Devised piece evaluation

For our devised piece, me Bryleah and Emily used the song 'Circle Of Life' from 'Lion King'. In our piece, our choreographic intent was to portray 3 different animals that lived in East Africa, which is where Lion King is set. I chose an Antelope, Bryleah chose a Monkey and Emily chose a Leopard. We each created separate solos that we incorporated our chosen animal in, influencing the dynamics and specific actions we performed.

For the antelope, I performed various movements such as a flexed hitch kick in my solo. This represented the animal's long legs that kick up when they are running as they are very springy. I also began the whole piece in a fixed raise leg position to further communicate the elegance of the antelope in it's posture and motion. In motifs where we performed the same movement in unison/cannon, we each took ideas from our own animals to insert into these sections so that we all ended up sharing each style. For example, we perform a high jump with both our legs bent to reinforce the antelope's legs as it bounces around, and also flick our leg around. For Bryleah's monkey, we repeated the action of pounding on the ground in a squat position. For Emily's Leopard, we used a lunge position low to the ground, and rolled on our front to show the creeping movement of the wild cat, as if it was preying on an animal.

For our costume, we stuck with plain black top and leggings and I tied my hair half up half down to reference antlers.

In evaluation, we performed it well and could keep up with each other in terms of timing. To improve, I would of worked more on my solo to add more referencing movements to the antelope. We could have also made it a bit longer and added more contact work such as lifts and interaction in our animal characters. This would have given more of a relationship and shown how the animals would interact in real life e.g The leopard would be chasing the antelope around, the monkey would be taunting the other animals etc.

Unit 4 - Historical Context in Performance questions

·Provide an introduction to the era/s in which your performances were written?

Antigone was written around 441 BC, and was produced in Athens in Greece. It is a tragedy by Sophocles (who was a Greek Tragedian). This play was set in the mythical past of Ancient Greece. 

Which playwright wrote the script? (Famous? Lifestyle? Respected? Style?)

Sophocles was one of the only three Ancient Greek tragedians to still have surviving plays, in which he had 7 out of 120+ (one of which was Antigone). He was to become one of the great playwrights of the golden age.

Sophocles was born into wealth and studied all the arts including music and theatre. At the age of 28, he competed in the city of Dionysia (a festival held every year at the theatre of Dionysus, where new plays were presented - Greek comedies and Tragedies). Competing with more than 120 plays, he went on to win 18 1st place prizes, and always took at least 2nd place. He was also an actor performing in many of his own places, however his voice was no strong enough so he gave up this career and looked into others.

Sophocles became one of the great modernisers of the theatre, as he was the 1st to add a third actor (originally, only 2 actors were allowed on stage at a time). This made the plot and characters more interesting and complex. He also removed the trilogic form, for example Aeschylus used three tragedies forming a single story. Sophocles decided to create separate tragedies in themselves e.g the Theban plays, which although all link, have their own tragedy in each play.

He also invented scene-painting and periaktoi (a device used for displaying and rapidly changing theatre scenes). Example https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvKPolqM004

According to Plutarch (a greek historian, essayist etc.), Sophocles' writing style was originally harsh, artificial and high-flown. His final style which was seen in the seven surviving plays, is dignified and more natural, depicting people as they should be. It is not idealized (representing something as perfect or better than reality), but very humanised. The 'tragedy' in his plays would grow out of the innate character of these characters in the plays, incliuding Antigone, and the end cannot be otherwise (e.g with Antigone, her ending is tragic as she kills herself). By handling universal themes (which are ideas that can apply to everyone regardless of cultural differences or geographical location, connecting ideas across all discipline), Sophocles' plays have been imitated largely in paintings, poetry and films. 

Antigone was the first of the three Theban plays Sophocles wrote (Oedipus the king, Oedipus at Colonus). The Theban plays tell the story of the mythical king Oedipus of Thebes and his children/descedants. The plays evolve around the destiny of Thebes throughout and after the reign of King Oedipus:

·         Oedipus The King: In brief, this explains how Thebes is plagued because of injustice (the murderer of the previous king Laius has not been found), and an oracle states how they must find and punish them. Through Tiresias, Oedipus finds out he is the murderer of his own father and has married his own mother Jocasta and had children through incestry. Jocasta in result kills herself, and Oedipus blinds himself as he is exiled from the land

·         Oedipus at Colonus: The blind former King enters Colonus, with the guidance of his daughter Antigone and lives out the last of his life there, refusing to return to Thebes and die there so they receive his blessing and protection. Even when his son 'Polyneices' begs him to support him in his war to regain the throme from his brother 'Eteocles' and 'Creon', Because his resting place was the Athens, they receive Oedipus' blessing andprotection and the Thebes earn their curse (the murderer of Laius has died). The story ends with Antigone and Ismene returning to Thebes, 

·         In Antigone, it tells the story of Antigone who defies the law against Creon (brother in law of Oedipus), now ruler of Thebes as both Eteocles and Polyneices were killed in the war. Polyneices was ordered to be left unburied, so Antigone took matters into her own hands. She was captured, and accepted her fate by hanging herself. This caused her loved one Haemonn, Creon's son to kill himself, and Eurydice, his wife to kill herself in sadness of her son, leaving Creon alone.

    Is your play a translation? Discuss the translator and the purpose of the translation?   (Antigone by David Feldshuh)

One of Antigone's many adaptations was by playwright David Feldshuh. In his notes in the script, he explains how his main objective in this edition was to "tell the story with clarity, immediacy and theatricality". He wanted to evade "stilted literalism", which was avoiding the lack of imagination.

He started off analysing multiple translations/adaptations of the play, only to find they were really all just adaptations. There are doubts in the original text in terms of whose lines were whose, the true meaning behind certain words etc.

Feldshuh was planning for the production to use masks and music, and so was looking for a script which had "the discipline of poetry" and the inner pace and rise of song, while simultaneously sounding impulsive and personal. Shakespeare's 'iambic pentameter' rhythm was used (which was 5 sets of unstressed syllables followed by stressed syllables). This would give the dialogue a dynamic tempo.

In the 6 choruses of Antigone, Feldshuh's adaptation attempted to show a distinctive tone and make each chorus have a specific dramatic function, in exampe Chorus 6 (Bacchus) is a frantic begging call for the God Dionysus. Parts that are chanted/sung were also bolded in the script.

Another adaptation he made to Antigone was the structure of the text in the final messenger scene, in which the messenger becomes the narrator for the audience, and in turn, each character in 3rd person narrates their parts of the story. For example Creon says "Creon moved quickly to escape". This let the characters be present on stage for the action before the ending

   What were the staging conventions of the time in which your play was written?  How was your production different?  (design of set, costume, props, etc.)

Original

Acting style - The original Acting style in greek theatre was a largely projected performance style, and melo-dramatic.

·        The original venues for greek theatre would take place in open air theatres, that were usually a bowl-shaped arena on the side of hill. Some of the theatres could hold over 15,000 people. When being set outdoors, there would be no use of curtains, lights or intermissions. In the theatre, the ‘theatron’ is where the audience sit. The ‘parados’ is the entrance giving access to either the stage for the actors, or the ‘orchestra’ for the chorus. The ‘orchestra’ was a circular dancing area where the actors and chorus would perform. The ‘thymele’ was an altar to Dionysus which was set in the centre of the ‘orchestra’. This originally was where a goat was sacrificed, in honor to the god.

·        Actors – The chorus always remained on stage with the actors. Originally, there were 50 members in the chorus, but Antigone play reduced theirs to 15. They would represent the audience, and make democratic decisions in the platy. There was only 2 actors on stage at a time (however we know that later changed with certain playwrights like Sophocles). All the roles were played by men, and the playwright of the play would be one of the actors. The rule of three was that the play was limited to 3 actors, so each would play multiple roles. No women were allowed to take part in the performances, so any female character roles were played by men.

·        Costumes – The actors would wear long, flowing robes, high boots with raised soles, and masks that were made of linen, wood or cork. The masks identified age, gender and emotion, and had exaggerated features so the audience were able to see more easily. This is due to the distance the audience were from the stage. Some experts claim that the masks actually helped amplify the voice so it could be head at the back of large open-air theatres.

·        The plays would be set in a 24 hour timeframe, so previous events or background info would be recounted on stage. No action or scene in the play was to be a deviation; all were to contribute some way to the plot. The events of the play are also set in one unchanging scene (but this also later developed with the invention of periaktos by Sophocles).

·        Lighting – Plays were only performed during the daytime as there was no artificial lighting. They would often be designed to take advantage of the position of the sun, and theatre sites would be well-placed to achieve the best effects of the natural light.

Difference

·        Acting style – Following the adaptation of ‘Antigone’, our acting style was more naturalistic and not over exaggerated. This type of tragedy we found was effective using some subtlety and it didn’t need to be too extravagant.

·        Venue – We also performed in an open air theatre. We included the area between the theatron and orchestra for the chorus’ ‘trenches’ where we would wait there, still never leaving the stage and going backstage.

·        Actors – For the chorus, we begin with a choral harmonic sound. We also had both female and male actors and broke the rule of three, and also had more than 2 actors on stage at a time.

·        Costumes – For the chorus, we wore boiler suits instead of cloak-style clothing, however we still kept similar as we all wore the same suits with slightly different dye stains. In general our character’s costumes were more contemporary, for example the guards wore camouflage jackets relating to modern age warfare. The chorus also used masks in specific scenes, but was not used among any other characters. 

S/H/C/P context of Greek theatre

Greek drama originates from the Greek God Dionysus (the god of vine, wine theatre and dance) “God of the dance” – Antigone chorus. A festival honouring Dionysus would be held annually in Athens, Greece. The festival would hold competitions were playwrights would compete with new plays (greek comedies and tragedies). This was the most famous and popular public festival of that era. Prisoners were even let out of jail on bail just for this event. What started as simply choral songs on the death and rise of Dionysus, became the theatrical contest. You didn’t have to pay either, as it was more a part of the cuture rather than a money-making business. 

Comparing to our performance, we performed as part of our course, and did charge for it in order to afford the venue we used. 

·         What were the themes in your script and how did you practically explore them?

·        One of the themes in Antigone is ‘the power of unwritten law’. This is represented through Creon’s unwritten law of ordering one of the brothers ‘Polyneices’ to be left unburied, and punishing anyone goes against it. Everyone in Thebes but one is submissive to the ruler, even when it is not a true law.

·        Another is ‘fate vs. free will’. Antigone’s own choice to go ahead and bury her brother, even though she is aware of the consequences shows she accepts her fate through her use of free will. She would rather follow her fate set by the gods than a law set by the king. Throughout the play Antigone follows her fate and shows acceptance, by allowing the guards to take her to Creon, admit her crime and kill herself before they have a chance to.

·        Another theme is Mortality. Self-injury and suicide is very dominant in the Theban plays, particularly Antigone. Antigone, Haemon and Eurydice each commit suicide, and Polyneices and Eteocles take actions that result in their deaths. This suggests that in the context life is weak, and taking one’s own life is an acceptable way of dying.

·        ‘Power and pride’, is shown through Creon’s arrogance and how he takes his advantage of being the ruler to oppress the city of thebes, and eventually become the cause of his own destruction and downfall by the end of the play.

·        ‘Determination’ is portrayed through Antigone, as she fights injustice and manages to give her brother a proper burial

·        ‘Consequences of choice’ is shown through both Creon and Antigone. Creon’s decision to order the non-burial of Polyneices caused him to make another decision of punishing Antigone, resulting in devastating consequences as his son and wife both die. Antigone’s own consequences are that she must die, however her acceptance of fate 

       Describe the importance of a few characters in the piece and how your production interpreted them for a contemporary audience?

We interpreted the chorus in linking them to refugees, in terms of their situation, their ‘importance’ from certain perspectives, appearance and behaviour in performance.

The chorus wear dirty stained boiler suits which could reflect how they are displaced and have nothing. They are on the bottom of the hierarchy and obey the royal family (who can be seen as the government) are at the top. They have little importance and say in their life in Thebes, which is similar to refugees as they are moved to unknown locations and have no voice. The chorus’ behaviour is originally submissive and afraid, echoing the fearful state of the refugees as they have lost their homes and possibly families. 

     What were the most popular styles of performance when your play was originally performed?  (acting or dance styles)

The term 'tragedy' mean 'goat-song', in which performers would do goat-like dancing around the stage of sacrificial goats for prizes. The chorus would sing and dance as they chant their lines.

         What was the style of the piece? How did this compare with the original?

 The best things about working with the particular classical script I performed:

I came to further understand the language and writing style of this type of play, as well as researching into the history of Antigone to produce elements of the original performance back in 441BC, to our performance. It was also interesting to find Antigone actually can apply to our modern world politically and socially. For example, the theme 'power of unwritten law' can link to today's society, and how deviation from the social norms can make you an outcast. 

Presentation

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZcGWStydEc&feature=youtu.be

Unit 12 questions

Antigone's first performance was in Athens around 440 BC. The original play written by Sophocles, was around 4/5 hours long. As they were performed outside in amphitheatres, there were no intermissions either. These events which were held in honour of Dionysus, always had a large audience because it was really the only source of entertainment in that time. Originally in the tragic plays of Ancient Greece, the chorus consisted of 12 singers and dancers. They would all stay on the same rhythm to represent one entity. Later on, the numbers increased and a 3rd actor was added (Sophocles). The leader of the chorus began to interact with the actors, and this brought ancient Greek tragedy nearer to the modern understanding of 'dramatic plot'. The acting was very full out as they had to be seen and heard throughout the whole audience. This made their gesturing very grand.
For my Shakespeare Monologue, 'Much Ado About Nothing' was first performed in the late 1590s. It is a comedic play, and the first production was by the Lord Chamberlain's men, a company of actors that Shakespeare wrote for most of his career.

 In the Elizabethan Era, Shakespeare's plays were often performed in the Globe and Blackfriars Theatres. Before these venues, the plays would be performed in the courtyards and back rooms of pubs. Actors then had the reputation of hard drinkers, and the plays supposedly promoted ungodly ideas. This contrasts with the Greek era of theatre as their performances were in honour of the Gods. There was a lack of set and lighting, and would be performed in the afternoon for the best natural light. As most leading roles would have been played by men, Beatrice in 'Much Ado' would have been played by a very skilled male actor. After every performance, they would finish with a 'jig', so the actors had to be able to dance well too. In these times, people would refer to attending the performances as 'hearing' the play rather than 'watching' it. This is because the minimal use of set design and gender switched roles, so Shakespeare would use imagination to evoke the desired image (particular locations and environments). When performing my monologue, I simply just stood on a podium with plain clothing. It showed that it was more about hearing the performance rather than observing my appearance, the setting etc.  



In the Greek era, plays competed in the Festival of Dionysus, which was very culturally important back then compared to now. The event was held annually in Athens, where all the citizens would come together for this time. The 'Thyleme' was an altar in the middle of the theatre stages, where a goat would usually be sacrificed to thank the God. As it was the only source of entertainment, there would be thousands upon thousands of people that would attend. There was no fee either, as the reasons were for the religious aspect. Greece was made up of small independent city-states. Athens grew in power and took over many of the states. Only native-born males were granted citizenship. By the 5th century, Athens has become a democracy, but only citizens could be a part of the political life, meaning women, slaves and foreigners were not a part of this. Women were excluded from the festivals, meaning they would not act and couldn't even be in the audience.
 Nowadays, the religious aspect has diminished as people purely come in the joyment of plays and theatre arts. Audience today also have to pay to go and are available throughout the year, rather than only a few set days per year. Women are also allowed to be involved in the performances and be in the audience etc.

In the Elizabethan era, the theatres would be filled with all different social classes, but would be in their sections of the audience seating. The commoners were known as the 'groundlings', who would pay a penny to watch from the pits of the globe theatre. The gentry (people of a high social class) would pay to sit in the galleries along with cushions for comfort. The rich nobles could afford to pay to sit on a set of chairs on the side of the stage itself. The theatres were known for quick spreading plagues, with the bubonic plague closing the theatres in 1593, 1603 and 1608. Between 1660 and 1700, plays were extremely popular and people would flock to the theatres when a new play was being performed. This showed the country's stability which was firstly doubtful when Queen Elizabeth took the throne. However when the needs were being met in the country, they could focus on increasing the importance in the arts, music and theatre. Nowadays, the behaviour of the audiences in the theatre are significantly different compared to back then. The audience would behave very boisterously, particularly the 'groundlings'. Cabbage and other vegetables would often be thrown at the performers in criticism, sometimes even furniture which would cause damage. Audiences today are much more respectable and for obvious and legal reasons, would not be allowed to disturb to performances.


In Shakespeare's plays, he uses prose and verse which differentiate between the character's social classes. In the higher characters, which were normally the protagonist and people from higher social classes would talk in verse, using rhyme schemes and a rhythmic pattern that displays their education and their royal status (being a queen/king). The sub-plot was for lower social class characters who would talk in prose. Showing the opposite of the verse, prose lack rhythmic pattern which shows their lack of education and debased position.


We made a number of creative choices for our performance of 'Antigone' when interpreting the text. Some of which were:

• Boiler suits for chorus: This choice of costume for the chorus members came from the idea of them representing 'refugees'. The dark dye stained suits showed the lack of importance of the chorus characters, and separates them massively from the royal characters of the play
• Guard role split into 2: Me and Emily both had the guard role, so we became a pair of guards who each showed a different set of morals. One, who partly lied to save their backs, and another who admitted the truth out of fear of punishment.
• Use of masks: We used masks of different emotions that were largely exaggerated. The varied emotions reflect the ones expressed through the play
• Use of trench: We used trenches for the chorus members to wait in as they watch on at the other characters
• Music: Our chorus started above the audience in a long line around the edge of the seating, where we produced a harmonious tune with our voices. We also used a harpist for certain scenes in the background which linked to the Greek music that would have been played in that era,

In developing my vocal and movement skills to create characterisation, I have interacted more with the other characters. Particularly with the chorus, it starts off with them siply interacting with each other, isolated socially from the other characters. However, as time progresses the chorus connect more with the royals such as Creon, when they are taking over his sanity and getting into his mind as he self-destructs. 

describe the contrast between your roles when performing to an audience?
There was a strong contrast between the roles in Antigone when performing to an audience, in terms of the mood and atmosphere. Creon's presence was often uncomfortable to the audience as his power and pride was very distinct, as well as having an aggressive nature. Whereas Antigone was the heroine of the story, fighting for justice and having a strong will power. The chorus were the commentators of the narrative, the voice of the audience and although on the inside of the play have little significance, through another perspective on the outside actually are important as they guide the onlookers through the plot.

Evaluation of Antigone

Before show

We did speedruns of the play and went over some of the choruses. We changed some areas and adapted some to the layout of the theatre. For example, we decided to walk up the seats for the lines "endure endure...." instead of standing in the trenches. We also began the choral beginning at the tops of the seating around the edges, to create a harmonious, surround sound effect which creates a better atmosphere.

We only had time to go over the scenes vaguely and more on the blocking, so I felt a bit concerned as we didn't have any run throughs of my scene. The run through went okay, but we need to ensure we have good consistent energy throughout the play to keep the interest of the audience.


Post show

My guard monologue went really well. I had no hesitations and my lines were fluid. I made sure to perform out towards the audience over facing back, and chose good moments on directions and where to be stationary. I'm happy that the atmosphere and tension switched between high and low (turning cold when explaining the vortex in the sky, and the desperation near the end when pleading to Creon). My interaction was also good with Antigone and Creon (Despising Antigone but fearing Creon). I am glad I remembered all my lines and I maintained my character, which I think was due to the adrenaline I had and also feeling relaxed, meaning I didn't need line prompting like my past rehearsals. I didn't really need to exaggerate my scene as it was more naturalistic. Greek tragedies are more 'real', as opposed to Greek comedies where things can be overemphasised for comedic effect.

The choruses could have been better in some of the scenes. We did start strong in our choral beginning, although it slightly withered near the end it kept the right pattern. Our body percussion section was very strong and made a good impact. Our cave scene could have flown smoother if we remembered to return to the trenches, but I was happy with my decisions in the choreography. The ending was stronger but overall the lines could have been better learn. However, our emotion in our voices and actions were very bold, for example in 'Bacchus' with our cries and wails.

In terms of the main character monologues, the pacing was good and stayed moving. It was one of our best performances as a whole, as previously we all needed some prompts here and there especially in for cues.

My biggest challenge was fully understanding the entire context and language of the play, so I could fit my character well into the storyline. It also made it hard to memorise the lines as I was not completely sure until later into the rehearsal process. I feel that on the actual performance in front of a full audience, I embodied the character to it's fullest than when in the rehearsals. This links back to my audition, as I usually forget my words in smaller crowds than in a bigger audience which I find interesting, and something I need to work on.

Antigone part 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zvujRh3UCM


Antigone part 2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9EzhdYdlVxc

Rent Audition

Production role - Costume

Autumn colour dyes (browns oranges) - this is what we used to dye the boiler suits for the choruses
Peacock colours for royals - blue purple green


Chorus: We are going to be wearing disposable boiler suits which me and Livvie have dyed browns and oranges. This shows how they are the lowest in the hierarchy, with no power or say in decisions. They will also have dark material as a headscarf to hide all hair The fact they are all matching takes away any sort of identity in the individuals.

Royals: Peacock colours (blues/greens/purples). These are seen as royal colours, particularly purple. The colour green symbolises 'Victory' which would fit the context also.

We bought some blue curtain material to use for making sashes for some of the royal family including Creon and Haemon.

Antigone is wearing a white dress, which could symbolise the foreshadowing of her death as angels are usually depicted in white. This also distances herself from her royal family.

Me and Emily as the guards will wear army jackets with black leggings and shoes.

Shakespearean monologue evaluation

As I started on the podium, I felt much more confident in performing to the audience and felt more comfortable than I thought I would be. I started strong on my first liner which is what initially catches the audience's attention and already gives an insight into the feel of the monologue. My transition to the second section could have been practised more, as I just turned around and then begun my next monologue. I would have changed it by straight away stepping off the podium into the audience. However I am happy I improvised by choosing to go out into the audience for a closer, more personal performance. My 2nd part was actually from earlier in 'Much Ado About Nothing' to my 1st part, which I really should have performed first so it made more sense to the storyline. Overall I am happy with my performance which has given me more confidence to do this in random public places.

Linking to this, we also performed mini flash mobs in various locations such as a food shop, by busy market stalls and even on the bridge. This gives us a chance to experience different staging conditions and audiences, which was at first a challenge as we had to approach unexpecting people and remain in our characters the whole time.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/303290909832426/permalink/561359667358881/

Interpretation of the Chorus

Chorus' purpose

In a Greek theatre, the chorus was a group of actors who would narrate and observe the events happening in the play, which would be performed with a song, dance and reciting what occurred. In Greek tragedies, the play would begin with a choral song of a large group of around 50 men, performing dithambrys, which were lyric hymns to praise Dionysus. This brings back to how Greek tragedies and, later in 487BC comedies  were performed annually in the Festival of Dionysus, held to honour the God.

The chorus represent the outside opinion on the events and characters of the play, the 'audience'. The voice of the thoughts of the observers. This includes them warning of dangers and evil, expressing grief and pain and rejoicing in happiness. Their role is to react to major scenes in the supposed way an audience would react, giving them a better understanding of each scene.

The chorus would often wear masks and look alike in their costumes as well, speaking in unison. The masks would all be identical as they represented the same character. In our interpretation of the play, the masks we used varied in emotion e.g happy/sad/angry. Doing this meant we could represent the variety of emotions throughout 'Antigone'. Although the happy emotion is not that clear, it could illustrate Antigone's happiness of now being in heaven with her brothers Polyneices and Eteocles, and mother, Jocasta.

The nature of the chorus links to the idea of 'Deindividuation', as their similarity and synchronised movement/verses shows their loss of identity in the group. This makes them one voice of opinion that slowly gets more powerful through the play.

How the Chorus change through 'Antigone'

In the beginning, the chorus start out with no power appearing weak and submissive, with no influential opinion of the characters. They are simply under an oppressive ruler, Creon. Antigone, who at the time was the only rebellion against the king stood alone, as the chorus don't get involved but instead remind her how she "defied the law", and "The King must rule according to the law". However as Creon unravels and realises he is not as superior as God and his rulings have been dangerously consequential, the behaviour and status of the chorus changes.  They end up finally getting into his mind and drive him insane, for example our choice of the whispering of "Eurydice" is a constant reminder of the damage he's caused (Antigone hanging herself, in result Haemonn killing himself and Eurydice, his wife killin herself). The ending lines from the chorus show them at the peak of their power, finishing with a moral conclusion, e.g "Don't wait for pain to give you wisdom".

Guard scenes

My role as the Guard was split in two between me and Emily. the guards serve King Creon, and report anything out of the ordinary. The first appearance of the Guards is in the beginning when we reveal that somebody has buried Polyneices body, but not who. This is Emily, the guard who hides the full truth. However my guard character although says nothing but follow the other a keep quiet, wants to tell especially when threatened by Creon.

As the guard originally is one person, we have interpreted by splitting the guard's ethics and integrity into two separate characters. Emily's guard was I feel the stronger and more dominant guard, who was initially covering themselves to avoid Creon punishing them for letting this slip through their fingers as they watched over the body. In the original version of 'Antigone'. However, after being threatened to find out who it is or be killed, my guard steps up and reveals all in fear, "begging for pardon from all punishment".
2 sides to guard

In my scene involving my monologue, I have sectioned bits of it in my script on my blocking decisions and where I should stand/walk and where my focus point should be. I've decided to speak out mostly to the audience and partly to the chorus as I retell my story. Particularly when I begin with "Suddenly, a vortex twisted..." I will look up overhead into the sky, as if my character is reliving that unexpected day, using gestures of raising my hand above. I feel this character gets lost in their monologue, stressing every detail to the point where sadness and anger switch throughout.

I need to remember my blocking for this and to make sure I say only important lines directly to Creon and Antigone, as my voice needs to carry outwards and project to the audience, who are the main listeners.

#Episode 4 - cave scene

I re-choreographed the Episode #4 which includes the 'cave', where we orginally curved over Antigone to formulate a cave-like structure. This wasn't effective enough and needed more movement as we were stationary there throughout this whole section
I will explain the use for some of the movement:

• Stand in semi circle around Antigone with backs facing the front: this was a much neater and our backs t Antigone reflected her loneliness and isolation in her cave

• Peel off in pairs on specific word in line, walk around the space behind Antigone and everytime you come into contact with your partner, you perform an action/gesture in relation to the word: For example, the word "drag" could be interpreted by leaning out with your partner as if you are being dragged to your "death", as Antigone says. I think this was a good concept as Antigone's powerful monologue of her accepting her fate is emphasised through the movements reflecting the key points e.g "drag...stand...tears...eye of fire... fate". The peel off also symbolises her life slowly disintegrating, diminishing, leaving just the shell of Antigone who remains in the front centre.

Shakespearean monologue

I chose 2 monologues from the play 'Much Ado About Nothing', both from the character Beatrice. I* decided on these two parts of the monologues as it shows a contrast between the two and a rise of tension. Also when acting, I feel my strong point in the type roles is the more powerful, hard headed characters. For example in 'Rent' I played Joanne, who was a very fierce and dominant character. Both Joanne and Beatrice have similar personalities; they're both argumentative and stubborn, but also very passionate people. I find it easier to get inside the disposition of characters like this.  

I began translating certain words and sentences so I could further understand their state of mind and if/how it changes. My first chosen monologue was:

Stand I condemned for pride and scorn so much?

Contempt, farewell, and maiden pride, adieu!

No glory lives behind the back of such.

And Benedick, love on; I will requite thee,

Taming my wild heart to thy loving hand.

If thou dost love, my kindness shall incite thee

To bind our loves up in a holy band.

For others say thou dost deserve, and I

Believe it better than reportingly.

This speech from Beatrice shows her shock to what she has just overheard, that people criticise her for being proud and contemptuous ("Stand I condemn'd for pride and scorn so much?"). She also shows a change of heart towards Benedick, as she hears of his apparent love for her, even expressing the willingness to rid her old attitude she had for him ("If thou dost love, my kindness shall incite thee").

My 2nd monologue:
 What should I do with him? Dress him in my apparel and

make him my waiting gentlewoman? He that hath a beard

is more than a youth, and he that hath no beard is less than

a man; and he that is more than a youth is not for me, and

he that is less than a man, I am not for him. Therefore I will

even take sixpence in earnest of the bearherd, and lead his

apes into hell.

This is when Beatrice is shunning away the idea of having a husband and insists she will stay an unmarried woman. This speech clearly depicts her complete rejection of this absurd proposition of becoming someone's wife, especially as she mocks the thought of a beardless man as her partner, referring one to being the equivalent of her lady servant. 

When getting feedback on how I was performing the monologue, I was advised to start with more emphasis on the first sentences. For the 1st monologue, the "Stand I condem'd..." line needed more power and prominence, to show the initial disbelief of these rumours, which quickly leads to the realisation of her dismissive ways. This monologue's mood I feel slightly simmers and calms thoughout as she descales in her normal temper to feeling rather flattered by Benedick's comments.

For the 2nd monologue, I feel my tone should stay up and strong as Beatrice is standing by her beliefs and exhibits stubborness. The frustration in this monologue shows in the 1st two lines as she answers her own question with another question. I think this is where the pace should be the highest and my movement should be fast, similar to 'storming off' in a mood. I should also incorporate gestures of splayed hands and open arms as I further support my annoyance. to the topic. The following section should be a slower pace and have a more condescending tone, as she continues on.

Rent Dance Evaluation

1. What character/s did you play?
The characters I played were Joanne, Pam (Life support member) and Mrs Jefferson

2. What movements did you perform to show your character?
For Joanne, in Tango Maureen I showed my character's frustrated and irritated disposition, as she is taunted b Mark who attempts to convince her that Maureen is just a user. When dancing in this scene, our use of fixed eye contact shows our competitiveness and equal strength/will power. As Pam, in La Vie Boheme I show a lively side to my initially sad and negative character, who's living with HIV. In this scene everyone just lets loose and unites as one, as they are the low class community who all have similar unfortunate backgrounds.

3.What was your contribution to creating movement for the show, did you create movement for certain scenes? Give a specific example from at least 2 different scenes
In Tango Maureen, I suggested we include a lift and we can break away for the start of the second chorus and then rejoin. Originally when we didn't know what version of the song we were going to use, I suggested we have multiple couples dancing behind us in the instrumental (as in the movie version, the instrumental is longer) to have a big performance and make it more exciting and distinct.
In La Vie Boheme, I came up with ideas for my duo movement with Kim, such as mirroring moves and using a lift that was seen in the scene in the movie (box split lift).

4.How did you use your physical skills throughout the show?
I had to make sure my posture was steady, my alignment was correct and my balance was good for my tango dancing, in order to respond well to my partner as he spun me round and we changed direction frequently. I had to ensure my strength was good as they were sturdy moves where my arms had to stay in the right position. I used coordination when remembering the step pattern on top of changing my direction and switching legs.

5. What interpretative skills did you use to communicate the theme/your character?
In La Vie Boheme, I used high energy and and projection to fully elaborate my wild movement, for example my repetitive clap patterns in unison with everyone had to be lively in order to communicate my characters' happy upbeat attitude, as well as the happy upbeat attitude of the scene where everyone, even uptight Joanne, is letting their hair down.
I used emphasis and rough dynamics in this scene as it was representing a crowd of people just having fun in a pub.
In Tango Maureen, I used my focus/eyeline as Joanne pays close attention to Mark's accussations of Maureen, and uses snappy, vigourous dynamics to reflect the intense atmosphere of the scene

6. What were your strengths and weaknesses?
In La Vie Boheme, my strengths were that I retained the joyful punchy dynamics and spirit which communicates the choreographic intent well. I ensured I used emphasis wherever possible in my moves, and I feel the group singing boosts the energy even more. A weakness would be that I could have used stronger facial expressions.
In Tango Maureen, my strengths were that I managed to sing much stronger whilst I was dancing than before. I also kept going even if I missed a step etc. Weaknesses were that I could of been even sharper in the movement and had a closer hold with Luke, so when we did spin around and perform our lift, it would be more structured and fluid into each move.

7. What do you need to improve in terms of your movement, and WHY?
I need to improve on performing to my best ability and not holding back, and practicing more on my weak points. From performing Tango Maureen, I need to improve on developing different styles outside commercial and contemporary. This will help use all my physical skills and improve them for each style of dance. For La Vie Boheme, I need to work on my expressions, which includes my facial expressions and musicality.

Chorus #6: BACCHUS

For 'Bacchus' chorus, me and Emily were in charge of choreographing possible movement for it.
We decided to use quad jumps as our main movement. This involved 3 lines of the chorus people, and jumping in unison but changing direction after a certain count. We originally were going to say our lines whilst jumping but it didn't sound clear enough as we were jumping and rotating too. So, we chose to perform the jumps and then be stationary for our lines. We paired the lines so each new pair would go to a different line in the formation (numbering the pairs to it's line of people). this was effective as it was randomised and jumped back to back, bouncing off each line of people.

For the last verse, we decided to drop down, raise slowly off the ground and increase our volume as it shows our sense of panic reach extreme new heights. We also added hand gestures of us rubbing them together on the line "purify us purify us" in relation to cleansing their souls. For the last "Dionysus", we point to above to the corner, making it apparent and distinct that we were directing our pleas to the "God of many names".

I think we could add in more gestures for next time, especially when we are waiting for the others to say their lines.

UPDATE

This choreography for Bacchus was changed, as we found the quad jumps weren't that effective and didn't fit as well as we thought, and we needed more movement around the space with more gestures, to really display the desperation of our current state which will make it easier for the audience to understand.

We included movement such as 2 rotating circles inside each other, running to the trenches and in a chaotic dynamic, perform different gestures as we shout out the last repetitive lines. This made the whole scene look much more interesting and the emotions were much more obvious.

The new choreography is bold in portraying the chorus for who they are; powerless civilians, whose opinions don't go far in the city of Thebes, yet. The begging and pleading which is the highlight of this chorus shows how they are frantic, desperate and in seek of safety.

Background info on 2 classical theatre plays

Dr Faustus

Dr Faustus is about a German Scholar, who wasn't satisfied with the limited traditional forms of knowledge in logic, medicine, laws and religion. He wanted to learn magic, so starts practice into the dark arts in which Mephastophillis appears. Faustus proposes he sells his soul to Mephastophillis' master Lucifer in exchange for 24 years of service from the devil. He is given a book of spells to earn and rich gifts, however always wonders if he should save his soul after experiencing misgivings.
, in which Mephastophillis the devil proposes he sells his soul to Lucifer for Metamorphis to be his servant for 24 years. At the end of the 24 years, Faustus wishes he could save his soul, however it is too late, and he is carried off by a devil.

http://four-of-swords.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/faustus-pkj-after-matt-austin-small.jpg

Antigone
Antigone is about a young woman who torn between public duty and private duty. Her 2 brothers were killed in battle, one was buried but the other was ordered to be left unburied by King Creon. Antigone rebels against the rule and burys her brother Polyneices. She is caught by the guards and is taken to imprisonment. Creon  is told by Teiresias  that is refusal to bury Polyneices and choice to punish Antigone will bring curses of the Gods down to Thebes. However Creon ignores this.  Already knowing her fate is death, Antigone hangs herself, and shortly after, Haemon (Creon's son) kills himself and Eurydice (Creon's wife) kills herself.

https://sites.google.com/site/englishmsedelstein/home/english-ii-honors/antigone

Audition for Antigone

Audition preparation

Before my audition, I prepared a short extract from the play 'Medea' to perform. In my research of Medea, the ancient Greek tragedy is based on the former princess of the kingdom of Colchis and wife of Jason, 'Medea'. Her position is threatened as her husband deserts her for a Greek princess of Corinth. She proceeds to take vengeance by killing Jason's wife along with her own 2 children. She killed her own children not because she did not love them, but she felt it was the best way to hurt her betrayer.

The extract was of the nurse in Medea. The nurse is a servant to her and her children, and as an outside commentator on the events of the story she expresses her concern for the safety of the children and the others who have done wrong by Medea, foreshadowing further happenings. Though her loyalty lies with her, she cannot help but see the doom that lies ahead. I chose this extract of Medea because I felt it was a challenge to my normal type of roles. This character shows powerful emotion and a different type of role I normally play. This will give me a chance to improve my different expressions in different characters. When practising my lines, I highlighted key sentences/words that i could change the tone/emphasis/speed on in order to reflect the distress and fear this character feels, as she voices her worries of Medea's plans.

I find it easiest to practice my lines by simply reading through it over and over again. Once I've memorised the words, I then apply the context into the monologue to give it it's meaning and help me to adjust my body language and speech.

In addition, I investigated the Greek play that I would be playing a role in, 'Antigone'. (click here)

Audition evaluation

After my audition I felt quite disappointed with my performance as I stumbled a lot on my lines on lot the pace etc. of my speech. I think I could have revised my lines more in advance to the audition, as I was still struggling the remember the lines. i also think it is partly the type of play. I'm not that familiar with performing Shakespearean/Greek etc. plays and have always found them more difficult to analyse. This is due to the difference in the style of language as these plays were written way before our time.

In the interview section I explained how I was interested in possibly playing 'Ismene', the sister of Antigone who although agrees with her sibling's anger and frustration that one of their brothers' bodies ordered by King Creon was to be left without a burial, and that anyone who went against this would be punished. However she fears the worst for her sister's plans of actions (going forth with burying Polyneices) and how her rebellion may have serious consequences. She is caught between wanting to stand by Antigone, and obeying the powerful orders of Creon to avoid penalization.

What I've learned from this audition experience is that I need to spend more time fully understanding my monologue longer in advance, as this I feel lets me down the most.

Refugees and family photo

In todays lesson we looked at a video of refugees who had started a small gymnastics group in their refugee camp. It was fascinating to see how much skill some of them had as they performed multiple tricks, which somehow separated them from their serious situation. It distracts from their misfortune.

We then practiced states of tension in the space where we would act as a refugee who is attempting to find someone they know in the camp. My states raised to where my
character was surprised and relieved to find someone they know, giving them the encouragement to carry on searching. The use of this was because our choruses were to partly represent the 'refugees' in Antigone, so developing our body language, vocals and movement will help us to apply it to the scenes in the play.

Next, we grouped up to create a freeze frame 'family photo', to depict a wealthy, snobby household. 

family photo

Here is an example of another group's photo I took.

This could be a reflection on the Royal family in 'Antigone', in which the ruler, Creon's harsh orders and actions show how power and large wealth can influence your attitude to others below you (In terms of the Royal family, they are above the poorer civillians of Thebes.

Units 1 & 5 Feedback - Rent

SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT RECORD SHEET
Programme	BTEC Level 3 Diploma in Performing Arts (Musical Theatre)			Learner Name	Amber Cameron		Assessor Name	Rachel Maddix
Unit No. & Title	Unit 1: Performance Workshop			Target Learning Aims	1 Be able to interpret ideas for performance material 2 Be able to apply ideas creatively 3 Be able to take part in workshop performances 4 Understand the workshop process in light of performance.		Assignment No. & Title	Rent
Issue Date	22/10/15			Interim Submission Date	05/02/16		Final Sub Date
Target criteria	Criteria Achieved Yes/No	Final Assessment Comments
P1	Y	You showed a response to source material through research and practical workshops, recognising obvious possibilities as performance material
M1	Y	You showed considered responses to source material, exploring its more creative possibilities as performance material with insight and attention to detail
D1	Y	You showed a range of detailed responses to source material, in which the possibilities as performance material were explored in a perceptive and comprehensive manner
P2	Y	You developed and shaped workable ideas
M2	Y	You develop and shaped the most workable ideas
D2	Y	You developed and shaped the most creative ideas
P3	Y	You performed with a level of skill appropriate to the chosen medium showing engagement with the material and communicating ideas to an audience
M3	Y	You performed with a level of skill that showed a degree of control in the handling of the chosen medium, degree of engagement with the material, communicating ideas to an audience in a focused manner
D3	Y	You performed with a sense of flair, confidence and assured control of the chosen medium, showing consistent focus and engagement with the material and clear and responsive communication to an audience
P4	Y	You were able to evaluate the potential of the work in artistic, professional and vocational terms with recognition of the strengths and weaknesses of the work.
M4	Y	You were able to evaluate the potential of the work in artistic, professional and vocational terms, with considered judgements about what worked well and/or less well.
D4	Y	You were able to evaluate the potential of the work in artistic, professional and vocational terms with strengths and weaknesses clearly identified and judgements fully justified and thoughtfully expressed.
Summative comments
Analysis of of development. D1 You explored source material in a more detailed and insightful manner, showing that you considered a number of possibilities and were not afraid of rejecting ideas. You were able to explain the thought processes behind your choices in a thorough manner. Rehearsal D2 You demonstrated a more creative and perceptive way of working. You were able to identify constraints and able to suggest alternatives, working through problems to find workable solutions. Performance work D3 You were able to show control in the handling of performance skills. You demonstrated a higher degree of commitment to the performance and your performance work was confident and focused. Ideas for further development D4 You were able to weigh up the potential of the work and make judgements about the feasibility of further development. Your comments were fully supported by well-chosen examples from the work. You underplay your talents, but as soon as you were given a chance you thoroughly embraced the challenges that came with the role of Joanne and fully realised a strong performance and increasingly effective well rounded characterisation. Your vocal performance took on new levels of skill that we had not had the opportunity to see from you in other shows. You showed versatility and responsibility at every stage, producing  skilled & engaging final performances  - well done Amber.
Resubmission authorisation*
* All resubmissions must be authorised. Only 1 resubmission is possible per assignment.
Assessor Signature			R.Maddix			Date:	19/2/16
Learner comments
Learner Signature						Date:

SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT RECORD SHEET
Programme	BTEC Level 3 Diploma in Performing Arts (Musical Theatre)			Learner Name	AMBER CAMERON		Assessor Name	Rachel Maddix
Unit No. & Title	Unit 5: Rehearsing for Performance			Target Learning Aims	1 Be able to contribute to the rehearsal process 2 Be able to select and apply appropriate rehearsal and performance skills 3 Be able to progress rehearsal and performance skills/techniques in response to feedback and evaluation.		Assignment No. & Title	Rent
Issue Date	22/10/15			Interim Submission Date	05/02/16		Final Sub Date
Target criteria	Criteria Achieved Yes/No	Final Assessment Comments
P1	Y	You identified key rehearsal tasks appropriate to your roles
M1	Y	You described and prioritised key rehearsal tasks appropriate to your roles
D1	Y	You explained and prioritised key rehearsal tasks, with insight, foresight and confidence
P2	Y	You completed designated rehearsal tasks, so that a valid contribution was made to the rehearsal process
M2	Y	You completed designated rehearsal tasks, so that a valid contribution was made to the rehearsal process
D2	Y	You completed designated rehearsal tasks with considerable attention to detail, so that an outstanding contribution was made to the rehearsal process
P3	Y	You developed and applied research for your roles
M3	Y	You developed and applied research for your roles, employing findings constructively and progressively during the rehearsal process
D3	Y	You developed and applied research for your roles, employing findings in a constructive, progressive and imaginative way during the rehearsal process
P4	Y	You selected and use rehearsal and performance skills appropriate to the role
M4	Y	You selected and employed rehearsal and performance skills appropriate to the role, in an effective, controlled and considered way
D4	Y	You selected and employed rehearsal and performance skills appropriate to the role, demonstrating strong command and insight
P5	Y	You developed and improved rehearsal and performance skills in response to feedback.
M5	Y	You demonstrated commitment to the development and improvement of rehearsal and performance skills with positive and constructive responses to feedback.
D5	Y	You demonstrated outstanding commitment to the development and improvement of rehearsal and performance skills, with detailed responses to feedback.
Summative comments
Planning D1 You were able to describe the key rehearsal tasks. You have also shown the ability to prioritise and organise tasks according to their importance within the development of the overall production, interdependencies with other members of the ensemble, etc. You also provided an explanation of the rehearsal tasks, elaborating to suggest how and why their approach to the tasks contributed to the overall success of the production, showing a thorough and sophisticated understanding of the tasks and processes. Completion D2 You were able to show extensive attention to detail in completion of the majority of your designated tasks, thus making a very obvious and excellent contribution. Research D3 You were able to demonstrate a strong awareness of how you could apply research findings which were highly relevant to the role/production. There was clear progression of performance skills and you were able to articulate this with clear reference to specific research findings, both in physical rehearsal activities, as well as in discussion and supported with notes and analysis in their rehearsal log. You showed imagination in your use and application of research, and may therefore employ less obvious forms of research or research findings, and/or provide additional insight or fresh and unusual interpretations for the performance. Application D4 You were able to employ the appropriate skills and techniques selected with confidence and proficiency. You demonstrated some insight through your ability to recognise facets of your role and the demands of the performance in their use of skills and techniques. Development D5 You showed dedication and determination in your desire to perform to the highest possible standard, taking feedback and criticism as a cue for further and detailed exploration and progression of role.
Resubmission authorisation*
* All resubmissions must be authorised. Only 1 resubmission is possible per assignment.
Assessor Signature			R.Maddix			Date:	19/2/16