In our acting class, we have been asked to memorize and perform two scenes, focusing on our motivation and the emotion behind each and every line, along with the characters backstories.
My first part is a girl by the name of Patti. She's in highschool, probably about 15, and very much an introvert, although she has a good amount of friends at school. However, none of her friends are really close enough so that she can tell them anything, that role had always been taken by Kenny, her older brother. She doesn't see a life without him, and even claims that "He was the only one who ever talked to her." Unfortunatly, a few days before this scene, Kenny is killed in a sitting car by carbon monoxide poisioning. At the time, he was on a date with Mary, the sister of Bo, the boy with Patti in this scene.
This tragedy leaves Patti devestated. She keeps herself locked in her room, and refuses to eat anything or go to school, even though her mother won't stop nagging her about it. When Bo enters in the beginning, she's mad at him, thinking he's just another ploy by her mother who's trying to get her to eat. Patti doesn't want to look at him, or really even talk. To demonstrate this, I hide my head in my knees and refuse to look up at him. Bo, however, calmly talks her into letting him sit down next to her, and they bond over the definition of carbon monoxide - which, strangely Patti has memorized. She's punishing herself for being alive, for still living even though her brother is dead. To her, Kenny's death can be blamed on her - she didn't roll down the windows, and that damn carbon monoxide managed to cut off the oxygen of her brother and it killed him. As a result, she memorized the definition and she's torturing herself with it, and she turns to Bo for comfort. Alas, all Bo can say is some cliche line about how they are all trying to get through this.
I also play a highschool girl Rosa. I picture Rosa as a preppy girl, popular, pretty, but nice too. She's dated a few guys, but never too serious about anything, until recently. Her boyfriend Johnny and her have been dating for a while, and felt that it was time to actually have sex. Unfortunately, they weren't careful and she ends up pregnant.
I chose to portray Rosa as scared, but not willing to show it. In the beginning, she avoids the topic of her health and why she won't try out for cheerleading - proving how she doesn't want to talk about her pregnancy and her future. Further proving this point, she didn't think about how she might have to drop school when she starts to show, she hasn't even told Johnny - which brings us to her fear. Not only does her neglectance to inform the father of her future child show her avoidance of the topic, but also her fears toward to future. She doesn't want to tell him, and I can show that by saying the lines quickly and forcefully, as if I am denying the truth.
Eventually, Rosa does tell Maria about the kid. This is a slightly difficult part to perform, since I have to show all these emotions at once. She's nervous, scared, depressed, confused, but also relieved. Now, she has somebody to talk to about it. I think her and her mom don't have a great relationship, and the baby isn't going to strengthen that, so she can't talk to her mom. Johnny might just get scared and leave - after all, he can, because he's not carrying the baby himself. He's not the one giving birth. Rosa turns to her best friend, who, of course, accepts her and even offers helps her through it, telling her how she'll bring her notes and such to her when she can't be there. It ends up okay.
And so will this blog post - which has been really long. See you in... like... a week!
-SW
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