In his second paragraph “Dined on a cold collation but the Mutton which had been killed yesterday morning was full of maggots- nothing will keep 24 hours in this dismal country I find-”, this line show us that even the officers are finding it hard in this alien existence. This line captures a strong feeling of dismay and disdain; thus Ralph’s tone should be distressed, high pitched and fast paced to show his agitation, wrinkling his nose in disgust as he recounts the vile horrors of maggots in their food.
In his final paragraph, Ralph’s tone has changed again on the lines “On Sunday as usual… run away”. His voice should become soft toned, tender and soothing on the lines “kissed your dear beloved image a thousand times”, which should invoke a sense of love and hope. This should be in contrast to the next part of the sentence “was very much frightened by the lighting as it broke very near” in which Ralph reveals himself as vulnerable and frightened. To reflect this, his voice should be fast-paced, high pitched and breathless conveying a sense of fear, with a slight shudder and shifty eyes enhancing the notion of alarm.
Upon Harry’s entrance, Ralph should jump up in alarm “Harry –”. Ralph’s interaction with Harry is vital as it shows Ralph to be unsociable and unsympathetic to a friend who needs reassurance.
“How can you treat such women with kindness?” This line shows Ralph’s lack of understanding and narrow mindedness, and creates an unsympathetic view of Ralph to the audience. Thus to enhance this, he should say the line incredulously with his pitch getting higher as he states the line to re-enforce his sense of disgust, raising his eye brows in mock belief with an aloof facial expression and a disdainful tone.
In response to Harry’s question “haven’t you ever been tempted”, Ralph should shout the word in shock and disgust, narrowing his eyes angrily at Harry. This shocked reaction creates a sense of defence, thus indicating that Ralph is not entirely telling the truth. The pause before his next line is dramatic, as since he changes the subject the next time eh speaks, the pause indicates Ralph pulling himself together and calming himself down. Thus in the pause, Ralph should take in a couple of deep breaths, then say the “his Excellency never seems to notice me”, in a calm, matter of fact tone, contrasting to his previous outburst of emotion.
“A play? Who would act a play?” In this line, Ralph is beginning to form a plan to get noticed by Philip; using the play as a tool. Thus, to demonstrate him concocting a plan, he should adopt of quizzical facial expression with slightly glazed over eyes showing him thinking, with an enquiring toned voice.
There is a slight comical element to this interaction, as Harry is trying to talk about his guilty feelings to Ralph, yet Ralph becomes completely preoccupied in his own selfish intentions; to get Philip to notice him. This is fully exemplified when Harry says “I have shocked you, haven’t I? I’ll go.”, and Ralph responds with “Is His Excellency serious about putting on a play?”, thus indicating that he has not been paying attention to what Harry has been saying. Ralph should thus have a glazed over, inattentive look during Harry’s dialogue, with a contemplative expression conveying him absorbed in his own plans.
“No, Harry. You did not kill Handy Baker”. Ralph’s voice here should sound bored and detached, not bothering to look him in the eyes, to convey a sense that he does not really care about Harry’s feelings.
His final line “Harry, you won’t forget to talk to His Excellency about the play” should be wheedling and sweet toned, manipulating Harry to benefit himself. Thus, this scene presents Ralph as an unsympathetic, disturbed, and selfish character who disregards the feelings of Harry and only thinks about how he may profit from the play.
In Act One Scene Eleven entitled “The first rehearsal”, Ralph is for the first time holding his first rehearsal.
The first unit deals with Ralph introducing the rehearsal. In adopting the role of the director, Ralph should take centre stage with tall, erect posture reflecting his importance, looking down at the convicts on the floor. The comedy within the scene is enhanced by this, as Ralph as the person in charge is drowned out by the convicts “Now let me introduce the company –” and “If I may proceed”, thus the comedy should come from Ralph’s mounting frustration at being ignored. On his first line “Good afternoon, ladies and gentleman”, Ralph should adopt a low pitch, loud, projected voice to enhance an air of importance, which when interrupted by Dabby’s comment “We’re ladies now. Wait till I tell my husband I’ve become a lady”, he should give her a stern angry glance, then try again to address the actors in his important manner. In each instance he is interrupted, Ralph should adopt an annoyed expression, raising his pitch, tone and pace to enhance his agitation and frustration.
His line “he ladies first...” is very comical as it has been indicated in the stage direction that they “hiss and spit at Ketch”, and thus are not being at all lady like. To incorporate this irony, he should raise his eye brows and adopt a sarcastic tone on the word “ladies”, shooting them a stern glance.
The second unit of the scene begins when the rehearsal actually begins “I’ll read the line before Worthy’s entrance…”. The comedy of this is the fact that Sideways is a very declamatory, unskilled actor, unable to take any direction, resulting in Ralph skipping almost every one of his scenes, thus hardly getting any rehearsing done. “What are you doing down there, Sideway?” Ralph should pull a bewildered facial expression, with an irritated tone, tapping his foot impatiently, conveying an a desperation to get on with the rehearsal.
“I think if you just say the line”. This line shows Ralph’s mounting frustration and is very comical as he is mocking Ralph’s overdramatic acting style. To show this, his tone should be sardonic, raising an eye brow, and emphasising the word “say”.
“Side-way – it’s a very good attempt. It’s very theatrical. But you could try to be a little more – euh- natural”. Ralph should adopt a heavily patronising tone to bring out the comedy of these lines; the fact that Sideway clearly has no idea what acting really is other than being highly dramatic.
“That was very good, very good. A little, a little euh, but very good”. This line is very comic, as Sideways is not at all a good actor, and Ralph’s fumbling about for words to describe the performance indicates that he cannot quite think of any way to describe it, and thus his praise should sound very uncertain. He should have a baffled facial expressed, with a high pitched, doubtful tone, hesitating when trying to pick the words, conveying a sense of bafflement which will create a comical impact on the audience.
The third unit is when he goes over Liz and Mary’s scene “Now we will rehearse the first scene between Melinda and Silvia.
“When acting, you have to imagine thins. You have to imagine you’re someone different”. Here, Ralph is genuinely taking his role as director, and thus he should speak with a fast, energetic, lively voice, his eyes widened in enthusiasm, and rolling his hands to help him develop his words, enhancing a sense of earnest interest in what he has to say.
In praising Mary “Excellent, Brenham. You could be a little more sharp on the don’t”, Ralph’s voice should enthusiastic and encouraging, smiling warmly at Mary, showing a kind side of his character that one has not seen before.
The final unit is upon Ross and Campbell’s entrance who creates a tension to the previous relaxed, progressing rehearsal. The convicts “slink away and sink down, trying to make themselves invisible” upon Ross’s arrival, indicating an air of threat and danger about him, and the way he degrades and taunts Ralph suggests that he Ralph might also find him intimidating . Thus, in response to his entrance “Major Toss, Captain Campbell, I’m rehearsing”, Ralph should gasp and look startled, adopting tense body language and stammer his lines capturing both his shock at their sudden entrances and his anxiety in their presence. Ralph should initially try to stand up to the officers, allowing the audience to warm to him, and characterising the transformation power of the play on his character even in its earliest stages. Thus, his tone should have a defiant edge “I don’t see what the play-”, with a cold voice at a steady pace, incorporating a sense of power. Here, Ralph is indirectly standing up for the criminals, and thus showing a growing humanity that is clearly lacking in the other two officers. However, upon hearing about the newly condemned convicts and the awful punishment that awaits Liz “Death by hanging”, Ralph does not intervene, suggesting he is overwhelmed and their authority has collapsed his. He should thus convey a sense of vulnerability; collapsed posture, a pained facial expression, heavy breathing and avoiding eye contact with anyone. This creates a sympathetic audience reaction to Ralph, for even though he lacks the power to completely defy the officers, he is clearly affected on a human level to the treatment of the convicts.
In outlining these two scenes, I aim to show a positive development in Ralph’s character through his artistic project, from the disturbed, unhappy, unsympathetic man, completely emotionally disconnected to the criminals to a more enthusiastic, humane character, encouraging the criminals and even sticking up for them.
