Yesterday we read the whole piece (Rebel Without a Cause), every one his role. I was Officer 1, had not to say that much. But it was all right and I also have the glorious part of shooting Plato, when he plays with his gun and doesn’t want to give it to somebody.
Then Mike came up to me and suggested me to perform as the man of the opening scene. He basically is beaten up and runs away. I agreed, thinking that could not be too difficult.
Today we practiced that very scene and something more, where I have no part in. It turned out to be a very difficult part, as it involved a lot of action. I enter the stage, whistling. Then Buzz confronts me, asking for a cigarette. Meanwhile the other members of the gang circle around me. Buzz insists on me smoking a cigarette, offering fire. In the very moment I lean forward he strikes me in my stomach. Moreover, he pretends it, but it all has to look real. So I grunt and try to run away. But they get me and throw me on the ground. Now they are stamping on the ground and I am crying hell. And this is the tricky thing. To cry like hell, and this several times. In the end I crawl away and run. It’s not that much but to pretend to be beaten up really is tricky, I can tell you.
Impressive for me was the way Mike directed the whole thing. In the beginning we gathered all on the stage and he asked us to close our eyes. He walked around and told us to think about all that trouble of today, and to forget it. Now we should imagine to go 50 years back, in a different time, in different characters. And then we were to open our eyes again and to start it. I liked it, this suggestive little show. And we concentrated.