The class also done a group improvisation, in which we show the actions leading to Mark’s death. My group was made up of myself, Nikki, Emmanuel, Nooreldin and Ashley. We decided to have our plot in school showing the character of Nooreldin (Mark Perry) being bullied. Ashley was a teacher and the rest were bullies.
As the group never put much effort in, the reaction of the audience was little and was obviously unsuccessful. Although the group never put much effort into the performance, I believe the most successful character was Mark Perry. I think this because he went over the top and created a very believable character. Many groups decided to do a comedy genre, thinking the audience might feel bad when they realise the consequences.
Following this production, we were asked to produce a different reaction from the audience. The plot was based after Mark Perry’s death. We got back in the same groups and tried to come up with a script. However, this time, all the groups took a dramatic and more serious approach towards the task. My group decided not to show the death and so the first scene was the troublemakers’ responsible for the death, meeting up and discussing what happened. This was followed by a funeral in which I played the vicar and Nooreldin acting Mark Perry’s mum. In the funeral, the kids responsible for his death appear and apologise to the mother. She refuses the apology and yells at them. I presented my character in a very formal and emotional way. My body language was simple and was kept to a minimum. In this performance, much more effort was put in and was a success, although, there was an improvement needed in the way space was used.
Part 2: Development of ideas
We were set the task to use the stimulus provided and any extra researched material to produce a 20-25 minute piece of TIE on bullying. “TIE” stands for “Theatre In Education” Theatre In Education is a theatre in which is created to educate its audience.
My group decided not to use the stimulus or any ideas from the Mark Perry account and create our own plot based on events we’d deserved, hoping a bigger success. We decided on a plot by first deciding our target audience.
Our chosen target audience was from year 6-8. The plot was three bullies picking on a new boy in school. One of the bullies is the new boy’s secret friend. The main reason why the leader of the bullies is because his mum died when he was small and his dad is a drunken who beats him. The other bullies are just too afraid to stand up against the leader bully and so do what he tells them to. Two weeks into the project, I came up with a plot that the whole group decided would have an effect, which would make the audience think. The new plot was two teenagers bullying a boy. They are all invited to a Christmas party and so all attend. The next day, a boy is found hanged in the shower of where the party took place. The same day, the police arrest the two bullies on suspicion on murder. This event is broadcasted on the news. A few days later the boys are released as the police found no evidence but found a suicide letter from the boy saying he can’t take being bullied anymore and so he hanged himself.
I think a target audience of year 6-8 is appropriate as bullying takes place more in secondary school. Year 6’s are an easy target but may also end up bullying themselves. If year 7-8 are bullying this play may make them think about the consequences of bullying.
The technique we used to come up with this plot was brainstorming. This was successful because the whole group contributed ideas to improve the plot. My group have not yet decided on how we will use the audience.
I play many characters but the role of my main character is the father of one of the bullies. We decided to take the drunken idea from our previous plot. My role is to show the audience that they may find bullying someone fun but it’s not as much fun when you’re the one being bullied. My character has not yet got a name but his physical appearance is scruffy. My character has not got many monologues as I thought it will be more affective using physical expression and the monologue is mainly coming from the victim’s parents. The voice and language used by my character is very manly and deep toned. The way he moves and walks is very scruffy and tipsy. My character’s relationship to the other characters is very distant in the beginning but later in the play, it becomes very close and emotional.
Part 3: Evaluation of my performance
My aim was to make the audience think about bullying. I did this with the help and teamwork of my group and, with the use of this, we achieved our aim.
Our performance changed only slightly from when we started with the new plot. We changed our TIE (Theatre In Education) as it was too long, so we took away unnecessary scenes and joined some scenes together.
As we only made slight changes, our target audience stayed focused on years 6-8.
Our set was very simple with the use of chairs and tables. We kept these in the background so we could have easy access. Our performance was of a reasonable standard with good use of space and music. The whole group out in a lot of effort and tried their best to show their characters clearly. Although, the people controlling the music and curtains sometimes made mistakes, the group kept on going. At one point, I forgot my lines and I think the group coped with that well.
The entire group’s weak point was facing the audience although we spent a lot of rehearsal time getting it perfect. Even though, my group had problems, the audience’s reaction was better than expected. We got good feedback and advice on how to improve the performance. We used standard lights throughout the performance, costumes bet identifying our characters.
Our group decided on three different pieces of music. A piece of music used to introduce our characters, a piece of music suitable for a party and one recorded by Ms. Bungen on the organs which we used to end the performance and make the audience think and feel for the victim’s family.
The strengths of our performance were the use of music, structure, teamwork and direction. I am also pleased to say that the whole group was dedicated and so we used our time well. If I were to re-perform this event, I would try and improve the group's physicalisation in voice, expression and both language and body language.
I believe this was a success due to the original stimulus. We took ideas from it and turned them into characters. For example, the idea of a death, introduced new characters including a vicar and Grandfather.