It takes two: Duologue reading

After a two-week hiatus from acting for screen lessons due to a TV advert casting, I returned for a lesson in duologues for films. For this lesson, we had to find a duologue from a British film or TV series, transcribe it and bring it in. I chose an excerpt from 'It Always Rains on Sunday' (1947) as this film is an example of British social realism and I believed that the character I chose to play (Rose) was an accurate casting for myself. This was the first time that I had spoken on film using a boom, so I initially found it difficult to speak at the correct level. I was far too loud for the first take, but my scene partner (Charlie Locke) was speaking to the right volume so I listened to him and imitated his volume. The second take was far more successful, with the correct volume and better reactions to each other. For example, the chemistry between Charlie and I on his line 'You used to love me once' was far higher in the second take due to the choice for us to look at each other.

After this, I assisted Lucy Birch with her scene from 'This is England' (2006). I enjoyed performing this scene as it was a more modern character than Rose. Differences between my first scene and second scene included a change in my body language which, in turn, changed the relationship portrayed between the characters. In the first scene, I was quite stiff and slightly awkward, as the scene shows Rose and Tommy meeting for the first time in a long time. Whereas, in the second scene, my body language was more relaxed and I stood closer to Lucy as the two characters were close friends.

Watch the scenes here:

'It Always Rains on Sunday' - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2H1w2he-E-M

'This is England' - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oU7ia34aoAY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2H1w2he-E-M