Objectives:
- As a group, we wished to create actor audience interaction through the use of monologues so that they felt they had a connection with the characters on stage.
- We wish to create moments of dramatic irony by using a split stage effect so that the audience are aware of certain issues other characters are not aware of.
- We wanted to create a variety of realistic characters, all of which represent different sections of society. However, at the same time we wish to show that although they are very different to each other, it is possible to be connected through one small thing. The use of props and costume would be used to help define these characters.
- We wanted to create a piece of theatre that would not only make the audience laugh, but make them think by creating different sub plots and having a twist at the end of the piece.
Research
I carried out research for this piece of drama in various ways. Because of the nature of our piece, and a lot of the conversation taking place in a waiting room, I decided that it would be beneficial to spend time in waiting rooms, surveying the way in which people interact with each other. By spending various amounts of time in a doctors surgery waiting room and a dentist’s waiting room I not only recognised how a waiting room generally looks, but I saw that it is very rare for people to interact as they are only ever in the same room for a small amount of time before their appointment. However, this still proved to be profitable as I noted down people’s body language; how they sat and held their frame, which proved to be valuable during the freeze frame rehearsals.
In the doctor’s surgery, which had quite a large waiting room, most of the people were sat a considerable distance from each other, whereas in the dentists there was more interaction due to lack of space. At the dentists surgery we found that children were often the source of conversation. The children would interact with each other first, and then the parents would start a conversation because of their children.
Because of the fact that I get nervous when I perform I researched into exercises that Stanislavski would have done to help his actors get over their nerves. I already had some information on this after studying Stanislavski’s techniques in class and also through reading ‘An actor prepares’. In order to be totally relaxed before becoming another character I learnt that it was appropriate to not only be mentally prepared, but physically relaxed, as Stanislavski said ‘Muscular tautness interferes with inner emotional experience’.
When he observed the great actors and actresses of his day, Stanislavski noticed how fluid and lifelike their movements were. They seemed to be in a state of complete freedom and relaxation, letting the behavior of the character come through effortlessly. He concluded that ‘unwanted tension has to be eliminated and that the performer at all times attain a state of physical and vocal relaxation’. The Stanislavski system was an important part of our research as we involved a lot of the aspects of the system in our rehearsal process as were trying to create realistic characters.
Development
As a group we made various changes to the piece of devised drama that we initially started to prepare.
Once we had decided on a general outline of the path we wanted our piece to take we went through many rehearsals where sections changed their forms and styles. This enabled us to finish with a piece of drama that we had worked through section by section, altering bit by bit, to ensure that it met our initial aims and objectives.
Due to the fact that our piece of drama was to centre around a box that was to be unopened it was decided that in order to experience the feeling of temptation and frustration we would have a box as a group that was unopened. One member of the group brought the box in and only that person knew what was in it. By having the box at each rehearsal this enabled the other members of the group to experience the emotions that our characters would be feeling in the devised piece.
Many of the very early rehearsals were purely motivated by improvisation. We discussed, as a group, how we thought each separate character should come across, in terms of physicality and vocality. Once we had an idea in our minds of the characters, we would act out a very small section of a scene a number of times so that this idea became clearer to every member of the group. By incorporating role swapping into this exercise each group member was able to see how others viewed their character. I think that this gave each person a wider viewpoint in deciding how they would eventually play their characters. After each run through we sit and discuss the character profiles that we thought were most interesting and could be developed in order to enhance the quality of our character driven piece. This type of activity kept motivation high in the group and meant that there were very often lots of fresh ideas coming to the surface which could later be built upon.
Also, in early rehearsals we used hot-seating as a way of developing each of our characters. Through doing this each member was able to get a better idea of their own character, working out their social status and their status within the group of characters that would be in the waiting room and was therefore very effective. Another variation on the hot seating was to get the one character to act as an interviewer to each of the other group members, however, all of which were playing the interviewer’s character as they perceived it. This had a similar effect to that of role swapping and again allowed each of us to see our own characters from a different perspective.
These techniques were important to the development of our piece due to the fact that we wanted it be very much character driven, and so through these exercises we were able to build characters personalities, vocality, physicality and life background.
After numerous rehearsals it became obvious that different group members saw the piece moving in different directions and so it was important that we sat down to discuss where exactly we wanted the piece to start, how it would move and where it would finish. After discussing each person’s view on where they thought the piece was going we tried to focus once again on our initial aims and objectives to decide on a path to take.
Over the period of rehearsals I found that it was important for me to use aspects of Stanislavski’s system in order to create a more realistic performance. Firstly by putting myself in the given circumstances and using the ‘magic if’ I was able to use my imagination more effectively. I also thought that in order to fully understand the emotions that my character was experiencing it was important to go through an emotion memory exercise. I did this with another member of the group whose character would be experiencing similar emotions to my character. This proved to be a valuable exercise and we both drew on our own life experiences to feel as if we had a connection with our characters.
Many small subplots were added as our piece progressed which allowed us more interaction between characters, which is what our initial objectives wanted us to create.
In one of the later rehearsals as a group we discussed the idea of my character being pregnant. The group thought that this would add a small yet intricate twist to the plot. However I felt that things may become complex if one of the other characters realised this, or the audience were told. Because of this we decided that there should be hints throughout that my character may be pregnant but it is never actually brought up through conversation or monologue.
My Contribution - Acting
My character, Alice Richards, lives in London and has worked as a solicitor in the same office for fifteen years.
I perceived my character as coming from a wealthy background and therefore I felt that it was important for her to speak with precision. Vocality is important as it needed to show her authority yet at the same time it needed to be soft and quiet. This was because I needed to show sympathy towards the other characters who all knew the late Mr. Thomas and also as I wanted to appear as a shy quiet and neat person. As well as speaking with precision, I also wanted her lines to be delivered with precision and confidence. This is important as Alice needs to show my knowledge and authority to other characters when I am talking to them, otherwise they will not trust me or respect me. The pitch of her voice would remain the same throughout to show that Alice is not one to let things get on top of her. The pace should also be steady and relaxed. This would help show that she likes to take her time over matters and that she is very organised, not liking matters to catch her unaware.
Alice’s physicality also needed to show her authority over the other characters so it was important that my stance was upright and straight. However her stance also needed to be fairly open so that the other characters felt they could talk to. If the stance was closed it would suggest that Alice did feel uncomfortable talking to her clients. Her gait needs to portray similar things to the physicality. She walks upright and confidently with light and paced steps that are neither too fast or slow, but indicate the way in which she likes things to be done; carefully, steadily and precisely.
The proxemic between Alice and other characters does not change dramatically throughout the piece to show that she is unwilling to get too close to people. The one time the proxemics between Alice and another character decreases is when El’s character, Kimberly, finds out that she had a relationship with her father. This happens in Alice’s office and helps signify to the audience that she is allowing Kimberly to close and showing her personal emotion. This is where her character is most vulnerable as now somebody knows of the connection between herself and her client. The shift in status is shown here, as Alice loses control, Kimberly assumes it, and stands directly behind her in an intimidating fashion.
Throughout the rest of the piece Alice’s status is higher than that of the other characters and therefore her office is situated at a higher level. When I address the other characters in my office I sit at my desk to show that even though they are on the same level, she is comfortable in her surroundings and is in control of the situation. Outside of the office Alice remains stood whilst addressing the others to keep this control and show her authority.
Evaluation
General:
As a group we were satisfied that we had fulfilled all of our original aims and objectives, using our initial ideas throughout to create a basis to refer to back to.
I feel that our piece has a very strong opening which will grab the audience’s attention. The chorus work in this small section worked well and helped us to portray the initial plot to the audience in an effective manner.
Each group member was willing to listen to everyone else’s ideas from the outset. We were also all willing to work hard in order to reach our goals and feel satisfied that we had accomplished our original aim.
The group worked well together as a whole, and there were very few disagreements and arguments and the tension in the group remained low because of this.
Motivation was always high within our group, possibly due to the group of people and also due to the activities that we carried out in order to keep imagination running and energy up. Because of this there were always fresh ideas that meant we were adding to our piece continually as rehearsals went on. If one person was feeling low then the other members of the group would help lift their spirits to bring the energy levels up so that rehearsals were efficient.
Time management was important in order to reach our goals comfortably and I think that on the whole the group did this well. There were times when it felt as if time was being wasted on character building exercises, however looking back on this it is apparent that these rehearsal techniques helped each person build and develop their characters.
The set was the most problematic issue for our group. It was the subject of many conversations that often ended undecidedly. Although we are reasonably happy with our set because of the way it shows status through levels, we did not feel that there was enough space along the back of the stage. It was important that the set appear realistic but due to the way we wanted it to work (especially when concerning the split stage scenes) and the lack of space this proved to be difficult.
The finished piece fulfilled our original aims and objectives and overall the group was content with the piece of drama that we had created. I feel that although the piece was mainly realistic, it was also original and although it may have taken a lot of time and effort we came away extremely contented with the result.
Personal:
I feel that I bought a lot of energy into the group I was working with and was also able to put forward new ideas that helped us to enhance our performance. I was mostly enthusiastic although when I felt that my character was moving in no particular direction and distanced from the rest of the group I had worries that I voiced to the others. The nature of the group meant that we could discuss my worries and work them out until I felt comfortable with what I was doing once again.
I felt that through using my humour I was able to iron out any small tensions that were in the group; however, on occasions my humour may have been irritating to other group members who wanted to have a serious and efficient rehearsal, which is understandable.
The role I played enabled me to challenge myself as up until now I have played very much young and ditzy characters. It showed me that I am able to push myself and play a more serious role. The age difference between my character and myself made me more aware of my vocality and especially my physicality, and the way that I hold my body frame.
The fact that this was a character driven piece also forced me into thinking more intensely about my character; how she would react and act to things, how she would speak, and how she would present herself. Each of these factors meant that my acting skills developed considerably over the course of this piece.
By doing a realistic piece of drama I learnt efficient ways to apply Stanislavskian techniques into the rehearsal (and performance) process which I have not had the chance to do before. I found these techniques beneficial and would definitely use them again.
My performance did fulfil the initial aim and objectives. Because of the research that went into the piece and all of the rehearsal techniques that were employed it meant that our performance presented the audience with a range of realistic characters.
Awareness of Health and Safety issues
- Fire exit lights will be on throughout each performance in so that if there was a need to use the exit it would be clearly marked
- Make sure all fire exits are clear of any obstructions so that they are easy to exit in an emergency situation
- Ensure that the seating for the audience is securely locked into position and that safety bars are also locked into place
- Ensure all rostra used for the set is pobbed to prevent any accidents from occurring
- Ensure the lighting rig is securely fixed with safety chains
- Ensure floor space is free from sharp and protruding objects to prevent harm to members of the group
- Any electrical cables will be taped to the floor and kept clearly out of the way of any cast members and/or audience members
- Ensure that all chairs and other items of furniture are away from the edges of the rostra to prevent any accidents that may occur
