A sample of audition preparation notes from mentor Lois Baxter for modern female speech piece.
Josie from “Steaming” by Nell Dunn
What do you know of it anyway? What sort of job can I get? I’m not even a young girl any more. And I happen to like nice things . . . I like money . . . I don’t like wearing ‘sensible’ shoes and last year’s coat and organising other people’s lives like a colonel-in-chief. Well, I’m going to tell you something –I don’t want to be like you. It’s boring, it’s every day! Boring! Boring! Boring!
Our suggestions:
Line 1. Use those first two questions to make us aware of how she feels. The important thing when asking a question is to make sure you ask it. Josie would look straight into the eyes of the person she was questioning.
Lines 4 & 5. She makes this quite personal towards the other 2 women. Let the words do the work here: look at those hard consonants “ I Don’t Want To Be Like You! “Boring! Boring!Boring!”
Lines 6 to 9. Use the questions here to challenge the women to respond. Really challenge them! She uses the word “why” twice – it can be quite a potent word when you use it as a weapon!
Then she intensifies the attack. Look at the rhythm and repetition in the sentence “We’ve been brought up to do the shit work…” Then she changes the rhythm with that useful word “Anyway”
