FMP: Final Major Project 2015 "Beginners Guide to Murdering Your Husband"
As a group we had think about what play that we could chose for our Final Major Project. Over the Easter holidays as a group we had to look at the range of different plays that we could use and turn into our final performance.
The plays that we found...
- Gossip
- Beginners Guide to Murdering Your Husband
- Bad Air
- Looks Get in the Way
- Don't Look Back
- Trinity Rises
At the same time we did have the idea of devising a completely new play but as a group we finally decided that we would like to do a existing play that we could block and organised ourselves, plus that I would mainly want to devise a play didn't bring any stimulus to the table.
From this list of play we did find a range of different genre and style of text that we could perform from Drama to comedy and horror. From the different genres we wanted one that could challenge us as actors and performer that we hadn't performed before.
During the process of selecting script that we could use we kept on thinking back to the genre and style of the script that we used for our end of year show last year which was "How to disappear and never be found again" as we did not want a script that was so deep and dark as before, but as we were remind by Laura that we should not thinking about last year performance and that we should keep in our minds that this year was a different performance.
From the script that I have listed the common genre that came up was comedy which was the force pushing us to do a comical performance which would be a challenge for us as we haven't really done a comical script in the two years of the course.
To help us make up our minds we had a over look of the list that different scripts that we had on the table we decided as a group that the script "Looks Get in the way" was not script that we would want to use as we felt that it did not feel right for us to used and the fact that it would not challenge us enough, Also the script "Don't Look Back" could not be a script that we could use done to the cost of getting the script, as it was too expensive for us to buy just for a read through.
The final list of scripts that we could use for a FMP...
- Gossip
- Beginners Guide to Murdering Your Husband
- Bad Air
- Trinity Rises
On Thursday 23rd April as a group we sat down and read through the four scripts and we had to make a final decision on which script that we were going to use but also we needed to think about the performance as a whole. The terms such as how long would it take us to to stage the script plus how practical is the script. how would it be set, is the props and setting that we would need easily sourceable and can we get a performance ready within a small time scale ready for the performance date of Monday 8th June.
During the read through of all the scripts we also started to set the characters that we could play if we were to use the script.
Gossip
When we looked at this script we found a problem straight away that the script is only available in the screen format and that individual characters have not been provided.this would mean that someone would have to sit down and watch the whole film to then be able to split up the dialect into the individual characters. As a group we felt that this process would take to long and would not be effective for our time limit that we have.
The script "Gossip" is about (according to https://www.pioneerdrama.com/SearchDetail.asp?pc=GOSSIP last accessed on 10th June 2015) A group of high school theatre students befriends a charming yet sinister new student named Gossip. She immediately makes herself right at home as she secretly manipulates and twists the truth to get what she wants. But as her new friends begin to figure it all out, they turn on her as ruthlessly as she went after them, leading to a surprisingly twisted ending.
As a group we ruled this script out of the script that we could used, down to the facts that it would be to time consuming to get the characters line sorted out and making sure that it work visually in the time span that we have.
Beginners Guide to Murdering Your Husband
The next script that we read through was "Beginner's Guide to Murdering Your Husband" from the title it was a script that we like the sound of and wanted to know more about about the script.
When we looked at the characters of the play we found that two of the characters had more of a main part then the other three but all five characters have a major role to play within the performance. At the same time the problem of last year rose up again with who was going to play the main male role Jim me or Tom. In my own opinion I did not mind which male role that I would play, so it was decided as a group that I would play the main male role of Jim down to the amount of lines that needed to be learnt.
Also another problem of last year came up with who would play the main female role of Maddy, Between the girls Amelia was put forward to play the main female role as she did not have many line last year but as they were reminded by Laura that we need to forget about last year as this year is a new year and performance.
The List of characters and who would play them...
- Maddy would be portrayed by Amelia
- Jim would be portrayed by Ryan (myself)
- Julie would be portrayed by Natalia
- Kerry would be portrayed by Kat
- John would be portrayed by Tom
When reading through the script we found the script to be funny and would be a challenge for ourselves to make this comedy work but as well when reading through the first act we found it very interesting and a script that we would really like to do. In my own thoughts during the read through I was thinking about ideas of how we could stage script.
As a group we put this script forward to be one of the final scripts that we could chose from to be our FMP performance based on the facts that we like the script and the plot and that we found it funny and enjoyable and that we think that our audience would also enjoy the performance.
Bad Air
The next script that we looked at was "Bad Air" this script was also set in the comedy genre and again was a script that we like from the name but also reading the synopses.
When sorting out the characters for this script the same thoughts came about who would play the main characters again, but as a group we selected the same sort of method for who would play the main characters as we did for "Beginners Guide to Murdering Your Husband" but with one change for who would play the main female character.
The List of characters and who would play them...
- Ricky would be portrayed by Ryan (Myself)
- Cami would be portrayed by Natalia
- Stacey Toredovich would be portrayed by Kat
- Eva would be portrayed by Amelia
- Corbichovich would be portrayed by Tom
When reading through the script we found it to be very funny and interesting but there would be parts that would need to be change if we were to use this script for a our final performance such as the setting as the script is set in America with American characters and as not all of us are able to do an American Accent we would have to change the setting to England.
The script "Bad Air" is about (according to http://www.freedrama.net/badairtx.html last accessed on 10th June 2015) Amarillo Airport UR and UL so the ticket agents don’t have their backs to the audience. Customers approach the terminals from UC and stand in the middle of the horseshoe. The DC part of the horseshoe counter is very low for bags to be placed on. This is their Amarillo office offering flights to Eastern Europe . The airline workers are dressed in extremely nice shirts complete with badges, insignia and even a few medals.They have shiny black hats. But they are wearing an assortment of bright coloured shorts and sandals. It is late evening and not many people are around. CAMI is full figured and knows how use it. CAMI watches invisible customers go by.
As a group we had a 50/50 split over this script as we like the idea of script and that comical side of it as well but a few issues did come up when reading the script which were that the script was sexist towards women and as a group it did not feel right. Also the the changes that we would have to do to make the script work well was another issues that we thought about and as well getting the setting for the script in a visual way, Another item that I noticed is that the characters are very stereotypical characters for the jobs that they do, as it clear when the playwright who wrote this script made the characters very stereotypical airport workers mainly for the the female characters. But in the end we did put this script forward that could be used for a our final performance.
Trinity Rises
The final script that we look at was "Trinity Rises", This script has an unknown element within the group with us have an open mind to this script as none of us knew what to expect from this script. From first look we notices that this script was a rather short one compared to the other three scripts which had more content but the idea to add more into this script via devising was an options that we could explore if we wanted to.
When choosing who would play the characters at this point of the day during the read though we decided as a group that I would take less of a role in this script and give someone else a chance to play a main character, at the same time we took a very open mind with who would play the main characters as there was not much text so the lines would not be a problem.
The list of characters and who would play them...
- Joe would be portrayed by Tom
- Trinity's Dad would be portrayed by Ryan (Myself)
- Trinity would be portrayed by Kat
- Grace would be portrayed by Natalia
- Randy would be portrayed by Amelia
When reading through the script we notice that the script mainly focuses on the main characters of Joe (Trinity's Grandfather) and Trinity as most of the scenes involve them and revolve around them, The other characters who each did have line were more support characters, which some of us in the group didn't like that idea and suggested that we would need to add more via devising to give the support characters more meat.
The script "Trinity Rises" is about (according to http://freedramaplays.blogspot.co.uk/2013_07_01_archive.html last accessed on 10th June 2015) Trinity Rises is the story of a young woman who is dealing with the damage to her family and her community as a result of uranium mining. Is her grandfather a Cold War Patriot or a victim of a government who put the creation of nuclear weapons before the health of the miners? She wants to protest against the government but will anyone join her? Does the promise of economic prosperity outweigh the health risks?
After the reading though the script as a group again we had a 50/50 split with liking the script as some of the group like the script and some of the others like the script but were not so keen on the script.
The main reason why some of the group were not so keen on the script was the fact that it some connection to last year performance, which as a group we needed to forget about but the genre was a some aspects a Drama with a message writing in the text. As a final decision on this script as group we decided that we were not going to use this script for a final performance.
Which Script did we choose to use?
As a group we narrowed a list of four potential script down to two scripts within the comedy genre which we were pushing to doing for a our final performance. As a group we looks at both scripts as a whole and the one script that we like more then the other was "Beginner's Guide to Murdering Your Husband" The reason why we like this script more was down the comical element that the script has but as the same time the idea's that we were coming up with a group on how we could stage this script.
The main reason why we did not choose the other script "Bad Air" was for the element of the sexist view on woman that the script had which as a group did not feel right to perform and the fact that we did not think that our audience would not enjoy that element of the script.
Beginners Guide to Murdering Your Husband
By David Muncaster
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| AV from the Introduction |
Here is the list of Production roles and who would be in charge of them...
- Kat would be in charge of Makeup and Costume.
- Natalia would be in charge of Sound Effects and Music.
- Tom would be in charge of Props and Scenery (This Role was mainly taken over by the rest of the group but Kat took more of leadership role over this production role)
- Amelia would be in charge of Projections (AV)
- Ryan (Myself) would in charge of the Lighting Design.
Once these roles had been decide we would help each other out mainly in props and scenery if in a scene that we were in and there was something we needed, it would be our responsibility to get the item if we could or someone could.
Rehearsal 1
Today lesson was our first rehearsal of 15 to block and stage our final performance ready for Monday 8th June. The first thing that we was sit down and read the script as a whole as Tom was not in when we selected the script so it give him a chance to catch up and as well to have an understanding of what the script is about.
At the same time Amelia and Natalia looked at parts where some of the text belonging to Maddy could be handed over to Julie to break up the text for Amelia but as well to give Natalia's character more of a role as we notice during the read through of the script that Julie is more of Maddy loyal worker and we want to show this to audience. Throughout the script Maddy and Julie introduce a sum up the scene which both Amelia and Natalia express well and which would make the audience laugh.
In the first rehearsal we were able block and stage the introduction to the performance, where we all had different ideas of how it could be stage. The idea that I came up and that was use was that Julie should start in the audience as she would be filming Maddy during for introduction.
The idea behind having Julie in the audience was to break the 4th wall and to include the audience more as the performance is supposed to be an audience watching a recording. As at point when Julie is doing her legal information she is directing it at the audience, also there is point when Julie needs to put the camera down so the idea would be that she was give the camera to member of the audience.
For the rest of the block of the introduction the that we had was that Maddy should be sat behind a desk addressing the audience and the camera like she was a news reader. The desk that she would be sat behind would be set at an angle so all the audience would be able to see her. Natalia came up with the idea that after she has walked down from the audience that Julie would give Maddy the camera so she could do her legal information.
After the introduction was block as started to look at the first method which is "The D.I.Y Accident" . This is scene which just involved Maddy and Jim in their house redecorating one of the room ready for Maddy's Mother visit. For this scene I had a few idea of how my character Jim would be, in the stage directions the script states that Jim is watching Maddy paint when he is sitting under a white sheet doing nothing, so the idea that I had was that Jim would be reading a newspaper and at time using the newspaper to hide his face away from Maddy.(In this scene it would my responsibility to get the props of the newspaper and the white sheet.)
The idea of the Jim falling off a ladder had to be explore with me trying different ways that I could fall of the ladder in a safe way, as I was able to practise with a ladder that the theatre had. To make the fall work after Maddy had hit Jim on the back of the head with a frying pan we had to look at how Maddy could hit Jim as when I am on the ladder it did look right for Amelia to jump up to hit me so Amelia suggested the idea that there could be another chair in the scene about from the couch that Jim was sitting on before. Maddy would move the chair to stand on it to hit Jim with the frying pan.
At the end of the first rehearsal we were pleased that we were able to block the first big scene and that that we had a range of different idea's for each scene.
At the same time Amelia and Natalia looked at parts where some of the text belonging to Maddy could be handed over to Julie to break up the text for Amelia but as well to give Natalia's character more of a role as we notice during the read through of the script that Julie is more of Maddy loyal worker and we want to show this to audience. Throughout the script Maddy and Julie introduce a sum up the scene which both Amelia and Natalia express well and which would make the audience laugh.
In the first rehearsal we were able block and stage the introduction to the performance, where we all had different ideas of how it could be stage. The idea that I came up and that was use was that Julie should start in the audience as she would be filming Maddy during for introduction.
The idea behind having Julie in the audience was to break the 4th wall and to include the audience more as the performance is supposed to be an audience watching a recording. As at point when Julie is doing her legal information she is directing it at the audience, also there is point when Julie needs to put the camera down so the idea would be that she was give the camera to member of the audience.
For the rest of the block of the introduction the that we had was that Maddy should be sat behind a desk addressing the audience and the camera like she was a news reader. The desk that she would be sat behind would be set at an angle so all the audience would be able to see her. Natalia came up with the idea that after she has walked down from the audience that Julie would give Maddy the camera so she could do her legal information.
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| AV from Act 1 Scene 1 |
After the introduction was block as started to look at the first method which is "The D.I.Y Accident" . This is scene which just involved Maddy and Jim in their house redecorating one of the room ready for Maddy's Mother visit. For this scene I had a few idea of how my character Jim would be, in the stage directions the script states that Jim is watching Maddy paint when he is sitting under a white sheet doing nothing, so the idea that I had was that Jim would be reading a newspaper and at time using the newspaper to hide his face away from Maddy.(In this scene it would my responsibility to get the props of the newspaper and the white sheet.)
The idea of the Jim falling off a ladder had to be explore with me trying different ways that I could fall of the ladder in a safe way, as I was able to practise with a ladder that the theatre had. To make the fall work after Maddy had hit Jim on the back of the head with a frying pan we had to look at how Maddy could hit Jim as when I am on the ladder it did look right for Amelia to jump up to hit me so Amelia suggested the idea that there could be another chair in the scene about from the couch that Jim was sitting on before. Maddy would move the chair to stand on it to hit Jim with the frying pan.
At the end of the first rehearsal we were pleased that we were able to block the first big scene and that that we had a range of different idea's for each scene.
Rehearsal 2
For today's rehearsal we quickly went over the scene that we blocked from the first rehearsal as I had brought the props of the newspaper and the white sheet to practise with and get an idea of what I have to work with.
Once we had done a quick run through of the first scene we start to look at the next scene which takes place in the police station and this scene involves Maddy and the Police officer for this scene we look at how the scenery could work best. The idea that a table would be on stage to split the characters, the table was at an angle so the audience would be able to see both characters.
Natalia had the idea for her character that the police office when asking hard question was walk around the stage more to show the isolation of Maddy and to put more pressure on to Maddy to think of an good answer to the question.
Once the second scene was block we move on to the third scene which takes place in a restaurant and has main focus on Maddy and Jim but the scene also has the characters of Kerry and Julie playing the waitress. For the staging of the scene I had the idea of have a table in the centre stage with Maddy and Jim sitting at the opposite end to each other but facing each other, the idea would be that we would have our chair at angle so we would be facing the audience and at points turn to look at the audience.
With the table stage in centre stage it left the back of the stage clear so Kerry (Kat) and Julie (Natalia) would be to walk behind the table when they are walking from the side of the stage being the waitress, by having them behind the table when they speak they would be faced on to the audience and Maddy (Amelia) and Jim (Ryan (Myself) ) would turn to face them which the audience focus for look at them and either Kerry or Julie reaction to Jim.
Later on in the scene there is a part after Jim has been poisoned by Maddy that he does the "All Blacks Haka" to get this part right I did some research on YouTube on the moment the goes with the chant which I would use when Jim does it, but when blocking it originally I had the idea that I would get up from the chair and face the audience to do the chant then snap out of doing the chant to sit back down when Julie says "accuse me" but later I though the blocking for this did not work so I change it where is would start the chant sitting down on the chair then towards the end of the chant stood up but still facing Maddy, with Julie still snapping me out of doing the chant for me to sit down.
At the end of this rehearsal we felt as a group that we were making progress that we had blocked most of the first act and that we need to block two more scene for the first act and then three for the second act. At this point of the rehearsals we did a comparison to last year end of year show and how behind we were in the blocking to compared to this year which shows us working better together to get the performance ready in little time.
Once we had done a quick run through of the first scene we start to look at the next scene which takes place in the police station and this scene involves Maddy and the Police officer for this scene we look at how the scenery could work best. The idea that a table would be on stage to split the characters, the table was at an angle so the audience would be able to see both characters.
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| The staging for Act 1 Scene 2 |
Natalia had the idea for her character that the police office when asking hard question was walk around the stage more to show the isolation of Maddy and to put more pressure on to Maddy to think of an good answer to the question.
Once the second scene was block we move on to the third scene which takes place in a restaurant and has main focus on Maddy and Jim but the scene also has the characters of Kerry and Julie playing the waitress. For the staging of the scene I had the idea of have a table in the centre stage with Maddy and Jim sitting at the opposite end to each other but facing each other, the idea would be that we would have our chair at angle so we would be facing the audience and at points turn to look at the audience.
With the table stage in centre stage it left the back of the stage clear so Kerry (Kat) and Julie (Natalia) would be to walk behind the table when they are walking from the side of the stage being the waitress, by having them behind the table when they speak they would be faced on to the audience and Maddy (Amelia) and Jim (Ryan (Myself) ) would turn to face them which the audience focus for look at them and either Kerry or Julie reaction to Jim.
Later on in the scene there is a part after Jim has been poisoned by Maddy that he does the "All Blacks Haka" to get this part right I did some research on YouTube on the moment the goes with the chant which I would use when Jim does it, but when blocking it originally I had the idea that I would get up from the chair and face the audience to do the chant then snap out of doing the chant to sit back down when Julie says "accuse me" but later I though the blocking for this did not work so I change it where is would start the chant sitting down on the chair then towards the end of the chant stood up but still facing Maddy, with Julie still snapping me out of doing the chant for me to sit down.
At the end of this rehearsal we felt as a group that we were making progress that we had blocked most of the first act and that we need to block two more scene for the first act and then three for the second act. At this point of the rehearsals we did a comparison to last year end of year show and how behind we were in the blocking to compared to this year which shows us working better together to get the performance ready in little time.
Rehearsal 3
For the start of today's lesson we at the script and looked at what we have blocked so far. We set the target of looking for something that we might have missed when we were blocking scene 1 to 3, at the same time we were looking for things that we could add to make the blocking stronger or to make it more funny.
Once we had looked at the thing we could add, as a group we thought it would be best to a do a full run through of what we have done so far before blocking anything else. We felt that this would be if we keep going over and over what we have done to so we do not forget the blocking so it would be implanted in our minds.
After we had done the run though we moved on to start blocking the next scene which is setting in Maddy and Jim house and involves Maddy and John the doctor who Maddy has call to write a death certificate. Jim is mention by Maddy but is not on stage.
For this scene we thought about the different ways that the scene could be stage the idea that Kat and Amelia came up with was the keep the table from the scene but to have the table sheet remove so Maddy can lie on the table. The idea of the scene is the that Maddy is overpowering John by coming on to him to get proof of mis-practise with a patient so she blackmail him later with the picture that have been taken.
The idea that Amelia had for Maddy was to be all over John and controlling of John by making him touch Maddy boobs when she say about "palpitations" and when she faints she deliberately pause to tip a glass of brandy on John's trousers to lay on him. Amelia also had the idea of how Maddy would keep in control of the situation where she would fight with John to put his trousers in the tumble drier which John refuses which end with Maddy legs in the air which to an audience members looks that Maddy is forcing John to have sex with her to get a picture.
After this scene we moved on to the final scene of the first act which is set on the top of cliff where Maddy tries to push Jim of the cliff but fails when she is interrupt by John and Julie, this is one of two scene where all the characters on are on stage interacting with each other.
For the staging of this I had the idea of when Jim enters he should walk from one corner of the stage to the other to look at the view and remain there till the end of scene. At the same time Maddy would be not far behind Jim as Jim is the first person on stage, at the point when Jim is looking at the view Maddy would address the audience and then take a run up to push Jim off the cliff. At that moment John and Julie would enter. Most of the scene it set within centre stage with Maddy, Julie and Kerry with Jim and John down stage left silent but interacting with each as the others talks to then the scene with all the characters centre stage.
For the end of the scene which has just Maddy and Julie on stage summing up the first act. There was a debate whether or not to have an interval or just to carry on with the performance without an interval. At a later point when we started to do a dress run we need to have an interval as the it would be impossible for Kerry (Kat) to do a costume change in a short period of time.
Once all of the first act had been blocked as a group we felt it would be best to go over the two scene that we just block to make sure that we knew all the blocking and staging for both scenes, before we did a full run of through of the first act.
For the start of today's lesson we at the script and looked at what we have blocked so far. We set the target of looking for something that we might have missed when we were blocking scene 1 to 3, at the same time we were looking for things that we could add to make the blocking stronger or to make it more funny.
Once we had looked at the thing we could add, as a group we thought it would be best to a do a full run through of what we have done so far before blocking anything else. We felt that this would be if we keep going over and over what we have done to so we do not forget the blocking so it would be implanted in our minds.
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| Part of the staging of Act 1 Scene 4 |
After we had done the run though we moved on to start blocking the next scene which is setting in Maddy and Jim house and involves Maddy and John the doctor who Maddy has call to write a death certificate. Jim is mention by Maddy but is not on stage.
For this scene we thought about the different ways that the scene could be stage the idea that Kat and Amelia came up with was the keep the table from the scene but to have the table sheet remove so Maddy can lie on the table. The idea of the scene is the that Maddy is overpowering John by coming on to him to get proof of mis-practise with a patient so she blackmail him later with the picture that have been taken.
The idea that Amelia had for Maddy was to be all over John and controlling of John by making him touch Maddy boobs when she say about "palpitations" and when she faints she deliberately pause to tip a glass of brandy on John's trousers to lay on him. Amelia also had the idea of how Maddy would keep in control of the situation where she would fight with John to put his trousers in the tumble drier which John refuses which end with Maddy legs in the air which to an audience members looks that Maddy is forcing John to have sex with her to get a picture.
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| AV from Act 1 Scene 5 |
After this scene we moved on to the final scene of the first act which is set on the top of cliff where Maddy tries to push Jim of the cliff but fails when she is interrupt by John and Julie, this is one of two scene where all the characters on are on stage interacting with each other.
For the staging of this I had the idea of when Jim enters he should walk from one corner of the stage to the other to look at the view and remain there till the end of scene. At the same time Maddy would be not far behind Jim as Jim is the first person on stage, at the point when Jim is looking at the view Maddy would address the audience and then take a run up to push Jim off the cliff. At that moment John and Julie would enter. Most of the scene it set within centre stage with Maddy, Julie and Kerry with Jim and John down stage left silent but interacting with each as the others talks to then the scene with all the characters centre stage.
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| Part of the stage for Act 1 Scene 5 |
For the end of the scene which has just Maddy and Julie on stage summing up the first act. There was a debate whether or not to have an interval or just to carry on with the performance without an interval. At a later point when we started to do a dress run we need to have an interval as the it would be impossible for Kerry (Kat) to do a costume change in a short period of time.
Once all of the first act had been blocked as a group we felt it would be best to go over the two scene that we just block to make sure that we knew all the blocking and staging for both scenes, before we did a full run of through of the first act.
Rehearsal 4
During today's lesson we went straight into start blocking and staging the second act of script as we felt as a group that we had done what we could for the first act in the way of blocking and stage it was just down to us to learn the lines before we could continue adding anything new to the first act.
For the all rehearsal we look at the blocking and stage for Act 2 Scene 1 which is set in a bar and mainly focuses on Jim and Kerry with Kerry being a stripper/assassin, at the start having John being the barman and at the end of the scene have Maddy enter to break things up and try to kill Jim.
The ideas that I had for this scene was to have at the start of the scene strong and confident when talking to John to then becoming uncomfortable when talking to Kerry to then to return back to confident after he has been told that Kerry is not a stripper, she is a terrible assassin.
The staging for this scene was to use a table in the same position in Act 1 Scene 3 and 4 with a single chair to left of the table where Jim would sit when he enters. Other staging is to have two chair down stage right where Jim and Kerry would talk after Kerry drags Jim to after them two have met, finally to have plant down stage left this would be where Maddy would hide when she walks in on Jim and Kerry conversation.
Throughout the scene when Jim is talking to Kerry is suppose to be seen by the audience as awkward for Jim, for my idea to work for my character I needed to show that I feeling awkward in my voice, movement and facial expressions. A key point to show to this is when Kerry is trying to come on to Jim when she says "product" the idea I had was me to fall to the floor and crawl backwards to the chair next to the table where Kerry would come on to Jim more until he pushes her off of him. Most of the scene between Jim and Kerry takes place at the two chairs place down stage right with odds moment at the start of the scene, at the part where Kerry comes on to Jim and at the part after Jim has re-entered from the restaurant. During the talk between Jim and Kerry there is element of laughter for the audience with what to two characters are saying to each other.
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| AV from Act 2 Scene 1 |
The other key point in the scene is when Maddy jumps out from behind the plant put to take the gun from Kerry who had run away to leave Jim to face Maddy after finding out what Maddy's plan was. At this point the staging is to have the Maddy and Jim to face the audience as Maddy gives Jim and suicide note. The idea that I had for reading the note was to take pause between the sentences to look at Maddy and to look at the audience as well, to then later on once Jim has talked about to the police to screw up the note and throw it into Maddy face.
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| Part of the stage of Act 2 Scene 1 |
To end the part with Jim and Maddy the stage direction state the Maddy enter with a leg of lamb and chases Jim with it to then hit him to kill him. The idea that I had for this part of the scene would be to have Maddy chasing after Jim around a table with Maddy at point swinging the leg of lamb at Jim for Jim to duck. We add a pause when Jim say "Maddy put the joint down" at this point the two characters would be at opposite ends of the table where Maddy make a joke about the word "Joint" as Maddy is about to hit Jim with the leg of lamb Jim dives under the table to hide. The scene ends with Jim thinking the Maddy has given up or has gone so he crawls out where Maddy is waiting and hit Jim where Jim fall to the floor dead.
Rehearsal 5
During today's lesson we were mainly going over what we have already blocked and helping each other with learning lines. As for all parts of the day everyone in the group was going off to do tutorials and we had to find a way around people being out of the class.
The first thing we were able to do was going over scene that did not have Tom in as he was the first person to have his tutorial. That took Act 1 Scene 4 out of the mix as that is the main scene that Tom is in and we could cut out the start of Act 2 Scene 1. After Tom I was next to have my tutorial at the time that I left we a group we had just finished running the police scene and the Amelia, Natalia and Kat could not have continued on to the next scene without me.
After I came back and Natalia went for her tutorials Me and Kat started to run Act 2 Scene and started to run the scene from the part where Jim first notices Kerry. once we had run the scene we thought it would be not to start creating new blocking for the last scenes of act 2 as the Amelia who was in most of them was off having her tutorial.
To Fill in the time to the end of the day Natalia and I helped each other over our lines where we would read the lines of the other characters.
The scene that I was learn was Act 1 Scene 3 which was the "Food Poisoning" scene. Natalia help me with this scene by one being very patient with me as when I am learning lines I like to read a few lines learn then go back to the beginning of the scene to check that I had got them in the right order. After we had gone through the line for Act 1 Scene 3 I helped Natalia with the lines for Act 1 Scene 2 which is the police scene, Natalia did not need much help with these line as she had know most of them already, she wanted help on the lines that she got stuck on.
Rehearsal 6
During today's lesson we carried on with the blocking of the second act which had about three scenes left to block two of the scene were just simple scene that did require much blocking.
Are aim for this rehearsal is to get the whole script blocked so we then would have more time go keep going over and over the performance so we can iron out any weakness
The First scene that we blocked for this rehearsal is Act 2 Scene 2 which is set on a bus, the scene focuses on Maddy and Kerry as this scene is an important one as Maddy in some sort of way is explain her plan to the audience by telling it to Julie. That staging of this scene is a simple one and for a reason. Amelia suggest for this scene that the scene needed to be simple and easy as the layout of this scene is to use the chair that are down stage right from the scene before. For the reason of the scene change from the scene before all that would needed to be taken off is the table, a chair and the plant and the rest of the performance could continue.
For the next scene Act 2 Scene 3 which is a again a simple scene with not much happening as there is no setting for the scene just Jim and Kerry talking to each other about Maddy. The idea that I had was that Jim and Kerry would enter on the same side of the stage with Jim leading to then turn back to talk to Kerry.
For the end scene as a group we followed the blocking that had been given in the stage directions but we did had a slight change to the movement of the characters to match what we were doing. The stage directs states that the characters dance to the rap which Maddy is doing but as a group we decide that the rap should be change to a poem and should also be done in a voice over so the mystery for the audience with who is who on stage as all the characters are in mask.
 |
| Part of the staging for Act 2 Scene 4 |
For the final paragraph with Jim I suggested that Jim should be down stage centre talking to the audience once he has taken his mask off, the script states that Jim and Kerry kiss but we change this to interlocking arms. For the part where Maddy comes on stage to surprise Jim who thinks that he killed her I suggested that Maddy should line "Hello Jim" as she walks on stage for the audience to see her when she place her head between the gap of Jim and Kerry to surprise them even more. To end the final paragraph I suggested that Jim so face the side on the audience with a shocked face and the gun in his right hand to later drop it as Maddy explains what her plan was to the audience to finish on Jim and Kerry on stage shock.
Rehearsal 7
During today's lesson as group we decide that it was time to go over the whole performance and look for part that could or need to be improve with our characterisation or the blocking. As we had got the stage that the whole performance was block and stage it just needed to make the performance strong.
For the first half of the rehearsal we looked at act 1 all five scene to see what needed to be improved and the first that was notice was my characterisation of Jim in the introduction when Jim say "Hello" I was sounding scared and frighten of Maddy and it looked to the audience that Jim already knew what Maddy was up which he should. So it was suggested to me that I need to make Jim more confident during the introduction.
During Act 1 Scene 1 my characterisation was noticed again but for a small part which was during a funny line that I was not making funny enough, so Natalia told me that for the line "that's quite all right ... but..there is usually a but" that I needed to add a pause in and make more emphasis on the word "But" which would get the audience to laugh.
For the other scene the items that the group notice that were just small things such as missing lines, missing cues, props missing and a small blocking issue which required us to make a small adjustment of angles so the audience would be able to see better.
During today's lesson as group we decide that it was time to go over the whole performance and look for part that could or need to be improve with our characterisation or the blocking. As we had got the stage that the whole performance was block and stage it just needed to make the performance strong.
For the first half of the rehearsal we looked at act 1 all five scene to see what needed to be improved and the first that was notice was my characterisation of Jim in the introduction when Jim say "Hello" I was sounding scared and frighten of Maddy and it looked to the audience that Jim already knew what Maddy was up which he should. So it was suggested to me that I need to make Jim more confident during the introduction.
During Act 1 Scene 1 my characterisation was noticed again but for a small part which was during a funny line that I was not making funny enough, so Natalia told me that for the line "that's quite all right ... but..there is usually a but" that I needed to add a pause in and make more emphasis on the word "But" which would get the audience to laugh.
For the other scene the items that the group notice that were just small things such as missing lines, missing cues, props missing and a small blocking issue which required us to make a small adjustment of angles so the audience would be able to see better.
Rehearsal 8
During today's lesson we went through lines and characterisation as Amelia was ill and Tom did not come in we thought it would be to make best use of our time that me and Natalia and Kat went over the lines of the scenes. We talked about characterisation between the three us and suggesting what we could add to our character and what we could improve on.
For me I needed to work on my characterisation of Jim in Act 2 Scene 1 when he is in an awkward situation with Kerry. I needed to make it bigger and more clear for the audience so they could understand what the character is going through.
For Natalia we worked with her on her characterisation for the different characters that Julie plays, Natalia came up with the idea that she could use different accents for the different characters. When Natalia was practising the two different accents in the scene it was clear that her idea work and the audience would be able to tell the difference between her characters.
For Act 1 Scene 3 the food poisoning scene Julie is a waitress in this scene so Natalia chose a scouse accents which did work and at the parts when Jim and Julie argue over the soup of day the accents make that part for funny which in turn will get more laughs out of the audience.
For Act 1 Scene 5 Natalia decided to use a Essex accent for Julie's character again when all the characters are on the cliff. Natalia chose this accents as it make her character live up the stereotype of the Essex accent which that they can be seen as stupid.
For Kat characterisation me and Natalia looked at Kat characters and we believe that not much could be added as she make her character Julie shy when she is on stage playing Kerry as Kerry but when she is playing Kerry the hooker/assassin Kat characterisation show what the character is playing. Natalia suggested that Kat could do an accent during Act 1 Scene 3 when Kerry is the other waitress, Kat tried a French accent but later did not like the idea so she kept to her normal accent.
Rehearsal 9
Today's lesson was much put on hold as we were unable to rehearsal due to the first years end of year show, which we support them by watch them during the final rehearsals before they go on stage for their end of year show.
For the rest of rehearsal we did a production meeting and looked at what we needed to get in the ways of props, scenery and costume. During this meeting we set who would bring what in for props and who would bring parts of the scenery that was missing. This Meet showed us take the role we need to make the performance work.
For the rest of rehearsal we did a production meeting and looked at what we needed to get in the ways of props, scenery and costume. During this meeting we set who would bring what in for props and who would bring parts of the scenery that was missing. This Meet showed us take the role we need to make the performance work.
Rehearsal 10
During today's lesson we went through the second act and look at what could be improved. one aim that I needed to do was learn the lines of Act 2 Scene 1 as I had learned the lines for the rest of the performance.
When looking at the second act there was times when my characterisation needed to be improved mainly in Act 2 Scene 1. Kat suggested to me that I needed to act more awkward when Kerry.
Other improvement that I suggested was during Act 2 Scene 3 was when Jim entered he needed to be doing something as we change the staging of the scene where Jim and Kerry entered from opposite side of stage. The idea that I suggested that Jim would enter but he would be on his phone and noticed that the chair place down stage left from the scene as Jim would start to take them off Kerry would then start to speak to him.
For the Act 2 Scene 4 which is the end I had an idea to change the last part of the poem which would replace the last two lines of the poem which had be recorded by Amelia. I suggested this idea as it made more sentence with movement and what the text was saying that Jim would take the last two lines which was "pull out a gun and aim for heart" as Jim kills Julie as he is the one who pulls the trigger.
Rehearsal 11
During today's lesson we started to work on our backup if Tom was unable to perform as he did not show up to the rehearsal and there was a growing worry from me, Amelia, Natalia and Kat that Tom would not be able to perform on the final performance day as he keeps missing rehearsal and not learn his lines.
At the same time we needed to support Tom in the best possible way to get the performance ready, but we felt that it was right for us to start to think and work on a backup if the worse comes to the worse.
The Scenes that would needed a backup is Act 1 Scene 4, Act 1 Scene 5 and Act 2 Scene 1 out of all the scene that Tom was in Act 1 Scene 4 which is the doctor's scene we look at the script as a whole and we could not cut this scene out of the script as it would not make sense.
as a group we decided the Kat should play the doctor and that we needed to make a joke of the fact that the doctor is woman instead of a man, to reach this decision Kat volunteered to learn the lines and play the role which me, Amelia and Natalia agree at the same we were playing to Kat strengths which is learning lines fast.
For the other scenes Act 1 Scene 5 and Act 2 Scene 1 we look at possible changes for these scenes. For Act 2 Scene 1 we made a small change which would work, so Natalia would play the bar woman instead of Tom as the barman but Natalia would not say anything so we would cut all of Tom's lines in the first part of Act 2 Scene 1 and for the end part of the scene Tom part would be cut all together and that Julie (Natalia) would enter to introduce the next scene.
For Act 1 Scene 5 as a group we looked at cut the scene for the performance but we felt that the scene should remain as the idea of the scene is a funny one. so I came up with the idea that we should keep the idea of Maddy trying to push Jim of the cliff but charge it in a slight way that she is interrupted by passers by who ask Maddy something. The scene would end with Jim vertigo kicking and that he wants to leave the cliff, at that point we would return to the script with Maddy and Julie addressing the audience to end first act and the start of the interval.
Also during today's rehearsal when do a run through Natalia was not able to talk as she was under doctor's orders so she had to mime or just stand or talk very quietly so this was a point where we were test ourselves on how much we knew our lines.
At the same time we needed to support Tom in the best possible way to get the performance ready, but we felt that it was right for us to start to think and work on a backup if the worse comes to the worse.
The Scenes that would needed a backup is Act 1 Scene 4, Act 1 Scene 5 and Act 2 Scene 1 out of all the scene that Tom was in Act 1 Scene 4 which is the doctor's scene we look at the script as a whole and we could not cut this scene out of the script as it would not make sense.
as a group we decided the Kat should play the doctor and that we needed to make a joke of the fact that the doctor is woman instead of a man, to reach this decision Kat volunteered to learn the lines and play the role which me, Amelia and Natalia agree at the same we were playing to Kat strengths which is learning lines fast.
For the other scenes Act 1 Scene 5 and Act 2 Scene 1 we look at possible changes for these scenes. For Act 2 Scene 1 we made a small change which would work, so Natalia would play the bar woman instead of Tom as the barman but Natalia would not say anything so we would cut all of Tom's lines in the first part of Act 2 Scene 1 and for the end part of the scene Tom part would be cut all together and that Julie (Natalia) would enter to introduce the next scene.
For Act 1 Scene 5 as a group we looked at cut the scene for the performance but we felt that the scene should remain as the idea of the scene is a funny one. so I came up with the idea that we should keep the idea of Maddy trying to push Jim of the cliff but charge it in a slight way that she is interrupted by passers by who ask Maddy something. The scene would end with Jim vertigo kicking and that he wants to leave the cliff, at that point we would return to the script with Maddy and Julie addressing the audience to end first act and the start of the interval.
Also during today's rehearsal when do a run through Natalia was not able to talk as she was under doctor's orders so she had to mime or just stand or talk very quietly so this was a point where we were test ourselves on how much we knew our lines.
Rehearsal 12
During today's rehearsal we looked at doing a full run through with all props and some costume and as well the aim in the afternoon to do a full timed run through to give us a better understanding of what time scale the performance is running out.
For the morning rehearsal Act 1 performed well with a few stop, starts in Act 1 Scene 4 where Tom was struggling with his lines for the scene but once he overcame the struggle the rest of the first act when well.
During this rehearsal it was the first time that we notice that some improvisation would be needed during one of the scene change of Act 1 Scene 3 the food poisoning to Act 1 Scene 4 the doctor's as Amelia costume change takes long than we originally thought.
The improvisation that we created was to start as normal with the scene change removing the props and then turn it into an argument between Julie and Jim over who would talk the table off stage where Kerry would enter to remind Julie and Jim that the table needs to remain on stage but the white sheet would then need to come, The improvisation would end with Kerry being told be Maddy to stale the audience so Kerry was coming up with random things.
For Act 2 it was the first time for me to do Act 2 Scene 1 over script as it has taken me a while to learn the lines for this scene and out of the whole script this has been the one scene that I have struggle on the most.
When performing this scene the scene felt better for me to performance as I felt more comfortable on stage now that I did not have a script in my hands, but I was also able to work on my characterisation more for my characters as I can work on the moments and hand gestures so make the character believable in this scene.
Rehearsal 13
During today's lesson we looked at the performance as whole and as group we looked at scene that looked weak and need work on the most to make the performance as whole look a whole lot better and stronger.
We started with a full run through from the begin from Act 1 Scene 1 through to Act 1 Scene 3 there was no problems with the blocking as we had gone over these scene for a while and there was nothing to change. The only item that might needed to be worked on was the lines. As at time me and Amelia both had gaps where we had forgotten what the line was or we had a gap. The other item that needed some work on was helping Natalia with her timings which again links back to me and Amelia with our lines as some of our lines are the cue for Natalia entrance.
Then we hit a block with Act 1 Scene 4 which is the doctor's scene between Amelia and Tom. As a group we notice that this scene had problems and started to become a very weak scene which was going to let the performance down.
During this rehearsal this is where the group had a break down which shows us not working well together as group. But after this break down we looked at what could be done to help each other of the group get very scene of the performance strong.
Act 1 Scene 4 for Tom has been a problem for him as he has struggle to get to grips with the scene in a number of items, such as the lines and the blocking but as a group it was our duty to help him out and give him pointers to help him understand the scene. He had learn the lines for the scene but had problems using them in a practical performance. To help him out we went over and over the scene to help it stick in his mind.
We also show him our back up for Tom which is where Kat would play the doctor so Amelia and Kat re-performed the scene with the way that they perform the scene with the aim to give Tom pointers for his characterisation as well the blocking. After all the repeats of Act 1 Scene 4 Tom felt and gain a better understanding of the scene and how it should be performed and how his characters should be presented.
Rehearsal 14
For today's all day lesson in the morning the group would set the lighting and in the afternoon we would do a run through with the lighting and then work on anymore weak scene that we felt that we needed to work on.
When setting the lights the group had to set the lights without me as I was in an English exam in the morning but there were following the lighting designs that I had already created a few weeks before. When I was creating the lighting design I was thinking about what was happening in the scene and what was the mood as well plus also thinking about what lighting would and would not work in certain scenes.
Here is the lighting design that I created...
Act 1
Scene 1
Part 1: Opening
·
Blackout
·
Spotlight on Amelia desk
·
General whitewash for Natalia when Amelia says
“cannot be guarantee”
Scene 1
Part 2: The D.I.Y Accident
·
General white wash
Scene 2:
The Police Station
·
General white wash
·
White spot lights on Amelia and Natalia when Natalia
starts to interrogate Amelia.
X1 Cue for spot light Police officer line “what time
was this”
Cue for end of spot light Police officer line “Right
so he went out in the car but you don’t know where he went”
X2 Cue for spot light Police Officer line “I see
that’s quite significant you know”
Cue for end of spot light Police Officer line “Now
apart from being depressed how is his health generally”
Scene 3: The
Dinner
·
White spot
light centre stage on the table where Amelia and Ryan are sitting.
·
Red wash in the background so Natalia and Kat can be
seen, the Red Light is not too bright.
Scene 4: The
Doctors
·
White spot light on the table were Amelia is sitting
on.
·
Red and Green general wash in background.
Scene 5:
The cliff edge
·
General White wash with yellow/orange mix in to show
daylight.
Act 2
Scene 1:
The Bar
·
General White wash with a mixture of a Red.
·
Spot lights on the chair when Ryan and Kat sit down on
them.
·
General wash when on Jim says the line “no really, I
think I'd rather just a divorce”.
Scene 2:
The bus
·
Spot light on Natalia and Amelia when they are on the
bus.
Scene 3
Julie and Jim
·
Spot light on Jim and Julie when they are talking.
Scene 4:
The End
·
White stop when the characters are walking around the
stage.
·
Front spot light after the gun has been fired where
Jim would stand when talking to the audience.
· Spot light on until the end then fade to black out.
From this lighting design most of the lighting idea's was use there was a couple as a group which we had to change as it would not work as well as I first thought. ( which has been Highlighted in Red)
From the lighting design the ones highlighted Red were changes to make them work better and plus the reasons why?.
Act 1 Scene 2 - The police Scene
The original design was to have the light change from a general white wash to a two white spot lights on Maddy (Amelia) and Julie (Natalia) when Julie is asking question to Maddy about Jim disappearance. The light were going to change to put more pressure on to Maddy when coming up with the answers to Julie's questions.
The changes that we made for this scene was not to have spot light but to dim the white wash ( which had a blue lights added to make the scene look more like a police station) and to make the blue which was added bright and some white. The reason why this was change was because having the lighting keep changing from wash to spot would look tatty and as well get on the audience nervous.
Act 1 Scene 4 - The Doctors
For this scene there was not a lighting change. As a group we did not like the idea of the red and green lighting in the background it should just remain as a whitewash which make the scene work as the red and green could be seen as a distraction and pointless lights.
Act 2 Scene 1 Assassin
For this scene the group decided that the spot light would be pointless for the scene and that it should remain in a whitewash with red mix in as it shows the whole setting of where the scene is set and it was pointless again to change the light from wash to spot back to spot. The reason why I thought about having the spot was to focus the audience attention on to Jim and Kerry who would be sitting at a table downstage right and then change when Jim talks about a getting a divorce the light would change back to a wash so the audience can see Maddy entering and then hiding. The red mix in with the whitewash was to add to the mood of scene.
Act 2 Scene 4 - The end
For this the group decided that instead flashing lights idea that I had thought about for when the characters are walking around the stage, should be change to just a blue wash which still adds the strange mood for the audience but in a way that the audience would enjoy more then having the lights keep changing. The idea of keeping the sharp blackout when the gun is fired keeps the mystery for the audience who was shot until the very end when Maddy reveals all.
Even though I was not there when the lighting was being set, when seeing all the lights in action I agreed with the changes as it worked better then what I came up with that still made each scene work well.
After we block the lights we were able to do a full run through with the lights for the first time which allowed us to get the scenery and props on to the right marks to match the lighting but as well it showed us where are limits are with the movements where the audience would not be able to see us as we would not be lit.
Once we did the full run though we went on to look at any weak scene that we felt were weak but the main aim was to help Tom with the scene that he was in. The way we were helping him as a group was allowing him to film us doing to scene so he could learn the lines and the blocking and also to help him understand where he could improve on.
We also look at the other point that we could improve and Natalia came up with a range of different idea's for Act 1 Scene 2 police scene where she had thought about her character of the police office more. As she plays the characters with a Russian accent which work well for the character, but she also thought about the idea that the police office would hit Maddy when she is crying for the third time. When watch the idea me and Kat felt that that it worked well and was very funny with the police office hitting Maddy but at the same time Maddy reaction.
Rehearsal 15
During today's all day rehearsals we planned to do an whole run through of the performance but with limited costume and props, we decided this because were not a Hertford Theatre and that it was a lot to carry to the Ware campus as were not able to leave it at Hertford Theatre due to the issue of props or costume could be stolen.
In the first part of the morning we did a full run through of the performance and we were looking for problems that could come up the highlighted an issue with the blocking or something was not right with one of our characterisation. By doing this run through it prepared us for a run through in front of Laura who would give us note for us to improve either the blocking or our characterisation, at the same time giving us a baseline running time of the whole performance.
During the first rehearsal we did not find me problems the main one that did come up was some issues on lines which was one of my own issues as I was at times have blockages with lines mainly in the second act which require to go over them fully to make sure that I know all the lines for the second act.
For our performance in front of Laura, she gave us note on where the improvements needed to be made, however the improvements were only small ones and mainly opening out to the audience more when breaking the fourth wall as we were not doing as it much as we could do which will add more energy to the performance.
The notes that Laura gave me to improve.
Act 1 Scene 1- The D.I.Y Ascendant
- Talk when putting on the sheet - This was given because on some run through that is a big gap between when I enter stage and when Amelia enters stage which I need to fill if there is a gap, the other option is to say my line "Method One The D.I.Y Accident" when I am setting up the sheet on stage or I could improvise something to the audience.
- Articulate of "Humiliate me" - This is a line that at time I have struggle to say correctly which I needed to practise saying more to get it right for the final performance.
- Can Jim take the frying pan off with him - This was an idea given to adjust the blocking on my exit after Jim has gotten up from the floor. This point is a part where the audience could be let in more by having Jim look at the audience with the frying pan and then rub his head to show the pain to the audience. By doing this it would add a part where the audience would laugh.
Act 1 Scene 3 - Food Poisoning
- Make more of "I've got no idea" - The line is an important line in the section where Maddy and Jim are talking about the TV. By me making more of the line and directing it more at the audience it opens it out to the audience more and make them laugh as the line is supposed to be funny.
- Put a pause in for "Be on stage....Sweeping it" - This line is a funny line by having the paused added in give the audience a chance to laugh. At the same time it breaks up with Jim is saying which is being rude to Maddy about her humour.
- After "All Blacks Haka" chant look at audience and shrug - In this part Jim has no clue what he is doing and why he is doing it. By adding the look at the audience it open the scene out to the audience to make them laugh at what Jim has just done, two by adding the shrug it shows to the audience that Jim is confused about what he has just done.
- "Possibly"... Break 4th Wall - For this line by breaking the 4th wall it include the audience in the scene again but at the same time it reminds about before with the "All Blacks Haka" where Jim looks at the audience in confusion, by looking at the audience for this line would make the audience laugh as they know that he did the "All Blacks Haka" which Maddy had just ask Jim if he did it.
Act 1 Scene 5 - The Cliff
- Avoid blocking Tom- This would require me to think about my block when Jim is talking to John. If I am blocking Tom in will need to move but at the same it works for both of us.
Act 2 Scene 1 - Assassin
- Look at audience before saying "I'm Bryan" - For this line looking at the audience would make the audience laugh as they can see that Jim is trying to find a name but at the same time by looking at the audience it show that Jim is looking at the audience for help.
- Get mouth around "anonymous" - Like before this is the second line that I have had a issue get my month around saying. To improve this I need to practise saying the line with "anonymous" in until I say it right.
- Add comedy and find moments to fixate or glance at Kerry boobs - For audience adding comedy is the most important part of the scene as the scene is quite funny. To make the audience laugh more by looking at the Kerry's (Kat) boobs, shows to the audience that the characters is doing what a man would do and also it makes the scene more funny as the audience would notice that Kerry has gotten Jim's attention.
- "Going well is it" look at audience" and "Yes you'll make a creaking"- For this by looking at the audience add the element of humour to performance as the part of the scene where Jim is try cheer up Kerry by tell her she will make a good assassin is supposed to be funny line so by looking at the audience and with a facial express will make them laugh more.
- Work out stop, start moment for chasing around the table and be aware of breathy- This action needed to be work with Amelia to make the part where Maddy is chasing Jim around trying to kill him with a leg of lamb. By working on the moments will make it easier for us as actors to say the lines, as well as the audience understanding them and make them laugh. I also need to think about my breath control as after the chase and I am under the table I need to me my speech sound clear.
Act 2 Scene 3 - The End
- Put the gun down, don't point - For this point I need to think about my action during Jim speech at the end when he is addressing the audience. By point the gun at them might make the feel scared to watch the end when having a gun pointing at them, so I need to think about where I am point the gun it should mainly be point at the floor with one moment when I raise the gun when I am talking about it.
From this run through it was clear to me what I needed to work on to make my characters involvement within the performance work better. As a group I also understood what everyone need to work which even though it was not directed at me.
Also it was suggested to me by Amelia and Natalia that during Act 2 Scene 1 when Kerry is after me that I do not fall to the floor when Kerry says "product" and crawl backwards facing Kerry to the chair, as for a audience point of view it might look funny but it does not look right. so the idea was to change it to me standing and backing away from Kerry.
Evaluation of Performance
On Monday 8th June 2015 Ryan (Myself), Amelia, Natalia, Kat and Tom performed our Final Major Project 2015 of a the play "Beginners Guide to Murdering Your Husband" at Hertford Theatre. The two hour performance took us the group about six weeks to prepare, block and stage.
Throughout the whole rehearsal process we all had contributed idea's to the product side, as well taking our own role on the production team. The role that I choose was Lighting and I choose this role as it challenge me on the designing the right lights for the performance, As well I used the experience I gain from the "Directing Festival" which required me be more independent.
When blocking and stage the performance I took a one of the lead roles when coming up with different idea and ways that the performance could be stage, as did the rest of us, but during the scene that I was mainly or partially in I took a strong role of directing it but as well being fair to the other in group listening to their idea's and their tips on ways I could improve my own characterisation.
During the whole six week the whole group work well when trying to reach the aim of a strong performance. However there was time that we were unfair to each other and worrying about things that we maybe should not have worry about.
The main problem that kept coming up was the issue around Tom would he be able to perform on the night, as during the rehearsal process there was times when the rest of the group thought he was not performance ready and started to create a backup plan if Tom was unable to perform.
This issue cause to many problems which we should not have worry about as much but it really took it toll a week before the final performance which did not help the situation but we needed to see past the problems to achieve our aim to put on a strong performance.
For my own performance I felt that my final performance of Jim went well I felt happy with my characterisation for the characters and I felt that my characterisation was believable for an audience. I felt that this script was the best time to show off my skills as during the past two year I have tried to take more of a smaller role than a big but for this performance I wanted to challenge myself to take on a bigger role and learn the character in the best possible way.
On the other side I felt that an improvement for me if I was to do the performance and the rehearsal process again would be to learn the lines faster, as for the first act I learned the lines in a fast pace and I was confident,
However for the second act I was more taking my time with the lines for my biggest scene of line which was Act 2 Scene 1 as I had learn all the lines for the others scene in act 2. Next time I should open up to others in my group to let them know that I was struggling to learn the line of Act 2 Scene 1 as they might have been able to help me.
When asking a member of the audience that I brought along to watch the performance he stated that the performance was funny and did not drag on. He also said that script that we had chosen was very good and he like the fact that each step of different techniques did not drag on. He went on to say that the characterisation of the characters were very good and believable apart from one which he states was Tom as he went on to state the Tom's characterisation to him was not believable enough for him and did not match the effort of the rest of the cast.
Overall I felt that our Final Major Project performance ended with a big and when asking members of the audience they have all stated that the really enjoyed the performance and have also take note of some of the techniques that the performance shared.
Throughout the whole rehearsal process we all had contributed idea's to the product side, as well taking our own role on the production team. The role that I choose was Lighting and I choose this role as it challenge me on the designing the right lights for the performance, As well I used the experience I gain from the "Directing Festival" which required me be more independent.
When blocking and stage the performance I took a one of the lead roles when coming up with different idea and ways that the performance could be stage, as did the rest of us, but during the scene that I was mainly or partially in I took a strong role of directing it but as well being fair to the other in group listening to their idea's and their tips on ways I could improve my own characterisation.
During the whole six week the whole group work well when trying to reach the aim of a strong performance. However there was time that we were unfair to each other and worrying about things that we maybe should not have worry about.
The main problem that kept coming up was the issue around Tom would he be able to perform on the night, as during the rehearsal process there was times when the rest of the group thought he was not performance ready and started to create a backup plan if Tom was unable to perform.
This issue cause to many problems which we should not have worry about as much but it really took it toll a week before the final performance which did not help the situation but we needed to see past the problems to achieve our aim to put on a strong performance.
For my own performance I felt that my final performance of Jim went well I felt happy with my characterisation for the characters and I felt that my characterisation was believable for an audience. I felt that this script was the best time to show off my skills as during the past two year I have tried to take more of a smaller role than a big but for this performance I wanted to challenge myself to take on a bigger role and learn the character in the best possible way.
On the other side I felt that an improvement for me if I was to do the performance and the rehearsal process again would be to learn the lines faster, as for the first act I learned the lines in a fast pace and I was confident,
However for the second act I was more taking my time with the lines for my biggest scene of line which was Act 2 Scene 1 as I had learn all the lines for the others scene in act 2. Next time I should open up to others in my group to let them know that I was struggling to learn the line of Act 2 Scene 1 as they might have been able to help me.
When asking a member of the audience that I brought along to watch the performance he stated that the performance was funny and did not drag on. He also said that script that we had chosen was very good and he like the fact that each step of different techniques did not drag on. He went on to say that the characterisation of the characters were very good and believable apart from one which he states was Tom as he went on to state the Tom's characterisation to him was not believable enough for him and did not match the effort of the rest of the cast.
Overall I felt that our Final Major Project performance ended with a big and when asking members of the audience they have all stated that the really enjoyed the performance and have also take note of some of the techniques that the performance shared.
