Final Scene Reflection

Overall, I think that the scene that Julia and I worked on was very successful. There were many parts of it that I was very happy and other parts that could be better if only we were given more time. I think that (apart from the few fumbles) the my line memorization was very good. In the beginning of the scene, I fumbled on and even skipped a line, mostly because of the nerves that I had going into the performance. Right before we filmed it, we were able to quickly run-through and review our lines and I think that that definitely boosted my confidence. Right after I finished my first monologue, I immediately thought that I had spoken too fast. Audience members (Ms. Guarino) assured me that it was not too bad. When I looked back at the recording, I thought there were some spots where I could’ve added more pauses to allow for the audience to have to process what I was saying.

I think that one of the easier parts of this project was getting into character and portraying Juliet. I think that, for me, showing emotions, acting, and reacting to the lines was pretty easy. Julia and I both found that we focused more on the physical parts of it, like learning the lines and creating a successful blocking rather than anything else. Another easy part of this project was speaking the lines effectively so it could be understood by the audience with emphasis and pauses in the right places. One thing that helped me with this was that I separated both monologues into smaller sections that would help to focus on sections rather than the entire script. This way it would be very easy to add pauses and figure out the meaning for myself so I could convey that to the audience.

I think that I was able to portray Juliet very effectively. When I was watching back on the video of the performance, I think that the emotions that Juliet was feeling were clear to the audience. One example, is in the first monologue toward the end where Juliet is wondering whether or not she should actually take the potion. I think that the emotions of worry, anxiety, and confusion were all clear to see in my expression which I think was important. One thing that I found to be a little more difficult was finding a way to react onstage even though, I was the only one who was present. As I learned my lines, I found that there were ways I could react to various events happening around me even though there was not another person’s actions there to prompt. One more thing that I wish we could have added was the costuming element to the production. Although the clothes that we wore were not detrimental to the success of the scene, adding costuming would have added another element to help the audience. All in all, I am very happy with the scene that Julia and I performed. To see the change from our first run-through to now is a huge accomplishment in and of itself. I learned a lot about how much work goes into an adaptation even though the lines are exactly the same. To just goes to show that there is always more than what meet the eye.