Jan 28th 2012

SpaceJump for exercise

The activity space jump is one of the activity that we are not very good as a class. For example, taking one scene into another total different scene. We had one scene as a rubber ducky and the when we said space jump, Isabella took over and she totally changed the story into “i just ran over your dog!!” It was amazing because for some reason when we switch people in space jump we always keep the same story. The audience gets tried after watching a while. Another thing that as a class that we are struggling is that when we act a scene, we intend to just stand and just have conversation. Instead of using the space so the next person who says space jump and change the scene totally differently. Even though that our class is struggling we really enjoy the activity. As a class we would like to improve more each time when we have class.

1. Compare Melodrama and Realism.

Melodrama and realism are both ways of interrupting in theatre however they are extremely different. Melodrama is a type of theatre of overexaggerated movements, plots, characters and volume. The characters are stereotypical portrayals of people. They can both be either good or bad. Mostly the characters are stock characters. These characters contain: the hero, the damsel and the villain.

There are the some of the movements that shows that the characters are over overemphasized by their emotions

Grief – Head down, shoulders rounded, hands cupping the face. Raising the shoulders up and down, with a sobbing noise, is optional.
Fear – Face turned to the right side, with the right hand to the mouth, fingers curled under touching the top of the palm.
Horror – Eyes wide, mouth open, both hands to the cheeks with the fingers extended.
Fortitude – Body straight, chest up, hand to forehead, with the palm facing the audience and fingers curled slightly.
Love Expressed (Male) – Chest held high, right hand crosses the chest and rests on the upper left over the heart, then opens out to the right and the loved one.
Love Expressed (Female) – Chest held high, head cocked a bit to the side, opposite leg goes out with foot pointed, hands under the chin, fingers entwined and bent at the first and second knuckles (almost praying), hands go toward the loved on, smile on face.
Evil Planning – One eyebrow up, the other down, a grimace on the face and hands rubbing together, if it is a really good plan, the fingers twiddle
Evil Sneaking – Shoulders hunched over, arm raised to cover the nose on down, eyes free to shift around the room, legs bent on the cross of the stage
Pride – Chest up, hands with knuckles to both hips, legs slightly apart, a balanced look.
Anger – Both hands shoulder high, eyebrows pushed towards each other, face tense with a grimace, hands in tight fists.
Overwhelmed – Chin up bringing the face to look up, one arm dropped limp to the side, the other hand open with palm towards the audience on the top of the forehead.
These movement shows that gesture without putting any sound. Melodrama shows more presentational.

Realism is the opposite of melodrama. The actors try to play the characters as real and believable as possible. Even when they are not speaking or putting into sound. Also the audience should be interested in what the characters are thinking. However, even when the scene or play is unreal, the characters has to think believe it to be real. Then the play can be considered realistic. Realism shows more representational.

2. Explain the difference between representational and presentational acting.

Presentational acting is where the actor presents a character or breaking of the 4th wall to the audience. The actors knows the audience is there so sometimes comments to them or give looks. Greek plays is one example of presentational because some audience members were far away from the stage that, the actors had to project clearly to know the story.

Representational acting is when the characters completely ignore the audience and only focus on whats happening to them on stage. Also instead of presenting, the actors represent the people in the story that they are in. This means that the actors becomes the character that they go throughout the whole play. Character must react to things like the character would do.

3. How could you use melodramatic techniques, especially the emotive poses, in a realistic play?

Melodramatic techniques can be used in realistic plays if the technique or emotive pose fits the personality of the character.  For example, if the character is a damsels, personality, emotive techniques has to be a girly, scared character. This can be seen in extreme characters so the audience knows what kind of character that she can be. The audience can watch the character in the play. Then people can believe that the character is and thinks it to be real.

Heroin Lies Question

In class, we are doing a short play called Heroin lies by Walter William. It is a play about a young teenager get addicted to drugs.

What segments are realistic and perhaps more melodramatic in scene 1? How could you show the difference on stage? Think acting style and elements.

I would say in this play it is mostly realism. Realism are more real life situations and the connections between each character. However, there is one part in the play that was melodrama. The first scene when Vicki’s parents were interacting to each other and having a conversation. The conversation between them was over exaggerating tone and gesture which showed melodrama. The first scene, with Vicki’s parents was a very tense scene because it gave the audience about why Vicki was in the hospital. To present this scene in realism on stage I place the Vicki’s hospital room towards the audience. So the audience can see more interaction between Vicki’s parents and how realistic it is between them. For melodrama I would have it more like a musical way and so the interacting with Vicki’s parents would use more space on the stage.

What is the purpose of the REPORTER character?

The second scene was most interesting element part of Drama. A scene when only the reporter who was narrated the scene. In the realism part of it was mainly showing as the media or the gossip. Reporter has no connection with Vicki that he did not have to put his own opinion, he only puts fact to the audience. To show the reporter more a realism, I would have the reporter giving out newspaper to the audience and the costume to have nickers, suspenders and cap. Then the audience has more idea of the character and can see more real life looking it is.

Describe how you would have the character of VICKI deliver her monologue? (Both staging and acting style)

I would deliver Vicki’s monologue as she talks to herself and also caring about her appearance. I would have the audience as the Vicki’s mirror and when she says her lines, she puts her make up on. Not only make up but trying new style. For example, seeing different hair style or searching for her best make up to make herself look pretty. I would also have many posters on the background. Such as, singers, actors and models. So we can her teenager life style and her appearance want it to be. Vicki’s acting can be just a ordinary young teenager however being depress underneath.

Dana and Lee Questions

What sort of language does Dana use? For example, does the character use formal or informal language? 

Dana uses informal language. She is more the character of a teenager and most teenagers are not formal. Dana abbreviates words like ‘you’re’ instead of you are or ‘drop kick’, which is slang for idiot. Teenagers uses short words which makes the language informal.

What does the rhythm of Dana’s speech tell you about the energy of her character?  

We can tell Dana’s character that she is full of energy. Dana has more lines than Lee and she tries to ask Lee many questions and make him that he has company. Even though Lee is giving her a clear signal to leave. Also you can see that Dana is being optimistic to Lee when there’s something bad that happened to Lee.

What thoughts lie behind Dana’s lines? What body language, gestures, pose and mannerisms, will you use to communicate the character’s subtext?

Dana’s lines show that she wants a conversation with Lee or that she has feelings for Lee. Every scene the story develops, Dana moves closer to Lee. Dana’s body shows to get closer to Lee she uses more gestures, pose and mannerisms to make Lee comfortable. I would use mannerisms to communicate the character because using different mannerisms you should express your feelings more. For example, when you like someone you should mannerisms in a nice way and to your parents more rude way. Dana shows her mannerisms in a nice way. For example, asking him if his okay or go for a movie. This shows that she may like him.

Are there any pauses in Dana’s dialogue? What thoughts lie behind the pauses? How long should the pause(s) be held? Why? What impact do the pauses have on the mood and atmosphere of the script?

Pauses are one the important technique that is use in drama. Depending on how long the pause is, it creates different aspect. Pauses is a moment when the character is thinking about something or some awkward moment. The part when Dana has her pause, “Okay, I’ll go. I’m obviously annoying you.” She then goes to leave. This pause should be long, around 6 seconds. This is because she wants Lee to say something or have his attention. In this line it shows that Dana mood of loneliness and sort of the awkward silent.

What do the characters say about each other? What does this information tell us about the characters?  

The first thing Lee says about Dana is that she’s been hanging around like a bad smell for days. This information tells us that Dana is the person that everyone gets picked on but she is a caring person. Also when Dana says that Lee is acting paranoid and that he doesn’t realize that people care about him. This shows that Lee is self defense and only care about him self. When Lee asks Dana to leave it also shows that Dana is a nosy person.

What is Dana’s status compared to Lee’s?  

Throughout this story, Dana’s and Lee’s status keep on changing. Lee’s status is higher when he insults Dana, and Dana’s is higher when she makes a strong comeback. Also it shows that Dana’s status is more nosy and wants attention and Lee is more relax and chilled.

The Crucible reflection
On March 4th 2012, the Grade 9 drama group went to see the play The Crucible by Arthur Miller. The actors were by The Tokyo International Players at the Ebisu Echo Theatre. The play had great actors and a great story.

When the lights grew dark, the audience knew that the play is going to start. The first thing that caught my attention on the stage was the background of trees. The background of the trees had a mixture of warm colors and cool colors such as, orange, pink, purple, blue and yellow. To the audience, it was easy to identify that the setting was the forest because of the mysterious colors and the darkness. Not only the background but the pot in the middle of the stage gave the audience reason for attention. Thinking about what the pot is going to effect in the play was foreshadowing. Then, a few girls ran into the middle of the stage and started to dance. That action really caught the audience’s attention and gave an element of space. Then more girls came along and started to dance in a circle with rhythmic music. The girls movement and the music was getting bigger and bigger which gave more tension. Another character Reverend Parris had came on stage and stopped the other characters to dance and the music. That was a great transition to the next scene.

Between the scenes, the lights were dark however you can see that there was staff changing the set. From the scene the mysterious forest changed into a ordinary room with a bed, table and a chair. In this scene it was mostly dialogue however, each actor showed their character. They showed by making the voice clear, facing the audience and staying in character. The costumes and how each character spoke gave the audience an impression. For example, the two farmers were wearing overalls which showed the typical farmers. How they spoke was very slow and deep compared with the voices of the Parris’s or the Putnam’s. These characters had suits on, spoke fast and were more energetic. Another character that caught attention was Abigail. She was the only character who had red hair and had the most energy of movement. She projected her character showing a large amount of focus in her acting. In this scene that stuck into my mind was that when Parris and Putnams were having an argument on stage, in the back of the stage I could hear the choir singing. This could of meant foreshadowing however, to me it showed mystery and made the scene more interesting.

Another scene that stuck in my mind was the court scene. When the judge brought Elizabeth Proctor to the court and in the whole village everyone thought that Elizabeth was one of the trustworthy, such a person does not lie. All the characters had to look away from Elizabeth – all the characters looked out to the audience. Abigail and John were the most important. If Elizabeth said “yes”, John Proctor had an affair with Abigail then Abigail would have to be hanged. But if Elizabeth said “no”, she would have to be hanged. Abigail and John’s faces was shown as being both scared and excited. This made the audience very tense. When Elizabeth was asked if John Proctor he had an affair with Abigail, she knew it clearly, but in the court, she stated said that her husband did not have an affair with Abigail. Each characters faces showed shock and disappointment.

Some scenes had too much dialogue and there were too many characters that it lost the audience’s attention. The characters were using little movement and it was hard to see which characters had the main focus. Using real props was very interesting to see. When John Proctor and Elizabeth Proctor was having their argument, like an any other family, eating dinner and having a argument made the scene more believable. Makeup was also gave an impact. In the last scene when they used makeup to have cuff marks it made the have sympathy for the characters. Showing that the characters were suffering. Also Abigail’s make-up was darker than other girls. This could of shown her evil or devilish side of her. For the audience perspective it gave impact.

The Crucible’s theme was clearly stated as lies and deceit. When Abigail and the girls lied that there were witches or devil attacking them the whole village started to believe them and started to make the other people to receive the blame.

The ending scene gave the audience imagination and thoughts. There was no scene of the actual hanging however, it was shown by noises and bells. The ending of Mr. Proctor and Mrs. Proctor with a kiss which showed sweetness of the play. This play was mostly tragedy that there was a part of passion in the scene.

Nose2Nose

Nose2Nose was a great drama experience to me. It was different what we do in class. The first taught that they told us was to keep on supporting each other. This meant make sure there is no awkward moments for the actor to be on the stage. For the whole week spending with Tim and Neil, we did some exercise to keep our voice and body with energy and also having more teamwork.  Some of the exercise that we did was trusting exercise. First there would be two people standing looking at each other and others walking around them. The two standing people would have to fall sneakily and other would hold them and putting back in their standing position. This was a sad exercise for me because when I was of the standing person, now one was really catching me. I fell on the floor at least few times. Then other exercise that we did were getting into a circle, projecting our voices and movement. This was a very teamwork exercise and making our drama class even more fun. For the friday performance we had to create our own character and perform in front of 8th graders. I was not nervous to perform 8th graders however, I was nervous if I can keep my character up on stage. Before choosing our character, Neil had to make us get into our own space and think about a character, movement and tone. Then present to the whole class. My thought of the character that I presented to the class was one of those Disney princesses talking to a young child. I thought I did a great job of expressing that character.
On performing day, was a great day. All the other drama class had some great character and made the whole show full of laughs. Making a show like that was of my favorite performance. I am so glad I was one of the performers. This workshop make drama more fun and enjoying more about performing. This why I picked drama.

June 1st 2012

First to start off the play, Metamorphosis we designed the stage.

This is our stage that we design out of cardboard box and color paper.

Color- In the early 1900’s, pastel and light colors. So for our furniture and background of the stage, it was mostly pastel and light colors.

Stage outline- For the stage we have two levels. The bottom is the living room and the top as Gregor’s room. The living room has a bigger surface than Gregor’s room because more characters appear in the living room. Gregor’s room is one of the main focus in the play so we decided to have Gregor’s room as the set.

Mood- As our stage we decided to have it like a modern family like. So as a calm and smooth tone. Sets a mood of typical family in the 1900’s.

Improvements

For Gregor’s room we put a door, right in front. And so for the sightline for the audience it would be hard to see. For the future, we should also think about the sightline.