Black and White (Performance Evaluation)

Our performance of 'Black and White' turned out to go exceptionally well, at least it definitely did to me. I found that all of our hard work that was put into this play payed off and we all got lovely comments that left us all glowing by the end.

Delivery of the Lines:
For my character 'Slave' I would personally rate the delivery of my lines a fair 8/10. I think I did really well to put across my lines considering I had to deliver them with what I tried to portray a polish accent that I have never really had a lot of practice or experience with. I believe I held the accent together well and I even got good feedback from members of the audience on this particular subject. I think I would rate my chorus line delivery a bit higher as it was less pressure to deliver them and felt they were easier to get across to the audience as I didn't have the accent. Though I think I have set myself a goal, as to which if I ever get the opportunity to play a part with an accent again, to focus on this aspect more. Overall for everyone I think this subject was very well held together.

Entrances and exits and scene transitions:
For my character in act 2 'Slave', I was given the responsibility to move on and off the mirror a number of times during the act. This was ideal as it fitted with the characters responsibilities and therefore made the transitions look smoother and more together. The mirror was such a pain to move off, only because out of the whole performance this was the part that made me anxious because I was so afraid of something going terribly wrong. For example one of the few perfumes on the dressing table which was attached to the mirror could have fallen and smashed or I could if messed up the transitions completely by easily stubbing my toe on the mirror which thankfully only happened back stage or in rehearsals not seen on stage. Act two was the busiest act for myself, because not only was I in charge of most of the set moving, I was assigned the drummer in a particularly choreographed scene. This luckily all went well on the night, though it was a bit of a challenge when the actors on stage were improvising lines as I had a set script to follow for when to beat the drum. I didn't mind this at all as I was very aware of how much some people had to learn and I was also very proud of everyone for performing so incredibly. So as I was in charge of the drumming this meant drumming in between scene transactions for act 1 'The chair scene' or 'the last chorus scene' and in act 2 'the debate between Electra and Tynadarious' which included the lines 'because you are beyond the law, you put yourself beyond the law'. I also had to be on cue for one of many times i had to sing, one being back stage and so this meant listening very carefully to the cues. All in all the transitions for the whole performance went very well and I was relieved when I didn't have to take the mirror off anymore and that it went so well.

The pace of the performance went very well, especially on Wednesday nights performance as I think this was the best performance out of all 3. All of them were good but I think this night seemed to flow the best. The only thing that didn't go to plan was during my scene with Electra my costume got caught on the box and someone in the audience laughed. Though luckily it wasn't all that bad as it only lasted for a second or two and we both covered it quite well.

As a chorus, all of us did brilliantly to deliver lines, a individual and quirky character as well as enhancing the performance with engaging movement. My aim was deliver my chorus character as a bit naughty and greedy, and my biggest aim was to put across a cheeky side of me to amuse the audience, which by the feedback I did achieve. Not only did I think the chorus worked well at their individual characters but I also think we worked nicely as a team and as a whole to create just the right timing in the scenes where we relied on each other to present a smoothly running scene. For example in what I would call 'the snake scene' where some of the chorus do movements to the lines 'clawing the walls of the bedchambers' we had to trust each other to then go on to do the next movement.

The acting style was achieved by everyone, as the modern concept of the journalists lightened the dark and sinister style of the Greek tragedy. Everyone presented their individual characters to their full potential and created a great atmosphere. I also think the performance of the actors was enhanced and worked extremely well with the music and sound effects.

I am quite pleased with how I have come along from the first rehearsal to the show as when I first started with my lines I was not projecting as much as I could have been, and during the show I projected, and this makes a huge difference to the quality of skill you are trying to present, and just gives the audience what they are expecting. Everyone projected well and delivered with a nice pace and I could tell that a few individuals worked really hard to try and improve their diction and pronunciation when they needed to.

Greek week 7

Monday we presented our presentations and dedicated the day to that and so we mainly focused on context work for that day, although we managed to run act one with Kirsty in movement development. In movement we ran act one to see what we needed to focus on, at this stage the whole act wasn't very smooth, but this was probably due to not everyone knowing lines, the fact that we were hesitant of what came next, and where we needed to be. Our biggest issue was the transitions, I felt like most of us, were not confident with the transitions and so in Kirsty's lesson we tried to smooth these out. I also managed to get some suggestions of the drum beat that I am in charge of during the closing scene of act one. I find this challenging because the pace of the way the chorus is moving differs for each person, and though it might sound like it makes sense for the chorus to follow the beat, it would be tricky for them too. I think I have decided to keep a steady beat of 1 for the first few members of the chorus, and then changing when the chorus' tempo goes. This looks good though as it up's the pace and gets the chorus' energy flowing more fluently. I am also going to drum in the chorus and drum them out during transitions, to smooth over any cluttering noises.

Things I need to focus on:
Learning my lines:
The show is less than a week away so I need to make sure I am comfortable with my lines.

Knowing what I am doing:
To be honest, I haven't been extremely confident with where I am, but I also feel I am not the only one. I have also got quite a lot to do in this show.

Putting in more time after school:
After Karen spoke to us on Monday, I realize that I need to put in more time after college in order to get the marks I want.

To ask if I don't understand something:
Sometimes I want to clarify things in order to make sure I understand them, although sometimes I'm afraid to ask because I don't want to sound stupid, and that can be extremely embarrassing!

On Wednesday, we focused on act 2, and I sang Hushabye Mountain for the first time. I didn't know the words but that is because I wasn't sure what song Karen wanted me to learn, as she had asked me to research some songs for my character, which I did and posted on my blog. I really like the song I get to sing, and I hope it will bring something special to the scene.

We finished act 2, and finally the show is coming together and starting to run smoothly. I worked on a chorus piece that I do with Yasmin, Alicia and Paige which is after the piece that we had choreographed ourselves with Reece as Orestes. We worked on the timing as Orestes shows the killing of Clytemnestra's lover.
Karen experimented with some music tracks, that really brought different energies to the scenes. I loved most of the music she played, as it brought some sort of desired tension, which completed the atmosphere that was needed. I particularly like the music she played for the very end, when it is an emotional scene and Joe (Orestes) jumps to his death with the baby in his hands.

This week was mainly about getting the show to a confident place, for example smoothing out transitions, getting people to know where they need to be and to get the right energies needed for there character. A way we did this 'new energy building' was by introducing a activity that Karen got us to do. This activity was running the play, but in a different style. For example when we ran the first act if she shouted 'Vampires' we would all have to play our character as a vampire. In act 2 when I had to sing my song, she shouted 'Musical Theatre' and suddenly I had a more vibrant, up beat energy and was using jazz hands. The activity was a lot of fun and really makes who look to see what different energies would work with your scene. I liked the 'New York Gangster' energy as it made me realize what would work between me and Joe when he is asking me for information.

My strengths this week:
I think I have been delivering my character the 'slave' really well this week.
I'm starting to believe in my ability, which is something I'm always told I need to do.

My weaknesses:
I hadn't learnt all of my lines.

What my aims are for next week:
-To have complete focus for the show
-To be fluent with my lines and with my song
-To know where I have to be to move set
-To know where my props are set
-To have costumes completed/sorted
-To give a great performance and enjoy it

Overall I have enjoyed working on the Greek Tragedy project, as it has taught me skills that I had not been able to grasp before. Though I am also looking forward to the next project, to see what I can gain from that.

Character Study

Character Study
Character: Slave
Character Name: Rozyuka
Character Age at time of play: 21
Played by: Charlie-Rose Lane

Picture represents slavery in Ancient Greece.


Character Name: In the play she is just known as the slave, this is because her importance to the Greek community isn't enough to call her by her real name. I decided I wanted my characters name to be called Rozyuka. The name 'Rozyuka' is polish, and I have found a couple of quotes from the internet that suggests it's meaning.

 'People with this name have a deep inner desire to use their abilities in leadership, and to have personal independence. They would rather focus on large, important issues, and delegate the details.' 


I quite like this one because when I read it, it really made me relate back to my characters 'inner animal' as all of the animals I chose could be seen to show independence, for example the dove; a bird and so from the very first moments it hatched it was already needed to be quite independent, though the independence of a bird comes quickly as soon as they spread there wings and leave the nest.

'People with this name tend to be passionate, compassionate, intuitive, romantic, and to have magnetic personalities. They are usually humanitarian, broadminded and generous, and tend to follow professions where they can serve humanity. Because they are so affectionate and giving, they may be imposed on. They are romantic and easily fall in love, but may be easily hurt and are sometimes quick-tempered.'

I love the fact that in this quote the name suggests passion and generosity, two traits I tried to deliver my character across with, however I didn't just decided on the name through her traits, because there is many more aspects to Rozyuka than there is in the quotes.

Family Life: Rozyuka has 2 children of her own, and raised 4 younger siblings due to her mothers poor health. Each child she adores lovingly. When a child got to 9 they were sent out to find work, as they struggled to find the money for food, and for rent. Rozyuka married on her 16th birthday after her father passed away, as her mother hoped this would bring wealth into the family. Rozyuka's husband was killed and Rozyuka went back to aid her mother and her younger siblings. After a war started between Poland and The Greeks Rozyuka was separated from her family and was brought over to Ancient Greece, were she was made a slave to Helen of Troy and Menelaos. She is now 21 years old, and therefore 5 years have passed, and she has been assigned to look after Hermione, a child that has brought light back into her heart since being separated from her own children.

Personality Description:

Rozyuka is strong, Perhaps not so much physically, but she is strong to her beliefs and to who she is. Rozyuka is generous and loving, she wants nothing more than to serve her gods to the best of her ability. She is devoted to her children and to God, though she hasn't seen her children since she was forced into slavery, she free's her soul with a gentle lullaby 'Hushabye Mountain'. We can see that she is warming to others who are warm to her throughout the beginning of the scene with her and Electra. Electra show's a side that maybe the audience nor the slave has seen before and Rozyuka being the kind woman she is starts to advise Electra. 'They make you serve and yet you do it gently, graciously- how do you do that?' When Electra says that line Rozyuka is a little hesitant on how to reply, as she is a slave she does not know the boundaries and rules when it comes to talking to a mistress except to be polite. However Rozyuka just says it how it is 'All of us are humble servants. Nothing more.' Rozyuka is humble, not only to herself but to her own country. Then Electra mentions her singing and Rozyuka replies of how 'I was taught to take my pain and make it a thing of beauty my song frees my soul. It takes me back to my country, to my family, to each child they made me leave behind.' A mothers separation from a child is something no mother or child should go through and yet this did happen. The slave is passionate and as said before devoted to God. 'Your Gods and my Gods, they are the same'. She knows who she worships, and that line also shows how she longs for equality.

Research into the character: I looked into quite a few aspects during research, some of which I embedded into my blogs. I looked at a number of songs/ lullaby, one of which I did sing 'Hushabye Mountain' This song was from 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang' the musical and is quite well known, though I thought it was gentle and very sweet and helped modernize the piece. I found another song called 'All the pretty horses' I liked this because it was known to be a song sung by African american slaves during the time where equality didn't include the colour of our skin. I looked at how the characters hair might look, and I looked at a number of Grecian styles and some polish styles too. Some were modern and some were more old fashioned. I had the idea of having a combined hairstyle to look more contemporary. I liked the idea of having a plait of some sort somewhere.

What happened to the character:
She was sent from Poland to Troy, during a war and was separated from her family, and each child that depended on her. Rozyuka had been sent on a ship to Troy, to work as a slave. Her only way out was through money, and so her plans are to stay humble and to earn enough money for her freedom. Rozyuka carries hope with her as she is unaware of the situation back in her country and if her family are still alive. She devotes herself to God, and to her work as those are the only aspects in her life she has left, yet she is thankful to God for her life. She was sent to Troy during the time of the Trojan war, and was founded by Menelaos and his army and brought back with him and Helen of Troy to serve them. She served the couple with grace and worked for  Rozyuka was their throughout the birth of the new baby and earned trust through Helen. Helen became to trust Rozyuka and warmed to her. Though she was not an easy woman to please, as long as you did what you were told you stayed alive. She was instantly assigned to look after the baby,  She was made to feed her and to bathe her and to do all the things she felt Helen was missing out on. Hermione was betrothed by her grandfather Tyndareus to Orestes her cousin. Rozyuka went everywhere with Helen, and nursed the baby everywhere they went. When Rozyuka stayed in the same palace as Orestes and Electra, she heard things that lead her to ask 'Is this a good country they have brought me to?'. Rozyuka hears things that she does not wish to hear but keeps herself to herself in order to keep her life.

Rozyuka sings a lot, and when Electra confronts her after serving her food and water, Rozyuka enters a conversation with Electra. Rozyuka is wary of Electra and does not trust her, though does show sympathy during some of the scene. Rozyuka is trusted by Electra as she is asked to go and find where her brother is, returning with the news, that he is coming and holds two knives in his hands. Rozyuka knows this must mean something suspicious and is urging to leave until confronted by Orestes. Orestes questions her which makes her feel uncomfortable and anxious but she stays calm and answers him politely and graciously. Rozyuka was threatened by knives whilst baby Hermione was taken from hr hands. She instantly went looking for help but was numb at the fact that the baby had been taken from her. The baby was taken by Orestes, and killed, as Rozyuka witnessed it, she fell to her knee's sobbing. Rozyuka, carried on being a slave for 17 years where she later died from disease.

Greek week 6

On Monday we looked at the final chorus scene we had yet to complete, but this time we were asked to use microphones, cameras, and smart phones for the modern touch. We came up the idea to use the microphones, so we decided on looking like some sort of press group all trying to record everything that was happening and everything that everyone was saying. We also used the idea of looking as if we were asking Connor (Orestes) questions about what was going on and so we all raised our hands, and acted excited and anxious for the best footage of the speech. On the lines 'clawing the walls' I thought it would be a good idea if the chorus all crawled towards the walls as if they were using all their strength and showing high outbursts of energy, and Kirsty came up with the idea of having the people behind us standing up, to pull us back by our legs. We would keep repeating this and it gave the scene a really good effect.

An exercise we were introduced to this week, was to help us get in touch with our characters inner animal. This was focusing on the characteristics of the animal and then personifying and sculpting them back into say for example my character 'the slave'. We had to choose three animals that we thought represented our characters the most. I chose:

A dove: I thought a dove would be a good one for the slave, as it represents freedom and peace, and these are two things that the slave is desperate for, as well as the elegance and grace of the dove, Electra describes how 'gracious and elegant' the slave is during their scene together.

A bee: I thought the bee is a working animal that is harmless unless threatened, and I thought this could show the strength within the slave as the slave is a working character, her job is to obey her master/mistress and work. The bee works to provide honey, but if threatened will let off a nasty thing, although if they sting they also die. I thought this could represent the fact that although the slave believes in who she is, and is proud of who she is, if she did not do what she was told or said something to defend herself, she could have her life ended with a snap of her mistresses fingers.

 A horse (mare): I thought of the mare, to show the protective side of the slave towards the baby, and to bring out her nurturing mothering instincts. The mare will protect the foal just like the slave protects and feeds the baby. The horse can also be quite and aggressive creature when threatened. I thought this also reminded me of the lullaby I found (all the pretty little horses) which is one of the songs I could sing.

 

On wednesday  'Slavery in Poland existed on the territory of Kingdom of Poland during the times of the Piast dynasty in the Middle Ages. It continued in various forms until late in the 14th century and was supplanted by the institution of serfdom, which has often been considered a form of modified slavery.'

'Polish literature refers to this group of people as "unfree people" (Polish: ludzie niewolni, Latin: servi, ancillae, familia) rather than as slaves.'

I like the fact of using the idea of 'unfree' people in some of my characters thoughts because, I feel as if its something that making light of what was a very serious situation. In the scene with my character and Electra, it is as if the slave is being kind towards Electra, and the slave also sings a lot, which could refer to joy, and so I think the idea of the words 'unfree people' could relate to something my character would agree to. My character is obedient but she also is strong minded, she believes in who she is but wouldn't say anything she wasn't supposed to. I think this is because she knows that if she says anything wrong, it could be the end of her, and she longs to see her children again one day. I also think the child she looks after takes her mind away from the negative side of her life, and seeing any baby brings joy to her. 

I like the idea of adding a sense of a polish accent to show her difference in cultures and understanding. She is not from Greece and therefore may not understand some of the violent plans being made around her. I think this is connected to the lines 'Is this a good country they have brought me too?'. By trying to speak properly but adding a polish sense, could show her trying to speak her best to try and fit in. She doesn't want to risk anything.

'Freedom is a personal. You may be an person with minimal ego and might not feel the impulse to defend when attempts are made to snatch away your freedom, but like all precious things one would realise the value of freedom only when it leaves you for good. When individual freedom gets breached and starts influencing the society also it sows the seeds for pushing society into political slavery.'

Most people associate slavery with chains and handcuffs, but in the play my character is never seen chained or treated badly. I think the worse my character has to put up with is Orestes asking me to leave in a stubborn way. 

We managed to go over the blocking we started on my scene with Electra, two weeks ago and develop it even more. Karen liked the idea of me having an accent, and thought of looking at maybe Polish. I think this would be a great idea of having a slight accent as it would give the audience more of a clue that I was the slave, but also me more to go by. The more material I have on my character the more I can experiment with my character. 

My strengths this week: I was able to really get to grips with my character the slave more, as well as my journalist character. 

My weaknesses: I need to learn my lines as soon as I can so I can improve even more.

My aims for next week: To be off book and to have a greater understanding of my character.


This is the nearest thing I could find to a polish lullaby..
Polish lullaby:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8Hr7uUZeq8

On Thursday we focused on act 2, and ran the first few scene we looked at during the begging of this unit, with Bradley, Imogen, Zac and Dan. We developed this scene by adding drumming to the scene, which is my job and I experimented with different paces, and number of beats during the scene. This created tension between the discussion and suspense between pauses engaging the audience and bringing more emotion to the scene. I feel like i am still part of the chorus though as well because the chorus and the drumming work well, as it is there signal for specific movements, for example when I beat five they all lean in towards Electra. I also managed to see where I come in to sing, and I appear quite a lot in small sections throughout act one. We have made it so I wheel on the mirror, as the slave to make the transition of this more hidden and smooth.

Greek week 5

Wednesday we started to run act 1, going over and smoothing out what needed to be developed and brushed up on. We started to Incorporated using newspaper in some of the scenes to create more of a journalistic image. I think this was a really good idea because it gives the scene a lot more flavor in the sense that everyone has something to work with, I feel it's easier to act with a prop to bring out my character. For example when we were asked just to walk around like journalists, we could just stop, notice a page or interesting headline, pick it up and start reading it, either on the spot or carrying on walking, this gave the piece more shape and became more engaging to the audience, but I also felt straight away that the chorus' energy level raised, because they had something to work with. We also developed this piece by adding in facial expressions, different dynamics, and type writing. We added the idea of writing up our stories, with all of the chorus being in rows, and using our stances (excited news) (thinking) (crafty look), these all helped create a great visual effect, and gave each chorus member great characteristics. We could use the newspaper to also hide our faces when we wanted to.

 On Wednesday night we watched a performance at Worthing college, called Medea. This was also a Greek tragedy and showed some good and bad qualities, that we could use or made me realize what maybe we shouldn't use. They have staged it different to ours in the sense that the chorus seemed to be split into three groups of social groups. I didn't like that idea as I prefer having one big chorus on stage at the same time, having the same aim and working together. On the other hand, I really enjoyed watching some of the movement they used, as well as the way they fitted music to the piece, it made the whole thing more creative and engaging.

Character research:
This week I have looked at some particular hairstyles that a slave, or Greek woman would wear.
Here are some examples I liked...

Though I really like these hairstyles, I may opt for having my hair down since I don't want to be too similar to everyone else. As for clothing, the Greek slave wore anything they could afford or were given and were all hand made, so it didn't necessarily mean white, brown or grey, sometimes they could colours like lilac, yellow or dusty pink. I like the idea of wearing either dusty pink, browns or lilac because I think they would be different to my journalist outfit (all black & white) and also give a colour balance to Electra who would wear a richer colour along with a crown.

This week we looked at the end chorus scene for the opening act. I was designated as the drummer again, so I was able to look from the front and help choreograph. I quite liked being able to see from the front because it gives me more ideas about where to go next or how to develop things more rather than actually trying to think of something on the spot. I helped by giving the usual tips for example I would say, make it bigger or try using it with a different aim for example instead or serious, be more patronizing. I also helped by saying things like change the pace, I would guide this by creating different beats on the drum so they could experiment with timing. I think it could still be developed by maybe having some repetition, to make to scene longer and more engaging. We could even use retro grade going back and repeating some of the lines in a creepy school girl way.

I feel I need to improve on learning my lines faster as the sooner I get off book the easier it will be to express emotion and experiment with movement. My strengths are listening and responding to feedback, I think I have been able to respond to the feedback given to me, especially in my blogs and improve on any details.
-I enjoyed working with the chorus this week and being able to put some points across that I feel would work.I didn't enjoy Wednesday morning, but it was partly because i was unprepared because i forgot my script, I didn't feel my best and because I was not here on Monday I felt i lacked confidence and it always takes away from my performance if i lack confidence.

Greek week 4

Research Findings:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWoPsyY8CZY-All the little horses-'A beautiful yet sad song in its original form.  Black slaves used to sing this to the children of their masters that they were forced to care for instead of caring for their own children.  There are only a couple of verses to the song, but it has been changed over the years as times have changed.  The line about “bees and butterflies pickin’ at its eyes” was changed to fluttering round his eyes.  The reference to “the poor things crying for her mammy” was changed to mama.' 
I think this song shows a significance in how it felt to be a slave, not only that it has relevance to slavery and is a modern version of the song, so could help with the contemporary theme of the play.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bn_PxlIXnB0-Didn't leave nobody but the baby
I like this song because when I listened to it, it made me picture the chorus being involved in the scene and it's a song that comes from a scene in a film which sort has that persuading feel to it.

We managed to final get on to blocking some of the scene I have with Electra and I really enjoyed doing it. I managed to put in a lot of input to how I imagine the slave to act and I thought by actually running the scene it is so much easier to become the character. The slave and Electra have a very different relationship in the play than any other relationship as even though the slave is almost worthless, there is a moment in which Electra sort of admires her feminine ways, for example she sings, and she is graceful towards children, that is how most woman were expected to act, and how a lot of people would expect Electra to act but she's more of a fiery character and so there is a moment when I think the slave feels a bit of sympathy and Electra likes the comfort of her singing.

Creative Ideas & Devising: I wanted to portray my character of the slave with not only the shy non important side, but I also wanted to put her across as the sort of person who will do anything for her family, a stronger side who believes in who she is as well as where she comes from and I feel like I want to cling on to the baby she is looking after because its the closest thing she has to her family which is back home where she comes from. I decided I liked the idea of showing this special bond, and to show that I am trying to experiment with how I use my eyes. I look lovingly at the child in my arms, but am wary of everything around me, I feel comfort by looking after the child. I especially show this when I say the line 'The Gods say it is the way to peace, to love what is not mine'. I love the child and I show this with my eyes, but she is indeed not mine. I contrast this look to the ways in which I look at Electra, and also to the audience in a different scene. I look at Electra with a number of different ways depending on the way I feel towards her. There are a few lines at the beginning in which I feel sympathy for her, not enough to want to comfort her, but just enough to feel 'maybe i should respect her', it's not that I didn't before but because I feel she only see's me in one way so I don't see her as a kind person, but then I had a glimpse of her for just a moment in the sense it actually makes me think 'what has she gone through to her to look so sad'. That soon goes when she starts going a bit crazy towards the child, and that's when my 'motherly instinct' takes place and I am immediately protective of the child. In the scene Elle and I have a moment of eye contact which looks really good because it's highlighting the fact that she is engaging with someone a lot lower status than herself, but also shows a great deeper meaning of my characters and Elle's characters personality, and how deep their emotions go.

Development: We developed the movements with Kirsty, where we finished the opening chorus scene, and managed to experiment with different struggling movements, we end on everyone collapsing over the bath which looks like a big pile of dead weight bodies which looks really effective and captures the scene. We continued developing act one and looked at ways in which we could develop our journalist characters personalities. We did this by examining the way we walk and picturing ourselves in a journalists  shoes. We walked around the space and were asked to think about, pace, posture, facial expression, focus, would I be day dreaming? Would I be completely focused? Would I be looking for something specific?. I walked quickly, to create a professional status, with my eyes focused on one spot as if I knew exactly what I wanted and I knew exactly how to get it. I walked with my shoulders back with a good posture and added a slight arm pose to show that sort of 'I know what i'm doing' gesture.

Strengths this week: I feel I have come up with some good feedback, particularly in my scene with Elle, and by watching the scene with Zac, Joe and Elle, as by watching from the front I was able to see it from a different point of view. A good piece of feedback was for Zac to take his time when saying his lines as his scene was quite a powerful moment and I wanted him to really take his time since I felt he should take control of the timing in that scene, because the focus of the audience was on him. I also helped with some suggestions in the scene with Elle and Joe, by putting across my opinion on what looked good and what could be changed.

Weakness' this week: I came in later on Monday as I had a problem with my ears, and I haven't been feeling very well recently, and I know I have to work harder next week to catch up.

Aims for next week: To catch up on what was missed and to experiment with different facial expressions during my journalist character.

Greek Week 3

On Monday the first task Karen asked us to do was draw pictures of 5 scenes that come to mind whilst she played some music, I drew;

• The killing at the beginning of the play
• The knife with blood dripping 
• I drew Orestes with the baby in his arms standing at the edge of the cliff
• I drew the grave 
• I drew the slave holding the baby 

Karen then shared some sad true stories all about killing for honor, that made me realize a lot of things, one is what it actually was, because i never really understood it. It is the act of homicide committed by a member of family or social group and this due to the belief of the perpetrators that the victim has brought dishonor or shame upon the family or community.

'Victims of honor killings are killed for reasons such as refusing to enter an arranged marriage, being in a relationship that is disapproved by their relatives, having sex outside marriage, becoming the victim of rape, having a poor academic standing, dressing in ways which are deemed inappropriate, or engaging in homosexual relations.'

This horrifying act happens within many cultures, and brought me to understand a deeper meaning of the play. I now understand some of the reasons between the killings that happen in the play, as a lot of violent happens. For example when Orestes jumps to his death with baby hermione in his arms, Electra and Orestes feel, because their father Agamemnon killed their little sister, in honor of Menelaous safe journey to troy, it is necessary and a sort of a feel of justice, which is also one of the stronger themes which comes across in the play.

Keeping to the theme of honor we were asked to do a number of activities in groups. One example of what we did was create tableaux that represented the end scene. I was with Shelby and Alicia, and we staged ourselves as if me and Shelby were both journalists, and were responding in a freeze frame in which showed the greed of journalism. I stood with a shocked expression but also I didn't look like I was going to stop Alicia 'playing Orestes' from falling to their death, I was more interested on the headline I was about to write. I think this activity brought some ideas about my chorus character, although I am also playing the slave I need to think about my chorus role to. So I feel after doing this I want my character to be greedy for the best story. I think my character in the chorus should be a non-sympathetic, patronizing and powerful character. One of the reasons I say the words 'powerful' is because I think the media has a very powerful role in today's society and can either bring you up or bring you down, and so I think when performing in the chorus I'm going to focus on these particular words to help get myself in role. The second reason I chose 'powerful' and the other words actually was because I think it's a strong contrast between what the 'slave's' characteristics are. The slave is more of a genuine, non powerful and innocent character, and so it shows a big difference between the two.

Creative ideas this week:
I came up with personal ideas for my role in the chorus, I want my chorus role to show a strong difference between my 'Slave' role. As above.

Development:
In movement with Kirsty, we, as a whole group developed more on the scene of Agamemnon death. We added levels and we also added contact with each other. I contributed to this piece by choreographing a paired move with Imogene. The movements represented Electra's description of Agamemnon death, and so the movements we created put emphasis on the words 'They netted him'. I still like the movements we were asked to choreograph on the lead up to this project, when we started looking at this piece of text in movement. We split off into groups and were given a piece of the text each and were asked to put moves with it. A particular line we got was 'twitching stopped and blood lapped the sides of the bath with a steady, slowing rhythm. My father.' We used a literal pulsing move like a heart pulsing whilst everyone bundle on each other, it sounds a bit hectic but it looked really effective, and the other creative move we did was by using the word 'lapped' and using repetition in our movements to enhance that word. In movement we also worked on travelling from each corner, and also devised a travelling routine that had the idea that it was a bit of a chase. These got me thinking of the idea of what different dynamics my chorus role could use in the performance, it got me thinking of the way I should walk, maybe with a little more pace, or maybe even a little skip in my step to show excitement of a new story.

Devising:
I mostly looked at chorus work, in particular a scene in which I am present with Paige, Alicia and Yasmin. This scene is where Orestes has just decided he must murder his mother Clytemnestra, and the chorus is playing around and teasing Orestes. We were sent to go and work on this scene and experiment with different ideas in mind. The first way we devised the piece was with the idea of being serious but we preferred the idea of patronizing, naughty, twisted little pixie girls who would giggle and cause a nuisance and act sweet and innocent in a way, but it gave the scene quite a entertaining thrill, as some of the feedback we got from presenting this was that it looked quite scary. I like the idea of making the audience a bit edgy and scared because it means we are getting a good response, and I personally want the audience to feel intimidated by these girls (journalists) and also (in the nicest way possible) I think it will give the play a good kind of tension. We also had the idea of using Orestes as a puppet, as if he is in a deep sleep and he is sleep walking, but we are controlling him. The idea is that we are twisting, and playing with his thoughts and emotions, we are edging him on to do it. I have the idea the chorus want him to do it to get yet another big headline.

In groups of about five, we were asked to look at yet another piece of text and add movement to it, as our aim was to make it physical. We had some difficulty with creating this scene at first as we were stuck on what to do, but we over came this by deciding to think of levels, dynamics, and the use of repetition. So we then decided to take a line each and perform in in how we feel it should be said, and once we decided on what we were going to do, we then managed to add layering, and so by breaking a piece of text up and doing little by little, it helps to actually create an engaging piece that works. We managed to show levels because the boys were standing behind me and Alicia which also showed status and, we finished by me and Alicia saying the last line together which created tension.

Research findings:
I looked at the documentary on the sdcstream, to get a bit more into the insight of the play. This made me realize how much politics went on in Ancient Greece, and the documentary also explained how much drama was connected to democracy. This helps me to understand how some characters lived by the rules of the God's and some lived by the law.

Further development and Aims: I hope to be able to start some of the slaves speech. I aim to start researching some lullabies or songs which are relevant to her character as she sings a few times throughout the play. I hope to be able to get more understanding of whats going around me in the chorus as well as being aware of my own character, for example to help other people by reviewing, and giving feedback to help improve. I hope to get this from others too.

Follow up to week 1 greek.

We did many workshops to follow up our devising into our Greek tragedy theme. The first thing we did was sat down and read through the script together taking it in turns to read different characters. At first I found the script hard to comprehend and it took me a while to understand it, but it got easier as we went along and did different activities.

To put on a show, first we needed to cast the characters. I personally didn't mind if I was just chorus but if i had to pick a certain character to play, I would have chosen the slave. As it happens I did get picked to be the slave. I am quite excited to start characterizing my character as I think she shows a bit of significance to the play as does everyone but to me I have a interest in the topic I can form her from (slavery). To get to the casting process though we needed to read through certain parts with certain people, I first read for the chorus with Charlotte and worked with Elle reading for Electra. We took certain parts of the script and devised small movements and dynamics to see what we liked and what we didn't like. I also read for the slave alongside Elle and Reece, and for Clytemnestra along side Reece.

We then did some workshops with Kirsty in movement by taking certain parts of the script and choreographing movements that we thought went well with particular words. We were split up into small groups and given a certain fragment of script to focus on.

Forced entertainment and Frantic Assembly

Forced Entertainment: 'Loaded with charm and integrity... At the sharp end of the nation's cultural self expression.' 

Forced entertainment was formed a good 10 years before Frantic assembly as Forced entertainment was formed in 1984 and Frantic Assembly was formed in 1994. Frantic Assembly was formed by their artistic director Scott Graham and helped by Steven Hoggett and Vicki Middleton.  They are both touring companies, but Forced Entertainment being based in Sheffield and performed or have been seen at various venues for example; Theaters, gallery installations, site-specific pieces, books, photographic collaborations, videos a mischievous guided bus tour. Frantic Assembly however have collaborated with some of today’s inspiring artists for example Abi Morgan, who is a British playwright and screenwriter known for her works for television, such as Sex Traffic and The Hour, and the films Brick Lane, The Iron Lady, and Shame. 

Below is Abi Morgan:

 Below a picture from a Frantic Assembly piece:

 Below a picture of a Forced Entertainment piece:

Some examples of work by Forced entertainment are:

The Thrill of it all

'It's bright under the lights, and hot, and frightening. Nine performers in grubby tuxedos and tarnished sequins play out a comical and disconcerting vaudeville to the strains of Japanese 
lounge music.' 'After the minimalism of Spectacular and the animated graphic novel of Void Story, internationally renowned innovators Forced Entertainment return with a large cast on a big stage, filled with ragged dances and distorted voices.' This particular piece of work shows some of Forced Entertainments style. For example in this piece they have incorporated music and voice into it, which is part of their style.

Void Story

'Void Story follows a beleaguered pair of protagonists on a rollercoaster ride through the decimated remains of contemporary culture.'

Spectacular

'Spectacular is about the now of the performance moment, the trembling edge of laughter, possibility and invention. It's about death and playing dead, about the strange contact between two performers on-stage and an audience caught between what they are watching and what they're being told.'

Some examples of work by Frantic Assembly are:

Stockholm: written by Bryony Lavery

After being successful, Sydney Theatre Company invited Frantic Assembly to remount their production of Stockholm with an Australian cast. The production then went on to tour to Brisbane and Parramatta.

‘ Originally produced by Frantic Assembly and the Drum Theatre, Plymouth.’

Underworld: written by Nicola McCartney

‘A ghost story for the 21st century with a breathtaking mix of touching realism and bruising physicality.’ ‘

 Underworld was an electrifying study into the realm of fear. When in shock, how do you make the distinction between the paranormal and paranoia? When four notions of truth collide, four women face the question, is someone messing with their heads or is something taking over their lives?’

Under world is an example of how Frantic Assembly uses their dynamics and how they use physical theatre into their pieces of work. Underworld is for a modern audience and uses dynamics like ‘Hard and fast’ to give it the atmosphere this ghostly tale needs.

Lovesong: written by Abi Morgan

‘Lovesong intertwines a couple in their 20s with the same man and woman a lifetime later. Their past and present selves collide in this haunting and beautiful tale of togetherness. All relationships have their ups and downs; the optimism of youth becomes the wisdom of experience.’

 Frantic assembly usually focus on contemporary themes for their stimulus when devising. This sort of theme would fit nicely with a more current audience, this is shown in a quote from their website  ‘The company attracts new and young audiences with work that reflects contemporary culture’. Whereas Forced assembly have no rules when devising and get their stimulus from many different things for example a fragment of text, a certain object, a piece of music, a certain costume or even a scene from a particular film. 'Loaded with charm and integrity... At the sharp end of the nation's cultural self expression.' this quote shows how the company's performance work is intelligent and relevant now and that its work reflects modern day society's culture in an expressive way which is thought provoking.

Both Frantic and Forced are funded by the Arts council England, especially Frantic Assembly as it is part of their national portfolio organisation. A quote from their website is ‘In the financial year 2012/13 we will receive £196,096 in funding from them, which represents just over 30% of the income needed to deliver our planned activities in theaters, found spaces, classrooms and community settings across the UK and beyond.’  This quote shows how they are always in need of rehearsal space, can’t continue without funding and how some of its funding comes from successful ticket sales. Forced Entertainment says ‘Income comes from touring activity, particularly internationally, performance fees and commissions from abroad’. 

Forced Entertainment record their rehearsals to keep track of progress and to see what works well and what doesn't. This shows commitment and passion to keep work as professional as they can. By recording their rehearsal they can decide what they like and what they don't like, and whatever that is they can either discard it or develop it to improve it.  Forced Entertainment also play games to either get the actors energy going or simply to get the minds thinking when coming up with a new and creative idea. An example of a game they play is Quizoola which consists of people asking and answering each others questions.

Greek tragedy week 2

On Monday we went straight back to working on our Greek project after a week off after half term. In the half term I managed to get some research done about some factors I can add to my character profile, and managed to finished my blog entries for our first project.

Monday:
-We looked at contextualizing contemporary
-Did vocal warm ups and work
-Played stuck in the mud
- Movement with Kirsty, we developed something which we started in the follow up to this project before half term.

Wednesday:
-Had Alex working with us in the morning
-Dynamics in the voice
-Looked at certain parts of the script as a group
-Brought in props
-Brought in a book
-Looked at different types of staging in which was new to me.
-Looked at key themes in the play
-Activity to show these themes

Thursday:
-Continued developing our play with Electra
-Showed Karen our work we did with Kirsty
-Choreography
-Watched a scene between Elle, Zac and Joe. (  this is the scene I come in later)




Creative Ideas:
The first idea I liked was the pose I created on Thursday. It was the my pose I did in the scene with Abi, where we were devising some chorus movement around her. I liked it because it showed how I was doing something different when Karen said to show how we are offering Electra more. I decided to move outwards to enhance to the audience instead of everyone going in to her.

The second creative idea I had this week was during movement with Kirsty and it was how I walked across in a certain way mirroring Reece. We were all asked to get in a sort of journalistic pose or show that we are taking notes on the incident happening with the murder in the bath, committed by Clytemnestra. I thought it would be a good idea to walk in front of the two lovers as me and Reece were the only ones that did this but it gave it a nice detail. Whilst we both walked in front of them we put a hand to our face to imply we were whispering about them.

There were a lot of creative moments this week coming from everyone.

Development:
We developed a chorus part, where we all witness Clytemnestra kill her husband (Electra's father). This was during movement with Kirsty. We started this the week before half term in the follow up to our Greek project. We added a journalistic pose or action (as described above) and we also got up to the point of witnessing the murder and all bunching together as a group and leaning over one another to watch the murder. I quite like this idea as it brings all the focus to the murder and higlights one of the key themes in the play (murder).


Devising: We started devising a scene where Electra is played by abi. In this scene we started working with the chorus and thinking about placement. We all start by walking into drum beats which I quite like because it brings a really nice idea of tension that fits brilliantly with the scene. We all end up round the bath as if it is representing a grave which will be used for more than one scene, with Joe lying as the body for a long time. The chorus is there in disguise as if we are pretending to pay our respects but really we are just nosy journalist looking for a new scoop and headline. I think now we are putting together the piece, Karen's journalist theme is really starting to look effective, and I can see every one is enjoying the characteristics of these roles.

Continuing research findings: 

I have found some interesting facts about slaves during the Grecian times. For example I found out that the majority of citizens in Athens owned at least one slave. In those times they considered slavery natural and necessary.

A quote from Wikipedia said '. Thucydides recalls that 7,000 inhabitants of Hyccara in Sicily were taken prisoner by Nicias and sold for 120 talents in the neighboring village of Catania. Likewise in 348 BC the population of Olynthus was reduced to slavery, as was that of Thebes in 335 BC by Alexander the Great and that of Mantineia by the Achaean League.' 
This could help me decided where my slave originated from and how/why she became to be a slave.


Input into the scene: I have put in some creative ideas for example the ideas I wrote about in my creative ideas section. Although I have also put in input to other group activities this week for example, on Wednesday we were asked to do an activity in groups of five or six, and asked to read out words with different dynamics. The dynamics we used were whispering and shouting, and putting different energies into different words leading to a different outcome every time. I quite liked the use of stamping whilst words were being said, I believed it to be dramatic and simply brilliant. So I thought of using this into our activity and it worked really well.

Strengths and weaknesses: I always find the week after half term hard to focus, on the other hand, I get more excited about doing it because I haven't been doing it for a week. I am really enjoying being in the chorus at the moment because I love the characteristics and energy of the journalists, I think they can be nosy annoying and full of energy and I just love playing out that energy. I think it is a strength when you are enjoying something as when you enjoy it, you seem to put more effort in to it and it looks believable in the scene.

A weakness this week is that the buses have been a little bit slow and I haven't been on time every day which lead to me missing the first few minutes of class. Another weakness this week was that I hadn't handed in an essay that I had done, but felt it wasn't at any standard to hand in. After talking to Karen I now understand that some work is better than no work.


Teamwork: Teamwork was used a lot for our activities and workshops during our lessons. We were put into groups a lot and were asked to experiment with certain types of staging, certain pieces from the script, to start thinking of devising a certain movement for a scene in our play, or to work together as chorus and to use each other to bring our characters alive. I like how we all feel comfortable with each other now, and this leads to better acting when it comes to working with each other.

Problems and solutions:
A problem this week was how I hadn't handed in my essay, though the solution was that Karen was kind enough to give me an extension, so I could improve on the things I wasn't comfortable with. Work is better than no work. Another problem was how the buses were being a pain this week, but a solution is how I am getting up earlier next week to get in on time.

New learning and self-reflection: This week I learnt about staging that I didn't have a clue about, I learnt some new names of different stagings, for example the thrust, the proscenium arch, the round, and the traverse. All in which we explored during some activities. I also learnt some more interesting things about others in voice this week with Karen for example of how some of us don't actually like our voices, or what techniques we can do to improve the things we dislike about them. I think I am quite nasally, but it could be due to the fact I had a clod this week, but Karen suggested a technique to help loosen the nasal cavity.

Aims for the week:
To try and hand work in on time.
If I have an idea put it across.
If i'm worried about something just talk to someone.
To be on time

Week One 'Greek Tragedy'

GREEK TRAGEDY!

This week we started workshops for our next piece of drama, which fits under the theme 'Greek tragedy'. First we were all asked to stand in our groups in which we thought we interrelated to. I thought I would be with Electra and Orestes 4 who I have a scene with, but I was quite rightly corrected in the sense that actually I was on my own. I was on my own for a number of reasons, but an example was that I was not a local I was from somewhere different. The play doesn't actually tell me where she is from but after research I have decided to work on the fact that she was found by Helen on her journey to Troy and was taken back with her to work for her. At least I will work with that for now. I will include this in my character profile project. We were then being put into groups that went together in the play. For example I was cast as the slave who looks after Helen's and Menelaos' baby, and so I was put with the people who were playing these parts as well as a chorus member (journalist). We were asked to put each other into statue like poses which we thought would represent our character.

My poses were a lot less status than most characters as I am playing someone with no importance to the time, and so I tried showing this with levels.

The first picture shows me looking down with little grace as I wanted to show how I was the slave and was below most of the characters. So I put my head down and seemed like I had no place and was not confident. My character is not confident in a way as she is far away from her home, and her family.

 The second pose shows a sense of curiosity. I wanted to try and show curiosity as my character seems to be un important but is always there and is always seeing things. So though she may not supposed to be curious or looking around. I think it shows how she see's everything goes on between the lines.

I thought this character would be made of tin, as it isn't a valuable or elegant metal but holds just the right strength a slave needs.

An interesting part of this first week that I enjoyed most was the activity we did with chairs called chair objectives. We were put into groups again which related to our characters. I was with Helen and Menelaos, and we got asked to do an interesting activity with the chairs that I had never done before. We were asked to think of a theme each. Mine was guidance, Helen's was Seduce and Menelaos' was deny. We did a routine which showed how Menelaos was going to take Helen back from troy to sentence her to her death, but couldn't go through with it as he fell in love with her again. We fitted the character of the slave into this movement by using the idea of guidance towards Helen as if I was advising her or sticking with her while she was trying to seduce Menelaos.

Here is a picture of what other peoples themes were:

We started to look at some movement within the chorus with Kirsty. We were put into groups and given some specific lines to look at (choreography wise). We also started looking at blocking a scene with Electra and Tyndareus who is the main journalist and so has the trust of the chorus who are (journalists). I play the chorus when I am not my given character as does everyone so we all got involved and put our points across. I didn't really give a lot across this time as I was quite interested with how others were explaining there own ideas. Karen said something that really got my attention when she said how 'If you sense it, do it, because that's what the audience wants you to do, but if you don't it will look forced'. I feel this little bit of advise might help a lot with the blocking of the script.

Blog Two additions

Blog Two additions:

Includes what I had specifically contributed to the work this week:

During this week the actual groups energy was becoming a little bit more positive and exciting as we were coming up with more unique and creative ideas, and also ideas to develop what we already had. Although I must be honest and was still a bit hesitant of putting ideas forward I contributed to the idea of the dream as I choreographed a smooth and mellow energy dance to a piece of music composed by Zac. This helped bring the dream theme to life as it was very angelic and peaceful to the audience and contrasted with some of the more serious but important scenes for example the puppets, which looked brilliant but the atmosphere was tense, though it was definitely supposed to be at this point. I also sparked some ideas towards the group like the use of 'bread' which I was inspired by from the painting, but that idea didn't really go anywhere, as we couldn't really come up with an idea to include this. I also contributed the idea of changing the name from Christina to Anna as I thought personally it should be different from the other group, but also Anna is her first name in real life, the painting was based on her middle name. 
Since I wasn't here when they first created 'The Puppet Scene' and 'The Chair Scene' I was always needed to check for timing, focus and facial expression. By making the same focus point for everyone in the chair scene it looked a lot better and effective in the scene it looked slick towards the audience. The timing had always been quite tricky in the chair scene so our idea was to put in a drum beat to keep it in time. This also helped develop the piece and so I did this until we thought it was slick enough. We were not going to actually put the drum in it was just to help get timing right but we did a team vote as some of us did not want the drum in although the majority of us did. I started with four beats to count in everyone. No one could see me so it was all about concentration from everyone, and we all needed to be aware in the final performance.

This was not only my idea, and I don't wan't to take all the credit, but I did contribute in developing someones original idea of using boxes, in the dance scene between Paige and Zac. We had the idea of banging on the boxes to create a tense atmosphere but also because it looked and sounded effective with four of us (Me, Charlotte, Abbi and Elle) doing it together  We experimented with different ideas for example, tapping, knocking, thumping. Each sounding a little different. The first sound we did was a banging sound which sounded like a heart beat and so added a lot of feeling to the piece. I certainly felt by hearing the heart beat like noise whilst watching the dance, it made me feel like it was my own heart, and so I thought this was a strong piece of drama to put across. The second noise had to go with the idea of dead weight which we used to represent with a more delayed bang, which could make you feel a bit sympathetic towards Anna. The last was more gentle and relaxed and so we used a small tapping of the fingers which gradually got faster and faster. We came to the decision to use these by trying out different methods and picking the ones we felt were more appropriate.

The picture below shows Reece and Joe during 'Duality' they mirror each other whilst one is good and one is evil. Anna is based in the middle and E and G are either side this show a  similarity to the picture below which shows an angel and a devil. It often shows right and wrong or like they are named 'Good' and 'Evil'. This seemed effective as they both have their own characters and I thought it would be good if everyone had their own characters so the following week we decided to make sure this was the case.