Suitcase Exercise

This was one of my favourite exercises because it was really interesting and i totally got lost in the character i had created. The level of focus within the room was so intense but it helped drive my character forward. At first i had o solid idea of who my character was. With the bag i had chosen the first thing that came into my head was an old lady but once i was given the book i thought charity shop. As more and more factors were thrown into the mix my character changed and changed until everything fell into place and made sense.
           I think the main factor for choosing my character was when i had to leave a place and i wouldnt return that was the key in creating my final character. From then i new exactly what i would right on the letter and who it would be too.
         When i was being hot seated as my character i think it was vital to keep the concentration and not loose the characters thought process at all. In doing this  when asked questions the answers just seemed to flow out without thought. I was completely that character and everything i did seemed so natural.
         After the lesson i reviewed my performance and i loved the idea of the unreliable narrator. Or the idea that the audience no more than the character. This is something i would like to investigate further and develop.
         This whole exercise was definately worth while and an approach to improvisation that i think i will use again in the future as i felt the outcome was very good.

Hands

The first thing i did for this section was draw a spider diagram of anything that came to my head when i thought of the word hands. I would of loved to have experimented with shadow puppetry but i wouldnt have had a clue where to start or how to do it but it got me thinking about different things hands are used for and how they are a form of communication. From that i thought of sign language. I fi have a basic knowledge of sign language and it is only very very basic. So that was pretty much where that idea ended.
          After that i just typed in hands in to google and one of the first results was hand disorders. I followed the link and came across a list of information about OCD. This got me thinking about how controlling the hands can be. Further research lead to ideas that a simple thing such as hand washing can have a lot of physicality to it especially if the hand washing is frantic.
            After performing the piece i realised that i had naturally added quite strong facial expressions which added more power to the piece creating almost an animalistic snarl which complemented the movement of the hand washing as it was becoming more violent.
           If i were to develop the piece further it was suggested that i look at developing the use of the towel and how i dry the hands. Previously i hadnt given that idea much thought and had focused on the water. After this was mentioned i like the idea of adding the drying to the ritual and the idea of the rough towel constantly being rubbed on the rare skin is definately an avenue to explore further. 

Childhood Bedroom

This exercise was really facinating as i found myself going on a journey and creating a story without really thinking about it. Remembering my childhood was great especially focusing on my bedroom. It held a lot of memories both good and bad and i found it really weird that the strongest memory i had was something as small as a screw being loose on the door handle which made it wobble.
           Thinking back to the room how it was then and how i thought it was now was really easy because i still have access to the room as my sister now owns the house. This triggered a whole different set of emotions and thoughts because of the whole idea of sharing that room with my sister to her owning the entire house was incredible because we had always had that kind of sibling rivalry.

From the lesson i wrote a small monologue:

Its strange that something so small, so insignificant would be left unchanged and trigger so much. Its as if you new and you left it as a message to me. Not to forget. As if right now your standing here with me reliving the moment. Its strange, all you had to do was fix it and this memory would be gone. Along with all the memories linked to it. Its almost like a portal to your new family. Connecting the generations.

'Silent Places' using Edward Hopper Paintings.

           The painting i had was of a women on a beach. alone. isolated. they were the first things that came into my head.i was instantly drawn to this image because it seemed to stand out from the rest. This could be because it demonstrated more space than the others and the colour scheme was lighter. When deciding what to do for this section i instantly though message in a bottle because the women was at the shore alone looking out to sea. I started thinking why, what drove this women to be in this space and where is she intending to go? How does this message help her story move forward. The majority of letters associated to messages in bottles are usually from a loved one or some one deciesed, therefore i wanted to avoid going down that route which is when i came to the idea of writing a letter to myself. The idea of relieving the character from any emotions and pain that the character was hiding and holding in. The idea that the bottle was being used as therapy to move forward in life. I had previously seen a documentary on people with depression using a technique similar to this in order to face there main problem. Themselves. So this was where the inspiration came from for this piece.
           When actually performing this piece i felt that i could have maybe focused more time on the dialogue i was using. i didn't actually script a piece because i wanted it to be naturally. Place myself in that situation and think what would i say. However, in doing this i think it limited the performance because afterwards i kept thinking of other things that i should have said that could possibly been more effective. Then i toyed with the idea of using some sort of rhythm to the dialogue as the individual and setting in the painting suggested a carribean theme and adding rhythm therefore may have complemented that origin. Below is some dialogue that i wrote after the performance:



Script idea 1:

For you,
A letter for you,
For only you,

For me,
A feeling of relief,
Relief from me,

To the future,
Moving on and forgiveness,
forgiveness of the past.



I felt that in using this style of writing it was simple dialogue that left it open for the audience to create there own interpretation of the story behind the message.

Stories from the News (Megan Stammers)

News Article on the story of Megan Stammers

        The brief this week was to create a devised piece based around the recent news story involving school girl Megan Stammers. The devised piece should show how this story has effected others around it and create a piece from their perspective. I decided to choose the mother figure as i felt this character had the biggest scope for a story. I didn't want the piece to be really cheesy however so originally i considered the idea of playing the mother totally different to what everyone would expect. My initial idea was to portray her as uncaring, stereotypical chavy mother who is very self centred. After playing with this idea though i came to the conclusion that this created very limited ideas for a story because if she didn't care that much there is no story.
        After thinking about it further i started to think of it literally, if i were in that situation how would i feel? This opened up a personal connection with me and the story. Prior to this my partner had in actual fact ran off with the intentions of commiting suicide. I had no contact with them and could do nothing but wait around while the police dealt with the situation. I started to think how i felt. How i coped. and from this a piece developed. I decided to take away the dialogue and let the emotion lead the piece. I needed to portray the many questions that would have been running through my head. What if i never see her again? What if she is hurt? Was it my fault? I need to stay strong for everyone else? I felt that through leading the audience through those they would engage in my emotion and feel the pain.
          I felt that using silence was a key element to this piece because silance always creates an atmosphere be that discomort or sorrow, adding the sounds of crying and sobbing i wanted the audience to feel deep sympathy for the character and start to think in there own minds questions about the situation.
          I added the single line at the end to show the panic and hope that was building within the character. That idea that she was willing so much for it to be her daughter on the phone and that utter disappointment when it wasn't. I did feel however that i got a bit too carried away and didn't create a realistic enough beat before aswering the phone. If i were to develop this further i would consider the thought process between the phone ringing and me answering it and how long that process would take.
          Overall, i was rather surprised with the performance as i usually take the comical route which i feel would have been the outcome if i had gone with my initial idea. I was surprised by the intensity of the piece and how well i felt that i had created an atmosphere. I think this is an area i have not previously explored and should perhaps develop it further.



       

my first experiance of solo

The first ever lesson of solo i was completely nervous not only had i never done solo before but i had also never done practical with that group of people before, it was so daunting. i was constantly wondering if i was doing it right, was i of the same ability as the rest. i felt a huge amount of inhibitions were holding me back from performing to my best ability. i new in my head however that i was accessing the rest of the group aswell to try and find my comfort zone within them . the first practical task we had to complete was based on a piece of text about an individual making toast. it seemed a perculiar task to begin with and had no odea where i could begin. should i use dialogue of my own should i read the text? i feel i was being more observant of the others around me to constantly reassure myself i was doing things right. However, when individuals started performing thier pieces back tothe group i was worried because they were all of a similar style and nothing like what i had done. instantly i decided i would change my idea but without time to think i was called upon next. my version of the extract was ok but i didnt feel satisfied with what i had done at all. this was a good thing however because it made me more determind to do better and be more prepared for the next lesson. i wanted to show the rest of the group that i can do better.