Still Image with Thought Tracking: Before / after the revolution
After some time the poor people had enough of the situation and decided to do something about it. The poor start a revolution against the rich. The next task we were asked to do was perform two still images with thought tracking. One still image before the revolution and another still image after the revolution. We had to show how things have changed. We decided to use a freeze frame from the last play but add thought tracking. In the next freeze frame the poor are in a rich family’s home and have taken over.
We were able to show the change clearly. In the first one I was crying with starvation, in the second one I didn’t know what to chose because they was so much of food. Everyone was complaining about the rich people in the first one but in the second everyone was happy and running the rich people out.
Using still image and thought tracking helped increase my understanding of the play. After the revolution the poor were now rich and the rich were poor. It was also clear that he poor were not much better than the rich. Once they were in a position of power, they became greedy aswell.
Dramatic Representation of Grusha’s Dilemma
The Governors selfish wife, Natella, has run off, leaving behind her three-month-old baby, Michael. Grusha is a worker. She is deeply in love with Simon, who has gone off to war to fight. She finds the abandoned baby and listening to the rebels’ talk, realises that the rebel ruler has seized power. The baby is a threat.
We were given an extract to read from The Caucasian Chalk Circle. The extract tells me that Grusha has found the baby and begins to walk away but she hears the baby cry ‘Woman. Help me.’ She hears the baby talk to her and it persuades her to go back. She sits with the child and waits for the mother to return. ‘Evening came, night came, dawn came.’ The mother didn’t return so Grusha picked it up and carried it away. Grusha thought about leaving it but the temptation was too strong.
We were asked to perform the moment when Grusha finds the baby naturalistically, with the objective of emotionally involving the audience. There were five in our group. Jade was Grusha. The rest of us were Ironshirts tracking down the baby. Jade came in and found the baby. We were whispering on the other side of the room. Jade starts to talk to the baby. She walks away then she hears the Ironshirts talking about finding the baby. She goes back and picks it up. Then she hears the Ironshirts talking about killing the baby. She runs away with it.
I think that we were able to emotionally involve the audience. The ironshirts were played naturalistically to create tension and pressure for Grusha. Jade did not know she was going find a baby therefore she wasn’t prepared to be ready to take away. Jade facial expression tells us that she is frightened and upset. She moves quickly but silently. She keeps looking around to show fear. When she walks away from the baby, we spoke loudly. Her tone of voice was scared. The Ironshirts stood upright looking over a map. They spoke seriously and calmly. Their facial expressions were normal as though they look for babies and kill them all the time. By having the Ironshirts there, they give more reason for Grusha to take the baby. They added on pressure, fear and isolation because they wanted to kill the baby and Grusha didn’t want the baby to be killed. I think we managed to make the audience sympathetic of her situation because they didn’t want the baby to be killed either.
Role-play has helped me increase my understanding of the difficulty of Grusha’s decision. Grusha had to chose between Michael (baby) and Simon. She loves Simon but she couldn’t leave the baby behind to die.
Epic Representation of Grusha’s Dilemma
We were asked to perform the same moment in Epic Style, using Brechtian devices. We used narrators to introduce the scène and tell the audience what will happen, Grusha talks to the audience, and we used placards to make the moment of decision clear. Also the narrators argue. The play was more directed onto the audience. It was less emotional and more comical.
Using Brechtian techniques and conventions improved my understanding of Grusha’s problem even more. Grusha telling the audience the pros and the cons of taking the child meant I really had to
think about the advantages and disadvantages and what the best thing to do was. The audience was also more critical and considering the issues because of this.
Brecht wants the audience think about the events but not get drawn in emotionally by the characters. There is no suspense in his play because the narrators or placards tell you what is going to happen. Comedy also helps distance the audience.
In Dramatic Theatre allows you to get emotionally involved but in Epic Theatre it doesn’t allow you to and therefore the audience can think about what is happening. I found it easier to get the message across using Brechtian Techniques.
The Trial
Just after Simon leaves, the Ironshirts find Grusha and Michael. His real mother, the Governor’s wife, wants him back now the war is over because he is heir to the throne and without him back she cannot access her fortune. Grusha is taken to the city to face trial for abduction.
We were given a slip of paper with information on it about our character. Mine said “Grusha’s brother’s wife – hates Grusha for embarrassing her by getting arrested in front of the neighbours. Feels very hard done by after she found her a husband thinks Grusha should give the baby back and safe face.“ We were asked to get into pairs and act out our character and say a few lines each. I was in court to make sure Grusha didn’t get the baby. My tone of voice was angry and annoyed. My facial expressions were cross and hurt.
By doing this activity I understand that people had different attitudes towards Grusha and her situation. Some people were saying “ Give the baby back to Grusha, the real mother left it to die” “She risked her life for that baby.” But other people were saying “Throw her into jail”, “I saw her beating Michael”
We did a court scène showing Grusha as the guilty party. I was an Ironshirt. I held Grusha back. We did flashbacks when people accused her of doing horrible things, e.g. Snatching the baby and hitting the child. We ended it with a cliffhanger. Some groups were for Grusha. They gave evidence like “Grusha saved the baby’s life” “She brought up the baby” “She put her life in danger” We gave evidence like “The baby was stolen” “Blood is thicker than water”
Role-play, narration and flashbacks helped increase my understanding of the different ways in which Grusha actions, like taking the baby, marring Yassup. I feel that Grusha did the right thing by taking the baby and should keep it.
Section Two - Development
For this section we were asked to look at and develop a section of script from The Caucasian Chalk Circle for performance. In the extract Simon returns (Grusha’s lover) and talks to her across the river. Grusha breaks the news that she is married. He sees the child and walks away while Grusha is protesting, “It isn’t mine, it isn’t mine” In this extract Brecht uses narrators to tell the same story so the audience will not get emotionally involved with the characters but will consider the issues at stake instead Simon and Grusha also speak in third person for the same reason.
We were asked to prepare the extract for performance in two different styles: Dramatic and Epic. The Epic performance should be what Brecht would like, using his devices and techniques and trying not to get the audience emotionally involved. The Dramatic performance should be the reverse of what Brecht would have wanted, making the audience feel emotionally attached to the couple and feel sorry for them.
Epic style
We got into a group of four. Jade was Grusha, Tom was Simon, Stephanie and I were narrators. We decide to use the script as it was written. I read out the stage directions. We used a bag to represent Michael.
We did the play in full bright light. We had two narrators telling the story. We addressed the audience and spoke in third person. By doing the play in epic style I think the message got across quicker because the viewer had to think about the situation.
Dramatic style
We stayed in the same group. We decide to change the script to make the situation more emotional. The actors spoke in first person and less formal language. (Attached #1). I was Michael. I showed I was a little kid by trying to juggle with balls. Stephanie was the husband of Grusha. Her movement was sudden and harsh. She spoke angrily. Her facial expressions were annoyed. She came in and pushed me and complained that I always in the way. Adding the characters of Yassup and Michael made the audience take more pity on Grusha. Grusha is busy doing the washing when Simon comes along. Grusha is fed up and depressed. When she sees Simon she is happy but uncomfortable. Simon is pleased to see her but when he notices the ring his facial expressions change to devastated. Simon walks off when he sees the child and Grusha is now upset and desperate for Simon.
In this performance we had naturalistic props like the juggling balls. We used dim stage lighting to add atmosphere. We had facial expressions to show feelings instead of speaking the stage directions. This time the audience was allowed to get emotionally involved. We used the same positions as last time but Yassup and Michael were on Grusha side of the river. The reason we cut out the narrators is because they destroyed the realism and element of suspense.