The structure of this scene is simple and straightforward. Within the form of the scene: two people waiting in a room, is intense emotion and anticipation. It is a scene where nothing much happens outwardly but where everything is happening for both characters internally. The actors might first begin by asking questions about their character's relationship. Are they deeply in love? Is this the first time they have faced adversity together?
Outside this difficult situation what sort of relationship do they have? When considering the emotional obligations: how does each character feel about the illness? What are each character's thoughts in terms of the effects of the illness and the possible consequences? How afraid is Nathan? Does he feel powerless and terrified for Vanessa? And how afraid is Vanessa? Is she having great difficulty dealing with being ill? What does her anger indicate? This scene is about dealing with the unknown and the fear that comes with uncertainty when the stakes are high. It is literally a fight for survival except there is nothing to fight against except fear itself. For the actors - determining and experiencing the need of the characters is critical. What do they want? They want it to go away, for everything to be normal again. Even though the circumstances prevent them from achieving the impossible - the need still exists. Heightened fear causes us to react in unusual ways. Vanessa is working to fight her fear and not take out her anger on Nathan - but in these situations where do we focus our anger - usually on those closest to us. Vanessa is no exception. This scene represents an aspect of the human story, one that unfortunately is all too familiar in our day and age. |