Pomona Character Profile

Pomona Character Profile

(this blog post is a work in progress)


Fay

Name meaning:

The name ‘Fay’ is an originally Irish name that can mean ‘raven’ or ‘fairy’. It can also be a short form of ‘faith’.

I think it’s interesting that it means raven, so I did some research about raven symbolism and what ravens tend to mean and I found out that the psychologist Jung uses ravens to represent the darker side of human consciousness. I think this reflects the overall message of Pomona – that this dark dystopian side of the human world is real and happening.

I also found out that in Old English Fay is a nickname for someone who is trustworthy and loyal which I think is interesting because both Ollie and Moe end up trusting her enough to confide in her.

Physical

Age: 24

Sex: Female

Tension Points: I think that Fay would hold a lot of tension in her arms and shoulders, because she lives in a state of paranoia and she’s almost expecting attack some of the time and have tension in these points shows a dense of defensiveness.

I also think Fay could hold some tension in her stomach because that also makes the whole body look quite tense and wary.

Idiosyncrasies: I have developed several idiosyncrasies for Fay. One is tapping one foot when she’s anxious/afraid, for instance, when she is in the phone box. This can also be used to show boredom and annoyance in the scene where she shows Ollie around.

Another I came up with when I was wearing her costume for the first time which is tugging the cuffs hoodie over her hands and pulling at them, which I think can show her being preoccupied/thinking about something else.

A third idiosyncrasy is how she’s constantly glancing around and looking over her shoulder because she’s used to working in a place where there are cameras constantly rolling and she’s always being watched.

Social

Status: Fay generally has a very low status in the world of the play – she is so desperate she has to sell her body to provide for her daughter, she has to constantly stay hidden from her husband, she has to obey Gale’s rules at the brothel. Gale is her superior and has status over her – but Keaton has status over Gale, so she also has status over Fay and the other girls.

This is shown by Fay warning Ollie to tell Gale before she does anything, 'You have to ask Gale.' And also Gale's commanding attitude towards Fay, 'You're not to come in here.'

However, the scene between Gale and Fay is a constant power play where Fay gets to challenge her status. Because she has Gale’s laptop and the information about the blood types, she has power over Gale. Then Gale starts challenging her and vocally puts Fay back in her lower place – until Fay pulls the gun on her and gains the upper hand again.

Still, Fay is quickly back in a low status position when she is caught and nearly killed by Moe and Charlie.

Class: Fay is very low class, below even standard working class as she has to work in the sex industry to make enough money to support her daughter. The fact she’s in hiding from her husband also makes her even lower class because she can’t let herself be known.

Relationships:

Ollie –

Fay and Ollie’s relationship is actually very interesting and nuanced. I think at first Fay doesn’t want to be friends with Ollie because she’s afraid she’ll go missing like the other girls and Fay wants to protect herself from caring about her in case she does.

However, I think Fay does care about her to some extent, because she immediately helps her after she’s been beaten up, checking her wounds, brushing her hair and trying to convince her to call her family for help. Ollie’s disappearance is also what drives Fay to confront Gale.

Fay is also wary of Ollie, especially after she says ‘I would have peeled his face off. Cut it off while he slept’ and then talks about all the hate inside her and burning the city down. She knows Ollie is a bit unhinged and a potential threat.

Gale –

Fay’s relationship with Gale starts off with Gale as the boss who Fay obeys (‘You have to ask Gale.’ ‘Gale doesn’t like that.’) and is afraid of, but when Fay finds the list of blood types on her laptop (as well as become even more afraid of her) she becomes wary and determined to find out what’s happening in the brothel and why people are disappearing (because she could be next) and becomes brave enough to take her on. Gale is one of her main obstacles.

Moe –

Fay’s relationship with her client Moe is also very interesting, because although she absolutely reviles him for abusing people the way she was abused and she sees her husband in him, I think she also relates to him a lot when he gives his speech about wanting everything to stop and then be able to know everything was done in peace.

Daughter –

Although we never see Fay’s daughter or her relationship with her in the play, I think Fay is a deeply caring and protective mother. She says her husband used to hurt her daughter too, and I think that matters more to Fay than herself – in my personal version of Fay’s backstory, she found the courage to run away from her husband because he started abusing their daughter and she didn’t want that. She also becomes a prostitute so she can earn money to provide for her daughter and hires a babysitter (Stacey) to look after her.

Husband –

Like their daughter, we also never see Fay’s husband in Pomona, but he definitely casts a long shadow. He abused Fay and their daughter to the point that Fay chose to run away and work as a prostitute rather than stay with him. Because he’s in the police force, he’s the root of most of her conflict about what to do with the laptop. Fay is still terrified of him even though she’s left him.

Private & Public Face –

Fay’s private and public face is very different. Fay is afraid/anxious in most of her scenes in the play, but she’s constantly putting on a front for other people.

For instance, when she’s on the phone to Stacey, even though she’s terrified, she tries to sound calm and collected like everything is fine and normal in order to protect her daughter.

Again when she’s with Ollie after she gets beaten up, Fay puts aside her own problems to help Ollie. However, her facade starts slipping a little bit in this scene when Ollie asks about her husband and Fay is visibly affected, then immediately changes the subject. This front can be seen again in the scene with Moe at the beginning when she’s putting on her work face in a way and acting collected for the customer.

Psychological

Desires: I think most of what Fay does in Pomona is motivated by the desire to protect herself and her daughter and stay hidden from her husband. Even though her relationship with Ollie and potentially the other girls helps her face Gale, I think her main reason is fear for what might happen to her and then what would happen to her daughter without her.

Objectives: Fay’s objectives change throughout the play, but some objectives last throughout the whole play. A constant objective for her is to keep herself and her daughter hidden away from her husband – something that creates a lot of conflict later on.

When we first meet Fay her objective is to earn enough money at the brothel to support herself and her daughter whilst staying hidden from her husband. However, when she finds out about the blood types her objective becomes to find out what is happening to the girls who disappear to the point where she actively confronts Gale about it.

Conflict Point: Fay’s main conflict point throughout the play is that her husband is in the police. It stops her from being able to go to the police about the laptops and the disappearances, which means she really doesn’t know what she can do about it. She tries to be brave enough – she goes as far as dialling 999 in the phone box before becoming afraid and hanging up.

Morals

Values: Fay could be seen as having loose morals because she’s a prostitute but I think Fay is actually morally strong, especially compared to some of the other characters in the play such as Keaton, Gale and Moe. She’s only a prostitute to support her daughter and keep her out of an abusive environment. Most of what she does in the play is motivated by self-preservation and the desire to protect her daughter.

Honesty: Fay is sometimes dishonest, but only for her own self-preservation. She puts on a bit of a front for Stacey and for her clients but she is also honest when she feels she can be, for instance, letting her guard slip with Ollie about her husband. I actually think she’s at her most honest when she talks with Moe.

Voice

What personal vocal characteristics help or hinder you in Pomona?

My voice is naturally quite clear and articulate, which is helpful, but sometimes I can come across sounding a bit posh when Fay should be more rough-spoken. I need to work on becoming more rough spoken but without losing any articulation or not sounding clear. My voice is naturally quite low too, which I think works for Fay as it can quite easily sound a bit exhausted or beaten down.

What problems does this text present?

The way we have staged the play is really helpful vocally, because there will be audience to the right, left and in front of the stage. It's a very intimate, close space, which means I won't need to over project. However, as we have staged some of the scenes around this set up (constantly moving so all audiences can see), sometimes my back is to one of the audiences which means I will have to project more to make sure everyone can hear.

Another problem I've been having is making sure my diction and articulation stays strong during the scenes where Fay becomes more panicky and anxious, especially during the phone box scene. I tend to rush that scene and that can cause my voice to become unclear. I need to work on this by slowing down and focusing more on my articulation.

How are you developing your character vocally?

I've been trying out several different vocal characteristics for Fay over the rehearsals, and I haven't decided on one that works well enough for me to use in the show yet. Because I don't think I've found Fay's characterisation yet, I am constantly experimenting and trying new voices.

At first I tried making Fay more soft and friendly, using a slightly higher register and a softer tone. While this helped me connect to that side of the character, it still felt like something was missing vocally.

To explore Fay further I began experimenting with different accents. The first accent I tried (and keep coming back to) was Irish. I tried it with the softer characterisation and it helped me connect to that even more, as the Irish accent is quite soothing anyway - it worked especially well in the scene where Ollie has been beaten up and Fay looks after her.

Another accent I tried was Spanish, and while this added something completely different and unexpected to the character, I'm not sure it was quite right for the actual performance.

Recently I've been trying out a more exhausted and irritable Fay, and to reflect this vocally I'm using a more flat, bored tone during the scene where she has to show Ollie around. For instance, on the line 'This is your room' I say it quite huffy and bored, like she's done it all before.

I also tried this characterisation with the Irish accent when I was rehearsing independently, and I think it worked quite well because the Irish accent is usually quite cheerful and light and having it used in a defeatist, unhappy was almost emphasised the characterisation.

Another way I’m developing Fay vocally is by working through the script and finding places to use a different tone. For example, in the phone box scene when Fay says ‘why is she still up? She should be in bed. Put her to bed.’ I change the tone of my voice to show that Fay’s trying to sound normal and unaffected and control herself a bit more. Another instance is when Fay tells Ollie ‘you just have to ask Gale’, which I say in a more assured and meek way to show that she is afraid of Gale.

What are your vocal targets for Pomona?

1. My main target for Pomona is to decide on a set voice for Fay, as so far I've been trying out lots of different voices. 
2. Another target is to work on making more voice sound more rough without becoming unclear or losing articulation. 

Things Other Characters Say About Fay

·         ‘She’s standing outside a shoe shop and she’s holding, she’s clutching, a laptop. She has no bags, she hasn’t brought anything that you can see and her face is contorted, twisted up in an expression of horror, real horror.’ – ensemble

·         ‘You ran away, didn’t you? They told me. The others. About your husband.’ – Ollie

·         ‘Just because you haven’t the strength to leave yourself. Just because you’ve nailed yourself to that bed.’ – Gale

·         ‘You crawl out of one hole and dig yourself another. As if you want it. As if you crave it. And now you’re going to get involved in this.’ – Gale

·         ‘She won’t go to the police, not if she can help it.’ – Gale

·         ‘She did something. She did something to have this happen to her.’ – Moe

Things Fay Says About Herself

·         ‘My main tip is just to make sure they shower first.’

·         ‘I always insist, and if they don’t want to I’ll maybe like, I’ll take my top off and usually that – usually they take one after that.’

·         ‘So I’m just like, two doors down.’

·         ‘I don’t do that.’ (make films)

·         ‘I don’t do that. I don’t know about that.’ (drugs)

·         ‘No. I used to think so. I don’t like most of them. But not hate.’

·         ‘Afraid I insist on showers.

·         ‘I don’t feel sorry for you. I have no sympathy.’

·         ‘My husband hurt me and my daughter.’  

I think it says a lot how little Fay says about herself compared to the other characters, as it shows how much she is protecting herself and how devoted she is to staying in hiding.