I was fairly satisfied with my performance in Romeo and Juliet. However, I did not feel quite ready when it came time to film. I would have liked to work more on staging and blocking, and set design. We had a very loose design on set, with a table and a few chairs. It worked for the scene, but some props in the back proved to be slightly distracting when I watched the video. If I could redo the set, I would use a bigger table, have a real knife, and some more bottles for Kevin/Friar to search through.
While watching the video, I also noticed issues with the knife. Part of that was due to not actually having one - but I was also bad at threatening to kill myself instead of threatening to kill Friar Lawrence. Too often was the knife pointed towards him I could have worked more on my knife skills.
One thing I think I did well was portray emotion. I worked very hard to identify emotions and reactions in the skit, and I think you could see it in my face, body, and hear it in my voice. “If in thy wisdom” is a particular line where I liked my emotion. I turned away from Friar, signifying that I was giving up, and my voice got softer - again emphasizing Juliet’s loss of hope. The addition of some blocking helped portray this emotion. I told Kevin to touch my arm during his attempt to comfort me, and me pushing him away showed some more conflict between the two of us.
I wanted to add more crossing in the skit, but did not know how to do that without making it look unnatural. One way it was added was by having Kevin cross in front of me when he went to grab the vial. I thought of Kevin escorting out “Paris” through the door in front of me, but since we did not have an actor to play Paris, it seemed as though he was crossing for no real reason.
I also liked my emotion in my final monologue, when I was alone on the stage. In my script, I highlighted words or phrases where Juliet changed her stance, or had a separate thought. Then when acting, I used these phrases as a rough outline for places to move or do something physical. This helped me show the camera and audience the conflict Juliet was facing.
In terms of literary devices, this scene was riddled with foreshadowing - Juliet talked a lot about her will to die, even begged the Friar to allow her to kill herself. She finds hope in his potion - but it kills her in the end. Knowing this, I emphasized every time she mentioned death. I also played up the theme of love, by pausing most times before I said “Romeo.” By doing both of these things, I could convey to the audience the foreshadowing and love Juliet feels.
Overall, the skit was well done. Many of the things I did not like were unpreventable, and others were cancelled out by the parts I did do well.
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