QUESTION 6 - DEVISED

QUESTION 6 – PERFORMANCE EVALUATION  

My group wanted to communicate a number of things to the audience in our performance. Firstly, one point we wanted to communicate was that we wanted our piece to remain deliberately ambiguous to create a sense of confusion within the audience. This was done by not having an obvious structure and storyline to our piece, instead every scene had a completely different theme/topic that didn’t have an obvious link until context was added. This being said the context wasn’t completely obvious as well which adds to the overall ambiguity of the piece. A lot of the ambiguity was shown through characterisation, so not having one character hold the same personality throughout so changing vocal tones and volumes. This was also shown through the music used in the piece. Every piece of music used was completely different in terms of genre and sound which reflected onto the questioning of the genre of the piece. This confusion within the audience is deliberate as we wanted them to leave the theatre feeling like they don’t quite understand what they just witnessed so they have to really think things through, which was the case so we were therefore successful in our final performance.  

Another point we wanted to communicate to the audience was that we wanted to unnerve the audience and make them feel deliberately uncomfortable. Also, to experience what the characters are feeling in that moment and make them feel like they’re on that journey with them. This was done theatrically by making the performance style immersive at times, so occasionally we had close proxemics with the audience by hiding behind them. We were also being vocally immersive, so I shouted in people's faces in my final scene to portray the panic that my character felt and to make them feel the same way through my loud volume and angry, panicked tone. We also used a voice-over speech at the beginning which explained to the audience their 'role' in the performance (which was an observer). This made the audience feel more a part of the performance and story therefore making it more immersive. Some feedback that I received about this aspect of our performance was that 'the actors really succeeded in making the audience feel unnerved and keeping them on the edge of their seats throughout the entire performance.'  

The last point we wanted to communicate to the audience was that we wanted to give the impression that our piece was non-conventional from the get go and to throw them into the "deep end" right from the beginning of the performance. We created this feeling straight theatrically through the use of dialogue and vocals. Our dialogue in the first scene was entirely unrelated to whatever line was said before to show that this piece would not be like conventional theatre. This was also done vocally by having using varying clarity, audibility and emphasis in different scenes. One audience member commented on this saying 'there was a clear contrast between the monotone voices used in the check in scenes compared to the constant vocal variety used in the 'Glasshouse' scenes.' I found this to be successful in the final performance. 

QUESTION 4 - DEVISED

One contribution I had was the idea of having a physical theatre scene, which was in keeping with Kneehigh’s style, involving a rope. This scene came about after we created the set early on in the process (another Kneehigh inspired method) which included the rope. I then came up with the idea to incorporate the rope into a scene somehow, which happened to end up as physical theatre). This was done theatrically through movement and voice, for example each character ended up caught in a rope from some part of their body. Two character were caught from their upper body and one character from their feet, by having the rope end up in different parts of the body it shows variety and reflects how trapped the characters are in their world. Vocals were also used in the rope scene, this was done when my character was caught up in the rope and let out a blood curdling scream when I was launched forward towards an audience member. The scream impacted the audience in that it showed them just how painful and difficult it is for the character being held in the ‘Glasshouse’. In this scene, I had the idea of adding music to the rope scene which was ‘The Flight Of The Bumblebee’. This song added a speedy pace into this scene and also a happy atmosphere which contrasts with the real message of the scene which was the idea of captivity and pain.  

Another contribution I had was a Kneehigh inspired method which was using a song in the first scene of the performance. I then developed the idea that body percussion could be used in substitute to a soundtrack or instruments because the characters are using all they have in the ‘Glasshouse’ as they wouldn’t have likely had their own instruments. This song was done theatrically by using vocals specifically using the acapella technique which was influenced by Kneehigh. My character, OBF, was constantly holding two notes throughout the song in an ‘oooo’ sound which created an eerie impact behind the upbeat song which foreshadows the darkness of the ending of the performance and just how morbid it is. Overall the song shows the audience how the characters have to entertain themselves after being taken into captivity. The absurdness of the music also reflects the deteriorating mental health of the characters.  

An idea that I had for the piece was to contrast our peculiar and absurd scenes with a 'random' naturalistic scene right in the middle of the performance. I also suggested that this scene should be relatively short but to still have a big, emotional impact on the audience.  this was done through the use of voice and movement in the way that the volume of the actors voices were a lot quieter and calmer than the hectic scene before where the volume was extremely loud. For the dialogue, my character says one line ('I like that song') which is repeated by the other characters. This shows potential past memories that the characters have held onto after all the time they've been in the 'Glasshouse'. Movement-wise, all three characters posture becomes very small and nervous as if they feel like they’ve just done something they shouldn’t have or something unnatural. This scene is in the performance to impact the audience by making them realise that these now absurd characters were just like themselves and that they can somehow relate to them, making later scenes more emotional.  

QUESTION 5 - DEVISED

For my piece I have considered different aspects of social, historical and cultural aspects that have affected my performance and the impact that these things will have on an audience. This includes the part of my piece where all three characters explore the Victorian era, specifically the invention of the automobile. We show this era theatrically and vocally by altering our accents for this piece by making them a very over the top received pronunciation accent/ typical actor voice which greatly contrasts with the accents we were using in previous scenes where we were using playful but had hints of losing our minds. Posture was also a key element when trying to portray the Victorian era in this scene to the audience as the posture for each character switched from almost childlike to upright which presented that the characters are of a high class and of some kind of authority which again contrasts with the authority "ladder" in the rest of the performance between characters.  

Another point that I explored was the idea of being held in captivity by someone/something of a higher authority. This is shown in my overall story of two characters, OBM and OBF who are being held in a lab environment and are being experimented on by someone/something called 'Eros'. The idea of captivity is shown mainly by showing my performance in the round. By doing this, it gives the feel to the audience that they are closely observing the characters experience and by being around them, keeping them trapped within the 'enclosure' that they're in. Having the performance in the round also helps the audience to connect with the characters as well as having them share the feeling of claustrophobia and the coming of insanity as if they've been sharing this experience with them. Another way that I showed the idea of being held in captivity was by having the two characters who are being observed 'OBF' and 'OBM' use different accents throughout the piece. Firstly, the characters used playful and peculiar accents which they came back to frequently throughout, then we use a northern accent, a received pronunciation/typical actor voice as well as a 'normal' voice at times. This shows how long the characters have been held in this enclosure, that they've picked up different accents from stimuli that they might've been given and how these are used instead of their original accents as they've been away from their normal lives long enough to forget their own. The many different accents also suggest mentally unstable characters.  Another theatrical technique I used was more production based as it involved projections. I used a projection of the 'Eros' (the 'being' controlling this experiment) logo which was projected to the far back wall of the performance area. In the character 'check ins', the actors would stand in front of the projection so it would be showing on their body. This gave the impression that 'Eros' has completely taken over their own bodies and identities.  

I also took into consideration how the piece is set in the future (2051 to be exact) and how certain details in the performance would be affected by this. For example, technology is heavily used in our piece. We have used this aspect theatrically by having an 'over-voice' (Eros) speak to the characters inside 'The Glasshouse' and who also speaks to the audience at the beginning of the performance to debrief the audience on what they are about to witness. This voice-over 'robotic' sounding 'being' seems to have great authority over the characters which is shown in the check in's when all three characters respond to Eros. For this I have taken inspiration from current technological products such as 'Siri' and Amazon's 'Alexa' who have access to your private life or however much you tell it and the idea is that 'Eros' can have access to any information about you it wants, even if it has to force it out of you. This is shown theatrically by the characters going into a sort of 'trance' when Eros is speaking to them making them completely vulnerable, which the audience can see. And we also show the idea of technology taking over through the use of light by having a bright blue light (which is usually seen as a futuristic colour which is also thought of as a technological colour like the blue light on a computer screen) for whenever Eros is communicating with the characters which shows a big contrast between when the characters are left on what they believe is their own and when they are talking to Eros.  

 

 

 

QUESTION 3 - DEVISED

SECTION 3 

I researched different futuristic as well as modern issues and situations to ensure my piece is more well informed than it was before. Firstly, I researched human experimentation in the UK, particularly people who did not consent to the testing and had their identity removed. This acts as the base of our whole piece as our two characters ‘OBF’ and OBM’ were taken in against their own wills. Another example of human experimentation is when the CIA allowed Donald Cameron to see if he could ‘depattern’ the human mind by erasing their existing memories and minds. This piece of information impacts our performance in the ‘check in’ scenes where whoever is in charge of the whole experiment wipes the characters memory to conduct their physical/mental check-ups. This is done every month to make sure that the characters are clear of any past memories that could somehow interfere with the experiment. When trying to erase the memories of these ‘participants’ Donald Cameron palyed recorded messages to them while they were in a drug-induced coma. This fits in with the recorded ‘robotic’ sounding voice-over that plays to the characters in their check in’s.   Another part of the human experimentation research I carried out, mind altering drugs really stood out to me. In 1964 to 1968, the US army paid professors Albert Kligman and Herbert W. Copelan to carry out research on 320 prison inmates by giving them mind altering drugs. This relates to my naturalistic scene where all of the characters come out of their absurd state and return to what is suspected to be their ‘normal’ selves as they respond to a well-known ‘Queen’ song by all saying “I like that song”. This scene suggests that the characters have been given these mind-altering drugs to forget their past lives and personalities.  

CO2 emissions is the root cause of the issue within our performance piece but I specifically researched CO2 emissions from cars which is a modern problem that has been going on for years already, but our piece emphasises how this problem has escalated and effected the population and technology. This research links in with the scene regarding the invention of the automobile which is set in the Victorian era. The characters in this scene are astounded by the invention but some have concerns about the CO2 that it could release into the atmosphere, foreshadowing the current issue in the other scenes.  

Another futuristic piece of research that I looked into was ‘millionaire bunkers’. These bunkers have been designed to protect wealthy, important people from possible future disasters such as a nuclear war or World War 3. The idea I had to use this research in my performance is that the ‘lab’ that the piece is set in is held in an underground luxury bunker that all of its citizens can come to view. One particular scene which hints at the idea of being in an underground bunker is the ‘light scene’ where the characters react to a flickering light from above. The light in this case is a flicker of daylight from the world above and this greatly intrigues the characters as it triggers a vague unconscious memory inside them of their life beforehand. In my research I found a quote from Larry Hall (project manager of a luxury bunker) which reads “these are luxury, nuclear-hardened bunkers that are engineered…to accommodate not just for your physical protection but your mental wellbeing as well.” Which is ironic in terms of my performance as the characters in the piece appear to be very mentally unstable. This is shown primarily through dialogue, specifically in the first scene – OBM: “do you hear the owls howling?” OBF: “those are not owls they are fish!”. As you can see this dialogue is very absurd and doesn’t seem to make any sense. This dialogue wouldn’t be spoken by a mentally stable human which contradicts with the above statement made by Larry Hall. 

QUESTION 2 - DEVISED

SECTION 2 

Our practitioner Kneehigh are heavily influenced by myths and legends of which they base their work off, which usually results in them requiring strong emphasis on visual imagery which is a common method within their company. Other methods they commonly use include live music and puppetry. Their styles include surrealism, grotesque techniques abstract themes, epic theatre and darkness (especially within humour and undertones). They tend to be non-naturalistic as they use puppetry and masks. They do not limit themselves when devising a piece as this can prevent potentially great ideas from being used, I will be taking this idea and using it when doing my devised piece as I personally think it's a great piece of advice. Kneehigh's method of creating a show is vastly different to how the majority of other companies create theirs. They begin with an instinct (stories which emerge) and then they explore their natural environments along with music which are both used to inspire the creators and use them as a 'story telling tool'. They then map out the structure of the piece. 

Kneehigh use a range of styles and methods in their work and I have decided to incorporate some of these styles and methods within my rehearsal process and then hopefully in my final piece. One method that Kneehigh use which I have decided to experiment with in my piece is live music, Kneehigh do this by using instruments and also actor vocalists. In rehearsals I have been playing around with beats and rhythms by using the set and props instead of actual musical instruments. I’ve also experimented with lyrics to fit my piece. Another Kneehigh method is surrealism which is looking at things from different perspectives and stylised which is somewhere between surrealism and naturalism, in rehearsal I have been exploring both surrealism and stylised techniques, I think that the final piece will include a mix of the two styles depending on different parts of the piece. Kneehigh also feature dark humour and dark undertones in their work which I have been automatically doing in rehearsals as the piece has a naturally dark feel to it as the characters seem mentally unstable and unhappy in the place that they’re being kept which is called the ‘Glasshouse’ which has a dark and claustrophobic sounding feel to it. Physical theatre is another key aspect inspired by Kneehigh that I have decided to use but have done so in a slightly unique way using a rope. The rope in the scene represents how the characters are metaphorically and literally trapped in the glasshouse. The way the rope is used is that each character gets ‘tied up’ by the other two, representing the experiment as a whole. Kneehigh also use the unexpected in their work to keep the audience’s mind on its feet and I’ve taken this aspect on board in rehearsals by making the whole piece extremely absurd, especially in terms of character and dialogue.