In last weeks lesson we were split into groups, I was put into a group with Tom, Ashley and Dom. We decided to base a story of Greek mythology around the fallen Greek God Hades. In a group we came up with Brain Storm around things that are quite dark and sinister and evil, an Idea of the 7 deadly sins came to mind and we looked into them and decided that we would use Anger, Greed and Envy. I was given the Character of Anger which is a type of character that I'm used to playing.
The Start to our piece begins with the 3 men blindfolded, meaning they are not able to see where they are and are unsure of how they got there. We thought we would add a bit of childish humor into the piece as we are performing it to year 7's, so somewhere in the beginning scene some of the dialogue goes like this:
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
(Blindfold Man 2 hears breathing)
Blindfold Man 2: Did you hear that?
Blindfold Man 1: See what?
Blindfold Man 2: No! Did you hear that?
Blindfold Man 1: Yeah I'm hear!
Blindfold Man 2: NO! FOR CHRIST SAKES, LISTEN.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
This week we decided that we would make a start on telling the stories of each character. The first Character is Anger, Then Envy and Finishes with Greed.
The story starts off with a man named 'Edward Smith' (Anger/Blindfold Man 1) walking into an interview at a multi-million pound Bank. After a Small interview Edward is offered the dream job he's always wanted. He then has a short phone call with his wife sharing the excitement, and promising a better life for the family. To show his feeling happy, the song 'You make my dream's come true' is played as it tends to have that happiness about it and is a good song to show movement. When the movement ends and Edward reaches home he opens the door to find a letter from his wife on the floor, explaining that she has left, and that she has taken the children with her and that she doesn't love him anymore. Whilst Edward reads out the letter, "What I've Done" by Linkin Park is played in the background and one he has finished reading the letter, Edward unleashes his anger, throwing chairs, shouting, crying. He then pauses and notices that there is a man in his house, with out hesitation he pins this man up against the wall and tells him to leave. There is a pause and the man replies with "I'm just here to get here stuff". Edward then gets even more angry and starts a fight with this man. The fight is choreographed and starts with Edward throwing the first punch. The random man picks Edward up by his hair and knee's him in the face and throws a punch. Edward then turns around and tries to show masculinity by picking up this man and throwing him on the floor, Edward then gets caught up in the moment of rage and brutally beats this man to death. Once he is calm he then realizes his mistake and hangs himself, leading him into the underworld. Edward then wakes up on this island along with the blindfolded men we see at the beginning. He then get furious when he see's that this man he has killed is also there with him in the underworld and tells the other 2 men to leave him alone. With all this shouting and suffering me tries to sleep.
Sunday, 30 November 2014
Single - Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time Performance (Man With Socks)
In this production, one of the characters I played was 'Man with Socks'. As there was no real give away with this character, I decided to then look into way in which I could reveal this kind of character in an obvious way so that my character was easy to identify if people were to have scripts. I decided to go for this kind of skater look, hence why my hair is tied up and why the bottom of my trouser legs are rolled up and why I was wearing some Nike SB's (a type of shoe brand that is designed for skaterboarders) and also due to the fact that it is an activity that i partake in outside of school, I thought the fact that the front part of one of my shoes is slowly deteriorated due to this.
Single - Developing A Character (Police officer diary entry)
12/04/2012
Well last night was a long, tiring experience. It was late at night, 8 o'clock to be more accurate. And the station had received a few calls about some loud behavior from a lady named Linda Shears, which we thought was a bit unusual seeing as she's a rather well known lady with in the community and even though she is rather sad and upset a lot of the time, when you have a conversation with her, she's really nice. Anyway I was called out to the scene and in her front garden was a young teenager, around 15 year's old and he was crouched down next to a dog (belonging to Linda) with a pitchfork going straight through it's stomach. So I approached the young man and ask him a few questions: 'How old are you' , 'Is this you're pitchfork?' and 'did you kill the dog?'. So anyway, this young man started to make some sort of groaning noise and tucked up into a ball, so I thought that he was either on drugs or he had special needs, so I asked him if he could stop and he didn't so I tried help him up by touching his shoulders and then the bastard right hooked me. That put me in a bad mood instantly, so I was able to detain him and put him into the back of the police car and then the Sargent took him in for questioning to find out what he was doing there in the first place. Meanwhile I grabbed a few paracetamols to try and stop my thumping headache but it didn't really work, so when I finished my shift, I asked my wife if she could drop me off at the hospital as the paracetamol did absolutely nothing.
Well last night was a long, tiring experience. It was late at night, 8 o'clock to be more accurate. And the station had received a few calls about some loud behavior from a lady named Linda Shears, which we thought was a bit unusual seeing as she's a rather well known lady with in the community and even though she is rather sad and upset a lot of the time, when you have a conversation with her, she's really nice. Anyway I was called out to the scene and in her front garden was a young teenager, around 15 year's old and he was crouched down next to a dog (belonging to Linda) with a pitchfork going straight through it's stomach. So I approached the young man and ask him a few questions: 'How old are you' , 'Is this you're pitchfork?' and 'did you kill the dog?'. So anyway, this young man started to make some sort of groaning noise and tucked up into a ball, so I thought that he was either on drugs or he had special needs, so I asked him if he could stop and he didn't so I tried help him up by touching his shoulders and then the bastard right hooked me. That put me in a bad mood instantly, so I was able to detain him and put him into the back of the police car and then the Sargent took him in for questioning to find out what he was doing there in the first place. Meanwhile I grabbed a few paracetamols to try and stop my thumping headache but it didn't really work, so when I finished my shift, I asked my wife if she could drop me off at the hospital as the paracetamol did absolutely nothing.
Sunday, 23 November 2014
Single - London Paddington Station
revolutionarts2016: London Underground Sequence - Curious Incident
So this week we have worked on some sort of introduction for Chris's arrival into London (we assumed that it was based at Paddington as there is a line saying "Paddington Bear at Paddington Station") So the link above shows what we were able to come up with as a group.
This week I've been thinking about the Man with Socks character that I play as i find him a fairly difficult character to play. So I've been thinking about how people genuinely react when put in the situation of a stranger (especially a child) jumping onto the train tracks. I've come to the conclusion that this character should be very stressed and could show that by pacing up and down the platform and shouting at Christopher to get off the tracks.
As far as strengths and weaknesses are concerned I believe that I have defiantly improved on the Man with Socks as I've actually managed to remember dialogue for this character. One weakness that I could improve on is tensing my "muscles" when being lifted in the Paddington Station Scene as I can understand that that it can be a bit of a struggle for people if all my body weight falls on them
So this week we have worked on some sort of introduction for Chris's arrival into London (we assumed that it was based at Paddington as there is a line saying "Paddington Bear at Paddington Station") So the link above shows what we were able to come up with as a group.
This week I've been thinking about the Man with Socks character that I play as i find him a fairly difficult character to play. So I've been thinking about how people genuinely react when put in the situation of a stranger (especially a child) jumping onto the train tracks. I've come to the conclusion that this character should be very stressed and could show that by pacing up and down the platform and shouting at Christopher to get off the tracks.
As far as strengths and weaknesses are concerned I believe that I have defiantly improved on the Man with Socks as I've actually managed to remember dialogue for this character. One weakness that I could improve on is tensing my "muscles" when being lifted in the Paddington Station Scene as I can understand that that it can be a bit of a struggle for people if all my body weight falls on them
Thursday, 20 November 2014
Double - Starting the Greek story of Jason and the Argonaughts
My small group of 3 (including myself) came up with an idea that takes place once Jason and his crew sail of and land at Cyzicus, we came up with the idea of showing everyone sailing/rowing the boat and then meeting the king (who we thought would be good if he was camp to show a slight bit of humour ) and then when they return to the ship they start fighting with the Giants with 6 arms. Then we thought we should show the crew rowing the ship again and then when we return we have a stage combat scene to show the villagers and king mistaking Jason and his team for thief's. In the stage combat scene we though of putting mats around the bottom of the stage so then we could throw people off and make it look realistic .
Sunday, 16 November 2014
Single - Parts of the play we can improve on
This week we have been working hard on trying to improve parts of the play and give it that 'wow' factor. Earlier on in the week we focused on how we could improve on the opening and we went of into small groups and made up whatever we thought would be good for the introduction. Everyone came up with really good ideas and we ended up merging them all together. When researching the play I came across a video that shows the rehearsals for the production in London. They had people in groups of about 7, all moving in time and doing the exact same actions. It inspired me the share the idea of sticking together and moving but in a different way, we came up with a type of dance that is very organised and not a mash up of different things, nothing is going on at the same time and the more we done it, the more we thought it would be good to use as it mans that the character of Christopher doesn't freak out!
For this week I believe that a strong skill that I have developed even further is script reading, I've managed my time with 'outside school' activities and have given myself time to learn my lines thoroughly and I believe that when we rehearse certain scenes it shows that I've acknowledged my parts and lines and also stage directions.
My weakness however is trying to remember the lines of 'man in socks'. This is one of the final lines that I have and I find it quite a struggle to remember, however my solution to solving this weekness is too give myself a 5 minute break when learning the lines as otherwise I can find it stressful and it can cause myself to get in a slight panic.
When we are ready to perform the play,I'm suggest that we should play it to year 7's or 8's to get some feedback and see what we can progress further with.
For this week I believe that a strong skill that I have developed even further is script reading, I've managed my time with 'outside school' activities and have given myself time to learn my lines thoroughly and I believe that when we rehearse certain scenes it shows that I've acknowledged my parts and lines and also stage directions.
My weakness however is trying to remember the lines of 'man in socks'. This is one of the final lines that I have and I find it quite a struggle to remember, however my solution to solving this weekness is too give myself a 5 minute break when learning the lines as otherwise I can find it stressful and it can cause myself to get in a slight panic.
When we are ready to perform the play,I'm suggest that we should play it to year 7's or 8's to get some feedback and see what we can progress further with.
Sunday, 9 November 2014
Single - Rehearsals
In this weeks lessons we have progressed to the point where we are starting to rehearse the play without scripts. It is coming along very well and is looking rather good. The physical theater that is included with in the play is also coming along very nicely (the making of Christopher's house and when he looks for his book). However I do believe that some scenes (mainly the physical piece at the London train station) we could have everyone standing in the position, ready to catch Christopher and once they have finished their part with Christopher they start to walk around. The whole idea of this is that we can let the audience see how Christopher thinks it's going to be like any other train station and then finally it's the reality of the train station. Busy.
I think the character of "man in socks" is a challenge for myself as the name doesn't really give much away about the character and there are quite a few interpretations for the name, for example:
Using my feedback, I shall decide on what the character will look like etc.
In a warm up we had focused on in class, we allowed ourselves to select a character that we play and walk around as that character. However when we sat down we were normal and out of character. We then practiced the skill of walking in and out of character which will help us improve our character skill for the play as it is a very common piece that is used.
I think the character of "man in socks" is a challenge for myself as the name doesn't really give much away about the character and there are quite a few interpretations for the name, for example:
- He might be homeless
- He might be wearing some bright socks under his clothes
- He might be wearing nothing but his socks (a very unlikely thing to witness on the underground)
Using my feedback, I shall decide on what the character will look like etc.
In a warm up we had focused on in class, we allowed ourselves to select a character that we play and walk around as that character. However when we sat down we were normal and out of character. We then practiced the skill of walking in and out of character which will help us improve our character skill for the play as it is a very common piece that is used.
Thursday, 6 November 2014
Double - Why we chose Jason and the Golden Fleece
One of the main reasons we decided it would be a good idea as a class to perform this Greek myth to a class of year 7's was that it suited our research into that kind of interest males at that age would be interested in. For example, year 7's are very much into violence, gore, and danger. One very good thing about this myth is that there are many characters to play, if that there are loads and I believe that when we perform this to them, we will have to multi role, however a down side to doing this is that there are too many characters (in my opinion) and I think that they might get a little confused on which character is which.
The story that I voted for was the story of Aries, as it was easy to modernise and that it is something that can be made violent and something that the year 7's can really engage with as it's something that they would really like.
The story that I voted for was the story of Aries, as it was easy to modernise and that it is something that can be made violent and something that the year 7's can really engage with as it's something that they would really like.
Double - detailed Jason and the Golden Fleece
Jason was a young man who arranged a strong group of men (also known as the Argonauts) and set off in a quest to find the Golden Fleece. The first stage of their travel was at Turkey. On this land, the males had been wiped out and the country was run by women, they soon left after some of the crew didn't like what was happening.
They then traveled to Cyzicus in which the king told them about what was beyond bear mountain however, he didn't mention what lived there. What did love there were Giants with 6 arms. When some of Jason's crew went and searched for supplies in the Forrest, the Giants saw that the ship was being guarded and decided to raid it. Most were killed and the rest ran off when Jason and the rest of the crew returned, shortly after they set sail.
Soon after the battle, they all decided to leave and attempt to travel to Colchis however in the way stood huge rock cliffs that came together and crushed anything in its way. They decided to release a dove and if the dove made it through, they would try and power through it, if the dove didn't make it then they would be sure to fail. With luck the dove made it through and Jason and his crew decided to row as hard and fast as they could. They managed to make it through!
When Jason arrived to Colchis, he was greeted by Aeetes the king of the land. They discussed the Golden Fleece and then Jason was given 3 tasks and had to complete all three in order to gain the fleece. His daughter Madea fell in love with Jason and decided to help him. In order to get the fleece he had to get past a sleepless dragon, Madea gave him a postion and the dragon soon fell asleep and Jason was then able to grab the fleece and walk away. Aeetes found out about Jason being assisted by his daughter and was outraged so he chased them as they fled and in rage he murdered his son and started throwing body parts at them.
On the journey home they came across sirens, they lived by small rocky areas in 3 different locations. They were renoun for luring people with their beautiful looks and singing and then drowning them. Tragically some of the crew were lost when they encountered them in the journey home. Soon after the encounterment with the sirens Jason and the remaining Argonaughts reterned home safely.
Shortly after that encounter with the Giants, they sent some men to find food and water, other me. We're gathering wood to build oars as the ones that were used were damaged in the fight. One of the men looking for food and drink named Hylas, came across a group of nymphs, they were attracted to him so they lured him into the stream and drowned him, keeping him there forever. Later on the Argonaughts departed but somehow lost their bearings and ended up on the same place they were. As it was dark, the people of Cyzicus mistook Jason and his Argonaughts for enemies and tried to attack. This resulted in a blood bath as Jason and his crew fought back, killing the king and most of the people that lived there. Shortly after the queen committed suicide.
They then traveled to Cyzicus in which the king told them about what was beyond bear mountain however, he didn't mention what lived there. What did love there were Giants with 6 arms. When some of Jason's crew went and searched for supplies in the Forrest, the Giants saw that the ship was being guarded and decided to raid it. Most were killed and the rest ran off when Jason and the rest of the crew returned, shortly after they set sail.
Soon after the battle, they all decided to leave and attempt to travel to Colchis however in the way stood huge rock cliffs that came together and crushed anything in its way. They decided to release a dove and if the dove made it through, they would try and power through it, if the dove didn't make it then they would be sure to fail. With luck the dove made it through and Jason and his crew decided to row as hard and fast as they could. They managed to make it through!
When Jason arrived to Colchis, he was greeted by Aeetes the king of the land. They discussed the Golden Fleece and then Jason was given 3 tasks and had to complete all three in order to gain the fleece. His daughter Madea fell in love with Jason and decided to help him. In order to get the fleece he had to get past a sleepless dragon, Madea gave him a postion and the dragon soon fell asleep and Jason was then able to grab the fleece and walk away. Aeetes found out about Jason being assisted by his daughter and was outraged so he chased them as they fled and in rage he murdered his son and started throwing body parts at them.
On the journey home they came across sirens, they lived by small rocky areas in 3 different locations. They were renoun for luring people with their beautiful looks and singing and then drowning them. Tragically some of the crew were lost when they encountered them in the journey home. Soon after the encounterment with the sirens Jason and the remaining Argonaughts reterned home safely.
Shortly after that encounter with the Giants, they sent some men to find food and water, other me. We're gathering wood to build oars as the ones that were used were damaged in the fight. One of the men looking for food and drink named Hylas, came across a group of nymphs, they were attracted to him so they lured him into the stream and drowned him, keeping him there forever. Later on the Argonaughts departed but somehow lost their bearings and ended up on the same place they were. As it was dark, the people of Cyzicus mistook Jason and his Argonaughts for enemies and tried to attack. This resulted in a blood bath as Jason and his crew fought back, killing the king and most of the people that lived there. Shortly after the queen committed suicide.
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