Today we did some blocking on act 3 and did an activity in groups on the play.
Blocking:
Today we started blocking from where we had left off last time which was a few pages into act 3 and I had just sat down and had a slightly awkward exchange with Jasmine. We focused on the dinner scenes with Sarah and carter but also with Robert and Steve. This mainly required me and Chloe to sit on the chairs and pretend to be high for almost the entire time. We did get to do one brief scene that is interspersed with the other scenes. Me and Chloe are still on the middle of the catwalk on stage left and we have to remain there for a very long time. I assumed that this meant at points we could/would move so things would still be happening but we wouldn't be focused on due to the other scenes. This doesn't seem to be the case for now as we're asked to stay still and I believe it was mentioned that us moving (Or anyone who is not in a scene) would be distracting. So this means that we won't be able to go and get props such as the wine that it mentions in the script that me and Jasmine are drinking. We would have to move and get/pour it I assume this just means we won't have it and to be fair it's not anything drastic but I thought it was worth mentioning.
Activity:
After we started blocking we were asked to get into groups of people we are in scenes with and make a graph of a given act to do with the "Musicality" of that act. This meant keeping track of the act in terms of pacing, sound scope, timing, tension and etc. Me and Chloe were given act 1 to draw on the graph and the result is the top graph on the picture below. We thought that the act overall got higher or louder in most of these aspects as it went along despite dipping now and then as you can see in the picture. We agreed that Jasmine's scenes generally make the graph stats increase when going from the last scene although I must say that my character Colin (At least his scenes) doesn't have a consistent effect on the graph with it fluctuating a lot with him. This was interesting since it gave a good sense of the plays impact and importance of certain characters, arcs and stories. Seeing the dips and peaks in the graph and act structure was cool and seemed to give a little more context and understanding to the plays elements such as it definitely seems to escalate when Jasmine is on stage and sometimes dip when I'm onstage or when the tone may change between scenes such as the change from any of Peter and Freya's scenes to Jasmine's scenes.
Strengths and weaknesses:
A weakness of today's activity was that initially I had no Idea what it was actually about but that was a small issue since I just asked for some clarification and I got it although it still took me a while. A bigger issue of today was that in terms of blocking we didn't get too much done. We got two scenes mainly blocked which is good and it's only due to the scenes needing to be staged correctly and working out the scene will play out so it's not bad because the scenes are coming along very nicely so don't get me wrong and it is justified I just wish we had some more time in order to make some more progress because it was going so well.
A strength of today was that I am really beginning to love the staging despite some issues that we have when trying to get it organised. The scene that we left on with Max and his monologues is great. It's really great. The direction given and the performance mixed with the ideas for the background and the Brechtian staging with him looking forward and almost lecturing the audience I think it's coming along brilliantly.
Input/Idea:
Karen mentioned to Chloe about an idea for the burlesque scene. It was an idea I had told Chloe a week or so before but didn't think to suggest it because I thought it wouldn't go well with the staging. That turned out to be wrong since Karen also thought of the same thing. The idea we had was for Chloe to stand behind the screen but in front of the projector so that she could do her erotic dance but only see her silhouette this both keeps it somewhat subtle and even adds to the surreal aspect about it. The one part of my idea Karen didn't seem to agree with was that instead of her having signs we have the messages projected above her and have markers for her to dance on so she doesn't get in the way of the words unintentionally. She didn't seem to keen on that but instead suggested having the spectators hold up signs that can be found underneath the platforms we'll be around. I like that idea and just has less risk than the projected signs since there is still the issue of whether there's actually any room to do the projected signs anyway. I have no idea if it will actually be used but I hope so because I think it has potential especially what we could do with in terms of lighting it.
5/5/16:
Thursday 5/5/16: today we continued to block act 3.
Blocking:
We continued with where got to with the blocking on Tuesday. We actually blocked my singing scene with Jasmine. I have a conversation with her while high on drugs and then I get an urge to dance. I put on the song "Rebellion (Lies)" by Arcade Fire by holding up the CD to cue the songs start and then going crazy dancing although I have to start off subtle yet still very awkward. This was fun I wasn't disappointed about the scene at all and even the things that had to be changed such as CD being used in a more symbolic manner to suit the Brechtian approach which I really like. It keeps things simple. We have to get certain things timed right such as Sarah and Carters moments that cut into our dance scene. They are cued for specific moments in the song (Specifically the instrumental breaks) and these bits may take a while to time correctly and I don't know if Katrina or Rhys have listened to the song to get there cues. They should now but to be fair it was just blocking and it was pretty good for the first ever attempt. Today was really fun and I'm glad of what we got done, not just my scenes but everybody's.
Ideas:
An idea I suggested was for one of Max's monologues in which he talks about Mrs Andrews. He is literally talking about her but the subtext heavily suggests that he's talking about Mother Earth. I suggested that in order to convey this properly since it's not spelt out in the monologue itself, we could use the projector, starting with a black screen and slowly having a picture of earth fade in and be completely visible as his speech finishes. He's talking about how wart could just take everything away from us (using Mrs Andrews and an example). The fact it slowly fades would mesh well and be a subtle reminder of what he's really talking about. I hope the idea is used since it was received well and should be quite simple to pull off. It also fits with the Brechtian devise of using signs to convey information but this one shows the subtext visually and not using text although it's the same intent and principle. he style also uses projectors to convey information if the play allows it
Problems and solutions:
During my scene today I was skeptical about singing since I wasn't sure how I'd sound or really how I should should sound. I tried the scene trying to project as much as possible without my voice cracking. Thankfully for the majority of the song before the key change in the last verse it was apparently quite good and they all seemed to like it. I think i may have missed a few notes but overall it was fine thankfully. However when it got to the key change both me and Chloe sounded quite bad in my opinion. This is something I think we need to practice because trying at home and then showing the class like I did payed off so I'll continue with that and see if the key change will work. If not then I may have to mime it or it may not matter since it never specifies Colin can sing so hopefully it may get played for laughs or something along these lines.
Another thing that seemed initially tricky was that during the scene I am supposed to put the CD into the CD player and then start dancing but there was no was to actually have one on the stage and and to be able to show me doing it properly. So Karen said to just have the CD on stage already (Brought on by Becky I believe) and then I simply hold it up to cue the music to stop. I like the potential of the that visual moment to be honest, it's simple and conveys what's going on and is different enough to enforce Brecht's distancing effect more.
Research:
When looking at a document on Brecht there was a section talking about how characters are often simplified in Brechtian plays. They often become stereotypes or are just presented in a simple manner. It's either that or extremely complex but I believe those are for very few exceptions. This has made me wonder if it's OK to play Colin as his simplified one sentence character. A lonely, unfulfilled man who aspires to be more and lose his past life to do the things he missed out on. Brechtian characters are often simplified and some times quite complex but I'm not too sure if Colin can be portrayed this way. I want the shy and dreaming side of him to show but also just the moments where he can't stand being around Sarah so it's 2 distinct emotional states but I may vary or change my mind on this as the blocking goes along but for now I'll try my best to get him to be simple with in each contained scene or episode as Brecht would call it. Also I found that since Brecht plays often are presented simplistically I find it very fitting that we are using simplistic and minimalist set and props.
This week's research links:
http://www.thedramateacher.com/epic-theatre-conventions/
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