Exploration of 'TV People'

Tableaux

We created a series of Tableaux which were representative of the significant points in 'TV People', (see sheet). The Tableaux were useful as they allowed us to summarise the play and divide it into the most interesting sections, but also allowed us to develop the frozen images into scenes. We chose an office scene to begin with. The tableau consisted of the whole group forming a circle around one person in the middle. We all had blank expressions on our faces and held our hands out as if we were typing, (to suggest an office setting). The person in the middle signified the isolation of the protagonist as a result of his social anxiety and addiction to technology. The fact we were all looking at computer screens created irony, as it linked back to the theme of technology ruling our everyday lives.

 

To transition this tableau into a scene we began to think, in a general sense, how we could show social anxiety and isolation through our voice and physicality; we spoke in a robotic tone of voice, beginning with the phrase "how was your weekend?". This phrase was repeated around the circle, followed by a series of 'small talk' conversations. Not only did this create an unsettling and 'annoying' mix of various conversations, but it also created humour, as a modern audience are able to relate to typical small talk in a professional setting, (in this instance, an office). Phrases such as, "I have a tuna sandwich for lunch", and "oh my God, did you hear what happened to Michelle?" naturally gave each member of the group a sense of character. Personally, I saw my character as a sly and 'gossipy' woman, who likes to talk about others in the office. To explore this characterisation, I used downward inflection to drag out my sentences and appear ignorant and lacking of personality. Whilst creating a sense of an ignorant and self-absorbed character, the downward inflection also provided a robotic tone to my voice, which fed well into the context / message of the play, (being taken over by technology). This undertone of robotic conversations contrasted well with the silence of the protagonist in the middle, as it highlighted the intensity of his feelings when being surrounded by meaningless and annoying conversations on a daily basis.

 

We also experimented with the use of play, pause and stop, (manipulating the other members of your group through physical theatre). We remembered what was explored in the Frantic Assembly workshop - where we were asked to imagine we had a giant computer screen in front of us and had to select and discard objects through mime. We used this technique to choreograph a series of play, pause, mute and stop moments which were controlled by the protagonist. The person in the middle would point at another group member and they would either; stop talking and freeze, mute (so miming their words rather than speaking them), or raise/lower their volume. This was all dependant on the gesture appointed to you, (e.g. raising of the arm would mean you had to talk louder). I feel as though this worked successfully, as it related well to the use of technology, (TV or the use of a remote control to manipulate the television). Also, the raising and lowering of the volume was surreal and therefore created humour as the pointless phrases were delivered un-naturally and extremely loudly. This linked back to the Artaud workshop, where we had to exaggerate our physicality when meeting an old friend. By exaggerating voice and physicality to such an extent, the characterisation becomes heightened and thus, humorous and melodramatic. The constant manipulation of the tone, pitch, pace and volume in turn changed the rhythm of the scene. This frequent change made the scene engaging and allowed us to explore exaggerated voice and physicality.

 

At one point, we all turned to look at the protagonist as opposed to facing outwards. This made the scene more intense and was representative of his growing social anxiety, as if all eyes were on him only, (he could not ignore the presence of others in his office). This smothering and intense situation was unsettling for the audience and therefore played on Artaud's 'Theatre of Cruelty', as they were made to feel uncomfortable and understand what the protagonist is experiencing.

 

 

Medea

Medea

- The mother refused to comply with social norms and her characterisation was completely different to that of the other mothers. Her costume also reflected this inability to fit in, as she has black hair and wore plain, dark clothes; the other mothers wore brightly coloured, feminine clothes and wigs, so they appeared put together and 'motherly'.

- The group of mothers choreography was interesting as it reflected their need to copy each other. It almost presented them as clones of one another, which portrays a woman's pressure to be the 'perfect'  mother. I feel as though the protagonist's struggle to live up to her expectations of a mother was portrayed greatly through the group of 'yummy mummy's'

- Additionally, I noticed throughout the choreography that there were some moments when one character would fall behind and perform the moves a beat after everyone else. This may have been implying that no mother is perfect, as there were even faults in the group of 'perfect' mothers.

- The use of the stairwell was interesting, as characters would often exit through it, and the protagonist would lean over the banister and watch them walk down. This may have been representative of her wanting to exert power and take on a masculine role, as she would be on a higher level, as though she had won the argument. Particularly when the husband exited through the stairwell, he would become silent and she would be left screaming at him as he walked down the stairs. This could be interpreted that he may not have actually been present, and she was reliving old memories. Additionally, it could be said that the stairwell gave the arguments some kind of domesticity and their reoccurring relationship issues, as he left the room.

- Linking back to Jane Eyre, when characters walked downstairs to represent their death, I felt as though the stairwell may have been representative of a similar meaning. The characters walking down the stairs may have been foreshadowing the death of the children and how her husband is essentially dead to her, as the children were the only thing keeping them together.

- The digging was another interesting aspect of the production, as it signified the digging of a grave or the burying of her past. Her costume change into a more traditional dress at this point was also significant, as it implied that this aspect of the performance was not naturalistic/realist. Also, the change linked well to the context of Medea and it's original Greek background. Again, the grey, traditional costume showed the change into her character and made her appear more evil and surrealist in comparison to her t shirt and jeans. Overall, it created some kind of emotional detachment to her character, as she became somewhat more fictional and a sinister figure of the past, (showing her mental deterioration).

- The protagonist's mental deterioration was also portrayed through the children. Her shouting and arguing gave the impression that although she was suffering, she was able to shout and have an emotional outlet, (wasn't afraid of showing her pain). However, the children contrasted with this, remaining fairly quiet and reserved throughout. Personally, I felt that this showed how the children were suffering internally as a result of their parent's issues, but unlike the mother, they were unable to externalise these emotions. Perhaps this was a factor in their death / suicide attempt.

- The grandparents gave context to the protagonist's background without giving a direct explanation of her past; the bitterness of the grandmother's character showed how they never formed a good bond with one another. This gave a possible explanation for the protagonist's inability to provide and be 'good enough' for her children, as she never had a mother figure herself.

- "Getting used to you would be like getting used to Cancer" - this phrase was unsettling and shocking, particularly as it was delivered by one of the young children. I feel as though the phrase was playing on a typical bickering argument between siblings. By including this line, the bickering became sinister and un-natural, as comparing someone to a disease is shocking and drastic. This highlighted the struggles that the children were facing as a result of their parents; seeing things in a dark and sinister way at such a young age was unsettling and may have foreshadowed their suicide later on in the play. (Resonated with the audience)









 

'TV People' research

"Haruki Murakami is an iconic figure of postmodern literature known mostly for his unreal, humorous work focusing on the loneliness and empty mindedness of Japan’s work dominated generation." - http://www.famousauthors.org/haruki-murakami

This quote links to the themes in TV People, as it focuses on how technology affects us as a modern-day society. The phrase 'empty mindedness' is significant as it implies that technology can replace our ability to make conscious decisions and to communicate with others. This links directly to the narrative portrayed in 'TV People'; the protagonist loses sight of reality and his ability to communicate is diminished as a result of his technology obsession.

"Murakami was born in Kyoto, Japan on January 12, 1949. Haruki probably inherited the passion for writing from his parents who were teachers of Japanese literature. Haruki, however, was never a big fan of Japanese literature and was instead under heavy influence of Western culture. He has been criticized on being overly westernized by the Japanese on several occasions. In 1968 Haruki attended Waseda University as a Theater Arts major student. Not very studious by nature, Murakami would spend hours reading film scripts at the Theater Museum at the university. He also met his wife for the first time in Waseda University and they married in 1971. Together they opened a Jazz Bar named Peter Cat in Kokobunji, Tokyo which was later shifted to Sendagaya, Tokyo, a quite locality." - http://www.famousauthors.org/haruki-murakami

 

Artaud Workshop

Facts about Artaud

- Artaud was 'counter-culture', which means he refused to comply with social norms at the time, causing controversy as a result.

- He was said to be 'ahead of his time', because he was a forward thinker. Unfortunately his plays weren't apprectiated at the time he was alive; it was only after Artaud's death that his work was fully appreciated.

- He suffered from mental illness, (depression for example); he spent the majority of his life in asylums, but ironically his time in asylums stimulated his creativity.

- He was a French Catholic and experienced a love/hate outlook on religion.

- He courted controversy by provoking real problems and often addressed the harsh truth - things that his audience didn't want to hear. By unsettling the audience, his plays were successfully thought-provoking. This was known as 'Theatre of Cruelty'.

Themes included: drink, drugs, sex, disease, death, religion, incest and disease. These themes clashed with one another to create intense theatre. His themes were also very provocative, considering the context, so the content itself often unsettled and surprised the audience.

- He died of an overdose at 51, (1948)

ICONIC = Realism
DEICTIC = Non-realist, response/reaction

Tasks explored in class

 

 

1) "Walk and greet" exercise involved improvisation and exploration of exaggeration levels; we were asked to choose a random person in the room and greet them as though they were an old friend we had not seen in a long while. Naturally, the general reaction was to hug the person and I used upward inflection to communicate my excitement. We were then asked to exaggerate this as much as possible, so the following time, I heightened the volume of my voice and jumped up and down to further exaggerate this excitement. I widened my face and used large hand gestures to melodramatise the scene. We were then asked to repeat this, but without using dialogue. This was challenging, as we could only use our physicality to communicate a narrative. To do so, I heightened my physicality and put my hands over my mouth to show shock, and then jumped around with Lady Pearl to show our disbelief and happiness. We had to repeat this task with a friend we had seen recently, (so naturally our physicality was less excitable), and also for an enemy. To communicate a negative relationship between myself and Nathan, I folded my arms and avoided eye contact as much as possible. I also twiddled my thumbs and shuffled my feet to show how I was uncomfortable and wanted to get away as soon as possible. We also kept a distant proxemic between us so further imply our dislike of one another. 

2) "Ring-of-Roses" exercise required us to interpret the nursery rhyme in a sinister, Artaudian way. To do so, my group lied down in a circle with our feet facing inwards. Whilst slowly humming the nursery rhyme, we raised one arm and used this to manoeuvre ourselves so that we were sitting up looking at the person opposite. From here, we stood up and placed one hand into the middle, we continued by circling around, (still humming the rhyme). Suddenly, I coughed - to communicate the contraction of the Plague - and the rest of the group continued. By breaking the circle and coughing near the audience, we were making them feel uncomfortable - as though they were at risk of contracting the disease. By doing so, we were utilizing Artaud's 'Theatre of Cruelty' techniques.  We came back to the centre with our hands in a prayer. We felt that the prayer was significant, as it feeds into Artaud's fascination with religion, but also conveys hope and childishness to communicate that we were children. We finished by using collaboratively delivering the line "we all fall down". I said this with slow pace and low tone, to deliver the line in a sinister and un-nerving way.

3) "Plague" exercise focused on instinct and being aware of those around you; we were asked to lay in a circle and collectively hum a note until it naturally faded out. After this, we would have to suddenly gasp and sit up, (as if we had awoken from a bad dream) - this part was challenging as it replied on impulse and for us to work collaboratively as a class to instinctively decide the right time to jump up. We then had to discover that we had a rash all over our bodies, but eventually it began to fade away and we went back to sleep. The exercise was interesting as it tested our collaborative skills, but also our ability to listen and use our senses to detect when to move.

4) "Symbolism" exercise required our creativity as a lone performer; we had to perform an iconic death, followed by an iconic eyewitness, and then a deictic, (symbolic) death. To perform the deictic death, I opened my arms wide and looked at the ceiling, (to communicate spirit and freedom), but then curled into a ball to portray how that person no longer exists. The exercise made me think deeper into the meaning of what I was performing, rather than how I can communicate it easily and clearly. Symbolic performance can often be more interesting and provoke more feeling than a iconic performance. This also linked to Artaud's theme of death, which was common throughout many of his plays.


 

Brecht's Epic Theatre

Quote about Brecht: "As an artist, Brecht was influenced by a diverse range of writers and practitioners including Chinese theatre and Karl Marx. The turmoil of the times through which Brecht lived gave him a strong political voice. The opposition he faced is testament to the fact that he had the courage to express his personal voice in the world of the theatre. He also had an original and inspired talent to bring out a dynamic theatrical style to express his views." - http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/guides/zwmvd2p/revision

Brecht believed that emotional connection could stunt the ability for the audience to make conscious, rational judgements about social and political issues; Brecht tried to avoid emotional attachment so that his audience could interpret messages in their own way. Therefore, Brecht didn't 'pigeon-hole' a message; he left his plays open to interpretation.

To begin the exploration of Brecht's epic theatre techniques, we were given the task of reporting on the 'dragons that have invaded London'. We were referred to as reporters and were asked to investigate the size, colour and intentions of the dragons. This task required the class to throw ourselves into the story and immediately adapt to the role of the reporter/eyewitness. Being the eyewitness made me think on my feet and use my imagination to create an interesting encounter. This was an effective exercise to begin the lesson as it required our focus and creativity immediately.

This task linked to Brecht's style of work, as epic theatre was renowned for reflecting on past events; the reporting involved 'past encounters' and recalling a memory. Brecht also explored fact-based storylines, which is also evident in this task.

Following this, we were split into groups and were asked to create a series of tableaux to summarise the invasion of the dragons, (in the form of a news article). We explored the use of levels with Matt standing in a sprinting stance and the rest of the group around him as the dragons. I used exaggerated facial expressions to convey an intimidating dragon; I opened my eyes wide and grabbed Matt's arm. The use of levels created humour as Matt was on a significantly higher level and was running from the small dragons, (the rest of the group). This created irony and humour as we interpreted the dragons as being small rather than large and intimidating. The following tableaux included 2 dragons in a restaurant and the dragons taking over the population. To create the restaurant, Demi and I sat on the floor and Matt held his arms over Demi to indicate that she was the dragon, (representing her wings). The rest of the group looked on with confused facial expressions, again creating a sense of humour. To convey the dragons taking over, Demi, Shameika and I piled on top of one another to represent how the humans have been killed. Lady Pearl and Matt stood on a higher level which was symbolic of the dragon's dominance. Overall, the use of tableaux enabled the exploration of levels and exaggerated physicality to create humour.

Being asked to bring a tableau to life, for a short period of 10 seconds, enabled us to use voice and movement to further enhance the narrative being portrayed. We began by dragging Matt across the stage and we all made a different noises to create a surreal humming/growling in the background. I experimented with my voice, using a high pitch to contrast with the lower-pitched noises being made by other group members. We then paused and collectively delivered the phrase, "we will take over" to create a sinister atmosphere. This atmosphere was reinforced by the fact we froze before the line delivery. Again, the use of tableaux represented Brecht's exploration of reflection on a past event. Additionally, Brechtian techniques were evident in this task, as the use of shared speech and interjection were used in epic theatre, to create a sense of urgency and share a narrative.

Overall, Brechtian (epic) theatre explored fact-based and reported speech. Brecht was also known for the use of  plaque cards which were used to clearly indicate a place, atmosphere or time of day - creating captions for the tableaux mimicked this theatrical technique. Epic theatre is an innovative and reflective form of theatre and the tasks we explored gave us an insight into Brecht's techniques.


 

Frantic Assembly Workshop

Frantic Assembly utilizes physical theatre to create contemporary performances aimed at a modern audience.

We began with a variety of focus and physical exercises to warm up the body and mind for the intensity of the workshop. This included trust exercises; with my partner I held my hand on top and Lady Pearl placed her hand underneath mine, so that we had constant contact as I lead her around the room. Whilst leading, I explored the use of levels by moving my partner at a variety of heights. I also adjusted the speed at which I lead, to see how pace can have an affect on physicality. Once Lady Pearl had to close her eyes, I was entirely responsible for her and had full control of where she moved. By having to avoid collisions and move around the room safely, the exercise gave me a sense of spatial awareness and concentration. Once the roles were swapped, I found closing my eyes to be interesting, as I was completely reliant on my partner to lead me around the room; trust was built as a result of this. Also, I felt that closing my eyes helped me focus on where exactly I was being lead because I wasn't aware of my surroundings.

Following this, we explored how lifts can be used to create physical theatre in a dynamic and modern way; working with Demi and Shameika, we took it in turns to lift each other in a variety of ways, (demonstrated by the teacher). This again built trust within my group as we had to rely on one another to lift us safely and correctly. Although it took a few attempts, we successfully recreated the lifts. When performed accurately, this can create an interesting visual on stage and can also be used with music to create physical theatre which resembles dance. Choreography is something I have never explored before in performing arts, and is a new skill I would like to take to my final performance to give a different dimension to my existing knowledge of physical theatre.

Billie and I worked together to place transitions between the lifts, creating choreography around them. This process required both concentration and also the willingness to go out of my comfort zone and experiment with different ideas. The most challenging aspect of the task was having to create smooth transitions between the lifts and deciding how we will move from one position to the next. To overcome this obstacle, we used shifts to move one another to the place we needed to be; moving each other was more effective than moving ourselves, as it indicated a relationship between Billie and I, whilst also allowing for a smooth transition into the next lift.

When asked to perform this to the class, the teacher told Billie to remove herself from the performance so that I was performing the choreography alone. Whilst this was daunting, it was very interesting to see how the absence of a character can create a narrative. When I watched Billie perform the choreography alone I was given an external perspective as a member of the audience; Billie performing alone was surrealist but also conveyed a sense of absence and loneliness. The removal of a character halfway through can be even more effective in conveying this loneliness, as they are physically removed from the other person. Personally, I felt that this indicated a narrative of grief or mourning of a loved one.

Finally, Pamela and I paired up to create a short piece of physical theatre. Having to perform this to the beat of the music tested our rhythm and also required our full concentration to work co-operatively. Both of these skills are essential for physical theatre and group work in a general sense. Teaching Pamela my choreography was helpful, as Pamela was able to extend on my ideas and visa versa; we worked collaboratively and bounced off one another's ideas. By incorporating the 'dance bar' within our performance, we felt more spatially aware; we were free to move around more. Pamela and I swapped places, alternating sides of the bar but keeping constant proxemics between us to maintain symmetry. We incorporated eye contact at specific points, (for example, when tying our capes), to portray a relationship between us. We chose an upbeat 'slapstick' soundtrack to incorporate with this eye contact, as we wanted to show a friendship and also create humour. Music can be greatly influential on a performance, as Pamela and I naturally performed in a more slapstick style, (by exaggerating our physicality and facial expressions), once the music was incorporated. The strain on time meant that we had to work quickly and efficiently, which is a useful skill to apply to any rehearsal in the future.