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.