Response to Live Performance: The Play What I Wrote

Response to Live Performance: The Play What I Wrote

Character Review: Toby Sedgwick (stage character Arthur)

Albeit the production consisted of a scarce number of actors, Toby

Sedgwick's dynamic performance compensated, due to the way in which he

effectively portrayed an astonishing broad spectrum of characters.

These characters varied greatly in presence, from absent-minded Arthur

who dreamed of playing the harmonic no matter what the circumstances

may have been, to the idiosyncratic stage manger.

Despite the significance of each character; whether it being merely an

addition to the main characters; Jo and Ben, or the focus of the

scene, Toby always possessed a remarkable presence, which was able to

divert on eyes onto him. This factor was what distinguished Toby from

the other actors in the productions, as every movement and every sound

he made was directly related to his character, showing that he had put

considerable thought into each individual character and in which way

would their characterisations be at the utmost effect to the audience.

To elaborate on this, there were a range of moments in the play in

which Toby's characterisations made great impact on the responses of

the audience. For example, during Toby's part as the bizarre stage

manager, rather than his words alone, it was his body movements that

made Arthur a memorable character. This was as he began to move in a

rubber-like manner, suitable to make even the most reserved members of

the audience holler and wail in laughter. An alternative time soon

after, Toby managed to epitomize the mannerisms of a woman perfectly,

from the totter on the highest heels, to...

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...e I feel that Joseph Alessi portrayed his character well,

however there is room for improvement. Unlike Toby's performance,

personally I feel that Joseph did not fill the entire stage with his

presence. This may be due to the fact that his eye level was rather

more restrictive than Toby's, as he focused more on communicating with

the 'dress circle', that involving the upper area in the action. Also,

his tonal quality was rather monotonous compared to Arthur's varied

tones. On a more positive note, I feel that Jo used the space around

him more wisely than Toby, as vast movement helped Jo's character to

be as interesting as it was. In conclusion I believe that even with

the imperfections in the performances, Toby and Joseph alike both gave

enjoyable performances, although Toby's was more memorable than the

other actors'.