Double - Dr Faustus - Research (Artaud) - 22/06/16

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonin_Artaud)

Antoine Marie Joseph Artaud, better known as Antonine Artaud (4 September 1896 – 4 March 1948), was a French dramatist, poet, essayist, actor, and theatre director, widely recognized as one of the major figures of twentieth-century theatre and the European avant-garde.

Artaud believed that theatre should be a force for the liberation of the human subconscious and revelation of man to himself. He called for "communion between actor and audience in a magic exorcism; gestures, sounds, unusual scenery, and lighting combine to form a language, superior to words, that can be used to subvert thought and logic and to shock the spectator into seeing the baseness of his world."

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theatre_of_Cruelty)

The Theatre of Cruelty is a form of theatre developed by avant-garde playwright, actor, essayist, and theorist, Antonin Artaud, in The Theatre and its Double. Originally a member of the surrealist movement, Artaud eventually began to develop his own theatrical theories. The Theatre of Cruelty can be seen as break with traditional Western theatre, and a means by which artists assault the senses of the audience, and allow them to feel the unexpressed emotions of the subconscious. While Artaud was only able to produce one play in his lifetime that reflected the tenets of the Theatre of Cruelty, the works of many theatre artists reflect his theories. These artists include Jean Genet, Jerzy Grotowski, and Peter Brook.

From looking at this research I feel we can use a lot of "Theatre of Cruelty" techniques in our Dr Faustus play such as gestures, sounds and unusual lighting. I will continue to refer to this throughout my future blog posts

Double - Storytelling - Research (Snow Queen)

Last night had put my developed story telling technique into practise! I decided to read my younger sister a bed time story. The story I read was Cinderella and took about 10 minutes to read. When telling the story I took notice of what I had learnt from my research on story telling:

• I varied my pitch/tone when reading to keep my voice interesting to listen to
• I changed my voice completely for when I spoke characters lines to give the effect that the story teller and the characters are all separate people. I also changed my voice appropriately to each character; for example when I spoke the lines of the Fairy Godmother, I was well-spoken and slightly higher pitched but as the Ugly Step-Sisters, I spoke rather common and sharp.
• I paced myself a lot better making sure I didn't rush through the story but not longing it out either.

After reading the story, my sister was well-entertained and wanted me to read another! This has improved my story telling skills a lot more as I've put them into practise. This will enhance my section of narration a lot and therefore improve the whole performance.

Triple - Historical Context - Blog 1 (Greek Research) - 19/11/15

Today we started our unit on Historical Context! We started the lesson by deciding who would research which era of theatre; I chose Greek Theatre. Below is my research:

Greek Theatre

Venue:

Almost every Greek city had a theatre; they were called Amphitheatres. The amphitheatres were built on hillsides in the open air and could often hold more than 18,000 spectators. The amphitheatres were open air and built in a semi-circular shape with rows of tiered stone seating around it. The shape of the amphitheatres gave everyone in the audience excellent viewing and also meant they could hear the actors well too. In the centre of the theatre was a circular dancing floor (orchestra), with an altar for sacrifices dedicated to Dionysus. The stage was a raised area within this circle.

Actors:

All the actors were men. They wore large masks that exaggerated facial features and emotions. The mouth hole was large to help amplify the voices. Greek plays were either comedies or tragedies. Comedies tended to be about current and everyday life, whereas tragedies were often about the past. Actors in tragedy roles wore dark colours and boots to elevate them above the other actors. Actors in comedic roles wore bright colours and light thin sole shoes called a sock. The Greeks enjoyed singing and dancing. Plays were part of many religious festivals. The chorus consisted of a group of 12-15 people.The cast of a Greek play in the Dionysia was comprised of amateurs, not professionals (all male).
Ancient Greek actors had to gesture grandly so that the entire audience could see and hear the story.

Some of the costume they wore featured:

• Chiton (robe or tunic)
• Chlaina/himation (overgarment)
• Chlamys (short cloak)
• Cothurnus (short lace-up boots)
• Peplos (cloak)

History

Greek tragedy as we know it was created in Athens around the time of 532 BC; Thespis was the earliest recorded actor. Being a winner of the first theatrical contest held at Athens, he was the exarchon, or leader of the dithyrambs performed in and around Attica, especially at the rural Dionysia. By Thespis' time the dithyramb had evolved far away from its cult roots. Under the influence of heroic epic, Doric choral lyric and the innovations of the poet Arion, it had become a narrative, ballad-like genre. Because of these, Thespis is often called the "Father of Tragedy"

Scenic elements

There were several scenic elements commonly used in Greek theatre:

• A crane that gave the impression of a flying actor

• A wheeled platform often used to bring dead characters into view for the audience

• Pictures hung to create scenery

• More complex pictures built into the second-level scene (3rd level from ground)

• Phallic props were used for satyr plays, symbolizing fertility in honour of Dionysus

Single - Contemporary Theatre Unit (FSN) - Research on the behaviour of children - 17/10/15

To help me prepare for my role as Star (Marcus) in our contemporary play, "The Flint Street Nativity," I performed some research activities to help me analyse the behaviour of children. My main focus on this activity is my little sister, Alyce, aged 7.I performed activities such as watching her reactions to children's programmes, asking her questions about bullying and friendships, and observing her behaviour in general.

I firstly watched a children's programme with Alyce this Saturday. Together, we watched one of her favourite programmes, "The Haunted Hathaways," a comedy about an ordinary family sharing a home with a ghost family. I noticed immediately that most physical gags within the show got a positive reaction from Alyce with lots of laughter and smiling. I could behave in the same way when talking  about when, "that boy in Maghulll fell off a climbing rope an' his leg came out through his bum," and Declan who was going to be Joseph throwing up in a sock. Evoking the same reaction provides an authentic and convincing child role.

Alyce asked me a few times what some words meant which were too long for her; I kept a mental note of her puzzled facial expression and uncertain body language. This says to me that children of 7 aren't too suited to longer words. When a longer word is spoken or something that Marcus wouldn't understand is said, I now know what sort of facial expressions I should use and how I should use my body language.

I next asked Alyce some questions!

Q) What would you do if you were scared of someone
A) I would, um, run away from them

Q) Is there someone you're scared of at school?
A) Yeah, Mrs Wright

Q) Why's that?
A) Because she's got weird teeth and she gets grumpy at me 

Q) What do you do when she talks to you?
A) I look away because her teeth are ugly and horrible!

Q) Who's your best friend?
A) Lily and Jess and Connor and Rhiannon

Q) What do you do with your friends?
A) We play games in the playground and we, um, sit next to each other at lunchtime!

Q) What do you do when you have an argument with someone?
A) What do you mean?

Q) Well, when you have an argument with someone and you think they're wrong what do you do?
A) I shout and them and I say, "YOU'RE WRONG!"

Q) Do you ever think that you might be wrong?
A) No because I'm always right!

I feel from this research I can definitely improve my performance in:

• the argument between Star and Wise Gold (Marcus and Jess)
• how Star reacts with Innkeeper (Bradely)
• how Star interacts with the children who actually like him (e.g. Narrator, Shepherd, Ass)

When observing her general behaviour, I noticed her being told off by our mum. At first she seemed argumentative, but when she remembers that mum has a higher status and a lot more power than her, she backs down, apologises, and takes her punishment. I can use the recognition of power and status when Marcus talks to Bradley and when Marcus gets told off by Mrs Horrocks. 

Double - Storytelling - Medusa Research - 17/11/15

In double, we were put into groups to perform tell the story of a Greek Myth. In my group there is Lorna, Charlie and I and we were given the myth of Perseus and Medusa! This being one of my favourite myths had me very excited for this performance. Below is my individual research I made on the characters and story: Source:(http://www.ancient.eu/Medusa/)


Medusa
She was originally blessed with beauty and was by far one of the most beautiful people Greece. She described "that her skin is as beautiful as fresh white snow," "her hair is brighter than the sun," "that her eyes are greener then the Aegean sea," and "that her lips are redder than the reddest rose in the world." 

Upon taking a trip to the Parthenon, a Greek temple containing statues of Greek gods and goddesses, with friends, she bragged how she was far more beautiful than all of the goddesses. At the time, the Greek goddess of wisdom and beauty, Athena, was at the Parthenon. 

After the rumour of Medusa claiming she is the most beautiful in all of Greece, Athena cursed Medusa. After uttering the words, "One day beauty will fade away. But I will make it fade away now and all your loveliness will be gone forever," Medusa's skin cracks and withers and her long silver silken hair turns to a rioting mass of thick, poisonous snakes. Any man or woman who makes eye contact with her is immediately turned to stone which isolates her from human society.

Athena banishes Medusa to the ends of the Earth with the blind monsters so she does not harm any innocent onlookers.

Perseus: 
The myth of Perseus and Medusa, according to Pindar and Apollodorus, started with a quest. Perseus was the son of Danae and Zeus, who came to Danae in the form of a golden spring. It was foretold to Danae's father, Acrisius the King of Argos, that Danae's son would kill him. So Acrisius locked his daughter away in a bronze chamber, but Zeus transformed into a shower of gold and impregnated her anyway. Acrisius, not wanting to provoke Zeus, hurled his daughter and grandson in a wooden chest into the sea. The mother and son were rescued by Dictys on the island of Seriphos. It was Dictys who raised Perseus to manhood, but it was Dictys' brother Polydectes, the king, who would send him on a life threatening quest.

The Story of Perseus and Medusa:
Polydectes fell in love with Perseus' mother and wished to marry her but Perseus was protective of his mother since he believed Polydectes to be dishonorable. Polydectes demanded horses as wedding gifts but Perseus did not have one. When Perseus confessed that he had no gift, he offered any gift the king would name. Polydectes seized his opportunity to disgrace and even get rid of Perseus and asked for the head of the only mortal Gorgon: Medusa.

Perseus, with the aid of divine gifts, found the Gorgons' cave and slayed Medusa by beheading her. Most authors assert that Perseus was able to behead Medusa with a reflective bronze shield that Athena gave to him while the Gorgon slept. At the beheading of Medusa, Pegasus and Chrysaor (Poseidon's and her children) sprang from her severed neck. Simultaneously with the birth of these children, Medusa's sisters Euryale and Sthenno pursued Perseus. However, the gift bestowed upon him by Hades, the helmet of darkness, granted him invisibility. It is unclear if Perseus took Pegasus with him on his following adventures or if he continued to utilize the winged sandals Hermes gave him. Pegasus' adventures with both the hero Perseus and Bellerophon are classic tales from Greek mythology.

Perseus returned home to his mother, safe from King Polydectes' advances, but Perseus was infuriated with Polydectes' trickery. Perseus avenged himself by turning Polydectes and his court to stone with Medusa's head. He, then, gave the kingdom to Dictys. After Perseus was finished with the Gorgon's head, he gave it to Athena, who adorned her shield and breastplate with it.

Double - Children's Theatre (FMF) - Research - 11/10/15

Synopsis:                                                                                      

-intro to farmers                                                                               

-intro to foxes                                                                                   

-planning the shooting                                                                     

-the shooting                                                                                    

-tail repair                                                                                        

-digging commences                                                                       

-bulldozers required                                                                        

-"The Race"                                                                                     
-the decision to camp                                                                      

-starving foxes and surrounding plan                                              

-idea sparks                                                                                     
-Boggis' chicken house theft                                                            

-"A surprise for Mrs. Fox"                                                                 

-Badgers entrance

-Bunce's Storehouse

-"Badger has doubts"

-cider cellar ft. Rat

-"The Woman"

-"The great feast"

-"Still waiting"

Boggis, Bunce & Bean Research:

Double - Refugee Devised - Research - 29/09/15

Research Points

-child soldiers lost all human rights (mention this)*

-there are thousands of child soldiers in the world (mention this)

-the soldiers are very young; mostly under 10 (mention their age, 8 and 7)

-taken from bad places to serve (mention an anecdote; "you're not at your peasant mothers farm now")

-girl soldiers raped (perhaps chuck that in)

-lots of them in one army ("join your new brothers and sisters")

-children are broken down then built back up ("here, we'll break you down to your basic parts, build you back up into our obedient robotic fighters")

*how to include in our performance