One major problem I have had to overcome is the fact that we had to act in Victorian England. This meant that the way I spoke had to dramatically change. I talk in a very common way and therefore had to really work on my pronunciations of words and the way I walk on stage. I spoke to my granddad who is very well spoken and he helped me to use better vocabulary. I have made a concerted effort to make sure the character I play in the play has no link with myself and that we are totally separate.
As one of the human characters compared to the puppeteers it was important my character had a background and that the audience could see its development, as they play commenced. However as well as being human it was also important to show we were not in control and that we were also merely puppets to the puppeteers for their games. My character is the sinister character in the play. I am obsessed with having what I want and as the play goes on I become more and more horrible. It is important to show that the way the puppeteers have chosen to pursue the game has made my character change from what was a normal character into a jealous obsessive murderer. There is a number of ways I change during the play. Firstly my voice becomes more evil, I do this by changing the pitch and the speed in which I speak. I then start to lose my temper more frequently. I become very paranoid and constantly suspecting people and worrying about things.
An important factor that I had to get right was that I was playing the same character in two different story lines yet I was feeling different emotions and therefore should act slightly different depending on which story I was acting in. It is really the relationship I have with each character in the different story lines, which makes me act differently.
My development with the other characters is therefore important. My relationship with Elizabeth is different in the two stories yet still has certain point that remain in both. In the start of the play I am very much in love with her but then the two stories split. In the story where I marry Elizabeth our relationship becomes strained I become paranoid that she is having an affair with Edward. This is due to the puppeteers influence. In the scene with Edward and Elizabeth married I become very jealous and obsessed with making her mine. My relationship with Edward in both scenes changes from being my closes friend to being seen as my rival for the one thing in the world that I want.
My devised piece has given me the chance to adapt new ideas such as dance and to work with different human emotions. It is the first time I have used dance that was a real worry to me and I have enjoyed learning about Victorian England.
I think playing the same character in two different stories has helped me to develop my character better. Switching from a dead puppet one minute to a human with emotions and feelings made the piece more interesting.
Piece Development
At the very first brainstorming session we had an idea about using fairies from A Midsummer’s night dream. The generally opinion was using an idea which linked the mortal world with the immortal world. This idea of control then moved on to the idea of puppets being controlled by puppeteers. The next problem we faced was taking this idea and finding a storyline, which linked this idea of control by the immortal world. We then looked at the news and came up with the idea of a mad scientist who killed his wife. Possibly the next major idea which we used was using a format from the film sliding doors which was having two stories running parallel. This was the final basis for our finished idea. Which was a mad man who fell in love with a girl in both stories but in one he married her, and in the other his best friend did. The idea being no matter how is fate went the ending would still be same which we decided would be him killing her in both. The immortal world would be in control of the mortal character trying to change their fates.
It only took us two hours worth of lesson time too come up with this basic idea and in the third we started to devise the first scene of our piece. This was important, as it was good to start devising early and not waste valuable time trying to work a play out on paper. We then saw it important to make a rough outline of all the scenes that we were going to incorporate in our play. This would then help us to keep focused on our dramatic intention which is ‘To show the relationship between the mortal and immortal world and to make the audience question whether they arte in control of their own fate.’
We all had a number of good ideas that we wanted to incorporate in performance but it was important to sort the good ones from the bad ones. There was early worries that our piece could possibly becoming to complex for the audience to understand so it was important for us to make sure each point was well explained in our performance and that we kept the storyline simple but still as effective as possible. We had to make it clear that the story was going to split into two with the same character pursuing different lives. Making the puppets naturalistic and the storyline as simple as possible helped to resolve this problem. Showing the first few scenes to the rest of the group helped to show us where we were going both right and wrong.
We wanted to keep all the characters on stage at all times. This meant showing when we were in the mortal or immortal world. We done this by when in the mortal world the character acted normally but when in the immortal world they were floppy like puppets and be manipulated by the puppeteers. We used the idea of the puppets playing a game as the reason they were manipulating the puppets, as they were bored. We wanted to try to incorporate as many techniques as possible into our piece. We decided a good way to end our piece would be to use a dance scene. As we wanted to keep to our dramatic intention in our forethoughts we thought it would be good to show how a flight between the puppeteers in the immortal world would have a mirrored effect on the mortal world. This dance happens twice in the play and is the major link between the two worlds.
As we were showing physical theatre it was important that the puppeteers don’t touch each other in the dance. This is something we use throughout the play the idea that the puppeteers were in control and therefore did not need to touch the puppets. As the piece goes on they become less and less in control the closer they have to get to the puppets. Finally in the last scene they actually touch the puppets therefore breaking the rules. Which adds a massive twist to the play.
