Jay's Classical Project Portfolio

Jay's Classical Experiment Portfolio

Made by Jay

Esto es un párrafo listo para contener creatividad, experiencias e historias geniales.

I wanted to play Hermes because his character is most alike myself and it would also push me to a vunerable state in which I can perform my inner monologues as a real character to an audience.

Old WomanYoung Man: Old Woman's Former LoverHermes: Messenger of the GodsPriest: Of zeus the saviourChorus: A group of Old farmers

Wealth/Plutus: A Blind God Chremylus: An elderly farmerMrs ChremylusCario: Chremylus' slaveBlepsidemus: Chremylus' friendPoverty: A grotesque looking goddessJust ManSlave: to the Just Man - silent

Picking my Character

On Monday 17th of September, we were first given the script for the play we'd recreate by the end of the first project.The characters in this play are:

First 2 weeks of reading PLUTUS

Aristophanes' use of the chorus is something I had never seen before in a play, but to be honest, it was kind of unique yet familiar nonetheless. His choruses aren’t just background—they’re dynamic, engaging, and often the heart of the comedy or commentary. I focused on how the chorus interacts with the main action, whether by poking fun, offering insight, or stirring the audience. Their rhythmic movements and synchronized voices are great tools to experiment with ensemble work and explore how collective energy can shape a scene. Aristophanes also used the chorus to break the fourth wall, which I’d lean into to create a direct, playful connection with the audience. For me, the chorus is a way to amplify the humor and deepen the storytelling. And in the end I found it very eye-opening to see how easy it is to be in a chorus, but how hard it is to actually get everyone to come together, especially because of how not everyone took it as seriously as I did.

Aristophanes’ techniques are very new to me as an upcoming actor and student. Although his sharp wit and clever satire push me to find humor and deeper meaning within scripts I've been given, in this case PLUTUS. I love how he blends absurdity with serious social commentary—it’s a reminder to balance comedy with substance. His use of exaggerated characters and physical humor challenges me to fully commit to bold choices on stage. The way he broke the fourth wall and involved the audience inspires me to create a connection with them like I did with Hermes in the near-final scene. Aristophanes’ work shows me how to use comedy not just to entertain but to provoke thought in the audience, which to be honest made it a little harder to focus on the performance, but actually came together quite well in the end.

ARISTOPHANES THE PLAYWRIGHT

Hermes is rarely mentioned throughout the script and does not make many appearances, yet when he does appear, his presence carries significant weight. He symbolizes the profound 'regret' of the gods, serving as a poignant reminder of the consequences of their actions. In the scene where he makes an appearance, his dialogue is succinct, capturing the essence of his character's turmoil. Each line he delivers reflects his desperation and the heavy burden he now bears, having witnessed how all his wealth has been reaped from the sins he himself sowed. This sense of loss and yearning underscores the complexity of his role, highlighting the themes of accountability and remorse that permeate the narrative. Hermes embodies the struggle between desire and the inevitable reckoning that follows, making his brief moments on stage resonate deeply with the audience.

Character Choice

Hermes - The God of Messages/Speed

As honest and real the play is, it is still relevant to society today. But I think since this is the first project of the term, it'd be best if we spend that time going outside our comfort zone. Also because me personally, it's best for me to do something like this as it provokes me to have to push myself beyond my limits.How would I stage it?I often go for a much more 'grand' performance in theatre, but for what Karl and Blanka have taught me, is that a great performance shouldn;t rely on outward things, but opposedly, inward.For example, performing as a God of messages, it'd be important to be able to put the 'grand' into the dialogue and movement therefore making my character much more heavy and structured.I'd personally prefer to talk in the ways of the grecians to create a sense of intruige and enticement for the people watching.

What is MY concept of the play?

Hermes is much more than a side character in my opinion. I believe he is the literal and metaphorical embodiment of Zeus and the rest of the Pantheon. When we see him on stage, he has a demenaour and an attitude that is rather refreshing and new to the audience, considering every other person previously is very serious and vain within themselves.Hermes not being as serious IS quite vain but it's in a way that makes him a little likeable and has characteristcs and traits that assimilate Loki in Marvel Comics and the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).Hermes' attitude to the mortals on stage helped me delve into the realm of over-confidence within and without myself and my character. As someone who believes himself to be equal to everyone else I found it intruiging to become this character.

What am I learning from this character?

This is Paradox. He was in the recent MCU film (Deadpool vs Wolverine). He was not on screen for too long but when he was his gravitas was not unnoticed. Everyone either loved or hated his character and there was no middle ground. He speaks from his nose and he has a LOT of similarities with other adaptations of Hermes. Unlike Loki, Paradox is honest to an extent. He speaks half-truths in order to get past an obstacle, which I can actually relate to in the endless trouble of living a fun teenage life while being a respectable child.How can I utilise these traits:I initially had trouble choosing between a fun and silly character and a serious and brutally honest character. But merging these two inspirations made it easier to create something refreshing AND rich to see on screen.

This is Loki. He is the God of Mischief in the MCU and the comics and his character as given, is very mischievious, he always has a second agenda when bargaining with another person. How I can utilise these traits:Using my masterclass skills of 'Siphoning Traits' I have been starting to talk and move with much more grandeur and regal attitude. I started to manipulate how I say my lines on page 37 by saying it by speaking through my chin with a tilt. Using Blanka's directional techniques and my 'Siphoning' I have been able to create a whole persona that is easily differential from who I actually am.

Character Inspiration

Main Inspo

At first when it came to prepping for auditioning for Hermes I noticed how his lines weren't that many and that he only appeared in one scene, right at the very end. But I didn't let that discourage me. Throughout this whole project, I only looked at my script a handful of times, and most of the times I looked through it was to understand the context of my scenes so I could fully know how the Chorus and Hermes reacted to different changes on stage. On the other hand, when we were given a week off to start going offscript, I instead started to research on different shows and film that portray the Pantheon so I could actually understand the task at hand of performing a God such as Hermes. Although funnily enough, I didn't look at my script at all during this week off, and didn't look at it again onwards past the show day.Knowing me, memory and line learning are not my strong suit. But for some reason I was able to push myself past previous boundaries I had subconciously put upon myself, I was able to recall lines in scenes that weren't even my own. I feel as if giving myself the time to carry out the methods of previous actors (Ryan from first year) was the best idea moving forward. Despite all the stuff I showcased during rehearsals. I was even offscript for the Audition for the character Hermes. And compared to other people who didn't even know what they were doing on that day, I created a movement piece days before with a soundtrack to fully convey the dedication I was and ended up putting into my character.

Dissescting the script

This was actually one of the latest times any of us would've stayed up to study but we we're all determined to prove to ourselves that it was possible. To become the best at what we do. Learn. Adapt. Improve. That's what we do when we put our minds to it. But ultimately we were watching the film - Eternals as not only were we using two songs from the film but it revolves around greek-based characters and how they feel being under the thumb of a 'God'. This film really gave us insight on how we'd perform our characters.

Yes this doesn't count as a form of research but it DOES go towards how much effort I put in towards the play and the outcome I brought to stage and in theory. I had a film of mine that came out during that week off we had, and at the same time I created the startings of both This portfolio and my Monologue portfolio.

Right here you can see Mark, Janaie and I spending some time together over video-call to read over certain lines. And at this point in time, despite already knowing my lines, I still aided by reading in for them as Plutus and Blepsidemus.

Here you can see me cataloging the Audio MP3 files for the play. And despite not being able to dictate where it went WITHIN the play, I still made it a priority to provide the director and Sound Choreographer with audios that matched the aesthetic and sound scape of the play.

This project was a lovely and very intuitive way for me as an actor and an upcoming distinction student to expand my research and theory skills. Despite lacking in the frequency of how often I came back to work on my portfolio, I still made sure to have evidence to back it up. Such as:

Relevant Research

Ancient Greek plays are a new to me as a college-actor. Their universal themes—love, power, fate—still resonate, and the archetypal characters help me connect with the roots of performance much easier. I’m inspired by how they relied on physicality and voice, performing in masks, which pushes me to focus on body language and vocal expression. The chorus shows the power of ensemble work, and their use of simple symbolism reminds me that less can be more. Understanding the cultural and ritual significance behind these plays also deepened how interested I became into the whole creation of my staging, Chorus AND Hermes alike.

To this day, we still use Greek terms to express different emotions or events. For example: Hermes is the name of a 'speedy' delivery service, which yes I must admit, I learnt from my Director. But there is another that shocked me; Music is actually a word that derives FROM Greece. This then led me to start finding and listening to songs that had a correlation to Ancient Greece, and during this time it had also lead me to the album of ETERNALS, which is the film that gave me more insight on the interpersonal relationships within the PANTHEON.

This part of the MYTHOLOGY research was actually the most fun. Since most of our lives today revolve around the culture and norms of greek life, which i'll delve into on the next point.

The Olympic Games in Ancient Greece were a fraud to say the least. So much so that within the script at page 37, Cario is heard mentioning how the God's TAKE the food and wealth of whatever mortal takes first place. Which is just as bad as a governmental body taking the finances of a healthcare worker. I brought this on to the stage throughout my performance as Hermes: The god of messages by being extra snobby and disrespectful when giving Zeus' commandments.

"The Olympic Games: were founded by the Greeks around 776 BCE, at first as just one race. ""Myths and Legends: we still read the stories of the Greek Gods and they are part of our culture." "Language: some of the words we use today in English come from words created by the Greeks." "Theatre: the Greeks made the very first theatres and also came up with the ideas of comedy and tragedy."all the above can be sourced in the 'bibliography' slide.

As a gamer, I already know quite a bit about GREEK MYTHOLOGY, but I didn't go on fictional appearances of the PANTHEON but rather literal interpretations derived from folklore and actual stories. For example:

More Research on Greek Mythology

Within this scenario, my hands were truly tied behind my back. I had done sound design in EVERY show I had ever done within this course and had at least got to allocate where one song went in the play. But due to directorial reasons, all I could do was pick the songs and sounds used in the play and convert them to sound files. Now not to say THIS was the challenge, but the challenge was more of my ability to take the director's notes and move forward without putting in my own 'two cents'. Now at first went to the film that I had used to do my ANCIENT GREEK research - Marvels' Eternals. But when I showed the Director, they had enlightened me on the fact that the audios used in that film weren't very 'Earthy' or very greek. And in my eyes my first instinct was to disagree and defend my beloved film themes, but as a Sound designer, the responsibility I chose was to respond to the Director's notes and to carry them out AS ASKED. And I feel as if even after all that happened during production, the main fault was my ability to fully carry out my tasks efficiently and AS laid out.

Secondary Role - Sound Designer

PERSONAL GROWTH: In the early days of this project, I remember when I told myself

PERFORMANCE(ACTING): I vividly remember the first section of the second year, I was so excited to get back on stage and start performing, but I ended up realising through Karl's lessons that I didn't really KNOW how to act, but rather I was just imitating something else. After a few weeks went by, a remember him giving us a task of saying one of our lines and I ended up laughing every time it went too quiet. And I ended up having to repeat it so many times. Now at the time, I didn't know what I know now. That I don't take myself seriously. Now this is most defintely because of the environments I studied in in secondary school. But I had to get out of that bubble of 'everyone is going to judge you' and step into a 'I know who I am, and I don't need your permission to be me'. Since getting the Plutus script to now, I'm able to see the exact amount of self improvement and organisational improvement.

HERMES: Hermes was the most fun I had with bringing a character to life compared to EVERY character I've ever played on stage or screen. He was a God and really made me feel the need to go above and beyond, but within the classes of Karl Jackson on Tuesday's; Janaie, Mark and me came to find out that less truly is more, and that we didn't have to become a thespian to become a great performer, but infact the opposite was what really sold the story, and so in the end even despite having quite a thespian-based character, my performance still felt grounded and honest, and I kept up the standard with my voice and articulation as well, based on Tim's advice. Although in the end I felt as if I had to sort of 'forge' Hermes from thin-air as our clothes-designer fell sick during vital rehearsal weeks, so I had to somehow create the clothing for Hermes, which wasn't a problem at the time, but looking back at it, I shouldn't have had to have done that.

SOUND DESIGN: As mentioned, it was very hard for me to succesfully carry out tasks that were given to me by the Director, especialy because of how split-minded I could be. However towards the week off, I finally started to become more focused much like a bullet, EVERY task that was put infront of me, I pierced. I had finished learning my lines, I had managed to juggle extracurricular events with my portfolio's management. I was at my peak. And sound design spawned that from deep within.

EVALUATION

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

https://www.mylearning.org/stories/ancient-greeks-everyday-life-beliefs-and-myths/411?#:~:text=Ancient%20Greece%20had%20a%20warm,scientists%2C%20artists%20and%20teachers).