The focus of the class on monday (27th Apr 09) was SYNTHESIS again.
We discussed about our homework, where we had to find connections between the following:
-Meisner
-Repetition
-Stick Work
-Ionesco
-Andrei Serban
-Peking Opera
-The Lesson
-Romania
-Meyerhold
-Absurdism
(I will scan the worksheet and post it up as soon as I get it back).
Then we were given a task. The task was to choose at least 5 connections and synthesize them to make a devised play.
Since we had to choose 5, and we were in a group of 5, we decided to choose one each:
-Repetition
-Stick Work
-The Lesson
-Meyerhold (The torture and his death)
-Absurdism
We were brainstorming ideas with this list as our guidelines, and Maria suggested "Multiple-personality." From there we discussed more about these mental disorders and we came to discuss about Schizophrenia (where the person hears voices in their heads and becomes more aggressive due to that).
With this, ideas came flowing into my head. I remembered the scene we once read in class from Heroin Lies, when Vicky, the drug addict, started to hallucinate or hear voices and it was abstract to show the audience the situation in Vicky's point of view.
I thought that the person that suffers from Schizophrenia would be repetitive and almost use Meisner's techniques to make him or her seem very annoyed and aggressive. For example:
A: How are you?
B (suffers from Schizophrenia): How are you? Fine.
This could be said in a way that it is very abrupt and show that the person may be paranoid and has some kind of problem.
Connecting to dialogue, the dialogue with this person with Schizophrenia and a normal person could be very abrupt and terse, like how Sofia and I did our scene from The Lesson.
Also, absurdism and stick work could be incorporated into my idea with one person with this disorder, and the rest with sticks creating sets, and even abstract images, that may or may not be symbolic. It could represent cages or like in Shun Kin, it could represent doors (sets). They could also be the voices in the person's head.
However, we thought of other ideas, and Sara brought up that she once read a Japanese book that was about this person who could not stand it if he did not swim for at least 2 hours per day. Which then brought up "The Swimmer." Mr. Evans showed us the trailer and talked about it a bit more. It was about a man who decided to swim home through a path of swimming pools.
Going back to Sara's idea, I think it could work. We could use the sticks to create a swimming pool like Mr. Evans suggested. I also elaborated on this idea. Since the person is obviously ill, he has a doctor, and the conversation between the doctor and the patient could be very much like the conversation between the professor and the pupil in The Lesson. Sara had said that the doctor said to the patient not to swim anymore, but it didnt work, so I pondered on that a bit more. I came with a scene in my head where the patient and the doctor are having a conversation and then the doctor tells the patient not to swim anymore. This caused the patient to go berserk and then he could go into a trance-like state, where he lies down (or even falls) and four or three other people come on and form a bow around the patient. Then with little sound effects and movement, it could represent the water and the patient could be moving as if he was swimming on his back. This incorporates the ideas of absurdity and stick work.
The idea of restraining him from the swimming pool could also link to the torture and death of Meyerhold (not exactly having Meyerhold the character, but keep the idea of the torture and death parallel to the plot. It could be that the restraint is causing the character mental torture).
Monday, April 27, 2009
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Statements After An Arrest Under the Immorality Act
Athol Fugard is a South African playwright, director, actor and a novelist, who wrote about his ideas against the apartheid in South Africa. One of his plays, Statements After An Arrest Under the Immorality Act is about a white woman who falls in love with a black man and they start a relationship in secret however one of their neighbors saw them together and told on them, breaking up their relationship.
We looked at the last scenes of this play. The policeman has a narrative role, which reminded us about Heroin Lies. In Heroin lies, there is the newspaper boy who tells the audience what happens just like the policeman.
We found that the language in the monologues of this play was very powerful, and as a reader and audience, we would get deeply affected by this emotionally. Here's a line that stuck in my head,
I like this quote because it shows clearly that the government would choose their fates and they have no control over their lives, especially their love-lives.
On Tuesday, we were to interpret the monologue in the play. I was paired up with Sara.
We chose the man's monologue. We cut it down because it was long, and we introduced lighting, staging and physical acting. Although it was a monologue, Sara was still in it.
In sections such as the one above, Sara would read the longer bits "If they take away your eyes you can't see" etc, and I would read the shorter bits "I can see" etc. I was the man and Sara was the conscience or God, who was inside the man's head. (This also reminded me of the last scene of Heroin Lies where the girl goes crazy and hears voiced in her head.)
We decided to have a blue light in the beginning to show his depression and also the night, and then change to red light where he says "They put on the light." To show his helplessness and panic. Then we also had the idea of using flash from an actual camera when the man says "they take your picture."
Also while we were rehearsing, the other group had been doing their rehearsal with the lights and the lights came from the side. Sara and I were looking at it and found that it was more effective than just using light straight onto the actor. This can also be symbolic, to show that the man is not living his life fully since the government is restricting their other parts. The light only comes on and lights half of the actor, showing this half-heartedness.
Here's an example:
As the actor who plays the man, I looked up constantly as if I was looking up to God, seeking help. He is religious, as he says "So I tell God that I don't smoke, I don't drink and I know the price of bread."
I really liked doing this monologue and interpreting it was challenging (as we had to cut off bits as well) because we have not read the entire play. However, despite this, I still found it interesting and very powerful. It gives the audience something to think about, especially where he keeps referring to himself as a "man without a name" and a man that "can't love."
We looked at the last scenes of this play. The policeman has a narrative role, which reminded us about Heroin Lies. In Heroin lies, there is the newspaper boy who tells the audience what happens just like the policeman.
We found that the language in the monologues of this play was very powerful, and as a reader and audience, we would get deeply affected by this emotionally. Here's a line that stuck in my head,
My hands still have the sweat of your body on them, but I'll have to wash them...sometime. If I don't, they will. Nothing can stop me losing that little bit of you
I like this quote because it shows clearly that the government would choose their fates and they have no control over their lives, especially their love-lives.
On Tuesday, we were to interpret the monologue in the play. I was paired up with Sara.
We chose the man's monologue. We cut it down because it was long, and we introduced lighting, staging and physical acting. Although it was a monologue, Sara was still in it.
If they take away your eyes you can't see
If they take away your tongue you can't taste
If they take away your hands you can't feel
If they take away your nose you can't smell
If they take away your ears you can't hear
I can see
I can taste
I can feel
I can smell
I can hear
I can't love.
In sections such as the one above, Sara would read the longer bits "If they take away your eyes you can't see" etc, and I would read the shorter bits "I can see" etc. I was the man and Sara was the conscience or God, who was inside the man's head. (This also reminded me of the last scene of Heroin Lies where the girl goes crazy and hears voiced in her head.)
We decided to have a blue light in the beginning to show his depression and also the night, and then change to red light where he says "They put on the light." To show his helplessness and panic. Then we also had the idea of using flash from an actual camera when the man says "they take your picture."
Also while we were rehearsing, the other group had been doing their rehearsal with the lights and the lights came from the side. Sara and I were looking at it and found that it was more effective than just using light straight onto the actor. This can also be symbolic, to show that the man is not living his life fully since the government is restricting their other parts. The light only comes on and lights half of the actor, showing this half-heartedness.
Here's an example:
As the actor who plays the man, I looked up constantly as if I was looking up to God, seeking help. He is religious, as he says "So I tell God that I don't smoke, I don't drink and I know the price of bread."
I really liked doing this monologue and interpreting it was challenging (as we had to cut off bits as well) because we have not read the entire play. However, despite this, I still found it interesting and very powerful. It gives the audience something to think about, especially where he keeps referring to himself as a "man without a name" and a man that "can't love."
Meisner... Cont'd
On Monday, our focus for the class was "Synthesis." We started as a group to create a short scene that included a synthesis of some kind. It could have been a physical or a cultural or a sound synthesis. We decided to combine some such as vocal and physical synthesis.
We started all going around saying only one word, with different physicality and different voices. Then we came together to form the phrase "I am so happy."
Then we did some prop work by first balancing a stick on either the palm of our hands or on our finger/s. Then we had to balance the stick and say a line at the same time.
Once we got the grasp of that, one by one, we would have to balance the stick and have a conversation with someone else (the other person just observes the one balancing the stick. I had an advantage in this since in martial arts (in which i have some experience in), balance is essential, especially in kendo.
How is this related to Meisner?
Since Meisner believed that an actor has to live the moment, Mr. Evans thought that this exercise would help us. Since we were concentrating on the stick more, and only a little portion of our concentration was on acting, our voice became more natural.
On stage, it is unlikely that an actor would be balancing a stick, so instead, we tried having a conversation with something a bit more complex, like packing your bag neatly, or building a lamp. These actions are most likely to be happened on stage.
Later, we were given a script and tried to interpret it with some Meisner technique whether it was something we learned this lesson or a previous lesson. The script was a page from "The Lesson" by Ionesco (a Romanian and French playwright and dramatist who wrote many plays for the Theatre of the Absurd). We were paired up; I was with Sofia and Maria was with Sara.
I played the pupil and Sofia was the Professor. We made the cues very short and quick while looking through books. So we would go with the impulse, like Meisner said.
Maria and Sara went for a very different approach than us. They were both balancing sticks and saying their lines. The only difference was that Maria was walking around whereas Sara was sitting down.
We started all going around saying only one word, with different physicality and different voices. Then we came together to form the phrase "I am so happy."
Then we did some prop work by first balancing a stick on either the palm of our hands or on our finger/s. Then we had to balance the stick and say a line at the same time.
Once we got the grasp of that, one by one, we would have to balance the stick and have a conversation with someone else (the other person just observes the one balancing the stick. I had an advantage in this since in martial arts (in which i have some experience in), balance is essential, especially in kendo.
How is this related to Meisner?
Since Meisner believed that an actor has to live the moment, Mr. Evans thought that this exercise would help us. Since we were concentrating on the stick more, and only a little portion of our concentration was on acting, our voice became more natural.
On stage, it is unlikely that an actor would be balancing a stick, so instead, we tried having a conversation with something a bit more complex, like packing your bag neatly, or building a lamp. These actions are most likely to be happened on stage.
Later, we were given a script and tried to interpret it with some Meisner technique whether it was something we learned this lesson or a previous lesson. The script was a page from "The Lesson" by Ionesco (a Romanian and French playwright and dramatist who wrote many plays for the Theatre of the Absurd). We were paired up; I was with Sofia and Maria was with Sara.
Professor: Let us proceed a little further. What do two and one make?
Pupil: Three
Professor: Three and one?
Pupil: Four
Professor: Four and one?
Pupil: Five
Professor: Five and one?
Pupil: Six
Professor: Six and one?
Pupil: Seven
Professor: Seven and one?
Pupil: Eight
Professor: Seven and one?
Pupil: Still Eight
Professor: Very good answer. Seven and one?
Pupil: Eight again
Professor: Excellent. Perfect. Seven and one?
Pupil: Eight for the fourth time. And sometimes nine.
Professor: Magnificent! You're magnificent. Sublime!
I played the pupil and Sofia was the Professor. We made the cues very short and quick while looking through books. So we would go with the impulse, like Meisner said.
Maria and Sara went for a very different approach than us. They were both balancing sticks and saying their lines. The only difference was that Maria was walking around whereas Sara was sitting down.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Frank Wedekind
On our lesson with Mr. Evans on Monday, we started with some recap on Meisner and a little exercise that forces us to go with the "impulse." The one word at a time story, where we pass an item and each time you get it you have to say a word and pass it on, creating a story together.
Then to get an introduction to Frank Wedekind, we were to spend 10 minutes researching on any facts about this playwright.
Here's some facts about him:
- He was a german playwright, born in 1864 and died in 1918.
- He criticized bourgeois attitudes, especially sexual behaviors.
- He seemed to have a major influence in epic theatre (Brecht's theatre)
- Brecht attended his funeral.
We then took a look at his a scene of one of his most successful plays, Spring Awakening.
The scene was when a mother found out that her daughter, Wendla, who's 14, was pregnant. The interesting part was, that Wendla did not understand how she got pregnant, which evokes sympathy in the audience. Wendla kept on repeating "but we just lay in the hay," showing her ignorance of the situation.
"But how can that be? I'm not married!" Wendla says, indicating her innocence in the situation since she is ignorant of the fact that she can get pregnant even if she is not married.
The mother, of course, is horrified because Wendla is not even married, yet she was going to have a baby, and so she calls in an abortionist. This abortion is what caused Wendla's death.
Wedekind criticizes the fact that the adults do not educate their children about important things such as pregnancy. If Wendla knew about sexual intercourse and pregnancy, she would not have needed an abortion, and thus she would be alive for longer.
Then to get an introduction to Frank Wedekind, we were to spend 10 minutes researching on any facts about this playwright.
Here's some facts about him:
- He was a german playwright, born in 1864 and died in 1918.
- He criticized bourgeois attitudes, especially sexual behaviors.
- He seemed to have a major influence in epic theatre (Brecht's theatre)
- Brecht attended his funeral.
We then took a look at his a scene of one of his most successful plays, Spring Awakening.
The scene was when a mother found out that her daughter, Wendla, who's 14, was pregnant. The interesting part was, that Wendla did not understand how she got pregnant, which evokes sympathy in the audience. Wendla kept on repeating "but we just lay in the hay," showing her ignorance of the situation.
"But how can that be? I'm not married!" Wendla says, indicating her innocence in the situation since she is ignorant of the fact that she can get pregnant even if she is not married.
The mother, of course, is horrified because Wendla is not even married, yet she was going to have a baby, and so she calls in an abortionist. This abortion is what caused Wendla's death.
Wedekind criticizes the fact that the adults do not educate their children about important things such as pregnancy. If Wendla knew about sexual intercourse and pregnancy, she would not have needed an abortion, and thus she would be alive for longer.
Introduction to African Theatre
We were introduced to this type of theatre through videos and hence brainstorming on what were the theatrical conventions in African Theatre.
[Conventions in theatre are aspects of a particular theatre. E.G. A convention in Brechtian theatre would be the music and dancing. A convention in Artaudian theatre would be the use of lights and sounds.]
Here are some:
Masks: Very important. It is also the main part of a masquerade, which is the theatre we will be looking into.
Costumes: Also important. Mainly made out of natural materials such as grass etc.
Drumming: Sets the tone. Also controls the tension with the tempo. Often synchronized with physical acting.
Dance: Mostly consisted of dancing. Normally extreme including some gymnastics as well (flips, twirls etc)
Storyline: Stories told are usually legends and well-known stories (similar to Balinese Theatre)
Once we finished this brainstorm, we were given a story. Ekineba. She was a human, who had connections with the gods.
-Story copied from http://www.answers.com/topic/ekineba-and-the-water-people-
Using the conventions we discussed about before, we interpreted this story. We didn't have much time and also didn't have access to that much of a variety in masks. The masks that Mr. Meiklejohn had available were masks that had japanese characters on them and we thought that it didn't quite fit. So we selected some that fit some characters.
Mei, being Ekineba, had a half-face mask that had some bright colors on them and Sofia had a full silver mask.
Mei wore the mask to show that she was a special human being as opposed to the drummer (Maria) who did not had a mask.
Sofia wore a mask to show her superiority over Sara and me, who were the water people.
We took mostly the most important plots of the story and left out the little details, and what we had was:
Ekineba got kidnapped by the two water people while strolling around. The water people took her to their mother who was not pleased at all about this kidnap and ordered both to return her to the human world. Once the water people returned her, they gave her a tambourine. Ekineba then started to drum but there was another drummer who would want the most attention, making her feel out of place. Because of her sadness, the water people went to get her and escort her to the water world, leaving the tambourine behind (signifying that she left the duty).
Additional notes: Maria was the drummer (the character) but also the percussionist of the play, so she was drumming the whole time.
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MASQUERADES
In masquerades, the costumes and masks are symbolic to represent an ancestor, an animal, a human, or a spirit. Often these roles are very hard to achieve, requiring a long term training to learn specific characteristics, dance steps and musical accompaniments. The performers are often men and some act as female characters (which reminds me of Balinese theatre because the dalang has to be all characters, including the women).
Masquerades can be performed for purely entertainment purposes or it can be performed for religious purposes.
Also, there is a saying,
meaning One does not stand on one spot to watch a masquerade.
this implies that the masquerade involves not only the actors but also the audiences. The audience could also be from all ages but still enjoy the masquerade.
Bibliography:
Answers.com.Ekineba and the Water People.15 Apr 2009.URL:http://www.answers.com/topic/ekineba-and-the-water-people
American Museum of Natural History.African Spirit Dancer. 15 Apr 2009. URL: http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/expeditions/treasure_fossil/Treasures/African_Spirit_Dancer/dancer.html?50
Umunna Cultural Association of Indianapolis. Masquerade from the Igboland. 15 Apr 2009. URL: http://umunna.org/masquerade.htm
[Conventions in theatre are aspects of a particular theatre. E.G. A convention in Brechtian theatre would be the music and dancing. A convention in Artaudian theatre would be the use of lights and sounds.]
Here are some:
Masks: Very important. It is also the main part of a masquerade, which is the theatre we will be looking into.
Costumes: Also important. Mainly made out of natural materials such as grass etc.
Drumming: Sets the tone. Also controls the tension with the tempo. Often synchronized with physical acting.
Dance: Mostly consisted of dancing. Normally extreme including some gymnastics as well (flips, twirls etc)
Storyline: Stories told are usually legends and well-known stories (similar to Balinese Theatre)
Once we finished this brainstorm, we were given a story. Ekineba. She was a human, who had connections with the gods.
Ekineba was so beautiful that even the Water People, changing themselves into humans, courted her. The son of the chief priest of Ojoma took a dowry and went to her. Her spirit told her this was the man she would marry. They married, and he took her away in his canoe. Some Water People were upset, and caused a storm to capsize the canoe. Ekineba was taken to the town of the Water People. The mother of the Water People was angry that the canoe had been capsized. When the Water People came home from work, the mother expressed her anger, and they said that they would return her to the land of humans. The chief priest of Ojoma had died, but the son was angry with the gods for not helping him when his wife died. The Water People, before they took Ekineba home, danced for her and told her to beat their drum, the first human to do so. They warned her that at every party she must be the first to beat the drum, to purify the drums. Then they returned her to her home, telling her not to allow her husband to embrace her before he had purified her. He did that, and they embraced. Later, Ekineba told her husband how the Water People had wanted to marry her but she had refused. That is why two of them had taken her away. Then she showed her husband how to make drums, what people should do when she beat them. But some were annoyed that she was always the first to play the drums, and one drummer kept playing before she did. She knew that the Water People were encouraging him, and she did not long to stay in the world of men. She told the people she would be leaving, and she sat and wrapped a cloth around her face. It was evening, and a storm came up: the Water People were coming. She told the people to beat their drums, night fell, a thick cloud descended, and the Water People took Ekineba away.
-Story copied from http://www.answers.com/topic/ekineba-and-the-water-people-
Using the conventions we discussed about before, we interpreted this story. We didn't have much time and also didn't have access to that much of a variety in masks. The masks that Mr. Meiklejohn had available were masks that had japanese characters on them and we thought that it didn't quite fit. So we selected some that fit some characters.
Mei, being Ekineba, had a half-face mask that had some bright colors on them and Sofia had a full silver mask.
Mei wore the mask to show that she was a special human being as opposed to the drummer (Maria) who did not had a mask.
Sofia wore a mask to show her superiority over Sara and me, who were the water people.
We took mostly the most important plots of the story and left out the little details, and what we had was:
Ekineba got kidnapped by the two water people while strolling around. The water people took her to their mother who was not pleased at all about this kidnap and ordered both to return her to the human world. Once the water people returned her, they gave her a tambourine. Ekineba then started to drum but there was another drummer who would want the most attention, making her feel out of place. Because of her sadness, the water people went to get her and escort her to the water world, leaving the tambourine behind (signifying that she left the duty).
Additional notes: Maria was the drummer (the character) but also the percussionist of the play, so she was drumming the whole time.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MASQUERADES
In masquerades, the costumes and masks are symbolic to represent an ancestor, an animal, a human, or a spirit. Often these roles are very hard to achieve, requiring a long term training to learn specific characteristics, dance steps and musical accompaniments. The performers are often men and some act as female characters (which reminds me of Balinese theatre because the dalang has to be all characters, including the women).
Masquerades can be performed for purely entertainment purposes or it can be performed for religious purposes.
Also, there is a saying,
Adiro akwu ofu ebe enene nmanwu
meaning One does not stand on one spot to watch a masquerade.
this implies that the masquerade involves not only the actors but also the audiences. The audience could also be from all ages but still enjoy the masquerade.
Bibliography:
Answers.com.Ekineba and the Water People.15 Apr 2009.URL:http://www.answers.com/topic/ekineba-and-the-water-people
American Museum of Natural History.African Spirit Dancer. 15 Apr 2009. URL: http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/expeditions/treasure_fossil/Treasures/African_Spirit_Dancer/dancer.html?50
Umunna Cultural Association of Indianapolis. Masquerade from the Igboland. 15 Apr 2009. URL: http://umunna.org/masquerade.htm
Monday, April 6, 2009
Sanford Meisner
Sanford Meisner is an American director who studied Stanislvaski, but then created a theory of his own. He believed that the actor should not relive the situation with memories but experience it first hand in the situation. (The following quote illustrates this).
"Acting is the ability to live truthfully under imaginary circumstances."
We practiced this through exercises such as only reacting when something makes you to.
Also Meisner believed that the actor should listen and pay attention to what the other actor is saying, even though it is expected. We also tried this though exercises where we would repeat what our partner says such as "you're wearing black." (This exercise was done in Meisner's classes as well) We had to be careful in adding variety. If we add variety, according to Meisner, we are thinking and not acting on impulse.
In the theater, silence is an absence of words, but never an absence of meaning
We also worked from this quote. We tried seeing what meaning we could put into silences. Each of us would ask Mr. Evans "Will I get a 7 in IB?" and he wouldn't respond in words but rather in gestures, facial expressions, putting meaning into the silence, which made it powerful.
I think that if we had, perhaps, included these ideas into, for example, Tina!, it could have improved it and made it more authentic, and convincing. For example, the secretary scene where Zebub first comes on, the secretaries were expecting that, and it may have not been as convincing (luckily we had the mask to cover some of this).
"Acting is the ability to live truthfully under imaginary circumstances."
We practiced this through exercises such as only reacting when something makes you to.
Also Meisner believed that the actor should listen and pay attention to what the other actor is saying, even though it is expected. We also tried this though exercises where we would repeat what our partner says such as "you're wearing black." (This exercise was done in Meisner's classes as well) We had to be careful in adding variety. If we add variety, according to Meisner, we are thinking and not acting on impulse.
In the theater, silence is an absence of words, but never an absence of meaning
We also worked from this quote. We tried seeing what meaning we could put into silences. Each of us would ask Mr. Evans "Will I get a 7 in IB?" and he wouldn't respond in words but rather in gestures, facial expressions, putting meaning into the silence, which made it powerful.
I think that if we had, perhaps, included these ideas into, for example, Tina!, it could have improved it and made it more authentic, and convincing. For example, the secretary scene where Zebub first comes on, the secretaries were expecting that, and it may have not been as convincing (luckily we had the mask to cover some of this).
Antonin Artaud and the Theatre of Cruelty
Antonin Artaud was a french actor, poet, playwright and director.
He was the one who put forth the "Theatre of Cruelty." He believed that the audience should be involved as much as possible and with that the statements he wanted to make would be put across. He also believed that to involve the audience, the actors should shock them, to grab their attention. To Artaud, this was cruel, because the actors are forcefully engaging the audience through fear and shock, and thus creating the Theatre of Cruelty.
An interesting connection with what we have studied before and with Artaud was that he was intrigued with Balinese Theatre. He admired that fact that they used almost no dialogue and the message conveyed was mostly through gestures, facial expressions, sounds, lights etc..
We started to study his theories through simple exercises, such as trying to catch other people's attention other than using words, for instance, making faces at them or jumping up and down etc.
Then Maria, Sofia and I did a group exercise where we had to include five aspects: Mirror, Follow, Shadow, Echo and Pine Away. With improvisations, we ended up with a basic story of two girls wanting to be like another and follows and imitates her until she rejects her, which then they start to pine away.
Our main aim was to try to use as little words as possible.
Then we moved onto a larger assignment. An Artaudian approach to the retelling of the story of Echo and Narcissus. Basically what we did was:
We started with Mei and Maria sitting on the ground with Sofia sitting on one of the black stages. This was in the dark. Then scratching started and then a red light turned on. From there some drumming started as Mei and Maria started to move around kind of disturbingly. Then assembled, along with myself, at the feet of Sofia, who was playing the goddess, Juno.
>The beginning was to, firstly, set the mood of the piece, and secondly, to show how cruel goddesses can be.<
Echo came in and talked to Juno (but in mumbles so it seemed like she spoke a lot in general), then Juno got fed up and silenced her, pushing her to the ground along with her servants. Then she used her magic to take away Echo's voice. The servants screamed whilst this happened and then once Sofia clapped her hands, the screaming stopped to signify that there was no voice left. Then we all exited the stage. I, as Narcissus went on walking around until I tripped on Sara, who was playing Echo. Then I just stepped over her, until she grabbed my legs, as if trying to get my attention. Once Narcissus ignored her, she started crying, helplessly. While she cried, a hand comes from behind the black stages (that were standing on its side), and signals Narcissus to come closer. After Narcissus admired and fell in love with the reflection (indicated by him saying "so beautiful"), the reflection suddenly gets a hold of Narcissus and brings him down into the pond and a flower replaces him. One of his friends (Mei) comes, picked the flower up and said "Narcissus." After a few moments, the whole cast starts laughing and assembled at the black stages. Suddenly Mei says Narcissus towards the audience (the camera) and we all approach the audience saying "Narcissus," as if we want to get a hold of someone.
>The laughing represents our opinions on this matter. Falling in love with your own reflection and being so addicted to it that you die is a laughing matter. It is so pathetic that anyone would laugh at it.
When we assemble is like a curtain call but where some people are placed is symbolic. Sara (Echo) sat at Sofia's (Juno) feet, and I (Narcissus) sat with Maria (the reflection) behind me.
The very end is to put a statement to the play. Narcissism is a sin and therefore it will backfire one day. So when we approach the audience as if we were to strangle them, was to act as if there was a narcissist person in the audience and we were out to get him/her.<
I thought this was successful, in the sense that we improved from what we had before. First, we were mostly interpreting the story rather than using Artaud's theories. I think what were the main highlights were the red lighting and the use of sound, however that may have hindered our message and even the plot.
To conclude this entry, I got one of Artaud's poems.
Who am I?
Where do I come from?
I am Antonin Artaud
and I say this
as I know how to say this
immediatly
you will see my present body
burst into fragments
and remake itself
under ten thousand notorious aspects
a new body
where you will
never
forget me.
The part of this poem in which I remember well is "Where you will never forget me." It reminds me of the Theatre of Cruelty, because it shocks the audience so much that it is very rememberable.
He was the one who put forth the "Theatre of Cruelty." He believed that the audience should be involved as much as possible and with that the statements he wanted to make would be put across. He also believed that to involve the audience, the actors should shock them, to grab their attention. To Artaud, this was cruel, because the actors are forcefully engaging the audience through fear and shock, and thus creating the Theatre of Cruelty.
An interesting connection with what we have studied before and with Artaud was that he was intrigued with Balinese Theatre. He admired that fact that they used almost no dialogue and the message conveyed was mostly through gestures, facial expressions, sounds, lights etc..
We started to study his theories through simple exercises, such as trying to catch other people's attention other than using words, for instance, making faces at them or jumping up and down etc.
Then Maria, Sofia and I did a group exercise where we had to include five aspects: Mirror, Follow, Shadow, Echo and Pine Away. With improvisations, we ended up with a basic story of two girls wanting to be like another and follows and imitates her until she rejects her, which then they start to pine away.
Our main aim was to try to use as little words as possible.
Then we moved onto a larger assignment. An Artaudian approach to the retelling of the story of Echo and Narcissus. Basically what we did was:
We started with Mei and Maria sitting on the ground with Sofia sitting on one of the black stages. This was in the dark. Then scratching started and then a red light turned on. From there some drumming started as Mei and Maria started to move around kind of disturbingly. Then assembled, along with myself, at the feet of Sofia, who was playing the goddess, Juno.
>The beginning was to, firstly, set the mood of the piece, and secondly, to show how cruel goddesses can be.<
Echo came in and talked to Juno (but in mumbles so it seemed like she spoke a lot in general), then Juno got fed up and silenced her, pushing her to the ground along with her servants. Then she used her magic to take away Echo's voice. The servants screamed whilst this happened and then once Sofia clapped her hands, the screaming stopped to signify that there was no voice left. Then we all exited the stage. I, as Narcissus went on walking around until I tripped on Sara, who was playing Echo. Then I just stepped over her, until she grabbed my legs, as if trying to get my attention. Once Narcissus ignored her, she started crying, helplessly. While she cried, a hand comes from behind the black stages (that were standing on its side), and signals Narcissus to come closer. After Narcissus admired and fell in love with the reflection (indicated by him saying "so beautiful"), the reflection suddenly gets a hold of Narcissus and brings him down into the pond and a flower replaces him. One of his friends (Mei) comes, picked the flower up and said "Narcissus." After a few moments, the whole cast starts laughing and assembled at the black stages. Suddenly Mei says Narcissus towards the audience (the camera) and we all approach the audience saying "Narcissus," as if we want to get a hold of someone.
>The laughing represents our opinions on this matter. Falling in love with your own reflection and being so addicted to it that you die is a laughing matter. It is so pathetic that anyone would laugh at it.
When we assemble is like a curtain call but where some people are placed is symbolic. Sara (Echo) sat at Sofia's (Juno) feet, and I (Narcissus) sat with Maria (the reflection) behind me.
The very end is to put a statement to the play. Narcissism is a sin and therefore it will backfire one day. So when we approach the audience as if we were to strangle them, was to act as if there was a narcissist person in the audience and we were out to get him/her.<
I thought this was successful, in the sense that we improved from what we had before. First, we were mostly interpreting the story rather than using Artaud's theories. I think what were the main highlights were the red lighting and the use of sound, however that may have hindered our message and even the plot.
To conclude this entry, I got one of Artaud's poems.
Who am I?
Where do I come from?
I am Antonin Artaud
and I say this
as I know how to say this
immediatly
you will see my present body
burst into fragments
and remake itself
under ten thousand notorious aspects
a new body
where you will
never
forget me.
The part of this poem in which I remember well is "Where you will never forget me." It reminds me of the Theatre of Cruelty, because it shocks the audience so much that it is very rememberable.
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