Script Work

At the start of the Easter holidays I decided that I would attempt to learn 4-5 pages of lines per day. This started off well but after about the third or fourth day I started to forget the other lines that I had learnt. Because of this I decided to try a different tactic. I started learning my lines in bulk by trying to learn about a third of an act in one day. Then I would spend the rest of the day and the next two days just going over the lines I had learnt. This was working quite well, especially when I was assisted by my sister. My biggest problem is remembering my cues.

I am still learning my lines but at a much steadier pace than I had hoped. At this moment in time I am unsure as to whether I will be 100% confident with my lines by the time I return to college.

- Ebony.

Props Development

Over the past week I have visited a variety of different stores to compare different prices and sizes for chains and/or ropes.

These are the best I have found so far:

Homebase

White Plastic Chain 6mm           £3.49 (p/m)

Steel Chain 6mm                         £12.49 (2m)

Sisal Rope 10mm                        £1.49 (p/m)

Sisal Rope 8mm                          £10.29 (15m)

B&Q

Long Link Steel Chain 5mm       £4.37 (p/m)

Sisal Rope 10mm                        £1.08 (p/m)

Sisal Rope 8mm                          £0.88 (p/m)

I also found a couple of different hooks that could be used to attach the pig's head onto:

Homebase

Quick Release Hook                   £6.99

Spring Hook                                 £10.19

In my opinion, if we were to use a chain, the 6mm sizes would be preferable in order to show up on stage.

However, although I think a chain would have a better affect in the production we shall probably have to use a rope as they are much cheaper.

I shall continue looking for cheaper offers while I wait to find out from the Set production team how high the rostra is going to be.

- Ebony x

Character Development - 17/04/2011

One of the main things I have learnt throughout the rehearsal and research process for Lord of the Flies is that there is so much more to Piggy than meets the eye.

When I first read through the script I wasn't completely taken by Piggy. He seemed like quite a one dimensional character. I thought he seemed: co-dependant, spineless, unintelligent, yet opinionated. You could tell that he was civilised and wanted to do things diplomatically but was not confident or perhaps smart enough to get his point across.

After we were shown the movie interpretation in class it opened my eyes slightly to his character. You learn in the movie that he was bullied in school - this being the reason for the name 'Piggy' - which is probably the reason for his self loathing and shyness around others. Also, they clearly show his strong relationship with his Auntie. She was the person he turned to in times of trouble or hurt, but she isn't with him on the island. This fully explains why he would be so co-dependant on Ralph. He is filling the role that Piggy's aunt left behind. I think through the watching of this interpretation I gained a bit more respect for this character. There obviously are completely valid reasons for his insecurities, he's had a hard life.

In class we did an exercise similar to hot seating but for the whole group to do at once. (Answering the questions to empty air) This helped me hugely in developing my character even more.


Questions:

• What is your family life like? What's your relationship like with your parents?

"I.. Uh.. My mum and dad actually passed away when I was six. (long pause)  But I live with my auntie now and she's really amazing. She takes real good care of me. She's really smart too! She was always there for me when I used to get bullied in school. She even rang in to speak to the principal about it once. She's never had any kids of her own so I guess she treats me as though I'm hers. I wouldn't be me without her."

• What is your first memory?

"I don't really want to talk about it. (fidgets) I don't know what to say.. My first memory was.. Mum and Dad's funeral. I don't remember much. I remember feeling lost. I remember being annoyed because I didn't know what I'd lost. My auntie was leading me around my old house introducing me to people I didn't know. Or at least, I didn't know I knew. I had strangers trying to comfort me because of two people I never knew. How can you mourn for people you don't know? But I did.. I cried. I cried because I was surrounded by distant relatives, family friends and my parent's co-workers that knew my mum and dad better than I did. They would sit around a box of tissues talking about memories of my parents.. Memories that I would never, ever have. Ever. (cries)"

• Who is the person you trust the most in life?

"Oh that's easy.. Well.. Actually.. I'm not sure any more. If you'd have asked me before the.. Before everything, I would have said my auntie. She was my best friend, I could tell her anything, I knew that she was always there for me. That was, until now. Where is she now? When I need her the most. I don't know who I trust now, probably Ralph. He supports my ideas and doesn't pick on me like the others. But, he's not always there for me. He follows Jack when he thinks he's losing support from the others. I think he's just trying to fit in.. But I'm not sure. I don't know who to trust any more. (thinks)"


This exercise helped me so dramatically. Even though some of the details were made up or filled in and may or may not have been intended to come across in the story, it helped me understand Piggy. I hadn't even decided that his parents had died until this exercise. It just made sense. It made me feel so much more connected to Piggy on a more emotional level, so much so that I actually cried during the second answer. I think that this has helped me the most during this process. His character has developed so much more in my eyes and I now feel that I could portray him in a more realistic and relatable way.


I am very excited about this prospect and look forward to more character development.


- Ebony.

14 - Apr - 2011

Today we did Act One run-throughs with both casts without scripts.

Cast Order (Piggy)
It went moderately well. The majority of the actors knew their lines and it was quite smooth cosidering it was the first time off script. Josh did rather well with his lines as I know he was unsure when it came to learning lines. I thoroughly enjoyed acting alongside him. I noticed that Danae and Fraser also did very well with remembering cues and keeping the pace up.
I don't think I did too badly. My biggest issue was remembering cues for small lines such as: "Woss up." and "Can't see nothing now." I will have to revise my cues more closely over the Easter holidays.

Cast Chaos
On the other hand I do not believe that Chaos' run-through was to a suitable standard. It was slow, disjointed and had little to no energy. I think that a large part of this was due to Poppy not fully knowing her lines. This meant a lack of cues for others and endless pauses. I hope that this will be improved for after the holidays.

- Ebony.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Smoke Powder

Steph's idea was that during the confrontation between Ralph and Jack they can throw "smoke powder" at eachother. This is powder that when thrown turns into smoke/fog.

After searching for this product I was unable to find one that did not need to be lit on fire to produce the smoke.

However, I did find things called "smoke pens". These are traditionally used to test the air flow in a room by spraying smoke out of a pen-like object. This may not work too well because the pen would be visible to the audience.

I plan on continuing my research into this product but have considered replacing it with flour that will appear to be smoke when thrown.

- Ebony.

Rubbish/Bin Bags

This is to be used as part of the set. In Steph's interpretation she imagined the stage to be littered with endless rubbish as well as earth and wood chippings. These will slowly get ripped apart and scattered around the stage as the acts progress. This is similar to the decomposition of the Pig's head in the original story, showng the boys' urgent and growing need for food and survival. Similar to the actions of a scavenger animal such as a fox.

I have began collecting dry, clean rubbish and shall ask for the help of everyone else when it gets a bit closer to the time. At the moment I have about two carrier bags full. The bin bags I will get for free from home for the production.

- Ebony.

Blood Capsules

Steph suggested the use of blood capsules in the pig's head. This way blood will drip from the head, we can take blood from the head to apply to our faces and it will splatter when hit by Jack. However, blood capsules are usually used for small things such as theatre mouth injuries by biting down on a capsule. This may mean that it doesn't have the desired affect unless the blood is taken out of the capsules beforehand and put into the head. This could take an extended amount of time and effort.

I think that it could possibly be easier to use packets of fake blood to put into the head. I shall mention this to Steph in class.

Capsules x100 - £7.50
(Steph may have some we could use for free)

- Ebony.

Chain/Rope

This is to be attached above the highest rostra to the lighting rig for hanging the pig's head on.

This would preferably be chain as it fits in with the urban look a bit better.

I have looked at different DIY store websites as well as eBay and Amazon but got rather confused about the measurements for chains. I plan to visit Homebase sometime in the coming week to look at the different types, sizes and prices of chains.

Plus, the Set Production Team have not yet found out the height of the rostra so I won't be able to know the exact needed measurement until they have worked that out. However, I did find out the estimate heights of the two Jack's as they will need to punck the pig's head so it will need to be at a comfortable height for them.

Poppy - 5'7"
Billy - 5'10"/5'11"

- Ebony.

Bike Chain

This is to be used to tie Eric and Sam together in Act Three.

In order to save money we are going to borrow Steve's bike chain for this. This will be available for us to use from next week onwards for rehearsals.

This will work better for our interpretation than the use of rope as it is a much more urban object.

- Ebony.

Glasses (x8)

I had been told that I would be able to purchase clear lensed ray bans for as little as £1 each from Primark.

I have recieved the petty cash for this from Ben in college. (£10)

However, after going into Hereford to find this style of glasses I found none in the shop. I ventured into a few other shops where I found the cheapest pair for £5 in New Look. I have not purchased them using the college money as I hope to find them in Primark another time. I hope to look again in a few days.

If this does not work I will look to buy them using the internet.

I am confused as to where in the play the glasses are broken so will have to find out from Steph. Otherwise it is unnecessary to purchase more than one pair.

-Ebony

Narrow Beam Torch (x2)

There are two narrow beam torches available in the college prop cupboard.

These are free for us to use and will save us money from the budget.

These will be used by the Police officers played by both cast's Piggy and Simon.

- Ebony.

Horn

<---------- £3.85 on Amazon.


James suspects that he will be able to purchase one for a cheaper amount within a weeks time.

If this is not successful I will purchase this horn from Amazon instead.



- Ebony.

05 - Apr - 2011

Production Meeting
We sorted out what props we need to organise and collect.

- Horn
- Narrow neamed torch
- Glasses
- Bike Chain
- Chain/Rope
- Blood capsules
- Rubbish
- Bin bags
- Smoke Powder

 - Ebony.