Thursday, March 24, 2011

Performance Reflection

In general, I think that our group did a good job in our performance. It seemed realistic, and portrayed the whole idea of body image well. In the first scene the audience got an idea as to what was going on, and in the second it was confirmed. The communication between us was good, it was clear everyone knew what the others were doing, and the lines seemed to me to have emotional value. Bea for instance did a good job of getting annoyed at all of the questions that Helen and Sebastian asked. Also, there was a little ironic humour in the end as I went up and asked what was going on, completely clueless that they had just been talking about me.
I believe that I did well in some places, and could have done better in others. For instance, when me Kev, were talking, it actually did look realistic, as we were moving our hands, like people do when having conversations. This shows that I was able to use the concept of communion or communication well, even without actual words. Also, I think that in the end when I went up to see what was going on, I was able to use my emotion memory to realistically, however briefly, the feeling of knowing something is up, but genuinely not really knowing what was going on. Also, I think that I was able to use my imagination and the given circumstance to build my character, who is slightly pretentious. I think that just in general it can be seen from the way I walk, and the overly cheerful greeting I give Kev.
However, there are some things that could be improved. For one thing, my voice sounded a little weird. However, it did sound a little pretentious, which is good as my character is like that, but it did not sound very realistic. Also, in the end when I got to see what is wrong, it does not seem very realistic. My wave to Kev is slightly too large, and the way I sand when I ask what’s wrong somehow seems a little strange. So, I could have rehearsed smoothness in that spot a little more. So, imagination and emotion memory could have been applied more to think about how to behave in such a situation.
Still, in general, I’m pleased, not just with mu own performance, but with the whole performance as a whole. It was a lot less awkward than it was when we first started rehearsing. I think that I was able to portray my character reasonably realistically, and the over effect was what we set out to do.

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Today, we tried to get out performance nailed, seeing as this was our last class before the actual performance. I feel that everything went rather smoothly; we have a performance put together. I think that everyone is putting in effort and are prepared. We have all of our logistics sorted out, on when everything happens. We might still have to try to make the characters seem more realistic, and there are some instances of awkwardness, so to speak. For instance, when Kev and Lousie are in the background, we have to pretend to be talking the whole while through, with out actually saying anything. This is slightly hard, but I think that it went a lot better this time than before. It just takes a lot of  using imagination and emotion memory to figure out how to act in the given circumstance.

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Research for Stanislavski research paper

Stanislavski believed that the key to portraying a character properly was for the actor to imagine a situation where they had felt the emotion that the character was feeling and to portray that.  This is called emotion memory.
Stanislavski created a three-part system. Firstly, the actor must get used to the role they are given, and explore what the character would do through thinking about the actor themselves would do. The second part is about using body and voice to portray a character. The third part is about applying the concepts to specific roles.
Stanislavski, especially later in his career, believed greatly physical movements. He wanted actors to be in character most of rehearsal as well as while acting. He wanted the actors to develop a believable character.
Stanislavski came up with a concept “Magic If”, in which an actor must think about what they would do in a situation if they were their character, considering the context of the play or the “given truth” of where when ect the character is. To create the character, actors also had to come up the biography of the character to make the character seem more real and to better understand what the character would do. The aim was to believable, because otherwise the audience would not believe it.
To help actors be more relaxed on stage, Stanislavski developed what is know as circles of attention. The actor first focuses on one other actor or prop as well as himself. Then they would focus on a larger circle, then a larger until the whole stage is covered. The actors, while practicing must create a communion between the other characters to be able to convey the relationship between the two characters. Dialogues were always practiced with the other character.
Each actor had to develop the right way and speed that a line is to be delivered and practice it. Stanislavski also told the actors to dived the play into units, each unit having a specific purpose, and once achieved, it ended. Through this the actors knew what they wanted to happen- whether they wanted to achieve the aim or to prevent it. The super objective was the main goal of the whole play. Each actor had to know their character’s feelings towards the super-objective.
"Konstantin Stanislavski and Method Acting." BBC - H2g2. BBC, 1 Dec. 2005. Web.
15 Jan. 2011. <http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A5133151>.
Parts of the system that are important for my role:
-    The Given circumstance
-    Imagination
-    Circles of attention
-    Communion
-    Emotion memory

The Given Circumstance
Stanislavski describes the given circumstance in the following way:
“[t]he story of the play, the facts, events, epoch, time and place of action, the actor’s and [director’s] interpretation, the mise-en-scène, the production, the sets, the costumes, properties, lighting and sound
effects – all the circumstances that are given to an actor to take into account as he creates his role.”
Therefore, the actor must discover and be aware of the given circumstance, and then think about what they would do if they were the character and in that situation. The magic if serves to evoke the feelings that a person would experience in such as situation, and aids the actor to put themselves in the character’s shoes, so to speak. This is important because only through the superficial core of the play, in the way that the characters speak and react to each other and things that are going on, can the deeper feelings and the personality of the character be portrayed.
"Three Sisters Program Notes." Dalhousie University Department of Theatre.
Dalhousie University, 16 Oct. 2007. Web. 20 Mar. 2011.
<http://theatre.dal.ca/DalTheatre Productions/Three Sisters/Programme_Notes.php>.
Imagination
In addition to the given circumstance, the actor must know more about their character in order to fully portray him or her. Therefore, they use their imagination to build on the character, creating the background. Actors ask themselves “who am I?” This helps the actors develop the characters response to the given circumstance. It also aids them with recognizingm and formulating  the character’s objectives objectives.
"Acting Techniques Stanislavski System." Acting Classes. Web. 20 Mar. 2011.
<http://www.acting-classes-online-tips.com/acting-techniques-stanislavski.html>.
Emotion Memory
Stanislavski theorized that though emotion memory people could feel emotions from the past, as the brain remembers them. It is an important concept because it allows for the actor to portray the emotions and the actions more realistically. Actors must find the right emotion from their memory, and use the unanticipated inspiration that follows. Also the actor must come to realize when the emotion in their memories goes from “subconscious” to  “conscious”.
"Three Sisters Program Notes." Dalhousie University Department of Theatre.
Dalhousie University, 16 Oct. 2007. Web. 20 Mar. 2011.
<http://theatre.dal.ca/DalTheatre Productions/Three Sisters/Programme_Notes.php>.
Circles of Attention
Stanislavski came up with this because he often had nerve problems on stage. The circles of attention aim to help the actor be more calm and relaxed. It starts of with the actor focusing on himself or herself and a prop or another actor. This is then extended to a new prop or actor, extending the circle until the entire stage, or at least the entire stage as the character sees it, is within the focus of the actor. Then if the actor loses the concentration, they can begin again to build up the circles.
"Konstantin Stanislavski and Method Acting." BBC - H2g2. BBC, 1 Dec. 2005. Web.
15 Jan. 2011. <http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A5133151>.
Communion or Communication
An actor cannot talk straight to the audience. They need to focus on the other characters on stage.
There are three ways to convey information in a play:
- “Self communication”: The internal thoughts of the character
-“ Communication with imaginative beings or things”: This is not visible, but it exists with the characters imagination
-“Direct communication”: This is with other characters and actors in the play
Communication can happen “externally” (this is visible and concrete) and “internally” (this is somehow unexplained, “beams or rays”).
To capture and to maintain an audience’s intrigue, actors must communicate amongst themselves. Before speaking, an actor must think of the emotions and thoughts of the character that they are talking to. After saying their lines, they must wait for the information to reach the character’s mind and feelings. In return, whenever an actor is being spoken to, they must let the characters  “mind” comprehend it.
At times, actors might experience sorts of rays that convey something, be it inner thought, emotions or feelings. An actor must recognize and show these.
Actors must take in information from all of their senses, and when this is strong, it is called grasp.
"Stanislavski." Dulwich College Drama. Web. 20 Mar. 2011.
<http://host.uniroma3.it/docenti/boylan/courses/gen/stanisl1.htm>.

Our script: A Day at the Gym

This is the script that our group devised together in class:
Scene 1
(The audience watch whilst Alice, a pretty girl, wakes up and goes to her mirror. She pinches her skin, as if it disgusts her. She then walks over to a kitchen, and takes three nuts and three dried fruits out of a box, for breakfast.)

Scene 2
(Alice enters the gym and sees her friends Poppy and Louise talking. She slowly walks over. In the background we can see Kev and Peter talking. Alice watches Kev longingly)
 

Kev: So, er what weights are you doing man?
Peter: Oh, you know, 25kg.
Kev: Oh what a wuss! I can lift 35!
(Louise walks over)
Oh look! here comes my girlfriend.
(Peter sighs and walks away)
Louise: Hey!


 Switches to Poppy and Peter's conversation 


(Alice reaches Poppy and Peter)
Poppy: Oh hi Alice! How was your evening?
Alice: Oh, it was fine. Thanks.
Poppy: Are you okay? You seem a bit... ill.
Alice: (Defiantly) I'm fine.
Peter: Is there something going on? You seem upset about something.
Alice: (starts crying) I'm sorry, I don't, I'm sorry
Peter: Alice. Tell me what's wrong.
Alice: I'll never be good enough for him! Ever! I'm ugly and stupid and fat
Poppy: Good enough for who?
Alice: Kev of course! And Louise. She's beautiful. She has such a perfect body! Why don't I have a perfect body?
Peter: Kev is a prick. And Alice, you, you're beautiful. Don't you see that?
Alice: How can you say that! Stop lying! Stop mocking me! (Runs away).
(Louise comes over)
Louise: Is everything okay...?

Monday, March 14, 2011

March 14th 2011

Today we began to practice our performance. We rehearsed the gym scene, which still needs quiet a bit of work. It doesn’t flow naturally like a scene in real life would. For this we need to work on timing, and think about how the characters would act around each other. However, we at least have a definite idea of how the performance is going to go, and we talked about our objectives. Also, we can all portray our characters realistically enough, everyone has an idea of how to say their lines and most of the time how to act. I believe that we are doing fine for this stage of the creation process.

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Character study

My Character Profile:
Name: Emilia
Age: 15
Student
Family: Has an older sister who is in University, and her parents. She also has a Labrador.
Personality: Cheerful, confident, outgoing. Friendly to everyone, but is slightly judgemental. She is the typical stereotypical teenager.
Activities:
Sports: Running and working out at the gym, however, she is not so sporty. She does exercise just to keep fit and in shape.
Free time: Loves to go to the cinema as well as hang out with her friends. Alone she listens to music and surfs the net.
Friends: Has a lot of friends, knows everyone. All her friends are nice, and most are outgoing.
School: She’s in 10th grade and does reasonably well, with average grades. Does not particularly dislike school  but does not love it either.

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Our Performance- Units and objectives for my character

Character: I’m Louise,  a girl who is confident in herself, her body and so forth. I’m pretty according to the anorexic girl, Alice, but really, I’m not stunningly pretty. I’m also happy and cheerful.
Super objective: To hang out with my friends, and have a good time. I want to know if I've missed something.

Unit 1 (for me): Poppy and Louise are doing sit ups in the background, and the guys are talking in the foreground.
Objective: To engage in a fun conversation with Poppy, and to work out.I want to catch up with my friends.
Unit 2: I go over to where the guys are talking. Peter goes over to Alice and Poppy.
Objective: To catch up with Kev.
Unit 3: The guy goes up to the two girls who are talking, and tells the anorexic girl that he thinks that she’s pretty, but she doesn’t believe him. I go over just as she runs away.
Objective: To try to find out what is wrong with Alice.

Saturday, March 5, 2011

Planning of naturalist performance

As naturalist plays often deal with some issue in society, be it in a humorous or serious way, our group began the preparation for creating a three-minute performance with brainstorming ideas for the “issue” that we would focus on. We had all sorts of ideas, racism, environmental issues, stereotypes, ignorance, no freedom of speech, poverty gap, but in the end we decided on doing a performance on negative body image. It was between stereotypes and negative body image, and in the end it was a random decision, as everyone in the group found both ideas good. However, we needed a focus for negative body image, so we brainstormed some ideas. As it turned out, there was not that many different options, and they all lead into each other. Some options that we thought of were media influences, peer pressure, eating disorders, over exercising (including steroids). We decided on sort of combing the two, and having two parts to the performance: pressure for men to have a certain type of body, and for women. We didn’t get that much further, but it’s a start.