The Line Up

This dialogue takes place during the introduction to Acts of Communion Act Two - based on the interviews with members of the Church on Rise Park Drama Group. I wanted to create a scenario where performers break out of character to reveal themselves. This could be Brechtian, this could be self-referential, this could be post-modern, but actually, as one of the performers pointed out;

'It''s just like that show where I had to play six different characters except one of those characters is actually me.'

MC: Michael

FOB: Tony

BD 1: Donna

BM 1: Jonathan

BD 2: Louise

FOG: Ian

MOG: Audrey

MOB: Betty

GMOB: Kath

MC: Master of Ceremony

FOB: Father of the Bride

BD 1: Bridesmaid 1

BM 1: Best Man 1

BD 2: Bridesmaid 2

FOG: Father of the Groom

MOG: Mother of the Groom

MOB: Mother of the Bride

GMOB: Grandmother of the Bride

BM 1: [To BM 2] He’s my best friend

BD 1 / BD 2: [To each other] She’s my best friend

BM 1 / BD 1 / BD 2: We met doing this show

FOG / MOG: [To G] He’s our son

FOB / MOB [To B] She’s our daughter

GMOB: She’s my granddaughter… I think

BM 1 / BD 1 / BD 2: [To B and G] They met doing this show

MOB / MOG: We’re very proud

FOB / BM 1: We’re very nervous

BD 1 / BD 2: We’re very drunk

FOG: We’re very bored

GMOB: [loudly] We’re very hard of hearing

FOB: [to GMOB loudly] We’re very proud

GMOB: You’re very loud

BD 1 / BD 2: We’re very disappointed in our dresses

MOB / MOG: We’re very disappointed in the bridesmaids

FOG: We’re very disappointed in the script

BM 1 / FOB: We’re very worried about our speeches

GMOB: We’re very worried about the toilets

All: At the end of the corridor on the left

GMOB: The Line Up took forever

MOG: I don’t practice my lines until quite near the end. What I do I type them out. I type each act out. I don’t type the whole lot just a few lines before. I just read them and really and truly learn the lines.

MOB: I go down and I probably do a page at a time and I go back and I go back.

GMOB: If it’s a play where you’re on from start to finish I usually just tape it. But if you’ve only got this or that I don’t bother.

FOB: I read the whole play through out loud in front of a tape recorder but the part that I’ve got to learn I speak at sotto voce.

FOG: I have a haphazard approach to learning lines.

BD 1: I read through it myself on my own for a while then I practise with my Dad. He knows the play, the plot, the lines before I do.

BD 2: I’m rubbish at learning my lines. I don’t really look at the book really. I guess I’ve just got a bit of a knack.

BM 1: Just reading them will do. I never had too much of a problem except where the lines don’t follow on in a normal conversation.