Antonia ‘made the offer’- the bedroom scene- and Nick invented this mysterious character that had been drawing Antonia while she had been asleep. We expanded this idea of a cartoonist slipping in and out of the world he had created. The audience would not be aware that this was an alternative reality until the end of the play- a ‘Truman show’ scenario. The cartoonist would fall in love with one of his creations and retreat into his imagination to this world. Meanwhile the characters are, in the cartoonist’s subconscious, developing minds of their own and beginning to ask the ultimate question ‘Is this real?’ As we developed this more we became enthralled by it.
I thought this was a brilliant idea, it took a while, but by the end of the lesson we had managed to incorporate all of the good ideas we had collected from the previous lessons into this sketch. Jenny was still a little apprehensive, but half way through the day even she was bugging me about an idea to include in the sketch.
We had to be careful not to make the play inaccessible, as we were using surrealism.
At the start of the fifth lesson we decided not to waste any more time and that this would be our final session exploring other ideas. We decided that, if by the end of the lesson we had not come up with any better ideas, we would return to the theme of our previous lesson. We made several ‘offers’ during the class but none of them had the same pizzazz as the cartoonist’s world.
Towards the end of the lesson we gave up and turned our minds back to the cartoonist play. We were concerned that the sketch was based entirely around the cartoonist and his lover, so we decided to create a new character that would allow Jenny to do what she does best; be flamboyant and loud. This also was the final push to get her as excited as the rest of us. We also decided who would play which characters; Nick would be the cartoonist, as he had come up with the initial idea; Antonia would play the girl he fell in love with; Jenny would be the successful Editor of the cartoon, so that we could have the two worlds running simultaneously; I would play the roommate; and Jamie would be the best friend. Jamie and I came up with a final scene that would allow our characters to shine. We envisaged Nick in the background typing out a scene for the cartoon, meanwhile in the foreground would be Jamie and I acting it out. Nick would keep on changing his mind and the lights would fade after the seventh attempt. Slowly as this scene progressed the two characters would also start to get the feeling of dajah-voo and not stick entirely to the script which would be projected onto a large scene at the back of the stage. This would be the final way to let the audience realise that the two worlds were separate.
However having been initially excited by this idea, after a few weeks it was clear that some members of the group were unhappy. Grudgingly I let the idea go and we continued with a new sketch aiming to include comedy, as the majority of our group are comedians.
We came up with a story based on a sketch by Jamie and Nick. This was a reunion of two geeks reminiscing about their old school life. This did not appeal to me as I am not very good at comedy and I saw no potential to express my talents. However I went on with the idea and was willing to give it a go.
Antonia and I became worried that the plot was far too simplistic. We discussed our apprehensions with the group and we decided to try and combine the previous cartoon. The idea was set in a school and portrayed how five students dealt with the stresses of teenage life, changing relationships and their family. The cartoon idea was adapted; the characters “Kath” and “Annabel” find life at school very dull and so decide to spice life up by imagining events differently. This would be demonstrated by ‘kath’ saying “Wouldn’t Jamie look good if he was wearing a red hat” and then he walks in with the hat on. This idea was still a little too outlandish so we toned it down to something more simplistic.
We thought that if we were more subtle it would allow the audience the opportunity to understand the message behind the plot, thus keeping them entertained. As the play progresses Antonia’s character and mine would imagine more outrageous events and so really inviting the audience to enter the world that we have created. However these events would still be simple enough to leave the audience asking themselves whether it was just coincidence, or our imaginations.
We thought about the possibility of running each scene through twice. Our intention was to demonstrate to the audience the different versions of events; the ‘real world’ and our fantasies. We realised, however, that this would leave little opportunity for the audience to reflect on what was happening.
We were delighted by this new dimension and felt that in a way it incorporated the idea of the imperfection sketch, as it played around with the idea of everyday life being monotonous and the power of the individual to manipulate ‘real life’ events. I was pleased that this incorporated my concept of the ‘cartoon’ sketch.
The initial idea of each personality was discussed as a group then it was our individual effort that determined how complex our character turned out. We obtained these initial ideas, of our characters, by interviewing each other about our home and school lives. We all felt that characters our own age would be best, as we would be able to play these more realistically and with some understanding.
Antonia and Nick were still feeling that their characters were a little lacking in depth. I thought it might be a good idea if, as we had already established that they were from single parent families, they were stepsiblings. This meant adding in small phrases here and there to indicate there was some sibling rivalry. We also added two very interesting and exciting scenes where they tried to blame each other for their parents failed relationships. Both Antonia and Nick were very pleased once we had devised these scenes and their enthusiasm was revitalised.
The five characters were now going well, so for the next few weeks we focused on the script and devising new scenes. With our provisional script we now set down to along and tedious process of going over each scene again and again and again…
We soon found that the jokes that we had initially found funny were losing their appeal. At this point tensions in the group ran to an all-time high: there was a real risk of our group breaking up. There were inconsistencies in the amount of effort each member of the group was willing to contribute. In hindsight I have realised that what was really happening was the weaknesses and strengths of the members of our groups were exposed. It was clear at the beginning that Jamie was very good at coming up with lots of new ideas, and Jennifer was not. Throughout the last few weeks everyone in the group was beginning to get very annoyed with Jennifer because she had not written her allocated scenes for the script. However in the final week she was the one who pulled us together and kept the motivation high.
We devised new scenes to develop the theme of the play and we were all filled with a new enthusiasm, which, after weeks of stress, was a welcome break. These new scenes outlined how the core of our plot allowed our characters to grow, we therefore scraped the parts of the play that involved our fantasies, as they were irrelevant. Our play was now based around the dynamics of the relationships between school students and how they interact with each other. It also showed the effect that parents and our youth had on how we develop and turn out as adults, this idea was shown in the final scenes. The title also played on the idea of how our parents effected us: ‘Parent/Guardian sign here………’
Jade Penley is a confidant, selfish, bossy girl who bullies Annabel Lewis and anybody else she can. However it becomes apparent that this is just a facade that she puts up to hide the fact that she has been deeply effected by the absence of her father. Towards the end of the play the audience becomes aware of this weakness in her and they feel a great deal of sympathy towards her. This makes the final scene, where we the audience becomes aware that, unfortunately, she has ended up just like her father, they feel pity rather than believing she has got what she deserves.
For the school scene Jennifer wears a fantastic costume, she was the luckiest when it came to costume. She was obviously superior to the other characters and so needed a costume to reflect this.
Annabel Lewis (played by me) is a sweet, shy girl who comes from a very large family. She is therefore very quiet and desperate to please her friend Jade (played by Jennifer) who she idolises. She is also in love with Nigel (played by Jamie) but finds it very difficult to initiate a conversation with him, which provides endless scope for jokes. I think she is a very endearing character and I hope that the audience develops a sense of pathos for her.
The costume for Annabel had to consist of a white T-shirt with ‘Guci’ written on it, as it was the object of a joke at the beginning of the play. We felt that she had to look sweet and innocent so we settled on a pair of dungarees. She also wore a hair-band that made her seem very loveable, and the child of the play. In the final scene she is pregnant and there is the feeling that, just like her mother, she will be having lots of children.
William Benedick is a brilliant character. He reminds me of Mr. Bean, he manages to be stupid, whilst at the same time very intelligent, aided by his, ridiculous clothes and voice. He is also very arrogant, and, on a different level is very similar to Jade. He puts down Nigel and manipulates his mathematical abilities to make Nigel feel inadequate.
His costume was the most fun to play around with. Eventually we settled on a very funny bow tie with a characteristic waistcoat and short trousers (sorry Nick!).
Nigel Younge was the object of Annabel’s affection, he was also the object of William’s teasing. He, as with William, was based on the idea of a typical ‘geek’. He was not extremely smart, but he worked hard and guffawed a lot. He was in love with Jade, the apple of every geek’s eye, until Annabel came along.
He, as was a geek needed a suitable attire, though not as extreme as William. We therefore dressed him in normal dark green trousers, a hideous multi-coloured jumper and a rucksack, which provided him with a stereotypical ‘geeky’ walk.
Kath Taylor took on the role of mother to group. She broke up the fights and always seemed to be much maturer than the others. She is made very real by her relationship with her new step- father and step-brother, who she hates. She also seems a very genuinely nice person, she provides Annabel with the confidence she needs to break free from Jade and is there for Jade when she is upset. It therefore seems fitting that she ends up running to be a politician for the Liberal Democrats.
Unlike Jade, she has an air of ‘coolness’ without needing to try. Her costume also reflects this, she wore plain clothes that would normally be associated with a teenager.
Each of us took on roles that utilised our strengths. Nick was in charge of the sound, as he was the only person in the group with a DVD recorder. He was also the main go between the group and Jack, as they seemed to be on most friendly terms and the rest of us found him a little hard to work with as we always seemed to be disorganised. Jennifer organised costumes, as her fashion sense is the most apt in the group, and her character had the most style. Jamie had to run about asking the porters and members of staff to obtain the necessities of our set, he also dealt with all of the props. I seemed to slip into the role of organiser. I had the budget and was the keeper of the script. I also arranged when and where the rehearsals were. I am a very bossy person and for once this attribute of mine was put to good use. I also sorted out the very last minute programme, however it went down very well with the audience (well, my parents, anyway!). Antonia had the most important job. It was her job to bring food and drink to each rehearsal, without which our play would never have been finished, our ten minutely breaks were vital in the structure of our work.
Most of our fifty pound budget went towards the purchase of costumes. For the three weeks proceeding the production we became regulars at the local charity shops, to such an extent that, when we finally purchased our clothes, the relieved shop assistant admitted that she had been worried that we were ‘casing the joint’!
As with most productions, now that it is over, it seems to have been a little bit of an anti-climax. However, I have thoroughly enjoyed most of the ups and downs including the run up to and the actual performance.
The most important thing that I have taken away from this experience is that I have begun to question myself. I love the theatre and this has never been more apparent than over the past few weeks. It has been a hard process, at times the stresses have caused divisions to develop, but throughout the whole experience my enthusiasm and excitement never faltered. I have learnt more important lessons than just, voice projection, how to block scenes and how to think about set, lighting and music. I have learned how to work in a group and to take advantage of other’s strengths and mine, and become aware of how to deal with our weaknesses.
