WEEK TWO, Day Ten: HOW TO ACTUALLY BE JANE FONDA (AND HAVE HER HAIR)

Jane Fonda- perfection.

Wear a leotard to rehearsal, one that your mother gave you that she actually wore in 1980. Put on Jane Fonda's advanced workout video on you-tube. Be surprised by how big the hair is and how tiny the waists are and totally shocked by the enthusiasm and lack of sweating by all participants in the video. You take part in the video, you are sweating however, but you enjoy all of the whooping and clapping. Think about how Jane Fonda motivated millions of women to buy her exercise videos and how many ended up getting the body that they wanted.

Bend and stretch. Imagine whether you have time when you go home to practise this Jane Fonda video, and stretch to the right and over to the left NOW DOUBLE TIME!

Wonder how inadequate Charlene feels as a woman in her early 20s in 1980 in New York City and what she does to make herself feel adequate.

Twist right twist left twist right twist left. Imagine what Charlene would think about whilst doing an exercise class and whether she enjoys it or not.

 Think about whether anyone enjoys staring at 20 supposedly perfect woman bent double and whooping, whilst slapping their hands on the floor in time with electro beats, and try to keep in time.

WEEK TWO, Day Eight: HOW TO MAKE AN ADVERT

Watch an advert for Revlon's Jontue perfume. Realise that advertising in the 1980's was all about fantasy and buying into a lifestyle. Wonder what would happen if you buy into a lifestyle now - will those high-waisted trousers make you a more serious fashionable person?

Watch the woman in the Jontue advert. She is beautiful, blonde and peaceful, she looks perfect riding on a horse through fields in bloom. The camera cuts to a man picking flowers in a forest, also on horseback. Who is he picking this flora for? 'Jontue for a more feminine you' says one of the most beautiful male American voiceovers you have ever heard, you even gasp at the sound of it.

JONTUE ADVERT

Cut back to the woman on horseback, out of the forest and into the field gallops the man wearing a man with one too many buttons undone arriving to present the woman her flowers: 'Jontue, wear it and be wonderful' the Jontue slogan. (Note to self, look up price of Jontue on Amazon later that night whilst listening to your American vowel sounds CD) Think about packaging and slogans and how Charlene is controlled by these things within the story, how different is the fantasy and the reality. Explore this idea in the first few scenes of the play. In the text Charlene has advisors, women that tell her what is a good idea and a bad idea, are they really helping her or are they just selling her an empty dream?

WEEK TWO, Day Six: HOW TO MAKE THE PLAY

You are in an expensive boutique in New York City, 1980. The designer and director have made this creative decision, hence why you have so many fancy retro clothes in the rehearsal room. As you have been playing with these clothes all week you have realised their potential in being more than just clothes and accessories. A shoe for example could be a phone, you just need to make the director believe that it is. Use your best creative visualisation skills. Realise that the real challenge of the play is to make the audience realise where they are, as a lot of the time you are slipping into Charlene's fantasy world and then back into the real world of the play. Think to yourself: 'but even in the real world of the play we are in a heightened theatrical state, as men are played by women and within the boutique we must create the 14 locations that are in the play. ' Do not freak out. The director and choreographer will guide you and help you find the rules. Focus on your creative visualisation, begin to see things differently. You can be an other woman.

You have been practising your improvisation skills for a week now and you have become rather good and coming up with ideas on the spot. When the director asks you to improvise the opening scene you see a dance routine between Charlene and the shop assistant. Direct your fellow actors. Ask the stage manager to play some Cyndi Lauper, you begin to explore the possibilities of the text. One scene down, 43 left. Throughout this process remember to ask yourself in each scene what each character wants, this will help your improvisations. The director calls these wants intentions. Do not get your intention confused with your action. It is not what you are doing, it is the reason that you are doing it you must discover. This helps to keep everyone's creative visualisation for the scenes make sense, there is a tendency to get carried away, girls just wanna have fun, intentions will help you be truthful whilst doing so.

WEEK ONE, Day Five: HOW TO TALK

Reuben Sandwich. NYC classic.

Speak in you best American accent, the voice coach is in and his American accent is amazing. Wonder if he actually is American, wish that you had spent more time watching American TV last night rather than researching what is in a Reuben sandwich and then preceding to buy the ingredients to make one. Pastrami and gherkins at midnight was not such a good idea. Learn that by definition speech is short, broken and intense and that Americans generally use loudness to emphasise words. If you want someone to hear it shout it. Also note that Americans generally speak on the opposite rhythm to the British. Emphasis comes at the beginning of the sentence and will often trail off at the end. Practise playing with your pitch: 'Up like the skyscrapers, down like the road' you will begin to sound like you are from across the pond.

Speak like you are from Brooklyn, speak like you are from New Jersey, speak like you are from New Jersey but have lived in Manhattan for the last 2 years. Get a little confused, but realise this will help distinguish your different characters in the play. Make different lists of all the words that have similar vowel sounds, and listen to the CD the voice coach has given you. Every single day. Look forward to speaking like you are from Brooklyn the most, pretend later on at home in the mirror you are Robert De Niro in Taxi Driver 'YOU talkin' to me, I don't see anybody else here, YOU TALKIN TO ME!!'.

Who are you talking to?

WEEK ONE, Day Four: HOW TO FIND A CHARACTER

Engage your best improvisation skills.

Putting your shoes on the wrong feet

From listing facts and questions in each scene you know certain things about the characters in then piece. Fact: in scene 6 we learn that Charlene aged 6, thinks that the word 'mistress' means 'to put your shoes on the wrong feet'. The director will ask you to imagine you are Charlene aged 6, and with another member of the ensemble improvise the scenario that shows how Charlene came this understanding. You have 5 minutes to discuss this and then show your improvisation. Get creative with your fellow actor. Think about how Charlene first hears the word 'mistress'. Did she actually hear 'mis-dress' and come to her conclusion? Did she hear the word 'mistress' from her Mom? Think about Charlene's Mom. What is her name, how old is she? Did she have an affair? Is that why Charlene has an affair? What size feet does Charlene have, and is it the same size as her Mom's? 5 minutes is up, improvise the scene. Discuss what you learn from the improvisation, increase the list of facts you know about the world. Get under and into the characters skins.

WEEK ONE, Day Three: HOW TO UNDERSTAND THE TEXT

Lorrie Moore

With your fellow actresses read the play out loud, in your best American accent (it will sound a lot better than it did in your head at home.) Go through the text with the director making a list of facts and questions about each scene. For example 'who is Lorrie Moore?' - a question, and 'Charlene, the heroine of our story lives and works in NYC' - a fact. Nominate someone to research questions so that they can enlighten the rest of the cast. Realise that some questions, for instance: 'why does Charlene have an affair with a married man?' cannot be answered by research. The answer to this kind of question may become apparent in a later scene or later in the process, sometimes asking the question is more important than finding the answer. Facts and questions will help unravel the world of the play.

Where does Charlene live?

Whilst going through the text, the director asks you to find 'events' in each scene. Ask what an event is. The director explains that an 'event' is something that changes everyone in the room/scene. An example of a factual event would be someone turning the light off. Think to yourself: 'that would change everyone in the scene'. An example of a verbal event would be someone saying 'I'm leaving you'. Imagine someone you are having an affair with leaving you and how that would change you, begin to think about how to be an other woman.

WEEK ONE, Day Two: HOW TO WARM UP

Listen to your favourite tracks from 1980, something by Michael Jackson, Duran Duran or even some of Kate Bush's earlier work. Follow the leader, 'if you can't see anyone else in front of you then you are the leader' says the choreographer. Don't say anything it is 10am and there will be plenty of time for talking later. It is like being in an exercise class, or being sucked through an MTV time warp into an alternative dance video reality invaded by Dolly Parton and her colleagues working '9-5'. This is fun, and a great way to show off all of your favourite moves. Show the choreographer what you can do, she will probably use your moves to inspire her to make up the sequences you will be dancing for the 5 week run of the play so enjoy it.

By day 3 of week 1, you begin to become more adventurous with this warm up game, there are a lot of items of 1980's costume lying around and it would be great for the director to begin to see how you can use them. Break away from the group when Footloose comes on the sound system, it has inspired you to try on a pair of stilettos and improvise, when the rest of the ensemble do the same pretend you are strutting down 5th avenue on your way to your NYC office and everyone is looking at you, the director likes this, you are beginning to create the world of the play. As the week continues you become even more playful during your warm up. The director has pointed out there are only 4 of you in the cast (all women) and 12 characters in the play, and some of those are men. Think to yourself that changing your physicality will be important for the audience to follow the story. Spend half an hour one just moving like a man, wonder to yourself: 'how do men walk?' Watch men intently on the street after rehearsal, take notes, look away when they get the wrong idea. Show off your male moves the next day.

WEEK ONE, Day One: HOW TO BEGIN

Meet at the rehearsal room, 171 Union Street. The play is 'How To Be An Other Woman'. The room is like a portal to 1980, New York City. Laden with matching bags, stiletto's, hats, trench coats and all of the hit records you could possibly remember from '80-'82 awaiting an airing on the sound system. It is a a fashion feast awaiting you to incarnate the world of Lorrie Moore's short story for the stage. The director and choreographer will guide you through the process and inform you that each morning will begin with a physical warm up to understand how the play will move, following that you will begin to explore the text and characters. After 5 weeks, 3 previews and having made all 44 scenes you will have a show.