Jemmy Rathbone: Character Notes (Treasure Island)

In Ken Ludwig's version of Treasure Island, there is a character by the name of Jemmy Rathbone which I have the pleasure of portraying onstage at the Palace Theatre in London, Ontario in February 2012.
I was surprised to find little information about this character online. I only found two movie clips which were far away and out of focus.  I found a review which stated "the opening scene with all the pirates chasing Jemmy around the ship was action-packed" but that's it! I was unable to find a character background, history or even a description.
With the help of a book called "the Intent to Live" by Larry Moss, I have worked through questions and homework and created my own version of the infamous Jemmy Rathbone. I wanted to share these with anyone else out there who might be researching and preparing to portray Jemmy onstage.
I have placed the information I created into an 'interview' format with the questions being asked by Larry Moss directly from his book and the answers given by Jemmy himself.

WHERE DOES YOUR SCENE TAKE PLACE?
O' course it toikes place on a bloody ship! It's rainin' and da wind is blowin' a good one and da thunder is louder then I e're heard it before. The waves crashin' against the side o' the ship tossin' us about.
WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THE OTHER CHARACTERS IN YOUR SCENE?
Nasty, back-stabbin' swabbers they are. They be yer best mate one day and yer worst enemy the next. Best be careful who ye tell yer plans to or they be usin' it against ya in your weakest toimes.
WHAT DO THE OTHER CHARACTERS SAY ABOUT YOU?
They have the nerve to fink I'm a cheatin', lyin' pirate who took somefin' I didn't and was gonna partake in the riches wifout keepin' me mates in the 'know'!
GIVEN WHAT THE SCRIPT SAYS, IS IT TRUE?
Yeah...d'ere prob'ly roight.
WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT YOURSELF WHICH IS RELEVANT TO THE SCENE?
Well I'm not sure what "REVERENT" means but I do know vat I'm a sneaky guy. I prob'ly fink I'm smarter than I really am. I can also tell ya dat I was on the streets as it were before I got me chance to prove meeself as a man o' the sea. To be straight wif ya - I'd prob'ly do just about anyfin' to get me hands on some gold 'r jewels of any koind.
WHAT DO YOU LITERALLY DO DURING THE SCENE?
I kant tell ye dat - I've sworn an oath to keep da secrets of the happenins which go about.
WHAT DO THE OTHER CHARACTERS DO TO YOU IN THE SCENE?
Well I kant bloody well tell ya dat either now can I?! ...unless you got a good 'mount o' gold yer ready to part with...?
WHAT IS YOUR POINT OF VIEW AT THE TOP OF THE SCENE?
Uh..I'm confused. Can you say da question wif different words or somefin?
OKAAAAY WHAT WERE YOU THINKING AT THE START OF THE SCENE?
Why didn't you just say dat in first ploice?! I was watch dat noight loike I am most noights. I wasn't tinkin' much but how angry da sea was and how the skies were makin' such a racket that it couldn't mean anythin' good was gonna happen anytime soon.
HOW AND WHY DO YOUR THOUGHTS CHANGE?
They don't! Nothin' good DOES come from that noight and don't wish to talk about it no more!
WHAT DO YOU WANT?
I already told yer that Larry, I want me some gold! But gold ain't any good to ya if yer dead so I guess I want to come out of this alive and able to spend me some gold. Go to port in me homeland and buy a drink or two for a special lady...or two. You know what I mean roight Larry? [nudges him]
NO. I DON'T. [sighs] DO YOU HAVE ANY PHYSICAL IMPEDIMENTS?
You makin' fun o' me knees Larry?! So I ain't as tall as a normal man would be i s'pose but I be fast! Faster than the rest o' these bloakes on this ship! AND, lemme tell you somefin' else! I be the best fighter on this here ship as well!
WHAT PIECE OF MUSIC WOULD YOU PICK TO SYMBOLIZE YOUR CHARACTER?
Oh, you mean loike a theme song? I've always wanted me own theme song...lemme think...well I s'pose if I were a ballerina or somefin WHICH I'M NOT it would be the "Flight of the Bumblebee" but NO I be a sneaky little pirate with a lot of speed and talent with me fists SO, me theme song would have to be the song from the epic scene in Wizard of Oz when the witch sets the flying monkeys on Dorothy and her little friends. She had it comin'.
CAN YOU DO AN ANIMAL EXERCISE TO HELP INTERPRET YOUR CHARACTER?
What the heck is ZAT s'posed to mean?! You comparin' me to an animal dere Larry?! Is ZAT what yer doin?! So I'm a bit like a rat but that don't mean I don't have feelin's and aren't sensitive to those kinds o' remarks Larry! This interview is over! You wanna see more o' Jemmy Rathbone you come see Treasure Island at the Palace Theatre in February 2012. I've enough o' this badgerin'!

ACTING - it's not just about 'PLAYING'

Many people think acting is either really easy because all actors do is prance around a stage in silly costumes speaking with silly voices, OR, people think acting is really hard because you have to do and say things in front of other people.  There is so much more to Actors and the world of Acting.
Actors don't just 'play'.   "[Actors] remind people that things can change, wounds can heal, people can be forgiven, and closed hearts can be open again." - Larry Moss

Acting is about making people feel, think and question themselves, others and the world.
Acting is a means of expression.
Acting is an outlet for individuals to show others deep emotions and thoughts that are experienced.
Acting is a way to pretend to be someone else, live in someone else's shoes, have someone else's family, have someone else's dreams and go through someone else's experiences.
Acting is a vehicle to be used as a way of expressing ideas, concepts and physicality that would otherwise be "socially unacceptable".
Actors take nothing from an audience except for applause, tears and laughter.


It is hard work.  Rehearsing twice a week, every week for 3 months to put on only 5 or 8 shows.  It's a lot of lines to memorize.  It means a lot of research into people, places, societies and times in history in order to develop a character.  

There are people who do not understand why actors do what they do. Especially actors in community & alternative theatre as they do not get paid for their time or hard work.  To people who ask "why do you do it?" or "wouldn't you rather do something that pays?" I simply reply by asking them whether or not they have ever volunteered.  

Acting is volunteering and it is rewarding.  Though we do not usually get paid, though we sometimes must endure critics, notes from directors, ridicule from adjudicators and snickers from an audience, we as actors dedicate ourselves to the art of becoming someone else.  We live someone else's life, go through their trials and tribulations.  We survive the torment of thoughts in their mind, sometimes die as them or worse, experience a loss far greater than any death.  We do this so that YOU as an audience member can experience these, through us, from the safety of your seat.

This is the gift actors give to us all for the mere price of an applause.

The Intent to Live, by Larry Moss

This Book CHANGED MY LIFE!!!

Anyone and everyone interested in Theatre as an Actor, Director or Producer MUST OWN THIS BOOK!

I was playing the role of Irma Kronkite in William Hinge's PICNIC at the Palace Theatre in London, Ontario when the director (Don Fleckser) recommended that each of us as cast members find a copy of this book, rent it, read it buy it WHATEVER...just get your hands on this book!  So I did :)

Larry Moss delves a bit into his own life experiences and the steps he's taken to get where he is today.  If you do not know who Larry Moss is - PLEASE view his interview on Youtube in which he talks about his book, "the Intent to Live"

In this book, Moss describes building a character from "the ground up", superobjective and objective (getting what you want), Obstacles & Intention (how you get what you want), Stakes (what is it worth to you), Inner Imagery "the Life Within", Finding your Triggers (Emotions on Demand), Defining and Redefining your character, back story and biography of your character and SO MUCH MORE!

What I have enjoyed most about this book was the lessons Moss teaches between the lines.  In chapter 5, Moss discusses a monologue in Maxwell Anderson's Winterset and describes it as a "vivid and disturbing monologue".  The monologue is actually given in the book however, Moss recommends that any reference used or touched upon to express an opinion, thought or lesson which the reader is unfamiliar with, should (for their own benefit) research it!  There are so many references in this book and his lessons are powerful.  Without researching the actual pieces he quotes, the reader will only get half of the lesson to be learned.

By reading "the Intent to Live", I have become more knowledgeable about playwrights whom I did not know existed, I've learned various approaches to creating characters and working with a script, I've learned how to respect the playwright by using the given facts in a script to create exceptional characters without losing the intentions of the writer, and I now understand that acting is NOT just about being funny and making people laugh and being entertaining - it's about bringing someone else to life and making people feel and care.

"Acting represents all that human beings experience, and if you want it to be 'nice', you will never be a serious communicator of the human experience...You can't stay clean and tidy and be an actor."

Thank-you Larry Moss for the wake-up call.

Now, I'm ready to work!