal human trait and therefore I felt this helped me achieve my aim.

However I don't feel that I used much projection. For example when I enter onto the stage for the first time I spoke up stage towards the nursery and so some of my lines were lost a little. Also I was speaking in a lower tone to characterise Lyuba but this did mean that some of my lines were lost in the lower tone. considering that this was a workshop performance, I would  next like to look into projecting my voice in order to improve the clarity of my lines and mainly focus on the tonality so that I don't lose my words. 

6 'Cherry Orchard' - Answers to Original Questions

My Original Questions that I found whilst I was studying the script were:

• What happened to Lyuba in Paris?
• How long has she been away?
• How long has she been hurting?

After looking into the historical context and having a further analysis of the play, I feel that I have been able to answer some of those original question.

•  I found out that Lyuba had a secret lover whilst she was in Paris who manipulated, stole from her and made her try to commit suicide because of the betrayal. this can be considered as part of her main trauma of her adult life as she realises that her love and friendship are fragile and precious. I was able to find this answer from the second scene that was performed. 

• I found out she has been in Paris for around 6 years as in the script Varya says "I have no idea, Anya. It's been 6 years". It shows that there has been a separation between the family since the death of the husband and son so this could lead to the beginning of Lyuba's trauma.  This is all learnt in the first scene that I was performing in. 

• The final question was a lot harder to answer as there is no clear date but I think that she must have been hurting ever since the Russian Revolution in 1861 as it was the first point of change in her life that led to her chronic debt, the lose of her friends, family, the estate and the cutting down of the cherry orchard. 

5 "Cherry Orchard " - Research and Developments

Historical Context

• After the defeat of Napoleon in 1815, the tsar (Alexander I) tried to discuss constitutional reforms, and though a few were introduced, no thoroughgoing changes were attempted at this time.

• Serfdom was the dominant form of relation between peasants and  nobility in the 17th century. It only existed in central and southern areas of the Russian Empire.

• The Russian empire was politically, economically and socially backwards. There was little industry and most of the population was peasant farmers working in an agricultural system that had changed little since the middle ages. 

Russia had been changing since the early 18th century when Tsar Peter had the intent of modernizing Russia’s image. He brought in a series of reforms:

• Serfs were allowed to buy their freedom. Chekhov's Granddad brought his freedom in 1841

• A large government bureaucracy was created

• They brought European styles, fashion and art

• They adopted the French language and western cannon.

These reforms brought great controversy. In 1861 there was a second wave of reforms which freed all serfs from bondage. This was the beginning of a free market economy which undermined the power of nobility. 

Beginning of the Play

Before the play has begun, Lyuba has spent the last 6 years in Paris with her secret lover who stole from her. She left for Paris because her husband and her son Grisha both died within one months difference and she was traumatised by her adult life that made her flee.  We know this as Varya says "I have no idea, Anya. It's been 6 years" it shows that there has been a separation between the family since the death of the husband and son so this could lead to the beginning of Lyuba's trauma. 

As an actor, I decided to approach this trauma as if the husband and son were apart of the house rather then them being completely dead. I felt this was an effective decision as it gives reasons for her being slightly uncomfortable in her house and being so haunted by the people in her house. I tried to make Lyuba look awkward in the scene by a series of movements. I kept fiddling with my hands on my lap as I sat in the chair to show a sort of anxiety because of the horror of having to losing the cherry orchard. I also rapped my arms around my self like a self hug to show a sign of comfort and loneliness. I think hugging my self linked to the fact that she hasn't got anyone to call her own as both her daughters are going off to other men (Peter and Alexander) and she has already lost her husband and son. 

Developments

Originally I decided to make Lyuba's character very motherly and caring to show her weak and frail nature toward her friends and family.  However, as the rehearsals progressed, Karen asked me to experiment by playing Lyuba's character 'like a man'.  I was very sceptical about this decision as I had always imaged her to be a very feminine character but I now understand that Karen wanted Lyuba to be a withered soul as she has lived through traumatic events like death and robbery.  I decided to make her more 'like a man' by lowering the voice to show the older nature to Lyuba and I tried to make her slightly less caring and motherly. I did this as mothers notoriously over protect their children were as the father tries to teach the children life lessons. I felt this was more suitable for her to take on both roles in parenthood as she has lost her husband and the children don't need as much protection now that they are older.

I also had played Lyuba as a reserved woman as she was a lot older then most of the characters so she didn't have much physical contact with other people. However Karen also suggested that she could be more touchy with people as she is close with all the characters in the house. I think she decided to do this as Lyuba is stuck in her happy childhood memories so she maybe more childish and playful to keep her memories alive. In order to show this I decided to touch Peter and Leonid's face when I say how old they have become and I gave grand double kisses to my daughters to show the loving joyous experience of coming home. 

4 "Cherry Orchard" - Rehearsal Process

Original Ideas:
When I first took to the character Lyuba, I decided to look at a version of the play with Judi Dench playing the role of Lyuba. I felt that this was an effective way to introducing myself to the play as I could see how other people interpreted my character. It was not the same version as our play but the translation was very similar which meant that it was easy to follow. I also then decided to base my character of Lyuba to judi Dench. I felt she was a loving woman to her children but she had a soft weakness to her. Altogether I made my Lyuba to be a soft mother character. In order to show this in my character I decided to use high tones in my voice to show the sweater feminine nature of Lyuba and I had a slower pace to show the older and fragile side to Lyuba. I felt this was an accurate interpretation of Judi Dench's Lyuba. However I felt that perhaps something was missing as it didn't feel like I took charge of the character fully.

Questions:
Even after I had watched and read the play I still felt like there was some questions that were raised whilst we were going through the play. For example:

• What happened to Lyuba in Paris?
• How long has she been away?
• How long has she been hurting?

I didn't think that I could wander these questions yet as I hadn't done enough research. So I then went to look at the historical events of this time period and the whole play to see if I could find any answers.