Monday 6 May 2013

RADA Preparations

9 comments :
 
Hello all,

So I have the fourth round of RADA coming up on Saturday 11th May, which means I only have five days to go. This is particularly stressful because I need to learn a new monologue piece so they can work on it with me during the workshop.

As I want to pursue a career in classical acting, it seemed only right to choose a Shakespeare over a modern piece. I wanted something that contrasted nicely against Portia - who I portray as very gentle and weak. So I chose to go with something with a bit more authority. My first thought was either Gonerill - King Lear, or Cleopatra. But I have finally settled on Queen Margaret from King Henry VI Part 3. Only know the first eight lines but that's progress!


“Enforc'd thee! art thou king, and wilt be
forc'd?
I shame to hear thee speak. Ah, timorous wretch!
Thou hast undone thyself, thy son, and me,
And given unto the house of York such head
As thou shalt reign but by their sufferance.
To entail him and his heirs unto the crown,
What is it but to make thy sepulchre
And creep into it far before thy time?
Warwick is chancellor and the lord of Calais;
Stern Falconbridge commands the narrow seas;
The duke is made protector of the realm;
And yet shalt thou be safe? such safety finds
The trembling lamb environed with wolves.
Had I been there, which am a silly woman,
The soldiers should have toss'd me on their pikes
Before I would have granted to that act.
But thou prefer'st thy life before thine honour;
And seeing thou dost, I here divorce myself,
Both from thy table, Henry, and thy bed,
Until that act of parliament be repeal'd
Whereby my son is disinherited.
The northern lords that have forsworn thy colours
Will follow mine if once they see them spread,
And spread they shall be to thy foul disgrace
And utter ruin of the house of York.
Thus do I leave thee.”

Excerpt From: Shakespeare, William. “King Henry VI, Part 3.” iBooks.

9 comments :

  1. why you want to go to rada? its shit

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  2. Hi, I was just wondering how long your new speech was? Was it under 2 mins or 3 mins?

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  3. Depending on how many pauses I included, it was between 2:05 and 2:35 x

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  4. How long was your other monologue's?

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  5. My other Shakespeare was more like two minutes whereas my modern was closer to three.

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  6. once you did one speech did you go straight onto the next one or are you meant to tell them youre done

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  7. General rule of thumb for auditions is to do your best speech first then once you finish, hold the position for a couple of seconds then move into your starting position for your next speech. Some people grab or remove a chair then start. You need a good ten seconds to get into the mind of your next character.

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  8. what do you say once youve finished your last speech?

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  9. Usually I come out of character and then look at the panel and they will say thank you or ask me to pull up a chair and answer a few questions. If they don't say anything, I say thank you to them to break the silence.

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Thank you for commenting - it means a lot to me when I hear feedback. I will try to reply as quickly as possible!