CANTO-POP

"Cantopop (traditional Chinese: 粵語流行音樂; simplified Chinese: 粤语流行音乐, a contraction of "Cantonese popular music") or HK-pop (short for "Hong Kong popular music") is a genre of Cantonese music made primarily in Hong Kong and characterized by a Southeast Asian cultural context of production and consumption."

I have never, ever, listened to as much foreign music as I have whilst doing character research for Su-Lin. As she listens to and sings along with her favourite Canto-Pop songs throughout the entirety of play I felt it would be useful to listen to as many songs as I could to get a good idea of the rhythm behind them.

Though I definitely can't say I understand what they're saying (I have absolutely zero clue), I feel it's definitely useful for my performance that I have at least some indication of how the songs Su-Lin listens to may sound like. Especially as I have to sing one, but don't yet know how it actually goes.

Part Three, Scene One.

This scene is full of tension as all the characters bar Su-Lin have some issues to rehash with Gideon. Su-Lin is the oblivious child who asks the questions that the adults want to ask but aren't going to due to the existing conflict - this gives her an innocent but provocative quality that none of the other characters have as she doesn't know the whole scene. She breaks the barriers between the adults by being curious and discovering more and more about her grandpa - but to Michele's dismay. This is really fun to play as it allows me to be quite creative with her character, she's young and unpredictable.

I feel Su-Lin's main objective is to discover during this scene as she's constantly asking questions as she doesn't really know what's going on. She's been put in this situation where she can obviously pick up on the fact that there's unspoken conflict between Gideon, Michele and Anthony.

The contrast between Su-Lin's naivety and the awkwardness to the adults, i think, could be played up even more than we are in rehearsals to really pick the scene up because I think it could be borderline comedic if the tension between the characters is really obvious and there is Su-Lin just cutting with inappropriate confidence. The only way this is going to happen is if we all really play our objectives truthfully to the character and really working on conveying the relationships between the characters.

I took some photos during 25/11/15's rehearsal as I thought we could use them for promotional purposes as well as put them on my own blog.

I feel the first picture's scene - Sarah & Albert's - is imperative to the play's narrative and for our understanding of Sarah's character. She had a good relationship with her brother, she loved him and he loved her. However, this became strained due most likely to her parent's attitude and relationship. I like how this scene appears near the end of the play - just before Sarah's death - to remind us of her childhood and were she began. That though by the end, she was pretty turned upside down, she didn't always be that way. Her life ends full circle - just how the play ends (with David, as it began). I also feel as Hannah and Will worked on this scene, they got stronger and stronger as it went on. They need to be fully committed to the songs and the movements in order for it to properly work, but I feel like it's definitely on it's way.

I also feel the contrast between this scene and the scene after, where the audience discover Sarah has died, is really powerful. If the difference in emotional is played effectively by the two groups of actors who are in the scenes, it will work really well. The first scene being happy and sentimental, the second being aggressive and dramatic. It will work really well with showing the difference in Sarah's mentality and life as she grew up older.

Su-Lin's physicality

When looking at the comparisons between my neutral state and Su-Lin's physicality, I discovered that she carries and shifts her weight to the front of her feet - she's quite light when she moves as she moves quite quickly.

Furthermore, there's no set way Su-Lin walks or moves. When she walks her pace is stuttered and changes all over the place - as a young child's pace usually is. Sometimes she quite and assertive, other times slow and curious. This is really interesting to play with as she's constantly changing and so I really get to experiment with her physicality and movement.

By comparing my neutral state with Su-Lin's physicality, I'm able to interrogate and explore the transformation I will have to go through when I'm playing her. I have a clear idea on how I believe she moves and communicates with other characters and I would like to explore that as authentically and naturally as possible.

Summing 'Table' up in singular words or phrases...

Looking at the different words people used to sum up Table was really interesting as it brought to light how the other cast members viewed the show and what themes they specifically thought were important to the play. This allowed us to see the play at different angles - some we may have never explored previously. 

Grouping the words into categories also allowed us to explore what we thought were the play's main themes. This allowed us to gain a deeper understanding of the play and to really examine what we individually thought the play was trying to tell us.

I really enjoyed hearing the different ways people related the words back to themselves as it proved how not only how relatable the play is to ourselves, but how relatable we are to one another. We could all practically find a story related to most of the words. I feel this is the greatest thing about the table, because whether or not your family are present - or if know nothing about your family's history - you're able to relate to it due to the themes at situations it explores. 

I feel the most important word to sum up the play would be "GENERATIONS" - this is because it incorporates the theme of history, family and relationships all in one, which is exactly what the play explores. The play is set over 100 years which means the Best family see the development of 6 generations, from David Best in 1898 to Su-Lin in 2013. I find this really interesting as the play allows us in a short space of time to experience such a large amount of time in one family's history. 

I related this word back to the different family parties my family throw. I have an exceedingly big extended family and I've always been one of the youngest and so it's always been interesting to be around members of my family from different generations. 

Scene by scene synopsis

P1 S1 (Re)Discovering 

• Gideon and Su-Lin examine the marks on the table. 

P1 S2 Wedding Night

• Gideon, David Best and Elizabeth Best. David's finished the table. David and Elizabeth's wedding night. 

P1 S3 Scary Grandpa 

• Su-Lin, Michelle and Anthony. Michelle and Su-Lin discuss Gideon. 

P1 S4 Bye Elizabeth

• David, Finley Best, Elizabeth, Michelle, Su-Lin and Gideon. Elizabeth's died in childbirth. Argument between David and Finley. Finley burns the table. 

P1 S5 Mother Made Stew

• David, Finley and Margaret. Finley goes to war. David dies. Finley and Margaret meet. 

P1 S6 Daddy and The Dark Lady

• Finley, Margaret, Sarah, Albert and Veronique. Sarah and Albert play 'Daddy and The Dark Lady'. Finley and Margaret argue. Finley and Veronique. 

P1 S7 Pee On The Table 

• Finley, Margaret, Sarah and Albert. Sarah and Albert argue. The entire dinner is full of high tension. Albert urinates on the table. 

P2 S1 Spider

• Sarah, Nuns; Hope, Babette, Ruth and Mother Superior. Sarah moves to the convent in 1950's Tanganyika. There's a spider and the nuns are scared. 

P2 S2 Exactly, Daddy, Exactly

• Albert, Sarah and Finley. Albert and Sarah have a conversation. Finley's health has deteriorated. Margaret has left. 

P2 S3 Leopard 

• Hope, Sarah, Mother S, Ruth and Jack Holman. Hope teaches Sarah her Kiswahili prayers. The leopard in Sarah's room, Jack kills it. 

P2 S4 Gideon's Return

• Su-Lin, Michelle, Gideon and Anthony. Anthony returns with Gideon. They sit down to eat. It's very awkward. 

P2 S5 Sex On The Table

• Sarah and Jack Holman. Sarah thanks Jack over killing the leopard and they converse. They have sex. 

P2 S6 Out Of The Convent 

• Sarah, Gideon, Nuns and Mother S. Sarah's given birth to Gideon. Mother Superior kick's Sarah and Gideon out of the convent. 

P3 S1 Where Have You Been?

• Su-Lin, Anthony, Gideon and Michelle. Su-Lin asks Gideon about his travels. It's still awkward. 

P3 S2 Birthday

• Herefordshire 1964, Hippie commune. Aisha, Barabra, Julian, Orion, Stacey, Chris, Gideon and Sarah. It's Gideon's birthday and they've organised a cake. 

P3 S3 Stone

• Hippies, Gideon and Sarah. A meeting is organised around the table. The speak stone - there's a major argument. 

P3 S4 J.H 

• Sarah and Gideon. Sarah and Gideon discuss Michelle and Jack Holman. 

P3 S5 Six, Five, One 

• Sarah and Jack. Sarah and Jack meet again. They talk about Gideon. He writes his name on the table leg. 

P3 S6 Legs Off 

• Sarah and Gideon. Sarah chops off the table legs. 

P3 S7 Don't Be Unkind To A Fuck 

• Sarah and Albert. Young again, they sing 'Don't Be Unkind To A Fuck'

P3 S8 Germolene 

• Michelle, Gideon, Anthony and Julian. Sarah is dead. Major argument between Julian and Gideon. Anthony is bitten by a dog.

P3 S9 Showdown 

• Michelle, Gideon and Anthony. All the issues from the past come out, Sarah and Gideon really hash it out. 

P3 S10 Doesn't Go Like That! 

• Su-Lin, Gideon and All. Su-Lin and Gideon examine the table. They discover "Amor Patris J.H". They all sing. 

By looking at each scene and breaking them down so that I can summarise them in a few sentences is really helpful for my development as it means I know the storyline and the skeleton of the play inside out. By knowing the entire play as well as I know my own scenes means I am completely comfortable with the text and understand fully what's going on at all times. At no point would I ever be lost with the story and it means I'll always know my cues and the scene before and after my own.