Show 3

This was our final show and our final time to perform as an ensemble. During our warm-up there was such a supportive and exciting energy among the company. We all have so much trust in each other we can truly enjoy this final performance, and leave it all out on the stage. Despite already performing earlier and our bodies being moderately warm, we still did a warm up. I did some character warm ups, like vocally warming up in a Yorkshire accent and already starting to tap into Nelly's physicality. The one thing that really shines in our performance is the ensemble connection that has grown impeccably this whole process. The trip to The Moors is what really established this and we always go back to referring to the trip as it truly has had such an impact on our company in every area. Every time I walk on stage I always picture The Moors and all its elements, and that plunges me straight into the world of Wuthering Heights. There was a real sense of drive and purpose during this show as we knew this was the last show, so everyone was making bold choices and telling the story with such power and control. What made this performance so strong was how in control we were and how well we harnessed nerves and adrenaline. We had full control of the story and weren't rushing through, well we added an extra 1o minutes in this show. The company owned the space and that is what made the show so powerful. Knowing this was the last time we will be saying these lines exhilarated everyone's excitement to get on stage.

We performed the opening movement with full commitment physically and emotionally, binding all of us together as we represented the natural elements of The Moors. In this show I was immersed into the world of the play immediately after the opening, usually it takes me a while to be fully transported to the world of The Heights. The bucket problem that we had in the previous show was solved and was placed further behind the rock so that it didn't get knocked over again. We have been having some costume problems where it takes us much longer to get on stage to do our movement, today it took us much longer as we had to have our skirts safely pinned and that took longer than expected. But once we got on stage we took our time on stage and didn't let that loose clarity in our movement, as we knew the track fades into Ita playing the violin and he would just have to play the violin for longer. In the afternoon show in scene 2 I wasn't turning out that much to the left side of the audience so I made sure I turned my body out more, so when the crowd gets formed for 'Lockwood's Dream' we are playing to all three sides of the theatre. There was really great commitment in this section from the whole ensemble and we played towards the audience drawing them into this nightmare that Lockwood is having.

What I noticed in this show that was different from the other shows is I was genuinely having fun onstage and wasn't slipping into the self-critical mindset. I finally was naturally exuding confidence and not having to search and work for it which I had been doing the past two shows. So there was much more clarity and confidence in my storytelling. Also the past two shows the blanket started on the chair and not behind the rock, I had forgotten each time that it wasn't there; so when walking over to Lockwood I would have to place the tea tray down and then pick up the blanket from the armchair. I felt that some clarity from what I was saying was lost in this so I decided today to pick up the blanket after lighting Tia's candle and making the bed with it, so Tash can then pass it to me as I walk on with the tray to find Mr Lockwood. We have also had problems keeping track of tea cups and the tea tray, as sometimes it gets moved off stage and for some scenes there is no tea, as we Nelly's can't always walk off stage as we don't have time. After my line 'the ruination of us' I always make sure I place the tray under the tray. Throughout my narration I continued to play to all three sides and direct many of the lines to the audience. I have continued with this choice as I got feedback from the audience of previous shows that my narration really helped them understand the story and who was who.

As a whole projection continued to improve and so has articulation and diction with the accent. A few people have also gotten ill so voices are slightly raspy but everyone was still able to deliver vocally. In the past few shows there have been moments where people don't quite know their line cues and have cut people off when they shouldn't. This has been solved by the company actually listening to what their scene partner is saying and then being able to respond at the right time.

There is a moment in Act 1 Scene 5 when Marley chucks the saucepan of water at Shakai but the past few shoes they have missed Shakai and the water just went over him and on Lockwood, which is fine but would be good if Shakai also gets splashed. In this run Marley's aim was much better and multiple got wet including Shakai. In Scene 13 of Act 1 we had a slight prop malfunction, there is a moment when Abdul grabs the chair and tries to hit Shakai with it but Lizzie grabs it, during this the chair completely falls apart. The audience obviously laughed as this wasn't supposed to happen and this did bring me out of character slightly as it happened so unexpectedly. Luckily Sam and I had lines coming up which diverted the audience's attention and the interval was coming up in a few lines, so we were able to go without one of the chairs. Lizzie adapted really well in this situation as she started to fix the chair as that is what Nelly would've done in that moment. At the interval in the past two shows we have walked off too early and hadn't waited till the full blackout to walk off stage, but today we did and the timing was correct. When coming off the stage for the interval we were all very pleased with how the play was going, we were bouncing off the audience's energy and kept the pacing sustained. In the interval we realised that we were missing the letter which is a prop that is essential for a scene as it got lost among the washing of costume between the 2 shows today. So in the interval we had to quickly make a letter so we had it for the scene.

Act two has proven to be the hardest act of the two, we have always struggled with pacing and keeping the story clear as many new characters enter. But we also have a really strong introduction to scene 2 and today was no different. Sam and I are able to clearly differentiate the two types of conversations we have, me telling the story and him asking about me and life up north. This is really effective as the audience are very similar to Lockwood, not from up north and new to the story so this makes the audience feel a part of the play as they see themselves in Lockwood. In the opening scene of Act 2 we had a problem with the pillow and Chantel couldn't open the pillow today. It was successful in both shows and looked so effective underneath the stage lights. The mirrors still weren't in the right place so I had to impulsively walk across the stage to pick up my mirror. The pockets in our aprons have been very useful and clever as we are able to keep props in there when we need easy access, and also in the feather moment we are able to keep them all in there for all the deaths.

In Act 2 Scene 1 Lizzie grabs Chantel and they are so supposed to tumble back but during this, Lizzie's safety pins holding her skirt together came undone, and throughout the rest of this scene her skirt was slowly falling. She tried to continue but then it did fall, luckily it was just the overskirt and she was able to hold it at the back. In the transition between scene 1 and 2 music plays and the cue is Sasha's line, Lizzie has walked off stage to get her skirt fixed, this moment was saved due to our strong ensemble connection. Tash, Sasha and I all stood in our positions holding the space until Lizzie walked on and Sasha didn't walk on with the dead dog until Lizzie was on stage. This was resolved on the spot really quickly and the transition track just played for longer and after that we continued with the scene and Lizzie's skirt got fixed. This mishap also displayed how much trust we have for each other and how we will pick each other up when things go wrong.

When Chantel ripped open the pillow I wasn't able to grab that many, so before the death I needed to reach into the pillow behind the rock and grab more. I was also able to keep track of the tea cups and tea tray, so they were under the tree when needed. The chair movement in scene 4 that we struggled with previously was really effective, particularly as we had a full audience on all three sides and we were able to get really close and draw them even further into the story. This is also effective as it is such an intense moment and makes the audience be even more emotionally involved as our fear is displayed so close to them. The fight in this scene I think is the best Ben and Joe have ever done . They committed so much to the intense anger that needs to be displayed they really pushed themselves in the process of creating this scene and it shows.

I did however feel the pacing drop in scenes 5,6 and 7. There was a drop in storytelling here but it did get picked back up in scene 8. Some choreography didn't go to plan, there was a slap that didn't make a noise, however in the moments which Lizzie fell on night one she didn't as we reworked those sections. Scene 8 does really pick back the energy as there is a drastic change in the story telling. But also this part has to be engaging because it can appear that it is the end of the play as I have a line 'That's it Mr Lockwood, that is everything.' So we need to make the audience want to want more from the story and not be fed up that there is another 20 minutes of the play. Sam and I do really well as we bring a sense of comedic relief but then bring the story back to the seriousness. Tash, Lizzie and I have struggled with the singing in scene 9 as Nelly truly is making a fool of herself and today we really committed to that in this show using the whole space of the stage. The interaction between Lockwood and Nelly almost comforts the audience as it's what gives them structure and understanding, and we transition back to story. This is always clear as I take Lockwood back to his armchair and I back to 'Nelly rock.' The placements of the candles that we need for scene 10 have been in different places in each show, so I walk off stage slightly before my cue to get candles to check if they have been placed off stage and in this show they have, so I brought them behind 'Shelf rock' where we light them for scene 10.

In today's show Ben and I let out every emotion that our characters had built up and threw ourselves into this scene. We channelled a lot of the energy we had on opening night but amplified. Again, why this scene felt great from my perspective is Ben and I weren't afraid to feel. This can sound weird, but I think a lot of actors can be afraid or hesitant to really feel what their character is feeling so many emotions appear forced and not genuine. But Ben and I managed to connect and really feel each other's emotions in this scene. And due to how immersed and enthralled we were with our character's it made me really push myself (in a healthy way) for Heathcliff's actual death. In all honesty I don't remember much of the last 5-10 minutes of the play as I was so lost in Nelly's guilt and regret. I think I finally unlocked a part of Nelly that she concealed for a very long time as she really exposed a vulnerable side to her which we hadn't seen. And Nelly telling her story to Lockwood was her finally relieving herself of the guilt and regret that she didn't want to feel anymore as she is quite stubborn in that sense. So I don't remember exactly what I did in those moments of me being under the tree and discovering Heathcliff, I just remember having the realisation that I had found Nelly.