Describe how you would perform the role of Cecily in order to create comedy for your audience.
Describe how you would perform the role of Cecily in order to create comedy for your audience. In your response to this question you should include reference to vocal and physical skills, the use of space and costumes.
The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde is set in England in the 1890’s is a comedy of manors; it is regarded by many as Oscar wilds masterpiece. Wild uses Epigrams and paradoxes to mock in earnest the upper class Victorians and often most if not all of Wilds witticisms lie in the complete reversal of what someone might expect to say or be told. This type of comedy is a common theme in the Victorian melodrama or sentimental comedy deriving from the French variety of the well made play. The Importance of Being Earnest opened on the 14th of February 1895 to critical acclaim. I will be discussing the two garden scenes’. I would play the role of Cecily by using vocal, physical skills and the use of space. Cecily would walk feet first no noise first, so I would do this to show that she is not conformed to high society and in truly innocent. Accent is very important when playing the role of Cecily, I would use a Victorian accent but not an upper class one, this will show that she is neither snobbish or demeaning, tone is also an important skill to be considered because Cecily although very young does have a worldly sense and knows when Algernon is trying to seduce her, “in not really wicked at all Cecily”. If I was to use Laben techniques I would describe Cecily as Gliding, her clothes would be cotton and not starched to show that she has flowing movements and is not jaunted.
