Inspiration from Grotowski... A Few Words !

Everyday we are faced with challenges, everyday something occurs.
We must face the day, face the time and live in time.
Only a few of us do so, only a few of us face the day, face the challenges, learn about them and go through them.
We can get distracted, this happens, we don't realise, only do we realise, when, we get back to our original matter of truth... Which in itself is a challenge.


Life is magical and I don't want to miss a thing...

Introducing Jerzy Grotowski

Jerzy Grotowski was born in Rzeszow, Poland on the 11th of August 1933 and sadly died in 1999.
He was a Theatre Director, Actor Trainer and Theorist whose work was split into 5 phases:

1)Theatre of Production- (1957-1969)
In 1958 Grotowski moved to Opole where he was invited by the theatre critic and dramaturg Ludwik Flaszen to serve as Director of the Theatre of 13 Rows.There he began to assemble a company of actors and artistic collaborators which would help him realize his unique vision. He explored the actor's and audience's relationship, and developed his methods and idea's of what an actor and theatre should be. After a few of his productions it was then his realization now known as Grotowski's notion of 'poor theatre.
Stripping everything away from the actor and stage, to the point of no props, no make up and simple costume was something that Grotowski believed to be real theatre, the bare truth in a sense.

2)Paratheatrical phase- (1969-1978)
Grotowski did not perform after his theatre of production, during this time he took his journey towards self discovery within himself and other actors and groups, there was no audiences during any of these meetings. It was more of a training process in a sense, in search of the truth beyond theatre, where only creativity was sought, asserting the purity of nature and openness and opposing the falseness of society. This phase is known as the 'Paratheatrical' phase of his career because it was an attempt to transcend the separation between performer and spectator. Grotowski attempted this through the organization of communal rites and simple interactive exchanges that went on sometimes for extended periods, attempting to provoke in participants a deconditioning of impulse.

3)Theatre of Sources- (1976-1982)
During this phase Grotowski returned to working with small groups, this helped for his continuous research in human self discovery.
He travelled far and wide across the world, intensely through India, Mexico, Haiti and elsewhere, seeking to identify elements of technique in the traditional practices of various cultures that could have a precise and discernible effect on participants. With the help of good friends helped Grotowski managed to settle in the US, where he taught at Columbia University for one year while attempting to find support for a new program of research.

4)Objective Drama- (1983-1986)
This phase of research was characterized by an investigation of the psychophysiological impact of selected songs and other performative tools derived from traditional cultures on participants, focusing specifically on relatively simple techniques that could exert a discernible and predictable impact on the doer regardless of her belief structures or culture of origin.

5)Art as Vehicle (1986-)
Grotowski was invited by Roberto Bacci of the Centro per la Sperimentazione e la Ricerca Teatrale to shift the base of his work to Pontedera, Italy, where he was offered an opportunity to conduct long-term research on performance without the pressure of having to show results until he was ready.
Here he reached into the past to find old ritual songs that had a deep imp[act on the heart, the head and the body. He wanted the ancient history to connect back to man today and to reach the truth through original rituals.

A quote By Peter Brooks.

"It seems to me," Brook said, "that Grotowski is showing us something which existed in the past but has been forgotten over the centuries; that is that one of the vehicles which allows man to have access to another level of perception is to be found in the art of performance."

Below - Jerzy Grotowski

The Frame

The Frame is the opening scene to our show, it starts with one person speaking and we all one by one interact with this person using a word that sums up what we are feeling. However we are using this word as if to say that they are feeling this, for instance my word is unsettled, my question is " Are you unsettled?" the purpose of this frame is showing how other people can bring out another emotion that you may be feeling, or pushing on there own emotional conflict with themselves onto someone else. It's a very random conversation that leads to self discovery... Or does it?
Each person came up with a word from truth, the word came from a long process of devising our truth. We had to go through a lot of different exercises to reach this truth. One exercises was to draw a picture of ourselves with our eyes closed, another was to write about how we see ourselves, who we are and what helps us through life. All very personal and all that comes from truth. Below are some pictures of the strange picture I drew of myself with my eyes closed, also an idea for the frame!

Devising- The Progress

We have been working on a piece called 'The Ritual of the Lost Souls'
It starts with us being spread out, using our bodies to create levels, We are as still as can be, slowly reaching out for something, hoping it may the truth, something that makes sense to each individual. We have in our mind set something that we are truly searching for, this allows us to keep focused and give an honest performance.
The further we reach the harder things get, or the more frustrated we are in not finding our truth. Some people get extremely vocal whilst others use their facial expressions to show their emotions. During this whole ritual there is music played throughout, until suddenly it turns off, everybody gets back to the real world , and start sweeping things under the rug, which will symbolize how people don't always take the truth , or in finding it well...

Devising for the 45 minute piece- the process!

So far things have turned out to be rather emotional, in order to create real theatre we must find the truth, the truth inside ourselves. This for some has not been an easy exercise and for me personally was also hard, however it's very satisfying to speak about true emotions, fears and secrets.
This process is 'A Way In', in helping us with the devising process. It also allows us as actors to be real and comfortable with our emotions on stage. Letting go only allows an actor to be more free. Lots of improvisations have been part of this process too. We have been learning about 'Plastics' which is a full body movement, using our bodies to show emotions, a training method of Grotowski. We used plastics whilst listening to music, reacting with impulse which too allows us to free our minds. In other lessons we had to write a few paragraphs to express our thoughts and feelings about our lives, how we get by, what are morals may be, how do we guide ourselves, etc... Through this exercise we used a few lines from each written piece to form a small piece of theatre. This whole process developed into something a little more interesting. Each day we are building new pieces of work, it seems so far that our play will be about identity and will be short pieces interlocking rather than a full flowing 45 minute piece, however things do change.

2nd Year so far... :o)

Second year so far has proven to be a joy! After so much time away from uni I feel inspired and ready to go.

Our first day was spent at 'The Tate' to get some inspiration from the poetry and dreams exhibition.

Below are a few pieces that I loved.

It was interesting to see and I guess in a way it did inspire me in preperation for our first module of the year. After being out of a creative environment for some time, being surrounded by art most definitely opened up my mind, which gave me an idea!

THE IDEA - where it came from!

Sitting at lunch with Dominique... I get a call from my boyfriend, he starts rambling on about how he had to stay up ALL night sending some music files to a producer. He had the files ready to send in a minute format but as soon as he loaded them up to send he accidentally DELETED all the files! The consequences were for him to stay up all night to re bounce them into this one minute send format, thank goodness he had backed up the original files! This got me thinking...
This gave me an idea about how reliant we are on technology, what a shame if you loose all your work! What a shame if you didn’t back up, I mean it's kind of a crisis these days if we loose our valuable work.
Dom and I discussed this and came up with a few ideas.

We needed to come up with a proposal in order to show off our ideas.

Below reads the proposal, ideas, etc!

THE BIG EYE!

The idea is to find the meaning of cyber world.
How far do we actually live inside it?
Are we dictated by cyber world?
Do we live in cyber world or the real world?
We’re we more real in the 60’s?
Was that the ‘REAL’ revolution?
Is cyber world a dream or reality?

Passwords
Trapped

Life without a phone documentary


Can we trust cyber world?
They know my mother fucking bank details!

Bugs
Viruses

Research- finding the true emotion-How did Nick (teacher) feel when his computer got stolen?

Iphones

Cyber world- this is my life, this is your life
Facebook statuses, gather our statuses to create a script,
Do we want to live forever- does cyber world enable that? Is that why we are so obsessed?
You do live forever; is that our subconscious speaking? Are we scared of ending? Dying?
We want to speak, be heard, and see our name in lights, on screen.
In cyber world we are heard, or do we just want to hear ourselves? Remind ourselves?
Why, what, where, and who are we with?
It’s a way to speak to the word, but it’s not THE WORLD it’s cyber world!
It makes us feel bigger…rather than the small speck we really are.





Back at The Arts Depot :)

Meeting the new 1st years was really nice, and now every Monday it has been decided that both 1st years and 2nd years will share a morning class exercise, which involves, stretching, warm ups and generally getting HOT!
The games we play allow us to forget about the weekends and concentrate on the days to come.

Having Michael as a new teacher is also proving to be a success, he has set the class some interesting challenges in order to get our creative minds thinking.
We started with an exercise called 'The Grid'.
The Grid is basically an imaginary basic grid that we follow, using sharp moves to turn and change direction. We started walking the grid in silence, then eventually, naturally, took on characters and tasks, which only involved ourselves. This grid carried on for around 2 hours, people could jump in and out of the grid to watch, or could carry on the grid task to see where it would lead... After some time it seemed that the grid had disappeared and soon was a piece of theatre, where people were connecting and interacting, however no words were spoken. Though so much was said.
At some points of the exercise, it seemed like you could of been in some mental hospital, people lost there inhibitions and went... well slightly mad!
I took myself out the grid to shoot videos of some moments...
click on link below

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbhiHvzQOPE

The Radio Script Workshop

The year is nearly finished and soon I would have completed my first year of Uni! I am very pleased to say that I feel very proud and excited at the same time... For the last few days at Uni we have been working towards a radio drama recording, we have written our own scripts and soon will be recording them.
I have been working with Mario and so far the process has gone smoothly. We have sound affects organized and the script is complete.

We have written the script in radio drama format.



You & I

By

Kate Meranda & Mario Hitra


The Characters, The Boy (TB), Little Girl (LG) & Mum

SCENE 1

THE SOUND OF A TAP DRIPPING, ECHOING THE ROOM

SOUND OF HEAVY BREATHING

BOY: I feel so stupid

GIRL: Why do you feel stupid?

BOY: I am stupid:

GIRL: Stupid

BOY: I can’t believe we’re back here again, back to square one

GIRL: I though we we’re gonna get out?

BOY: We we’re supposed to get out, but we’re back here again

Pause… Breathing

GIRL: Think I’m growing- Do you think I’ve grown?

Pause

GIRL: I’m starving, I need to eat, cant focus

BOY: Not sure we can eat right now

NOISES OF SCRATCHING OF THE WALLS

GIRL: Stop doing that, you always do that, I’m sick of that noise

BOY: I’m sick of these walls, I’m sick of this place, I’m sick of this situation we’re in

GIRL: What we gonna do?

BOY: Shut up! Sound of scratching of the hair… Just give me a minute

Pause

GIRL: Why are you being like this? You promised me we’d get out of here, I can’t go on my own, I need you… Are you even listening to me?

BOY: (loud) Alright, Alright shut up

GIRL: Why have you stopped listening to me? We used to be a good team You & I… If you start listening to me again… we’ll be out of here in no time!

BOY: (angry) Without you we wouldn’t even be in this situation, you’re always in my ear, (shout) just shut up for once

GIRL: Shhhh , don’t shout, they might hear you !

SOUND OF HEAVY FOOTSTEPS

INNER VOICE: BOY: It’ just a black hole, I haven’t seen the light in days

GIRL: Could be weeks, could be months.

BOY: I keep hearing the same noises, over and over again; we’ve been down here for days,

GIRL: Could be weeks, could be months…

A DOOR OPENS

MUM: (OFF) Darling what are you doing? We have to go now; we’re going to be late.

GIRL & BOY: OK I’m coming

The Tech Run and Live Show All In One Day!!!!! Crazzzzyyyy!

The tech run went rather well but at the same time was all very stressful, as we only had one day to do a dress rehearsal and a tech run due to having the bank holiday Monday off. This whole process was a lot different from any tech run I had ever done because this time we were the visionaries and directors of the pieces. This entailed writing the scripts and then translating the written word into action on stage. To also aid the effect of the pieces, we were responsible for light, set, props, costume and sound.
I had a meeting with lighting technician so I could discuss with him all the lighting ideas I had and make notes of all the cues. We settled on use of a spotlight at different points, strobe lighting and different coloured washes to evoke a haunting atmosphere on stage. I specifically liked the idea of flipping between strobe and coloured washes to show the tension and inner conflict of the main character; washes representing the beauty of his art and strobe to reflect his destructive strive for ultimate perfection.
Sound was also crucial in defining the message of my piece to the audience. The piece started with a heartbeat, leading into ‘Big Sky’ and ‘Architects Dream’ by Kate Bush and ending with ‘Skinny Love’ by Birdy. Extracts of all of these songs had been previously comped together to create one long stream of music. This made it easier for the soundman, as all was required, was pressing play at the outset and allowing the track to run. These songs were selected on three criteria; their lyrics, rhythm and worldly production. ‘Big Sky’ has a tribal pattern throughout, creating a ‘world-music sound’. This was very important to me, as I did not want my piece to be set in any particular part of the world, or in any particular time. My main character and his message were both timeless and international. I also loved the lyrics; the idea of reaching for the ‘Big Sky’ mirrored my main character’s desire to reach his own ‘Big Sky’, which sadly seemed forever out of his grasp. ‘Architect’s Dream’ was about an artist’s journey, in this case a painter and ‘Skinny Love’ was about the breakdown of a relationship, which is how my piece concluded.
In the way ‘Architect’s Dream’ was about a painter’s process of creating his art, my subject onstage was creating his art through building and decorating a huge, entwining plat. I had constructed this at home out of three large sheets of white polyester, which I platted together and then embellished with different coloured and textured materials. My subject’s action onstage was to continually construct and destruct this plat, striving to make it as beautiful as humanly possible. This plat represented any artist’s work, or in fact any person’s desire to be the greatest they can be, both to their advantage and also to their downfall.
I made sure that I wrote out all the light, sound and projection cues clearly in the right order according to the script, I felt it was important to be organised in order to run the light box with confidence and professionalism.
Costumes were very important, and also needed to be timeless and non-fashion specific to any country or decade. I wanted the costumes to portray the different personalities of the character’s wearing them. These characters had strong individual traits and I chose to dress them with hints of different animals that mirrored their characteristics. One was dressed in feathers across her upper body to be an owl, representing the wise and the thoughtful, one in vibrant reds and yellows to represent the lion, strong, aggressive, the Alfa Male of the jungle, the third had feathers sprouting from her head and was in a dull grey body, to represent a bird, timid, afraid
and introverted. As well as these characters representing external figures in his life and the different types of personalities people have, they also represented his inner conscious and opposing personalities he had in his own head; his inner struggle.
The timeless and international message of my piece being mirrored by the choice of music was also reflected in the worldly tribal movements the girls were doing. This is the point where strobe lighting was used to enhance the tension in the girl’s dance. When choreographing the girls, I made sure to tell them that their facial expressions were just as important as their bodily movements. I wanted their faces to be wild, eyes to be wide open and expressions to represent their individual animals choice.
We also had a big job setting up the stage for each piece, which meant it was very important as a class to work as a team to help make sure that the whole show ran smoothly.
There were a few hic-ups with setting up the stage, luckily it was a dress rehearsal and from this experience allowed us to understand how important it was for everyone to make sure that they are helping back stage.
We finally finished our dress rehearsal and only had about 45 minutes to collect ourselves together before the live show began. We also made sure that all the props were positioned correctly side stage.
The live show was an amazingly enjoyable process and I felt very much in control of what I wanted to achieve during my time in the sound box. I felt my communication skills were strong and I was not afraid in being direct with the sound and lighting man. Overall I was pleased with the performance however on reflection of the live show, if given a second chance I would push the girls further with their movements and make sure they had a specific thought process throughout their dance, so every move was a direct result of an internal emotion. I would also do this again with the main character and his lover with their emotional love story so their emotions for each other were more real. I would achieve this by ‘Hot Seating’ the actors asking them different questions outside of the given circumstances of the piece, so they could build a true picture in their heads of what, why and who their characters really are, and what they mean to each other.

Rehearsal Discovery... The Changes

Today was our third rehearsal, which went pretty well, it was performed to Nick and Michael, which was a good thing as they both had some great constructive criticism.
The most important thing that was noticed was that the connection between the actors was not strong enough and the emotions of each actor are not on display. The thought process was being lost and it soon becomes just a piece of dance that has no relevance to acting. As a director I have been trying to encourage the whole 'bringing on the emotion' however it still has not sunk inn, so it seems. The solution is to go through the whole performance without any dance moves, basically to act it out, there are no words so it will be purely using the face, body language and feeling the emotion. Once this is achieved, the audience will have a deeper understanding as to what this piece of theatre is saying.

The Changes:

Through this rehearsal some changes were made and they are as follows.

1- Chris will be taking things off the Plat bit by bit in scene 3.
2- Chris will be stage left along with the Plat, rather than being centre.
3-Chris will not be hunched down, he will remember to keep his back straight.
4- As the girls start the ensemble dance, Lucy will not want to be part of it at first, then the others invite her and she slowly joins.

All in all I am happy with this rehearsal and I am excited for the next one.

Here is what Lucy may be wearing for the show... It's very bird like ;)

Idea's For Projection

The Flower is Blooming!





The Flower is Dying



The Beautiful Stars and The Sky



The Changing of the Weather, The Storm

First Rehearsal - The Process

Our first rehearsal was Monday 9th May. We started the session with handing out the scripts for everyone to read to get an idea of how this theatre piece will go.
We then started the session with a warm up. This warm up consisted of, breathing exercises and stretching, this took about 10 minutes.
It is very important to warm at the beginning of each rehearsal to allow the actors to focus on the task ahead.
After the stretching and breathing, we did an eye contact exercise.
The actors had to use the space in the room to walk around whilste always keeping in eye contact with someone, the idea of this exercise was to build an energy.
This lasted for 10 minutes.
The next warm up was a physical movement exercise, the actors had to listen to the music that was being played and allow themselves to feel free and move with the music, naturally going with what their bodies wanted to do. It's more of an instinctual exercise and allows the actor to let go and feel free, again to build a bright positive energy.
The actors also had to look at each other and try and connect with one another through dance.
This lasted 30 minutes. It did take Lucy a while to loosen up and let go of her inhibitions, however everyone in the room encouraged her to be part of the energy and eventually she was.
After this warm up the group was ready to start working on the 3 scenes.
Through this rehearsal we managed to block each scene, we also had a go at some movement and dance, which seemed to work well.
The next rehearsal will focus more on specific dance moves, our task as Directors is to look up some tribal dance moves and throw them in at certain points of the ensemble dance, scene 2.

Ten's Project- Prep Work...

On Thursday May 5th Makeda and myself took ourselves to Edgware and bought all the props and art materials that will be used for our Project.
We went to a few cheap £1 shops, there we purchased fake flowers, confetti, glitter, butterfly stickers, two different colours of wool, and some scarfs.
All these materials will be used to make the plat and also will be used on stage during performance. The confetti will be thrown by the dancers during the ensemble dance.
The next shop we went to was a a beautiful material shop, this was a perfect shop in regards for making our plat, we initially had an idea of making the plat out of rope but we came to the conclusion that it would be to difficult to get lots of rope for a cheap price unless we knew someone that owned a boat which neither of us did.
Making the plat out of material was far more feasible and available.

We also went to an art shop where we bought super glue and material glue.

On Monday May 11th Makeda came round to my house and there we started in building the plat, from this first art session we came up with some ideas of how the plat will look and how it will be built.

Below are the props and materials we purchased!

Props needed and imagery Idea's for Ten's Devised Project.

Rope to create a large plat.
Confetti of some sort to decorate stage.
Tissue paper to make petals.
Smoke machine to create ambiance.
Some sort of decoration that the man will literally use to perfect his masterpiece - the plat.

Images for projection.

Glitter,
Stars, moon, clouds, sun
Nature, tree’s, flowers, landscape
Fairies, magical creatures,
Beautiful scripted writings,

Ten's Devised Project... The Vision:

This piece of theatre is a modern visual piece, focusing mainly on one man who is trying to perfect his masterpiece.
It will be set in a dark space which has no specific setting, it just is, A Space Of Life...

All the scenes will be a flow, there will be no set changes and the man will be on stage at all times.

Scene 1:

Imagine a dark space, centre stage there will be a man that's working on his masterpiece which will be a long plat hanging from the ceiling or somewhere high. The man attempts to climb the Platt, but see's a fault, so he comes down to perfect his masterpiece. During this whole play the man does not break the fourth wall at all.
Through this process there will be images to enhance the development of the man's masterpiece, these images will be done through using projection.

Scene 2:

Three other people (girls) come on stage holding their own 'plat' which is the size of a 30cm ruler, they come on directly breaking the fourth wall portraying how proud they are and how they are ready to show the audience they’re plat.
They notice the big plat centre stage and slowly get drawn towards it.
Through this will be an ensemble dance/movement that connects the girls with the man and his masterpiece. The dance will almost be like a chanting tribal religious dance.
They push him towards climbing the Platt, as he begins to climb there is a positive energy, until the man spots a fault in the Platt... He slowly climbs down and continues his work, slowly the dancers fade away with sadness in their eyes.
However, as they move away, one of the dancers stays and watches him and the Platt intensely.

Scene 3:


A love story begins through dance and a connection of positive, pure energy. The man is ready to climb again, and so she pushes him to climb, and as he nearly gets to the top, (this will be the climax of the play), he see's a fault and climbs down again slowly.
He continues his work without any eye contact, solely focusing on his Platt...
The girl slowly fades away into the background walking backwards facing him in sadness.
He does not appear to see anything- only his Platt.

The lights fade as he continues to try and perfect his masterpiece, almost like a mad professor.

Through each scene there will be a change of mood used through lighting.
Scene 1, will mostly be soft lighting, just enough to enhance the man and his plat.

Scene 2, will be a more dramatic light, with maybe some sort of strobe lighting effects.

Scene 3, will be romantic, vibrant lights, that resemble love.
Towards the end of the play will be dark moody lighting to resemble sadness.

Throughout this play, there will be music that will compliment each scene and message.
This piece will have a magical, mystical feel to it; the girls will have with interesting mythical like creature costumes and strong make up.

Devising - The Process...

At the moment - we are currently working towards our Thames Project, the purpose of this project is giving us the opportunity to write, devise and direct an original piece of theatre, we will be in pairs for this. Not only will we be doing this, but we will also need to act in other peoples pieces for we are not allowed to perform in our own written piece. It is up to us to choose the actors from our class that will showcase our work.
The purpose of this project is to be market purely on our directing, devising and writing skills, we will not be marked on how we act in other peoples pieces. 

The Devising Process - so far I am learning how the devising process works, it is very important for each person in the group to have a say about the subject that is being focused on, it is important to be truthful and connect real life experiences that connect with the subject, therefor the piece will be honest and true to the subject. It is vital to keep the subject in mind at all times, for sometimes when people speak about an experience they have been through, it might not always relate to the subject, it's important at this stage to be sensitive towards the person but strong willed to explain that their experience does not relate to the subject.  It is important to allow the audience to connect with the piece of theatre, this, we must bare in mind, always ask yourself, what is the message? Is this message being displayed? To research information will also help the piece to be more honest and true.
We must understand during these devising sessions, idea's will be thrown away, not everyone will play the role they want, to be ruthless is to achieve, we must throw away our ego's .

My Sister's Art...

This piece of art work was painted by my sister Danielle Meranda, I really love it and wanted to share .

Reflections On My Weaknesses.

 It's been four months since starting my drama degree, so far the experience has been fantastic, from being high to being low, working with different people, learning my strengths and weaknesses.
I would say overall I need to improve my teamwork skills, I believe that in rehearsals I am positive and show willingness in helping with performance, however when it comes to the live stage show I can be selfish. During our naturalism showcase I had the responsibility of setting up the stage to support my piece of drama, however I did find it difficult to do this, I found myself consumed with my role as Nina in The Seagull, I found it difficult to channel in and out of my emotion which is why I insisted that one of my classmates should set up the stage.  Reflecting this behavior has taught me I should be strong enough and willing to look after my own performance, I think it would show others and myself as a professional actor/team member.
I have also been reflecting on the community focus project, looking back now, I was good in rehearsals, leading the warm ups, helping with the devising process, however I did not contribute in any prop making, I did not help with any shopping for the restaurant's food. Considering I was only playing the jazz singer, performing three songs, I did have time to help organise props, however I did not contribute as much as I should of.
My punctuality needs to improve, to be on time is important, it shows responsibility, willingness and professionalism. After writing all this it is my duty to set myself this target of improvement overall in teamwork, this will only benefit myself as a person within the arts and outside. I want people to want to work with me as it inspires me to work with others.
One will only receive once one has given... 

Valentines Day-The Show with the Community Focus Group

The day started with a tech run, it was great to be involved with the lighting, Nick allowed us all to have a say on what we thought of each backdrop to set the scene.
We also had new sounds to work with too, a creaking door sound which was heard each time a new customer came through the door... These little bits and pieces really do add so much to an overall performance. We had to run the show a couple of times which really did pull things together, though we knew things wouldn't run exactly how we planned, we had to bare in mind, all of us had to be flexible.
It appeared throughout the day that the community focus group didn't seem to overwhelmed knowing they had an audience to perform to in a short while, it was actually amazing how everyone was calm.
The main show itself was so fantastic, all the members of the community focus group truly showed off their talents, there was plenty of improvisation but that certainly entertained and gave the show an extra strength of energy. All my class mates played along with any extra script that was added by the members.
I did see one of the members get a little sad back stage after feeling their performance wasn't strong, but it was very lovely seeing my class mate reassuring the member which really did give them a boost of confidence to finish the show.
From this experience overall I feel very proud of what was achieved, it has also taught me to be flexible in unexpected situations, in regards to reacting in the most professional way to the members, be it on stage and off stage.

Breakthrough! Tuesday with Pam Fraser Solomon

We have been discussing many sides to theatre over the past few weeks, from the history of theatre, to feminism, black theatre, gay theatre, political theatre.
So far it seems I am drawn mostly to political theatre.
Most things involve politics, but on Tuesday I focused on Israel and Palestine , these current affairs are very sensitive . After watching a drama series called 'The Promise' it inspired me to question these current affairs. Our task was given with no story but to include a patriarch , a middle class citizen and a lower class citizen . 
My idea was to show the argument between Israel and Palestine , though I admit I haven't all the knowledge with this terrible situation but I have enough to show a piece of theatre, we related the characters and made them connect , each side had a fair comment, each side shared the same experience and pain, and each side confessed that nothing could be done.
Trust is lost... That was the conclusion.

All in all I feel inspired to work on this piece and improve it.

 

Community focus group rehearsals so far...

The rehearsals so far are all a little crazy, working with the community focus group is very unpredictable but I like it! It keeps a sense of spontaneity, it's taught me to be patient and calm, also its allowed me an experience of understanding how open these lovely people are. As a class I feel we are pulling through and hopefully the show will be fantastic !!!
It is very important to allow the community focus group to feel important during rehearsals, which is why we as a class have had many sessions of devising what each members character is.
As we get to know the members each week we understand their strengths and weaknesses, it has been challenging in finding the right role for each individual.
Another important key to our rehearsals is the warm up at the start of each session, inclusive warm ups are vital, it allows us to connect as a group and learn more about the members and ourselves in reaction to the members.

A poem

You just live in cotton bud fields 
Nothings real just asleep just asleep
And sun sets do lie 
And flowers don't smell
Thought I knew you well
But the snail just hides in it's shell
Forgive me my love is forgotten 
My thoughts have gone rotten
My passion is ending
These words are now sending
All my fear
I'm sorry my dear
But the sound is too loud
I'm loosing my cloud
The chants are calling out
Walk as the chief 
Walk with lions
Side by side
Into the dark into night 
 

My First Short Film :0)

This film was in Camden, there was two camera men and on one guy helping out with the light.
The experience was great and it was fun working with the actors. The film took a day to shoot, this was a students production from the SEA London University.
Hope you enjoy it !
Please copy and paste the link below into your browser

http://vimeo.com/18968960

Community Focus Project!

Our new project is to produce a show working together with a community focus group, the main idea comes from the newly joined group who we are working with, this group is mainly disabled. Learning to communicate with them can sometimes be challenging, however it is also extremely rewarding.
There are four members, Bev, Keven, Phil and Andy.
Each member is totally individual and has something different to offer the group.
The show will be performed on Valentines Day in the Studio Theatre at the Arts Depot, due to it being performed on this day we decided to create a comedy based on Valentines Day.
So far the the idea has started with the play to be set in a restaurant, we have also talked about incorporating a song that everybody would sing.  Overall I believe this to be a very positive experience and I am looking forward to it.