Berkoff's Theatrical Purpose
What is Berkoff's theatrical purpose? Steven Berkoff didn't have an easy childhood but he escaped this through theatre. He started in small theatre groups around the country, but when he formed the London Theatre Group he become known for combining mime and theatre, and now, also, is known as a playwright. In his plays Berkoff intends to provoke his audiences by showing grotesque images of his characters, and, with careful, exaggerated movement, include the audience in the performance and be consumed by the atmosphere of the play e.g. in the Fall of the House of Usher the sense of the 'House' is created before the audience enter by using a sound-scape and not through a set as Berkoff focuses more on the actor. Also Berkoff's idea of 'Total Theatre' aims to challenge the audience using all the aspects offered by the theatre including athletic actors. He used this style to make the audience more than just on-lookers of the performance and to bring the text to life, rather than just to portray what is written. He would also try to replace things on stage such as props and furniture with the actor's bodies so as not to let anything distract from the actors and what they are trying to put across 'why not make a grotesque throne out of bodies if other materials are scarce'. He goes between using stylized movement that seems almost robotic in plays such as 'East' and the very slow,
Blood Brothers evaluation.
Blood Brothers evaluation. Written by Willy Russell Performed at the Phoenix Theatre, London Performance date 27 March 03 The performance was melodramatic with big hand gestures and with altered voices. Being melodramatic and the big gestures made it clearer to see what was happening on stage especially as the audience was seated so far away from the actions of the characters. The narrative was set in an old road in Liverpool with Liverpudlian accents, so the actors altered their voices to cockney accents to create a believable setting. The staging was well thought out because the stage was narrow and the seats were plotted around the stage with three floors and lots of seating. It had a rich and luxurious feeling to it and the audience must have felt the same way too, especially with the binoculars built into the seats. The cyclorama (hanging cloth/sky cloth) had a big affect on the audience because it created an illusion of stars and night, which is not commonly used on most stages so it was particularly impressive. The thing that makes or can make musicals in this genre more attractive are props because they add colour, they make it more realistic, added connotations and helps you to tell what is happening by symbolic representation. The set disappointed me because you could see people controlling the light and
"Contextualising the play" - Top Girls, by Caryl Churchill
Contextualising The Play 'Top Girls' was written by Caryl Churchill in the early 1980s and was first performed in 1982. The play is set around this time and focuses on the lives of a number of women, each affected by the pre-1980s status quo and vast, rapid changes of the ensuing decade. These surrounded Churchill herself, and in this way the social and historical background- including politics, the second wave feminist movement and the class divide- has clearly coloured the play in many ways. There is strong historical context to the play, not least in the famous opening scene. Marlene, herself having just received a promotion at a time when the workplace was a male-dominated environment, is hosting an imaginary celebratory dinner party. Her five guests are all women, each considered 'successful' of their time. There is Lady Nijo, the twelfth-century Japanese courtesan to the Emperor and Isabella, the Victorian Scotswoman who endured terrible physical pain and illness yet travelled the world as no other woman had before her. Pope Joan of the eighth century disguised herself as a boy to gain an education and eventually rose to the head of the Catholic Church. Dull Gret of the 'Brueghel painting' (page v) led a crusade of women into hell itself to 'pay...out' 'the evil' (page 18) which had torn apart her family and Patient Griselda from The Clerk's Tale within The
"Here is a poet who won't stay silent". Discuss and compare three key poems written by Benjamin Zephaniah. Explore the cultural influences on his poetry, the message and the techniques he uses to impact upon his audience.
"Here is a poet who won't stay silent". Discuss and compare three key poems written by Benjamin Zephaniah. Explore the cultural influences on his poetry, the message and the techniques he uses to impact upon his audience. Benjamin Zephaniah is a Rastafarian dub poet who was born in Birmingham in the Handsworth area in 1958. His full name, Benjamin Obadiah Iqbal Zephaniah, is Christian, Jewish and Muslim. Benjamin considers himself to be a citizen of "England and the world". Benjamin left school at the age of 13. His first book was published when he was 22, it was called pen rhythm. First of all I will look at his poem, I Have a Scheme. This is a parody of Martin Luther Kings speech sometimes referred to as I have a dream. The first obvious similarity to MLKs speech is the title I have a Scheme which is similar to I Have a Dream. The tone in Benjamin's poem is more rhetorical and has a musical flow to it, whereas Martin Luther kings is more serious. I think Benjamin did this as he believes that nothing has changed since this speech, and he wants to show this. I think his message is that even though we have moved on since this speech we our still socially segregated between races in the UK, and things need to change which is a good point. I think he used good poetic techniques very effectively. His performance made this poem even better. The next poem I will be looking
"How does the director create a sense of chaos and frenzy in the scene leading up to Simon's death? - The Lord of the Flies film
Media Coursework "How does the director create a sense of chaos and frenzy in the scene leading up to Simon's death?" The "Lord of the Flies" film, which I am studying, was made in the 1960s. The director of this film made it in black and white for effect. In my essay I will be focusing on how the director's use of pictures and sounds help to recreate the sense of chaos that can be found in the book. In conclusion to my essay I will write about my personal opinion on whether the director has succeeded or failed in creating the same sense of frenzy and chaos, which is created in the book. The director uses images and camera techniques in Simon's death sequence to help the film relate to Simon's death in the book. He manages to do this in many ways, such as making it seem as if you are in between the boys, and that you are actually there witnessing what is about to happen. He also uses shots that look up and down to great effect which exaggerate Jack's authority and leadership of the boys, and make Simon seem insignificant to the boys. I will now give you a detailed analysis of how the director uses images and camera techniques in Simon's death sequence. Firstly, there is a close up of a boy's head, which cuts to a fire sending sparks flying off into the night. There is then a long shot of the fire with the boys dancing around it. The director has made it so that the
"In 'Psycho' how has Alfred Hitchcock created tension throughout the film and what effect does it have on us as viewers
"In 'Psycho' how has Alfred Hitchcock created tension throughout the film and what effect does it have on us as viewers?" In 1960, Alfred Hitchcock created a powerful, complex psychological thriller. Psycho is now regarded as the 'mother' of all modern horror, suspense films. The film had a huge impact on the British public; this was mainly due to the fact that it was one of the first films to depict violence in a graphic manner. It was a low budget movie based on the book by Robert Bloch. However it has now become a world-wide phenomenon, owing largely to the inspirational directing by Hitchcock. Throughout the film Hitchcock uses a variety of techniques to keep the audience engrossed but the method I will be focusing on is tension. Tension can be used to great effect, primarily to emphasis the horror of certain scenes. Also it allows the audience to anticipate what is going to happen, forcing us to empathise with the characters. Some of the most famous suspense scenes include, the stealing of the money, the shower scene, the killing of Arbogast, and the ending in which Laila discovers Mrs. Bates. The first scene in which the tension is built up is the stealing of the money. The first time we are shown the $40,000 is whilst the business man is brandishing it in front of Marion. This emphasizes the importance that the money is going to have on this scene.
"Independent Film Industries Reinforce The Global Construction Of The Hybrid Genre" Discuss
David Stevens "Independent Film Industries Reinforce The Global Construction Of The Hybrid Genre" Discuss Almost every country has its own film industry. Films are being produced across the world, from the low budget gangster films of Britain's "Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" and Australia's "Chopper" to the French 'art cinema' of "L'aventura" and the German action offering of "Run Lola Run". This is of course to exclude America. Hollywood is the center of the global film industry and it can be considered impossible to gain international superstardom without passing through its coiffured gates. What is it that separates Hollywood from the rest of the world? Is Hollywood the culmination of international filmic development? Has Hollywood incorporated the popular conventions of independent cinema into its mainstream as it did with the flourish of auteurs in the 60's and 70's? To answer these questions one must first consider the definition of Hollywood and Independent cinema. Pam Cook1 has defined international film industries simply as the "absence of Hollywood", this though is harsh, as cinema existed before the globalisation of Hollywood, the 'age d'or' of France in the 1920's for example. So to analyse the relationship between Hollywood and the rest of the world a definition of the differing industries must be articulated, whether it be of industrial or generic
The topic with which my Media Production dealt with was amateur music Band's and how to start one.
Media Production Evaluation "Six easy steps to create a band" AIM The topic with which my Media Production dealt with was amateur music Band's and how to start one. I decided upon this topic as I believed it would be quite interesting documentary to film because there are many different sections that need explaining and so this allows for a lot of scope when filming. My main aim was to provide my audience with a committed info-documentary on how to start their own band, and attempt to encourage people to do just that. PURPOSE In order to achieve my objectives, I aimed to produce a short documentary/report similar to those that frequently air on MTV. I viewed the following programmes, which were targeted towards to my target audience specifically to see what choices of shots, effects and editing are used: - * MTV Cribs * MTV How to live like a rock star * MTV2's Gonzo * T4 on Channel 4 All of these shows were targeted towards my target audience. I paid particular attention to the MTV report "How to live like a rock star" which served to inform and give advice to a youth audience, but in a flamboyant and exaggerated style and it followed the same basic template as my short report (How to....). The report was 10 minutes long and was part of a larger show called MTV News; it was basically a short documentary made by one of MTV's presenters. I wanted my
The Woman In Black Portfolio
The Woman In Black Portfolio Martin Sutcliffe 11Pt Response Phase The Woman In Black Arthur Kipps, a solicitor from London, decides to hire a profession actor to aid him in retelling a ghostly event that happened to him many years before and which lead to tragic circumstances to his family. In the cluttered, Victorian stage, Kipps begins to read his manuscript; slowly, awkwardly and somewhat un-interestingly at first, but the actor helps him transform the manuscript into a full blown performance in which he takes on many roles and narrates. The hired actor plays the somewhat younger Kipps, sent to a remote part of ---------shire (often used in Victorian plays), Crythin Gifford, to attend the funeral of and sort out the papers of Mrs Alice Drablow. Mrs Drablow lived in Eel Marsh house, a lonely isolated residence, and cut off from the mainland most of the time by the tide. In this house Kipps encounters the Woman in Black, a ghost seeking revenge for the death of her young child that was taken away from her. The woman haunts Kipps and a few years later carries out a curse and Kipps loses his wife and child. There is one final twist in the play, when the actor and old Kipps act out the play a woman plays the part of the Woman in Black, The real Kipps doesn't see her so is oblivious to the fact that she is there. The actor sees her and thinks that she is the surprise that the
Crucible plot
Plot in 'The Crucible' Arthur Miller's play, 'The Crucible' is set in Salem, Massachusetts 1692 this time period in which Arthur Miller's play is based upon was a time of great hysteria and relentless accusation. The play is based upon a group of young girls who were caught commencing the prohibited act of dancing; young and frightened they made the profoundly religious town believe in rumours of witchcraft; a lie which went too far. The play is closely linked to the events which unfolded at this time; Miller however adapts some events and characters to create a thrilling and tense tragedy for the audience to indulge in. 'The Crucible' commences with Reverend Paris, the local minster of the village, kneeling beside his daughter Betty. The girl lays seemingly unconscious whilst a crowd begins to form around her. Tthe crowd is made up of several young girls; amongst them is the Reverend's niece, Abigail who becomes the source of questioning of Betty's insentient state. The audience is made known to the events which had inaugurated before the gathering. The girls had been caught by Reverend Paris dancing in the forest with their black slave Tituba, an illegal act which had instigated the gathering in the first place. The bewildering collapse of Betty arouses intense suspicion of witchcraft amongst the villagers although Abigail refuses to admit to anything but dancing in the