Bottom the Weaver
I am playing the role of Bottom the Weaver. Just from his name you know that he is a weaver. You can infer that he does not make very much money, just by the nature of his occupation. However this inference is confirmed in another act of the play. The mechanicals go on about how it would be lovely to earn a couple pennies for their performance. Obviously if they are excited about a couple of cents, they don't make much income to start off with. From the way Bottom acts around Peter Quince, you know that he likes to be respected and looked up to. However when Queen Titania tells Bottom she loves him, Bottom does know how to act, so resorts to joking around with her fairy attendants. This show that he doesn't know how to impress the other sex; and that he is not used to other women liking him.
In the original play, Bottom appears in Act 1 scene 2, Act 3 scene 1, Act 4 scene 1 & 2, and Act 5 scene 1. To grasp a sense of Bottom's character I will refer to what happened in Act 1, so that you can see what he has said leading up to Act 3. In Act 1 the mechanicals are gathering to talk about the play. They get their parts from Peter Quince a carpenter who is trying on the role as a playwright. In this scene Bottom is intent on proving what a good actor he is, and keeps on volunteering to play other parts, after he is already assigned one. At one point he even breaks out into song, trying to prove that he can play Ercles. This shows how Bottom loves to be the center of attention, and that he thinks of himself very highly. After it has finally gotten through Bottoms head that he will not be able to play any other role than Pyramus, he starts wasting their time on costumes. He goes on and on about what colored beard he should use for the performance. This shows that he is also self-centered.
Then in Act 3 scene 1 the mechanicals gather in the wood to practice the play. In the beginning Bottoms linear objective is to boss the other mechanicals around while trying to sound smart. This ends up becoming a small-scale power struggle between Bottom and Peter Quince. Quince is trying to get everybody practicing and move the play along, while Bottom wants to embellish on things like the loins roar, a wall, and the moonshine that night. When they finally start to practice their lines, Puck comes along and turns Bottom's head into an Asses head.
When he reenters their practice area, the other mechanicals are frightened out of their wits. Of course, Bottom thinks that they are playing a prank on him, and resolves to show them he is not frightened (though he actually is). He breaks out into song, wanting them to hear him, and also to calm him self down. Queen Titania wakes up and, under the influence of the powerful love potion immediately falls head over heals in love with Bottom. At first Bottom is a little nervous, and he rambles on about love and reason. Then telling her he actually wants to get out of these woods, Titania basically tells him she will not allow that. As she offers him her fairy attendants, he decides to go along with it. In an almost drunken way, he plays around with the fairy attendants making fun of their names and blabbering about. "I shall dire you of more acquaintance, good Master Cobweb: if I cut my finger, I shall make bold with you." Finally Titania gets fed up with his games, and tells the fairies to tie up his tongue and lead him to her resting place.
For the first part of Act 3 scene 1 I think I should act boisterous and loud. I should be very bossy when telling the other mechanicals what to do. When Bottom is trying to act like Pyramus, I should over-exaggerate his lines so that Bottom comes across as a bad actor. Then, when mood switches and Bottom appears with an Asses head, I will act confused and irritated at the other mechanicals "playing a prank" on me. When Titania starts sweet talking Bottom, I will just seem indifferent. However, when Bottom starts joking around with the fairy attendants I will act loud, and boisterous.
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