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.
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