theatre workshop 13th nov part 2

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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.

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.

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. :)

 

Some videos on Bretch theatre

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=DaWSqC22Ax0&list=PLB9FF66808D2B5883




 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-828KqtTkA&feature=player_detailpage

About Political Theatre

Political Theatre



In the history of theatre, there is long tradition of performances addressing issues of current events and central to society itself, encouraging consciousness and social change The political staire performed by the comic poet at the theatre, had considerable influence on public opinion. Those earlier Western dramas, arising out of the polis, or democratic city-state of Greek society, were performed in amphitheaters, central arenas used for theatrical performances, religious ceremonies and political gatherings; these dramas had a ritualistic and social significance that enhanced the relevance of the political issues being examined. And one must marvel at the open-minded examination of controversial and critical topics that took place right in the political heart of athenian society, allowing a courageous self-examination of the first democracy trying to develop and refine itself further.

WorkShop Exercises 1 6th tue

Exercise 1

Task 1- All Actors told a nursery rhyme to each other from opposite ends of the room - you had to shout there choice of nursery rhyme. Performers had to focus on using their body language to tell and enforce the verbal communication.

How this helped - This helped us by not just understanding what people were saying but also by giving us a clearer picture. Sometime just shouting amongst other voices you might not be heard but by adding action plus sound can help to verify what the performer is saying or what his her her point is.

Task 2 - Actors got into groups and created still images to show characters such as Romeo and Juliet, Cat and Mouse, Sweet and Sour, War and Peace, Rich and Poor.

How this helped - Actors in grouped pairs done similar gestures because I feel everybody wanted to show the stereotypical status of the rich and the poor, every group had the tendisy to have a man or woman on his/her knees with their hand out this was to represent the person begging and the higher status rice person was stood up and had their head in the sky with their nose up. This may not be every poor or rich person’s attitude on this political situation but to show higher and lower status and to make it obvious that was the morgity action. This demonstrated gestus in a way that people want an easy answer. if actors had did a much more deceiving way of representing rich and poor the audience  would have to search more and ask questions more.

A solider with a gun and have the gun pointing at the victim to show his or hers life is going to be taken or a solider with his gun pointing at the victim with a victim already dead this is

Task 3 - An actor played a soldier, they walked on stage, stopped and walked off. Then we added in seven dead bodies, the soldier appeared and disappeared again.

How this was shown clearly - We all knew he was a solider because he did the stereotypical way of showing he was a soldier by having his hands behind his back his confident walk and his body language. After adding the dead bodies we saw what type of solider he was by the action he did. He went round to each dead bodied and kicked them to check if they was completely dead. To me this is showing what type of character or solider he was kind of a sick solider or instant he could of walked over them literally and this could have showed no care or interest weather they are alive nor dead.

Task 4 - All actors created two still images to show opposing gestic images which was war the maker of heroes and war the taker of lives.

what my group did - My group demonstrated a solider with a gun and had the gun pointing at the victim to show his or hers life is going to be taken or a solider with his gun pointing at the victim with a victim already dead this was obvious and basic gesturing of what war the taker of lives is. for the maker of heroes my group had done the next step of what we was showing in war the take of lives we showed to soldiers with a sulout standing next to two dead body and a family member grieving to show they have done there deed this was a way we could explain the two. We also noticed a lot of other groups had done a similar image we could understand there thought process and why.

 

EXAGGERATION

A pair of actors demonstrated a scene between a Doctor and a patient.

The actor who played the doctor to me was trying to play a doctor who wasent helping the patient in the way the paiten wanted to be helped. So giving respones such as "i have other patients who need my help" this is showing the doctor is trying to tell the patient i can't favor you. which is what the other actor was trying to protray as an patient.

 Actors were told to play a stereotype of the characters and to exaggerate them both physically and vocally.

Once actors got the go ahead to be the sterotypical doctor and paitent the physicality automactilly changed and the feel of the scene became more comic than serouse.


When sarah clapped her hands actors had to switch roles.

I feel they had done a job of using the physicality posions because one actor maybe was a paiten on the floor begging the doctor for help then when the hands were clapped it was the doctor supporting the patient. The adudiences reaction was very played on by the actors which made the scence automactilly became more comic.

 

EXAGGERATION

A pair of actors demonstrated a scene between a Doctor and a patient.

The actor who played the doctor to me was trying to play a doctor who wasn’t helping the patient in the way the patient wanted to be helped. So giving response such as "i have other patients who need my help" this is showing the doctor is trying to tell the patient i can't favour you. Which is what the other actor was trying to portray as a patient?

 

Actors were told to play a stereotype of the characters and to exaggerate them both physically and vocally.

Once actors got the go ahead to be the stereotypical doctor and patient the physicality automatically changed and the feel of the scene became more comic than serious.

 

When Sarah clapped her hands actors had to switch roles.

I feel they had done a job of using the physicality potions because one actor maybe was a patient on the floor begging the doctor for help then when the hands were clapped it was the doctor supporting the patient. The audiences reaction was very played on by the actors which made the scene automatically became more comic.

 

NARRATIVE

In groups we created a performance of a fairy story using four styles of Narration.

1.      A narrator

2.      Actor stepping out of character to narrate

3.      Actor speaking in 3rd person

4.      Singing narration

My group choose to do snow white and the seven dewafes. We choose to show all the different types of narttation. Such as standard nation and the ones we were asked to incorporate in our piece. We had an actor show the standard narration by standing at the side and saying "once upon a time..." And then we had an Actor step out of character to narrate what exactly what he or she was doing at that moment. I think Brecht used narration to disconnect you from the character in the play and thing about what the issue was instead of focus on the person.

 

 

 

VERFREMDUNGSEFFEKT

 

Task 1: In pairs we created a naturalistic scene . We the shared with the group.

 

I feel they where so real and more serious than what we had been doing earlier on in the day. they was normal not acted or rehersed just true.

 

 

Task 2: We revisted the scene and selected the climactic moment and rehearsed this so we knew the stage directions well.

I feel brecht used this as a type of way to distant the audience from the character to make the actual issue more known than the character.

Task 3: We recreated the moment keeping the character dialogue, but the characters had to speak every stage direction too.


As an actor it really disconnected me with the character having to narrate every movement I did. To me this maybe what brecth was trying to do.