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.
