Rabbit Resource Pack - Frantic Assembly
Rabbit Resource Pack - Frantic Assembly
Rabbit Resource Pack - Frantic Assembly
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Chapter 3 Finding Characters<br />
CHARACTER INSIGHTS<br />
For the purposes of this guide the performers were asked to list at least three things that had informed their characterisation of the parts.<br />
These stimuli could come from the play itself or the outside world. They were to be anything that had informed their choices and inspired<br />
their understanding and playing of their characters. Hopefully they will be of interest to you!<br />
Sue Kyd Shoes! Getting into the real physicality of the character / The line in the play ‘I live in the real world where real women savour life’<br />
(p.66) / The trophy wives and their startling conversations at her gym in Hampstead<br />
David Sibley Rythm and language - thinking of the playing of it like playing in a band / His own Father Daughter relationship -<br />
specifically the troublesome teens<br />
Sam Crane Avoiding Ali G / Attending a Narcotics Anonymous meeting to try to get the understanding of the concept of ‘an excuse’ /<br />
His Hip Hop collection / Bruce Lee<br />
Helen Heaslip Swimming Pool (the film) - Ms Dynamite (The album) - High heels and Trustafarian girls with highlights on the Kings<br />
Road, Chelsea / Placebo<br />
Karl Sullivan Michael Caine / Lewis Collins mixed with the magic qualities of Michael Clark Duncan from The Green Mile! / Cross<br />
between mates ‘London bloke Steve’ and ‘big hearted John’ / A postman who was having his lunch in Pellicci’s cafe in Bethnal Green / The<br />
idea of Driver being possibly ex-army<br />
Outdated mottos / timeless pearls of wisdom that cropped up during rehearsals...<br />
Before going on stage think, ‘I am young, I am beautiful and I have a secret!’ Sue Kyd<br />
‘It is all looks, thoughts and glances’ Sue Kyd<br />
‘If in doubt always hit the verb’ David Sibley<br />
WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE?<br />
a) Paul<br />
Paul is set out in the original version as ‘The voice of Australia.’ He is a radio talk show host whose opinions are<br />
known and feared throughout the country. He is a larger than life figure whose no nonsense outlook would create as<br />
many enemies as it would admirers. It was interesting to us that his medium was radio where one could create an<br />
impression without having to impose a physical presence. Maybe his physicality would suggest a fragility a million<br />
miles away from his almost ogre like reputation. Not quite as extreme as a Montgomery Burns figure but the way he<br />
could hide in his radio studio and control and crush the opinions of callers and create this terrifying impression of<br />
himself through the airwaves did suggest a Wizard of Oz type character (which in itself is quite ironic, considering he<br />
is the voice of Australia!)<br />
We saw him as a powerful media person but thought that there might not be a direct British radio equivalent. He<br />
may air his outspoken views on political programs like Newsnight or he may be slightly more downmarket and spout<br />
his controversial opinions from a day time television program. A fiery Kilroy figure perhaps. He may actually end up<br />
being a mix of different media personalities.<br />
Paul is a self-made monster yet he is also a man who looks at himself and asks how all this happened. His<br />
estrangement from his daughter is probably a matter of great confusion to a man who has done his best to provide<br />
everything for her. The tragedy is that he has no words to make amends. He can only spout cynicism and vitriol. It is<br />
only when it is too late that he can communicate his love for his daughter and any regret for their alienation when<br />
they sit together in total silence. This is symptomatic of the generational clash. They appear to speak different<br />
languages sharing only the bitter verbal jousting they automatically fall into but what they really share is much more<br />
fundamental and natural. This is a father and a daughter come so far away from each other, only to be united in loss.<br />
b) Madeline<br />
Madeline is a young woman rebelling against her father, against the priorities of the world<br />
he represents. She is also a girl desperate for the attentions of her father, secure in the<br />
material comforts he provides. She demonstrates from a position of privilege and this ironic<br />
position causes her great distress. The radical rich kid will never be taken seriously so she<br />
feels she has to prove herself. She will go to any length to show her Father that his world is<br />
not the Real World but she cannot find a real world of her own. The anarchist with a trust<br />
fund. The bold artist screaming obscenities at the crowd and the little girl struggling with<br />
anxiety attacks. The responsible daughter addressing generational communication in a clear<br />
and ordered way and the girl who runs off for a fix the moment she becomes upset. She is<br />
constantly between different notions of the Real World. This is her dilemma. She will never<br />
fully belong in either world despite her efforts. Not until the real world finds her, as it finds<br />
Paul, as it finds Driver. The real world is life then death.<br />
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