Lizzie Brookes

Brief description: In this play, the plot is subtly revealed through an in depth interview given to the actress Selina Palmer who performs the main protgonist, Laura Periade. It's a new idea. I'm not sure how well it will work yet.

Act 1 Scene 1

(In Gareth's flat)

Enter Selina and Gareth

Selina: I must go now Gareth. It's almost time.
Gareth: Oh, yes. Well good luck (kisses her)
Selina: I'll need it. It's the first time I'm being interviewed.
Gareth: You'll be fine. Cheryl was interviwed the other day.
Selina: But Cheryl didn't have such an in depth interview.
Gareth: Well she's not the main protagonist. I'll definitely be in the audience.
Selina: Thanks Gareth (kisses him)
Gareth: Are you sure you won't be tired for our date Friday night?
Selina (laughing): Course not.
Gareth: You're a great actress.
Selina: Well... Laura's quite a complex charecter to play.
Gareth: I know. I've seen the film remember. You were fantastic.
Selina: You would say that because I'm your girlfriend.
Gareth: Even if you weren't, you'd still be good. Well, you'd better get going. Are you still going for a drink with Cheryl?
Selina: If I'm not too tired I might.

Exeunt

Scene 2

Selina is seated in a chair under the spotlight with the two interviewers, Meryl and Mason opposite her.

Meryl: What was it like to perform Laura Peraide?

Selina: It's been fantastic. Laura is a very complex charecter. She starts out as this young, naive, confident person but her experiences shatter her confidence and towards the end of the film though she is confident in some ways, she approaches everything in life much more cautiously because she's been disappointed so often before.

Mason: Does Laura lead a very sheltered life?

Selina: Absolutely. Although she has had a lovely childhood, it has been very sheltered. She was always a bit of a loner and distant from people. It is at the age of nine that three main events happen in her life. Her mum and dad think of seperating, she finds a new penfriend, and she falls in love.

Meryl: Laura is not really like other people is she?

Selina: No indeed. She is quite strong mentally which is why her dad James tells her he and Emma are thinking of seperating. Laura does not mind this because she didn't like their arguments. When she hears about Mary, who lost her dad at a very young age, she immediately sympathises and agrees to be Mary's penfriend. Laura was never interested in getting a boyfriend, which James always knew and although she often had crushes on older women, she falls in love with Michelle for real.

Mason: Does it occur to her that she is too young to fall in love?

Selina: She knows her mum and dad would think so which is why she doesn't tell them. She and Michelle start out as best friends but then Laura gradually realises she is falling for her. Initially she's in self denial but then when she asks Michelle out at ten, Michelle is very upset and this surprises Laura because she doesn't see a girl falling for a girl as any different from a boy falling for a girl.

Meryl: What happens when they part?

Selina: Laura is devastated and pledges to Michelle her undying love. It is very similar to Sonya pledging her undying love to Nickolai in War and Peace. Later in her twenties she does consider the possibility that if she met someone else she might consider moving on but she knows the difference between attraction and love and so unless it was true love she wouldn't. She will always have a soft spot for Michelle though as her first love, whatever happens.

Mason: So things go normally until she experiences a phase of bullying?

Selina: Yes. Although the bullying is a horrible experience, it does toughen her up. She does eventually forgive the bullies and move on. Later on, she even forms a friendship with a few of them after many years go by but there will always be aa distance. It's important because it is this that leads to her revealing the truth about her attachment to Michelle to her mum and dad.

Meryl: And how do they react?

Selina: At first they do not take it very seriously. Emma thinks it is a crush but Laura disagrees because she remembers the crushes she had on her female teachers and how they wore off. She is confident in the strength of her love. Although she makes contact with Michelle once more, she does not say she loves her because of Michelle's previous reaction and Michelle has forgotten all about it. Apart from her general irritation at her family's response to her confidnces, she is just as happy and carefree as ever.

Mason: It is then that James tells Laura the romantic story of his first love Emily and how he wants to marry her. How does Laura react?

Selina: Laura's reaction is unique. The instant she heard of Mary she had connected with her and the same applies to Mary's mum Emily. For the first time, she has met a family who are completely different from her aunt, mum or grandmother and she finds that change refreshing. She finds many similarities between Mary, Emily and herself and since she cannot go out with Michelle she is determined that her dad should at least marry Emily.

Meryl: So she is not the jealous type?

Selina: No. Laura may occasionally be slightly envious of someone in a childish way but generally she does not experience much jealousy.

Mason: When her dad is unsure about telling Emma, what does Laura do?

Selina: Laura immediately exploits that. It is a complex mix of being lured by the charming idea of a secret romance and a need to exact revenge on her aunt and grandmother for disciplining her. It is a bit childish but she is resentful of her grandmother's nagging and her aunt's pride and superiority. She knows that Emma, Selena and Christine will be jealous of James marrying Emily and she points that out. This way, she gets revenge while taking part in something she thinks is romantic.

Meryl: How does Laura react when Christine or Selena criticise James and Emily?

Selina: Laura has very strong feelings for both James and Emily so when she hears Emily especially, ridiculed in that way, it breaks her heart. Obviously she can't say this so she pretends that she was hurt because Emma scolded her but when she follows James's advice to ignore it, this works and she is relieved. Laura is a very emotional person but she is able to suppress her passion for Mary and Emily and be quite calm with Selena and Christine.

Mason: Your role has enabled you to work with a wide variety of people. What's that been like?

Selina: It's been fantastic. I'm actually quite amazed when I see how different we are as actors from our charecters. Though I have a friendly accquaintance with all the cast, I tend to hang out with the actors who play the charecters, my charecter is closest to. I suppose that is inevitable as you are naturaly closer to the actors you work more with.

Meryl: Do you have a mentor on set and who are you closest to?

Selina: I hang out mainly with Rosie Coxe who plays Mary but I am also very close to Rachel Sanders who performs Michelle. My mentor is Catherine Burns (Emily) and I am closer to her than to Leanne Cliffton (Emma) but Leanne is very understanding of that.

End of Scene 2

Shyox

Lacks any sense of realism. The idea is too passive to me, like there's really nothing going on. Two dimensional, like an infomercial.

You've got to give your writing some more power.

Lizzie Brookes

Actually the whole thing is based on a series of events that really did happen. I know it is not very interesting at the moment because the real psychological depth comes towards the middle of the play but plays don't always need to be action packed. Waiting for Godot is one of myy favourites and hardly anything happes in that play.

Wallmaker

Lizzie, a series of events that did happen? If I had a nickel for every time I heard a writer back up their work that way... doesn't matter if it really did happen or not, what matters is how it's working or not working on the page.

Act 1 Scene 1

(In Gareth's flat)

Enter Selina and Gareth

Selina: I must go now Gareth. It's almost time.
Gareth: Oh, yes. Well good luck (kisses her)
Selina: I'll need it. It's the first time I'm being interviewed.
Gareth: You'll be fine. Cheryl was interviwed the other day.
Selina: But Cheryl didn't have such an in depth interview.
Gareth: Well she's not the main protagonist. I'll definitely be in the audience.
Selina: Thanks Gareth (kisses him)
Gareth: Are you sure you won't be tired for our date Friday night?
Selina (laughing): Course not.
Gareth: You're a great actress.
Selina: Well... Laura's quite a complex charecter to play.
Gareth: I know. I've seen the film remember. You were fantastic.
Selina: You would say that because I'm your girlfriend.
Gareth: Even if you weren't, you'd still be good. Well, you'd better get going. Are you still going for a drink with Cheryl?
Selina: If I'm not too tired I might.

Exeunt

**If it's an "interview" for a play, wouldn't it be a try out? I'm not familair with the need for an in depth interview to see if a person can play the main part of something. Wouldn't it be more like second call backs and it's down to 3 girls for the protagonist she needs to beat, etc? Right now it doesn't make sense. Also, this entire conversation is... expository and not in a good way. The conversation doesn't read naturally like two people would, in real life, have this conversation. Calling it an interview on top of that, and then referencing a character who isn't there doesn't mean much. If cheryl already went to try outs, make the scene with Selina pressing her for information about what it was like and skip the conversation with Gareth. Do you see how their conversation would be more natural? Selina could be like, Tell me everything... are there men or women at the call backs, what scene did they make you read, should I have memorized a monologue? And then Cheryl could respond and even reassure her... or you could use Cheryl to set up that they want to interview her in character, which is what I think the next scene is getting at. Now that's clearer, right?

Scene 2

Selina is seated in a chair under the spotlight with the two interviewers, Meryl and Mason opposite her.

Meryl: What was it like to perform Laura Peraide?

**Why has she already performed this character? Oooh, wait, is this like a magazine interview about a play already performing? If it is, do you see how lost I was? And if I'm lost reading it on the page, imagine how lost a viewer would be becuase they can't go back and reread sections.**

Selina: It's been fantastic. Laura is a very complex charecter. She starts out as this young, naive, confident person but her experiences shatter her confidence and towards the end of the film though she is confident in some ways, she approaches everything in life much more cautiously because she's been disappointed so often before.

Mason: Does Laura lead a very sheltered life?

Selina: Absolutely. Although she has had a lovely childhood, it has been very sheltered. She was always a bit of a loner and distant from people. It is at the age of nine that three main events happen in her life. Her mum and dad think of seperating, she finds a new penfriend, and she falls in love.

Meryl: Laura is not really like other people is she?

Selina: No indeed. She is quite strong mentally which is why her dad James tells her he and Emma are thinking of seperating. Laura does not mind this because she didn't like their arguments. When she hears about Mary, who lost her dad at a very young age, she immediately sympathises and agrees to be Mary's penfriend. Laura was never interested in getting a boyfriend, which James always knew and although she often had crushes on older women, she falls in love with Michelle for real.

**Why is she being interviewed like this about a fictional character? Where is the interview going? Also, what is the tension of the scene? Are we afraid she's going to mess up? Are we afraid some other actress wants the part? That they aren't going to use her when they take the show on the road? If there's no subtext to the interview, then it's flat. If the interview is somehow referencing her as a person, we need indication before the interview.

Mason: Does it occur to her that she is too young to fall in love?

Selina: She knows her mum and dad would think so which is why she doesn't tell them. She and Michelle start out as best friends but then Laura gradually realises she is falling for her. Initially she's in self denial but then when she asks Michelle out at ten, Michelle is very upset and this surprises Laura because she doesn't see a girl falling for a girl as any different from a boy falling for a girl.

Meryl: What happens when they part?

Selina: Laura is devastated and pledges to Michelle her undying love. It is very similar to Sonya pledging her undying love to Nickolai in War and Peace. Later in her twenties she does consider the possibility that if she met someone else she might consider moving on but she knows the difference between attraction and love and so unless it was true love she wouldn't. She will always have a soft spot for Michelle though as her first love, whatever happens.

Mason: So things go normally until she experiences a phase of bullying?

Selina: Yes. Although the bullying is a horrible experience, it does toughen her up. She does eventually forgive the bullies and move on. Later on, she even forms a friendship with a few of them after many years go by but there will always be aa distance. It's important because it is this that leads to her revealing the truth about her attachment to Michelle to her mum and dad.

Meryl: And how do they react?

Selina: At first they do not take it very seriously. Emma thinks it is a crush but Laura disagrees because she remembers the crushes she had on her female teachers and how they wore off. She is confident in the strength of her love. Although she makes contact with Michelle once more, she does not say she loves her because of Michelle's previous reaction and Michelle has forgotten all about it. Apart from her general irritation at her family's response to her confidnces, she is just as happy and carefree as ever.


**I'm skimming at this point becuase obviously I haven't scene the play and nor can I keep up with who's who in it. Also, not sure where this scene is going, so I'm looking for something to happen.**

Mason: It is then that James tells Laura the romantic story of his first love Emily and how he wants to marry her. How does Laura react?

Selina: Laura's reaction is unique. The instant she heard of Mary she had connected with her and the same applies to Mary's mum Emily. For the first time, she has met a family who are completely different from her aunt, mum or grandmother and she finds that change refreshing. She finds many similarities between Mary, Emily and herself and since she cannot go out with Michelle she is determined that her dad should at least marry Emily.

Meryl: So she is not the jealous type?

Selina: No. Laura may occasionally be slightly envious of someone in a childish way but generally she does not experience much jealousy.

Mason: When her dad is unsure about telling Emma, what does Laura do?

Selina: Laura immediately exploits that. It is a complex mix of being lured by the charming idea of a secret romance and a need to exact revenge on her aunt and grandmother for disciplining her. It is a bit childish but she is resentful of her grandmother's nagging and her aunt's pride and superiority. She knows that Emma, Selena and Christine will be jealous of James marrying Emily and she points that out. This way, she gets revenge while taking part in something she thinks is romantic.

Meryl: How does Laura react when Christine or Selena criticise James and Emily?

Selina: Laura has very strong feelings for both James and Emily so when she hears Emily especially, ridiculed in that way, it breaks her heart. Obviously she can't say this so she pretends that she was hurt because Emma scolded her but when she follows James's advice to ignore it, this works and she is relieved. Laura is a very emotional person but she is able to suppress her passion for Mary and Emily and be quite calm with Selena and Christine.

Mason: Your role has enabled you to work with a wide variety of people. What's that been like?

Selina: It's been fantastic. I'm actually quite amazed when I see how different we are as actors from our charecters. Though I have a friendly accquaintance with all the cast, I tend to hang out with the actors who play the charecters, my charecter is closest to. I suppose that is inevitable as you are naturaly closer to the actors you work more with.

Meryl: Do you have a mentor on set and who are you closest to?

Selina: I hang out mainly with Rosie Coxe who plays Mary but I am also very close to Rachel Sanders who performs Michelle. My mentor is Catherine Burns (Emily) and I am closer to her than to Leanne Cliffton (Emma) but Leanne is very understanding of that.

End of Scene 2

Lizzie, scene 2 is long and uneventful. What were you hoping to establish in scene 2 for the play? Why are we watching it and what does it matter in regards to the play as a whole? It sure isn't getting through. I also don't understand the importance of this "interview" which is wholly about her character, not much about her at all. If someone asked to interview me about a fictional character I was playing, I'd be depressed. That means someone is more interested in a facade I'm putting on which they can come see nightly instead of the rarity of seeing the person behind it. Is that what this is about?

You say plays don't need to be action packed, but they do to keep people in their seats. Waiting for goddot is more philisophical and has two confusingly interesting characters to hold our attention. And also there's the mystery of who is goddot and when will he get there? But since you like Goddot, consider adding more action to Selina's character. She doesn't have to struggle with a boot, but give her some traits that will make us interested in her for the length of the play. Right now she's very bland to me. She has no problems, she has no quirks or fun to her personality, and she spends all of scene 2 literally talking about someone else.

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Lizzie Brookes

It was just an idea I had when I read some of the interviews given to EastEnders actors about their charecters that's all. I just read through Amanda Drew being interviewed about May Wright whom she played in EastEnders and I love it so much I read it repeatedly. I've often written stories, poems and plays based on the same kind of plot. If its not working - fine I'll stop. It wasn't supposed to be about Selina. It was supposed to be about the charecter of Laura and her complexity and why she does the things she does. I just did it inthe form of the actress being interviewed. It's a bit like Rebecca where the entire book is obsessed with a person who died before the book began and Mrs DeWinters only function really is to give readers an insight into the charecter of Rebecca.

Wallmaker

I'm not saying drop the idea, I'm saying I don't understand the idea. Big difference. You want to explore how one woman percieves a fictional character she's playing. That's interesting. But if these two "people" are what matters in the script, why aren't we seeing that? Moreso, what effect is playing this character having on her. Is she obsessed? Is she emulating her character?

Will this be a play within a play format?

See, the things I'm suggesting aren't to bury your idea, they're to help support it so it's clear. I tend to ask a lot of questions in reviews becuase it gets the thought process going and helps lay story foundation.

Cheers,

Kay

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