Written Performance Concept for Lady Macbeth

Written Performance Concept for Lady Macbeth in ‘Macbeth’ by Shakespeare Social, Cultural, Historical and Political Contexts: Macbeth was written by Shakespeare and is most commonly dated written in 1606. The monologue is about Lady Macbeth having blood on her hands, metaphorically speaking reflects on the guilt she feels for being a part in the murders in which her husband carried out. She immediately concludes that "the fastest way" for Macbeth to become king is by murdering King Duncan. This monologue is most effective as it enhances the fact that she feels guilty, which leads to her death. Preparation Process: First and foremost, I studied the narrative to have a deeper understanding of her character as I wanted to recreate how Lady Macbeth is perceived to the audience. I started to look at how the monologue should be spoken to explore the element of vocal awareness. I concluded that by pausing before emphasizing an important word or concept helps construct a more powerful emotion for both the character and the spectators. Also by whispering and shouting helps to put the audience on edge as it illustrates confusion and suggests madness within the character of Lady Macbeth. By witnessing other monologues within the group also gave me multiple ideas of how my character needs to be perceived. I also looked at using vivid facial expressions and bigger gestures as

  • Word count: 479
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Drama
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Ballet Review of Balanchine's Prodigal Son

Balanchine’s Prodigal Son I was not familiar with this ballet at all although I have enjoyed Prokofiev’s music when watching Romeo and Juliet. It is not a long piece to watch and the dancing although slow in parts (when the Siren is doing her solo and the Pas de Deux) it is always interesting to watch. The principle male has to really be able to act and portray lots of different emotions – it’s not all about the dancing for this character. I thought for the time it was created quite a contemporary piece which fitted the music. I did like most of the ballet, particularly the portrayal of the male lead – very strong and evidently spoilt in the first scene (his beating his hands on his thighs when he was not getting what he wanted) to the almost foetal being he becomes in the end scene. I liked the Siren and her almost dancing a Pas de Deux with her cape. I particularly liked the imagery of the table being turned and the son sliding down the slippery slope. I found the presence of the ensemble at times confusing, such as when they seemed to turn into crabs when the son was left completely without possessions. The story displays a spoilt young man who is confident in everything he does, this is shown in the way he commands his servants, his sisters and becomes the equivalent too todays troubled teenager when he does not get what he wants. He leaves his family to go

  • Word count: 732
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Drama
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Monologue Choice. I eventually found one monologue its called 'my mother said I never should' by Charlotte Keatley. The play is about difficult relationships between mothers and daughters.

The context of the monologue in relation to the rest of the play. The tone and atmosphere of the piece The range/complexity of emotions explored The desired effect upon the audience The suitability of the character and context for you Whether or not the piece allows you to demonstrate your particular strengths in an audition context When looking for my contemporary monologue I at first wasnt sure what kind of monologue I wanted, I knew I wanted one which showed quite a bit of emotion but as to which monologue I should of chose I was stuck on. I eventually found one monologue its called 'my mother said I never should' by Charlotte Keatley. The play is about difficult relationships between mothers and daughters. It goes forwards and backwards between 1905 and 1987. It shows the lives of four generations of women, their loves, expectations and choices throughout their lives. They are set against the huge social changes on the twentieth century. In the scene from which my monologue came from it is in 1987, Jackie is in her mid-thirties and she runs an art gallery in manchester. She has a very successful life but has a very painful secret. In the the early seventies at the age of nineteen she gave birth to an illegitimate daughter Rosie. She couldnt handle the demands of single parenthood after Rosie's father moved away with another woman. She then had to give Rosie up under

  • Word count: 1086
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Drama
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How would you perform the role of Creon in his first appearance with the Chorus and in his last appearance of the play to demonstrate to your audience how his character changes?

Jessica Perry “How would you perform the role of Creon in his appearance with the Chorus and in his last appearance of the play to demonstrate to your audience how his character changes?” Playing the role of Creon, his performance throughout the play of Antigone should retain many elements of the style of traditional Greek theatre. As Antigone is a Greek tragedy the style of acting needs to be exaggerated and over-dramatic. Especially in the last scene, lots of passion and emotion needs to be added in the last scene, this will show the clear contrast of Creon’s behaviour in the first and the last scene. The two scenes show the contrast of Creon’s hubris and the will of the Gods, highlighting a key theme of the play: state law vs. religion. I would have short curly black and slightly grey hair with a thick beard similar to the hair. Tall, broad shouldered showing my physical dominance on stage. I'd wear a burgundy sleeveless knee length chiton with a high-neckline made from linen including gold detail on the neckline, a brown coloured leather belt and brown woollen himation draped over the right shoulder. I would also have brown leather sandals, and a gold ring and chain necklace too. I would have a large scar running down the left side of my leg, showing the conflict and wars I have been involved in from the past. I would have a low booming voice, I would talk slow

  • Word count: 1005
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Drama
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What function do you think the MC should have, and how would you perform the role from the opening of the play up to the line Well, thats the end of Part one of The War Game?

Drama Assessment Essay – * What function do you think the MC should have, and how would you perform the role from the opening of the play up to the line “Well, that’s the end of Part one of The War Game”? I see the MC as the driving force for the narrative of the play. During his first appearance the stage directions says he has a ringmaster’s whip and this, I think, is a hint at his character. He is the ringmaster of the performances – both that of the Pierrot show and that which the physical audience sees. Because of this, I see the MC as being quite an upright man, perhaps with ringmaster’s coat on, and of course the whip in his hand. This would encourage the actor to be loud and entertaining such as he would be in the ‘Roll up!’ style of the circus. Although the connotations of this circus-like theme would be to have him as heavily mad up to look like a clown or ringmaster I think this would be inappropriate therefore stage make up should be kept to a minimum. I would suggest an alternative to the whip, which is mentioned in the play- perhaps the MC could hold a ringmaster’s baton that he could use to aim at his reference points for example pointing at the characters he is talking about. The MC is the character who engages most with the audience, breaking the fourth wall intentionally to interact. Instead of just telling the audience something or

  • Word count: 1296
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Drama
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The Seagull -Actors take second place to designers in the theatre of the 21st century Discuss the above statement in relation to the play you have seen in performance compared to its original performance conditions.

“Actors take second place to designers in the theatre of the 21st century” Discuss the above statement in relation to the play you have seen in performance compared to its original performance conditions. In the 21st century, designers are considered more important than ever, especially given that audience are more visual responders, due heavily to new technology and visual stimulus. In the production we saw, adapted by Anya Reiss and directed by Chris Honer, you can see how important the designer’s impact is, but is it more significant than that of the actors? In Honer’s production, the set was an incomplete box set, which was placed at angles, similar to Viktor Simov’s, the director of the original play, which was inspired by Meiningen. The continued use of this idea seemed to have a dual purpose; firstly to pay homage to the original production and Simov’s style and ideas, but also to create a more three dimensional appearance to the set. Despite this, Judith Croft, the designer of Honer’s production, completely reimagined other aspects of the set, for example it’s simple representational realism, which is vastly different from it’ 19th century counterpart. Although it may down to more practical reasons, such as the common use of TV nowadays, which is not only a more realistic competitor to theatre, but it also gives audiences information, so they will

  • Word count: 883
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Drama
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A Dolls House: How would you perform the role of Nora with Krogstad and Doctor Rank to highlight the differences in both social status and their function.

As an Actor, how would you perform the role of Nora during her first interactions with Krogstad and Doctor Rank to highlight the differences in both social status and their function in the play? As an actor in “A Doll’s House” I would perform the part of Nora in a naturalistic way to match the style of the play. This means I will keep in mind the 19th century context of the play and stick to it while acting. The genre is a modern tragedy and I will also bear that in mind. When Nora first sees Krogstad in the hallway, she is meant to be surprised and slightly nervous. I would act this out by having a quick facial expression as if I have been shocked, and then take a small breath before speaking to him. When she asks “What do you want to talk to my husband about?” I would say this line very coldly, yet quietly, in a serious tone. I would be standing in the doorway and have my arms crossed, to show Krogstad that this house is Torval’s and mine and that he’s just a visitor. There would be full eye contact from my side. When Krogstad starts explaining himself to me, I would stand still and turn my face slightly to the side as if questioning what he is saying. Then I would express this with the line “Are you lying to me?” again with my voice being low, but firm and challenging. This would show my status, and how I am demanding him to tell me. Only after

  • Word count: 597
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Drama
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Review of Frank McGuiness's adaptation of "Electra"

On the 7th October, my Drama group and I went to see the Greek tragedy “Electra” at The Old Vic Theatre in London, adapted by Frank McGuiness. It was directed by Ian Rickson and starred Kirstin Scott Thomas who plays the lead role of Electra. This play follows Electra throughout all the different stages of grief she goes through following the murder of her father Agamemnon. Unwilling to forgive and consumed by a desire for revenge, her anger builds; on the return of her brother Orestes, Electra’s wrath then explodes without mercy, leading to a bloody and terrifying conclusion. Within this play there are strong elements of grief, addiction and an intense need for restitution. Electra is filled with loss from the pathological, addictive grieving over her father who was murdered many year before hand, by her mother and step-father, which traumatic aftershock has left Electra withered and motionless as well as in need of revenge as a sort of compensation for the loss of her father, to the fresh grief over her brother. The set of the play is extremely minimalistic, with small feature which make up the arena; a tap, a fire pit, a tree and two pillar with a door in between them are featured on the stage, and I believe these component are symbolic of the four element, fire, earth, water and air. The tree however is barren and the branches are cut off before their time. This is

  • Word count: 997
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Drama
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How do one or more of the performers in Othello use their skills to create sympathy within the audience?

How do one or more of the performers in Othello use their skills to create sympathy within the audience? On the 5th of November 2014 I went to go see the production Othello a slight adaptation of William Shakespeare by Frantic Assembly at the Doncaster Theatre. In Othello one actor who used their skills to create sympathy within the audience was Iago.Iago is an interesting character on that he both repells and attracts the audience despite his obvious villliany. His jealousy enables the audience to sympathise with him, in act one scene 1 we see that despite his loyalty he does not receive a promotion and feels hurt by this. In this soliloquy many dramatic skills are used to commincate his distress to the audience. Iago is talking in a delicate tone, his conviction is perfect and he talks at a slow pace, this connotes innocence to the audience causing us to believe he is sensitive and truly loyal causing us to trust in his emotions. His conviction is so scincere and definite that the audience are persuaded to empathise with the words he is saying, and connect with his sense of betrayal. By talking slowly and leaving pauses between significant words and lines, it wrongly convinces the audience that the chatacter is initially calm and not impulsive, and thinks about what he is doing and saying, showing he is a clever, good man that Othello is not appreciating, yet however we

  • Word count: 972
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Drama
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As a designer, how would you use set, lighting, and sound effects to enhance the dramatic effectiveness of the section of the play that starts with Tiresias being led on and ends with Creons hasty exit to release Antigone?

Antigone Design Question As a designer, how would you use set, lighting, and sound effects to enhance the dramatic effectiveness of the section of the play that starts with Tiresias being led on and ends with Creon’s hasty exit to release Antigone? Antigone is a tragedy written by Sophocles in 441BC. The protagonist is a power hungry tyrant called Creon, who dictates the city of Thebes. I would set the play in ancient Greece to keep the relevance of the ancient Gods , as they were significant at the time but are seen as myths today, so would detract from the severity of the situation. In terms of my set as Creon likes to be seen as the only figure of authority and sees himself more powerful than the God’s themselves. “If golden eagles should carry him up by joints and shreds to Zeus…not even that blasphemy would be enough to deflect me from my purpose.” would have it set in a main hall in Creon’s palace. I would symbolise Creon’s hubris shown several times through the play “Am I expected to listen and take lessons at my age from a mere boy.” I would show this arrogance and self-pride through the opulence and grandeur of the room, using lots of coloured elements of gold to show wealth, and Greek podium to show the importance of the building and the stone would show historical Greek architecture. I would use red silky drapes over a podium for Creon, which

  • Word count: 914
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Drama
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