Direct a production of Shakespeare's play "Macbeth" focusing in on act 1 scene 1.

In my assignment I am going to direct a production of Shakespeare's play "Macbeth" focusing in on act 1 scene 1 and comparing and contrasting two very different versions of the play "Macbeth". I am going to be looking at The BBC Shakespeare that is the "medieval and bleak" production and The Middle English Programme, which is the "modern, rural and abandoned" production. Two different people have directed both of these versions and they have both approached it in a way that I least expected them to, after reading the original script of the play "Macbeth" My task is to compare these two versions and to direct act 1 scene 1 in a way that I feel will enthral and excite my audience. Act 1 scene 1 being the opening scene of the play "Macbeth," needs to have a powerful and explosive opening, this will keep the audience curious and questioning what will happen next. The scene features 3 repulsive and gruesome witches who speak about a man named Macbeth. Macbeth is a Scottish play that is set in the 11th century in the late Victorian times in the era of Elizabethan times. The play itself is bloodthirsty and extraordinary yet it's a play that features great tragedy and greed. The play opens with three unsightly witches preparing to meet with Macbeth. Macbeth was a Scottish Lord, or Thane, who had recently defeated the Norwegian's army in battle. King Duncan was delighted with

  • Word count: 1999
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Drama
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Can One of the dilemmas facing a modern day director in the presentation of the witches is making them seem menacing to a modern day audience. In Shakespeare's Macbeth.

Can One of the dilemmas facing a modern day director in the presentation of the witches is making them seem menacing to a modern day audience. In Shakespeare's day witches were feared as they were believed to wield tremendous power and thus the stereotypical image of a witch would be enough to invoke genuine respect and fear in the audience. However, current audiences find the stereotypical image of witches more amusing than fearful therefore directors have incorporated different personalities to make sure the witches induce fear in the modern day audience. In the 1998 Channel 4 films version of Macbeth the witches are dressed in colourful mismatching garb this suggests that the witches would not have bought the clothes and that they are in fact someone else's that they have scavenged or stolen. This version is intended for a younger audience therefore their costume makes the witches seem more realistic because a modern day street hawker would evoke similar emotions (those of alarm and respect) in younger audiences to those evoked by stereotypical witches in Shakespeare's era. The age of the witches also differs when compared to the Animated Tales and Japanese version. The witches are more middle aged and much younger then the ones in the Animated Tales and Akiro Kurasawa versions. This is effective in giving making them seem more dangerous to modern day audiences as they

  • Word count: 1710
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Drama
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The play Macbeth is a tragedy, dealing with the downfall and death of the main character.

The play Macbeth is a tragedy, dealing with the downfall and death of the main character. At the outset of the play Macbeth was a hero he was full of confidence from winning battles. However he had a fatal flaw in him which led him to want more. He was told by the witches that he would become king; his ambition drove him to kill Duncan. Hence the witches along with Lady Macbeth who worked on his fatal flaw and encouraging him towards his downfall. He commits treason and murder. He is no longer a hero. He threw it all away and he loses all respect from the people. Shakespeare has used the witches to tempt Macbeth towards this path of evil. The importance of witches always being an item in the play shows an evil presence all the time. At the time when Shakespeare wrote the play witches were a big part in society. People would accuse lonely old women of being witches and they would often blame them for the death of their animals or for storms at sea. So Shakespeare deliberately used the witches in his play as he knew the audience at that time would be interested in it. Witches were expected to be evil and ugly looking by the audience. Shakespeare would have often have used sound effects to create storms as the people of that day and age often associated witches with storms. I am now going to examine and analysis Shakespeare's presentation of the witches. It is significant

  • Word count: 1648
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Drama
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Scene Analysis - The Sixth Sense

In the film the Sixth Sense a young boy named Cole has paranormal contact with the dead. He can see things that other people cannot, namely the ghosts of the dead walking around him. The scene which I have chosen to analyse to answer my title is the scene where he is at school and brings up facts about what used to go there like people being hanged and eventually he erupts at this former pupil now teacher who used to have the nickname Stuttering Stanley. Cole brings back this fact about him from the ghosts of the people he sees. The teacher had lost his stutter but Cole brings it back. At the start of the scene the teacher is talking in a very confident voice, he is very assertive and calm. The camera angle also reflects this, as it is set at the back of the class from the perspective of a pupil, it shows all the pupils looking at the teacher. This acts as a total contrast to what he used to be like when he had his stutter. This also makes the end of the scene seem more emotional as we see the teacher lose his temper by smashing down on the table and begin stuttering. Throughout the scene a boy is writing lines on a blackboard. The image and sounds that this can create are put to good use to add to the meaning and to create emotions in the viewers. When Cole says about how people used to be hanged in the building the boy writing on the blackboard suddenly halts, this

  • Word count: 554
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Drama
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Coursework Question: Discuss how successfully 'Twelve Angry Men' works as a thriller despite the limitations of setting and ch

Coursework Question: Discuss how successfully 'Twelve Angry Men' works as a thriller despite the limitations of setting and character. 'Twelve Angry Men' is a gripping thriller despite the limitations of the film. The black and white 1957 film is packed with suspense even though the film has many restrictions in it. These limitations are things such the setting, the action/special effects, the props, the lack of costume changes, the cast are all twelve middle aged unattractive white men and finally the plot of the film is quite dull and uninteresting. Regardless of these limitations the director, Sidney Lumet, still makes it an exciting thriller by focusing the film on interesting memorable characters with different personalities and back grounds. By being extremely original with his ideas, by creating tension with the setting- makes a claustrophobic effect, by getting the audience involved and thinking on the plot of the jury decision because it judges on the life of a teenage boy and finally by making a wide range of camera shots. On paper 'Twelve Angry Men' would sound like a very dull film. To bring the film to life it needs a great cast of actors which 'Twelve Angry Men' has. The film is full of realistic unforgettable characters that all have different personalities and backgrounds. There are four dominant characters in the film, juror no.3- Lee J. Cobb, juror no.4-

  • Word count: 1838
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Drama
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Look closely at Act 1. Explore the effects of the supernatural and how the Elizabethan audience would respond to such evocations of witchcraft. - Macbeth

Look closely at Act 1. Explore the effects of the supernatural and how the Elizabethan audience would respond to such evocations of witchcraft. In the Elizabethan time period, religion played a huge part of societies everyday life, and witchcraft was a major part of the cultures belief, it was thought to be evil, and many people paid the price of death for others accusing them of being witches, so it was a delicate subject for the people of the time. 'Macbeth' focuses around this and uses the people's beliefs to good effect, knowing that they would be drawn to the play and would easily be able to relate back to it, which is what made the tale so popular to begin with. The opening scene sets up an early undercurrent to the whole play, and sets the scene, three witches, gathered around a cauldron, what could be more perfect to play on the minds of the people. The dark atmosphere, the mysteriousness is all around, an evil presence is all about, a spell is being cast on the soon to pass, unsuspecting Macbeth, the second witch begins to chant, 'when the battle has been won and lost' this evokes puzzlement and wonder amongst the audience, what does this mean, how is a battle to be won and lost, the audience is led to believe that this refers to a physical battle concerning Macbeth, but closer attention to detail would lead the audience into the mental battle that Macbeth must

  • Word count: 861
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Drama
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Describe in detail how I would if I had the chance direct Act2, scene 1, Macbeth - I will include lighting, camera angles and props.

In this essay I will describe in detail how I would if I had the chance direct Act2, scene 1. I will include lighting, camera angles and props. Act 2, scene 1 in Macbeth is probably one of the best scenes in the play, as it has pretty much everything in it that you would want in a tense situation such as this. Macbeth is about to commit the worst crime thinkable and nobody except for his wife has any idea. This is great on the part of Macbeth and he does very well to hide this from the rest of his supposed friends. The scene shows Macbeth cracking up under the pressure of the task at hand and I think this is great and I would definitely have Macbeth act the same way, as we all know he has mixed feelings about the crime. We know that Macbeth has been pressured a lot by his wife to go through with it as he had said he wants to back out. For me to direct this scene in the correct manner, then there would have to be a lot of repetition, emphasis on important words aswell as having many different camera angles. These three and other extras such as language will combine to put feeling and pain into you by sending it through Macbeth. You would hopefully feel in touch with his character more than ever. These advantages were not available for Shakespeare and there for it should be better watching it through the cameras and seeing the emotion close up. For the language used by

  • Word count: 918
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Drama
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How does the director appeal to the emotions of the viewers in the Sixth Sense

How does the director appeal to the emotions of the viewers in the Sixth Sense In the film the Sixth Sense a young boy named Cole has paranormal contact with the dead. He can see things that other people cannot, namely the ghosts of the dead walking around him. The scene which I have chosen to analyse to answer my title is the scene where he is at school and brings up facts about what used to go there like people being hanged and eventually he erupts at this former pupil now teacher who used to have the nickname Stuttering Stanley. Cole brings back this fact about him from the ghosts of the people he sees. The teacher had lost his stutter but Cole brings it back.coec ecr seececw orec eck inec foec ec. At the start of the scene the teacher is talking in a very confident voice, he is very assertive and calm. The camera angle also reflects this as it is set at the back of the class from the perspective of a pupil, it shows all the pupils looking at the teacher. This acts as a total contrast to what he used to be like when he had his stutter. This also makes the end of the scene seem more emotional as we see the teacher lose his temper by smashing down on the table and begin stuttering. Durkheim obfuscated 's realism . Throughout the scene a boy is writing lines on a blackboard. The image and sounds that this can create are put to good use to add to the meaning and to create

  • Word count: 639
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Drama
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The presentation of the witches in the opening scenes is crucial to the atmosphere of Macbeth. Compare how act 1, scenes (1) and (3) are presented in two different versions of the play. Which do you feel makes the greater dramatic impact? Explain why.

The presentation of the witches in the opening scenes is crucial to the atmosphere of Macbeth. Compare how act 1, scenes (1) and (3) are presented in two different versions of the play. Which do you feel makes the greater dramatic impact? Explain why. Shakespeare is known all over the world for his advanced techniques in writing plays and the one I am studying is Macbeth. Macbeth was written for James the first, and was written because he was interested in witchcraft. In the 17th century witchcraft was frowned upon to say the least, and most people who practised witchcraft were burned at the stake. This was because society couldn't handle witchcraft; they were frightened of it. But nowadays people understand witchcraft and don't see it as a threat; they almost see it as thrilling and interesting. There have been many different interpretations and productions of the play and the two I have chosen are the BBCs version and a modern play by Anne Ross Muir. The BBC production was an old fashioned version and was set in medieval Scotland in the 11th century and followed a more traditional style. The version directed by Anne Ross Muir followed a modern route in trying to make the play more understandable. This was achieved by making the play have modern qualities, which people can relate to The BBCs was set in Scotland, at the time of war, when the monarchy was not a stable

  • Word count: 1296
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Drama
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Macbeth - Act five scene, 8

Macbeth Literature assignment. For my literature assignment I have chosen act five scene, 8. I have chosen this scene because it is the final result of the play. From what the witches said in the first act 'fair is foul and, foul is fair'. By Macduff winning his fight against Macbeth puts the play back on track. I have also chosen this scene because this is where Macbeth, the main character gets killed and loses the throne to Macduff. My scene is going to be staged in a boxing ring. The fight in scene 8 between Macbeth and Macduff will be based on Rahman and Lewis, which will be later this year. Earlier this year Rahman and Lewis had already fought. The titles changed as Rahman won by a lucky left hook. The boxing match will be this year so the language that the actors speak will be modern. The boxing match would go on until Macduff wins by knock out. About five rounds. At the beginning of the scene, you will think that Macbeth is winning but then it starts to change as Macduff retaliates, and knocks Macbeth out and becomes king. This is refereeing to the Lewis and Rahman fight as Lewis will win and becomes the king of the world. William Shakespeare wrote this play for King James of Scotland. So I'm writing my play for Don King because he is intressted in boxing and knows a lot about boxing so he would find it amusing, rather than doing the play for someone who does not

  • Word count: 640
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Drama
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