Gregor's Monolgue

Today we performed one of Gregor's monologues. We did it for vocal awareness so used no lights and were stood behind a board.

• Although having to start my monologue again due to nerves, I picked it up quite well. I hadn't had much practice without the script so I was nervous without using it. I think my throaty voice was effective although I think I rushed it slightly so I didn't use all the pauses and intonations i had originally planned. This is definitely something I need to improve on and I think it will come with practice.
• I found it really useful to listen to other people's monologues as they were all so different but still all very effective. One thing I liked was the way Andy concentrated on the 's' sounds which really sounded inhuman and stood out as no-one else made this particular sound. It was also effective because you could still hear what he was saying but it still had inhuman qualities.
• I also liked the way people added heavy breathing in between the words. This emphasised Gregor's panic and desperation as you could really feel the emotions, especially in Sally's monologue as her voice was shaking but you could tell it was purposely. It links in with Stanislavski techniques as I felt through this I was really gripped and empathetic and felt on the edge of my seat.
• We also discussed what dream language is and it is where there are flashbacks that don't fit in with the rest of the scene. Hence, they are not naturalistic.

Twelfth Night

This is all my thoughts on Twelfth Night that I may use for another piece of coursework.

Director's Interpretations

• The director had modernised the play and changed it from the 1600s to 1800s
• The director had chosen to keep it to the original Shakespearean tongue and stay close to the script however adding a few modern lines in here and there
• He had also chosen to make a few scenes more comical using the set, for instance the music playing scene and the scene in the box tree.
• Overall, the casting was good apart from the character of Olivia was a little too old as she overpowered Sebastian too much
• The director had also chose not to have too many costume changes although the costumes were quite elaborate however I think the necessary changes were made so there was the right amount, for instance when Olivia was getting married she couldn't have stayed in her sombre black dress.
• The director also chose to end the play on a melancholy feel which surprised me as two marriages had just taken place and the twins reunited. It showed it wasn't a good ending for everyone and also one of the messages of the play, how things can be misinterpreted.
• He/She also chose to add the songs which I'm not sure were necessary as the man wasn't the best singer and almost weakened his performance as he was a strong actor.

Set

• They had used lights to change the setting and to show the location, for instance the light you could see through the door suggested a hot, desert outside and the spotlights created a cold atmosphere in the prison
• Not an excessive amount of set but just enough including the box tree, the bench, chairs, the cone shaped trees, the rug and cushions and hanging oriental lanterns.
• The cone shaped trees weren't entirely used effectively however helped to fill the stage to create an atmosphere in order to aid the actors.
• The wave at the back was effective as helped create the ship wreck but also a more enclosed atmosphere showing they were inside. Lights also helped to create the sea at the start which was efective as even though the set didn't drastically changed you knew what had happened.
• The box tree was highly effective as created levels and allowed the audience to see two different points of view
• The cushions and lanterns helped us to feel we were in an almost middle eastern country so helped with the believability of the story
• The screen at the back helped to show what time of day it is which also helped with the mood, for instance in the prison, which also helped to progress the story

Comedy

• The scene with the box tree was extremely comical especially when they stood up and sat down and also pocked their head through. The fact that Malvolio didn't know was also comical so it was funny due to his unawareness.
• The scene where Olivia was getting angry but still wanted to be loving to her husband was also extremely comical due to the extreme switch in her tone of voice. Despite this, I did think this went on for a little too long as the humour began to wear off.
• The character of the fool was also very funny for instance when he was stuck in the tree and also his naivety throughout the play. His costume was also quite comical due to the checkered trousers.
• When Malvolio was trying to woo Olivia was also highly amusing due to the yellow stockings and because he was an older man almost trying to do a strip tease. The fact that he was unaware of Olivia's horrified reaction and carried on showing off in front of her was also comical.
• The other scene that was also very clever but also comical as it was unexpected was the music making scene as the many ways in which they managed to make music were amusing as it was almost like they had become children again although they were creating a very good sound.
• The character that passed wind to the audience was also very humorous.

Characters

• Malvolio- grew stronger throughout the play as I found I couldn't hear all his lines at the start, created a believable contrast in the character, from serious to mad, which was effective in the story and also comical.
• Olivia- found her voice very annoying and didn't really suit the character as sounded almost like a wicked witch, a little shouty also at times, stayed in character and very believable shock when the realisations in the play took place
• Viola- could have used more facial expressions, found her dancing a little strange, was a believable male due to posture and voice, good interactions with the audience in monologues allowed us to empathise with her
• Sebastian- Good naivety throughout but I think he should have been more surprised when he had found his long lost sister at the end. I also felt some of his lines were lost.
• Maria- A bubbly character who had a good audience awareness and you really felt she was a caring but slightly cranky character so very realistic portrayal.
• Orsino- I really felt he was infatuated by his love for Olivia but he also came across as quite duke-like. He also came across as areal gentleman which allowed the audience to almost fall in love with him how Viola does. His voice really suited the character too as was quite formal but more relaxed when with Viola/Cesario
• Feste- Very comical for example when putting the lights up and down at the start of act two. He really listened to the other characters and also came across as a little camp which suited his character.

Past cwork and planning the trial

• Today we started off by looking at some examples of coursework to help us. I found this really useful although quite shocking as some of the grades for really amazing work was quite low. Some of the key things I picked up on were:
• Diagrams are really effective and save words, for instance an annotated set diagram
• Annotating a small part of a script can be effective and you only need to do a small part but make lot of points
• Tables that separate quote, meaning, practical interpretation, effect on the audience etc save words and also make sure you cover these areas
• Having a quote at the top and then bullet points underneath can also look very presentable

• We then begin planning a trial of all the characters in 'A View from the Bridge.' We were put into pairs and one person was the character and the other the defense lawyer. There is also a judge who controls the proceeding of the trials.
• I was the defense lawyer for Marco however we found it initially difficult to come up for many points as he is of course responsible for Eddie's death. Some points we came up with were:
• In the initial statement, I am going to say how Marco came over here with the loving intentions of providing for his family and also being with other distant relatives. I may try and sympathise with the audience by asking them to put themselves in Marco's position to imagine his family struggling and he not being able to provide for them. Also, how he has come to a new country and came to see his family but they are very uncompromising.
• Eddie got the knife out first so Marco killed him in self defense
• Eddie brought it on himself as he mislead Marco as he offered for them to live there
• Eddie went against his word as he betrayed his family so he brought it on himself
• Katherine could have also just tried to annoy her dad through Rodolfo so she was responsible for getting them on bad terms so it was not either of the immigrants' fault

Vocal Awareness of Gregor

Today we prepared for the vocal awareness section of our coursework by looking at one of Gregor's monologues.

• Firstly, we thought about what Gregor is trying to convey through his monologue. We found many feelings underlying including frustration, desperation, resignation and defeat. This helps to understand how to say it as for instance if you are frustrated rather than angry you may say something slightly differently.
• Then we looked at dynamics, tone, pitch, pause and articulation to see how we could perform the monologue vocally rather than physically. We looked at each line and really specifically decided how to say it to make it as detailed as possible.
• We then looked at how to distort the lines to make them sound inhuman to emphasise Gregor is a bug. This was hard as the audience still needs to be able to clear understand what Gregor is saying. We went round the circle and all said a line to experiment with different ways of sounding like a bug. We also tried going from a really high sound to a really low sound to create him as the bug quite freaky to add that inhuman effect. We also looked at the sounds in between the speech to show how he is a bug so that the words can still be clear.
• Finally, we looked at how the family would hear his speech and what Greta would hear when he tries to talk to her. We all lay in the dark and turned ourselves into bugs and said our noises together for each. This helped as we can link this in to conveying this to the audience through what Gregor sounds like to him.