The Tempest Performance:
We performed the Tempest in a work shop environment on Thursday. I actually think it went pretty well considering we had only a couple of weeks to prepare the piece. In essence, the performance today was more of a 'performance workshop' as we didn't have an audience as such, we would just sit in the 'crowd' when we weren't on stage. We made a big contextual change- we based our piece in the future. This meant that although we were using the original Shakespearean dialogue, we would perform the play very differently to the way it would be performed in The Globe in the 16th and 17th century.
One of the clear adaptations we made to make the future contextualisation more realistic was through costume. Members of the Royal family and the 'business men' in smart suits. I chose to wear a blazer with skinny jeans and converse trainers to make it appear more fashionable which I believe complimented the futuristic feel that we were aiming for. The Ariel's both wore a blue-green dress to show her 'pure' appearance which worked well with her contrasting devious nature. The choice of costume that we chose is a world away from what would've been worn in the original Shakespearean production.
For me personally, I think I did a good job in the performance even though I needed a couple of cues for my lines. I believe that I really got into character- particularly in the first scene when my character, Ferdinand, first meets Miranda. I purposely slowed down on the line 'O you wonder' to show that my character was indeed in awe of Miranda's beauty. By putting emphasis on the word 'wonder' it really did make it seem as though Ferdinand was witnessing something incredible and truly does admire her. This links in with his line in a later scene saying 'Indeed top of admiration.'
Monday 14 October 2013
Tuesday 8 October 2013
Acting with Adrian: 1st and 3rd October
This week's lessons have been focused on understanding our characters and blocking our contextualised version of 'The Tempest'.
The most important part of Tuesday's lesson was the 'Spaces of the Mind' activity that we did. This activity was created by Cicely Berry. We used this activity with our 'The Tempest' Scripts. We chose a cluster of 6 or 7 lines and broke them up into smaller chunks- the only thing dividing these chunks were '/'s that signified a change in thought. We then read the extracts out and every time we got to a '/', we had to walk and change position. Splitting the lines up this way was very helpful as it made each chunk easier to understand. I have struggled to understand the Shakespearean language and this activity really does help as you are focusing on and analysing each section without realising. This also meant that I had a much better vision of what my character, Ferdinand, is all about. The activity also made me realise how important movement is when acting. During the activity I wasn't really thinking about how I was moving but afterwards I realised that by using my movement, I could of really made the pauses in the speech a lot more meaningful and it could've improved my characterisation.
We spent the rest of the lessons blocking 'The Tempest'. We also made some more significant cuts to ensure we meet the deadline of performing the play next week. We actually made a lot of progress this week though- particularly in Thursday's lesson as we blocked the entire play. This helped me grasp the play as a whole- even more so then the read through of the play we did a couple of weeks ago as we were up and acting the roles we had been casted as. We were also put into small groups to focus on individual scenes. Me (Ferdinand), Amber (Prospero) and Lindzie (Miranda) were focusing on Act 3 Scene 1; the scene where Ferdinand and Miranda confess their love for each other. Focusing on scenes in small groups is incredibly helpful as it allows us to analyse each line which is something we wouldn't be able to do if we were blocking the whole play with the whole cast as it would take too long.
The most important part of Tuesday's lesson was the 'Spaces of the Mind' activity that we did. This activity was created by Cicely Berry. We used this activity with our 'The Tempest' Scripts. We chose a cluster of 6 or 7 lines and broke them up into smaller chunks- the only thing dividing these chunks were '/'s that signified a change in thought. We then read the extracts out and every time we got to a '/', we had to walk and change position. Splitting the lines up this way was very helpful as it made each chunk easier to understand. I have struggled to understand the Shakespearean language and this activity really does help as you are focusing on and analysing each section without realising. This also meant that I had a much better vision of what my character, Ferdinand, is all about. The activity also made me realise how important movement is when acting. During the activity I wasn't really thinking about how I was moving but afterwards I realised that by using my movement, I could of really made the pauses in the speech a lot more meaningful and it could've improved my characterisation.
We spent the rest of the lessons blocking 'The Tempest'. We also made some more significant cuts to ensure we meet the deadline of performing the play next week. We actually made a lot of progress this week though- particularly in Thursday's lesson as we blocked the entire play. This helped me grasp the play as a whole- even more so then the read through of the play we did a couple of weeks ago as we were up and acting the roles we had been casted as. We were also put into small groups to focus on individual scenes. Me (Ferdinand), Amber (Prospero) and Lindzie (Miranda) were focusing on Act 3 Scene 1; the scene where Ferdinand and Miranda confess their love for each other. Focusing on scenes in small groups is incredibly helpful as it allows us to analyse each line which is something we wouldn't be able to do if we were blocking the whole play with the whole cast as it would take too long.
Tuesday 1 October 2013
Acting with Adrian: 24th and 26th September
Tuesday's lesson involved getting familiar with the story of 'The Tempest'. We went through the play (our shortened version) and acted out all the scenes so we know the story.
We decided to contextualise our 'The Tempest' to be set in the future. After watching 'Macbeth On The Estate' we decided that Shakespeare dialogue doesn't suit a modern contextualisation but we believe that it would be able to 'work' within a future context. This is because in the future, we may have resorted back to old fashioned language- therefore it will definitely suit the piece. The fact that we have decided to set it in the future means that we can be very experimental with our characterisation but we must discuss this is a group as all of our characters need to look as seem as though they are from the same context.
We have decided to keep costume very modern and stylish in our version of 'The Tempest'. For example, my character, Prince Ferdinand of Naples, is going to be wearing smart trousers, shirt and converses to show how fashion has developed in the future.
I have been casted as Ferdinand- the Prince of Naples. His main storyline in 'The Tempest' is that he falls in love with Miranda(Prospero's Daughter).
Ferdinand's Storyline in The Tempest:
Ferdinand is aboard the ship that is wrecked due to the storm created by the old Duke, Prospero. Ferdinand is separated from his father and friends by Ariel (on purpose). Ariel leads Ferdinand to Prospero, and his daughter Miranda, whom he falls in love with instantly. Ferdinand, who doesn't believe that Miranda is even human, tells her that she is the most amazing woman he has ever met.
Ferdinand forgets about his grief and mourning for his father and friends, who he believes have all died in the storm. Instead he focuses on his love (and lust) for Miranda, even telling her that he will make her the "Queen of Naples". According to plan, Prospero uses Ferdinand's infatuation with Miranda to re-gain his power and he reclaim his position as Duke of Milan. Accusing Ferdinand of being a spy, Prospero keeps Ferdinand in isolation, and forces him to move logs. Further into the play, Prospero allows Ferdinand and Miranda to interact, and seeing their desire for one another he allows them to get married. Ferdinand displays noble intentions, assuring Prospero that he will not untie Miranda's "virgin knot" (have sex with her) until they are married. Ferdinand is eventually re-united with his father and friends who didn't actually die in the shipwreck. They all return to Naples and Prospero regains his Dukedom.
Thursday's lesson involved us blocking and finishing the first scene and we were then split into smaller groups to focus on other scenes; however, in those smaller groups we didn't have enough time to get to my entrance in our particular scene so I didn't do any acting. The opening scene- when everyone is on board the ship that crashes is still, in my opinion very Elizabethan with our voice and movement. We have used a Skrillex song to open the scene which definitely makes the scene feel more futuristic as the genre of Dubstep very contemporary electronic, computerised sounds.
The first scene involves a lot of movement to try and make it as obvious as possible that we are on a ship in the middle of a horrendous storm. I don't have any lines in the opening scene so my body movement and language will be vital in portraying my Character. I think overall, the scene needs more energy- particularly the movements at the beginning of the scene when there is just music playing and no dialogue. I think the reason this scene seems a bit dead is because we are meant to be reacting to the the ship swaying from side to side because we were all unsure as to which side to sway.
Write up what happened during Tuesday's and Thursday's lessons. Focus on the role(s) you have chosen / ended up with and why these roles are suitable for you. Then talk about how we have contextualised our Tempest into a future setting and how that affects your characterisation (voice, posture, movement) and costume choices.
We decided to contextualise our 'The Tempest' to be set in the future. After watching 'Macbeth On The Estate' we decided that Shakespeare dialogue doesn't suit a modern contextualisation but we believe that it would be able to 'work' within a future context. This is because in the future, we may have resorted back to old fashioned language- therefore it will definitely suit the piece. The fact that we have decided to set it in the future means that we can be very experimental with our characterisation but we must discuss this is a group as all of our characters need to look as seem as though they are from the same context.
We have decided to keep costume very modern and stylish in our version of 'The Tempest'. For example, my character, Prince Ferdinand of Naples, is going to be wearing smart trousers, shirt and converses to show how fashion has developed in the future.
I have been casted as Ferdinand- the Prince of Naples. His main storyline in 'The Tempest' is that he falls in love with Miranda(Prospero's Daughter).
Ferdinand's Storyline in The Tempest:
Ferdinand is aboard the ship that is wrecked due to the storm created by the old Duke, Prospero. Ferdinand is separated from his father and friends by Ariel (on purpose). Ariel leads Ferdinand to Prospero, and his daughter Miranda, whom he falls in love with instantly. Ferdinand, who doesn't believe that Miranda is even human, tells her that she is the most amazing woman he has ever met.
Ferdinand forgets about his grief and mourning for his father and friends, who he believes have all died in the storm. Instead he focuses on his love (and lust) for Miranda, even telling her that he will make her the "Queen of Naples". According to plan, Prospero uses Ferdinand's infatuation with Miranda to re-gain his power and he reclaim his position as Duke of Milan. Accusing Ferdinand of being a spy, Prospero keeps Ferdinand in isolation, and forces him to move logs. Further into the play, Prospero allows Ferdinand and Miranda to interact, and seeing their desire for one another he allows them to get married. Ferdinand displays noble intentions, assuring Prospero that he will not untie Miranda's "virgin knot" (have sex with her) until they are married. Ferdinand is eventually re-united with his father and friends who didn't actually die in the shipwreck. They all return to Naples and Prospero regains his Dukedom.
Thursday's lesson involved us blocking and finishing the first scene and we were then split into smaller groups to focus on other scenes; however, in those smaller groups we didn't have enough time to get to my entrance in our particular scene so I didn't do any acting. The opening scene- when everyone is on board the ship that crashes is still, in my opinion very Elizabethan with our voice and movement. We have used a Skrillex song to open the scene which definitely makes the scene feel more futuristic as the genre of Dubstep very contemporary electronic, computerised sounds.
The first scene involves a lot of movement to try and make it as obvious as possible that we are on a ship in the middle of a horrendous storm. I don't have any lines in the opening scene so my body movement and language will be vital in portraying my Character. I think overall, the scene needs more energy- particularly the movements at the beginning of the scene when there is just music playing and no dialogue. I think the reason this scene seems a bit dead is because we are meant to be reacting to the the ship swaying from side to side because we were all unsure as to which side to sway.
Write up what happened during Tuesday's and Thursday's lessons. Focus on the role(s) you have chosen / ended up with and why these roles are suitable for you. Then talk about how we have contextualised our Tempest into a future setting and how that affects your characterisation (voice, posture, movement) and costume choices.
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