Over the past four weeks we have been rehearsing for our final project 'Blackout' by Davey Anderson. As the script is not allocated specific characters or lines, we have had to identify which of us would re-enact James' thoughts and express them through a number of different scenes and sequences.
We first started off by reading through the script as a group and taking on a scene each to gather the concept and gain ideas of how we would like to portray the story. We then chose one person to be James in each scene and have the rest of the group either narrating, being his friends, being bullies or being his mother. This worked well as everyone had to contribute to most scenes apart from two scenes which were James on his own, reflecting on his actions and thoughts.
During rehearsals, we ran through each scene briefly and then worked in more detail during the second half or rehearsals. This was a useful tool as we got used to the script and structure and we were able to perform in depth with more emotion afterwards.
I found learning the lines for my part easier as I used imagery and my own memories and experiences of high school to feel the inner monologue which helped me to express myself more naturally.
We all found difficulty during scenes with just James as we wanted everyone to be involved equally, however we used our initiative and made sure everyone had a role and contributed their ideas. I expressed that we should all walk in through down stage, one by one, whilst questioning if James was okay which was effective as it emphasised our worry towards him and how distressed he was.
Before my scene, I also did an improvisation with the characters who would be on stage with me which helped set the emotion and physicality of the characters and engage with each other truthfully.
Wednesday, 21 June 2017
Performance Evaluation
We performed the play 'Blackout' and I found this as a very positive experience. We all warmed up before hand by participating in a number of vocal warm ups and tongue twisters. To encourage flexibility and fluid movement we also walked around the room in different speeds to relax and feel more at ease which helped to put on the best performance possible. Our projection and vocal volume filled the whole room as we did breathing techniques from the diaphragm and tongue twisters which allowed us to confidently and clearly project our lines.
We used the whole stage space effectively by placing the characters strategically to attract the audience's attention and emphasise certain scenes which had more importance. For example, there was a scene of James on his own reflecting on his actions, with no props and he was sat in the centre of stage. This worked positively as there was no distractions on external factors and helped the audience follow James' thought process and reflections.
To portray the scene of James explaining his dark school days, where he experienced bullying, we used two characters to narrate James' thoughts and another to enact his school life. This gave the audience a visual experience of the memory and verbal to compliment this and explain the scene.
Furthermore, when I had to enter the stage as the Jail officer I kept my head held high and walked with my hands behind my back and looked down at James to show the power difference between us two. This worked well as it gave James the platform to plead and beg to me to show him his file from the arrest which helped the audience understand that he was not aware of his actions and how his anger took over him.
To portray my objective in the scene where James is having a melt down, I used a worried high pitch tone to emphasise my worry and fear over his actions as James was punching and kicking everywhere around him. This showed that others around James feared for his mental well being as well as there own safety around him.
The use of a wooden stool for James as a prop helped to differentiate the levels between the characters and highlighted how unstable James could be which is why the stool was necessary. By having a crowd of people surrounding James, emphasised that he had people around him but was inevitably alone mentally. We used red lighting during the scenes where James felt stronger emotions such as anger and a sense of being out of control and this connotes danger and a warning signal. We used blue lighting during more of the reflective scenes to express his emotions and thought trains. This helped the audience to differentiate the scenes which were more physical to the more verbal ones.
We used the Uta Hagen technique by acting truthfully to create life like characters through our thoughts and feelings which achieved a more realistic performance. To do this, I wrote down an in-depth list of my characters traits such as I played three different roles during the play so this helped me to connect from one role to the next. I also wrote down the intention and objective of each of the different characters I was playing such as the Jail officer, James's alleged friend and a friend who was worried about James. This set the tone for each scene that I performed in and helped me to be aware of what I wanted to achieve in each scene. Moreover, I used a Stanislavski technique I learnt during lessons which was the 'Magic If' and I asked myself "What would I do if I was in this situation?" This helped me to explore my own natural responses to the events in the play.
Overall, I feel the performance went well and I received positive feed back such as engaging well in each scene, using the correct amount of emotion and energy for different characters and good use of projection in the stage space. In my next project, I would like to work on expressing more ideas during rehearsals and work on doing more character improvisations to feel even more relaxed and natural in the characters I am playing.
We used the whole stage space effectively by placing the characters strategically to attract the audience's attention and emphasise certain scenes which had more importance. For example, there was a scene of James on his own reflecting on his actions, with no props and he was sat in the centre of stage. This worked positively as there was no distractions on external factors and helped the audience follow James' thought process and reflections.
To portray the scene of James explaining his dark school days, where he experienced bullying, we used two characters to narrate James' thoughts and another to enact his school life. This gave the audience a visual experience of the memory and verbal to compliment this and explain the scene.
Furthermore, when I had to enter the stage as the Jail officer I kept my head held high and walked with my hands behind my back and looked down at James to show the power difference between us two. This worked well as it gave James the platform to plead and beg to me to show him his file from the arrest which helped the audience understand that he was not aware of his actions and how his anger took over him.
To portray my objective in the scene where James is having a melt down, I used a worried high pitch tone to emphasise my worry and fear over his actions as James was punching and kicking everywhere around him. This showed that others around James feared for his mental well being as well as there own safety around him.
The use of a wooden stool for James as a prop helped to differentiate the levels between the characters and highlighted how unstable James could be which is why the stool was necessary. By having a crowd of people surrounding James, emphasised that he had people around him but was inevitably alone mentally. We used red lighting during the scenes where James felt stronger emotions such as anger and a sense of being out of control and this connotes danger and a warning signal. We used blue lighting during more of the reflective scenes to express his emotions and thought trains. This helped the audience to differentiate the scenes which were more physical to the more verbal ones.
We used the Uta Hagen technique by acting truthfully to create life like characters through our thoughts and feelings which achieved a more realistic performance. To do this, I wrote down an in-depth list of my characters traits such as I played three different roles during the play so this helped me to connect from one role to the next. I also wrote down the intention and objective of each of the different characters I was playing such as the Jail officer, James's alleged friend and a friend who was worried about James. This set the tone for each scene that I performed in and helped me to be aware of what I wanted to achieve in each scene. Moreover, I used a Stanislavski technique I learnt during lessons which was the 'Magic If' and I asked myself "What would I do if I was in this situation?" This helped me to explore my own natural responses to the events in the play.
Overall, I feel the performance went well and I received positive feed back such as engaging well in each scene, using the correct amount of emotion and energy for different characters and good use of projection in the stage space. In my next project, I would like to work on expressing more ideas during rehearsals and work on doing more character improvisations to feel even more relaxed and natural in the characters I am playing.
Tuesday, 20 June 2017
Blackout - Context
'Blackout' is the true story of a 15-year-old boy charged with attempted murder who tries to piece together the events in his life that have brought him into a secure care unit and threaten to keep him there.
In the play 'Blackout' by Davey Anderson, touches on a lot of themes and topics that face many young people in today's society. The overall feel I got from this is that not all young offenders are criminals, sometimes they are the victims.
The play carries the theme of social aspects in the younger generation and this is touched upon with James who lives in a divided community segregated from other neighbours and families; I infer this from the fact that his dad was a woman-beater and his mother was too embarrassed to leave the house there would have been a metaphorical trench between him and the wider community denying him a lot of things a normal child would have whilst growing up giving him from a very young age feelings of isolation and neglect from society. It deals with bullying one of the foundations of most problems teenagers face in the 21st century and also the loss of identity which is another problem nearly all people go through at one stage in their lives and I feel this play tackles that throughout.
Article from The Guardian:
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2011/nov/21/young-offenders-institution-ashfield
In the play 'Blackout' by Davey Anderson, touches on a lot of themes and topics that face many young people in today's society. The overall feel I got from this is that not all young offenders are criminals, sometimes they are the victims.
The play carries the theme of social aspects in the younger generation and this is touched upon with James who lives in a divided community segregated from other neighbours and families; I infer this from the fact that his dad was a woman-beater and his mother was too embarrassed to leave the house there would have been a metaphorical trench between him and the wider community denying him a lot of things a normal child would have whilst growing up giving him from a very young age feelings of isolation and neglect from society. It deals with bullying one of the foundations of most problems teenagers face in the 21st century and also the loss of identity which is another problem nearly all people go through at one stage in their lives and I feel this play tackles that throughout.
The play also deals with the influences of media and films into how subcultures are created. As demonstrated very clearly James watches films like Romper Stomper and American History X and it "isn't enough for him anymore" so he needs more and he longs and lusts for violence.
Subcultures among youth groups is also highlighted as the play has loads of statements on skinhead culture and the general lifestyles of youths and young offenders. One of the main points in the play is when James shaves his hair off and his mum states: "You look like a skinhead", and the way that that particular subculture appealed to James as a means of escape from his existence and becoming a completely different person so he can escape being called a goth and fully commit to the world of being a skinhead which has conations of strength and not to be messed with.
To further my knowledge of the play, I researched 'Youth Offenders' and read an article from The Guardian on: Life in a young offenders' institution which highlighted some of the mental and physical trauma one goes through in this situation. It also helped me to understand the background history which leads up to youth committing crime and that there is a whole load of factors which contribute to the lead up of committing a crime at such a young age. Understanding the background of what goes through the mind of youth offenders helped me to tap into the mentality and use this during my performance towards James and helped me in how I reacted to his explosions and anger outbursts.
Article from The Guardian:
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2011/nov/21/young-offenders-institution-ashfield
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