Overview of Stanislavski techniques learnt so far

• Communion
• Magic if
• Tempo rhythm
• Super objective and objectives
• Real and dramatic I
• Before and after time
• Internal and external monitor
• Using your own emotions and experiences
• Using the given circumstances
• Centre of gravity/ balance
• Unnecessary and necessary tension
• Exercising your imagination
• Focusing your hearing
• Character observation

Exploring the character of Gregor

Today we looked at the exploring the character of Gregor and normal family life for the Samsa family.

• Our improvisation involved two scenes, one showing the family when Gregor and great were younger and one showing a normal day when they are older. We chose to do the first scene in a very naturalistic way however the second one more stylised. We used a door frame as a prop which helped with the transition between the two scenes as it was only Mrs Samsa who stayed in the acting space the whole time. To begin with, we all started at the back, turned away from the audience in a line with Greta in between Mr and Mrs Samsa. The parents then both turned round and sat down normally whilst Greta and Gregor started having a fight with Gregor pulling on my hair. This is because we were both meant to be very young and getting ready for school in the morning. We were both moaning whilst fighting and, as Greta, i tried to adapt a childish wimpy voice but also one of a 'tell-tale.' After Gregor had finally stopped tugging my hair, I looked at him and that was the cue for all of us to say 'Gregoooor.' They then told Gregor to stop it and I said in a very wimpy voice 'Mummy, he keeps annoying me!' Mrs Samsa then said 'Don't worry, I'll do you hair for you,' and I said 'He messed it all up for school Mummy.' Gregor was also being bossed around my Mr Samsa at this point and then Mrs Samsa said 'Don't forget to put Greta's lunch in her bag. You forgot yesterday,' and I added, 'Yes I was hungry!' I'm not sure if I went a little over the top with the wimpy voice although I do believe it fitted the character. Next, Gregor wen to polish the shoes and brought our breakfasts. Whilst we were eating in a slightly robotic fashion, Gregor could be seen looking very sad on his own. I also said 'Thank you Mummy' when Mrs Samsa finished combing my hair and Mr Samsa also said many other comments to Gregor like 'Pick me up a newspaper after school.' Mrs Samsa then went 'hadn't you better be getting to school dear,' and I said, 'Yes mummy - Bye,' and then skipped out of the room. Mr Samsa then said he was going of to work and dragged gregor out to go to school so then all three of us were throught the door. This was when we went into the next scene. Me and Mr Samsa then walked back into the room in a robotic fashion that fitted our character. As Greta, I tried to walk quite girly and was fidling with my hair. Mr Samsa then sat on the chair and me and Mrs Samsa stood either side. Mr Samsa then talked about Gregor and his cigars whilst me and Mrs Samsa leaned in a repeated 'beer, money, cigars, clothes.' gregor then entered and stood at the front and Mr Samsa got up and we all said the words together but in a more questioning way. gregor then said 'Oh I;m so tired and fell back onto me and Mrs Samsa and Yvonne pushed the chair underneath him. We then all leaned on him to show physically the pressure we put on him mentally and Mr Samsa asked 'So, make much money today Gregor?' She said this whilst controlling his head and whilst we were looking at him closely and he said 'Not really I wasn't feeling well' and then we all said 'Oh, how disappointing,' to end the scene. We chose to do two contrasting scenes like this to demonstrate how Gregor has always been an outcast and unappreciated by his family. Our scenes also simply showed how Gregor was not the favourite child for no reason so that is why so much pressure is put on him when he is older.
• Another effective scene was done by another group although it differed from our greatly. They did a scene involving a family trip to the beach and the many stops they make on the way. They showed Gregor carrying all the bags, being forced to obey his father and go and get things including ice cream and shoes. The thing i liked the most about the scene was when Mr Samsa was reading the newspaper and was talking about an article to so with slave children. This was very ironic as they were going on about treating your own like slaves showing they don't realise how badly they treat Gregor. Similar to ours, I think they demonstrated how Gregor is always an outcast as they showed all the other family members close and together like a family should be.

Staging a scene from Metamorphosis

Today we staged a scene from Metamorphosis using Artodian techniques.

• First, we looked at what we needed to think about when staging a scene in Artodian style. These included how to make the audience on the edge of their seats, where the audience are sitting, using sound scapes and showing things through physical actions rather than verbal.
• We then got into two groups to stage a scene near the start of Metamorphosis where Gregor realises he is ill. Despite this, we had to do it mainly off text however could add in a few lines if we wanted. Our scene started by creating Gregor's heart. We all leaned on top of each other with three of us on chairs. We then created a beating sound, an effective soundscape, and moved up and down as if Gregor was breathing in and out. Me and Lloyd kept this going and gradually made it faster and faster whilst the others starting shouting the things the family need Gregor's money to buy. Eventually, we all came out and shot our hands up, fell backwards and then all said 'Gregor' in the funny voice. The three of us then remained on the chairs and said 'Money' 'Cigars' 'Beer' 'Clothes' whilst moving our bodies forward and to the side. The others went 'tick tock' whilst Gregor tried to say hello to everyone. i thought this was effectively staged as it demonstrated how Gregor is an outcast but also how is under pressure from time. Gregor then got so angry and said 'I feel really ill,' we all dropped to the floor and then us on the chairs created the heartbeat again. Everyone else then got up around Gregor and starting to lean over him again. We did this too and all laughed histerically. Once we were all around Gregor, we created the bug shape using legs sticking u at the back and arms for antennae and his arms. We tried to make it symmetrical and, once we were all in position we dropped our heads. Gregor then screamed and we all joined in, lifted our heads, then dropped once more. We also had the audience stand around us so they could look at the scene from which ever view they wanted. I believe our scene used a few effective sound scapes and lots of actions with little words to demonstrate Gregor's feelings. Despite this, I think our scene really displayed the emotions of anger but also helplessness so communicated the right message to the audience although we didn't use the script.
• The other group's scene was also extremely effective. In contrast to ours, we were actually sitting in the scene as they had the chairs in a u shape on which they sat as well as us. They started by creating a train in the middle to show Chief Clerk calling Gregor. They then repeated actions and used lines from the script to speak to Gregor. They also got into the bug at the end using people standing on chairs. The most effective thing about their piece was the use of sounds as they really created the atmosphere of urgency and panic for Gregor. This really kept us on the edge of our seats and, due also to our effective seating, showed a great used of Artodian techniques.

Arto workshop

Today we looked at more Arto exercises by using sounds. This is because Arto believed in influencing the audience's feelings when acting and have them 'on the edge of their seats' and not to just have them sitting there thinking 'this is good acting.' Therefore, Arto believed actions are more powerful than words. This was tested as, when people asked what was the most memorable moment of 'Rent,' they could remember the lines at first but only the movements of when Charlotte died.

• First, we turned the lights off and created sounds for different emotions, going round the circle. These included boredom, anger, despair and loneliness. We could use words as well as sounds which made it very interesting and I think it was effective how not many people chose the same sound.
• We then did a similar activity but creating settings. These included the countryside, a mental asylum, a torture chamber and a street at night. I found it easier to do this as with a whole setting there are endless noises you can make that fit. For instance, for the countryside, you can use cow noises, wind noises, people noises etc.
• After that, we got into two groups to add a visual impact to the sounds. Our group had to create the countryside and the torture chamber so we all started with our backs facing away from the audience and in staggered positions. We all turned round one by one and made noises like 'trator (in farmer accent),' 'baaaaa' and the noise of a tractor which was the main drive of the scene as this noise changed into a chain saw to create the torture chamber. We then all turned round slowly again after turning back in the same order. We then made screaming noises, bone cracking noises and Jess shouted 'HELP.' We then all screamed together to end the scene. To make our scene more visual, I was on all fours as a sheep, Mauve and Jess moved around whilst making their noises and, when it changed to the torture chamber, I was Kneeling and, as Ryan made a clapping noise, I gradually cocked my head more and more to the side. Although we did have quite a few visual aspects in our scene, I believe more movement was needed.
• I found the other group's scene was very unusual but extremely effective. They each sat on a chair in a circle and we, as the audience, stood in the middle. They first created the mental asylum so all sang 'baa baa black sheep' to begin with in very interesting voices with disturbing looks on their faces. They all then started to do crazy things like self inflicting, bashing the floor and screaming. Probably the most effective thing of the whole piece I thought was the transition line 'visiting time's over.' They all then completely transformed into very busy people and acting asking for directions or calling a taxi, for example. This involved a lot more movement which created an effective contrast and was also a lot more busy and noisy. They gradually went back to the chairs and all quickly said their lines one more time to end the scene. They also went through us a lot and asked us so we could really understand their emotions, showing Arto's techniques.
• Finally, we looked at smoking. First, Rachel acted making smoking look realistic to show the general actions. We then had to add the 'Arto' touch to it and show the feelings inside her body. We did this by showing her brain on one side and lungs on the other. As the brain, they all were extremely happy and hyper and jumped around a lot when she inhaled the smoke. On the other hand, as the lungs, we breathed in and out with her and gradually coughed more, were in pain and screamed a little. We also raised one hand, pleading for her to stop. I found this a very effective exercise as it showed just how much actions can be louder than words.

Stanislavski Exercises 3

On Friday, we tested our imaginations to develop ourselves as actors. The exercises and things we discussed were:

• We discussed how when you are younger and at primary school you always use your imagination in the playground. For instance, you might play mummy's and daddy's, might use your coat as a cape or pretend you are pop stars. As you get older, we use our imaginations less and less so may find it harder when it comes to improvisations and acting in general as we are not used to being so creative. Some of the only times we think we may use our imaginations nowadays are when we write stories for English or are on our own and thinking to ourselves.
• The first exercise we did was creating a story as a group. We passed the 'story ball' across the circle and everyone had to come up with a few ideas to add to the story whilst being prompted with questions. I found this way a lot more creative as, when I have previously done this exercise, we only had to come up with one or two words each so it was more a test of grammar rather than creativity. Our story was very random as included a donkey with one human hand, a giant rabbit with a carrot onside him, a seal with breath that the donkey is a allergic to and a princess living inside the rabbit. The idea of this exercise was to let our imaginations run wild and, by using the same creativity when acting, we can make characters believable but also very amusing.
• The other exercise we did was that we all had to go through a museum type place and pass the 'baton' onto each person so that they became the leader. We had to thing of crazy ideas for what we were seeing as a group so this exercise tested being creative in a team. This makes it harder as, although at times you can create your own little ideas, you still have to make them appropriate for the 'exhibition' you are seeing. I found this exercise quite hard as everyone else had come up with such good ideas that I found it hard for mine to live up to it. We were also put on the spot which was quite difficult as I found you didn't have time to think what to do beforehand as you were too busy imagining the 'exhibition' you were 'viewing.'

Lesson

• We discussed our ideas from last lesson about 'East is East' including audience reaction, set, lighting, sound and the acting.
• A significant argument created was to do with the bridge that appears in act two. This was due to if it really had an impact on the audience and is it was really necessary to create a scene outside the house.
• Overall, most people liked the play however some people disliked the fight scenes, the characters of Meena and Sagit and the story in general.

To see how 'A View from the bridge' is set in the format of a Greek Tragedy

There are many features of Greek tragedies that compare to the play 'A View from the Bridge.'
Firstly, a Greek tragedy called 'The Clouds' has many similarities to 'A View from the Bridge.' This is because it is to do with legal skills and how people have to climb the social and financial ladder. Although there are many differences between these two plays, as the story line is a lot more traditional and Greek in 'The Clouds,' they are similar as the theme of family is also presented in this play.
The overall structure of Greek tragedies could also link to 'A View from the Bridge.' The structure of a Greek tragedy is:
Prologue
Parodos
First Episode
First Stasimon
Second Episode
Second Stasimon
Third Episode
Third Stasimon
Fourth Episode
Fourth Stasimon
Exodos
In many ways, the structure of 'A View from the Bridge' could also be shown like this. To begin with, this because the narration by Alfieri they are significant lengths of dialogue that summarise the start and end of the play.Especially at the start of the play, a lot of information is given to the audience. Due to this, it significantly links to the ideas of a prologue and parados of Greek tragedies, making it different from just ordinary narration. Although these are normally sung in Greek tragedies, I still think they can be linked together.
Another example is the idea of episodes throughout the tragedies. In 'A View from the Bridge' lots of scenes are linked together with just a few characters so they are never really all of the characters on stage at once. This is what an episode is in a Greek tragedy, suggesting another similarity. Despite this, I don't think there are really stasimons in 'A View from the Bridge' as these summarise the dialogue in the reflecting scene as there is no clear summary of the scenes. On the other hand, the narration by Alfieri really summarises one or more scenes so this could be interpreted as a stasimon.
Finally, the ending is also very similar to those of Greek tragedies as it is very tragic but also very shocking. The fact that that the narration similar to an exodus at the end of the play is quite thought-provoking also shows how the endings are similar as Greek tragedies focused on conveying a message through sudden sadness however. It also shows how 'A View from the Bridge' could not be classed as a Greek comedy as they had an exodus of celebration and often ended with joyous marriage. Therefore, although 'A View from the Bridge' does end with marriage, it links significantly to a Greek tragedy as it is not necessarily joyous.
In conclusion, there are many features of 'A View from the Bridge' that could be interpreted as having similarities with the style and structure of Greek tragedies including the start, the beginning, scene format and the overall message.