Music

Music played a big part in my interpretation of Caravaggio because for every scene Caravaggio is in and every character he interacts with I have a song that represents how he is feeling towards people and in different scenes, I also have different pieces that helped me find the way he walked, the song I used for the way Caravaggio walked and moved around was 3 nights by Dominic Fike. The reason I chose this was because this song feels bouncy and makes you want to bob to it and I feel Like Caravaggio bounces round the scene with a cocky little bounce and this song helped me get it right. I also had a specific song for when Caravaggio was paint and that was the rising sun by CFO$, the reason I chose this was because how chaotic it sounded to me and when Caravaggio is painting I imagine him to go into this place of craziness were its just him and his painting and he just lets go. I created this playlist on spotify and would listen to it before rehearsals to help me get into the frame of mind to portray Caravaggio.

Playlist:

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3dUqD3ybvOwqoVsPQeYpk0

At the start of the rehearsal process we were given books to write all our research and detail about our characters here is what I wrote in mine

Themes of the play

There are many themes in the play such as:

Kindness - The reason I think this is a theme is because throughout the play there little acts of kindness whether that’s from Micky trying to recreate the seven acts or Caravaggio creating the painting.

Acceptance - The reason I think this is a theme is because Caravaggio has to accept help from the likes of Marchese and accept himself and Micky has to accept the death of his granddad and that his dad has come back.

Helping people - The reason I say this is a theme is because Micky is trying his hardest to help his granddad to move one and in doing so he is also helping others. Caravaggio tries to help Lavinia and give her a better life.

Preparing for the play

When the class was preparing for the play Mike came into the class to talk about his experience he had when people were getting told to leave their houses by the government and explained how it effected him and people closest to him, it really helped me to see that this is a awful thing that’s happening and it helped mt to sympathise with some of the characters. We also did hot seating, the first time we did hot seating was in the class to everyone else and played music in the background that we thought would be good for our characters and we also sent a video of us doing a hot seating a bit further on in the rehearsal process. When I was doing my hot seating as Caravaggio I purposefully didn’t reveal much about him as i think this is what he would have done because he is the type of person who doesn’t like talking about himself and doesn’t want people to know personal information about him.

The Seven Acts Of Mercy Painting

One of my main inspirations for Caravaggio was the paining the seven acts of mercy. What I took from the painting is that Caravaggio sees himself as a saviour for the people who are at the bottom a voice for the voiceless. I also took from the painting how alone he is with the use of dark colours and how he wants people to perform the seven acts for him he just wants someone to be there for him and to trust again. I also floated the idea that Caravaggio put himself in the paining in the form of two angles in the top right one is reaching down to the people as if to help them which he sees himself doing with this painting and another angle stopping and grabbing him this could mean that he doesn’t want to be the one to help people and wants a normal life but thinks if he doesn’t help who will? To back this point up Caravaggio says to Marchese “solidarity under duress not for some theory but because there’s no other choice”, meaning he’s only doing what he’s doing because he doesn’t think anyone else will and because he doesn’t have a choice.

Practitioners I looked at

Stanislavski - Whenever I am building a character the first practitioner I always look at is Stanislavski. The reason I do this is because I will always try to make my character as realistic as possible. One thing I implemented that Stanislavski teaches is to write out all of my lines as if it were all one monologue because when you talk in real life you don’t stop talking so someone else can talk. I also looked at his seven questions, who am I? Where am I? When am I? What do I want? Why do I want it? How will I get it? What do I need to overcome? One of the main things that I used during the entire rehearsal process was the magic if. The reason I use this is because it helps me to understand the characters motivations and actions. 

Ivana Chubbuck - I also looked at Ivana Chubbuck and the book she wrote The Power Of The Actor. In her book she talks about the twelve steps to create a character. Overall objective, scene objectives, obstacles, substitutes, inner objects, beats and actions, moment before, place, doings, inner monologue, previous circumstances, let it go. The reason I used this method as well was to create a realistic character that the audience can relate to.

Laban - As a class we also looked at Laban and looked at the Laban effort, which is a table on how your character moves and speaks. I found it very useful when looking at Laban, the reason I found it useful was because I was finding it difficult to figure out how I should move and stand when I’m on stage so I looked at the Laban effort and came to the conclusion that Caravaggio is Thrust because he is sudden in the way he says things and the way he moves, he is direct he will make sure the other characters are listening and makes sure he knows they're listening, he is also both strong and light in the way he says things if he is saying something that he believes in he will say it strong but when it comes to opening up and speaking about him he becomes light as it would be a conversation that he would not want to have.

Politics of the play

In the seven acts of mercy politics plays a big part. At the start of the rehearsal process we all had a discussion on politics and how they play a major part in the play. The reason we know that politics is a major theme of this play is because there is a scene where a politician gives a political speech, there is also a scene in a food bank where the characters talk about how awful it is with the character Sandra saying “I had someone bring back weetabix cause it soaks up to much milk” and the character Damian say “why do they hate us so much”, the reason I think this shows the audience just how bad some people have it. 

I also think that the character Caravaggio embodies the left wing. I think this because in the first scene of the play Caravaggio says to Marchese “This will be the truth of your city Marchese, whether you want to see it or not. A ruling elite slobbering in self-indulgence”, this shows that Caravaggio believes that the church (who would have been the highest authority) ignores who they deem as below them.

Final thoughts on Caravaggio

After playing Caravaggio for a number of weeks now and after learning about his life I have a few final thoughts on him. I would say that Caravaggio is the embodiment of this play, the reason I think this is because the play is about being kind to others and helping people who need it, Caravaggio is a painter who does paintings not for himself or for the rich and famous but for the people who need it most, the beggar, the whore and the tavern-keeper. The reason he does this is because he wants to give back in someway and make sure that no one feels abandoned and no one feels alone, because that is how he has felt for most of his life and he knows what that pain feels like, so he refuses to allow anyone else to feel like that. 

The Rehearsal Process

During the rehearsal process I really found the character of Caravaggio. On this post I have added multiple pictures that were take during the rehearsal process. At the start of the rehearsal process I wasn’t really sure where I was going to take Caravaggio, then after a few rehearsals I started to find my character. The reason I know I found my character is, I lost my inhibitions and stopped thinking about what I was doing and started just doing. One think I did notice about myself though was, whenever I had the script in my hand I found it prohibited my acting and I would concentrate on getting the lines right and focus on the script as a sort of safety net. Another thing I found was I would always try my best to try different tactics to make the people I was acting with react. Also while I was in the rehearsal room if I wasn’t acting I would be making notes about my character, answering Stanislavski’s seven questions, looked at different methods of Brecht and I looked at Ivana Chubbuck’s twelve step method. One thing that I found was really good about the rehearsal was that we had two directors and it was good to see how two different people saw how the scene should be played out mixed with how we as the actors thought the scene should play out. I felt the rehearsal room was a very comfortable environment and I personally felt like I could try anything without judgement and felt free to explore my character.

Strengths and weaknesses

Strengths

Some of the strengths I found I had were I didn’t really think when I was acting I just reacted to what the other person was giving me. I would be willing to try new things and play about with how I played Caravaggio. I would always try to put 100% and all my energy into what I was doing. I also think that a strength I had was my research as when I found out i got the role of Caravaggio the first thing I did was start my research and found out everything I needed to know to play Caravaggio. I also think a strength I have was building my version of Caravaggio as I think that the Caravaggio I have built is multilayered, understandable and relatable. 

Weaknesses

Some of the weaknesses I found I had was learning and understanding my lines the way I overcame this was by repeatedly going over my lines and by dissecting the lines and figuring out what the thought process is behind the lines I didn’t understand. Another weakness I found I had was whenever I messed up a line during rehearsals I would get frustrated with myself and it would take me out of the acting.   

Notes

Throughout the rehearsal process I have been given many notes to enhance my performance and I have done my best to implement the different notes I’ve been given. 

Some notes I have been given:

Marchese is the embodiment of everything Caravaggio hates - I implemented this by at different points in the play I will say things to Marchese as if I’m speaking down to him to belittle him.

Add more pace to the opening scene - I implemented this by going over and over my lines in this scene and by not giving Ben (who plays Marchese) time to think about what to do so he would just do it, this would then make me react to what he did and made the scenes pace pick up and made the scene flow better.

Play around with how I say my lines - I implemented this by trying different objective and seeing if it changed the way I said the lines, I also tried different thought processes for different lines and these seemed to help.

Play the cat and mouse of the Vincenzo scene - I implemented this by always trying to get close to Vincenzo whenever he moved away and by playing with my objectives and the way I hold myself in front of him.

Work on being impatient in the first scene - I implemented this by getting myself worked up and trying different objectives and by getting aggravated when Marchese keeps bugging me and wont let me get on with my painting and wont leave me alone.

Work on my movement in scene 8 - I implemented this by going with the flow and depending on what I said for example at the end of the scene I say “you can trust me, you know. It’s fine. Just keep your head still. Then you can go.” As I say this I move away from her because I’ve been hurt because Lavinia doesn’t trust me and I trust her.   

Research

For research I had to find out as much information about Caravaggio as possible, and I found a lot of information as I have already showed on this blog. I also discovered a lot of information about him such as he has multiple mental health issues, he is also a little bit mad but the reason for this is because of what they used to make paint in the 1600, it was very common for painters at that time to go mad because they were breathing in the fumes from the paint. I also answered Stanislavski’s seven questions and looked at different practitioners such as Laban, Brecht and Ivana Chubback. I also looked at all the different scenes Caravaggio was in and made different objectives for each scene, I then looked at who would have the power in the different scenes as I believe that Caravaggio would try to hold all the power in every scene he is in. Then I looked at the different characters that are in the scenes with Caravaggio and wrote down how he feels about them and what he wants from them. I then made a timeline of Caravaggio’s life and found out a lot of information about his childhood and his early years as a painter, which I have discussed on this blog. 

Sources I used for research:

https://www.rsc.org.uk/the-seven-acts-of-mercy/

http://www.naplesldm.com/goldenage.php

https://www.harleytherapy.co.uk/counselling/abandonment-issues.htm

https://www.nga.gov/collection/paintings/italian-16th-century.html

https://reviews.history.ac.uk/review/883

Books I looked at for research:

https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=9lI76naiYuMC&printsec=frontcover&dq=caravaggio&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiDyaeR2uXoAhXSa8AKHXgYBtAQ6AEIKDAA#v=onepage&q=caravaggio&f=false

https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=U7TqAAAAMAAJ&q=caravaggio&dq=caravaggio&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjO1Nuo2uXoAhVJXMAKHakcAjwQ6AEIMTAB

https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=vvOqwz1M0BUC&printsec=frontcover&dq=caravaggio&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjO1Nuo2uXoAhVJXMAKHakcAjwQ6AEIQDAD#v=onepage&q=caravaggio&f=false

https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=1Y_zV7kNgP0C&printsec=frontcover&dq=art+in+italy+1600&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiwh_zJ2uXoAhWxmFwKHUhkCjMQ6AEILzAB#v=onepage&q=art%20in%20italy%201600&f=false

https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=7NhjDwAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=religion+in+italy+1600&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjekNnZ2uXoAhXzpHEKHf3RAd8Q6AEIMDAB#v=onepage&q=religion%20in%20italy%201600&f=false

https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=gAvk-MkzVNsC&pg=PA3&dq=politics+in+italy+1600&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjbuszR5P7oAhXO_KQKHdGcBk8Q6AEIOTAC#v=onepage&q=politics%20in%20italy%201600&f=false

https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=IMO7ulVShYUC&dq=the+power+of+the+actor&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiQqc3y5P7oAhVF6aQKHbSoDlIQ6AEIKDAA

https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=Ix5xDwAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=Brecht&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjIyYH-5P7oAhXBDewKHd6-ASAQ6AEIKDAA#v=onepage&q=Brecht&f=false

https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=3T9MAQAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=stanislavski&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiJ_tCL5f7oAhWhMewKHb8EB50Q6AEIMTAB#v=onepage&q=stanislavski&f=false

https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=RryoDQAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=the+church+in+1600s+italy&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjduYLF5f7oAhWlTxUIHThAAaQQ6AEIKDAA#v=onepage&q&f=false

My thoughts on the play

My personal thoughts on the play is that it is a play about kindness. The reason I think this is because in the play there is Caravaggio who is doing a painting about different works of charity, you also have Micky who is trying to recreate the seven acts of mercy in the present day and it shows Micky going to places like food banks and him being kind and giving to the people there, it also shows you Micky with different characters who have nothing and shows him again being kind and giving to them. 

My thoughts on Caravaggio

After spending a bit of time on working on my interpretation of Caravaggio and after a few notes I was given I decided that I was going to play Caravaggio as both a hurt man who hides his emotions and a tantruming sixteen year old who thinks the world is out to get him and that he is unforgivable. I also think that he has a tremendous amount of pain because he feels like no one will ever know him and because he’s not going to have a normal life. He is also very distrusting of everyone and doesn’t want to let his walls down for anyone. I also believe that he would not want to make connections with other people because everyone who he has made a connection with has died (His mum, dad, friends, someone who he loved at one point).

About Caravaggio

Michelangelo Merisi Da Caravaggio was born on 29th September 1571 in Milan, Italy. He died on the 18th July 1610 in Porto Ercole, Italy. Caravaggio’s sexuality has been up for debate as well as some people thing he was gay but I personally believe he is Bisexual, but he finds men more attractive then women. He was a painter who painted a lot of paintings such as the beheading of St John, Judith Beheading Holofern, Medusa and of course The Seven Acts Of Mercy. When Caravaggio was only six all of the male members of his family including his dad, uncle, grandfather and grandmother died from the plague and he and his mother retreated to their estate called Caravaggio near Milan. Then when he was thirteen years of age his mother also died of the plague and he was left on his own. He then had to fend for himself so he left for Rome to become a painter and started of as an apprentice and lodged with another jobbing painter called Lorenzo Siciliano. Then after some time he then lodged with a priest called Pandolfo Pucci which I personally believe is where he got his dislike for priests as he only gave Caravaggio one salad a day and he did not like that at all. Then after a few years and a lot of paintings later Caravaggio killed Tomassoni the reason I think he did this was because Tomassoni raped and killed a woman who he had fell for, the reason I think this is because before he killed him he attempted to castrate him and the murder seems to personal to me for it to be self defence or for money. After Caravaggio kills Tomassoni he goes on the run and I believe that at this point he would have been filled with a lot of anxiety as he would have had to look over his shoulder all the time because Tomassoni’s family wanted him dead.

My Inspiration

When deciding on how I would hold myself on stage I thought it would be best to get some inspiration from somewhere. I found my inspiration through music and decided to make a playlist with different songs representing different parts of Caravaggio’s personality, I also had different songs to represent the different scenes Caravaggio is in and how he is feeling during them scenes. When looking for inspiration I also looked at the animal kingdom to see which animals best represented Caravaggio, I personally believe that Caravaggio is like a lion in some parts, but he can also be a meerkat whenever someone starts trying to delve deeper into Caravaggio as he cowers because he doesn’t want to let anyone in and doesn’t want anyone to know the real him.

First thoughts on Caravaggio

Once everyone had been cast and I got the role of Caravaggio we did a read through. My initial thought on Caravaggio was that he was a man who had a lot of anger and has a very specific view on the world and society, he is also a very stubborn person who is stuck in their ways. He also has a tendency to be self destructive and hates himself and is a very distrusting person.