Laugh or you'll Cry - Episode 3

My part in the sketch show ‘Laugh Or You’ll Cry’ was absolutely amazing. I loved every second of being a part of the project and filming it in my own home. To start off with, it was a totally new experience for me, as I have never filmed a piece like that before in my own home. So, it was all novel and in a good way. No one was quite used to this new way of filming and it was learning curve for everyone to experience. 

Nevertheless, my experience was fun and enjoyable. Firstly, I started by receiving my role from a film student whom I had previously worked with. I had been involved in a couple of his short films. Therefore, he had a greater knowledge of my own capabilities and assigned me the role of Charlie. Charlie was by all means a normal teenage boy during lockdown. However, the fact was that after spending all his time indoors his mental health seemed to have gone downhill. One might even say that he had become a little crazy and is now listening to everything he hears on YouTube and taking them as gospel. As the story continues Charlie and his friend bump into each other outside on their daily exercise and begin catching up on what they have been doing during this lockdown.

 In order to start preparing for this role I read the script several times, this allowed me to look at my character in detail. I furthered this understanding of my character by examining the directors’ notes, trying to acquire a feel for what the director wanted out of this character and what he was trying to
suggest to the audiences. Following on from this I practiced my lines repeatedly, to make sure I knew them and that I was both fluent and fluid with the words. Once this was accomplished it was now time to make ‘Charlie’ come to life. In some ways it was easy to identify with the character as I am also a teenage boy who has been in lockdown and under these similar pressures. I would definitely say I was not as sane as I was before the lockdown! I utilized these familiar feelings to 

add to my character and performance. 

 Filming proved to be more of a struggle than I first expected. There were issues with continuity, due to my partner Daniel filming on a sunny day and yet when I was about ready to film my parts it was raining outside. Consequently, I could not film on that particular day and the team had to wait for a day with better weather for it to be filmed. Thankfully, the next day the weather was similar to when Daniel had filmed. I had learned my lines and character; it was time to film. I had my aunt, who is also an actress, helped me film my scenes. She held the camera and helped me by offering me tips and comments on my performance as we recorded, so that I could make it even better.