Week 5: N2C

N2C

This week, me and Lindsay discussed how Mouse, my character, reacts to the other characters up and down the hierarchical system. We said that she treats everybody the same but she gets along with people who are nearer to her own level such as Fish and Mags.

She understands that there is a hierarchical system and she knows where her place is but me and Lindsay were both saying that she doesn't care about her place or where anybody else is. She treats everyone with respect but finds it easier to interact with people who are also plankton like her.

When she talks to King instead of raising to his level, she brings him down especially in the quiz scene when they are battling it out to see who has the better knowledge of films. King is the one who cracks under the pressure which the audience see as confusing as King is the one who controls everyone and the one who produces all of these films and he is the one who can't handle the expectations that have been placed on him. Mouse is the one who controls the situation and remains calm all the way through without cracking under the pressure.

We also talked about how she responds to the idea of being hit, which, to all the other Plankton, is the worst idea that there could be but to Mouse, when Elton and Spike are delaying the punch she actually asked them to hurry up and hit her. I think Mouse is very strong in her opinions and she strongly opposes the idea of the different levels and she believes that everyone should be treated the same which reflects the way she speaks to people.  

Week 5: Classwork

Wednesday

Wednesday was our only lesson this week and we started off with a warm-up as we were told that we were doing physical theatre. We warm-up our shoulders, backs and legs before we started walking around the space. As we increased the pace up to a fast sprint, we had to be aware of the empty spaces that were around the space but we had to be constantly assessing where people were so that we didn't bump into them. I found this slightly challenging as I had to both assess where the gaps were but also the others in the space and seeing where they were also going.

The first exercise that we started with was to make ourselves as small as possible on the floor so I went into a fetus position and made my whole body, including my hands and feet, as small as possible and then we had to extend all of our limbs to a point that they couldn't reach any further. This meant that this wide open position juxtaposed with the small tiny position that we had done previously. We were asked to loop the two movements and try and extend it to a standing position. To adapt my movement I decided to be small close to the floor and then when I extended out, I stood up and was in my extended position stood up. Also we had to add an element of movement to the loop and so when we were stretched out I decided to step my foot out and then when i went small again I joined my feet so that I was moving around the stage step by step as I was getting smaller and bigger.

We then experimented with some ensemble pieces with the whole class so we were in a circle and we followed Chipp's movement. We were simply just stepping in and out of the circle whilst staying in time with each other and replicating Chipp's movement. We began to harden the movement so that we made a sound on the floor and began to quicken our breathing so that the stamping and harsh breaths created a tense atmosphere and then we began to soften the movement so that you couldn't hear the footsteps or the breathing so it became silent. If this was choreographed into a performance I think that it would be very effective towards the audience as the atmosphere was contrasting all the time and switching between calm and then tense.

Stage combat was what we moved on to next. We first learnt the basic punches, slaps and blocks. I learnt that when you punch someone (in stage combat) you have to slap your shoulder so that it makes the sound like your punching someone. Also the reaction is what makes it believable so the more you react to the punch or slap the more the audience will believe that you have actually been hit.

We created a piece of movement that showed a choreographed routine of punches, slaps and blocks in different speeds. The faster you went the more out of control it became and made it look more like a frenzy just like the fight between Antigone's brothers was. They fought to the death and as Creon says there was nothing left of either of the brothers and we wanted to bring that across in our movement.

https://youtu.be/U7NDdARYJPw

This quick frenzied movement reflected a German choreographer called Pina Bausch, who has created many different lyrical and modern dances that reflected a story and or included the contrasting atmosphere by speeding up the movements and the breathing of the actors involved.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZd2SkydIXA

Week 4:Classwork

Monday

After exploring the basics of Antigone last week, we were given 25 minutes to create a piece of movement that showed the whole story and also include some of the main events.

To start, our group decided to figure out which events we wanted to shown in the movement. We picked events that we thought changed the atmosphere of the play and also changed the way that we looked at certain characters because of their actions at that time.

We decided to include:

• The actors preparing for the play
• Antigone being introduced
• The war/fight that was going on between Eteocles and Polyneices (Antigone's brothers)
• Their death
• The introduction of Creon
• The contrast of Creon's response to the two brother's death
• Antigone's actions towards Polyneices (who's body is left unburied)
•  Antigone's death

Video of our outcome

https://youtu.be/YJ3cFYXjar0

We wanted to show the difference between the actors preparing and them in character so we decided that when the brothers were introduced Caitlin would "these are her....my brothers" to symbolize that she is still getting into character and hasn't fully immersed herself into becoming Antigone. This reflects the elements of Metatheatre which is where the actors address the audience either directly or through monologues or soliloquies. 

We tried to use to as many different levels as possible and also the transitions between the levels, helped juxtapose the status of certain characters. For example; Holly, who was playing Creon, raised her status when she got into character to show that she had a completely different status to when she was an actor preparing.

The use of the sticks, also symbolized that most of the characters in the play used each other to raise their own status whereas Antigone was the one being used which made her status downgrade even more.

Wednesday

Googles definition of tragedy

"tragedy

ˈtradʒɪdi/

noun

1. 1.

   an event causing great suffering, destruction, and distress, such as a serious accident, crime, or natural catastrophe.
2. 2.

   a play dealing with tragic events and having an unhappy ending, especially one concerning the downfall of the main character."

My definition of tragedy

Normally involving a tragic hero, an event that causes them to drastically change their perspective, feelings or approach to a place, view or person that has an event on those around them and changes their lives forever. In most tragedies, there is death involved, either to the tragic hero or some close to them.

Antigone is a tragic play because it has a main event that affects the tragic hero, which is Antigone, and has serious consequences for her and the society that she leaves behind.

To begin the lesson we were asked to think about what a Machine of Tragedy might be and how it would link with Antigone. We discussed that it would be triggered by the death of Eteocles and Polyneices because that is the event that causes Antigone to ignore the expectations that are set for her. It would involve everyone that surrounded Antigone and wouldn't be able to stop on its warpath once it had begun and everyone would be engulfed by it.

The first exercise that we did was to think of a profession and an action that would go with it. I chose to do a teacher and so I imitated marking someone's work and then turning the page and looping it. This began quite small but then we made it bigger, so big that it just became a movement that couldn't be linked back to the profession. The actions became bigger and more fluid to express the size and also i started involving more of my body. For example, when I was turning the page it became my arm sweeping for right to left in an arc over my head.

We were then asked to stand in a circle and watch multiple people's movement at separate time and with each one learn it and then make it our own by making the movement bigger and unrecognizable.

Next we got into partners and had to do our separate movements but moving closer and closer to one another and carry on moving close to each other so that we were as close as possible whilst still being able to do our movements. We weren't allowed to talk about what we were going before hand or during the movement we just had to read each other and fit our movements around each other. I think me and my partner were quite comfortable with what we were doing and the fact that both of our movement's had things to the side meant that we could both lean the same way or different ways which began to create a story without us having to discuss it. Adding eye contact to the movement added to the story that was beginning to form because at some points we looked at each other at the same time and reacted but at other times we looked at each other without meeting eyes which created an atmosphere around us.

We were put into groups of  four to add all of our movements together. We first looked at the position of everybody's movement to see what staging we could use and how we could integrate levels into the piece. Kieran's movement was quite forceful so we decided that it should be seen by the audience so he laid down and did his axe movement towards the front to emphasis it. We were asked to make the movement like a series that this characters had to participate in and they were obliged to carry on. We had to make one of the characters want to leave this system and one character want them to stay because if they left their greatest fear would be inflicted upon them.

We were given a knife to involve into the movement and were asked that if we were to get cut by the knife we should react to it. We thought that because I was the character that wanted to leave, everybody was going to cut me so that it would symbolize their reaction to me leaving.

End Product

https://youtu.be/5Hgp5gSL3-Y

I think that our movement linked with Antigone because Antigone's life was like a looping system that she couldn't get out of but then she was the one that wanted to break that and escape from it. Creon was the one that wanted her to remain in the system because when he found her trying to bury her brother he gave her a chance to explain herself whereas he said that he would kill anyone on site if he found them.

Week 3: N2C

N2C

This week in N2C, my director, Lindsay, gave us our scripts and parts. I found out that my character is called Mouse and she starts off at the bottom of the societal system but then works her way to near the top by the end. 

Also we were told that we would be working in the style of  John Godber, which I have previously worked in and enjoyed very much. Godber works with over-exaggerated stereotypes to produce a funny play but one that also has a serious element behind it. Along with the stereotypes, some of Godber's themes are; titling the scenes, unison movement, quick transitions and fast pace. 

My first impressions of my character is that she speaks her mind and doesn't care what people think. Also compared to the other characters, she seems to not mind where she is on the system and she treats everyone equally. 

We went through the first page of the script which was all about Dillion, who is kind of the narrator of the play, introduces the three different stages of the societal system. " There's Plankton... that's like the lowest of the low. Don't know shit. Then there's Dudes, they're, you know, cool. But they don't know movies. And the top of the food chain, there's the Buffs." 

Knowing that Godber uses unison movements to show a stereotype, we decided to try and think of synchronized movements that could represent each stage of the food chain. We decided that we wanted to use the proxemics of the space to our advantage and correspond the level of the food chain with the height of the character.

My character, as a plankton, feel the floor completely face down, quite close to the audience. I think that we used the proxemics well as we filled the whole of the stage and we also used dynamics to represent the different stages.

Here's a video of what we came up with.

I feel like the synchronicity worked very well and fit the Godber style perfectly. Also the levels corresponded with the level that the characters were on so the Plankton were the lowest, Dudes in the middle and Buffs at the top. One way that I would improve it would be that the actions that each stage did was made bigger so that it reflected the Godber style even more.

Week 3: Classwork

Monday

In Monday's class we started off with an exercise that caused us to be attracted to one person, avoid another and regonise that their was someone following us. This allowed us to be aware of everybody in the room and also zone in on 3 people specifically.

We were then told that this was one of Stanislavski's concepts known as motives. An actor needs to search for the character's inner motives to justify their actions and find the characters seek to achieve in the end.

We were asked to create a situation where 3 people with these motives were in a room together and we had to react how we thought we should. My character was the one who acknowledged that their was someone following them so as i was at the front of the stage and Jenna's character came up to me, I responded as frightened but civil. I think that during out piece we could have used speech to accentuate the awkward atmosphere that there was so that even the audience felt awkward watching it.

Once the whole group had formed a circle, we then had to come up with a piece of fluid movement that explored what the person to your left was wearing. The moves were first realistic and you could definatly see what was being shown but as the individual movements became one fluid piece then the meaning of it became unclear. This meant that to anyone watching the movement, they were open to interpretate it in their own way.

When each person had their own movement we explored the different ways you could use the movement to show emotion. For example, we experimented with the size of the movements so some parts could be small and others bigger to accentuate that emotion.

Adding this movement into the scene we had already come up with was the hardest part for me. Due to the fact that every action that you had done previously had to be replaced with a part of your movement and it was hard for me to think of ways that we could do this. One of the moves that i had to replace with a part of my movement was placing a cup of tea on the table. The part of my movement that I decided would be best for this was when I ran my hand down my leg. Originally this was to show the leggings that my person had been wearing but now, using it in a minimal way, allowed me to look uncomfortable whilst placing the cup of tea down which showed the connection between my character and Hannah's.

This links to Frantic Assembly which is a global theatre company that uses movement to portray stories and emotion. The major thing with Frantic Assembly is that they use movement that you wouldn't normally associate with that emotion which allows to audience to interpretate it in their own way just like we did with our movement. I enjoy Frantic Assembly's work as its completely abstract and open to what you want to think. The amazing thing is that if you were sat in an audience, the person next to you could have a completely different interpretation to you.

Wednesday

During Wednesday's lesson, we explored another one of Stanislavski's concepts known as emotional memory. This causes the actor to feel a overwhelming emotion and then when it comes to their character needing to feel that same emotion they can remember exactly how they felt. 

We started by completely relaxing and focusing souly on our breathing. This allowed us to be completely isolated and think about only ourselves at this point. We were then asked to think of a memory that we associated with a strong emotion and my memory was recently, which meant that I could remember everything that was said and done around that memory, and it was really upsetting for me so my whole body was consumed with sadness which caused me to start crying. Being asked to replay the memory over and over again with us trying to remember it in as much detail as possible made me fully focus on myself.

I think that the lighting and music that was being used also added to my emotions. The lighting that was used was quite dark and if there was any colour that was used it was blues which added to the relaxation but also to my feelings. The fact that I couldn't really see anybody else in the room made me try and concentrate on how everyone else was feeling to try and connect with them and make them feel like they weren't alone. The music that was being played was quite slow and quiet but then in certain points it build up which corresponded with my emotions as my emotions were up and down constantly.

We were asked to "write" down what we were feeling and what we would say to the people in the situation. At this point I was aware of the people around me and i could feel the emotions of everybody else in the space which caused my emotions to be heightened even more. 

Next we were told that when Chipp tapped our feet or shoulder we would walk into the spotlight that there was in the middle of the floor and stand until someone came up to us. No matter what the other person did or said we would have to react as we could. Once I was in the spotlight, Kieran came up to me and stood directly in front of me and stared at me for a while which made me feel like he was penalizing me because I was crying. He then reached for my letter and so I gave it to him. He read it and tore it in half which made me fall apart inside and I was screaming at myself to do something about it but I think that I was too shocked and upset by his small action that all I could do was go back to my space and sit down.

Our next objective was too find people without opening our eyes and stay as low to the ground as possible. I found Sarah first as we both reached out for each other and I then felt that Sarah was already holding on to some people so I took comfort in the fact that I wasn't on my own anymore.

Once we had all calmed down we were introduced to a sweet box in a spotlight. We discussed the play Antigone, the script that we are going to be exploring, and how it linked to the box. We were told that Antigone's brothers are fighting against each other throughout the play and eventually they battle and both die. One brother is given a proper burial and is given a good send off to the afterlife whereas the other is left to rot in the mud. Antigone can't stand to leave her brother like this and so sets out to give him a real funeral. She is caught half way through and is told she will be punished by Creon, the king.

We were asked to form a circle around the box and try and get into the character of Antigone and really understand what she would have been feeling if she was told that both her brothers ashes were placed inside this box. 

I thought about how she would have been going through all the conversations that she would have had with both of them and remembering their childhood memories when they were all innocent and didn't have anything against each other.

Chipp then walked out of the room to prepare to re-enter as Creon. We were asked to react as Antigone would in this situation.

He entered with an axe which initially scared me as he had changed his whole body language and he has a aura around him that caused me (as Antigone) to fear him and become afraid of what he could do with the axe. He then begin to chop the box with the axe and many people began to react to this but I felt that Antigone, even though she is quite a strong character, has to have a breaking point and I though with her wanting her brothers to move on to the afterlife she would have snapped and completely broke down, which is what I proceeded to do.

The picture above was the aftermath of the lesson.

Week 2

Monday

During our lesson, we were given the script of the play Antigone, originally written by Sophocles but we read the adaptation by the French dramatist, Jean Anouilh.

We were given the script and separated into groups to read through the first page of the script and talk to each other about our opinions of the opening page and how the characters are introduced.

The characters that are highlighted are the ones that we wanted to focus on and tried to make the actors look like they were preparing to become these characters by doing actions like adjusting their body language to show where their character was on the social hierarchy. For example, Creon who was being played by Alexis at the back corner was adjusting to where she needed to stand and also when Creon was mentioned she immediately snapped into her character and changed her facial expression so that the audience clearly saw that she had changed into Creon.

My group discussed the fact that it was like a group of actors were on stage and one person was introducing them all and explaining which character/s that they would play. We initially thought that this would confuse the audience as they would already expect the actors to have a character before they even entered the stage but having the narrator telling them who each actor is going to play sends their minds into a questioning state. 

The narrator also foreshadowing that Antigone is going to die creates an intriguing and mysterious atmosphere that the audience is drawn to, so they can find out how this innocent girl is killed and why. The narrator introduces Antigone and Creon in the section that we selected, we chose to introduce two characters to the audience so that they could see the difference between the actor and when that actor got into character.

We were then asked to create a piece of movement showing a group of actor getting ready for this play and the introduction of Antigone and Creon.

Before we started creating the sequence, we decided to read a little further on, to see when the other characters were introduced and to also find out a little bit more about the other characters so that the actors that were preparing to be them could stand or sit in a particular way that looked as though they were getting prepared. 

We were then asked to add a extra part to the movement; a sort of ritual movement that would make the audience feel more uncomfortable and intrigue them into the play.

https://youtu.be/MGNVe60wnmY

 As you can see, in our movement we decided that the actors who are playing characters such as Creon and Haemon, who are father and son, should walk in together and foreshadow that they have a connection and also Haemon and Antigone, who are fiances, should also show their connection through the preparation of the actors.

We wanted to use the proxemics to our advantage so that the audience would have lots of different places to look and wouldn't have to focus on one actor until they were introduced. We positioned Shanice, who was playing Antigone, towards the front and center of the stage so that people would get the impression that she was the main character but then as other actors started entering the audience's attention would be diverted elsewhere.

In our ritual sequence at the end, we want the narrator to look like she was in charge of the whole situation, with her deciding who's character should be introduced first and commanding how the characters would act. We thought that if the narrator clicked it would show that she has control over the situation and hopefully it would look mysterious to the audience and look as though all of the actors were under a spell.

If I were to suggest an improvement for our sequence, I would make sure that the breathing was all at the same time and also we could have used the breathing a lot more and accentuated it so that it gave a more creepy atmosphere which would add to the confusion of the audience. Also we could have used a lot more levels, for example in the ritual sequence when me and Shanice turned we could have gone onto our knees so that the audience could have seen Alexis and Charlotte at the back.