Globe Education Online

This is Kananu's second blog entry for the 2000 production of The Tempest, in which she talks about getting the play up on its feet, working on the verse, and getting to know her character, Miranda.

Getting the play on its feet

After sitting and talking about the text for so long, we finally undertook the scary task of putting it on its feet. We went straight into it, which I found very hard, especially considering what happens to Miranda in the first scene. She watches the storm unfold in front of her whilst talking to her father about the past. It was very hard and I wasn’t great the first time but Lenka (Udovicki, director) was great, and we started to try it different ways to loosen ourselves up. We even tired running around the stage.

Working on the Verse

Today we worked with Tim on the verse, so that we felt more comfortable and relaxed with the text. He helped me to stop going down at that end of every line. Instead I had to raise the pitch. At first this felt mechanical, but now I can see how much this has helped me. I felt intimidated because so much of the first scene is so focused on Miranda and Prospero. There was no way of being eased in to the action. These feelings of exposure are exaggerated at the Globe because the audience is so close (although they’re not there yet). I was very nervous about working with Venessa (Redgrave, Prospero), but this has turned out to be great and I am learning a great deal from her and her approach to the work.

Getting to Know Miranda

I am also beginning to find out more about Miranda as we go along. Until I started to stand up and play the part, I hadn’t really thought about how young she is. She's not a child, but she isn’t an adult either. Lenka thought that I could carry an object around with me, perhaps a unicorn. This isn’t as childish as a doll might be, but does also suggest her youth.

I tend to do some of my character research and work at home and some in the rehearsals. This is all new to me, and I find that I can learn a lot about my own character through watching others and being really open to all suggestions. The opening scene, however, is very different as it involves much of Miranda's past and lots of different intentions. For this scene I chose to do much of the work at home.

But you can’t plan everything at home as you never know what the people playing alongside you are going to do. You have to be open to other people's agendas.

I also think that you can’t come to the role pretending to be a 14-year-old girl. You have to be yourself and then, once you are in the situation, using her words, the emotions and the reactions come to you.

I have also been trying to think about how Miranda must feel about the plans that her fathers been making, and also trying to think of a realistic image for the love at first sight between her and Ferdinand. This is all new to Miranda. She has also grown up with only male influence, so perhaps she doesn’t know how to be ‘girlie’. It's hard to know how to convey that. She's also scared of her feelings for him.

It has been a hugely exciting week for me. I’m working with Venessa Redgrave and staring to get my teeth into the part. I am exhausted, but very happy. I am realising my dreams.

One of the challenges I now face is to find the right dynamic between Miranda and her father, the patriarch, ironically played by a woman. This may prove to be a great challenge in getting the balance just right.

These comments are the actor's thoughts or ideas about the part as s/he goes through the rehearsal process-they are simply his/her own interpretations and frequently change as the rehearsal process progresses.

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