David Ball: But do it backwards.

For our Monday lesson,
We already decided on our synthesis aspects, and a rough plot. Our task this lesson was to refine the plot and create more depth into the planning. To help us, Mr. Evans gave us an extract from a book by David Ball. He said that instead of going from beginning to end, chose the beginning and the end, and then start at the end and work backwards.
We decided to do this. Our ending was the protagonist jumping into an empty pool.
our thinking process went something like this:

The protagonist jumps into an empty pool.
But why?
Because he couldn't stand not going to swim for such a long time
But why?
Because he's obsessed.
But why?
Because he wants to wash away his sins (ablutions)
But why?
Because he feels guilty for his wife's death.

This is our finished timeline:



We were discussing how to show the ending, and we thought of projecting a newspaper article. Then we decided in putting it in the front.
Then that's when I came up with the idea of synthesising times. At the beginning we could have two actors who are discussing about the news about a guy who jumped into an empty pool. Then, the protagonist comes in and passes by them, and that's when the focus changes.

On our next lesson, we decided to try and physicalise the last scene. We experimented until we got an idea combing Shun-kin's use of sticks and a Butoh aspect. Maria, the protagonist, comes on a higher level with Sara and I holding sticks to form a part of the pool. Then Maria with a red sarong comes on and when she jumps she almost jumps in a slow motion way then floats a bit (to show that in her mind she is actually swimming) and then fall with a frown. Slowly, Sara and i fall as well as if we are mourning her death.

Augusto Boal

Moving on from Theatre for Development, we started to look at Theatre of the Oppressed founded by a Brazilian director, Augusto Boal.
Boal had lived through the dicatatorship in Brazil and thus created the Theatre of the Oppressed.

The first type we looked at was Image Theatre. The process we used was this
We had 2 groups (for now, call them A and B.)
A were asked to form a freeze frame (a tableau) of a particular aspect as a typical image. (We chose school)
B then had to input suggestions until A forms a tableau that satisfies everyone, according to experiences, thoughts etc. This is the "real image."
Then B creates their image of their ideal thoughts. This is the "Ideal Image"
From here, we used a slightly different method. We thought of the two images and created 3 more images as the process of getting from one image to the other.
Boal, however, puts the two images side by side and then change the real image until it gets as close as possible with the ideal image. This allowed the actors to break free from their everyday lives and have a chance of changing the "real image" of their lives, and therefore, breaking free from oppression.

Another type of theatre we looked was Invisible theatre. Invisible theatre is a performance, generally to educate people like TFD, performed anywhere. It is called Invisible theatre because the audience do not know that it is an actual performance. Boal liked to call these audience as "Spect-actors" because they are not just spectating but they are also acting since they are involved in the scene.
Often in invisible theatre, there is a "broadcaster." For example, in an invisible theatre performance Boal's group did on the metro about sexual harassment, there was a mother and child. The mother asked her child what was going on, and the child described the scene in a way that everyone on the carriage could hear.

The last type of theatre we looked at was Forum Theatre. Forum theatre includes spect-actors as well but instead, it is on a stage and the audience is aware that it is a performance. When they do watch it though, they have the opportunity to replace an actor and re-act the scene. There usually is a leader controlling what goes on so that nothing gets out of hand, which, in a way is similar to the broadcaster in invisible theatre.

During class, we were thinking even performing an invisible theatre. Maybe in the canteen or something. I think it's a good idea, but if we're after realism then I think it should be somewhere else. My argument against this is that the people at school knows us well enough to know that we wouldn't steal, we wouldn't fight etc. They don't necessarily need to know us really well to figure that out, so I honestly think we should either do something in public if we're up to do it, or if we do decide to do it in school, something not so extravagant, but with a good moral.

Theatre for Development

Using this concept, we looked at a play that was inspired by a folk tale of the Brothers Grimm. This play was performed as a piece of TfD and it is called Lady Will You Marry Me?
The script we got (which is only a section of the whole script) is about Mr. Cat trying to persuade Lady Mouse to marry him, but she is outraged since she cannot imagine a matrimony between a cat and a mouse.

We read the script and interpreted it as if we were going to perform it (as a TfD) here in Japan:
We discussed about it and here's our ideas:
>The stage here would be at a park (maybe at actually a park and perform in an open theatre) since lady mouse says "The sun, the flowers. the fragrance..." and she picks up a flower, thus indicating that this scene is set at a park.
> Incorporating Japanese elements into the play.
-The song "You are my Sunshine" will be sung with a different melody (Sakura or something well known).
> Moral: Don't rush into marriages.
Since divorces are frowned upon in Japan, we are trying to educate people to not rush into decisions like matrimony.
>Grotowski's theory with the poor theatre: Although Mr. Cat is meant to be a cat and Lady Mouse is meant to be a mouse, we will not use animal costumes but rather normal clothes (according to their personality or where they work) and the actors use their imagination to create a cat, or a mouse.
> Comedy: to keep the audience interested (otherwise they will not learn the concept) we will use comedy as an element. Although it is leisure, they will still learn the moral.
> Participation: This will ensure that the audience will watch the play "actively." Kind of like Boal's "spect-actors".
Since this is in a park, the actors could go around the actors so that it seems like this scene is happening for real.
> Mr. Cat will be a "host." They are popular here in Japan, and they are meant to be good-looking.
Lady Mouse will be a rich graduate (who doesn't work and lives off her parent's money). Since she isn't doing much of her life, she is naive in the sense that she doesn't have much experience.

Ugandan Theatre

Taking a closer look into storytelling, we started with an activity where we would tell a story to a partner then modifying it and then seeing what it ended up as. Here's how we did it:

Sofia and I were partners. I would have to tell a story to Sofia about a secret box. Then we would switch partners with Mei and Maria and Sofia would tell the story to Maria (and Mei would tell Maria's story to me), but they had to include a leopard. Then we switch partners again and I had to tell Sofia (and Maria had to tell Mei) the modified story, but changing it again, including an issue (like suicide, teen pregnancy, abortion, bullying etc).
When we finished, we shared the modified version and tried to show choose one and present it.
We even modified it even more, but adding more issues, and trying to make them clearer.

Our story (the last version) was a man named Anoop (Indian) and he was given a box of trinkets that were given to him by his grandmother. She told him not to let anyone else touch the contents of the box. He took care of the box. Then he had a party with some of his classmates, and when he went to the bathroom, his British classmates had tried to pull a prank on him and tried on the jewelry, and when they tried on the leopard necklace, it started to choke his classmates. Anoop then feels guilty and sulks away, until he dies.

Here we included the issues of bullying, racism, depression and suicide.

We tried to present issues because we started to look at Theatre for Development which is a theatre where it has an educational aim. Uganda has lots of these, especially to educate people about AIDS.
Which is why we started to look at videos of TFDs and here are the things I've noticed:

-includes chanting
-includes comedy
-there's minimal costumes and no make-up.
-there's no lighting but the natural lighting.
-open air theatre.
-includes singing
-includes dancing
-there is no audience area. The audience just stands or sits around. Generally in a round.

We could definately keep one of these concepts in our project that we are headed towards.

Athol Fugard and Jerzy Grotowski

We continued looking at Fugard, but we also looked at Grotowski. Jerzy Grotowski supposedly influenced a great deal in Fugard's theories. Despite their different nationalities, they seem to have connections.
Here's a bit of information on Grotowski.

He was a polish director who worked with experimental theatre.
He had similarities with Artaud, believing that the actors should shock the audience to "[strip] away of the mask of everyday and revealing the innermost core" (quote from worksheet), meaning that fear will alert the audience and will make them forget their everyday lives and reveal their inner self.

Grotowski was also a minimalist. He believed that the actor should not have any help (such as make-up, costume etc) in developing a character. The costumes were not to reflect the character, but rather the set. He believed that the actors should use their own body and skill to create a character.
With this, Grotowski developed the Poor Theatre.
Poor in the sense that there were no tricks in the theatre but rather just the actor revealing the character.

He also developed The Holy Actor, which was an actor who does exactly what he believed; an actor who does not rely on tricks and depends only on their skills and creativity.

Although Grotowski had activities to train actors, he rather have the actor think on their own, and create a character with their own creativity.


Fugard first thought that the actors should have to use their creativity and on stage, the actor should "[fill] and [define it] by movement and gesture." He also did not have the script be the main part of the play, but rather the actor (which is very opposed to Brecht's ideas).
However, after his encounter with Grotowski's work, he took out the text of his plays, and based it on just improvisations.
They always had a stimulus, which was often a photograph, and this was how Statements After an Arrest Under the Immorality Act was created.

Theatre and other activities.

On May 2nd 2009, I was performing at the Y150 event, in the choir.
The day before that though, Genki (one of the school's IT manager) asked me if I could bring the walkie talkies I had at home to the event, and also that he might need my help in management. So on the day, I kept one of the radios, and stayed outside and led everyone who came late into the building.
Then, coming up to the performance, Genki had said to get to "action stations"... But Of course, I didnt know mine... All I did first was just stay outside and see if there were any YIS students. So I asked him.
"Your job is to make sure people are on schedule and are prepared."
Ok... simple enough. I thought...

That day, however, was also the day of SATs. People taking them were coming in late. So I was to make sure they came on time, knew what was going to happen on stage and also get ready. We had problems. SATs were running late and they came around 30 minutes before the performance and some came 15 minutes before. I started to panic.
Then I also had to make sure people were going on the same times and knew what was going to happen etc...

But everything went well, and it was a successful concert, with a full house (without much people leaving).

While cleaning up I felt good. Despite the panic and the stress during the concert, I enjoyed managing.
Then I thought about it, and it was very similar to what I was doing in Robin Hood; I was making sure the actors go onstage on their cue, making sure they were ready, including props, costumes and make up etc.
I knew that Theatre would help me somehow in the future, for example, knowing about lighting could help me in art (with the use of lights) and set design etc. but I didn't know that it would help me at a music concert. After this epiphany, I felt a slight burst of confidence. (Before taking this subject, I was in doubt whether or not to take theatre, or whether I should take a science rather than theatre) I feel Confidence in the sense that i know that Theatre will definitely help me in the future and not necessarily in the Theatre area.