Brecht Blog 1
Wednesday, 19 December 2012
final blog
I feel the different elements in the performance helped the audience
understand Brechtian theatre clearly. The cards with A B C D and office worker
single mum and old person this is a classic act of bretchian theatre.
Because the cards show the audience that the we are actors and we are
acting out to be these people. This kind of brings the audience to a thinking
state of mind that is actually happened and makes them think about these issues
in the world and how it maybe in a long run effects them or their children, our
piece had all different elements of physical theatre.
I feel that all the performance was good and true brethican theatre, I
feel that Sarah N class was good but I feel that it was more of a joke and very
close to a musical although they used the disconnect us the audience from the
show I didn’t see clearly what their message to us was? It felt like I was
watching a funny musical about a supermarket where you can buy babies with a
bitchy selfish boss and “slutish”checkout girls and where the prices went up
for stupid reasons. I think maybe I missed the message; wills group was
interesting it was two ensemble groups one was the parents and the others was
the groups it was interesting to see because they moved as one so it just
looked as a child and parent talking maybe in a living room or something but
obviously it wasn’t.
I feel our piece out the 3 was the most bretchiran and the most
interesting it had elements of music but it wasn’t overtaking the message, we
had the ensemble scenes to show political times through the ages and we also
had scenes from Blondie, I feel that our show had a strong message and I think
people got it they understood, it wasn’t to much and it wasn’t to less.
I feel that the audiences was very different the first audience was our
peers they knew us they already so they found everything quite funny when
parris group did the bin laden scene they found it comical but serious at the
same time whereas the parents looked at it from a different perspective. For me
an audience never really phases me as an performer obviously its nice to get
the reaction you want from the audience but I do think actors should learn not
to feed off the audience. My in terms of my performance I feel I couldn’t and
didn’t connect with my role because it was either narrator 3 for A, but
studying brecthian theatre you need to be disconnected in order to get the
message across to the audience. I think that all theatre is political because each
piece of theatre that is made has a duty to create and evoke feeling from the
audience weather its children or adults or teenagers etc..
Overall I have enjoyed working on bretchian theatre I always feel that I
need to connect with the character or I need to find that person inside me in
order to pull off an good decent performance but doing brectian theatre it has
made me think differently and that in its self is political.
Tuesday, 11 December 2012
Rehearsals and questions 4th
·
What do you hope the audience go away
asking themselves, and/or discussing with others?
·
·
we use brecthtian style of
theatre and this so clear because we disconnects you with the character and
makes you think and ask questions about the actual issue which is exactly what
this type of theatre is about, and what Brecht wanted to represent in his work.
I feel The audience will go home feeling effected about the performance we
gave, it will make them think about who they are as a person and their beliefs
and what they can do to make society “a better place”.
·
·
How have we ensured we have embedded
the work of Brecht in our performance?
·
·
I feel we have definitely embedded to act of brecthtian type of theatre,
nobody has a name no actor is a
character for too long and the audience is forced not to be connected with the
performance which has brecths name written all over it. We all quickly
understood political theatre and about
brecths type of work so when making the ensemble group short scenes straight
away they was powerful and deep and clear.
Monday, 10 December 2012
poltical protest
We looked at the stereo typical views on how people looked
at a gay, straight, light skinned person and a young girl with a baby (which
was the part I played). our approach to each of these subjects was to do a
monologue and express how that person might feel, my particular monologue
stressed the fact the young girl was raped and now has a baby and how society
looks upon her, she felt upset, angry, and lost faith in herself she explained
on how general people might look at her as a “whore,slut,tramp, unmotivated
person who want to live on benefits” but when looking deeper into the issue she
was raped and was forced to take the decision on having the child, she
explained how people look at her in a certain way because she was young and how
she felt covered with judgment. Gavin expressed a boy who put on an act that he
was this hard “gangster” but then when actually speaking to him he was gay but
felt like he had to cover up and because he would simply be judged. Parris
showed how a person could on the outside look gay and flamboyant and like
musicals etc., But was just normal and straight he expressed how your sexuality
doesn’t always determine your personality and Nicki did a monologue about the
stereo types on a light skinned coloured girl and the effects it has on all
girls with the same coloured skinned.I think our protest was short and sweet ,
we put our point across with strong powerful speeches and the audience got and
understood the message easily, I realised doing any kind of performance may
that be a political protest or a site specific piece of work you always got to
think about the environment you’re in because if you’re in the cold ion the
rain and your trying to protest people will be more reluctant to come and watch
your performance over a performance inside in the warmth, that would be
something we should take into consideration.
Friday, 16 November 2012
theatre workshop 13th nov part 2
..............
Blondie Response Work
Actors looked at 'Blondie' and all looked at leaders who had committed crimes against humanity (my group did Hitler) and there was other names like Pinochet, Tony Blair? Margret Thatcher, bush? And Bin Laden. Five groups then had to perform a response to these names. Each had 45minutes to devise a piece that would last no longer than 10minutes this was a piece inspired but brechian theatre. Each group had to include styles such as alienation, song narration, and multi character.
This
exercise made us start to think concisely how with each other we could become as
an ensemble and thinking on how the each actor can help the group’s needs. The
exercise really highlighted and made us dig and make us think about the actual
terror in Syria.
Blondie Response Work
Actors looked at 'Blondie' and all looked at leaders who had committed crimes against humanity (my group did Hitler) and there was other names like Pinochet, Tony Blair? Margret Thatcher, bush? And Bin Laden. Five groups then had to perform a response to these names. Each had 45minutes to devise a piece that would last no longer than 10minutes this was a piece inspired but brechian theatre. Each group had to include styles such as alienation, song narration, and multi character.
Theare workshop 13th nov
Theare work shop 13th nov
Ensemble
work
All
hands on base
All sides of the room are named starboard,
port and side and all actions for the middle of the room are given freeze
middle and apples. Actors had to run to the wall/ as soon as possible. I feel
this game made us physically warmed up and helped actors to be active with
their creativity side. This helped with ensemble work mainly because all actors
need to be active and alive on stage and ready to respond to each other in
ensemble work.
The
Name Game
This involved doing group activity’s Doing warm ups, the Actors all stood in a circle. Each Actor said somebody else’s name, this was until everyone's name has been said and remembered. Then a pattern of rhyme was formed. The same thing happened when actors had to walk to somebody else this had to be a different person from the person’s name you said and lastly throwing and catching a ball, until three different patterns was formed. Actors then had to say the same pattern of names, walking and throwing at the same time with paste. For me as a learning actor I found this exercise very annoying I feel when there is concentration and a level of force you can achieve a goal but without that you will continue to fail. I fell like the actors found it confusing and didn’t listen to each other as a group but this is what is needed when you are being an ensemble or on stage as a group.
Battle of moves
This
was a dance kind of battle inspired exercise. Actors was split into two different
teams and each team had an leading actor as team captain and the captain made a
move to intimidate the other team, which then the rest of the actors behind the
captain would then copy. This mainly helped to look in to different movement.
This then lead into actors going into groups and intimidating individuals with
a certain move, then coming together as an ensemble the groups then got bigger and brought all moves together, until then there were two
competing ensemble. We all joined in on this exercise. This helps us all came
together and be more connected as an ensemble.This involved doing group activity’s Doing warm ups, the Actors all stood in a circle. Each Actor said somebody else’s name, this was until everyone's name has been said and remembered. Then a pattern of rhyme was formed. The same thing happened when actors had to walk to somebody else this had to be a different person from the person’s name you said and lastly throwing and catching a ball, until three different patterns was formed. Actors then had to say the same pattern of names, walking and throwing at the same time with paste. For me as a learning actor I found this exercise very annoying I feel when there is concentration and a level of force you can achieve a goal but without that you will continue to fail. I fell like the actors found it confusing and didn’t listen to each other as a group but this is what is needed when you are being an ensemble or on stage as a group.
Battle of moves
The last part of the ensemble work was doing still images inspired by crimes against humanity. The first part actors were given was 'War Torn Syria'. A member of the group went into the space one at a time and gradually the whole class bounced off the physical still images that other actors had created until we had a complete still image. Some actors were tapped out and were asked what their character though in that moment would be. Some answers were 'Fear' and 'Horror' for example. Most people saw this scene as a serious, gory scene of bloodshed and fear. In response to that actors then was asked to create a still image of what, 'Apocalyptic Britain' would look like. Actors made a still scene with people being zombies being eaten and praying for it to end and people crying. To represent this. as a link to 'Blondie' I feel it was interesting actors obviously took the Syria’s much more seriously and has that respect because it’s a real thing that goes on but the idea that a such thing as 'Apocalyptic Britain' would ever happen actors probably thought this exercise appose to the Syria much more childlike and funny.
Tuesday, 13 November 2012
Blackta

So i came back from watching blackta at the Young Vic OMG! I couldn’t get any blinder our whole term is on political theatre and there i was about to watch a show about young, middle aged and old black male actors about trying to make it in the industry....CRYSTAL HELLO how much more political could you get? The judgement of the colour of your skin and how far you get in to the industry is mad. anyway the director referred to the acting industry or auditions as "the things “and names of the men was after the colour of their skin, black,brown,yellow,black old and black young. this is a i feel ties into the brecthian theatre his way of using this type of way to distant the audience from the characters to make the issue more known. Having knowing what political theatre was about and the brethren way of directing i would have been confused. but this show really highlighted what it was it is to be a black male in a western society and the way you look is the judgment of your life for this career choice this even made me think wow because throughout the show they had parts where they would go upstairs to a room and perform stupid meaning less things to a invisible panel. The panel would then choose green red or amber green meaning a pass red meaning no and amber meaning maybe. To me this is representing when actors in general go to auditions perform and get the job or not get the jobs or a call back. After a while it took its toll on the actors you then see an old black never getting seen but i feel the issue was shown clearly although they never said we are actors or we are going for an auditions. I feel the ties in well with the political theme and brecthian theatre ... everyone should go watch it. :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)