Evaluation

I am so pleased with how these performances have went! The feedback sessions, the rehearsals, the great directing, the work we all put in as an ensemble... it's contributed to a successful performance!

The beginning really set us off. I liked how Tuwaine is the first to stand and speak, and one by one we gradually get up and contribute. I think this represents the war and the feelings of soldiers in itself - how at first everything was normal and calm and clear, and then suddenly out of no where everything comes at you at once and you're not sure where to focus. I think we took on board the feedback as this section seemed longer than it was in rehearsals, which meant we all, as actors, took time with our movements and really put effort into what we were saying. It was important to remember - as reminded by our directors - that although everyone is speaking at once and you may believe no one can hear you, at least 1 person is focused on you so it was important to actually speak words of sense and follow the object, as opposed to just talking to yourself about your plans for weekend because you thought no one can hear you.

My favourite section is the pub scene with the soldiers, although I am not in it. I think it's a really light and comical relief from the other emotional and heart wrenching scenes we've incorporated into the performance. I think it's been a good opportunity for some of the boys to show of their talent as a tighter ensemble, like when certain groups leave the bar and show their own devised pieces as groups. Many audience members laughed when lifted me, and I think this gave us all more motivation and energy to continue with the performance.

Our rehearsed box scene went equally as good. Considering the "wives" group spent most of the time up until this point watching the rest of the performance from on stage, this was the time the audience really got to engage with us in the moment. The music and the words we read out individually from our letters created an emotional atmosphere which was calming after the more chaotic sequences performed beforehand. I loved the emotions in the words most of the girls spoke, after a reminder that these were letters from supposed loved ones and not just words on paper. The waltzing was the part I usually found most difficult in rehearsals, but I think it went well. Ignoring the fact that I seriously cannot dance even simple movements, the structure of this part made it harder too, all of us girls dancing in a tight circle and spinning endlessly, it was easy to bump into those dancing close to you. However, without any casualties, I think we managed to hit our objective and get the right reaction from the audience.

During our third and final show, we did have a problem with our soundtrack during the final scene, which was interesting to know didn't put the actors off. We were suppose to have a sound track of a world war 1 veteran talking about his experience of the war, following by some moving music. It was disappointing that this cue failed, as it was my favourite part and it was the final scene and the final time we'd ever do it. However, I still think the performance was just as effective and the audience didn't know any different.

Overall, I am unbelievably pleased with this term and our final performance. Honestly, I spent the entire of year 12 loathing physical theatre because I was just convinced it wasn't for me, but I have actually felt excited and enjoyment for this year. I feel blessed to have had such an amazing director, cast to work with and an opportunity like this.

The feedback session was really useful today after doing our first tech run. At the moment it's going really well and I'm appreciating as an actor the different parts of the war we are exploring. It's been suggested by our directors that we need to portray the emotions through our facial expressions as well as our body movements, which I agree with completely. I think that Amaya is doing a good job at this already. When she does her sequence movements with Jack, it really is beautiful. The way he lifts her and her elegant graceful moves - her face too shows pain and love and the fear of separation.

 I have taken this into consideration myself and believe the wives part with boxes is such a good opportunity to really... act. When I open my box, I completely put myself into the position of a WW1 woman who's just lost their husband in such a tragic event. The facial expressions are crucial in this scene because it's the best way to portray the emotions to the audience.

Another key part in the feedback was how we had to take our time during the performance and every section. Our piece as a whole isn't very long, and the choices we have made, we can afford to appreciate and make our performance longer. At the moment, I wouldn't say that we rush it but especially in the opening sequence, we could enjoy it and chill out with it all. For now, it seems like we all get up to say what the war means to us, and once the music kicks in and people fall silent one by one, no one wants to be the last one speaking so it leaves the music playing for a long amount of time before the couple's begin their sequence.

Personally, I'm going to use this feedback and improve myself within this performance. I'm going to take my time when I perform myself and focus on the acting in this performance, not just the the movements.

Today we put all of the sections together with the other groups and this has left me feeling so excited and feeling like this performance has a lot of potential! I was especially impressed at one of the solder sections where they join in pairs and use chairs to create a sequence of 5 different movements and repeat them. As there are so many different people on stage, you get chaotic vibe and as an audience member it’s exciting because you’re thinking: “oh wow, where do I look now!” But the length of time this section enabled you to take in each separate sequence and appreciated each actor on stage. The choice of music I admired too, as it fit well with the scene and created and emphasised the chaotic vibe further.

I was really moved by the sections the ‘couples’ group made also. They began doing such mundane activities and managed to portray love through them all, and when the chaotic vibe was introduced it was a stark contrast to this scene and the atmosphere this created.

I think that it was a good idea to have our section based on the experiences the war had on different people, not just the men fighting. At the moment this piece is showing a real potential and I’m excited to see where this will lead.

Working Wives

We then decided to explore the part women had in the war, as opposed to just their reactions and feelings towards the soldiers going off for duty. We did this by revisiting Liyah and Britney's piece, which heavily featured the women and their jobs during the war. I like this a lot, as it was a gentle reminder that women also had their own responsibilities and work within this period of time, not just the men. We copied their actions and in unison we all began on our knees with another girl on top of us, and they controlled our hands as we appeared to wring out wet clothes or a wash cloth. This was interesting as being controlled represented the women being controlled by the crippling responsibilities they were left with once their loved male went off to fight. They had to serve as nurses for the wounded soldiers which must have been traumatising, they had to work in factories AND they had to look after their homes and their children. Adding this into our piece worked well as it contrasted our other sections; this was a set of fast moving aggressive actions in contrast to more slow and gentle sequences we have.

This is me doing the Waltz and the National Waltzing Association 2012. There I am right at the back, like you can't really see me but I am there, I promise. Squint your eyes and tilt your head to left like, I am there.

Waltzing

I am now a professional waltzer and wish to go on Strictly Come Dancing now. Thank you.

Today we had a dance teacher come in and teach us how to waltz, as the next step from our Director's touching idea to incorporate this into our performance. He thought it would be nice to for us as mother's and wives to dance the famous periodic Waltz whilst clutching hopefully onto our partner's war jackets. Jodie - the teacher - could not spend a lot of time teaching us the beautiful dance so we had to grasp it as quick as we could. As someone with 2 left feet, I found it hard to do at first. And second. And third. To be honest I'm still not very good at it but the idea of all of us girls joining together and waltzing in a big circle, the jacket representing our lost loved one, is touching and beautiful enough for that to cloud the fact I'm no dancer.

Maybe Strictly can hold on for a few more years

Term 2

After the success of (some) of our solo and duet performances as a strand, Term 2 consists of us devising a whole strand performance still based on World War 1 and using some of our individual performances to build on. The directors separated the strand into 3 different groups based on the foundation of our individual performances.

Wives and Mothers of soldiers.

Soldiers.

&

Couples.

I was not initially placed into a certain group at first, as my performance explored more of war as a whole as opposed to different reactions and opinions from those involved. I eventually decided that the Wives and Mothers group was something I personally wished to explore further and I could relate more easily to my performance in comparison with the others. This made me a part of an all girl's group, which I thought was interesting. Our first rehearsal was spent each explaining our performance and the reasons and stimulus' behind it, and having some actors re perform their pieces to us, and taking down bits we liked and bits we thought could be improved.  When watching Saffron and Megan's piece, I personally really enjoyed their choice of music. When dealing with a stimulus as periodic and as significant as the war, it would be easy to choose a song that was heavily related to that period of time, but their choice was different... more modern and tempo.

We all agreed as a group that Immie's piece had a lot of potential to incorporate into our whole performance. She portrayed the wife of a deceased soldier who had just collected a box of his belongings from the war office after his tragic death. Inside were pictures, letters, personal items ect that she wept over whilst doing some other physical stuff on the floor. It was very moving. Our director decided this would be a great place to start and a good foundation to build our piece on, so we were asked to bring in a box with letters, a jacket and other personal items for the next rehearsal.

I'm looking forward to this term and the devising of our piece. I think it'll be interesting to explore such a historical subject in a completely different way than I have ever before.

Evaluation of my performance

I am content with my performance. I don't regret doing a solo performance at all and I don't regret the choices I made, however I did mess up a tiny bit in the movement and forgot a large chunk of what I previously rehearsed. To be completely honest, things were going so well in terms of devising and rehearsal but I think, in the end, I did end up thinking about it more than actually doing it physically, so my mind knew what was up but not my body.

I believe however, I did successfully connect to my emotions and objectives within my performance and this gave context to the performance.I hit the ground running with a lot of energy to keep the audience engaged, as I am more than aware of how draining it is to sit in the same spot for 3 hours and watch others perform when you're completely dreading your own. I think that, despite my average grade and person fuck up, I did try my best by being honest and respectful to the subject matter and taking inspiration from true and sources to create a real piece. 


I could improve, next time, on being more prepared. I thought I was until it got to the actual day and the nerves hit me. I think I could have taken my time more and really put meaning into my movements because I did end up rushing them so I could flee from the stage. Overall, I am satisfied with my grade 5 as the marking does come down to what I showed that day in the assessment, not everything I thought about and the process it took me to get there. I am so very proud of myself for ever getting up and performing a SOLO PHYSICAL THEATRE piece in front of the whole strand. Just a couple of months ago, the thought of me getting up and performing a physical theatre GROUP piece made me feel sick, so to do a solo was either brave or stupid.

Rehearsals & 2nd Stimulus

My recent rehearsals have been interesting and I have realised a lot. I have stemmed away from the idea of being a woman dealing with the home duties whilst her husband goes to war; I think this is a very naturalistic ABC idea that will restrict me from being truly free within my body.

. I don't want my performance to be linear with a basic formation so I've decided to focus on the meaning of death... a massive outcome for many who experienced the war. Death happens to everyone and anyone but those in the war experienced it at its worst and I want to highlight this in all of it's forms.

The rehearsals have been better when I focus on them at my own house by myself than at school. I thought it would be the other way around due to my home being my... home, and there are many distractions, however it has been ok.

Because I have decided to have no music in my performance, I'm finding that I am speaking quite a bit more and I'm not sure if this is a good or bad thing. I want to highlight how death came cruelly and almost instantly to those fighting in the war and my words combined with my movements will leave an impression - I really
hope.

As well as a short short monologue I have written myself, I think I am also going to use sections of the poem Anthem for Doomed Youth by Wilfred Owen-

What passing-bells for those who die like cattle?
     Only the monstrous anger of the guns.
Only the stuttering rifles' rapid rattle
     Can patter out their hasty orisons.
No mockeries now for them; no prayers nor bells,
     Nor any voice of mourning save the choirs,-
The shrill demented choirs of wailing shells;
     And bugles calling them from sad shires.What candles may be held to speed them all?
     Not in the hands of boys, but in their eyes
Shall shine the holy glimmers of goodbyes.
     The pallor of girls' brows shall be their pall;
Their flowers the tenderness of patient minds,
     And each slow dusk a drawing-down of blinds

I don't want to read it all out whilst rolling around on the floor so at the moment I am planning on picking out significant words and repeating those, such as "blinds, rattle, monstrous, prayer."

First rehearsal

I'm liking this idea of me doing a solo! I'm rather enjoying being completely dependant on just myself, and not having to schedule and rearrange times to rehearse with others. I came home from work, got into my pyjamas and dedicated a full two hours to devising my solo piece in the comfort of my front room.

I didn't want to sit down and just think or write about ideas because I thought that would take the organic and natural beauty away from it. I decided to be instinctual and think with my heart instead of my brain (oh god, that sounds really cheesy) and just start moving in ways that felt right and fit for the theme.

I'm deciding not to have any music to my piece. I'm hoping this will create an intense mood that enables the audience to focus on my movements instead of a song.

I've noticed that in past physical performances, my group and I have always thought it necessary to use props so I think, at the moment, I'm going to go against that idea and just use myself. I'm hoping my stripped back solo performance - just me, no music, no props, no costume, no make up - will reflect just how open and vulnerable these women and men were during the war.

I'm excited!

Stimulus Idea

The lecture we had on the history of WW1 was very inspiring and I immediately thought of many possible ideas I could take my solo physical theatre performance down. I thought specifically about the women, the children and that family's involvement in the war, not just the soldiers physically involved. During the twentieth century, women of the whole world became indispensable in the war efforts. In many countries the need for female participation in the First World War was seen as almost necessary, as unprecedented numbers of men were wounded and killed.

They were given the opportunity to help as nurses, teachers, textiles makers, coal miners and clothing, but the largest area in which the women worked was in the munitions factories. Munitions factories were there to produce supplies for the men on the front including tailoring, metal trades, chemical and explosives, food trades, hosiery and woollen and worsted industries. Sure they weren't physically at the front line taking down soldiers, but they were left to keep the nation from crumbling. 

I thought the factory working could be a great foundation to build my solo on. Of course my performance doesn't necessarily have to have a naturalistic plot but the actions taken out within a factory - using machines, the repetition, that hand movements - could add to a potential piece of theatre focusing on the women during the war, not just the men. 

Lesson 3

In today's lesson we experimented freely with music and the characters we felt drawn too by listening to the different songs. We listened to 3 completely contrasting songs and as we created our characters, our teacher used the same exercise as lesson 1, by using the scale of 1-10, and increasing or decreasing our character depending.

The first song was slow and I can only describe it as... twinkly. As I lay listening, I thought of this song being used in a movie when the protagonist is at the peak of happiness in their life and skipping merrily down the road. I created a character of the same emotion, having fun at the park with my dog. When the scale increased, my actions were much bigger and my pace quickened. Not necessarily with increased speed though, (I realised from the second song.) At a neural 5, I was happy spending time with my dog with a smile on my face, so by the time we reached 10 I thought my face was going to fall off, having increased the happiness. 

The next piece of music played had a rocking, loud roaring sound to it. I recognised the song but was sure not to make it influence my decisions for a character. As I lay listening, I listened intently to the song as if with new ears. I thought of emotions and intentions with the song,'and adapted quite a moody and frustrated character. As I walked around the space adapting this emotion, I thought closely on who would act openly in such a way. I ended up creating an stroppy toddler in a supermarket, throwing a public tantrum because my mum wouldn't get me my favourite sweet. When having to push him to his limits, I realised that just because the number on the scale increases, I don't necessarily have to speed up like first expected. Because my character was moving slowly and begrudgingly anyway, the more I had to push this, the slower he would become.  When the number on the scale decreased, my character stopped being so stressy and just.. a little bit stressy.

The third song was, in one word: depressing. The pace was slow, melodic and had a dark feel to it. It was sung by a female singer, and the pace was incredibly relaxing, however with more of a downbeat melody. I sort of annoyingly went with my first initial reaction and played a very sad and depressed character. I adapted a slow pace and didn't actually move that much at all, as if the simple action was on the same level of pain was getting stabbed in the throat. The higher the scale, the slower and unhappier I found my self. Looking around and interacting with the other people doing this exercise, I found most of us adopted the same emotion and character with similar intentions.

War in physical theatre

I think this is such a good topic to base our physical theatre solo performances on - full of so much potential. This war was life changing and so many people were effected, whether they were on the front line or just a child. I think there are so many aspects of this subject to explore physically and mentally and I'm excited for the term.

Lesson 2 - Lecture on the Great War

First World War.

28 July 1914 - November 1918

World War 1 was a global war centred in Europe. From the time of its occurrence until the beginning of World War II in 1939, it was called simply the World War or the Great War, as no one could have predicted a second one would follow. More than 9 million soldiers were killed: a scale of death impacted by industrial advancements, geographic stalemate and reliance on human wave attacks. It was the fifth-deadliest conflict in world history, paving the way for major political changes, including revolutions in many of the nations involved.

Lesson 1 - Exercise 1

During our first physical theatre lesson, we began exploring exercises and theories constructed by Steven Berkoff, a famous theatre practitioner.

Steven Berkoff

Born: 3rd August 1937. 

He is know for his various work in the creative industry as an actor, playwright, author and director. Berkoff's writing and acting is often branded as unique, and we explored this in our first lesson. I thought this was exciting because before this lesson, Steven Berkoff was just a name to me and I enjoy exploring new things. 

One of the Berkoff theory's we worked with in the lesson was developing characters in a different way from the standard naturalistic theatre. With that type of theatre, most character development is internal, focusing on emotions and thoughts in order to communicate feelings to an I audience.  

Alternatively, Berkoff believed that you could actually learn and portray a lot about your character through their physicality, body structure and movements instead. 

We explored this theory in the lesson by using the Lecoq exercise stemmed from the prestigious Jacques Lecoq theatre school in Paris. Just like the school encourages, we spent a good amount of time focusing on movement and physicality.

We began the exercise with our body curled in half, bent at the waist, keeping our legs sturdy. We then went the opposite way and uncurled, protruding the one body part that was asked of us, leading with it. The first was our hips. We lead with our hips and walked around the space. It was amazing to see what kind of character we could create just by using this body structure. Just from leading from one part of our body instead of neutral, we could form characters with objectives, current emotions and histories. 

I had the first instinct to imitate a pregnant lady. The large stomach a pregnant lady experiences means they unintentionally walk with their hips sticking out. I placed one hand on my back, feeling the strain from the baby and another cradling my stomach. I was walking around the supermarket with a tired expression on my face, evidentially exhausted. My pace was slow and my feet scuffled on the floor. 

Each classmate created a strong variety of characters like Parris. Also leading with his hips, he created a completely opposite character to mine. His knees were bent as he walked around the space and his arms dangled and swung with the movement. His face looked disgusted but he wasn't... if that makes sense. His head was constantly turning side to side as if he was checking everyone out. He was asked to demonstrate his character and movement in front of the class and we all guessed he was a sleazy man with sleazy objectives. 

We went on to explore leading with other part of our bodies, like our nose and our chest, all creating such different but apparent characters. I enjoyed this exercise and found it really beneficial. I learned that characters don't have to be created from the mind, but from the body too.

Lesson 1 - Exercise 2

We then moved on to experimenting with Steven Berkoff's theory of pushing characters to their extreme, using the scale of 1-10. We chose a normal every day task like 'eating.' We had to act out the realistic process of us eating a meal or type of food. Like if it was a banana, we had to imitate us peeling the banana before eating it. It was best for it to be short - the sequence, not the food - and something we could easily repeat for x amount of minutes. We did it normally first, that being 5 on the scale. 

When the teacher increased the number on the scale the actions got bigger. When he decreased them, the actions got smaller. This did get harder the further that the scale increased, which surprised me. When it reached a high 8 or 9, the food got bigger, your actions larger and your emotions towards the food were pushed to the extreme. I began just casually eating a banana but by number 3 on the scale, I almost imitated a minuscule mouse nipping at a piece of cheese.

Then we added a different layer to the exercise by having to greet someone, during eating our food and then eating it in their presence. We had to think about whether we liked this person, how we felt about them and how we'd react in their presence eg. Increasing speed because wanting to get away from them, eating sloppier because didn't care about them, eating neater because fancied them. 

When my extra person supposedly walked in, I stopped eating my meal to wave at them, but definitely not enthusiastically. I ate my banana really quickly with a look of sarcasm on my face, emphasising the fact that I did not like this person invading my space.

It was very interesting watching the different responses around the room. Some very clearly did not like the person, like me, and their actions reflected mine. Some thought highly of the extra person coming to join them, therefore would decrease the speed of their meal and chew more carefully, as not to spill anything and look like a fool. 

I thought this exercise was beneficial as it showed when you think you're acting at a 7 on the scale, you're probably only on a 4. To keep pushing your actions as a character shows new emotions, intentions and objectives.

Steven Berkoff taught me that really pushing  characters to their extreme really does teach you a lot about them.

Today was cool.