Analysis of 2 Texts : 'Eastenders' (Trevor and Mo) and 'Blood Wedding' by Lorca
Introduction
In this project the two texts that I will be looking at are, the scene in "Eastenders" between Trevor and Mo. The second text that I will be looking at is "Blood Wedding" by Frederico Lorca.
Eastenders
This text is set in the current date. The scene between Trevor and Mo focuses on violent relationships between a wife and husband. The best thing about this scene is when you're watching you're on the edge of your seat because it's such an emotionally driven scene.
This makes an interesting topic for drama because it is common issue, which people deal with in life.
Blood Wedding
This play is set in Spain during the Spanish civil war, in the 1930's. The section of the play that we looked at is about death and the nature of war and how people cope with the loss of loved one's. The story is very interesting and compelling to read.
This makes an interesting topic for drama because there is war and devastation happening in the world today in places like Iraq
Exploration Techniques
Forum theatre
Forum theatre is where a scene is enacted in a circle and any given time a member watching from the circle can stop it and either give an idea which can move the piece forward or can come into the piece and take on a character.
When would I use it?
You would use it to bring in new ideas on characters or scenes or use it to get round an issue. It can also help further your understanding of a situation.
Here's an example
We were working on eastenders and we started doing forum theatre to help us get into the characters, but people kept on coming in as Trevor, Billy or Mo. Then someone thought outside the box and came in as Trevor's brother. This helped move the piece forward and bring in new ideas. It can also help further your understanding of a situation.
Still Image
You and the rest of your group create a freeze frame to show the audience what is happening in the scene, like a picture.
When would I use it?
It might be used to show the status, levels or interpretation of a particular theme. The result might show the relationship between characters.
Here's an example
In the session where we worked on Eastenders and I played Trevor, at the end of the scene we done a freeze frame portraying the theme of the story. We set it out with Trevor standing at the side of the Mo's family showing his anger and disgust of her family (As shown below). This helped the audience to understand the theme of the particular scene.
Hot seating
Hot seating is where the rest of the group questions a character from a piece of drama. The person being questioned must stay in character at all times and must answer the questions in character.
When would I use it?
To help develop a character because it helps you to think about character you are playing. It helps you to get to know his/her background and how he/she moves and speaks.
Here's an example
In session 2 where we focused on Blood Wedding. We did hot seating, which lead into forum theatre, on our diary entries. I did mine on the Bridegroom. I used my understanding of blood wedding to help me answer the questions. In blood wedding the Bridegroom has a very strong-minded mother and she cannot forget the death of her husband and son, so I used this knowledge to help me answer the questions. This helped further my understanding on the character in Blood Wedding.
Thought Tracking
Thought tracking is where ...
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Here's an example
In session 2 where we focused on Blood Wedding. We did hot seating, which lead into forum theatre, on our diary entries. I did mine on the Bridegroom. I used my understanding of blood wedding to help me answer the questions. In blood wedding the Bridegroom has a very strong-minded mother and she cannot forget the death of her husband and son, so I used this knowledge to help me answer the questions. This helped further my understanding on the character in Blood Wedding.
Thought Tracking
Thought tracking is where a character speaks his/her thoughts to the audience. It can be sometimes written as stage direction (Aside).
When would I use it?
To reveal what a character is thinking without the characters knowing, because they pretend not to hear.
Here's an example
In session 5 where we done a short piece on eastenders and I played Trevor. I spoke directly to the audience while the other members of my group still acted but did not pretend to hear me. Which their for informed the audience what he was thinking without the other actors knowing.
Development
Phase
Drama Medium's
The use of space and/or levels
The use of space or levels can make apiece more interesting to watch and can show who's the dominant character in that piece of drama.
When would I use it?
I would use it to show who's the dominant character in the piece of drama, which in turn makes piece more interesting to watch.
Here's an example
In session 4 when we were working in pairs on eastenders and I played Trevor, the dominant character and Sam played Mo, the weaker character. Sam was on the floor beneath me. This showed to the audience that I was the dominant character (as shown aside).
The use of voice
The use of voice can determine the pace and tension of the scene and can determine the way the character is feeling, his emotions by the characters voice. You can also your voice to create different sounds to add to the piece.
When would I use it?
I would use it to show the pace and tension of the drama by raising the volume of their voice in order to add to the tension in the scene. I would also use it show how the character is feeling in that scene by changing the pace of the characters voice.
Here's an example
When I was playing Trevor I changed the pitch of my voice a lot i.e. when I got angry I would raise my voice to show to the audience my anger and to also add tension to the scene. Which helped make the scene more interesting and believable.
The use of body language
The use of body language can help make your character more believable and interesting to watch.
When would I use it?
I would use it always to express how I was feeling and to make my character more believable. If I were scared I would show this by hugging myself a lot to show my insecurity
Here's an example
When I was playing the bridegroom and I was talking about my mother, I clenched my fists a lot to show my frustration with my mother
Drama Elements
Rhythm/Pace/Tempo
The rate at which the piece of drama moves along and the change of pace in the drama. This is also what makes a piece of drama interesting and believable to watch.
When would I use it?
I would use it in very important scenes to grab the audience's interest. It would help build up tension in the scene.
Here's an example
In section 5, where we had to do a short piece of drama on Eastenders. We built up the tempo by raising our voices and making our speeches short and quick. This helped the audience to get into the piece.
Climax/Anti climax
The building and/or releasing of tension and/or sense of expectation in the drama.
When would use it?
I would use it in a very emotionally charged scene, so I build up to the climax. You could also use a piece of music to build up a sense of expectation.
Here's an example
When we started the scene we started talking and then we started arguing and raising our voices this built up the tension. This was building up to the climax of the scene where I slapped her.
Self Evaluation
The session I'm going to write about is where I played Trevor; the abusive and violent husband of Mo. Trevor hates Mo's family because he feels that they are all getting in the way of their relationship. Trevor is hated by Mo's family because of the way he treats her. Mo keeps on running back to Trevor because she believes that he can change
Trevor was a hard character to get into, but I felt that I absorbed the character very well. To help me develop the character I done a visualisation and tried to picture the character and how he acted to different situations. This technique was very helpful towards absorbing the character.
I think that it was believable because I felt that my level of focus and concentration was good and that I felt I really got into the character.
If I could of improved anything then I think I would of improved my spoken language because I felt that the way I was speaking when I was performing didn't completely match the character.
How would you describe your level of focus & concentration?
My level of focus and concentration was at the highest in the scene with Vicky, who played Mo because we were having an argument and I really started to lose myself in the character and get angry, my voice started to rise the more we argued, then I realise how much I was indulged in the character.
At one point I lost my concentration, but I immediately regained my confidence and got back into the scene.
My body language in the scene, I feel was really good, he is an angry and violent person so I clenched my fists to express my anger.
An actor's Evaluation
An actor's performance that I'm going to write about is Kirsty, when she played Lesley. Lesley is a character from the play "Shelter". Lesley's father, who used to physically abuse her, has thrown her out of his house.
How well she absorb the character?
Lesley is a very complex character but I felt that Kirsty portrayed her very well. I felt that she absorbed the character very. She had to do a monologue as Lesley. She spoke about her home and how her dad treats her, which was very emotional.
Her level of focus and concentration
Kirsty's level of focus and concentration was very good she didn't come out of character once. You could tell level of focus and concentration by the was
she was portraying the character. Her body language was brilliant she kept hugging herself this showed her insecurity and that she was scared. The way she used her voice was very effective. She didn't just stay at the same pitch, which added emotion.
I felt the way that she portrayed the character was believable because she seemed so confident about what she was saying.
How could she have improved it?
If there were anything that she could have improved then it would be her voice projection because sometimes it was hard to hear speak.
Group Performance
For the group performance I'm going to write about the main class piece for unit 1, "Arbeit Macht Frei". "Arbeit Macht Frei" is about the Second World War and how cruel the Jews were treated by the Nazis.
The mood of the piece
In the class piece, "Arbeit Macht Frei" the mood that we wanted was sad and depressing mood, but not for all of it, the beginning of the circus scene added a bit of a relief factor because at the beginning of the scene you had a spotlight on the leader of the circus and her character was bright and colourful.
Did it have an Interesting Beginning?
The beginning of the piece was surreal and was interesting. We started it off by looking in the past at what it was like before the war. We had us running around like children and the
children talked about how good life were and then they all immediately stopped and stood still and then we went to them cueing to get into the concentration camp.
Did it have a magic moment?
The magic moment in the drama was the circus scene. It was a surreal scene where we portrayed the life of the Jews in the concentration camps as a circus and the Nazis were the leaders and they bossed the Jews around.
Use of space and level
The stage for the class piece was used very well. We used space and level to establish class and status. In a lot of the scenes the nazis were higher than the Jews, either standing on a block or by standing up tall and the Jews looking up to them to show that the Jews were lower in a class than the Nazis.
The use of music
We used music effectively in our class piece. When David Shires, who played a Jewish kid, got shot when he was trying to escape from the camp. We used it to add tension to the scene.
We also used music in the circus scene to add to theme. We used a different style of music, as the Jews were coming in we were humming the circus theme tune.
The use of lighting
We used lighting very effectively in our class piece. We used it when the Jewish kid got shot we used blue lighting, which is a colour used for emotionally charged scenes, to make the scene more emotional.
We also used it in the circus scene to add to the theme. we used bright lighting to add to the theme.
Final thoughts
I really enjoyed unit 1, but it was very tiring and stressful especially the final group piece which we took to long in putting it together than rehearsing. I felt that the final piece let us down a bit because we didn't really do our best on the final performance we just wanted to get it over and done with. The ideas for the final piece I felt were excellent especially the idea of using a circus to portray the way the Jews lived in the concentration camps.
My favourite character that I played had to be Trevor because he's a really interesting and complex character
Comparing and Contrasting
Blood wedding
This is a controversial play as it is based on a true story and there are religious connections. Everything in the play has a meaning.
Eastenders
This piece of drama is a modern piece, but unlike blood wedding this text is non-fiction. The scene that we looked at is about a violent relationship between a wife, Mo and her husband, Trevor. It is look into everyday life for some people.
The female characters are very different in both pieces. The mother from blood wedding is a very dominant character. She manipulates her son by pretending to be weak and fragile by talking about the death her husband and her son and how lonely she is. Mo from eastenders is a very weak character, she allows her husband, Trevor to push her around and beat her.
Both pieces have a dominant character the mother from blood wedding and Trevor from eastenders.
Trevor is a very violent person with a very short temper. He tells Mo that he will change and that he cant live without her much like the mother from blood wedding.
The Bridegroom is frustrated with his mother because she does not let him get on with his life. He does worry about leaving his mother because of what she might do
