Thursday, 4th December 2014

We will be using Thrust staging in our performance.

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.

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:

• Narrator
• Landlord
• Brother
• 'Warm, tired woman'
• Her daughter
• 'Hard, sly man'
• His daughter
• His mother
• Others at the pub

I chose to do a role on the wall for the hard, sly man:

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.

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.

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.