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.