In the end we did 3 performances in front of an audience. The audience wasn't big for these shows but in a way that was quite nice. I think when it came to performing it in front of an audience everyone committed to the piece more than they had done in rehearsals. It was a good chance for everyone really live through the emotional journey of their characters and pay respect the the first world war generation.
The feedback we got was all very positive and the audience seemed to really connect with what we were trying to do. The funnier sectioned allowed for some light relief from the intensity of the story which I think the audiences appreciated. You cannot force an audience into a cathartic state for an hour, we as performers and directors also have a duty to entertain our audience.
If I were to change anything about the performance it would probably be having the cast sitting in the back in view of the audience the entire time. I think this often drew away from the action on stage and meant the audience could see us drop in and out of character which makes it harder for them to suspend their believability. Also in our final show one of the actors fell ill and became unstable whilst standing at the back and all the audience saw this, which again took away from the performance. But overall it was a successful piece which was heart felt and funny and I think we all enjoyed performing as a whole year group for the first and final time.
Friday, 7 February 2014
Costume
Costume for this piece is very basic. The idea is we are not impersonating 1920s characters but that we are young people exploring the past. So we decided to have black and white and grey costume so everyone looks similar but not identical. Some pictures of costume:
Tuesday, 28 January 2014
Womens working scene
We had a piece which represented the women working. Today in our run through we got to incorporate this into the final piece. We went into another room just the girls to recap this piece. We then decided to create another short section we could use as a transition, because we hadn't had much of a part in the overall show. We decided to pick 4 jobs women did in the war; seamstress, driver, factory worker and baker. We then got into groups and created short sequences of 3 or 4 movements to represent this job.
When we came to show the women's work section we asked if we could use the motif section to transition and it worked really well. I think the women working section was really important to add. This is because women during world war 1 were often overlooked as they weren't sacrificing their lives. But they did enlighten themselves on the fact that they could work for their own money and they liked it. World war 1 was a platform for ladies to develop from housewives to women. It was the start of a movement and revolution in gender roles which has totally changed the way we live today. This also allowed for are group to have more of a shared responsibility in the overall piece.
When we came to show the women's work section we asked if we could use the motif section to transition and it worked really well. I think the women working section was really important to add. This is because women during world war 1 were often overlooked as they weren't sacrificing their lives. But they did enlighten themselves on the fact that they could work for their own money and they liked it. World war 1 was a platform for ladies to develop from housewives to women. It was the start of a movement and revolution in gender roles which has totally changed the way we live today. This also allowed for are group to have more of a shared responsibility in the overall piece.
Monday, 27 January 2014
Refining
This session we went through and refined all the work we had created. We spent a lot of time devising the beginning so we had a strong group opening. This opening involved one by one starting to enter the space and speak about 'when I think of world war 1 I think of...'. Then a track of recordings of veterans and students from the school speaking about what they thought of world war 1. When we hear this we exit the stage leaving the couples on-stage ready to begin their duets. This is a strong opening and leads really smoothly into the couples duets, which are really dynamic and powerful pieces of work.
We also added in another section which me and partner had in our duet into the final piece. This involved walking up to the soldier and tracing their outline. This piece was meant to represent a women smartening up her husband and saying goodbye to him before he leaves for war. It is a very simply gestural piece but if everyone commits to the emotional content behind it, it could be really powerful.
The rehearsal was hard, people couldn't focus very well on what we were doing and it took a long time to get through all the pieces. When we got to the end we realised we needed to fill the women's boxes with letters for the end section so me and another student volunteered to address, tea stain and stuff 100 or so envelopes for this section. This is the sort of envelopes we made except the final ones were plain white without the airmail stripes.
We also added in another section which me and partner had in our duet into the final piece. This involved walking up to the soldier and tracing their outline. This piece was meant to represent a women smartening up her husband and saying goodbye to him before he leaves for war. It is a very simply gestural piece but if everyone commits to the emotional content behind it, it could be really powerful.
The rehearsal was hard, people couldn't focus very well on what we were doing and it took a long time to get through all the pieces. When we got to the end we realised we needed to fill the women's boxes with letters for the end section so me and another student volunteered to address, tea stain and stuff 100 or so envelopes for this section. This is the sort of envelopes we made except the final ones were plain white without the airmail stripes.
Friday, 24 January 2014
Recap Session
Today we all met in the new theatre for our first physical theatre rehearsal in over a month. We had all been busy with the Christmas break and the other common ground plays, but now we have all had our opening nights we can focus on 100 years again. We left off in a really good place last term where we had set the order of the entire show. Today all we needed to do was to recap everything we had set in place and remind ourselves of the material. This was particularly challenging with the 3 male solos as they all had to remember very specific choreographed movement which they had not performed in a while.
This rehearsal wasn't particularly challenging for the girl group as we are only in the beginning and end section of the entire piece. It was just a case of remaining focused so they could get through the material as quickly as possible. It took a while but eventually we got through all the work. I think the main thing we need to bring back to the piece is the importance of the story we are telling. We need to connect to every single character we are playing with as much emotion and depth as we have been for the other plays we are in during common ground. People need to realise that this piece is now just as important as the other plays and we should all start taking our role within it more seriously. On top of that we need to remind ourselves of the significance of the stimulus we are working with and the history of world war one and the legacy these books and poems and memoirs have. Our piece is just one of many other artistic and historical celebrations which will be happening over the course of the next 4 years to mark 100 years since world war 1 and we should all take a minute to realise how special that is.
This rehearsal wasn't particularly challenging for the girl group as we are only in the beginning and end section of the entire piece. It was just a case of remaining focused so they could get through the material as quickly as possible. It took a while but eventually we got through all the work. I think the main thing we need to bring back to the piece is the importance of the story we are telling. We need to connect to every single character we are playing with as much emotion and depth as we have been for the other plays we are in during common ground. People need to realise that this piece is now just as important as the other plays and we should all start taking our role within it more seriously. On top of that we need to remind ourselves of the significance of the stimulus we are working with and the history of world war one and the legacy these books and poems and memoirs have. Our piece is just one of many other artistic and historical celebrations which will be happening over the course of the next 4 years to mark 100 years since world war 1 and we should all take a minute to realise how special that is.
Saturday, 7 December 2013
Showing of Work
I was absent from last weeks lesson, where my class learnt how to waltz. This was for a piece where we waltz with empty jackets which happens straight after the box scenes. We will be using the boys briefly but only to move the boxes and be in the jackets quickly. I caught up with how to waltz and how the sequence worked. After running through it we all went to the new theatre where we would watch the other groups work and show our own. This was so we could see how everyone was progressing and how all the pieces were going to fit into together.
We were the first to perform and I felt like we were all really focused and put our best into it, considering it was just a rough performance. I think once we have all our letters sorted and the jackets boxes the piece will really come into it's own.
I thought the other groups work were also really impressive considering it wasn't finished yet. I could start to see how some of the pieces could interlink. I enjoyed how the soldiers piece contrasted the couples and the women's piece. It offered a lighter look onto the war and soldiers moral. It will add energy to the piece. However, we need the emotional grounding of the couples and women's piece in order to give depth and honesty to the show.
We were the first to perform and I felt like we were all really focused and put our best into it, considering it was just a rough performance. I think once we have all our letters sorted and the jackets boxes the piece will really come into it's own.
I thought the other groups work were also really impressive considering it wasn't finished yet. I could start to see how some of the pieces could interlink. I enjoyed how the soldiers piece contrasted the couples and the women's piece. It offered a lighter look onto the war and soldiers moral. It will add energy to the piece. However, we need the emotional grounding of the couples and women's piece in order to give depth and honesty to the show.
Friday, 22 November 2013
Rehearsal 2
This lesson me and my partner taught the class the opening to our duet. This was a gestural piece representing a wife brushing her husbands jackets. This piece originally used petals but if we use it the final piece we probably won't have them. This piece works well as an opening.
We also all brought in real letters written to wives from husbands in world war 1. We are using these real letters to develop the box sequence. We brought in boxes to use, but the for the final performance we should have all had the same box bought for us, so it looks like an official parcel the army might have sent. With these letters we all cut them up and picked a few lines each from the various letters. We then all sat in a space and took turns to say each line. We then kept this order and started off by opening the boxes and taking out the jackets and smelling them. This is because scent is extremely evocative and when you have a connection with someone or an attraction you know how they smell. Smell can often trigger memories or remind us of certain people or things. After the smelling we put on the jacket and look through all the letters until we find the one that is written to us from our husband not the other way around. We then begin reading it, by saying our lines one by one.
This piece allows us to extend our physicality whilst maintaining a grounded and realistic emotional connection to the characters and relationships we are portraying. It allows us to personalise the movement, and take our time in doing so. It isn't fast paced or gimmicky, it is an honest representation of the pain someone women went through when their husbands or sons died in the war. It also shows how significant some of the little possessions left behind can be.
We also all brought in real letters written to wives from husbands in world war 1. We are using these real letters to develop the box sequence. We brought in boxes to use, but the for the final performance we should have all had the same box bought for us, so it looks like an official parcel the army might have sent. With these letters we all cut them up and picked a few lines each from the various letters. We then all sat in a space and took turns to say each line. We then kept this order and started off by opening the boxes and taking out the jackets and smelling them. This is because scent is extremely evocative and when you have a connection with someone or an attraction you know how they smell. Smell can often trigger memories or remind us of certain people or things. After the smelling we put on the jacket and look through all the letters until we find the one that is written to us from our husband not the other way around. We then begin reading it, by saying our lines one by one.
This piece allows us to extend our physicality whilst maintaining a grounded and realistic emotional connection to the characters and relationships we are portraying. It allows us to personalise the movement, and take our time in doing so. It isn't fast paced or gimmicky, it is an honest representation of the pain someone women went through when their husbands or sons died in the war. It also shows how significant some of the little possessions left behind can be.
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