'Dull' Gret?

We ran through the restaurant scenes for the first time tonight; something I was a little apprehensive about, as I knew that we would be rehearsing with food. We all have to eat throughout the scene, but Gret is something else; she manages to polish off a couple of baskets of bread before the starter even comes out. And I did my very best. Despite only having bread rolls to rehearse with I was determined to eat throughout the scene, but by the second run-through I was already feeling weighed down!

Gret is not restricted by social conventions and is uncomfortable in this traditionally formal setting and continues to eat and steal whatever she can get her hands on, which gives me quite a lot of scope for physical comedy. It has to really, as Gret has very few lines, nearly all of which are just one word. So, in order that Gret doesn't get lost in the action between the other girls, or forgotten, she has to be something other than 'Dull'! I enjoyed getting into character tonight but I am going to regret it when I have put on a good couple of stone by the end of this run!

My biggest challenge so far has been trying to portray a character through one-word lines. It is difficult to glean any meaning from just one word. I'm trying really hard to make just one word sound sarcastic, or grateful, or enthusiastic and its not as easy as I thought. It's also difficult to form an accent around just one word. Much like Liz, I feel that the accent is really helpful for the audience to understand a character. But I don't really get to speak in sentences until the very end of the act.

I suppose it's a huge bonus to not have a lot of lines to learn for this very complex scene as I have quite a lot to learn for Angie. However, I'm so busy eating, drinking and stealing that I'm worried I may miss my cues! Not so far though...