Romeo and Juliet, written by William Shakespeare, depicts a tragic play about two star-crossed lovers whose torrid love burns down in their past continuous family feud. When I firstly stepped into the world of the play, in such a story which the two protagonists’ misfortunes in love was somehow destined, I was impressed by how Juliet changes from a quiet and obedient girl to a “woman” with determined courage and independence. Thus, I chose to perform Act IV Scene I in which Juliet’s change was shown the most. In order to more vividly demonstrate the transition Juliet made for love, I injected distinct emotions into the character from the beginning to the end combining with slight body language and variation in tone.
Different from the text, we cut out Paris part at the beginning in order to focus the audience’s attention more on the conversation between Friar Lawrence and Juliet. Therefore, our performance begins when Friar earnestly prays but interrupts by fierce knocking. Overturning the previous quiet image, Juliet reveals her unexpected emotional side when she rushes into the room, crying “O, shut the door” (4.1.44) and begging Friar to “Come weep with me; past hope, past cure, past help” (4.1.45). The slight tough language “shut the door” reveals Juliet’s anger that remains from her disobedience to her father. Whilst the repetition of the three “past” effectively conveys Juliet’s despairing and sorrow tone to the cruel helpless fact of the upcoming marriage with Paris.
In the process of transforming the text into a performance, I realized that the climactic point of Juliet’s emotion brings out just at the beginning, which created the most challenge to play Juliet. In order to prepare that extreme mood, I built up an imagery in my mind and transfer myself into the moment when I lost my passport at the airport and called my father in tears, which is a technique called “substitution” wrote by Uta Hagen in the Respect for Acting. By recalling that kind of similar feelings, I can truly feel a sense of despair and anxiety. In addition, I tried to demonstrate the emotional mood throughout some detailed body language. From the beginning, I conveyed my anger into the action of banging on the door with my fist. Then, I delivered my first line with an urgent and sad voice as I strode in from right upstage to center stage. In comparing with Friar’s calm and stable voice as well as his steady steps, I hoped the audience can be aware of my inner turmoil which different from my previous quietness.
As the plot unfolds, the unexpected emotional side of Juliet become more apparent. Friar then says that he has heard about the news that “On Thursday next be married to this County” (4.1.49), which explains Juliet’s variety of emotions and behaviors to the audience, and expresses his regret that “nothing may prorogue it” (4.1.48). Driven by the merciless dilemma that force her to become mature, Juliet tends to believe that death is the only approach; she takes out the knife, and threatens Friar “Be not so long to speak, I long to die, if what thou speak’t speak not of remedy” (4.1.66). The resolute determination behind those words outpours her fervent love to Romeo without reserve, which foreshadows the foreseeable future of tragedy for her love like a moth to the flame. With the more aggressive behaviors and words, Juliet’s changes have been more pronounced.
In terms of performance, I tried to translate Juliet’s determination into more body language and various tones. In response with Friar’s decisive words that “nothing may prorogue it” (4.1.48), I laid my hands on his arms, bowed down and closed my eyes in pain while saying “Tell me not, friar, that thou hearest of this” (4.1.50). At the same time, Friar steadily raised me with staring at me concededly, which portrayed his authoritative and fatherly image as a priest. However, I then stood at a fixed position, firmly pointed my finger toward him, and threatened him: “if in thy wisdom thou canst give no help … with this knife I’ll help it presently” (4.1.52-54) with pulling out a knife and pressing it to my neck. With keeping that gesture for a few seconds, suddenly, I pointed my knife to Friar to make him feel more powerfully threatened. By exaggerating Juliet’s emotional intensity through my more aggressive behaviors, I wanted to more efficiently tell the audience the more maturity Juliet has beyond her years. Meanwhile, I gradually increased my speed approaching the climax and added more components of firmness and resolve into my voice instead of solely sadness to express my steadfast resolution to die for being with Romeo.
In response with Juliet’s attempt to suicide, Friar was forced to propose a risky plan, which needs Juliet to “undertake a thing like death to chide away this shame” (4.1.73-74). Nonetheless, Juliet, once again, demonstrates her remarkable courage and abiding loyalty to Romeo as imagines those horrifying images such as “chain me with roaring bears” (4.1.80), “hide me nightly in a charnel house” (4.1.81), or “hide me with a dead man in his shroud” (4.1.85) that she is prepared to face rather than marry Paris. An imagery was established through the descriptive language as these gothic images are increasingly apparent and visualized to the readers. Although the wild fears of Juliet was revealed between the lines, with a tone twist, “I will do it without fear or doubt” (4.1.87), Juliet’s courage and committed love to Romeo was also highlighted.
In featuring the genuine fear of Juliet compared to her unusual courage and determination, I tried to achieve through more physical contact with Friar and significant shift in tone. Originally, I considered making an interaction with the audience in order to make them more effectively emphasize with me by turning toward them and speaking. However, when I first did that in the rehearsal, I got some feedback from my classmates that it would be more natural if I change to talk to Friar rather than “starring” at them, and I eventually adopted that advice on the stage. Despite for more realistic performance, the way of acting out my reliance on Friar which also relatively emphasize the fear. Therefore, we decided to add some physical contact that Friar dragged highly emotional me to sit at the bench as he tried to calm me with resting his hand on my back and talking softly, “Hold, daughter! I do spy a kind of hope” (4.1.68). Then, as I described the horrors that I was willing to face rather than marry Paris, I sat sideways toward Friar with head bowed, and Friar kept patting my back or holding my hand gently. For a brief moment, I had a flash of insight into the nature of Juliet, an innocent young girl, who has been forced herself to muster up the courage to mature. But with a twist in tone, I looked up, stared into Friar’s eyes confirmedly, swept my arm out, and firmly pledged “But I will do it without fear or doubt, to live an unstain’d wife to my sweet love” (4.1.87-88). By greatly contrasted with the desperate image with uncontrollable temper I portrayed earlier, I want to inform the audience that Juliet’s courage and faithfulness is another part her growing maturity that she strives to achieve for love.
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