Iris is in the House

The rain has gone, but the air is a little colder today. But downstairs, in the rehearsal room, all is warmth….
Yet another beginning, because we welcomed Iris into the story today, first by discussion around the reason for her presence, and then by exploration of the music itself.

The concept of the character is that she is a street musician, a young woman arrived newly in this part of the city from another part. Her spirit is worn down by the pressure of the city, and her music is too often drowned by the noise of the city. She is seeking somewhere that is right for her to play.
The building site is noisy and makes a bad place to play. Iris tries different places. When she comes upon the playing of the children, she watches along with the audience, suspiciously at first, then with interest, then she provides support, and becomes their musical guardian angel. Finally, through experiencing the children, she rediscovers her musical spirit.

Ayako was initially concerned about not being an actor, but she has at the same time jumped into our team impressively, and very soon today, the new dimension which will be brought to the play by her music was strongly evident. Together with the actors, she plotted briefly the Brazil section, and then in more depth the digging section. Finally there was time to work on the beginning of the play, when Iris plays in the street.

The writers meeting was one of those where the table top is full of improvised models – paper cups broken and sellotaped, pens and torn tissue paper simulating poles and silk cloths. The set is taking shape, and simplifying, and much of the paraphernalia is already assembled. Yeon returned today and is as I write shopping for fabric. There are complicated comings and goings over the next few days, and so scheduling has been tricky, but we are getting there….