CREATIVE
LEARNING RESOURCE PACK
September
2009
John Steinbeck wrote ‘Of Mice and Men’ in
1936, in the middle of a time of mass unemployment such as America and
Europe had not experienced before. Steinbeck was a young man at
the time, and wanted to write about the difficulties millions of Americans
like himself were facing. The 1920’s were a ‘boom-time’
in America, and there was work to do and fortunes to be made; the 1930s
brought unemployment and poverty.
Much the same can be
said for developed countries in our current global economic landscape.
The fall out of the current
crisis has yet to be fully appreciated, yet a certainty is that the
impact upon our emotional and psychological temperaments will be great.
John Steinbeck’s play
is as relevant now as it was in it’s time, and we are delighted to
be producing this timely, emotive and challenging piece of theatre at
The Dukes.
It’s a play about:
Migrant workers
A banking crisis
Discrimination
It’s performed by a group
of people who make their living from travelling from place to place,
living a transient lifestyle, migrant workers themselves
The American Dream and a personal
dream
The past, the present, the
future
The Thrust of this Resource
Pack and Associated Workshops is based on Interpretation, and both of
these can be used with GCSE English classes who are studying ‘Of Mice
And Men’ as a set text, and with Drama or Theatre Studies groups who
may be seeing the play as part of a more general course of theatrical
studies. Here in the Resource Pack we open up the processes and
approaches The Dukes production team took when creating this production.
The Novel/The Script:
A play like structure - The script is almost word for word like the
book, as Steinbeck was experimenting with the two forms of writing.
The beauty of the production is that the play allows the students to
see the characters come to life.
The Resource Pack: A
practical handbook an exploration of the process of putting together
this piece of theatre
The Workshops: A rehearsal
like structure. Practical ways of getting under the text, the
characters, the arc of the story, the journey’s of the individuals,
the physicalities, the language, the music and songs, the design, the
research, using approaches and processes from the director and
the actors.
The Resource Pack and
the Workshops are intended for groups who have read the book, or seen
the play. Peppered throughout are a number of post show activities
all of which could be explored in a one hour lesson.
Dreams, loneliness, friendship,
language and symbolism play a large part in Steinbeck’s novel and
script, as do racism, viewpoints, and the setting and context within
which the story operates. Through the play, the resource pack
and accompanying workshops, The Dukes Creative Learning team are looking
forward to working with you and your students in active, practical theatre
making and creative workshops. We shall interrogate the text, deepen
thinking and explore the world that the characters and plot exist within,
to widen understanding of the text. Enjoy each moment of that
exploration.
To get in touch with
the Creative Learning team, please email creativelearning@dukes-lancaster.org.
Louie Ingham
Creative Learning
Practitioner, The Dukes
SECTION ONE
Interpreting Steinbeck’s
Masterpiece – Director’s Foreword - Why do ‘Of Mice And Men?’
SECTION TWO
Interpreting the world
- Design and Music: Telling the story of the world through the visuals
and sounds that the audience, and the characters see and hear.
SECTION THREE
Interpreting the characters
- The Actors share their insights on the discoveries they made during
rehearsals
SECTION FOUR
Interpreting the voice
and sounds - A transcript of the work explored in the Vocal Coach workshop
on getting the accent right, and rooting the accent in the different
characters.
SECTION FIVE
Interpreting the text
- Rehearsal Room notes and choice moments and areas from the play to
interrogate.
SECTION SIX
Interpreting the world
of the men through song - Manuscript of the songs, written for this
production.
SECTION SEVEN
Interpreting the rehearsal
process - Script to stage associated workshops from the Creative Learning
Department.
SECTION ONE
Interpreting Steinbeck’s
Masterpiece – Director’s Foreword - Why do
‘Of Mice And Men?’
“My mum and dad
weren’t theatre people. They just never went. They were quite happy
with the telly. But then one of their sons (me)
‘got into’ theatre and one day I took them to see a play. They weren’t
really looking forward to it. I think they were going for me rather
than for them. After all, that’s what parents do isn’t
it – swimming lessons, parents evenings, standing by the side of football
pitches, listening to their children doing things to a musical instrument…
go to the theatre with them if they say it’s gonna be cool.
My parents were blown
away, gobsmacked, as if they had been visited from outer space. Of course
it wasn’t just the theatre experience
– seeing live actors right in front of your very eyes. It was also
the play. It was Steinbeck’s ‘Of Mice And Men’.
So one of my interests
in doing this play is that someone, just someone will have an experience
something like my mum and dad did.
Also, when Joe Sumsion
asked me to direct the play, I went back and read it. Steinbeck’s
first scene is a masterpiece. It draws you in; it lights the fuse for
the bomb that we know is going to go off. It sets up so beautifully
these two men who want peace and somewhere safe in the world. At the
same time we know, we feel in our gut, that it isn’t quite going to
work out like that.
One of the great successes
of the play is the world that it creates. It is not at all like ours,
but we understand it completely. That is because the things that make
the characters tick… friendship, loneliness, pettiness, being a bully…
we come across them in our own lives every day.
I think Lenny is one
of the great characters of fiction. People who read about him in Steinbeck’s
short novel or see him in a production of the play will never forget
him.
The central act of
the play – the killing of the thing you love
– is a great moment in storytelling. The fact that Lenny is killed
by the man who loves him – because he loves him is cruel and marvellous.
Cruel because it should not happen, marvellous because we understand
why Lenny’s best friend has to do it.
And isn’t it great
the patterns in the story? The killing of the old useless dog, the killing
of the puppy by Lenny, what happens to Curly’s wife, what happens
to the big man when we return to the river
Or the mirroring of
the opening of the book and the end.
Or the way-ahead-of-its
time observations about race and gender.
And the questions
it throws up – about what it is like to be a man, what it is like
to be an outsider, how gangs work, how individuals are.”
Kevin Dyer, Director,
‘Of Mice And Men’
POST
SHOW ACTIVITY 1: Imagine you have the opportunity to interview the director
of ‘Of Mice And Men’. Make a list of five questions which
you would ask him, including any elements of the production which puzzled
you. Swap question lists with a partner and see if you can imagine
what the director’s answer to each of your partner’s questions might
be. You could email these questions to creativelearning@dukes-lancaster.org and the Creative Learning
Department will do their best to find the answers to your questions.
If you’re coming for a workshop, then bring your questions with you.
SECTION TWO
Interpreting the world
- Design and Music: Telling the story of the world through the visuals
and sounds that the audience, and the characters see and hear.
PHOTO MARK B
Here Mark Melville
(Composer) on the play shares insights on his process and on writing
music for theatre:
“My initial thoughts
on reading the play were how the setting of the play makes the characters
so fascinating. The expanse of their surroundings seems to make all
their dreams and hopes seem bigger and more ambient. The relationship
between Lenny and George is so touching and I find it really interesting
how they live such an immediate life - going from one meal and one dollar
to another and scraping together enough to go to the next town. It almost
seems that they experience life on a much more basic, emotional level.
Composing for theatre,
for me and my process, all starts with conversations and the exchanging
of ideas with the creative team about the tone, mood and style of the
piece and the themes within the play. Based on these conversations I
make a playlist of existing pieces of music that seem to fit into these
initial ideas for the play. I’ll then play these pieces to the director
and discuss the things that do and don’t work for certain characters,
scenes and overall themes – it may be certain sounds, instruments,
tempos or rhythms that provide a starting point and I then go away and
compose a few different pieces that try and distill the things we liked
from that initial playlist. Once rehearsals start and the actors take
hold of the characters and we get the play on its feet , these ideas
inevitably change and develop; but with having three weeks rehearsal
it’s very useful for me to have material to draw from at the start.
Alongside working with
the actors, the director is responsible for bringing together all the
separate creative elements on the show from lighting, to costume, to
props, to set, to sound so it is very important to be clear and stay
true to the vision the director has for the whole play. The music and
sound are just one part of that overall picture.
The process of composing
for theatre again involves specific discussion about what the music
should do in the moment. The director didn’t want the play to
be a museum piece and wanted the music help give it a contemporary feel
so while the music draws from conventions of music of the ‘30’s
we used modern instruments like electric guitars, synthesizers and drums
and more contemporary ‘cinematic’ uses of music within scenes to
help make it feel like a modern piece of theatre.
Deciding on the instruments
to be used for the world of the play, primarily comes from chatting
with the director about the tracks we listened to as early influences.
The director immediately picked up on how well the guitar worked at
conveying a moody but hopeful atmosphere and how it felt like the right
sound for the men in the story. In keeping with a contemporary feel
I used a lot of reverb and delay effects on the guitar that made it
sound bigger and more ambient like the landscape in the play.
I also really love percussion
in all it’s forms and I was keen to find a percussion sound that would
work for the piece so in the first scene change where we are introduced
to the working men on the farm the percussion backing to their song
is made up of recordings of spades, shovels and picks hitting the ground
and recordings of the cast stomping on the floor in their heavy soled
cowboy boots and also the sound of leather horse harnesses being hit
against my wooden guitar case.
To compose the music,
and get the ‘feel’ that I was looking for, I began by looking at
music around the historical setting of the play like Leadbelly, Woody
Gutherie, Western Swing and The Anthology of American Folk Music to
try and see how I could get an authentic sound to the music by looking
at the use of instruments and certain music conventions. Neil Young
and The Band were also a massive influence as the sound to their records
and songs seem to evoke the world of Steinbeck. The director also said
with the themes of the play being so big that the music should have
an operatic scale and expression with big musical themes so I was conscious
of a more cinematic approach to some of the music cues – the director
and I listened to Fanfare for the Common Man by Aaron Copeland in our
first music meeting.
The most time consuming
and challenging part is when you start with a blank canvas and you have
to create something that encapsulates the tone of the whole piece -
finding that music that suits the play perfectly is always the hardest
part. Once I find that the rest of the music falls into shape as it
all stems from those central ideas. As the play is very dense with words,
the other aspect I found difficult was weaving the music into some key
moments i.e. when George talks about the rabbits – the words are so
important there as they tell us the dream that drives George and Lennie
along – the difficulty was finding music that would lift those words
without stealing our ear from them with music. Another challenge was
finding the moments to support Lennie’s condition such as: Curley
goes to hit Lennie and when Lennie breaks Curley’s Wife’s neck
we hear a distorted white noise sound that tries to give a sense of
the scary confusion in Lennie’s head. Finding the best way to convey
that was a nice challenge.
One of my first conversations
with the director before I’d read the play was about how big the hopes,
dreams, longings and tragedies of these characters are and about how
the music also needed to reflect the expansive landscape of the Californian
setting. With the designers set being so big and open the director also
talked about how the music needed to fill this space and the theatre.
In my notes for the opening piece of music it says - hope, tragedy,
loss, dreams, struggle, expansive landscapes, operatic, contemporary,
love!
With music and sound
I often ask the question - both to myself and the director - ‘how
do we want the audience to feel in this moment’? Part of the fun is
finding the best and most creative way to get music to accomplish that.
Music in theatre is generally there to fulfill a dramatic purpose with
the musical content being secondary.
I think the struggle
of the characters is timeless and this play could easily be updated
to a modern setting. There’s also just something very appealing about
characters drifting through these great lost highways. Also, it’s
not often I get to play guitar ‘out front’ when doing music for
theatre; so that was also a lot of fun!
Some plays require more
subtle music. Some plays like Jason and the Argonauts require bigger
orchestral musical statements which are more complicated to construct
– especially when the music has to be broken down into blocks so it
can follow a live action fight sequence. However, the biggest challenge
is always trying to find the tone of the music that captures and brings
together the themes and characters.
I don’t know exactly
how it does it but music has the abstract ability to alter how we feel.
It can heighten the things that characters say and do, it can help reveal
their inner workings, it can completely alter our perception of the
things we see and it can give a landscape of mood and atmosphere that
is hard to explain in words.
Throughout the research
and development process, and the rehearsals, I welcome opinions and
ideas from anyone. Fundamentally, the director is managing the overall
creative vision of all the different elements of the production –
lighting, costume, set, props etc. - so the music has to fit in with
that vision and concept. Bouncing ideas around people can never be a
bad thing, as John Steinbeck said: ‘Ideas are like rabbits. You get
a couple and learn how to handle them, and pretty soon you have a dozen’.
“
POST
SHOW ACTIVITY 2: In groups of four, discuss where and when music and
sound was used in the production. What effect did the music and
sound have on the audience when you watched the production? Where
there times when the music and sound helped to enhance your understanding
of the play, or themes of the play, and if so, when and how? If
you were to compile a play list of musical inspirations that evoked
the world of ‘Of Mice And Men’, what would that play list look like?
Alison Heffernan, Designer,
explains the design process for the show from start to finish:
Every project is like
a new beginning and a different challenge. With ‘Of Mice And Men’
I have loved getting my teeth into such a classic text, exploring the
themes and moods and trying to create a setting and costumes that respect
the text, but work for this particular production and space.
At the initial design
stages I always start with the text, reading and re-reading to understand
the atmosphere and feel of the play and then to break down the technical
elements. I need to know where and when the play is set, how many scenes
there are, how much furniture there is, how many costumes for each actor
and if there will be quick changes of scenery or costumes.
My visual research started
with looking through books of American photographers of the period such
as Walker Evans and John Vacon and finding images of the landscape and
architecture. Google is invaluable but I have a collection of reference
books and pictures I have collected from other shows, I can never resist
buying a few more though!
At a very early stage
Kevin (Director) and I met for a ‘first impressions’ chat and agreed
on a large-scale epic set that could work both for interiors and exteriors.
We were both very interested in using the set as a ‘cyc’ or screen,
lighting onto and behind the scenery and using silhouettes of the action
upstage.
By the time rehearsals
start the set is being built and painted and the costumes have been
sourced or are being made. It is too late for major changes as we are
always working to budgets and never have as much time, money or people
power, as we would like. Forward planning as much as possible is crucial.
But it is not until rehearsals start that you can really see the actors
using the space and this is where there is lots of creative flexibility,
led by the director, but involving everyone in the process. Final decisions
about props, lighting, scene changes and timings cannot be worked out
in advance and as much as possible I like to work with the actors about
how they will look and what they will wear.
A lot of my design work
is done in advance of rehearsals. After the rough design is approved
and budgeted. I make a very detailed scale model and provide technical
drawings of the scenery and a scale ground-plan. I also do drawings
of each actor’s costumes and usually do additional research for specific
props, costumes and furniture. We have a series of production meetings
with all departments to discuss details and budgets. For this particular
show we have borrowed or hired a lot of the costumes from other theatres
because the clothes need to be American and of the correct period, which
has involved lots of trips around the region.
I first meet the actors
at the start of rehearsals and then I spend my time watching them rehearse,
in costume fittings, prop and costume hunting and attending weekly progress
meetings. The week before the show opens ‘tech week’ is when everything
comes together on the stage and I see the set up for the first time
with lighting and sound. Technical and dress rehearsals are when I can
see the finished costumes and props and make any final adjustments.
I feel very fortunate
doing a job that I love. It’s amazing to see a finished set that looks
just like the model and I am always aware of what a team effort that
entails from all of the backstage and production staff.
I originally trained
in sculpture and made interactive installations, the first time I had
a go at theatre design I instantly thought wow, this
is what I want to do. Theatre encompasses many things I love, buying
fabric, clothes (oh…. and shoes), reading lots, researching different
projects, working in teams with inspiring people, hands on practical
problem solving and applied creativity.
POST
SHOW ACTIVITY 3: As a group, make a list of all the elements of this
production which emphasise the loneliness and isolation of the working
men. Using your list, look back at Steinbeck’s text to see if
you can discover why these directorial and design choices might have
been made. Is there some textual justification for each of the
choices?
SECTION
THREE
Interpreting the characters
- The Actors share their insights on the discoveries they made during
rehearsals
We asked
our acting company a series of questions asking them to reflect on their
process so far - If you are an emerging or aspiring actor, these insights
will be fascinating. If you’re an emerging or aspiring Director,
these answers may help you to grasp where an actor starts from in the
rehearsal process.
Andrew
Ashford - ‘Lennie’
Where and when did
you train? Have you worked for The Dukes before?
Trained at The Poor School
in Kings Cross (London!) 2006 - 2008. First time working at The
Dukes.
What drew you into
your character when you first read the play?
First read Of Mice and
Mean at school and fell in love with the book. Then, as I grew
(and grew) up, Lennie became my ‘dream’ role and have wanted to
play it for years. Lennie is one of literatures most tragic characters
- following the impossible dream full of hope and with unbreakable faith
in George and all he says. His journey takes him through trauma
after trauma - an actors’ dream!!
What challenges does
this role pose for you?
Biggest challenge is
getting inside Lennie’s head - his learning difficulties would have
been undiagnosed and unrecognised, and learning how to exist as that
person in that time has been a real challenge. Also creating the
solid, unbreakable bond he has with George has been challenging and
rewarding.
The thrust of the
Creative Learning work to sit alongside the show is
‘Interpretation’. What hooks, clues, ways of thinking, have
helped you to interpret your character, and what is the portrayal of
your character beginning to look like?
* Research into autism
and the traits of individuals who suffer from it.
* Clearing my head of
thoughts that he would not have, keeping it simple and LISTENING to
what everyone says.
* Novel was invaluable
in helping establishing nature of Lennie.
What discoveries were
made about your character through rehearsal that perhaps weren’t explicit
in the script?
His total reliance on
George has become very explicit through rehearsal. In any situation
I always check where George is ad how he feels about what is going on.
I take my lead from him at all times. Steinbeck, however, is a
GENIUS writer and leaves no stone unturned in his writing.
What have you particularly
enjoyed about the Of Mice And Men
process so far?
ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING!!!!
It has been an amazing experience - learning from Kevin and the other
actors. Creating a piece as a company has been brilliant - everyone
working together to create a piece of moving art.
And conversely, is
there anything that you have found particularly difficult?
It has been extremely
emotional at times, such as the strength of the bond between Lennie
and George and how that flows through the play. However, all of
this is invaluable in making a piece believable.
Chris
Jack - ‘Crooks’
Where and when did
you train? Have you worked for The Dukes before?
I trained at Salford
University. I did a BA (Hons) in Media and Performance with my
main focus being on acting. I have worked at The Dukes before
playing Jason in ‘Jason and the Argonauts’.
What drew you into
your character when you first read the
play?
The depth of the isolated
black main living in a very white world. It’s a very unforgiving
world he lives in, a thankless life he leads and yet all he wants is
to talk to somebody, regardless of colour.
What challenges does
this role pose for you?
Physically playing a
character with a crooked back will pose one of the biggest challenges
on a daily basis. However, getting into the head of a man in such
an isolated world with so much oppression will be the biggest challenge.
The thrust of the
Creative Learning work to sit alongside the show is
‘Interpretation’. What hooks, clues, ways of thinking, have
helped you to interpret your character, and what is the portrayal of
your character beginning to look like?
All the hooks are in
the text. ‘A guy goes nuts if he ain’t got nobody, don’t
matter who it is, as long as he with you’. ‘Guys don’t
come in a coloured man’s room’. ‘I ain’t wanted in the
bunkhouse, and you ain’t wanted in my room’. As an actor these
are the lines you relish because they help your thought process as to
what/how the character is feeling.
What discoveries were
made about your character through rehearsal that perhaps weren’t explicit
in the script?
Crooks’ laugh.
Crooks has a warmth about him that when he laughs, for that short moment,
all his pain and suffering subsides.
What have you particularly
enjoyed about the Of Mice And Men
process so far?
So many elements to mention
but I’ve loved Kevin Dyer’s willingness to let the actor experiment,
and in doing so, we’ve created a really company spirit where we trust
each other fully.
And conversely, is
there anything that you have found particularly difficult?
Playing a character a
lot older than myself. Resisting my own movements and to constantly
remind myself that I move in a totally different manner to Crooks.
Cloudia
Swann - ‘Curley’s Wife’
Where and when did
you train? Have you worked for The Dukes before?
I trained at The Oxford
School of Drama and graduated in 2005. This is my first time at
The Dukes.
What drew you into
your character when you first read the play?
The fact that Curley’s
wife if the only female in the play and although she is referred to
throughout the play as a tart there is no evidence that she is.
Men perceptions of women of that time.
What challenges does
this role pose for you?
- The loneliness is huge.
She is always alone and desperate to be with people.
- Mixing that
with a playful, wanting to have fun character with a high status.
The responsibility of
what she represents.
The thrust of the
Creative Learning work to sit alongside the show is
‘Interpretation’. What hooks, clues, ways of thinking, have
helped you to interpret your character, and what is the portrayal of
your character beginning to look like?
It’s all in the text.
Steinbeck is great for giving you every tool you need. She’s
a country girl who’s fun to be with and want to play.
What discoveries were
made about your character through rehearsal that perhaps weren’t explicit
in the script?
My main interpretation
is she is not a tart, yes she’s playful, wears makeup and like to
look nice for herself and for her husband, but she is not what you would
find in the whore house. The novella is a great source for me
as it is all written in the text.
What have you particularly
enjoyed about the Of Mice And Men
process so far?
The company are fantastic,
it is a privilege to work with such great actors and director.
The rehearsal process has allowed me to explore, have fun and make the
wrong and right choices.
And conversely, is
there anything that you have found particularly difficult?
Time is very precious
to us and you feel that you are never quite there.
Noel
White - ‘Slim’
Where and when did
you train? Have you worked for The Dukes before?
I trained at The Guildhall
School Of Music and Drama. I first worked at The Dukes this summer
playing Heracles in Jason and the Argonauts.
What drew you into
your character when you first read the play?
I’ve always loved Steinbeck’s
writing, so it was initially the chance of just working on the play
that attracted me. Once I’d read it again I realised that Slim would
be a great challenge and character for me to play.
What challenges does
this role pose for you?
His rhythms and internal
tempo are different to mine. Also he prefers not to show his feelings
so it’s important to keep a continually churning and changing inner
life.
The thrust of the
Creative Learning work to sit alongside the show is
‘Interpretation’. What hooks, clues, ways of thinking, have
helped you to interpret your character, and what is the portrayal of
your character beginning to look like?
The novel provides more
clues. Reading other Steinbeck novels likes ‘Grapes Of Wrath’
helped me to understand the lives of migrant workers in that period.
I’m still trying to find my character. Once I do, I won’t
be concerned with what he looks like.
What discoveries were
made about your character through rehearsal that perhaps weren’t explicit
in the script?
That despite his cool,
authoritative and content demeanor, inside him stirs a deep well of
loneliness and pain.
What have you particularly
enjoyed about the Of Mice And Men
process so far?
I like the fact that
Kevin (our Director) made sure the whole company were called for all
the rehearsals in the first week. It’s important for this play
that all the actors are clear about they world the characters inhabit.
It’s been an open place to try things with a supportive director and
company.
And conversely, is
there anything that you have found particularly difficult?
We’re in Week two,
so we’re still very much working in broad brush strokes, and I’m
looking forward to the detailed work in Week three.
Paul
Dodds - ‘George’
Where and when did
you train? Have you worked for The Dukes before?
I completed a postgraduate
training course at The Oxford School or Drama way back in 1999
Last year I appeared at The Dukes playing Ned in “The Bomb”.
What drew you into
your character when you first read the play?
His care for Lennie.
Caring for a fellow man isn’t the first thing we think of when we
think about tough, working men from that region and time in American
history. I just though that would be an exciting challenge.
What challenges does
this role pose for you?
Layering the character
so that he can fight to survive and fir I with the other men while maintaining
his love and tenderness towards Lennie is a difficult balance to strike.
The thrust of the
Creative Learning work to sit alongside the show is
‘Interpretation’. What hooks, clues, ways of thinking, have
helped you to interpret your character, and what is the portrayal of
your character beginning to look like?
There are lines that
look back which help explain where your character is now. At one
point, for example, George says of Lennie “I’ve beat the hell outta
him”….and I think it makes him sick to the pit of his stomach to
think of that time, and it’s one of the reasons that George is trying
to change. At this point of rehearsals my character is very tightly
bound and brooding. That isn’t right. I’m working on
lightening him, making him easier, more free. Hopefully I’ll
find the right balance by the time we open!
What discoveries were
made about your character through rehearsal that perhaps weren’t explicit
in the script?
The fact that once upon
a time things weren’t quite so hard for George - he was a boy once
too. There’s a line “And we’ll have a few pigeons to go
flying round and round the windmill like they done when I was a kid”
That reminiscence and harkening back to another time caught me by surprise
in a good way.
What have you particularly
enjoyed about the Of Mice And Men
process so far?
Learning, learning, learning.
I’m always in awe of actors working at the top of their craft and
I’m spoiled in this rehearsal room to be working with eight actors
who are bang on their game.
And conversely, is
there anything that you have found particularly difficult?
The beating heart of
George - what drives him or rather exactly where his engine room is.
Stuart
Richardson - ‘Candy’
Where and when did
you train? Have you worked for The Dukes before?
The Royal Scottish Academy
of Music and Drama 1979 - 1982.
What drew you into
your character when you first read the play?
His vulnerability, his
search for the fulfilment of his dream.
What challenges does
this role pose for you?
Keeping hold of the accent
and using it, not letting the accent control me.
What have you particularly
enjoyed about the Of Mice And Men
process so far?
Great company of actors
to work with.
And conversely, is
there anything that you have found particularly difficult?
Not really.
Tom
Tunstall - ‘The Boss’
Where and when did
you train? Have you worked for The Dukes before?
East 15 Acting School,
graduating in 1989 when I was 30 years old - I did a 1 year post graduate
course. I’ve appeared at The Dukes before when touring a play.
What drew you into
your character when you first read the play?
I love this authority,
his stillness and (as I see him) that he’s a humane man doing an inhumane
job.
What challenges does
this role pose for you?
The Boss appears only
briefly, but nonetheless casts a ‘long shadow’ over the play - so
he has to ‘impress’ when he briefly appears.
The thrust of the
Creative Learning work to sit alongside the show is
‘Interpretation’. What hooks, clues, ways of thinking, have
helped you to interpret your character, and what is the portrayal of
your character beginning to look like?
I see The Boss as very
solid and ‘grounded’. He has a million things going on in
his mind, and when he looks at you or speaks to you, all that is ‘going
on’. So, filling in his ‘back story’ is VERY important,
for me.
What discoveries were
made about your character through rehearsal that perhaps weren’t explicit
in the script?
I hadn’t realised that,
out of all the characters in the play he is, to me, one of the most
liberal; he sees a bigger picture than most of the others.
What have you particularly
enjoyed about the Of Mice And Men
process so far?
This is a great company
of actors to work with - I’m very much enjoying the musical aspects
of the play, because that’s something that I, personally, really want
to develop. Also creating the world of the 1930s dustbowl - accents,
etc is fun. Also I love the hat and the boots!
And conversely, is
there anything that you have found particularly difficult?
We are a company, and
all ‘pulling together’, however my character is ‘felt’ rather
than ‘seen’, for the most part, and it can sometimes be hard to
feel that you’re making a big contribution in the circumstances.
POST SHOW ACTIVITY
4: The director, Kevin Dyer, is passionate about working as a community
of theatre makers. In groups of three or more, discuss the following
questions: What do you think the advantages of working collaboratively
might be? What about the disadvantage? What kind of
‘ground rules’ for collaboration might be necessary when working
on a theatrical production? What do you think the role of the
director is in the process?
SECTION FOUR
Interpreting the voice
and sounds - A transcript of the work explored in the Vocal Coach workshop
on getting the accent right, and rooting the accent in the different
characters
Cracking the accent!
With a play that requires an accent,
many actors feel the fear - How do you find easy ways into accents,
how do you ensure that you can play intentions, and keep lines active,
without the accent ‘getting in the way’.
To support the company in their understanding
of the accent particular for ‘Of Mice And Men’, vocal coach Caroline
Hetherington came into rehearsals in the first week. The session
came from a position of visualisation - setting the setting, geography
and location of the play, with which a understanding of the development
of the accent could emerge - Imagining expanses of dusty horizons,
and vast prairies helped to give the actors a way to see how in dusty,
hot climes, a tight jaw evolves, and thereafter particular vowel sounds
develop in response to this muscular activity.
POST SHOW ACTIVITY
5: Here are some of the top tips that Caroline shared with the company
to help them gain confidence and ease with their voices and accents
for the play, some of them are technical and physical things to
do with you mouth and face, others are ways in and hooks and we’ve
also included some phrases to help you get a sense of the rhythm of
the words and sentences.
Points to consider about the Californian
accent of the 1930s.
Tight jaw
The accent has a flat intonation
pattern compared to the British accent
The lilt is very particular,
think of the motion of sitting on a horse that’s moving side to side
There is a different muscularity
and rhythm to the accent
Flat vowels
Tongue is high and works
hard
Grammatical structure is
different
Big influence on the accent
is it’s geography, it’s geology - The big giant dust clouds, really
thick dust storms. People wouldn’t want to breathe that in,
therefore they are tight lipped, the dry heat, wouldn’t want your
mouth to dry out.
Technically a lot of the
work is going on a the back of the tongue.
Top lip doesn’t move that
much
Press the sound through your
nose with your hand
Rhythm is specific to this
accent
Within a phrase, the stresses
in the sentence, you go from one side and then you go
to the other side
Volume, rather than pitch,
is important when aiming to hit the words
Think of the wide horizon
of the outstretch of dry land, and think of the prairie at the back
of your mouth
Excitement is not wide and
expensive in the accent, it’s just under the surface all the time
Lean on the words - use your
hand to remind you of this - think of volume and pressing on the words
British use pitch, going
up and down and the difference in our accents, means US often thinks
the British are neurotic - US accents use volume, hence why we can think
of the US accents as loud and brash.
The accent is wrapped up
in the land and the seasons - keep the sense of that in the voice work
Think of driving through
the sentences like you’re driving cattle
Think of the sentences as
if you are walking along the flat and then every now and again you get
a lump in the road that you walk over.
In a British accent vowels
are short and long - in the South Californian accent they tend
to be the same length (ie ‘Try’ and ‘Ten’)
Rural accents are more expansive,
they can take time and space for the words in comparison to the speed
and style of accents in cities and towns where the words and sounds
have more to hit against
Use what works for you, and
that might be phrases or particular words that help you find you way
in
Each word is leaning on the
other word and each word is strung together to the other one
If you have an ‘r’ in
the spelling it’s ‘or’
Think of the men, staying
upright, long at the back of their neck, rooted like trees, protecting
their space to protect their work
Imagine you haven’t got
a jaw
Vowels have to sound even
stronger as they use so few consonants, so the vowels have to be strong
in order for us to actually hear the words.
It might get physically tense
under the chin, but that means you’re doing it right.
Think of your tongue as being
rooted in the centre of your tummy
Trying a few words:
This works really well as a group - and
can be a great way to try things out with the accent and hear other
people’s interpretations of the words and variances of the accent.
Let the tongue do the work,
not the jaw, and try the sentences holding the edge of your mouth like
you’re smiling.
Say your favourite phrase
from the novel or script from one of the characters
Now stand up, say the phrase,
and put your body into the position that you think your tongue is in.
Open your eyes and have a
look at everybody else
Hold the reigns of a horse
and change the meaning of your line or phrase
Sit down and relax and change
the meaning of your line or phrase
Think of it as in on off
on off on off on off rhythm
Phrases
Try these phrases - the underline
denotes the stress on the words, and the words that you are looking
to lengthen. It helps to really tune your eye to the accent first,
so if you can find some clips to listen to first, that will really help.
The cattle they were mighty
cheap, you know?
Fifteen was a good price
for a fat cow
I knew one farmer there who was
a pretty prosperous farmer.
He shipped
a bunch a cattle one time from Kansas City.
I merst clean ma boots or I’ll be in
treeerble
Wh’t do you want?
Wh? You want some Whisky?
Wh? You want a looong coort’n shirt?
0 = Ah
I’m going weeest in my dreeeeeess
In’a the shed (into the shed)
W’h’at the hell you shoving
in a this for?
Think I can do nothing just sit
at hhhome (honk) and cook for Curley?
There’s really a lot of rolling hills
around here
Don’t need no brains to buck barley
bags
Shoooww ya who’s yellin (Think of the
‘o’ being pulled by the back of your head)
By goard, she’s bin in her’
Particular Words
It can often help to think of words phonetically
when it comes to accents, so here is a list of words - Say them out-loud
to really hear the differences.
Re Duced (not re-juiced)
Haaai (Not Hi)
Siiiide
W’h’ere
W’h’en
Ten
Try
Nuuuu (new)
Treeerble (trouble)
Merst (Must)
Treapped (trapped)
Reabbits (rabbits)
Coort’n (Cotton)
Soausage (Sausage)
Twen’y (Twenty)
Su’re (Sure)
Soauce (sauce)
Le’’er (letter)
Be’’er (Better)
Wuhsn’t (wasn’t)
Won (one)
FaiR
Fawlt (fault)
FellA
Purdy (pretty)
With - light, voiceless word
R (our)
Betcha (bet you)
Gotcha (got you)
Ingines (Indians)
E’vrything
E’vrybody
Arhful (awful)
Caaaa_____rl son
Smiiell
Han’ round
Oiaowt (Out, like miaow)
Hiaowses (Houses, like miaow again)
SECTION FIVE
Interpreting the text
- Rehearsal Room notes
The rehearsal room is a special place.
For some, it is a haven of creativity, for others a hive of activity
and endless possibilities, for some a pressure cooker in a race against
time.
The production team (Director, Designer,
Composer, Production Manager) have been thinking and planning ‘Of
Mice And Men’ for 6 - 8 months. The Director and the actors
then worked on the text in rehearsal for 3 weeks, followed by 1 tech
week in ‘The Rake’ teching the lighting and the sound and getting
used to the space.
The rehearsal process began with a full
Dukes staff team and full ‘Of Mice And Men’ (and Spike the dog)
company morning read through. This opportunity, to hear the words
of the characters through the actors for the first time is very magical.
After lunch time, an afternoon of measuring
for costumes, and the administrative introduction to The Dukes, and
the rehearsal schedule, which is updated on a weekly, sometimes daily
basis by the Deputy Stage Manager.
POST SHOW ACTIVITY
7: What type of things do you think might be included on a rehearsal
schedule? Why do you think a rehearsal schedule might be important?
If you were directing the production, what
would you include in a rehearsal schedule
and why?
CHOICE MOMENTS - Key
questions for you individually, or in pairs to explore.
George and Lenny make
their own world and own rules “Nice house we got ourselves George”
when they are out on the riverbank, but George’s temper can quickly
flare. What are George’s triggers to his anger/snapping at Lenny?
George has three main
speeches that Lennie knows off by heart - one about guys like us, one
about Lenny going to a cave, and one about the rabbits. They say
“We’ve got a future”
but they haven’t got a clear, shared history or past. Lennie
is reactive to the present, because he can’t remember what he’s
done in the past. George has to be two steps ahead of Lennie,
and constantly living in the future because of what Lennie is capable
of doing. George has to have coping strategies. When do
you think George most regrets not acting on his gut instincts when it
comes to Lennie?
Everybody interprets
their relationship differently - George, Lenny, Crooks (who thinks George
is pulling a fast one over Lenny:
“Never see a
guy take so much care of another guy” The Boss
“So it’s that
way?” Curley
“What way?”
George
“Don’t ever
listen, don’t ask no questions” Candy
“We look out
for each other” George
“Ain’t many
guys travel round together”
Slim
“Funny how you
and him sting along together”
Slim
“It ain’t so
funny - he and me going round together”.
George
What’s your interpretation
of the relationship between George and Lennie? What do you base
your interpretation on?
Rights - Black rights
at the time, Crooks uses the words “Rights” twice in his first opening
sentences.
Crooks talks Lennie out
of his anger like he’s trying to tame a dog.
“Gotta read books”
Crooks
“A guy needs
somebody to be near. A guy gets lonely, he gets sick”
Crooks
“Come and they
quit and they go” Crooks - This line should be used
as the title for the journey exercise.
What can Crooks say and
do in his room that he can’t when he’s outside of that space?
How hard is it for Crooks
to beg for a job from 2 white men who he knows he’s brighter than?
CURLEY’S WIFE
The only women referred
to in the play are Curley’s Wife (tart, tramp) Sue (owns and runs
the whore house, as does another women talked about in the play, Aunt
Clara, (dead) Curley’s wife dreams of Hollywood, and of attention.
In each scene that we see her, she is knocked back - how many different
ways, how does she respond, and how would this make her
feel?
THE SCENE CHANGE- In Rehearsals, Wednesday
2nd September
The challenge of the scene changes -
After a warm up that explored crossing the space, carrying different
items around the space, and carrying each other in the space to get
warm, and to get a feel of the hard slog, manual labour that these men
were doing, work began on the physical, logistical and emotional transition
from Scene 1 to Scene 2.
The company kept coming back to the questions
“How do we make this scene change work for all the characters, and
for the rhythm of the play?” The company know that music would
be important for this, in addition to the work that they were doing
to paint the picture of the world of the working men.
Objects were carried as buck barley and
then ‘become’ the ‘real’ object the moment a character interacts
with it - it was a hair line fracture of a moment between the two worlds
and quickly the company realised it would take detailed rehearsal to
get this precise.
A few conventions became established
early in the process such as the actors move the set as their characters.
So, Candy does it with one hand, Crooks does it with a bad back, and
Curley’s wife doesn’t move the set as it wasn’t deemed appropriate
for her character!
The challenge of finding the best, most
efficient, but most interesting way of adding the following items to
the stage between Scene 1 and Scene 2 (as shown in the image from the
set model below) was a real team effort!
The company had to move the following
pieces of set or props:
2 bunk beds
1 single bed
2 tins at end of USR bed
1 box at the of single bed
1 box
2 chairs
1 pack of cards
1 small table
2 tins on USL bed
POST SHOW ACTIVITY
6: For this activity you will need the list above, or stand in items,
such as cardboard boxes to represent the boxes etc. In groups
of eight, put these items in a line at the top of your playing space
(centre upstage). Experiment with different ways of moving the
items from the line, to the configuration of the bunk barn like in the
picture below. You could try using different types of music as
underscore - How does this effect the pace and energy of the performers
moving the items? You could try singing
“Working House with white washed walls” (manuscript in the pack)
How does this effect the impact of the world you are creating, and how
does this effect the way the performers create the space with the items?
POST SHOW ACTIVITY
7: Consider George and Lennie’s relationship to this space as they
enter, using these questions as prompts to, in pairs, examine what might
be their motivations and objectives in this scene.
When George and
Lennie enter, I wonder how many of these bunk bed rooms have they been
in?
What is the usual
protocol/routing they do when they are checking in?
What time of day
have they arrived and what do they want?
What energy do
they enter the space with, and what are their expectations?
Are they hungry?
Are they tired
and wanting to sleep?
Are they looking
for food?
Are they trying
to sneak in unnoticed?
Are they desperate
to work and please and have a high energy?
Do they just want
to get their hands down and get on with it?
SECTION SIX
Interpreting the world
of the men through song - Making the scene change work.
Here you will find a manuscript of the
songs, written for this production for you to play with in 3 part harmony.
Key to the creation, and performance of the songs, was that the sounds
should feel like ‘work songs’ rather than songs for a play.
We should feel that the men would have been singing this type of song
whilst bucking barley all day long.
‘Small Square Window’ has a
slightly different feel - a lament to the rights of the time.
As a black man, Crooks is constantly reminded of his place within the
group - There is something about the tone of the song that evokes the
vista of the prairie, and the character trapped not only in a barn,
and situation, but in a world, time and place in which he can never
be allowed to fulfill his dream.
Phonetically:
Working house with white washed walls
Werkin house with (voiceless) w-h-ite
waaashed warls
Over each bunk there is a box
Over each bu-nk there is a booooxx
Nailed to the walls are two shelves
Nailed to the waaarl are two shel
(down) vles (up)
Possessions of a working man
Po - sessions of a werking maaaa-n
Small square window
Smal squar winda
Two shelves and tattered books and medicines
Two shel (down) vles (up) eand
taaa-ered bugcks and me-di-cines
Harnesses lie on the floor
Hhharnesses liae of the flore
Strips of leather and tools for fixing
Streips of leather and tools fo’
fixin’
SECTION SEVEN
Interpreting the rehearsal
process - Script to stage associated workshops from the Creative Learning
Department.
OF MICE AND MEN CREATIVE LEARNING
WORKSHOPS, AUTUMN 2009
The production opens in September here
at The Dukes, and a whole host of engaging and challenging workshops
on text and theatre making will be available.
OF MICE AND MEN SCRIPT TO STAGE
Available during September – December
2009
Two hour directing workshops - a practical
session through which students will have a first hand experience of
the exercises, techniques and processes that the actors and team undertook
for ‘Of Mice And Men’, including:
Physicality
– Barley bucking, skinning and horseshoes! A ten mile walk,
one handed farm hands, bad backs and large physical presences – How
do actors find these physicalities and how can a director use and expand
this discoveries?
A Director’s Process
and Interpretation – what clues, hooks, research and exploration
of the social context and period do to influence a Director’s individual
approach to a production
Language, and the
translation of the novel to script – A practical examination of the
words, vocabulary, accent and the evolution of this particular accent,
and how this is transferred to songs used in the production
String Man and the
internal and external examination of the characters in the play
Rights and responsibilities
Who looks after who? Who has what right? How is this discovered
and played in rehearsal and performance?
Raising the stakes
– An exercise inspired by how the actors define and play the status,
weight and position of the characters
The American Dream
and the character motivations, their journeys, where they have been,
where they are when we meet them, where they want to get to, all underscored
by the soundtrack from the production
£200 per workshop maximum 30 students
A letter from John Steinbeck
to one of the acting company - Kevin Dyer and the Creative Learning
team will explore character preparation and research for the Autumn
2009 production in the Script to Stage
Workshops
Pull
Out Handout
Actors
Top Tips!
We asked our acting
company if they had 3 top tips that you could share with young, emerging
theatre makers on being an actor such as
“How to learn lines”, “How to approach a character”,
“How to do research” what would they be?
Here the company share
their own individual top tips that they have gleaned over years of experience,
and practice.
* FILL IN THE BACKGROUND
- Create a ‘character scrapbook’ ie collect old magazines etc, and
find photos of ‘his friends’, ‘a view he sees everyday’ etc.
* FIND A QUIET
PLACE AND WALK AROUND IT AS THE CHARACTER. Stand how he/she
does, find his/her voice, find a phrase or word he/she says a lot, and
build from there.
* FIND A ‘HOOK’
- a bit like my second point, find a phrase, a gesture, etc that will
call up all your previous work to help you ‘snap into’ the character.
Listen to the actor working
with you on stage. A lot of the time you don’t act, your
re-act.
1. In terms of
finding a character I always try to find the area at which the character
and myself intersect. Sometimes I’m closer to a character than
at other time but I always try to start from a position of truth.
2. Commitment and
discipline are key. Learn to be disciplined and focussed from
the first instance.
3. Good lines by
good writers should always be easy to learn. Just think of how
quickly the lyrics to songs you like stick in your hear. It’s
the same with good writing.
Learn thoughts and intentions,
not the lines.
Listen.
It’s called a play
for a reason. Play! Enjoy!
1. Remember it
if FUN and PLAYING - take risks.
2. Animal - find an animal
for physical work.
3. Break the scenes up
and never assume anything.
* Read the play
over and over! (And a novel if possible, they’re always more detailed).
* Listen at all time
- if you listen to people on stage, everything falls into place.
It is the key to acting.
* Use a variety of stimulus
to establish a character. Once you know who they are use photos,
stories, music, anything you can to inform the development.
1. Learning lines
- Read the script, you can never have read the script too much.
Get as familiar with the script as possible.
2. Character -
read the script, you can find out about your character by reading the
lines of other characters.
3. Anthony Hopkins
once said “All you’ll ever need to know about the play is in the
script”. I always go by that rule now.
- -