Me and Danny

Danny is a hard case so I have to be conscious of how I portray him, body language in particular. Naturally the way I sit is quite closed and quite timid but the character would be quite strong and open. I also have a tendency to do movements when i'm talking, e.g hand gestures and facial movements, but this wouldn't be right for the character. I see him as quite still and only moving when necessary. 

The character of Danny lives and has grown up in the Bronx, New York. So it would be important for me to get the accent right. I have been using a video tutorial to work on this. 

In one session we used the hot seating rehearsal technique and I stayed in character for between 6-7 mins however I did make a small mistake when I jerked like a head butt. However, even though the questions in the first part of the exercise were not specifically related to the scene, I did manage to feel the character. 

What led up to the monologue.

Danny doesn't want people to ask about him but wants to tell people how hard it is to keep them at arms reach. His life is going nowhere and he plans to kill himself on his 30th birthday. He hates his dad because he was angry and you can see the reflection of his father in the character of Danny. As Danny and Roberta speak he feels more comfortable and opens up to her about how he hurt his hand, how he thinks he might of killed the guy in the fight that he had the night previous. It is at this point in the play that the monologue takes place.

Any further details on the process I took is written on my script.