It has to be said, this term has been tough; we have put on two major performances in a short term and devised most of the material ourselves- so what we have produced makes me very proud as both a performer and student. We struggled with the piece up until the very last minute (quite literally) and yet we pulled it off when it came down to it, producing a thought provoking political piece.
The Devising and Rehearsal Process
The piece was devised mainly by us; we reacted to stimulus and interpreted the message uniquely, creating a montage of pieces that tackled a variety of issues that all centred around the closing of libraries. I believe creating these pieces have taken our imagination on a straining and yet rewarding journey. Libraries are not necessarily something we, as young people, feel strongly about, due to the fact that we believe the service that a library provides, is easily consolidated onto a small screen instead of a cavern of books and maze of tables. However this very ideology is the reason why our piece is so important. We have the world at our fingertips, so ignore the community landmarks that are libraries- yet we are the lucky ones. People in our communities and neighbourhoods do not enjoy the same luxuries as us, but who cares, it doesn't effect us, so who cares, right? WRONG! As students and as simple compassionate human beings, it is our duty to have an understanding of those in society who are not as fortunate as us. For them, libraries are the only way of accessing the internet as we do from the comfort of our homes. If this resource is taken away from them they will be at a huge disadvantage which is not fair. Education and learning should be open to all regardless of social or economic situations. Our piece tackles the reality these people will face if libraries close. I believe the message I took from our piece when devising was how very lucky I am to have all the resources I need in my home and I cannot ignore others plight just because it doesn't directly affect me.
Devising pieces for our performance is most definitely what I enjoyed most about this process. I believe we all wanted to give and take something different from the performance; for me that was bringing the books that I have enjoyed all my life, to life for the audience. I enjoyed letting loose my creative writing instincts, writing monologues and snippets of text, taking inspiration from the books I read, the people around me and the activities that took place inside the classroom. I believe this forced to involve mentally and emotionally in the piece, making me feel more obliged to see the piece through because it was rooted in my work.
I believe the weakest part of our process, was our rehearsals etiquette. Our rehearsal process was a little shaky and could've been a lot better. Factors outside rehearsal can effect your work in class, but learning to be performers also means learning professionalism, learning to be calm, collected and focused in rehearsal. This is something I know we can all improve but nevertheless I believe our rehearsal process would have run smoother if we remained on it throughout.
The Show
The final show went better than I thought. Our rehearsal had made me slightly apprehensive about how well we were going to perform and yet with the new found pressurised energy the audience created, we all pulled together to make the performance a smooth transitioning, interesting political piece.
I believe the best scene as an ensemble was the Nazi book burning piece. First and foremost is was extremely aesthetically pleasing due to the use of the torches creating a scene of starlight. However when the audience realised it was a piece on book burning, the torches held a new significance of intensity and maliciousness. I think people react to something that activates more than one sense, which this scene definitely did. Being in the dark with only torch light, transported them to the streets of Germany. When we all shouted the chant I believe it hit harder as a group due to an increased intensity in volume and atmosphere. By doing so the message was pushed further, handing the audience the reigns, allowing them to interpret the message for the first time in the play. One word to sum this scene up- haunting.
My favourite piece to perform was the verbatim pieces in the booths especially as the character I was impersonating came to watch. I really enjoyed embracing the Brechtian style, taking someone who I know very well and making them excessive and exaggerated. This let me loose with my creative instincts, moulding someone into a style that was unnatural, a originally challenging concept, but one I learnt to have fun with. To watch the person you are playing observe your performance is a strange experience, but one I thoroughly enjoyed.
The weakness of the final performance, the one that had been haunting us throughout the rehearsals too, was line learning. Even in the final performance some peoples lines went wrong and prompts from other cast members were subtly needed. However due to the fact that others were able to prompt them in such a way that the audience hopefully didn't notice, meant the smooth transitions of the piece weren't interrupted. However as a note to take forward, line learning is a essential to the performance and should be solid way before the final performance.
In conclusion, this term has been draining, challenging and odd; and yet I loved it. I was able to express myself in a way that differed so much from last term. I feel I have learnt something out of my comfort zone, which is always rewarding when executed well.
Wednesday, 9 December 2015
Monday, 7 December 2015
Lesson 5
Today was some what our pre-dress rehearsal. We started piecing all of our pieces together and took our first steps towards blocking it in the library itself.
We started off by creating the opening to our show; we would all dress up and walk around the audience, greeting them as our favourite book characters. The first book character I thought of was the same as someone else's- Peter Pan, so we teamed up, with me becoming the Wendy to their Peter Pan. Although I do love Peter Pan, Wendy is a character that I also hold very dear to my heart. We had to come up with a short speech that would explain to the audience who they were, when I first read the story and by who and why I loved them. My piece was:
"My favourite character is Wendy Darling, She is the best storyteller ever to be, with her talents being recognised by Peter Pan himself. She was chosen to adventure to Neverland, but even with her childlike dreams, she always came home to her family. I was first read this story when I was 5, sitting on my mothers knee in our rocking chair. She would rock and forth, making me feel like I was flying over London or sailing on the high seas. The story stayed with me and perhaps part of me still believes that Peter Pan will come to my window to rescue me. Peter Pan and Wendy taught me that childhood dreams are beautiful and all I need is faith, trust and pixie dust."
I think this is an effective opening to our play as it immediately immerses the audience in the stories they know and love, hopefully sparking a connection with books they read as a child or throughout their life. If they can carry this spark through the performance, they will hopefully form a bond and connection with piece, delving into its deeper message.
Next we started piecing together the different sections of 'Spine.' We hold books around Edgar when he talks creating a shied of books and we sit behind Mani holding the books directly in the air, almost in a literary salute. Creating such strong images to coincide with these speeches make their words and message more powerful, intertwining the different uses of books also identified in the 'books can...' piece.
We then worked on Ernesto's piece on Nazi book burning. We decided to line up behind him, holding our torches which creates both a bonfire setting and a beautiful image of starlight, which looks eerie when compared to the topic of Ernesto's speech. When he talks about the student march and what they used to shout we all say:
"Against decadence and moral decay!
For breeding and convention in the family state!
I turn writings by Heinrich Mann, Eric Glaeser and Erich Kastner over to the fire!"
All of us shouting these statements at the same time will hopefully hit the audience harder with the message we are trying to convey. It will transport them to the bonfires, evoking the senses linked to the lighting and our speech for them to do so. This makes the section more poignant.
Blocking in the library gave us a good grounding and insight into how the performance was to run. I got to set up my grandma speech in one of the booths and found how I could make use of the space. My favourite discovery we had in the library was the idea of performing 'Spine' through the bookcases. I think it is interesting for the audience to watch and differentiates from the normal occurrences of a monologue. I think it emphasises that we want the books to speak louder than we ever could, something I believe to be a key theme in our piece.
The final thing we did in today's lesson was to block Malala's bus scene. We have set it up like a bus with all the girls sat on it. When the sound of gun fire is heard, we all in slow motion fall forward. Malala stands above the crowd and jerks as if she has been shot. All the girls on the bus move around her so we can in turn lift her above our heads, creating an angelic, emoting shot. As I have said, I believe immersing the audience is important if we want to portray our message on the power of books. Acting out such a brutal scene in such a delicate fashion, I believe, projects this power that Malala has constantly fought for.
We started off by creating the opening to our show; we would all dress up and walk around the audience, greeting them as our favourite book characters. The first book character I thought of was the same as someone else's- Peter Pan, so we teamed up, with me becoming the Wendy to their Peter Pan. Although I do love Peter Pan, Wendy is a character that I also hold very dear to my heart. We had to come up with a short speech that would explain to the audience who they were, when I first read the story and by who and why I loved them. My piece was:
"My favourite character is Wendy Darling, She is the best storyteller ever to be, with her talents being recognised by Peter Pan himself. She was chosen to adventure to Neverland, but even with her childlike dreams, she always came home to her family. I was first read this story when I was 5, sitting on my mothers knee in our rocking chair. She would rock and forth, making me feel like I was flying over London or sailing on the high seas. The story stayed with me and perhaps part of me still believes that Peter Pan will come to my window to rescue me. Peter Pan and Wendy taught me that childhood dreams are beautiful and all I need is faith, trust and pixie dust."
I think this is an effective opening to our play as it immediately immerses the audience in the stories they know and love, hopefully sparking a connection with books they read as a child or throughout their life. If they can carry this spark through the performance, they will hopefully form a bond and connection with piece, delving into its deeper message.
Next we started piecing together the different sections of 'Spine.' We hold books around Edgar when he talks creating a shied of books and we sit behind Mani holding the books directly in the air, almost in a literary salute. Creating such strong images to coincide with these speeches make their words and message more powerful, intertwining the different uses of books also identified in the 'books can...' piece.
We then worked on Ernesto's piece on Nazi book burning. We decided to line up behind him, holding our torches which creates both a bonfire setting and a beautiful image of starlight, which looks eerie when compared to the topic of Ernesto's speech. When he talks about the student march and what they used to shout we all say:
"Against decadence and moral decay!
For breeding and convention in the family state!
I turn writings by Heinrich Mann, Eric Glaeser and Erich Kastner over to the fire!"
All of us shouting these statements at the same time will hopefully hit the audience harder with the message we are trying to convey. It will transport them to the bonfires, evoking the senses linked to the lighting and our speech for them to do so. This makes the section more poignant.
Blocking in the library gave us a good grounding and insight into how the performance was to run. I got to set up my grandma speech in one of the booths and found how I could make use of the space. My favourite discovery we had in the library was the idea of performing 'Spine' through the bookcases. I think it is interesting for the audience to watch and differentiates from the normal occurrences of a monologue. I think it emphasises that we want the books to speak louder than we ever could, something I believe to be a key theme in our piece.
The final thing we did in today's lesson was to block Malala's bus scene. We have set it up like a bus with all the girls sat on it. When the sound of gun fire is heard, we all in slow motion fall forward. Malala stands above the crowd and jerks as if she has been shot. All the girls on the bus move around her so we can in turn lift her above our heads, creating an angelic, emoting shot. As I have said, I believe immersing the audience is important if we want to portray our message on the power of books. Acting out such a brutal scene in such a delicate fashion, I believe, projects this power that Malala has constantly fought for.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)