Last lesson we got onto blocking Piggy's death. I was curious as to how Steph was planning on showing it as it is quite difficult in the performance space we have.
Steph had spoken to me beforehand about using video projection for Piggy's death. I didn't think that this would be very effective as I feel it would take away from the emotional aspect of the scene.
In blocking we had the two different tribe's downstage fighting while I am being led by James (Roger) to the rostra at upstage left. At the climax of the scene between me and James the others onstage freeze. As I am about to be pushed the others at downstage center will collapse before a black out in which I disappear.
I think that this was quite an interesting idea but am unsure of how effective it will be for an audience and if it will just look like that is all we could do in the space we are given.
This scene isn't too bad at the moment but I look forward to the actual rehearsals to build up the tension needed for the climax.
- Ebony.
Monday, 21 March 2011
Tuesday, 15 March 2011
11/03/2011
Today Cast Order (mine) started blocking Act Three.
This was a very productive lesson for me. I prefer doing the original blocking because it means that I am clear on exactly what I need to be doing at that time.
My biggest lesson on the play today was the development of the relationship between Piggy and Jack. I enjoy playing opposite Billy as he portrays the part very well. However, he was a bit timid when it came to physical contact with me as it was quite rough at times. I think that as time goes on he will get more comfortable with this part of his character.
I could tell how deep Jack's hate is towards Piggy and how that would effect Piggy's actions around him.
I enjoyed today's session and hope that Brad took note on the blocking to be able to benefit from it as I have.
- Ebony.
This was a very productive lesson for me. I prefer doing the original blocking because it means that I am clear on exactly what I need to be doing at that time.
My biggest lesson on the play today was the development of the relationship between Piggy and Jack. I enjoy playing opposite Billy as he portrays the part very well. However, he was a bit timid when it came to physical contact with me as it was quite rough at times. I think that as time goes on he will get more comfortable with this part of his character.
I could tell how deep Jack's hate is towards Piggy and how that would effect Piggy's actions around him.
I enjoyed today's session and hope that Brad took note on the blocking to be able to benefit from it as I have.
- Ebony.
10/03/2011
For this lesson we focused on finishing blocking Act One, running through it and starting on blocking Act Two.
In the start of the lesson Cast Chaos (Brad's cast) started the rehearsal. They went through the Act One blocking and it went moderately well. Brad didn't follow some of the blocking but it is slightly confusing when only one cast does the original blocking.
I think this will get easier after both casts have been through all of the scenes and understand what we are meant to be doing in each one.
Unfortunately, we didn't have time to start work on Act Three today so will have to start that tomorrow.
I have learnt about half of the lines for Act One. I think the most difficult part for me is the fact that there are so many people in the scene so the lines are quite widely spread apart. This means that I have difficulty remembering my cues.
- Ebony.
In the start of the lesson Cast Chaos (Brad's cast) started the rehearsal. They went through the Act One blocking and it went moderately well. Brad didn't follow some of the blocking but it is slightly confusing when only one cast does the original blocking.
I think this will get easier after both casts have been through all of the scenes and understand what we are meant to be doing in each one.
Unfortunately, we didn't have time to start work on Act Three today so will have to start that tomorrow.
I have learnt about half of the lines for Act One. I think the most difficult part for me is the fact that there are so many people in the scene so the lines are quite widely spread apart. This means that I have difficulty remembering my cues.
- Ebony.
Thursday, 10 March 2011
09/03/2011
Today we carried on blocking Act One.
I was able to do the part of Piggy and got to experience how difficult it could be to change his dialogue from a child to a young adult.
The best part of today's lesson was seeing how easy it was to get into the character of Piggy and realising how he would react to different things in life. Also, I found it very easy to perform opposite Josh as he comitted very well to his character.
- Ebony.
I was able to do the part of Piggy and got to experience how difficult it could be to change his dialogue from a child to a young adult.
The best part of today's lesson was seeing how easy it was to get into the character of Piggy and realising how he would react to different things in life. Also, I found it very easy to perform opposite Josh as he comitted very well to his character.
- Ebony.
Tuesday, 8 March 2011
Costume Idea
These could be used for Piggy as he wears glasses and when we watched the movie version his glasses got rather ruined. I would not mind my glasses being roughed up for the piece.
- Ebony.
08/03/2011 - Part Two
Another essentail part of today was the discussion of production responsibilities.
Steph told us the list of possible jobs that we will each need to perform.
These included:
- Stage Manager
- Props
- Costume
- Set
- etc.
She asked us to tell her our two preferances and she will try to fit us into our choices. I chose costume and props.
- Ebony.
Steph told us the list of possible jobs that we will each need to perform.
These included:
- Stage Manager
- Props
- Costume
- Set
- etc.
She asked us to tell her our two preferances and she will try to fit us into our choices. I chose costume and props.
- Ebony.
Air Horn
As the conch is an essential part of the play we have decided to change it to an air horn found in the garbage.
The reason for picking this item is because it is not associated in any way to the beach. It is more linked to an urban environment which is more like the setting of our production.
- Ebony.
08/03/2011
We started blocking out the script today.
Steph told us that in the beginning of the production we will start off in the entrance to the theatre in our characters. We will be exploring the room as though we haven't seen it before and enter into the theatre with the audience, again wondering where we are and trying to explore the different areas of the room.
After some time the people in Jack's tribe in the beginning will start walking around together until they are in their full group. One group will go outside (or stay outside from the beginning) and the others will sit together at the side of the stage. The rest of us will slowly start to sit in our own space.
When performing as Piggy there will just be me and one of the Ralphs left standing on stage.
I like this method of entrance as it will create the atmosphere right from the beginning for the audience.
For today, Brad took the part of Piggy and I took notes on the blocking for when I perform it myself. It was quite interesting watching someone else playing the same part as me because it let me see what works and what doesn't work for the character. It also showed me that quite a few of the lines in the script make him seem very young due to the usual nature of the play. This can be avoided by either changing some of the dialogue or using a different way of delivering the lines.
I found today's lesson extremely useful for the development of my character and learnt how to change the age of my character to suit the interpretation we are performing.
- Ebony.
Steph told us that in the beginning of the production we will start off in the entrance to the theatre in our characters. We will be exploring the room as though we haven't seen it before and enter into the theatre with the audience, again wondering where we are and trying to explore the different areas of the room.
After some time the people in Jack's tribe in the beginning will start walking around together until they are in their full group. One group will go outside (or stay outside from the beginning) and the others will sit together at the side of the stage. The rest of us will slowly start to sit in our own space.
When performing as Piggy there will just be me and one of the Ralphs left standing on stage.
I like this method of entrance as it will create the atmosphere right from the beginning for the audience.
For today, Brad took the part of Piggy and I took notes on the blocking for when I perform it myself. It was quite interesting watching someone else playing the same part as me because it let me see what works and what doesn't work for the character. It also showed me that quite a few of the lines in the script make him seem very young due to the usual nature of the play. This can be avoided by either changing some of the dialogue or using a different way of delivering the lines.
I found today's lesson extremely useful for the development of my character and learnt how to change the age of my character to suit the interpretation we are performing.
- Ebony.
Sunday, 6 March 2011
06/03/2011
On Thursday we watched the 1963 movie adaptation of "Lord of the Flies" by Peter Brook.
The movie helped me greatly with developing my character of Piggy. It gave me a more in-depth knowledge of his history and personality.
A few things that I learnt from watching the movie:
- Piggy was actually a nickname given to him by his old classmates. He was obviously hugely bullied for his weight. (Self Concious)
- He was very close to his Auntie. He depended greatly on her and looked up to her as an idol. Without her being there with him he is using Ralph as his leader/role model. (Co-Dependant)
- There was a big difference in the impression I got from our script to the film's interpretation. When I first read through the script I read Piggy's lines as though he was trying to stand up for himself and was a much tougher character than in the movie. However, now that I have learnt more about his past it makes more sense for him to be more vulnerable.
After watching the movie we split into our doubles, discussed how we are going to play the character and went through the script for Act One together. Brad and I discovered that we had quite different plans of how to portray the character. Brad was going to follow more to the character of the movie by making him very vulnerable and helpless. My portrayal is going to be that, in the first seen when he is alone with Ralph I am going to make act hime out as being quite tough and show that he is trying to defend himself, put his history of bullying behind him. Then, when the other boys enter and learn his name he returns back to his old ways and depends fully on Ralph for support and protection.
I like the fact that mine and Brad's performances and going to be rather different. I look forward to seeing how both work with the different cast members.
- Ebony.
The movie helped me greatly with developing my character of Piggy. It gave me a more in-depth knowledge of his history and personality.
A few things that I learnt from watching the movie:
- Piggy was actually a nickname given to him by his old classmates. He was obviously hugely bullied for his weight. (Self Concious)
- He was very close to his Auntie. He depended greatly on her and looked up to her as an idol. Without her being there with him he is using Ralph as his leader/role model. (Co-Dependant)
- There was a big difference in the impression I got from our script to the film's interpretation. When I first read through the script I read Piggy's lines as though he was trying to stand up for himself and was a much tougher character than in the movie. However, now that I have learnt more about his past it makes more sense for him to be more vulnerable.
After watching the movie we split into our doubles, discussed how we are going to play the character and went through the script for Act One together. Brad and I discovered that we had quite different plans of how to portray the character. Brad was going to follow more to the character of the movie by making him very vulnerable and helpless. My portrayal is going to be that, in the first seen when he is alone with Ralph I am going to make act hime out as being quite tough and show that he is trying to defend himself, put his history of bullying behind him. Then, when the other boys enter and learn his name he returns back to his old ways and depends fully on Ralph for support and protection.
I like the fact that mine and Brad's performances and going to be rather different. I look forward to seeing how both work with the different cast members.
- Ebony.
Wednesday, 2 March 2011
Loose Costume Idea (02/03/2011 - 23:21)
My only worry with these costume ideas is with the balaclava and how it will limit our facial expressions and may muffle our projection.
02/03/2011 - 21:29
Today we completed our first read through of the play.
Me and Brad are playing the role of Piggy, a rather large person with glasses that is quite a loyal friend to Ralph. My first impressions of Piggy were quite mixed.
On the one hand, I was quite apprehensive about the idea of playing a boy initially because this can quite often make the play comical when it isn't intended. However, Stephanie then informed us that the characters aren't meant to be having any specific genders in her adaptation so should not be an obstacle for us.
On the other hand, when I read through Piggy's part in the play it seems like quite a difficult role for me, especially his style of speaking will be something I'd need to get used to.. I was quite excited about this as I feel like I'm going to have to really commit to this character to be able to portray the character correctly and welcome the challenge.
We started to discuss how we are going to be doing the show and some of the ideas that Steph had come up with for costumes, set etc.
Costumes
Balaclavas? Hoodies? Knives?
Nothing has been set in stone about the costumes yet but we are going to be gaining more and more clothing as the play continues to show the passing of time. I think that these are quite good ideas for the costumes as they will aid towards hiding the gender of each actor. Plus, it will make it clear to the audience that we are not basing it around the traditional concept of it taking place on a deserted island.
Set
Very minimal. Soil and wood chippings on the floor. Using the balcony in The Globe (Hay) as the "cliff" and building up a "cliff" using blocks in the Folly Arts Theatre.
The idea behind having a very minimal set is that we don't want it to be obvious to the audience where they are. Steph's idea was to make it a non-descript place so that the audience spend the play thinking "Where are they?" "How did they get here?" Leaving the audience in a similar position to the characters.
I think that it's a nice idea to make it an unrecognisable location but am a bit worried when it comes to the split scenes and how it will work showing the different locations of the tribes. Steph mentioned the fact that we can use lighting for this purpose but with the amount of movements from one location to the other I am slightly curious as to how this will look.
Audience
One idea for the audience seating in the Folly Arts Theatre was to, instead of using the bleachers styled seating, use normal chairs and have them placed in one corner to see as much of the space as possible. The same sort of layout for The Globe.
I look forward to learning more about my character and developing on it.
I also am curious to see how the dialogue cope with the new context it is in.
- Ebony.
Me and Brad are playing the role of Piggy, a rather large person with glasses that is quite a loyal friend to Ralph. My first impressions of Piggy were quite mixed.
On the one hand, I was quite apprehensive about the idea of playing a boy initially because this can quite often make the play comical when it isn't intended. However, Stephanie then informed us that the characters aren't meant to be having any specific genders in her adaptation so should not be an obstacle for us.
On the other hand, when I read through Piggy's part in the play it seems like quite a difficult role for me, especially his style of speaking will be something I'd need to get used to.. I was quite excited about this as I feel like I'm going to have to really commit to this character to be able to portray the character correctly and welcome the challenge.
We started to discuss how we are going to be doing the show and some of the ideas that Steph had come up with for costumes, set etc.
Costumes
Balaclavas? Hoodies? Knives?
Nothing has been set in stone about the costumes yet but we are going to be gaining more and more clothing as the play continues to show the passing of time. I think that these are quite good ideas for the costumes as they will aid towards hiding the gender of each actor. Plus, it will make it clear to the audience that we are not basing it around the traditional concept of it taking place on a deserted island.
Set
Very minimal. Soil and wood chippings on the floor. Using the balcony in The Globe (Hay) as the "cliff" and building up a "cliff" using blocks in the Folly Arts Theatre.
The idea behind having a very minimal set is that we don't want it to be obvious to the audience where they are. Steph's idea was to make it a non-descript place so that the audience spend the play thinking "Where are they?" "How did they get here?" Leaving the audience in a similar position to the characters.
I think that it's a nice idea to make it an unrecognisable location but am a bit worried when it comes to the split scenes and how it will work showing the different locations of the tribes. Steph mentioned the fact that we can use lighting for this purpose but with the amount of movements from one location to the other I am slightly curious as to how this will look.
Audience
One idea for the audience seating in the Folly Arts Theatre was to, instead of using the bleachers styled seating, use normal chairs and have them placed in one corner to see as much of the space as possible. The same sort of layout for The Globe.
I look forward to learning more about my character and developing on it.
I also am curious to see how the dialogue cope with the new context it is in.
- Ebony.
Pictures of two different interpretations of the story.
Both feature the characters as obvious children and male. Our college's interpretation will feature non-gender characters around the ages of sixteen of seventeen.
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