We have finally reached the end of our long journey through East End Tales and I was pleasantly surprised of how well it went. We were assessed on how well we could present Fin Kennedy's script using our theatrical and physical skills along with our storytelling ability. It was very physical and most of us were on the stage at all times weather we were acting or onlooking, in character, using very minimal props: pink stools and a couple of umbrellas.
We worked a lot on the script, using small sections of it to fuel an improvised scene where a few lines could make completely different characters than the ones in the play but still make sense. Alabama and I once used a paragraph originally spoken between a cabbie and passenger and twisted it into a interrogation of sorts where the cabbie circled his passenger looking very menacing and the passenger being rather timid but secretly rolling eyes when the cabbies back was turned. Improvisation gave us a lot more input into the play in general as we were able to use our own understandings of the themes effectively rather than being told what to do.
As a company I think we worked very well because we knew the script back to front and were able to save one another if we messed up on a line and we were able to enjoy ourselves more I think because we were free of scripts for the most part so we could play around with it more, some things that worked especially well in my point of view were the first few scenes with the lights as the audience was almost told who and what to focus on with the lights turning on and off and the way that we moved, somewhat emphasising certain parts of the stage and fewer actors. I think this was the best way to portray it and any more or less light would not have been as effective.
Also any tale where we each had a few words each had such a lovely sense of rhythm and a great pace in comparison to the ones where we had paragraphs each. the contrast really showed how the East End can be snappy and fast but also focused on some more intense details at times.
I was a bit upset that we did not have the faces up on our phones in tale 5 because I think if we had perfected that then it could have been really nice and effective but I guess people just weren't ready in time which is a shame, but I did however how we used the stools for so many different things like a door frame, chairs both in a home and in a cafe. I also loved the texture of all the sounds because there were the lines but then there was the TV and radio which kept building up more and more only to be cut off so abruptly much like the victims life. Having Taffy carried across the room showing the audience directly what happened, not just letting them assume anything, was quite nice because it was so direct and blunt because these things do happen and it was like ripping the bandage off quickly rather than carefully.
There were some things to improve on, of course, we all could have been even snappier, cutting each other even faster in the quick tales to make it just that much more effective, and as personal criticism, I really should have spoken louder because it was probably too quiet for the whole room to hear, and so could a few in scenes with music or other things that they would need to speak over. I also think that the movements were a bit too restricted, this was probably because the room itself was rather packed as it was but even so, some things could have been exaggerated even more.
Throughout the term I loved improving my physicality because I never really used to enjoy it as much as scripted work and quite frankly, I thought of it as rather boring, but I think knowing the processes that actors go through to get to the end product and doing that myself makes me appreciate the style a lot more. I did find it difficult to characterise for most of the tales because of the fact that we only had a few words each, but I did find myself becoming aware of other peoples decisions and allowing that to help me shape my own to make sense in the situation. Next term, I would really like to have more of a say in what happens in the play because whenever I have an idea, I find it hard to say it because I don't believe that it is good enough and this may be because we were put into rather large groups, so maybe if we are put into smaller ones, I may allow myself to speak out and say my ideas, even if they are not used in the end.
Overall, I have really enjoyed this term as it has opened the gates of physical theatre for me and I have learned how to handle a different type of script than the likes of which I am used to, and next term I would definitely want to work on my projection and diction so that I can be heard by all.
Sunday, 12 April 2015
Monday, 16 February 2015
Thursday, 29th January 2015, Rehearsal Sheet
Targets:
Reflection:
I think I have worked at a distinction level because...:
Reflection:
I think I have worked at a distinction level because...:
Thursday, 22nd January 2015, Rehearsal Sheet
Targets:
Reflection:
I think I have worked at a merit because...:
Thursday, 15th January 2015
Today we finished blocking Tale 5 and working more on our grouped scenes (Tale 7 for me).
I think I have worked at a merit level because...:
In Tale 7, we took out the mess of walking around the shop, and as I am playing the 'lady from the community centre', we have decided to light me and Connor up to bring the focus on us as we are spoken about. This will hopefully help keep the audience interested because of the change of lighting and the movement.
In Tale 5, we finish the scene by having Taffy lifted up and off the stage as if she were dead and in a coffin. This is quite beautiful because it just shows the reality of the fact that she has died and gives it a very literal feel to it. The narrator is probably feeling something along the lines of guilt because they did not do or say anything to help her situation while she was alive that could have kept her that way.
Rehersal Sheet:
Targets:
Reflection:
I think I have worked at a merit level because...:
Thursday, 8th January 2015
In Tale 1, I know my lines and cues, but I think we can all work on how fast to come in and say our lines to make it more snippy and quick, more interrupting each other rather than waiting for them to finish speaking.
Reflections: 
I think I worked at a merit level because...:
We are trying to add some accents, so I'd like to play around with those a bit, also with my pitch a bit so that I am not coming out as a monotone. Also, adding some character, like laughing a bit when saying 'wouldn't they all?', or saying 'can stick up for himself' like I was idolising him, thinking it was cool. Also, finding other things to do while on the phone, scrolling through Twitter or Facebook or calling someone while twirling a strand of my hair.
I liked having creative ownership of tale 7 as we got show what we thought of the scene and how we worked as a group, trying to come up with something that we all think is adequate.
So far we have blocked up until 'The prices are all up front mate, I say. YOU picked them up.'. We have chosen to have Benji start the scene behind the counter while the rest of us imitate being his brother, stacking shelves, trying to make the time go by.
After this, we start shopping, looking for the items that we may need for the evening. However, I think this will probably look a bit messy to an audience as we really just look like we are loitering. Plus, it's late and there wouldn't be that many people in the shop. Maybe if we all do the same thing, just to form it a bit, giving it more shape so that we can continue blocking the scene.
Rehearsal Sheet:
Targets:
Thursday, 18h December 2014
My characters:
Prologue: I wouldn't say that I personally have a character, I am a headlight on a taxi, but I feel as if my driver is very protective of his cab although he does not know all the technical terms for the parts 'D'ya mind takin yer hand off the, off the thingy.' I feel as if he would feel safe but exposed at the same time while in there as he knows every inch of the car better than anyone else, but at the same time, because anyone can simply hail him and especially in the area that he lives in, may even be rude.
Tale 1: Although I am a part of an ensemble, I feel like we are all playing the stereotypical girl of the East End, as we learned from Jake and Matteo at the beginning, can be catty, btichy and fake. I think this is exactly what we are all doing. Creating up this perfect guy in our heads, not just because he'd be a nice person, but because he's 'fit' and we know that every other girl wants him but can't have him because he's ours. However, if a person like this were to come into our lives, I think we would definitely be in it for the long run as we say things like 'which is a start' meaning we are planning to work on him until he truly becomes our perfect man.
Tale 3: We are all pub going alcoholics who have seen what Jack has done, silently judging him for his actions, sitting in our semicircle, staring at him, never confronting him but always reminding him of his mistakes, egging his inner demons on.
Tale 4: It is a bit unclear, to me, what exactly my character is in this tale because as we all may be the inner thoughts of this teenager, we are also isles and counters and onlookers while they are interacting, from sitting on the road, to sitting on the sides, observing the loneliness.
Tale 5: We are all the same character again, apart from Aaron and Susannah who are our parents. We are all a teenager who probably thinks unhealthy relationships ranging from domestic violence, to one where one gets screamed at for trying to do the right thing, are normal. We can sense the tension but try to ignore it best we can, because that is what we have been taught. We know more than we can comprehend, we know what is happening, we just choose to try to lighten the mood by adding humour to what we are saying. We know what is right, like our mother, but also like her, we are too afraid to do anything until we are confronted with her personally.
Tale 7: I think my character is quite passive aggressive, not wanting to take any more racial abuse from others. But never do anything so big that it would attract attention to myself. My character is clearly angry, probably feeling outnumbered by my father not letting me work in the shop anymore because I stood up for my self. There is a clear amount of anger that I can not let out because it may endanger myself and others, and this small outburst being pushed away is not letting me vent in a healthy way.
Line Objectives:
'Yesterday's stories that the rain might wash away.' - making the comment of how frail she is, maybe because I wants to take care of her because I never got the chance with my own grandmother or simply because my character is very empathetic and wants to help.
'But then a plate breaks ... Against the dividing wall between our house and theirs.' - maybe unintentionally adding to the awkwardness of the situation by fumbling around with their words, adding to the tension just by trying to explain what is happening.
'That's seven forty-one please.' - the feeling of triumph over the racist bulldog man, being together as a family. Having the feeling that they could do anything in that moment if they set their minds to it.
Sunday, 15 February 2015
Thursday, 11th December 2014
The word ensemble to me, is a group of people, or actor in our case, coming together to create something that may usually be done by one person, but expanding it so that everyone is together and somehow joined by the nature of the piece. By getting more than one person to do the same action or saying the same line can give it more importance, making whoever is watching think why the actors have chosen that, of all things, to be more important than the others.
So far, I have enjoyed tale one the best because even though we have not perfected the timing and we could work on vocalising our characters a bit more, I like the simplicity of it. No one ever having more than 5 words to themselves, I can see it being very fast and snappy. That can show the fast pace that our brains work at nowadays, being teenagers that are rules by our phones and social media. We find out the hometown of a teenage girl would be if it was a person, who she would clearly idolise as the perfect man for her, 'even the traffic stops for him when he crosses the road'.
Tale 3:
We have staged tale 3 very sparsely as we are all standing about in a pub, utilising the whole space. The boys start the scene from their previous one, moving the stools. The girls then enter, taking a place around the boys or on their own. We then start to drink a pint of beer in a very over exaggerated manor, starting and stopping at the same time, with 'London's Calling' helping us keep in time. After the first few lines, we become plumbers or electricians, or someone of that trade, explaining what the problem is to a customer. We then form a semi-circle around a bar of chairs. While saying lines, we quickly whip our heads round to focus on the person speaking. We then bring out a sheet under which is Matteo's victim whom he accidentally murdered, who is Roseby.
I play a loud pub goer and a plumber. As the pub goer, I loudly talk with my friends while ordering a pint to drink. And as the plumber, I try to use my limited knowledge of pipes to explain to an audience member that it will cost a lot to fix because the leak also blew their lights.
The atmosphere begins somewhat happily, everyone in the pub, then telling Jack's story. Later taking a turn for the worse as we realise that Jack's life is not something to be making a joke out of. That he did actually kill someone and doesn't really like to talk about it. Our heads snapping to look at each person shows the tension, but then contrasts with the sad tone the person is using while telling the story of a murder.
This is very different from tale 1 and 2 as in both of those we weren't talking about such morbid topics, we were mainly just messing about and joking, as characters, just imagining what the East End may be, but because that is the last one of those sorts, I imagine three friends telling each other how they would picture their home as a person, then when it comes round to the third, they start of all happy, but as they start to think about it. It would be nothing like that, the East End would be full of regrets and it would bring down the whole energy of the game the friends are playing. Also, we have done more moving in this scene as apposed to the other two.
Tale 4:
So far, we have incorporated some more props other than the stools. Those who brought them, used umbrellas. This piece does not focus on the ensemble side as much as the others, as there are parts where we all join in the middle to make a road. However, it does seem to centre around two actors more than the rest.
I wouldn't really say that I have my own individual character, more that I am saying something that the main character is thinking. They seem to be a teenager, who wants to do good, but may not always to quite that, maybe because of peer pressure, or pressure from home. Either way they get it from somewhere that they should be all 'hard', but don't necessarily want to be that way.
Further Questions:
I feel like I have worked on my physical theatre skills and have become more comfortable with doing such things. However, I think I am a bit too much of a perfectionist because I will always think how something will look as if I am performing it at the time rather than trial and error.
I think the lines that sum up the tales are:
Prologue: 'Stompin ground'
Tale 1: 'Cos it's in the past now'
Tale 2: 'And her pillow is wet when she wakes'
Tale 3: 'Cos under it all, he's a lost little boy'
Tale 4: 'Being lonely'
Thursday, 4th December 2014
An advantage of using this kind of staging would be that the audience get a different view of the performance, being able to see some things closer. It would give them more of an insight to some scenes, especially ones that are tense and aggressive because they will be able to see, more intimately, how the actors are interacting and the choices they have made for some things. But also see the whole situation from a different point of view, whereas they may have previously felt completely disconnected from whatever is happening, they would feel like they were living it more than merely looking upon it.
However a disadvantage will be that some performers will have their backs to most of the audience for some of the play, which could make it harder for them to hear their lines and they may then not understand what is happening in some parts of the play.
When blocking East End Tales I think it will be quite difficult to choose which part of the audience to neglect as there is no real dialogue in the play so is more of a consistent monologue, the audience would benefit from seeing the facial expressions head on, which will be difficult with a Thrust stage. It will require to act more with the body so that the audience behind can get a better picture of the emotion.
I love the creative choices that have been made to create the prologue because I can imagine it looking great from an onlookers perspective with all the lights and angles that the taxis are placed on, having more than one taxi driver with their group lighting their face in darkness. The way the lines are distributed may make it seem like they are each telling their individual stories, but from the way that they connect and flow will show the narrative side of it. The text is giving the impression that it is a stereotypical cabbie who likes to have a good chat of where their passenger is going and telling their own life story.
When we got split into the gendered scenes, we got given lines sparsely so I wouldn't say that we really had characters individually, but were all the same character as an ensemble. However, it will be difficult to all be the exact same character, and being different ones will most likely have a nice effect of the audience as it will showcase the stereotypical girl of the East End as they will probably be rather similar vocally.
As we are telling someone what the place we are living in would be like as a person, most likely means that we love the East End, and have full trust and faith in the person we are telling. Probably our best friend. When the text touches on the characters past, we could actually be telling the story of someone we actually know, or ourselves even, but putting it in someone else as so to keep it a secret but still not have the burden of keeping it to ourselves.
The way we have staged it is using some chairs for some to sit on, then others to sit on the floor between them, makes it rather physical. We have our phones torch to light our face, while using it as a phone, texting, calling or going on a social media website. We say the first line together, to show that we are all one person, with no light then quickly bring it out then putting them back to our chests. We then bring the light back at our first line, doing the actions I mentioned before. Then we say another line together and on our next line, some get up and move or just get up. Continuing to 'text', 'call' or just be on our phones.
I like the simplicity of the piece because it seems that we are all obsessing about a boy together, planning our future with him and being the stereotypical girl. However, for now, the gaps between the lines are far too long. We need to not panic when this happens, or if someone accidentally cuts someone else off. Also I think this will work best if we do almost interrupt the person before us, as if we are changing our thought pattern very often.
Thursday, 27th November 2014, monologues
I really enjoyed this session because we did a lot of creative writing, which I love. We did monologues on our favourite character that we performed as. I chose the woman from tale 2 because I really like her character, how she is described as having a good life, she's happy, she's healthy. But is she? She cries so much, she doesn't like her job. The contrast in her is amazing and I love it.
The italic words are the directions that Jamie, the person I later partnered up with, wrote in.
Start by sitting on a chair, then stand.
Hello, my name is Eva. I'm 21. I work as a secretary for a publishers company. I'll be honest, it's not the most glamorous job out there, but it pays the bills.
Sit down. Change of thought.
You know, I got all A*'s? All my life, perfect grade and I end up here, in the East End, withering away like the rest of my family. Because that's what it is. If you don't have the money, or the contacts, you don't get anywhere in life. And why should you?
Stand up and walk to one side of the room.
Mum always said I was special, that I had a bright future. Guess she had to though. My dad
Become very closed.
wasn't around much. And when he was, it wasn't to have some quality father-daughter time I can tell you that much.
Try to laugh it off. Walk to other side of the room.
Maybe that's what I have such bad luck with the men I choose. That's all I really want though. To find someone to love, someone who will love me. But
Sit back down on 'no'. And sarcasm.
no, I have to fall for my bosses druggie nephew with the sparkling blue eyes and perfect smile, who only talks to me if I wear the right thing.
Pull at sleeves.
So is that why I work so hard? To distract myself, to fill the gaps? I just work, sleep eat, maybe go for a jog. But that's all there is to it, to me. It's just me. Alone with a bottle of wine to keep me company. It's just me.
The monologue helped me create a bigger picture of this character because we are not told why she is in a job she hates, or where her luck with men steams from. I think the character told in the play does not sound quite like the stereotypical woman from the East End as she drinks wine and is a business woman, so I think that by mentioning that her father was not around much and that the most her mother could give her was words of encouragement shows that she grew up in a slightly poorer house.
My partner was Jamie and in her monologue, she wrote about how she used to be really close with her family, but got involved with the wrong crowd and got kicked out of her own home, which in turn made her life go even more down hill, and just when she thought she was safe. It got really bad again. I loved the way Jamie used her voice because you could really feel her pain. She would look out at the audience too, which made a connection between us and her.
When I say everyone else's, Benji's monologue really stuck out for me because he would be sitting on a chair one second, then he would jump up and shout and make a fast movement, which was shocking, but intrigued me even more because of the emotions it evoked in his character.
We did not have enough time for the next task, however, I think I am working at a merit level as I attempted to write a piece in the style of the play, but I think I could work on it, and my physicality. I also applied the research homework we did on a character. I still think I can work on my physical theatre too though, but I would like to apply it to whatever we do next.
The italic words are the directions that Jamie, the person I later partnered up with, wrote in.
Start by sitting on a chair, then stand.
Hello, my name is Eva. I'm 21. I work as a secretary for a publishers company. I'll be honest, it's not the most glamorous job out there, but it pays the bills.
Sit down. Change of thought.
You know, I got all A*'s? All my life, perfect grade and I end up here, in the East End, withering away like the rest of my family. Because that's what it is. If you don't have the money, or the contacts, you don't get anywhere in life. And why should you?
Stand up and walk to one side of the room.
Mum always said I was special, that I had a bright future. Guess she had to though. My dad
Become very closed.
wasn't around much. And when he was, it wasn't to have some quality father-daughter time I can tell you that much.
Try to laugh it off. Walk to other side of the room.
Maybe that's what I have such bad luck with the men I choose. That's all I really want though. To find someone to love, someone who will love me. But
Sit back down on 'no'. And sarcasm.
no, I have to fall for my bosses druggie nephew with the sparkling blue eyes and perfect smile, who only talks to me if I wear the right thing.
Pull at sleeves.
So is that why I work so hard? To distract myself, to fill the gaps? I just work, sleep eat, maybe go for a jog. But that's all there is to it, to me. It's just me. Alone with a bottle of wine to keep me company. It's just me.
The monologue helped me create a bigger picture of this character because we are not told why she is in a job she hates, or where her luck with men steams from. I think the character told in the play does not sound quite like the stereotypical woman from the East End as she drinks wine and is a business woman, so I think that by mentioning that her father was not around much and that the most her mother could give her was words of encouragement shows that she grew up in a slightly poorer house.
My partner was Jamie and in her monologue, she wrote about how she used to be really close with her family, but got involved with the wrong crowd and got kicked out of her own home, which in turn made her life go even more down hill, and just when she thought she was safe. It got really bad again. I loved the way Jamie used her voice because you could really feel her pain. She would look out at the audience too, which made a connection between us and her.
When I say everyone else's, Benji's monologue really stuck out for me because he would be sitting on a chair one second, then he would jump up and shout and make a fast movement, which was shocking, but intrigued me even more because of the emotions it evoked in his character.
We did not have enough time for the next task, however, I think I am working at a merit level as I attempted to write a piece in the style of the play, but I think I could work on it, and my physicality. I also applied the research homework we did on a character. I still think I can work on my physical theatre too though, but I would like to apply it to whatever we do next.
Saturday, 14 February 2015
Thursday, 20th November 2014
We came into the session having done our homework that was set last week but were not asked to share it. However we did talk about it, and were asked to sum it up in one work. My group came up with things such as 'false happiness' and 'depression' as we had looked at a tale full of both those things, we each had simply divided which one was the most evident and portrayed it the best.
Our response to the tale was very literal as we created the scene in a park environment, in which we each were a different part of the characters attributes that were mentioned, one jogged around, another was obsessed with shoes, another hung up on some guy and so on. I wish we had done something more interesting than just going for the obvious as that seems awfully childish, but we were not given great amounts of time and we spent most of it talking about the character and the tale, that when it came down to preparing a piece, we did not have enough time to come ip with something of good quality.
I wanted to develop my use of my body, to make the scene a bit more physical but we did not have enough time to practice it enough so it would go well. My homework did help me tap into the character though. I was being the love sick side of her, being jealous of any other girl he would talk to, even if it was my friend. But I think that there was too much going on in the scene at once, and although I'm not sure how it looked for the audience, I thought it was a bit messy. I would like to have more confidence in some of my ideas because I usually just push them down if I don't think they're good and I don't really speak out if someone else is talking. I would just like to relax a bit more on and off stage.
We got put into different groups then, to read tale 6 again and circle all the characters. They were:
Because he is one of the main characters, I was rather restricted as to how I could mould him as a character. As he may seem horrible and scary on the outside, he is really just a boy inside. He made a few bad choices when he was young that he has never really been able to shake, and he has regretted them ever since, especially because it is keeping him away from his daughter and kept him from saying goodbye to his mother. He tries to keep himself to himself but it never really works out. Something always happens where people expect him to lash out and fight, do anything really. But not this time, this time he has shown his true colours but ignoring his demons inside that are telling him he'll never be good enough and that he can't change so what's the point? No, this time he allowed the storm to evaporate and just let his natural self take over.
In my group, we divided ourselves into even smaller sections, to be in pairs. One was the mother in America on the phone to her mother, the another was the conversation that the woman and man are having that we do not get to hear in the play and the final one was of the man having his final moments with his mother. I was in the second one and although we knew it had to be short, we kept in mind that we did have to follow a structure of them each telling their story to the other. I liked having to invent that conversation because I find it's quite beautiful how something terrible almost happened, then something magical happened, and the crisis was averted. We did not do anything fancy physically, we just sat and talked, because that is what they were doing, and the simplicity of the scene is what I think is the best part because it's not a full on battle between the two. It is two people who both have a hole inside themselves and just having someone to listen to them has made their day a million times better.
I enjoyed Ella's interpretation of the daughter in America, that came back engaged to someone who she has only known a brief period of time. It simply emphasised her lack of appreciation to the woman who raised her as best she could, giving her all her love and affection and getting nothing in return. And when she just leaves for a party, not even caring that she may have given her mother the biggest shock of her life, it made it ten times more effective.
Our response to the tale was very literal as we created the scene in a park environment, in which we each were a different part of the characters attributes that were mentioned, one jogged around, another was obsessed with shoes, another hung up on some guy and so on. I wish we had done something more interesting than just going for the obvious as that seems awfully childish, but we were not given great amounts of time and we spent most of it talking about the character and the tale, that when it came down to preparing a piece, we did not have enough time to come ip with something of good quality.
I wanted to develop my use of my body, to make the scene a bit more physical but we did not have enough time to practice it enough so it would go well. My homework did help me tap into the character though. I was being the love sick side of her, being jealous of any other girl he would talk to, even if it was my friend. But I think that there was too much going on in the scene at once, and although I'm not sure how it looked for the audience, I thought it was a bit messy. I would like to have more confidence in some of my ideas because I usually just push them down if I don't think they're good and I don't really speak out if someone else is talking. I would just like to relax a bit more on and off stage.
We got put into different groups then, to read tale 6 again and circle all the characters. They were:
- Narrator
- Landlord
- Brother
- 'Warm, tired woman'
- Her daughter
- 'Hard, sly man'
- His daughter
- His mother
- Others at the pub
Because he is one of the main characters, I was rather restricted as to how I could mould him as a character. As he may seem horrible and scary on the outside, he is really just a boy inside. He made a few bad choices when he was young that he has never really been able to shake, and he has regretted them ever since, especially because it is keeping him away from his daughter and kept him from saying goodbye to his mother. He tries to keep himself to himself but it never really works out. Something always happens where people expect him to lash out and fight, do anything really. But not this time, this time he has shown his true colours but ignoring his demons inside that are telling him he'll never be good enough and that he can't change so what's the point? No, this time he allowed the storm to evaporate and just let his natural self take over.
In my group, we divided ourselves into even smaller sections, to be in pairs. One was the mother in America on the phone to her mother, the another was the conversation that the woman and man are having that we do not get to hear in the play and the final one was of the man having his final moments with his mother. I was in the second one and although we knew it had to be short, we kept in mind that we did have to follow a structure of them each telling their story to the other. I liked having to invent that conversation because I find it's quite beautiful how something terrible almost happened, then something magical happened, and the crisis was averted. We did not do anything fancy physically, we just sat and talked, because that is what they were doing, and the simplicity of the scene is what I think is the best part because it's not a full on battle between the two. It is two people who both have a hole inside themselves and just having someone to listen to them has made their day a million times better.
I enjoyed Ella's interpretation of the daughter in America, that came back engaged to someone who she has only known a brief period of time. It simply emphasised her lack of appreciation to the woman who raised her as best she could, giving her all her love and affection and getting nothing in return. And when she just leaves for a party, not even caring that she may have given her mother the biggest shock of her life, it made it ten times more effective.
Thursday, 20th November 2014, Developing Criteria and Reflection on Lesson
I think I am working at a merit so far. I created and explored a character (I chose the hard sly man) by doing a role in the wall which made me think more about how my character feels and what others thing of him and his appearance. I got some of the things from the script to get a better foundation of my character, and I also ended up understanding some other characters more too. Creating the character was easy as the most important things were in the script. However this did not give me much creative input as to what I could add to the character.
Thursday, 13th November 2014, Tale 2
On paper, this charter would have a near perfect life, she's a business woman, who jogs and drinks wine. But that's never all there is to a person. She doesn't enjoy her work, or the clothes she has to wear. She puts up a cold front to not get hurt by the world, but that wall keeps both the bad and the good out. But unfortunately for her, the one person that she has fallen for, really fallen for, is a sleazy guys at work who takes drugs and barley notices her. But all she wants is what any other woman her age wants, to fall in love and all that sappy stuff, more shoes, clothes. And as her life may seem fine to a stranger, she cries herself to sleep every night.
I think she is a smart woman, she knows what she wants, just doesn't know how to go about getting it. And I don't think she's proud of some of the decisions she has had to make, I think she wanted to be a writer and she could have been. But instead, her mother wanted her to have a reliable job and did not let her pursue it. Her mother obviously loved her, but tried to control her a little too much, paving the first few bricks for that wall.
Her life is not really living. She works long hours to pay the bills. But she has always worked hard for everything in her life and just wants to get one break. Just one good thing in her life. That's all she asks for. Sure she has a nice 3 bedroom house, a kitchen full of food and wine, but those are all material and she would throw them all away for a lover or a true friend.
I see her as being beautiful, but not only for her face. Her heart is good. She may think selfishly sometimes, but don't we all? Her long brown hair cascades down in soft curls, she has emerald green eyes that once shone with excitement and ambition but are now dull from the effect life has had on her. She is not afraid of the conventional things, spiders, ghosts, monsters. But of real things. Death, loneliness and change. Change because, although she is not happy, she is too afraid that if she takes a leap, there will be no one there to catch her. However all she really needs in life is not new shoes, or a pathetic man she thinks she loves. She needs to believe that she is strong enough to land on her own two feet all by herself. But she is too scared of what is around the corner to take a peek.
I see a friend talking about her. Someone who used to know her, but well enough to know exactly what is happening to her now. They were best friends forever. Or so they thought. After one went off to collage to pursue a career she never even wanted, the other got exactly what she dreamed of, minus the thing she treasured most. She pities her, but not in a 'charity case' sort of way. In a 'I know you can do great things, even if you don't' kind of way.
I think she is a smart woman, she knows what she wants, just doesn't know how to go about getting it. And I don't think she's proud of some of the decisions she has had to make, I think she wanted to be a writer and she could have been. But instead, her mother wanted her to have a reliable job and did not let her pursue it. Her mother obviously loved her, but tried to control her a little too much, paving the first few bricks for that wall.
Her life is not really living. She works long hours to pay the bills. But she has always worked hard for everything in her life and just wants to get one break. Just one good thing in her life. That's all she asks for. Sure she has a nice 3 bedroom house, a kitchen full of food and wine, but those are all material and she would throw them all away for a lover or a true friend.
I see her as being beautiful, but not only for her face. Her heart is good. She may think selfishly sometimes, but don't we all? Her long brown hair cascades down in soft curls, she has emerald green eyes that once shone with excitement and ambition but are now dull from the effect life has had on her. She is not afraid of the conventional things, spiders, ghosts, monsters. But of real things. Death, loneliness and change. Change because, although she is not happy, she is too afraid that if she takes a leap, there will be no one there to catch her. However all she really needs in life is not new shoes, or a pathetic man she thinks she loves. She needs to believe that she is strong enough to land on her own two feet all by herself. But she is too scared of what is around the corner to take a peek.
I see a friend talking about her. Someone who used to know her, but well enough to know exactly what is happening to her now. They were best friends forever. Or so they thought. After one went off to collage to pursue a career she never even wanted, the other got exactly what she dreamed of, minus the thing she treasured most. She pities her, but not in a 'charity case' sort of way. In a 'I know you can do great things, even if you don't' kind of way.
Thursday, 13th of November 2014, Session
We looked at the prologue in pairs, where a taxi driver is talking to a customer and we had to add in the lines that the passenger may have asked and answers to some questions. I was working with Alabama, and we came to the conclusion that the passenger was new in town therefore more quiet and felt the conversation to be more of an interrogation.
We staged it so the driver was walking around the passenger, while they sit in a chair rather awkwardly, not speaking much, and only answering shortly and cautiously. The section we were given was the one from the dots.
We thought a bit more about how it was being staged and how the shy passenger would react to the taxi drivers big personality and harsh words. I really enjoyed Roseby and Matilda's interpretation of their given part as they gave the impression that the passenger was being abused at home but the driver was completely oblivious to that fact and just continued talking as if it was a normal conversation. It just showed a serious topic while others did not do as such.
We also did a whole class hot seat in the taxi drivers character. I think hot seating is a very good technique as it enables an actor to get even more into the character, helping them discover things that the probably would not have if they were thinking about it for ages as they need to make things up on the spot, enlarging their character, trying out different things and seeing what they think is best for the role.
In this exercise, we see that what may seem a boring job of a taxi driver can be much more animated then what is first perceived. He/she likes to play golf on the weekend, favours Star Wars over Star Trek (good choice) and has been training to be a taxi driver since the age of 10! I did not get to ask any questions as my mind seemed to go blank for the short time that we focused on the exercise. However this helped me see the character of the taxi driver more clearly in my head as a posed to words on a page.
We then did some ensemble work and all said the taxi drivers lines simultaneously. We each added our own little personality traits. I made it so that I was a new taxi driver and got a bit too carried away with talking with the passenger to remember to drive all the time. I'd always be honked at for almost swerving into another lane or forgetting to go when the green light came on. I incorporated my hands a lot, always having only one on the wheel so I could use my other for gestures. I tried to rush the lines a bit to show the enthusiasm of my character, leaning forward in my chair in excitement.
Others did very different things, some were the stereotypical 'lad', legs open, loud mouth, so on. We were asked to follow the lead of a different driver, imitating them. The one that stuck out for me the most was Benji's as he made his very camp, exaggerating his hand gestures, crossing his legs and being very enthusiastic with what he was saying. It was quite difficult to pick up on the pace and speed he was going at, but once the whole group got the hang of it, it sounded very effective and probably looked rather amusing. I could imagine being the passenger and being engrossed in what we were all saying just because we all picked up the enthusiasm and energy Benji had.
We read Tale 8 as a group, and highlighted words or sentences that created an atmosphere, gave location or told of weather. Kennedy definitely focused on the darker side, showcasing the 'eerie' 'burrow between buildings'.
We ended the session by attempting to crate Tale 8. I think we could have made it a lot more abstract than literal to crate the atmosphere of a creepy ally-way, and I think that if we had more time, we most likely would have played around with more physical theatre. Unfortunately, we did not even have enough time to even show the others what we had created, however I enjoyed the exercise and it helped me visualise the East End even more.
Research on the East End
HISTORY:
The east end has always been known as the working class area of London. A place of overcrowding, poverty, violent crime, grimy industry and social unrest. This has been the case since the victorian age and is not seen much differently now.
The East End has always been poor in comparison to the West. From very early on it was centred around trade and industry, tanning and tallow works clustered in the area, as it was close to the River Thames and the River Lea. It did, however, seem to be a relatively nice place to live and work, but everything changed in the Victorian Era.
The trade and heavy industry grew along with the Empire under Queen Victorias rule. In 1827, the St Katherine Docks opened, creating more of a need for dock workers. That was no problem as the East End had been attracting many immigrants fleeing their country, mainly being Jews and French Huguenots in the 17th century.
In 1866 a cholera epidemic plagued the East End, killing 3,000 people. Those who could, moved out as soon as they possible - with aid from the railways - leaving behind the poorest, most underprivileged people in the whole of London in one place. In 1887, social reformer Charles Booth conducted a survey of the living conditions of the poor. He found that 13% of the East End were chronically poor, and of those, “a part must be considered separately, as the class for whom decent life is not imaginable.”
It is unsurprising then, that crime, immorality, drunkenness and violence were so rife. So by the late 19th Century the East End became known as "The Abyss". In the year of 1888, the East End was graced with the tale of Jack the Ripper. It is needless to say that it is most likely the most gruesome one of them all.
FUN FACT: ‘Cockney’ or ‘cock’s egg’ was a 14th century insult used by rural people to describe native Londoners who lived by their wits rather than their muscle. In time, the term came to refer to any working class Londoner born within hearing distance of the bells of St Mary-le-Bow, Cheapside.
RECENT EAST END NEWS:
Without actually going to a place, news is usually the way we find out about it. it is very influential on the image of areas. The East End is not filled with the most positive news stories, not giving it the best impression.
http://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/police-hunt-driver-after-man-killed-in-late-night-hitandrun-in-north-east-london-10000957.html - An average man, early 50's, was killed in a hit-and-run situation, where the attacker got away in a Volkswagen car.
http://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/schoolboy-stabbed-to-death-after-fight-between-two-groups-of-teenagers-in-east-london-9907914.html - A 15-year-old boy killed in a fight between two groups, with severe stab wounds to the abdomen, was taken to hospital but died three hours later.
http://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/stephen-mulhern-joins-fight-to-save-brothers-east-london-pub-10014050.html - To end these tales on a more uplifting note, TV presenter, Stephen Mulhern, has joined the fight to save his brothers pub. There is very little hope, but now spirits are rising that it may stay open.
EVENTS FROM THE TEXT:
One of the themes touched in the play is domestic abuse towards a female, there are obviously males who are victims of domestic abuse as well, however this survey that was conducted in 2005, shows the percentage of women who are victims. The red is sexual violence, the purple is physical violence and the yellow is the total. The groups are 18-24, 25-34, 35-44, 45-54, 55+ and the total of those. The worst part is, that this is probably not all of them as many people dare not report the issue.
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The east end has always been known as the working class area of London. A place of overcrowding, poverty, violent crime, grimy industry and social unrest. This has been the case since the victorian age and is not seen much differently now.
The East End has always been poor in comparison to the West. From very early on it was centred around trade and industry, tanning and tallow works clustered in the area, as it was close to the River Thames and the River Lea. It did, however, seem to be a relatively nice place to live and work, but everything changed in the Victorian Era.
The trade and heavy industry grew along with the Empire under Queen Victorias rule. In 1827, the St Katherine Docks opened, creating more of a need for dock workers. That was no problem as the East End had been attracting many immigrants fleeing their country, mainly being Jews and French Huguenots in the 17th century.
In 1866 a cholera epidemic plagued the East End, killing 3,000 people. Those who could, moved out as soon as they possible - with aid from the railways - leaving behind the poorest, most underprivileged people in the whole of London in one place. In 1887, social reformer Charles Booth conducted a survey of the living conditions of the poor. He found that 13% of the East End were chronically poor, and of those, “a part must be considered separately, as the class for whom decent life is not imaginable.”
It is unsurprising then, that crime, immorality, drunkenness and violence were so rife. So by the late 19th Century the East End became known as "The Abyss". In the year of 1888, the East End was graced with the tale of Jack the Ripper. It is needless to say that it is most likely the most gruesome one of them all.
FUN FACT: ‘Cockney’ or ‘cock’s egg’ was a 14th century insult used by rural people to describe native Londoners who lived by their wits rather than their muscle. In time, the term came to refer to any working class Londoner born within hearing distance of the bells of St Mary-le-Bow, Cheapside.
RECENT EAST END NEWS:
Without actually going to a place, news is usually the way we find out about it. it is very influential on the image of areas. The East End is not filled with the most positive news stories, not giving it the best impression.
http://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/police-hunt-driver-after-man-killed-in-late-night-hitandrun-in-north-east-london-10000957.html - An average man, early 50's, was killed in a hit-and-run situation, where the attacker got away in a Volkswagen car.
http://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/schoolboy-stabbed-to-death-after-fight-between-two-groups-of-teenagers-in-east-london-9907914.html - A 15-year-old boy killed in a fight between two groups, with severe stab wounds to the abdomen, was taken to hospital but died three hours later.
http://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/stephen-mulhern-joins-fight-to-save-brothers-east-london-pub-10014050.html - To end these tales on a more uplifting note, TV presenter, Stephen Mulhern, has joined the fight to save his brothers pub. There is very little hope, but now spirits are rising that it may stay open.
EVENTS FROM THE TEXT:
One of the themes touched in the play is domestic abuse towards a female, there are obviously males who are victims of domestic abuse as well, however this survey that was conducted in 2005, shows the percentage of women who are victims. The red is sexual violence, the purple is physical violence and the yellow is the total. The groups are 18-24, 25-34, 35-44, 45-54, 55+ and the total of those. The worst part is, that this is probably not all of them as many people dare not report the issue.
Another is Racism, in England and Wales, from 2009 to 2012, it went from 55,134 racist incidents, to 51,585, to 47,679 out of 60,000. That is far too much!
And the police, the people we are meant to trust, could be the ones that are being the most racist.
Out of all of them, in comparison to the population, black people seem to suffer the most.
We may have not done this tale, but the play still dips into drug use, this shows just how much people take drugs, and which ones. From 2012/13, 16-59 year olds. The drugs are Cannabis, powdered cocaine, ecstasy, any class A drug and any drug. It is measured in people who have taken them; less than once a month (inc. non-drinkers), less than a day a week in the last month, 1-2 days a week in the last month and 3 or more days a week in the last month.
Sunday, 1 February 2015
Thursday, 6th November 2014, thoughts about text
We first received the play and straight away I liked the way that Kennedy had a poetic way of writing, that it wasn't a 'normal' play but was more of a monologue, where you can make up the other half of the conversation in the case of the prologue and epilogue.
Kennedy touches on some rather sensitive topics such as racism, domestic violence, essentially murder, muggings, however he does not make them into some huge thing where they bring in detectives to find the murderer, nor does he blow it up and form one storyline out of one of the topics. Kennedy is making the point that these things, as horrible as they are, happen, some of them probably on a daily basis and just because they're not on the front page, it does not mean that they do not happen. These were just normal people who were put into a terrible situation. So some may say that Kennedy thinks that the East End is a horrible place, however, there are glimmers of hope, when a cabby has a baby on the way and is so happy about it he forgets he has already talked about it or a teen helps an elderly woman, just because. Or, my favourite, when "We made something happen, We made something change" for the better because just one persons melted anger or evaporated storm makes all the difference. There seem to be small pockets of good and joy in the tales, in tale 7 "Smiling at pissed bulldog man, Happy families, Hooray" after joining as a family to defeat the bad in their environment.
I can quite clearly picture the kind of person that would be talking in most of them and I really enjoy the fact that it is written the way that you would speak, as in there are some words capitalised which would be Kennedy telling us that that word needs to be emphasised. I found it interesting that the only two that had these capitalised words featured in it the most - tale 5 and tale 7 - were the two youngest characters in my mind. This may be quite accurate as in tale 5, (for the first part) as I pictured a young child telling the story and some parts of it are told as a fight scene in an action film, without quite understanding what is happening, and in tale 7 I picture a teenager who would exaggerate the word so in the sentence "I am SO not in the mood for this". Kennedy writes in the way that people would talk, and his choice to make the lines short gives the whole play this speed that would give someone the impression that Kennedy believes the East End is very fast paced, which can often miss out minor details that can make the whole story, but I think Kennedy balances the fastness and the details rather well. I enjoyed his use of colloquial language, for one because it made it easier to get into the accent, but also because even if you are simply reading it and not performing, it gives a lovely character to the somewhat disfigured speech pattern.
My favourite tale is probably tale 8, primarily because I love the use of language Kennedy uses to describe the setting and aroma, 'And hailstones bombard the darkness'. I also have a soft spot for the word 'eerie', I am not really sure why, but when I read it, it made me excited for some reason. I also love the comparisons that Kennedy uses, 'An urban lioness at the entrance to her lair.' They make it sound so much more interesting and I feel like I can somehow feel the characters more.
I did not really know much about the east end, I have never been there and I have not heard much about it, but from the things I have heard, it does not sound to nice to me so when we were told to create a character, I instantly went towards a really catty girl with bleach blond hair and long fake nails. However according to Jake and Mateo, there are business men and women, young people loitering, younger kids playing and families. I did not really have any knowledge of it, but it just sounds like any other place in London to me, with character, but still a nice place. Despite the roaring football fans and 'fake' and 'bitchy' girls that can apparently be found there.
In the session we were given a tale in groups of three, I got tale 7. I rather enjoyed it, even though we did not have enough time to complete everything, I liked the way we had a narrator but we could have done something a bit more interesting with the movement of it to make it more interesting for the audience to watch.
My favourite tale is probably tale 8, primarily because I love the use of language Kennedy uses to describe the setting and aroma, 'And hailstones bombard the darkness'. I also have a soft spot for the word 'eerie', I am not really sure why, but when I read it, it made me excited for some reason. I also love the comparisons that Kennedy uses, 'An urban lioness at the entrance to her lair.' They make it sound so much more interesting and I feel like I can somehow feel the characters more.
I did not really know much about the east end, I have never been there and I have not heard much about it, but from the things I have heard, it does not sound to nice to me so when we were told to create a character, I instantly went towards a really catty girl with bleach blond hair and long fake nails. However according to Jake and Mateo, there are business men and women, young people loitering, younger kids playing and families. I did not really have any knowledge of it, but it just sounds like any other place in London to me, with character, but still a nice place. Despite the roaring football fans and 'fake' and 'bitchy' girls that can apparently be found there.
In the session we were given a tale in groups of three, I got tale 7. I rather enjoyed it, even though we did not have enough time to complete everything, I liked the way we had a narrator but we could have done something a bit more interesting with the movement of it to make it more interesting for the audience to watch.
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