UNIT 9 - PERICLES
Lucy
Created on September 6, 2024
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Transcript
Unit 9 - Pericles
Index
PERICLES
SECONDARY ROLE
SHAKESPEARE
PRACTIONERS/DIRECTOR S
MY LOGS
WESTER THEATRE
BIBLIOGRAPHY
EVALUATION
SECTION ONE - RESEARCH
Spontaneity - a quality of being natural, rather than planning.In performing arts, this means improvisation of a script/scene, it helps spark our imagination and creativity, helping us perform with genuine emotion. Expression - revealing thoughts or emotions.In performing arts, this means using your voice and movement to convey something on stage.Physicalization - how you use your body and movement to create something.In performing arts, this means using your body to express something when acting, e.g a thought, story, emotion etc.Embodiment – being aware/having a sense of yourself/ your body.In performing arts, this means being aware of a character and how they feel, move, speak, but also being aware of yourself and how you portray a certain emotion or trait.Musicality – Being able to understand/interpret music.In performing arts, this means being able to accompany music, creating movement for a piece of music that expresses a story or feeling etc.
What is experimentation?Experimentation is exploring different methods of acting to help push our imagination, our creativity. Why is experimentation important in creative work?It allows us actors to develop our skills using different methods which help us expand our imagination.What do we mean by classical theatre?Historical plays that are still performed today with extreme artistic value, such as Romeo and Juliet.What are the differences between Western Classical art and Eastern classical art?Western classical art, from a Greek and Roman origin, sets standards for beauty and idealised human forms. E.g. Deities, Gods etc. Whereas Eastern classical art explores spiritual and philosophical themes such as nature.
KEY TERMS FOR THIS PROJECT
WESTERN THEATRE HISTORY
The first time theatre truly rid itself of rituals and became a form of art was when the dithyramb was developed. This was a choral song sang at festivals in honour of Dionysus, the God of wine, fruitfulness and vegetation. Originally it celebrated his rejuvenation of the earth however later it drew on Homeric legends. In the western theatre actors would express themselves through rhythmic movement using an adornment to enhance their expression.
Theatre began in the 6th century BCE in ancient Greece. The western theatre is believed to have evolved from religious rituals and ceremonies. It is believed that Greek theatre began with festivals honouring the God Dionysus. Thespis is the world's first known actor, and some believe he was also a priest for the Greek God Dionysus.
Dionysus, also called Bacchus, in Greco-Roman religion, is a nature god of fruitfulness and vegetation, especially known as a god of wine and ecstasy. In early Greek art he was represented as a bearded man, but later he was portrayed as youthful.
The earliest known evidence of this is in the cave paintings and engravings at Les Trois Frères in southern France. Dating from the Late Palaeolithic Period (about 40,000–10,000 BCE), these ancient manifestations of art depict half-human, half-animal figures in animated poses.
PRACTIONERS/DIRECTORS
Pina Bausch was a German dancer and choreographer. She contributed to a neo-expressionist dance tradition now known as Tanztheater. Pina, who endeavoured to break down the traditional boundaries between theatrical forms by melding movement, environment, fragmented narrative, and sound, was one of the most innovative performers in European theatre in the 1980s.
PINA BAUSCH
Pina Bausch, a choreographer who received her dance training at the Folkwang School in Essen under Kurt Jooss, was born in 1940. In Autumn 1973 the director of Wuppertal's theatres, Arno Wüstenhöfer began working with Bausch as a choreographer. Jooss was a significant proponent of pre- and post-war German modern dance which had freed itself from the shackles of classical ballet. Jooss sought to harmonise the free spirit of the dance revolutionaries with the fundamental rules of ballet. From this, Bausch gained techniques for free innovative expressions. Pina uses her experiences with trauma in her pieces. She reflects on her childhood atmosphere and experience of the war through expressions in dance. Pina spent a year as a special student at the Juilliard School of music in New York. She was inspired by the diversity of cultural life and had upmost respect for their musical tradition in New York. Whilst staying there she worked with many people such as Paul Taylor, Paul Sanasardo and Donya Feuer.
WHAT IS HER WAY OF CREATING THEATRE?
After she had left New York, Pina Bausch went back to working with Jooss, dancing to both old and new pieces, as well as assisting him with choreography. She was awarded first prize at the International Choreographic Workshop of 1969 in Cologne for her independent work - im wind der zeit. Pina created the first dance operas for the operas Iphigenie auf Tauris (1974) and Orpheus und Eurydice (1975). Pina Bausch changed her working methods in 1978 by taking people's emotions as a starting point. Many people from her ensemble no longer wanted to work with her as there was little conventional dancing in her pieces, so she began to struggle. Bausch had finally found the form her work would take, its dream-like, poetic imagery and bodily language. However, in some of her work you could see that she portrayed a sense of humour. Pina described dance theatre as "a space where we can encounter each other"
She also created her own poetic way of storytelling that did not follow a traditional plotline. Instead, she created a tapestry of different scenes that were usually focused on the bittersweet reality of human relationships and human existence.
Usually performances tend to have a script or a text or some sort of foundational idea that can be developed, however Bausch would ask her performers questions to get them using their imagination and come up with ideas as a starting point for their choreography. This pushes her performers to think on the spot but also allows them to delve deep into their thoughts and emotions to create a more authentic piece. Pina said "I am not interested in how people move, I am interested in what moves them." In rehearsals, Bausch was hands-on, provoking her dancers into movement by asking them to delve into their past experiences. Using psychological prompts such as, “Show me in movement the memory of the first time you laughed very hard,” or, “How do you behave when you’ve lost something?”, she then turned the dancer’s responses into choreography.
HER ADAPTATION OF MACBETH
Pina Bausch adapted some classical plays such as Macbeth. For example, her adaptation of Macbeth was titled "He Takes Her by The Hand and Leads Her Into the Castle, The Others Follow. This adaptation of Macbeth was first played in April 1978, at Schaupielhaus Bochum. Bausch blended dance and theatre from the style of Tanztheatre. Her work usually explores the complexities of emotions and so Bausch delves deep into themes of potency, ambition and the psychological consequences of the characters due to their actions. She portrays these themes through expressive movement.
This unit is called classical experiment. In this unit, we are taking an adaptation of a shakespearean play and are making it our own. We are exploring different methods of acting throughout this unit. This is also known as experimental theatre.
Pina Bausch is an important figure when it comes to experimental theatre. In 1973, she founded the Tanztheatre Wuppertal company which became extremely known for its distinctive style combining dance and dramatic storytelling. Pina’s work was often known for combining elements of theatre and dance, which broke the traditional boundaries between both performance styles. Bausch often experimented using daily movements and gestures in her choreographies. Her work explored many complex human emotions to reflect themes, such as trauma, love and loss. A lot of her work portrayed a realistic approach to psychological issues that many people face in society. Pina contributed a lot towards experimental theatre due to her combining different arts and exploring the complex psychology of humans and her choreographies.
HOW DOES PINA BAUSCH RELATE TO THIS UNIT?
Peter Brook was an English a theatre and film director. He believed that the true theatrical experience is the interaction between the "world of imagination" and the "world of everyday". He contributed significantly to the development of the 20th century’s avant-garde stage. Brook, who wanted to rid the world of comfortable, middle-class theatre, was one of the most influential and visionary theatre directors in the world. He creates theatre by using techniques of method acting and physical theatre to create authenticity in his performances. “If the body isn’t alive, the soles of the feet forget.” “there is no need for sets if the truth is there.”
PETER BROOK
Peter brook, an English theatre and film director who began working in 1945 at the Birmingham repertory theatre in England, was born in 1925. Brooke had no theatrical background; however he was fascinated with Shakespeare’s plays. Over the years that Brook worked as a director, he made a mark, breaking the conventions of theatre. Brooke believed that the human connection is the essence of good Theatre. He believed that in order for the actor to truly feel what his character is intended to feel he must explore on his own without the director telling him what they are. Peter brook was extremely influenced by Antonin Artaud’s ideas of theatre of cruelty which sought to break the separation between the audience space and the performance space. Artaud did not use the word cruelty to mean violence or aggression, he used it as a "cosmic rigger or implacable necessity imposing itself on the bodies of the actors." Peter used his ideas in his theatre. he wanted his audience to have an authentic and emotionally real experience.
WHAT IS HIS WAY OF CREATING THEATRE?
Peter then moved to Paris in the 1970s unfounded the international centre of theatre research, an experimental theatre company. while working with this company, he visited many countries and directed plays for many audiences, including one for drug addicts and another for mental patients. "I can take any empty space and call it a bare stage. A man walks across this empty space whilst someone else is watching him, and this is all that is needed for an act of theatre to be engaged." He believes that ‘acting begins with a tiny inner movement so slight that it is almost completely invisible’, and the director's job is to see the movement and make sense of it for theatrical purpose.
This unit is called classical experiment. In this unit, we are taking an adaptation of a shakespearean play and are making it our own. We are exploring different methods of acting throughout this unit. This is also known as experimental theatre.
Peter Brook was also another significant figure of experimental theatre. A lot of his productions were often different from traditional staging. Peter travelled a lot around the world exploring different cultures and theatrical techniques. He founded the international centre for theatre research in France, Paris, in the 1970s, making it a home for experimental theatre where him and his crew explored the arts of storytelling. Many of his ideas came from experimenting, especially through his workshop of theatre of cruelty that worked with the Royal Shakespeare Company.
HOW DOES PETER BROOK RELATE TO THIS UNIT?
Jersey Grotowski was a Polish theatre director. He took a different approach to acting, Grotowski proposed poverty in theatre. he chose not to use costumes lighting make up etc. in his pieces, as he believed that the Physical flexibility of the actors is more intriguing. Grotowski, who drew from various cultural sources to create authentic and minimalistic theatre, Was one of the most influential theatre practitioners as well as founder of the experimental theatre. His innovative approach to theatre has significantly influenced the performing arts. His work was often influenced by Antonin Artaud and Konstantin Stanislavski. in 1959, he founded his own theatre company in Opole. Grotowski’s technique was to push the boundaries of the spiritual physical and ritualistic and would challenge what it meant to be a performer versus a spectator. His approach to theatre was very physical relying on the actor's physicality to convey a story.
JERZY GROTOWSKI
Jerzy Grotowski, a Polish theatre director studied acting and directing at the Ludwick Selsky Academy for the dramatic arts before attending the Russian Institute of theatre arts in Moscow. Grotowski approached theatre differently to other directors. He believed that the best way to create theatre was by using the actors' physical skills to tell the stories. His technique was linked to paratheatre, meaning beyond theatre, as he believes that it couldn’t be compared to television or film. Jerzy taught his students to use their bodies and voices. He believed that the first thing an actor should do is practice silence. He wrote that “ the actor should begin by doing nothing”. One of his main techniques that he taught was physicality. He believed that a person's body can express anything anyone would need to know about someone. His techniques mostly focused on movement.
WHAT IS HIS WAY OF CREATING THEATRE?
Grotowski was known for being culturally diverse and experimental with his techniques. He wanted no separation between the audience and the actors. His staging was very minimalistic. It was typically left with a few props and no set. His goal was for his performers acting to be genuine and real, but with much more physicality. He drew inspiration from Stanislavsky‘s work and adapted the emotional memory technique to use with his actors. "No matter how much theatre expands and exploits its mechanical resources, it will remain technologically inferior to film and television. Consequently, I propose poverty in theatre."
Jerzy Grotowski is a founder of experimental theatre. His work focused a lot around the relationship between the spectators and the actors. His book called “ towards a port Theatre” Expose the idea that Sita should only be the actors performance and interaction with the audience, that there shouldn’t be different elements such as props, costumes etc. Grotowski had many methods of acting that emphasised actors, physical and vocal skills. His aim was to help actors really express intention to the audience. In a lot of his work, he often placed the audience close to the stage so there was an intimate connection between the audience and the actors. Many of his ideas significantly influenced experimental theatre.
This unit is called classical experiment. In this unit, we are taking an adaptation of a shakespearean play and are making it our own. We are exploring different methods of acting throughout this unit. This is also known as experimental theatre.
HOW DOES JERZY GROTOWSKI RELATE TO THIS UNIT?
Anne Bogart Is an American theatre and opera director, born in 1951 In Newport in the US. She founded the SITI company along with the Japanese Director Tadashi Suzuki in 1992. This company focuses on creating original work through collaborative ensemble performances. Often, Bogarts work includes elements of Japanese Noh theatre. She currently teaches at Columbia University where she leads the graduate directing concentration. Anne Bogart is also an author of four books about theatre. She is known for her devised theatre, which encourages artists to explore experimentation and collaboration to create performances. Her work utilises movement to express emotions. She encourages performers to delve deep into their characters relationships with each other.
ANNE BOGART
Anne Bogart has different methods of acting. One of her methods is known as devised theatre and collaborative creation, which focuses on the importance of teamwork. How focuses on movement and the physical presence of actors. She emphasises collaboration, allowing all artists to contribute their ideas, creating a sense of collective ownership. Another one of her techniques is the viewpoints which encourages actors to explore movement, space, time and emotion as the main elements of theatre. She trains performers to be aware of their physicality and relationship to each other which allows them to Develop their authenticity when performing. Her work often challenges conventional theatre.
WHAT IS HER WAY OF CREATING THEATRE?
Anne Bogart developed the viewpoints technique. The technique is about the six viewpoints of time and space, which was originally created by the choreographer Mary Overlie. These viewpoints are: tempo, duration, kinaesthetic response and repetition - for time, and: shape, gesture, architecture, spatial relationship and topography - for space. The viewpoints break naturalistic theatre, due to the focus on observations rather than their feelings and it encourages actors to focus on their movement. The viewpoint exercise helps create a dynamic and collaborative performance. It focuses a lot on ensemble work, working as a team. It creates spontaneity, which is something Anne Bogart believes in. It also encourages artists to rely more on their instincts, through improvisation.
ANNE BOGART - VIEWPOINTS
ANNE BOGART - VIEWPOINTS
Anne Bogart is really important when it comes to experimental theatre. she is extremely known for developing the viewpoint techniques which emphasises physicality relationship relationships and collaboration. Often her work focuses on combining many methods so long as they encourage actors to be spontaneous. She is also known for adaptations of classical theatre such as Cinderella and South Pacific. Her development of classical theatre often focuses on creating performances with different approaches to make them more relevant to contemporary audiences. While working with SITI company, she also experimented with various techniques on classical plays. She also integrated her adaptation of the viewpoint method.
HOW DOES ANNE BOGART RELATE TO THIS UNIT?
Tadashi Suzuki is a Japanese avant garde theatre Director, Writer and Philosopher, born in 1938 in Shiz Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. He established and directed the Suzuki company of Toga in Toga village. Suzuki also cofounded the Saratoga International Theatre in New York. With the American Director, Anne Bogart. He created a method for acting and many stage adaptations of Western Theatre, from Greek tragedies to Chekhov. "Suzuki’s primary concerns whether the structure of aesthetic group, creation and use of the theatrical spaces, and the overcoming of cultural and national barriers in the interest of creating work that is truly universal.” He wrote several books that explored the wax of many other directors of the 20th century. Tadashi travelled the world to teach his method in many schools and theatres.
TADASHI SUZUKI
Tadashi Suzuki’s method of acting was to get actors/artists and even audiences to delve deep into their egos and reconnect with who we are. Suzuki’s understanding of theatre is similar to a Homeric Peripeteia, “an odyssey whose final destination is each one’s personal Ithaca - uniqueness of the individual body and soul/mind.” His training involves many physical exercises, which intensify crucial body functions which he refers to as “ the invisible body”. One aspect of his acting theory is the actors perspective, which focuses on encouraging his audiences to reconsider their views.
WHAT IS HIS WAY OF CREATING THEATRE?
Tadashi Suzuki is a significant figure when it comes to classical and experimental theatre. A lot of his work is extremely influenced by classical Japanese theatre such as Noh and Kabuki, which he combines with western realism. He has many adaptations of classical texts such as “ the tale of Lear” an adaptation of “King Lear” by Shakespeare, and many more plays. His unique actor training system that focuses on physicality and presence from traditional Japanese theatre techniques. He’s also a crucial figure in experimental theatre due to his Suzuki method of actor training, which is one of his experimental methods, that challenges traditional acting techniques, and pushes actors to explore and delve into new ways of expressing themselves. Many of his productions fuses, traditional Japanese theatre with contemporary and western theatre. He also integrates a lot of culture into his productions.
HOW DOES TADASHI SUZUKI RELATE TO THIS UNIT?
VIDEO 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vawT1bndBYMWhat was interesting: Shakespeare's plays were known globally. His plays had diversity, and his characters were from all around the world. Directors performed his plays to bring communities together as one. VIDEO 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgSAF6TatrsWhat was interesting: Shakespeare's plays are now being adapted by people from different cultures. The plays now reveal the many political issues that people are facing today. Many people come to London to share their way of performing his plays in their countries. VIDEO 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYu97XXSXfEWhat was interesting: His poetic language can easily be performed through movement and physicality.
RESEARCH AND UNDERSTANDING TASKS FOR UPCOMING UNIT What do you know about Shakespeare? He was an English poet and playwright. He wrote many classical plays such as Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Tempest and many more. Many of his plays had common themes of tragedy and love. Who was he? William Shakespeare was an English playwright poet and Actor from the Elizabethan and Jacobean Eras. He is known as the greatest English writer. He wrote 37 plays, 154 sonnets and multiple poems. What was unique about the way he wrote plays? He used a lot of poetic language when writing his plays. Shakespeare gained inspiration from the history of the kings of England. A lot of his plays included many metaphors and rhetorical language. His plays were mostly written in iambic pentameter. He also created many new words like "puking" and "amazement" when writing his plays.
SHAKESPEARE
SHAKESPEARE
PERICLES - RESEARCH
Pericles, Prince of Tyre is a play from the Jacobean era written by William Shakespeare that explores the life of Pericles and the struggles he faces. The play explores themes of loss, grief, love and identity. Pericles solves King Antiochus’, the kind of Antioch, riddle and realises that it reveals the incestuous affair between him and his own daughter. Pericles flees back to Tyre as Antiochus attempts to kill him. The King sends an assassin after him and so Pericles flees from Tyre, leaving it to his counsellor, Helicanus, to care for. On his way to Pentopolis, a storm hits, Pericles is the only survivor, and he is rescued by fishermen. He then finds out that King Simonides is holding a tournament to honour his daughter, Thaisa. Pericles wins this tournament and marries her. He then receives news that King Antiochus is dead and heads back to Tyre with his pregnant wife Thaisa. On the way there, a storm hits, and Thaisa gives birth to the child, Marina, but dies during labour. He buries her in a coffin with a letter and some gold. He then arrives at Tarsus and trusts his daughter to be cared by Govenor Cleon and his wife Dionyza. Thaisa’s coffin is cast ashore in Ephesus and then found by a doctor who revives her. She believes Pericles is dead and becomes a nun in the temple of Diana. 14 years later, Dionyza is envious of the attention Marina gets and orders her killed. As she is about to be killed, she is kidnapped by pirates and sold into a brothel in Mytilene. Pericles is then told his daughter is dead and he goes out to sea again. Pericles then finds his daughter again and is given a dream about Ephesus and then sails there only to be reunited with his wife, Thaisa.
HISTORICAL CONTEXT OF PERICLES
KING JAMES I
Pericles, Prince of Tyre is a play (based on the story of Apollonius of Tyre as told in Book VIII of Confessio Amantis by John Gower) from the Jacobean era written in 1607/8 by William Shakespeare. The authorship of Pericles is thought to be shared between George Wilkins and Shakespeare. It is believed that George Wilkins wrote the first nine scenes and Shakespeare wrote the rest. This would explain the different use of language. Wilkins' use of language is more formal and like the fourteenth-century style. However, Shakespeare’s sections use iambic pentameter in his lines. John Gower was a medieval English poet who wrote in French, English and Latin. During the time of Pericles being written, James I became king of England in 1603. His reign marked the beginning of the Jacobean Era, just after the Elizabethan Era. In 1605, someone attempted to assassinate King James I and blow up the house of Lords. This was also known as the gunpowder plot. This extreme event led to stricter rules and tension in society. During the early 1600’s, London experienced many plague outbreaks which affected many social gatherings, including the theatre. They were often closed to prevent spreading diseases. This was also the time where Shakespeare was at the highest peak of his career, writing some of the most famous plays known globally. This was also a period where the arts began to grow – cultural renaissance.
There are many themes within the play, Pericles. It’s a story of love, hope, despair and faith. It begins with royalty and their privileges, their entitlements. The play slowly opens to the idea of family and unconditional love, particularly through the relationship with Thaisa and Pericles himself. In the play, the themes mainly revolve around Pericles. During the play, he loses not only his identity, but his home, his family, the love of his life, and his only child. Pericles grieves and tries to navigate a path thats isolated and lonely. The theme of fate also is a part of the play, revealed through his struggles and moments of despair while suffering with loss. He constantly turns to the Gods for guidance. The play explores grief in such a realistic way to where it relates to real life experiences that people go through every day.
THEMES IN PERICLES
PERICLES
Pericles is the prince of Tyre, he is a character who learns humility and gains and understanding of what it’s like to lose yourself and have to build yourself back up again. He is first set back when trying to find a family in Antioch, when he finds out the riddles meaning of the incestuous relationship between the king and his own daughter. This puts him in a position where he has to run from his home so he isn’t killed by Thaliard, an assassin whom Antiochus paid to kill Pericles. He then leaves for Tarsus to help save people who are struggling from famine. While travelling a storm hits and he loses all his men, leaving him alone. After reaching Pentapolis, he finds the love of his life and marries her. They then get news that Antiochus and his daughter have died so they set sail to Tyre, during this, his pregnant wife Thaisa goes into labour during a storm that hits their ship. This delivery causes it’s her life to end bringing forth baby named Marina. However, this child is so fragile, Pericles doesn’t think she’ll survive till Tyre so he leaves her in Tarsus, where she is raised by Cleon and Dionyza. 15 years later, Marina is kidnapped by pirates and Pericles believes she is dead. He then begins to isolate himself and grieve after having no family left. Need to run he then finds Marina and realises she’s alive, which then brings forth a dream to which he finds his Thaisa is alive after washing up on shore in Ephesus. The Goddess Diana, gives him a dream sending him to her to reunite with his family. Throughout his life, he constantly believed he was privileged and entitled as king, however after finding his family he realises that fate takes a toll and what happens in life and that is not easy, there is love, loss, grief and much more. He learns to be humble as king and accept his fate.
Thaisa is the daughter of a king, Simonides, from Pentapolis. Her character symbolises comfort, strength, and passion. She becomes the wife of Pericles and the devoted mother of Marina. Her story entices love, fear, sacrifice and hope. She first met Pericles at a joust competition for her love. They soon became lovers who then created a daughter - given the name Marina. Her life ends the very minute Marina’s begins, during labour. Her body is in thrown overseas and casts ashore in Ephesus. She is brought back to life and to take the veil of chastity after losing her beloved husband, Pericles. After Pericles is reunited with Marina, he is then given a dream that reunites him with Thaisa. She finally finds her family and she finds comfort and knowing her daughter still lives.
THAISA
Thaisa, Marinas mother gives birth to her at sea. Marina is a young, righteous daughter who is raised by Cleon and Dionyza. She is raised by them for 15 years, however, Dionyza gets jealous of Marina as no one pays attention to her own daughter, but are constantly in awe of Marina, therefore she plots Marina‘s murder. The assassin, Leonine, is stopped by pirates who kidnap Marina and take her to a brothel to be prostituted and sold to men. However, Marina does not sit and accept this. She fights for her rights as a woman. She meets a man who is a governor, Lysimachus, and she changes his perspective on the brothel. He then takes her from the brothel and brings her to a man in sorrow to see if she can get him to speak. She then finds the man who weeps to be her father, Pericles. She is united in hope and joy to find him. After a dream that is given to Pericles, they then set sail to Ephesus to find Thaisa, her mother. In Ephesus, they are reunited as a family. Marina’s story is one of righteousness, love, hope and love.
MARINA
SECTION TWO - PRACTICAL SKILLS
I think this song would really work in Act 2 where Pericles is the only survivor of the shipwreck. This could show that he has hope for his future.
I think this song would really work in any scene where Pericles reunited with his family/home. This would reveal his joy of finding his family again.
I think this song would really work in any act where Pericles does something out of love for his family/home.
This song would really work in Act 3, scene 1, where Thaisa dies of childbirth. The character of Pericles could sing this to suggest his surrender to fate and his emotional distress of losing his love.
I decided that these songs would be good suggestions for our adapted version of Pericles. These songs would fit with the main themes of the play.
MY SONG IDEAS
MY DAILY LOGS
TARGETS FOR NEXT LESSON- FOCUS ON INTRICATE DETAIS OF CHOREOGRAPHIES- PUSH MYSELF OUT OF MY COMFORT ZONE MORE- INTENTIONS- WORKING ON CONFIDENCE
Thursday 5th September In our first dance lesson, we began by doing a warmup that I led. I began with a series of stretches to help get our muscles working so that we were prepared for dance. These stretches also help improve flexibility so that we can move more freely and avoid any severe injuries like pulling a muscle when dancing. By leading this warmup, I was able to begin to get comfortable around my peers for this upcoming year. Due to my anxiety, I struggle a lot to explore anything outside my comfort zone and I lose my confidence. But leading this warmup helped me feel more comfortable around my peers. Leading this warmup also helped me develop my leadership skills and being able to work with peers with different strengths. After this warmup, I felt very energised and prepared to learn choreography. Due to dance not being everybody strength we began by familiarising ourselves with simple moves, so we started off with a choreography from the little shop of horrors (prologue). Due to my previous experiences and I was able to pick up this choreograph quickly, but some of my peers were still struggling so I help them learn the choreography. I was able to support my peers and get them to give it a go. This is made me realise that no matter how challenging something may be, I should always give it a go. This is something I would like to focus on in all my lessons. After everyone learning the choreograph to the best of their abilities, we then rehearsed as a group with and without the music, which turned out well. Overall, for our first dance lesson, it went well. However, one thing I want to work on for future dance lessons is to focus on the intricate details in choreographies and push myself even more outside of my comfort zone. Another thing I would like to work on is to show more intention behind my performance.
Monday 9th September For today’s lesson, we began by discussing our research, on the practitioners/directors in the industry, that we did over the summer. For example, I did some research on Jerzy Grotowski, who was a director. He used a very minimalistic set and many of his techniques focused on movement. Jerzy was one of the founders of experimental theatre. This research was useful because it allowed me to recognise the different methods of acting and how they are utilised. We then moved on talking about rituals and how they relate to performing arts. In my summer research, theatre began with rituals and ceremonies celebrating the Greek God Dionysus. We watched some videos about rituals by Richard Schechner. One thing that really interested me was when he said “ritual is a way of making new things from old. The line between ritual and routine is not easy to draw.” This is interesting because our routines are our own rituals that we perform daily. For example, brushing our teeth in the morning after we wake up. When he said, “ritual is a way of making new things from old” it relates a lot to this unit 9 as we will be taking Ellen McLaughlin's version of the play of “Pericles” (written by Shakespeare) and developing it in our own way. One thing that was intriguing is that there is a lot of cultural diversity when talking about rituals - everyone has their own way of performing. This ties in with the idea of experimental theatre, trying other traditions/ways of creating theatre. After this, we then moved onto practical work and started off with a mindfulness technique by Thich Nhat Hanh, a Buddhist teacher, to help us gain focus and relax. This was a way to help us focus on our breathing and develop awareness. I found this a little challenging as I was not fully comfortable with the class yet, however during this, I closed my eyes and focused solely on myself. This helped me clear my head of any worries that I had previously, so that I was able to fully dedicate myself in the lesson. After giving this technique a go, I was extremely relaxed and felt present in the moment. This technique is something that I would like to continue using for future lessons as it helps me concentrate. Our focus for practical was to experiment with one of Anne Bogart’s methods called viewpoints.
TARGETS FOR NEXT LESSON-- MINDFULNESS - MY PRESENCE- WORKING ON CONFIDENCE
Monday 9th September - continuedI did some research on Anne Bogart, and she was someone who believed to be in the present moment. She believed in surprising yourself. We began by walking around the space using gridwork. This pushed me to concentrate more so that I did not bump into anyone. Our teacher then introduced the viewpoints each one at a time: tempo, duration and gesture and kinaesthetic response. Once all of them had been introduced, I found this task quite interesting. For our kinaesthetic response, we all worked as an ensemble, and responded to each other's actions. I found it quite relaxing to not have to think to just let it happen. This exercise not only helped me gain confidence to try something new, even if it is out my comfort zone, but also helped me learn to trust my peers around me. This helped me get comfortable with experimenting different methods of acting, allowing me to expand my skills and techniques in performance. This practical was a great way of introducing us to experimental theatre to prepare us for our upcoming unit. After this we all worked on creating a movement piece for the paragraphs that we learned over the weekend, to perform. I chose a paragraph that talks about fear of violence. One thing I found challenging was to not act it. instead of just reading it, I constantly found myself acting it. However, it was good to see the different perspectives of each paragraph. One thing I would like to work on for next week is to always give everything a go, even if it is out of my comfort zone. This will help me expand my skills and understanding of different methods. Another thing I like to work on is trying mindfulness at the beginning of every lesson so that I can fully dedicate myself to my peers and my rehearsals, so that during lessons, I am not constantly worrying about anything happening outside of lesson. This will help me be present in the moment.
Tuesday, 10th SeptemberToday we began our lesson by discussing why and what made us choose this course and pathway for our future career as it is a difficult line of work. our teacher got us to talk about this to help push us to stay true to ourselves. In society, a lot of people put on masks to protect themselves from any emotional physical or mental harm. We tend to shield ourselves and therefore are not always truthful to ourselves or others. The reason I chose performing arts is because it is something that makes me feel alive. I started singing by the age of 5/6 around my family but was never comfortable singing around others. The first time I performed on stage was in year six when I was in a choreography and a choir; I performed at the arts depot in North Finchley. My childhood was tough, so I did not get any opportunities outside of school, but I had family members that were in a band. I never met them, but I used to watch their videos, and it made me realise I wanted to be a performer. I studied drama throughout the whole of secondary and enjoyed every moment, but they were many times where I faced challenges due to my lack of confidence. When I joined this course, I was extremely shy but after pushing myself out of my comfort zone and reminding myself of the reason I love performance, I gained so much confidence. Talking about this in front of my peers was hard as few of them know about my struggles but being able to be myself and talk about the reason I love performance so much was like lifting a burden off my shoulders. We then moved onto a practical warmup to get us focused. During this warmup, I was able to balance the space and focus on my breathing. This helped me be present in class so that I was able to set aside anything I was worried about outside of class. We moved onto an exercise where we had to learn a sentence from the sheet we were given and say it to our teacher. This exercise was to help us get a message across just being ourselves. This is a way to help us differentiate acting from being true to ourselves. This is something that I would really like to work on in future lessons.
TARGETS FOR NEXT LESSON- IMPROVE MY VIBRATO - LEARN MORE DIFFICULT HARMONIES- WORKING ON CONFIDENCE
Tuesday, 10th September - continuedFor our second lesson of the day, we worked on our vocals, our singing skills. we began by working on our breathing and trying to hold our breath for a prolonged period. This is to help train us to hold a note for an extended period without losing our breath. Due to being a self-taught singer, this was something that I was able to do already. However, by practising this, I was able to hold my breath for even longer. The reason we did this breathing exercise is to help us develop vocal energy. To achieve this, we must be able to control our breathing, and it is something that I sometimes find challenging due to my anxiety and panic attacks, but I would like to work on this. After warming up our vocals, we began by practising harmonising. We started by singing “Nanuma way nanuma” an African worship song based on the Ghana folksong “Nanuma.” The original song sometimes is used as a greeting in Ghana; it has no precise definition in English. Once we had all felt comfortable singing the lullaby, we began harmonising. During this, I was able to recognise that I can sing high pitch. During today’s lesson, I learnt to have an intention when singing a musical number - a song, dance or instrumental piece that tells a part of a story in a theatrical production. We practised intention with the prologue of “little shop of horrors” and then combined this with the choreography. We did this to practice singing and dancing together. At first it was a little challenging to harmonise with my peers and dance at the same time. However, after practising it a couple times I found it quite easy. This also helps develop my multitasking skills which will help me both in life and in industry. Overall, I developed many skills such as harmonising, singing with an intention and understanding a musical number, however there are some things I would like to work on. I would like to learn more difficult harmonies and improve my vibrato.
TARGETS FOR NEXT LESSON- CONCENTRATION- REHEARSE FOR AUDITION- WORKING ON CONFIDENCE
Thursday, 12th September Today we began with a warmup that I lead to stretch our muscles and prepare us for a lesson of dance. This warmup is also something that will improve our flexibility overtime if done frequently. We then moved straight onto practising the choreography from the prologue “little shop of horrors.” Some of our peers did not know the dance so we got into groups of four and helped each other learn the dance. This helped us develop our teamwork skills and pushed us to support each other. Once we all knew the dance, we began rehearsing it as a group until everyone was comfortable that they knew it. After learning the lyrics to this on Tuesday, we rehearsed singing and dancing together. Our teacher told us that this would be an assessment for dance the following week, so to prepare myself for that assessment I will take time out of my day to rehearse it alone and with peers as many times as I can. This will not only push me to do my best when the assessment comes, but also will prepare me for any rehearsals that we do as a class. Our tutor Then came to give us a script for “Pericles,” so that we could prepare for our audition on Tuesday. Throughout the next couple of days, I will continuously rehearse at home so that I am fully prepared for my audition on Tuesday, helping me understand what it will be like when I audition for university. Overall, this lesson went well as I was able to stay fully focused and rehearse the musical number. However, my target for the next week will be to continuously rehearse until I am fully prepared for both my audition and my assessment in dance.
Monday, 16th September Today we began by discussing some questions about this unit, to help us understand our project a little better. Some of the main key terms for this unit are experimental, theatrical, culture and presence. By constantly reminding myself of these key terms, I can push myself to do my best in this unit and take in as much knowledge as possible, so I am able to develop my skills and adapt to different methods of acting. I will use these key terms when co-creating our version of Pericles as a reminder to give something a go even if it is out of my comfort zone. We then moved onto our mindfulness warm up so that we were relaxed but alert and prepared for the upcoming tasks. This warmup was helpful as I was able to concentrate on myself and stop overthinking about everything. I was slowly getting more comfortable. I think by constantly doing this warm up every week, I will be able to let go of any anxieties and allow myself to grow in confidence. This will push me to be the best version of myself. We then moved onto an exercise with Anne Bogart’s viewpoints, like last week’s, to get us started. However, this time we used her viewpoints of space: Shape, gesture - and the last viewpoint of time: repetition. We started off with creating circles with our bodies, while walking around the space. At first, it was a little challenging as I could not think of many ways to make circles, however I started experimenting with various parts of my body and found many ways to create circles.
TARGETS FOR NEXT LESSON- IMPROVISATIONAL SKILLS- LET GO OF ANXIETIES- ENJOYING MY LESSONS- WORKING ON CONFIDENCE
Monday 16th September - continuedThis was also a struggle due to my confidence; I thought I looked silly in front of my peers but after reminding myself that they are also giving it a go, I was able to let go and enjoy the exercise. I think it would be a nice challenge for me to push myself outside of my comfort zone more often and to get go as I think I would really enjoy things more. We then moved onto developing gesture. We formed a circle and started creating freeze frames with 2 people in the middle. We used kinaesthetic response to add to the images created. I found this a fun exercise as I was able to work as a group with everyone and it was a way of me expanding my improvisation skills. This also helped me work on my spontaneity and just overall enjoying the tasks I am given. We began to develop this by adding more than two people at a time and it was like we could almost tell a story just feeding off each other’s gestures. After this, we were given a small audience and we had to create an image of themes from Pericles. This got us starting to think about the play and began to help us generate ideas for movement. This task was a way of us experimenting with characters. We then moved onto harmonising as a group, singing “Rose Rose Rose Red”. I think it was quite fun to experiment singing a different song at a different pitch. I would really like to work on finding my vocal type. Overall, I really enjoyed this lesson as I felt comfortable with my peers. However, there are some things I would like to work on. I would really like to develop my improvisation skills and let go of any anxieties more often so I can enjoy the lessons more.
TARGETS FOR NEXT LESSON- PROJECTION WHEN SINGING- INTENTION THROUGH SINGING- WORKING ON CONFIDENCE
Tuesday 17th September Today, our teacher for our first lesson was not in, so we began by using that lesson time to rehearse for our audition for our next lesson. I started with a vocal warmup, using a YouTube video by Cheryl Porter. This was to prepare my vocals for my audition so that I do not strain my voice. I then began to rehearse my songs. I found it a little challenging to do this as there was a lot of noise due to my peers rehearsing, so I was not able to fully focus on my own audition. To help me gain a little focus, I put my headphones on and did my warmup. This helped me concentrate on myself so that I was prepared for the audition. We then went to our second lesson and began by doing a warmup to get us focused and relaxed, ready for our auditions. When it came to me doing my audition, I was extremely nervous, and I started panicking, but my best friend was able to calm me down. When performing my monologue, I was quite relaxed, I did not really feel nervous. Due to continuously auditioning with a monologue last year, I was quite used to it. However, when it came to performing my songs, I was shaking a lot, and I could feel myself beginning to panic. By constantly looking at my best friend, I was able to calm down while auditioning. I can sing in front of my peers casually. However, when it comes to performing it, I get extremely anxious. This is something I really want to work on. Another thing I would really like to work on is singing with confidence. After going through our auditions, we began rehearsing our musical number for our assessment on Thursday. One thing I would like to work on for the assessment is having an intention through my singing but also being comfortable with making ugly faces when singing. Overall, I think today was all right, I was extremely anxious but by the end of it, I was at ease. Working on my confidence if one of my main targets for this year!
TARGETS FOR NEXT LESSON- INTENTIONS IN MUSICAL NUMBERS- HARMONISING MORE- WORKING ON CONFIDENCE- MORE VIBRATO
Thursday 19th September Today I began the lesson by leading my weekly warmup to help stretch and relax our muscles and prepare our bodies for dance to prevent injuries. This is something I really look forward to every week and helps me work on my confidence. We then moved straight onto rehearsing for our assessment. I thought that it would be best to have positions to move to at the beginning, so I started by deciding who would go where. I felt a little uncomfortable doing this as I felt I was being too bossy. After rehearsing it without any sound until everyone was comfortable with it, we then added the backing track and rehearsed it a couple more times. Our teacher then came up for the assessment, however just before, we ran it again with more facial expressions and projection. I found this quite fun after I gave it a go! Overall, the assessment was successful. I learnt to harmonise with my peers at different pitches and show intention through a musical number. This is something I would like to continue working on but also enhancing my vibrato and projection when singing.
TARGETS FOR NEXT LESSON- RESEARCH MORE INTO FATE - COMING UP WITH IDEAS FOR MOVEMENT/SINGING- WORKING ON CONFIDENCE
Monday 23rd SeptemberToday I was reading the script for the first time, as a class. We began by going through the research we did over the weekend. I did some research on the historical contacts of Pericles and found that it is believed that George Wilkins and William Shakespeare wrote the play together. This research helped me understand a bit more about the background of the play and how it was written. We moved onto watching a video of Marcus Graham talking about Pericles. One thing I found interesting is that he mentioned the play is all about fate. Back in the Elizabeth era, many people believed that your life is preordained, everything happens for a reason. Another thing I found interesting is that the play explores the theme of idealism and how it is unrealistic. I will research more about the idea of fate and what was believed in the Elizabeth era. As a group we began reading the script and answering questions on a sheet. This was to get us thinking about ideas for the play. For my first impression of the play, I found it quite intriguing. I think that as a play, it focuses on many themes that people struggle with. The play explores the idea of acceptance well. That is a character that struggles through a lot and find himself questioning everything that happens to him. I think that the themes in Pericles will be fun to explore and experiment with in this unit. Overall, the read of today’s lesson went quite well. I am really excited to co-create and edit the script with my group into tomorrow’s lesson.
Tuesday 24th SeptemberToday, our focus for the lesson was to be creators in groups and edit the script to its ‘bare bones’. My group were editing act two of Pericles. We began with the first scene with the fisherman. At first, I found editing the script a little challenging as I was not completely sure which parts of the script were important which were unnecessary information. However, after giving it a go and really reading act two, my group and I were able to edit it. We then made annotations around it of any ideas we had. For example, we had an idea that the scene could start off with the fishermen singing a song and unloading their boat from fishing. we also thought that the joust scene could be a movement piece with live cheering in the background. It was a little hard to produce ideas without acting out, so we wrote down ideas which we could then expand on later. For second lesson, we began exploring the ideas that we had. I found this quite fun as we were able to experiment many ideas and see which ones we thought worked best. I think with each lesson I work with my peers; I feel more comfortable. One thing I find really challenging is to not feel judged. I constantly overthink everything and sometimes that drains me, so sometimes I have no energy in lesson. However, my peers have all been supportive and I think overtime I will be able to feel like I can be more myself around them. The lesson went well, as not only were we able to explore our ideas as a group but also, we were able to enjoy it and make the most out of it.
TARGETS FOR NEXT LESSON-- WORK ON MY SECONDARY ROLE- LEG GO OF MY ANXIETIES - ACCEPTANCE- WORKING ON CONFIDENCE
Thursday 26th September Today we began by going through a warmup to stretch and remove any tension from our muscles. We move straight into choreographing our ideas in our groups. In my group, we began with choreographing the joust scene between Pericles and the night. This was interesting to choreograph, as it was my first time doing a fight scene. However, it was a little challenging as someone from our group didn’t come in, making it difficult to choreograph, as he was one of the main characters in the joust. we moved onto choreographing the ball dance scene, which was also difficult as not everyone is at the same dance level. We recorded our two movement pieces and did it to our best ability. We realised that our joust scene could be our moment of extremity in our act. When choreographing the joust scene, I thought we could make it a little comedic by exaggerating the fight. I think it was quite nice to be able to try out different ideas, in our group, that we had. We made a good team. Overall, I think today’s dance lesson went well as I was able to feel comfortable with my group. Being given the opportunity of choreographing these movement pieces I was able to work on my creativity. I think something I would like to work on is giving up control. I struggled a lot with this last year, however this year I would like to let go more.
TARGETS FOR NEXT LESSON-LET GO OF CONTROL MORE-MORE TEAMWORK- WORKING ON CONFIDENCE
Monday 30th SeptemberToday we had our assessment, so my group came in early to practice and rehearse before lesson. We came in at 9am and went to the theatre so that we could go through our ideas again and rehearse them so that we were ready for our assessment. The main idea that we worked on was the jousting scene so that we could remind ourselves of the choreographed movement. This was tough to work on as we were missing someone from our group. At the beginning of lesson, we started with a warmup with an improvisation using the viewpoints technique of spatial relationships and architecture. We began by focusing on our breathing and relaxing our bodies, then we moved onto working as an ensemble walking around and balancing the space. This was something I am already quite comfortable with. We then were told to close our eyes and were turned to face a certain direction. Our task was to walk straight to the first thing we see when we opened our eyes and interact with it – what shape is it, what does feel like. We were told to change direction and go towards something else and do the same thing – interact with the object. We did this a couple times. On the last time we were told to come up with 3 gestures that interact with the object. After doing this, we were told to get a partner and learn each other's small movement piece and then switch places, during the switch - interact with one another, and do each other's movement piece. I found it quite interesting as my object really helped me gain inspiration for movement. I found it quite relaxing to just let go of everything and give it a go.
Monday 30th September - continued We then moved onto rehearsing a little before the assessment. This helped my group and I to really work on each idea that we had for ACT 2. One thing I was struggling a lot with today is my anxiety, so I was constantly panicking, and I could feel myself burning up a lot. This stopped me from giving everything my best and it's something that affects me constantly. I was also struggling with a sore throat, so it was hard for me to use my voice without being in pain. We then started the recorded assessment. We watched the ACT 1 group first and made notes on what we liked about their ideas. It was then our groups turn. I was already quite anxious previously so the idea of this being an assessment set me off and made me more anxious, however I did as best as I could to show these ideas that our group had. We then watched ACT 3 group and made more notes. Overall, I think this lesson went well. My group was a little annoyed that we were let down by one of our peers and I was quite nervous throughout the lesson, so my focus wasn’t always on my group. However, I did as best as I could to support my peers and work on our ideas.
TARGETS FOR NEXT LESSON-LET GO OF CONTROL MORE-MORE TEAMWORK- WORKING ON CONFIDENCE
EVALUATION OF PROCESS OF PERICLES SINCE OCTOBER
EVALUATION OF PERFORMANCE
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https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/viewpoints-acting-training-guide-76450/
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https://library.fiveable.me/key-terms/experimental-theater/pina-bausch
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https://www.britannica.com/topic/Pericles-by-Shakespeare
https://www.sparknotes.com/shakespeare/pericles/context/
https://www.rsc.org.uk/pericles/about-the-play/dates-and-sources
https://www.shakespeare.org.uk/explore-shakespeare/shakespedia/shakespeares-plays/pericles-prince-tyre/
https://www.shakespeare.org.uk/explore-shakespeare/shakespedia/shakespeares-plays/pericles-prince-tyre/
https://www.sparknotes.com/shakespeare/pericles/summary/
https://www.rsc.org.uk/pericles/the-plot
BIBLIOGRAPHY
by: lucy pinho - kadlec
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thank you