PERFORMANCE WORKSHOP (ISLANDS)

Caroline Horton's 'Islands', Bush Theatre Company

Today we worked on Islands by Caroline Horton. We had to perform a minute of our scenes to showcase to the class and take their feedback on board to help us produce our scenes.

This is our feedback:

- To push the archetypes and the characters.
- To focus more on the scene with the tax evasion with Luke as the Tax Collector.
- To maybe add a moment of song (which we decided to be MONEY MONEY MONEY BY ABBA)
- To have a think about costumes that fit the idea of an island.
- Beginning scene was confusing and didn't make much sense to the whole performance.

Taking this feedback on board, we scrapped the beginning scene and pushed the tax collection scene to the end of the performance and made this the main focus of the whole piece. This was done as we felt that the scene had much more potential than the others we created.

However, our rehearsal day didn't go to plan. We were constantly battling with half of our group being missing, meaning we were restricted as to what we could devise as the scene centres around Luke as the Tax Collector. And we were also finding the whole rehearsal process very  tedious and stressful.

By the end of the day we had created no more than half a minutes worth of performance with a creative block on how to move forward.

We did however agree on costume. I shall wear a Starbucks costume to push the physical comedy of the big businesses avoiding tax.

Storyboard

Later on in the day, Jamie and I created a ten step storyboard for  everyone to follow in our group, that way we all know what is going on. Other members of our group were dazed as to what came next after each transition and we needed them to be as on the ball as possible so we create this so that everyone was on the same page.

POLITICAL PROTESTS

Final Evaluation

In today's lunch break we performed our political protest on Aleppo's chemical warfare. Despite the wind and damp ground, everything seemed to go better than originally had hoped.

Originally we arranged to peg up some information to our wire line which stretched 20 meters over the basketball court. Unfortunately this idea had to be quickly scrapped as upon pinning the
information up, the pegs were not sufficiently strong enough to hold the sheets up in the strong winds. This left us on plan B. We had to say the information we had originally shown on paper. We decided to announce "chemical warfare!" at the start of each rotation of our piece. Also when people walked by we would say facts and warn them about the gas attacks. Overall, our set and props were effected quite drastically to what we had originally planned due to weather conditions, but we still managed to overcome this issue by adding verbally to our performance piece.

Protest group in costume

I think that our piece was very strong. I believe we managed to convey the effects of chemical attacks clearly to our audience, managing to capture the viewers attention long enough to get the full effects of our devised work. We had our worries that the audience would be left confused but thankfully they understood what we were doing. I even heard people starting conversations about what chemical warfare is, which is the hope of a protest; to start a debate and ask questions. I feel that our physical movements were fluid and transitioned seamlessly into our audience interaction sequence. In rehearsal we thought that it would look sloppy. Instead, we settled on using my whistle as a single to get back into our starting positions and begin our next scene rotation. This was effective as it allowed the audience to see two sides of our piece, and let them know that the next mini performance was about to start - making them want to stay and watch.

Another thing I felt was successful was our audience interaction. This was effective as we weren't too close to them that they began to feel like they were about to be scared, but close enough to feel safe enough to interact with us - which is just what they did. We taught people when and how to put on the face mask which was poignant as they seemed genuinely interested and also seemed to be very engrossed by how we were saying that the face masks can save a life.  We also managed to break the fourth wall effortlessly and in a way that didn't feel forced.

As for our performance, I felt that we were strong. Despite missing two members of our group, we managed to fill in their spots without the audience feeling like something was missing. My body movements were clear yet subtle, allowing a clear moment for the character. I found it challenging to continuously die... over... and over again, as after a while I started to slack a bit in the effort of my performance as I became exhausted from being flung around around. I did snap my self out of this though and tried to give my all into the rest of my scene. I also felt that I maintained my physicality throughout. It was hard to keep nimble and fluid as the cold started to make my muscles tense, however I combated this by ignoring the cold. A positive of using a large area was that we were able to utilise all of the space for our protest. This gave the sense of scale to the issue.

I felt that we could improve our vocal work. When interacting with the audience we were less vocally able, once again due to the cold.  We didn't have the articulation and diction nor the projection to carry our voices to audiences which at the other end of our site. I also felt we could've improved our focus as we slightly lost character when our friends tried to put us off. This was challenging as you could hear them laughing, but you had to totally block them out.

Overall, I felt our political protest was successful, sparking interesting conversations about the real loss of war and the use of harmful chemicals to kill innocent civilians.

POLITICAL SCENES

Bush Theatre performing 'Islands'

First Thoughts on the Scene:

The play that I was assigned to perform is called Islands, written by Caroline Horton. After having a group read through we all felt a little stressed as we all disliked the scene, and couldn't pin point any ideas on how to perform it. The scene using language that is created in a fantasy world - Shitworld.

We brainstormed ideas but couldn't settle on how to stage and perform it. We also didn't know how to cut the scene as the scene made no sense. We're all going to read the play to try and make some sense of whats going on as it's so barbaric.

The biggest theme in the play is tax evasion, and the greed of the wealthy who live luxurious lives whilst others suffer.  Caroline Horton is an Olivier Award winning playwright based in Birmingham. Her other plays include, You're Not Like Other Girls Chrissy and Mess.

"Islands is an ink black comedy about tax havens, enormous greed, and the few who have it all."  

- source: https://www.bushtheatre.co.uk/event/islands/

LESSON THREE

Using Our Body:

Today we looked at how we can use our bodies to create different objects in a scene. This is a very commonly used technique in Brechtian theatre. We learn how we can personify an object like a chair by how we portray it. For example, we can portray a chair as sad by the way the chair is slumped over. Another method of portraying the emotion of the object is facial expression - after all it is being made by people.

We also recreated the Caucasian Chalk Circle scene in which the Governess is ordering her servants to pack up her belongings. We created these scenes using Gestus. We got the characters to speak their mind to the audience, which is one of the ways Brecht portrays thoughts and emotions to his audiences.

Evaluation of Mother Courage performance:

We later looked at an extract of Mother Courage and Her Children, a play written by Brecht in 1939. In the scene, mother courage is standing over her daughters dead body sobbing. We were asked to present this scene using Brechtian techniques.

My group chose to represent the body by using a hoodie. This made the audience less sympathetic for the body, and more sympathetic towards mother courage. However, we later found out it wasn't exactly very easy to make it seem like something like a real person.

We also added a chorus to speak the thoughts of Mother Courage. This allowed for many different emotions and thoughts to be shown to the audience which wouldn't normally be shown. In the extract, Mother Courage pulls a wagon behind her. To create this I pushed myself up with only my hands and Sherene held onto my legs - almost in a reverse wheelbarrow. This gave the illusion of her pulling a heavy load behind her.

Overall, our performance was smooth and clean - utilising Brecht's techniques.

The script we used - annotated by Sherene

What Went Well:

• Choral speech worked well.
• Using my body to create a wagon.

Even Better If:

• If we used the songs in the scene in a song, rather than spoken word.
• We could of used placards to show that the hoodie represented a dead body.

Other Groups:

Eric's group managed to transition between character to character really effectively by rolling on top of each other, which made it seamless.


Brecht Techniques:

• Placards 
• Song
• Using people to play objects in the scene
• Breaking the fourth wall (Audience participation)
• Making use of character stereotypes

LESSON TWO
Bertolt Brecht

"ART IS NOT A MIRROR HELD UP TO REALITY BUT A HAMMER WITH WHICH TO SHAPE IT"

Bertolt Brecht was and still is today regarded as one of the most profound theatre practitioners. Drama schools all over the world study Brechts idea of 'Epic Theatre'. Brecht setup and organised a theatre group called The Berliner Ensemble. Brecht had a heavy influence from other intellectuals, which made him a subject of investigation by the United States government.

Brecht served as a medical orderly in the First World War and came away disgusted by what he experienced. Brecht had travelled to both Munich and Berlin to try and establish a career in theatre.

Germany was engulfed in war when Brecht fled to the United States as he didn't agree with Hitlers dictatorship. The Nazis eventually revoked his citizenship, leaving him stateless.

Brecht fled to America after the war, and because of Brechts superior intellect, many Americans after the war became suspicious of him. Suspecting that he was a Communist spy or a liar. However, Brecht was not  a communist, just merely a theatre play write.

Source: Rongart Youtube Channel

Brechts plays focus on political ideas and themes which cause the audience to leave the theatre asking questions rather than leaving feeling satisfied about the characters. It isn't about the characters. The actors are merely a way to convey the point. Brecht believed theatre should ask questions.

Some of Brechts notable work:

The Caucasian Chalk Circle, The Three-penny Opera, Mother Courage and Her Children.


Name: Eugen Bertolt Friedrich Brecht  

Born: 10th February 1898

Died: 14th August 1956 ( aged 58)

THERE IS ANOTHER PAGE ON MY BLOG 

(CLICK OLDER POSTS BELOW)

LESSON ONE

We were introduced to the world of political theatre today by discussing in groups of five the answer to the question posed by Sarah, 'what is theatre?'.

Here are some of my own notes on what theatre is:

• A medium of education.

• A form of expressionism.

• Theatre is  a tool that dissolves ignorance in the world and conveys truth and reality to a sometimes fake world. 

• A way of experiencing the abnormal.

• A way of uniting people across the world, of all races and nationalities.

• A stress relief that allows people to have emotional relief, or experience unusual emotions.

• A form of escapism.

• A tool that allows people to be in touch with their imaginations.

• A way of conveying honesty and truth.

Bertolt Brecht (1898-1956)

We also learnt about famous theatre practitioner and playwright, Bertolt Brecht. We learnt that Brecht likes to flip the reality of the world and create a style of theatre called Epic Theatre. This involves grand sets and a contrasting form of theatre to dramatic theatre. Brechts type of theatre goes against what we have learnt about Stanislavsky, as he preaches naturalism, whereas Brecht is more for caricatures.

Here is a list of the differences between Dramatic Theatre and Epic Theatre:

Source: Brecht, Bertolt, Willet, John. Brecht on Theatre. Methuen, 1982.

Protest Groups

Today we discussed in a group of five, issues that are important to us. This is for a political protest to take place during break time around the BRIT School site. It is is important for us to stress issues that are current and need highlighting now. Examples like the Black Lives Matter protests, police brutality, Syrian conflicts and the migrant crisis all came up and were all valid points. My group (Me, Phoebe, Sherene, Harmony, Leanne) decided to brain storm ideas.

Idea One: 

Chemical Weapons

We dress in grey jumpsuits, and cover our faces with either a surgical mask, gas mask or bandanna. We the play the sound of an air raid siren, and whilst that happen we frantically throw red paint (fake blood) at each other. We will have different placards scattered around of information for example, death toll and location. 

Source: The Gaurdian

Idea Two:

Aleppo Brutality

One of us is an officer and the others are civilians. The officer grabs hold of the civilians and lines them with their hands behind their head, kneeling against a wall. The officer then questions them about immature things, highlighting how they don't care about the people, just fighting.