Lesson 13 - 28.04.16

Today, we started from the scene in which we last left off, which is when we are all in the semi circle, after we have moved into our new positions. My new place is in the middle of the centre of the semi circle and the left side. Today we introduced the blanket that we hold when 'giving birth'. At first, we were just holding the blanket however Ben then told us to wring it in our hands above our heads, looking at it with amazement.

Nurse Scene

When working on the Nurse scene, I found myself opening more and more due to Ben's direction.

At the beginning of the scene, when I make the baby out of the blanket, I figured out that I need to be stationed in the beginning corner of the semicircle so that I can just get up quickly and begin gathering the blanket, instead of having to get up and run to the beginning of the blanket.

Before learning how to make the baby, I was just quickly gathering the blanket in my arms however Ben told me to take my time and he also showed me how to properly make the baby. In order to make the baby, I get the blanket and turn it in (rolling it) to itself, creating a sort of cocoon shape. At the end part of the blanket, I make the head by making a small ball on top and covering it with a small bit of remaining fabric. An issue I found while making the baby is that, due to the ensemble wringing the fabric, it was very hard to work with as it was very tightly twisted. In order to introduce the character of the Nurse as being a comical character who has no clue what to do in this situation, I call out 'Oh My Lord!' 'Oh Aaron!' throughout making the baby. When doing it to the class, everyone was laughing however I did not know whether it was because I was doing the comedy well or I was performing really badly however Ben then assured me at the end that it was because I was doing it well.

Throughout running this scene, Ben kept giving me direction to be more abstract with the character to make her more comedic. I like having two contrasting characters to play as it shows my flexibility if I play them both well.

Although we didn't get much further than the Nurse scene today, I feel as if we have polished it well and, with extra work and research that I will do, it will be a very enjoyable scene.

Lesson 12 - 27.04.16

This lesson was particularly special as this was our first look at our set. Although the platform was not there, along with a few other details, it was amazing to see the set in real life instead of picturing it in our heads. After TTA showed us where the exits and entrances were (one of which I did not even know existed), I began to look at the set in more detail. The cauldron was a lot larger than I thought it would be therefore making me wonder how deep it would be as the blood packs would be in there; discovering a layer of cloth inside, it was deep but not as deep as I thought it would be. There was a lot less performing space as I had imagined! The border that looked like a dirty mound/hill looked very effective although Ben mentioned that he would want us barefoot and the 'dirt' was really sharp that I can imagine it would cut our feet and ruin our costume. 

Running First Half of The Play

Again, we aimed to run the whole play in the two hours of allotted time we had however we did not seem to get any further than we did yesterday. As the weeks go on, I am noticing more and more how I am not living up to my full potential, which is really upsetting me as I feel as if something is holding me back. When we were running this section, I realised, when playing Mutius, that I am not properly playing my objectives. For next week, I need to shape up and ensure that my performance does not lack anything.

The maggot pile at the beginning proved to be quite a struggle when the cauldron was in the way as it was in the centre. Also, I seemed to be quite detached from the rest of the ensemble so I found it hard to interact with them in the pile. I am hoping that we can work a bit more on getting over this problem in the Tech run next week. 

The run was going really well until people started losing their focus. Especially in the tree formation, the ensemble was growing more and more restless. I am quite worried that this play isn't going to go as planned although we all know the running order, our cues and our lines as we are not giving Ben enough time to direct in detail.

While Chloe and Sybil were having a moment on stage, we were all in the wings. As this scene was taking quite a lot of time to get through, we were all growing more and more restless and talking, which Ben and the rest of the crew could hear, therefore we were drawing attention to ourselves meaning that we need to make sure that we are disciplined for the performance as we do not want the audience to stop watching what is on stage. Despite this, Chloe's moment with Sybil never fails to amaze me as Chloe really throws herself into the scene and makes one of the best scenes in the play! I really learn a lot from watching Chloe in this scene as she teaches me what I need to do to make my acting better, not just in Shakespeare but as a whole!

As we didn't get to get to the end half of the play, I assumed we were going to do it in the afternoon however, due to my ill state, I had to go home before I got worse therefore I did not get to my other scene, unfortunately, making the rehearsals fall behind.

Lesson 11 - 26.04.16

Imagination Exercise

To start off our rehearsal, Ben got us to get into partners. I chose to be partners with Gemma. He asked us to decide who was the strongest in the pair (obviously, not me) and then to stand in the space with our eyes shut, in neutral. I really enjoy imagination exercises when they work.

We were told that it was a hot, summer's day. Although I was only picturing the sun, I felt as if I could feel the heat on my skin as I found myself getting hotter and hotter. To continue, we were told that there was a fly the kept passing our faces and occasionally landing on it. When this happens in summer, I get really annoyed so the thought of it began to annoy me. More and more flies kept getting added to our exercise until they were covering our bodies, going in our pants and our mouths - This made me feel quite sick so I began to cough and wheeze as the flies could suffocate me. I was fighting my surroundings, trying to attempt for them to stop coming near me. I was getting in a real panic as my body began to itch with the thought of flies and, in that time, I really believed I had multiple flies on me.

Ben then told us to open our eyes however my body continued to itch for a while. He then told us to do it again, preferably with our eyes open, but this time the stronger partner would try and stop the weaker struggling. From watching other pairs, it looked really effective especially when Ben then told the holder to begin to weep and cry out 'O' as the weaker partner was dying (he said to picture the person you love most in the world dying in your arms). Just the thought of this made me sad as it made me think of what I would do in this situation.

The next time we did it, we took out the sound and Ben told us this was how we were going to end the play (although, later on, we added on a few bits to the ending).

The Rest of the Ending
Finishing the directing of the ending, Ben decided that everybody on the floor (the dead people) all rise up and stand in two lines on either side. When Lucius and Young Lucius walk offstage, we all turn around and walk off one by one, leaving Aaron alone on stage shouting. I really like this ending as Tamora takes Aaron's baby away from him and we all leave him also therefore leaving the message that he is alone forever. I really think that this will look very effective onstage.
When running it, it all went well however, when we walk off one by one, we all were waiting for someone to go first (on my side) however no one did so, at the same time, we all had the same thought and took a step. To improve this and make sure it won't happen again, we have now decided on an order so that it will not look so messy again.

Running First Half of Play
After figuring out an ending to the play, Ben decided to get us to run the play but without sound and only doing the everybody's entrances and exits. Surprisingly, I knew more than I thought I did! Along with the rest of the cast, we all did it without sound very successfully.
Moving on, we aimed to do a full run through of the play. This was a bit optimistic as we only got through half of the play therefore we aim to finish the rest tomorrow.
The first section until the removal of my dead body went along really well. Everyone supported one another and we all seemed to know our lines although I keep getting stuck on the last line of my first spoken section. After this, everyone started to lose focus and get more distracted therefore making it harder to run. A part which personally I find to be very demanding is the formation of the tree. Although making the tree is not that hard, it's very hard to hold our positions and still look engaged while our knees and arms are aching. We have to maintain this pose for a few scenes, making it harder to hold it. Although the tree may look effective, I can not see the actors looking very engaged in holding this position therefore, if I was the director, I would make a change to this and, either, scrap the tree idea or make positions easier for people to hold like if we push our weight into one another and support each other while making ourselves look like interlocking branches.

Lesson 10 - 20.04.16

Today's lesson was split up into two sections as we no longer have directing at the end of the day on a Wednesday so we rehearsed in that time instead.

Morning Rehearsal

After warming up with the Side Stretch, Ben told us to walk around the space and, at the same time, travel the route of our character's and say our lines to ourselves. I found this to be really useful as it forced me to say my lines without a script in my hand therefore making me more confident in what I was saying. There were lines that Nurse speaks that I kept repeating to get the tone right and perfect the way I spoke them. 

After this, we then got straight into blocking the last few bits of the play. Once this was done, we then attempted to do a full run through of the play. Since it had taken us so long to finish blocking the play, I thought the play was going to be very long however it went by so quickly (although we only got about half way through since Ben was directing while we were going through it). I found myself to be more familiar with Mutius's lines and more confident when delivering them. Something that we all forgot was when Sybil and Lauren are trying to run away together, we, the Goths, do a lap around the room following them, acting as if Titus was chasing us. In the rehearsal of this, Lauren injured herself as she fell over so we had another actor come in to fill her place.

The rehearsal seemed to be going quite smoothly, which, strangely, made me start to like the play. Seeing it being put all together with a lot of energy in the room made the play seem more exciting. We did not finish the full run through, as we only got about 25 pages in, so we planned to finish the rest of the play in the afternoon rehearsal.

Afternoon Rehearsal

As the final directing assessments were taking place, Ben was not in the first part of this rehearsal however he left Katie to be in charge. At the start, everyone seemed to not really want to do the rehearsal in a time not specifically made for Shakespeare however this turned around when Katie really took charge of everyone and got everybody on task.

The rehearsal without Ben went better than I thought as we were all problem solving and helping each other out without Ben telling us a straight answer, which made me feel a lot more involved in the process although when Ben came back into the room to help us, the environment immediately became 10x more professional as there was someone back with a position of authority.

When we got to Nurse's scene, Ben said I had to act more panicked, which I really struggled with so, to help, he made me repeat 'Oh Aaron' while running from one side of the room to another, making me more breathless and panicked. This really helped me finding a panicked tone so now I realise I need to work on it before the next rehearsal.

We got quite far into the play in this rehearsal so now I can imagine that we will finish a full run through next week!

Lesson 9 - 20.04.16

Blocking

After doing a very successful Side Stretch, we went straight into finishing the blocking of the show. Since the other classes had already finished blocking it, I felt like our end scenes had to be a bit rushed so that we could catch up.

At the beginning of the blocking, I found myself at the side of the stage watching the action take place. I found it to be quite boring not doing anything however I took this as a good opportunity to learn some lines and run through my scenes again in my head. This all changed when Ben told Gemma and I that we were to be Publius together (Marcus's son) who get Chiron and Demetrius ready for their slaughter. The role of Publius is purely physical. When our cue line is read, we grab Chiron and Demetrius and push them forwards, in a violent way, to where they are to be murdered by Lavinia and Young Lucius. Gemma and I keep a violent hold on them and stuff black handkerchiefs into their mouths (with a blood capsule secreted inside). We then push their heads down and then lift them by their hair. I found it quite hard to make this movement look quite realistic without actually holding Amber by the hair however this shows me an example of what I need to work on in the future. I found this scene to be really effective because I had never really understood it before however it now makes a lot more sense that this scene shows the innocence of Lavinia and Young Lucius disappear when they commit a sin. This really shows the characters' journeys in this play as it shows how their characters' attitudes and behaviours change drastically.

Moving on, there were more scenes blocked after this (including doing the second Hacca again). I can feel this play progressing quickly. Ben took the group of actors who die in the last scene to the side while the rest of us began finding ways to move around the space to show fighting and conflict - This included marching towards people with strong eye contact, falling into each others arms, and also (when reaching a destination) bouncing on our tip toes while looking up, like what we do at the beginning, however with more staccato and sharp moves. The falling back into each others arms looked quite bad, as well as =our movement towards each other, therefore Ben made us do some exercises to improve:

Falling Back

What I found hard about falling back into each others arms was that I didn't know where to fall as I had no body contact with them to begin with. To make us trust each other more, Ben made us go around the room with each partner and either fall or catch them. Since I am weak, I find it quite hard to catch people so I was the one being caught all of the time. After falling into everyone's arms, I became increasingly more trusting as people started to get more skilled with the catching and knew what they were doing so I had nothing to be afraid of.

Running To Partners
For our next exercise, we got into partners and stood in opposite sides of the room, facing each other. I got into partners with Tia.
The first part of this exercise was to run from either side of the room to each other so that it creates the illusion that we were going to run in to each other but we miss each other, purposely, to send the audience into panic and also to show that this is a war type scene. At first I was worried that we were going to run into each other but, once I did it, it was surprisingly easy!

Running and Catching
For the final part of this exercise, we had to run to each other, hold your partner across the chest, step back with their body following, and then push them off to then keep running.
When Ben was explaining the instructions, I was really scared to do it to Tia due to my weakness however, after delaying it for a while, I did it and it was really easy as Tia supported her weight really well.
Leading onto this, when Tia did it to me, I found it really easy to control my weight and fall back in a supported way.
I can really see this being really effective when used in the piece in the final scene.

Lesson 8 - 13.04.16

I am still in shock that we, as an ensemble, can now do the Side Stretch without any prompts as we all work together really well in this! The only thing we need to hear from Ben is when he shouts 'HA' so that we can then follow. When we do that 'HA' in response, the energy in the room creates an insane atmosphere in the room that can even surprise me on how powerful we all sound all together.

The Second Hacca

Straight after the Side Stretch, Ben made a good decision when he split the class and took a group of actors out to do their scene and he left the rest of the class to work out how to use the bamboo sticks in a second performance of the Hacca, led by Delainey.

Before leaving, Ben gave us a few instructions; he said that he wanted us to put down the sticks at the start, and also that he wanted us to pick up the stick (after the work lower on the floor) and incorporate it into the rest of the Hacca after.

Once Ben had left the room, we were all eager to begin however most of us had forgotten the Hacca therefore we had to go over it again - this was hard because we all seemed to remember different things so it was hard to communicate the sequence to each other. After Hannah and Chloe figured out what it was, they went to the front and showed us all. I found this to be very helpful as I'm more of a visual learner than I am an aural learner.

After many failed attempts, we finally ran through it all together a few times. One by one, it seemed that we were each giving up since we had run it so many times. There were some people who were getting stressed because of this as they thought we would end up disappointing Ben however this all turned around when Ben walked into the room and we showed him what we had created, which turned out to be our best run so far! It ended up flowing seamlessly! I'm very happy with this turn out as this really showed me that our work can really pull through even though there are so many strong minds and voices that may cause arguments occasionally.

We were then directed by Ben for the rest; we were split into two halves of warriors. When Jamilah ran towards the left, half of the warriors would run and block her, following with a 'HOO HOO HA', slapping their wrists, and finally holding their bamboo stick like a sword to intimidate her so that she would go to the other side and the other half of us would do the same. Because I am at the front of the line, I then walked forward, creating a v-shape and connecting the two halves. The scene then began with us all squatting/sitting down watching in this v-formation.

The only issue that I can see with this is that this is straight after I exit off as a dead Nurse therefore we will have to sort out a very quick transition between these two characters (also since I have a Goth armband to put on so I might not be able to do this quick enough).

After this, we ran some scenes where the Goths that were crouched down were in. I need to find a more interesting way in getting involved in these group pieces as it does not seem as if I am as involved as I could be.

Historical Context - Post 5

The first contemporary Shakespeare show that I decided to watch was Much Ado About Nothing, starring Catherine Tate and David Tennant. The first difference from a traditional Shakespearean show was the costume and set - They were both very modern with bikinis, sun loungers, etc. Also, the staging was very modernised as there was a rotating stage. Continuing with the modern-theme, there was a music track placed on top, featuring electric guitars, which would also not be used in a traditional show as this type of music was not around at the time, and also because music was live on stage at the time so a track would not be used as this technology was not invented at the time. Moving on in the play, there was a 70s-type disco with a popular dance track being played. Not only was this behaviour not typical in Shakespearean times but music like this was not invented. I can appreciate how some adaptations of these shows like to modernise the staging and costume (as well as other concepts) while continuing to use Shakespearean English as it is a way of keeping audiences engaged and making them more relatable as well as making the adaptation more individual and unique.

The second contemporary Shakespeare play that I decided to watch was The Comedy of Errors by The Royal Shakespeare Company. This adaptation had a lot of technology onstage, which, clearly, was not invented in Shakespeare's times. As this was a performance for children, there were a lot of 'goofy' props used to keep them entertained, such as glasses with the attached big nose; again, these are a modern invention therefore I can imagine they chose to use these to keep the audience entertained, as Shakespeare is such a difficult concept to understand (especially for children). The space in which they are performing in does not look like an open air theatre therefore I can imagine that if this was performed in this space in Elizabethan England, the tickets would cost a lot more as it would protect the audience from the weather conditions therefore making them more comfortable. Lastly, from the clips that I saw, I could see that women were playing women, which was very rare in Shakespearean England where women were usually played by boys or young men.

I think one of the most famous contemporary versions of a Shakespeare show is Baz Luhrmenn's 'Romeo + Juliet', featuring Leonardo DiCaprio. This is a film adaptation of one of Shakespeare's most famous plays. While still including the Shakesperean dialogue, the setting is very modern; the Montagues and the Capulets are shown as warring mafia empires, the swords are replaced with guns, and the some of the names of the characters are changed (giving Lords and Ladys first names, etc). This adaptation is very different to an adaptation I have seen performed live in which they stuck to the script and did not change the setting to modernise the play. I saw this adaptation in a small hall where the only set they had was a small, fake staircase and a square that transformed into different things. I can imagine that, in Shakespeare's time, there was no advanced set so the performance was focused on the bare actors themselves. 

Seven Questions

Stanislavsky came up with seven questions that he believed would lead any actor to understand their character(s) in more depth, which would then lead to them gaining new techniques in order to become a 'good actor'.

In order to understand my characters in more depth, I will now answer them in my characters' voices.

(M) - Mutius

(N) - Nurse

1. Who am I?

(M) I am Mutius. I am a fighter. A bloodthirsty fighter. I am one of Titus's remaining sons and I will bring death to Rome.

(N) I am a Nurse. I am the protector of the innocent, responsible for bringing new life to the streets of Rome. I am responsible for bringing Tamora's child into the world therefore I will make sure to obey my Lady's orders and arrange to take him out of it.

2. Where am I?

(M) I am in Rome, returning from 10 years at war. My mind however is not in the same place as I have seen many deaths, I have caused many deaths, and I have looked at death in the face, escaping it's clutches.

(N) I am on my way to Aaron's home with his babe in my arms. This babe will live no longer than the journey it takes for us to reach is home.

3. What time is it?

(M) It is the days of terrifying Rome. The streets are ridden with death and sorrow. It is day time on this day of our return however the skies are filled with clouds of grey and darkness.

(N) It is night time. I have to hide in the shadows so no one can see this black, sorrowful and dismal issue.

4. What do I want?

(M) - I want to kill. I want the war to come back with us to Rome and I want people dead.

(N) - I want the baby dead. I want to please my Lady.

5. Why do I want it?

(M) - Most of my brothers are dead. I am used to seeing the dead. I want revenge.

(N) - The mother wills it so. My Lady wants the baby dead therefore I must please her. A baby of this colour shall not live.

6. How will I get what I want?

(M) - I will kill Tamora's eldest son and continue. Rome will see blood.

(N) - I will get Aaron to bless it with thy daggers point. I will not disobey my orders.

7. What must I overcome to get what I want?

(M) - I must get my father on my side. I must get him to want Tamora's son dead too. Then, I must get everyone involved in the killings.

(N) - Aaron doesn't want his son dead therefore I must convince him. I must get him onboard to kill his first born son.

Lesson 7 - 12.04.16

Once again, we began today's rehearsal with a Side Stretch. Recently, I have really realised how much better we are as an ensemble at doing this as we seem to not need as many prompts from Ben anymore and we all work well in time together. After doing a Side Stretch, I feel really focused and I feel more part of a cast and an ensemble as I do before doing this.

Running Scenes

Straight after the Side Stretch, we went straight into blocking some more scenes. We began from page 25 (since Katie wasn't in). We all got into a semicircle, facing outwards, around the actors in the scene. I was between Lauren and Delainey in the centre of the semicircle. When we are sitting down, we are playing with a prop of a severed hand, which will look quite effective as it foreshadows a line later spoken by Jamilah. When Jamilah says the line, 'Here are the heads of thy two noble sons', when we all shy away and cover our faces; we wait two beats and then we uncover slowly, before she can speak her next line. The next line being, 'Amd here's thy hand, in scorn to thee back', which is when we all lift our hand upright in our right hands and our heads follow the sight of the hand. We then slowly lower it; I think, together, this will also look very good as it will show unity of the ensemble sitting in the semicircle and how we are supporting the actors in the centre of the stage. Later on, we all do call and response when Titus laughs, making it sound like an echo, which created an atmosphere of craziness and manic-ness. 

Sword Fighting

Before continuing scenes, Ben wanted to teach us how to use our bamboo sticks as swords, by teaching us some stage combat. At first, we were all excited about the bamboo sticks so we were all playing around with them and pretending they were swords, which, although wasn't instructed by Ben, it really got me into the warrior mood. I think that when I'm excited to do something, I do it better so I was really ready to get learning some stage combat.

We began by getting into partners and holding both of our bamboo sticks between us (palm to palm) and travelling around the room, finding new ways to move the sticks between us without dropping them. Gemma and I found some simple moves to move them however we ended up finding a way to both turn around, keeping our sticks intact. Personally, I didn't really see how this could really help us in practicing stage combat however I did see that this exercise was a good starting point for working with the bamboo sticks as it was a simple task that got us familiar with the sticks.

We then got into a new pair and began by working with hitting the sticks between us. B would hold their stick in a diagonal above their head while A stepped forward and hit it with theirs. When Amber went to hit mine, I found myself really scared at first since it was so close to my head that I was scared she was going to hit me however I soon got over it when we swapped over and I realised that there was not a high risk of her hitting me in the head as she was quite far away.

We then moved on to doing the same kind of thing however we added in movement so that one partner would be stepping backwards while the other would step forward and hit their sticks. As we all got more into this, we got increasingly more confident in our movements and I can really see us incorporating this movement into our performance and showing fighting.

The last thing that we did was hit the other person's bamboo stick sideways in counts of three. This presented a new challenge for both partners because the partner holding the bamboo stick for the other to hit had to move it side to side quickly to where their partner was aiming to hit it to avoid them being hit in the body. After a few tries, it got easier, making us more confident. This was until Ben started drumming a fast 3 beats for us to sync our hits with; the drumming was very fast, making it harder for both partners, which is something I definitely need to work on since I can see this being such an effective piece if action in our piece!

Running More Scenes

After practicing the stage combat, we went back into blocking more scenes. We added in a new movement for the ensemble in the semicircle to do; when Shanay says the line, 'Did you not use his daughter very friendly?', we all turn around, with our legs spread out as if we were giving birth and panting - this panting then builds up into screaming for the next few lines until Kit (Demetrius) says, 'For our beloved mother in her pains', when I get up as Nurse, collecting the black cloth that we will all be holding (while the ensemble continue screaming), and then gather it into a baby shape. Once I have created this bundle of cloth, I will beat the drum 3 times to order for the ensemble to stop - in response, they then fall back and lie down in exhaustion.

When performing this scene, at first, I was very unsure on how to act however after Ben's description on how the Nurse is not very clever and not very unsure on what to do, I was a bit more clear on how to act. I found myself continuously getting instructed by Ben to stand further and further away from Shanay. I used my jacket to show the baby so I was told to hide the baby away from Aaron at first - Now that I understand my character's intentions, I am finding myself understanding why this direction is a lot better than showing Aaron the baby straight away since it makes the showing of the baby more dramatic.

We worked a lot on how we all move around in this scene - When Aaron tries to calm us down and get us to sit down, I sit down by the cauldron (since we have decided this is where is where my death is going to take place). The way in which I die does not include any screaming but it includes my body being open and my head going back, facing the ceiling. Aaron, still holding the baby, will take a blood pack from the cauldron and smash it onto my face. My head will continue to be back so that the blood will be left dripping down my neck. I really like this way to death as it is very different to the other deaths, which will show how the Nurse is a very different character to the rest killed as she is not a fighter.

Lesson 6 - 06.04.16

Set and Costume

Today's lesson began with a lot of excitement from everyone as this was the first time we were seeing our set and costume designs. Although we didn't try anything on or see the set in person, it just made everything feel a bit more real and exciting. Considering I am not a Shakespeare fan, this even got me a bit excited.

The set box showed a platform with a cauldron in the centre. There were ladders leading up to the high platform and the cauldron was moveable. For some reason, I pictured the platform to be white, in my head, however it was designed to be black. There was a surrounding mound of mud (we use blocks to represent the mound in rehearsal). This was so exciting as I was already beginning to picture myself performing in it in real life.

The costume design then came on. The idea was long, fitted bandages that fitted underneath like a leotard and we would wear leggings underneath. I'm most excited to try on the costume because the design idea they bought in looked really interesting so I can't wait!

We also saw the bamboo sticks that we will be using as weapons.

Blocking

We then moved back into blocking the piece. We went back to when we were all the forest, creating pathways for the actors. When we were becoming the forest from lying down, it seemed that none of us really knew when to start moving our right hands or when to get up so it was a bit messy (Esther and I ended up looking at each other and agreeing to get up at the same time so everyone followed). We need to decide on what the cue lines are for this movement so this doesn't happen again.

After making the paths for the characters to walk between, we then created the tree for the next scene. This was very tiring for our arms and legs so it was very hard to hold when Ben was doing such detailed directing that it took over an hour. In the end, we all decided to sit down and hold an arm up as a twig since it was so difficult to hold for that amount of time. I need to find a way to make the tree without getting so tired before the real performance.

Esther, Samara and I then became soldiers and stood still at the back for a while, which was a lot easier than being a tree. When I was a soldier watching the tree, it looked so easy however being in it previously made me really realise how exhausted they all were.

Lesson 5 - 05.04.16

To begin today's lesson, we began by doing Side Stretch, which automatically made me more focused as I felt as if I was more in the world created in the lesson. We then went into running the last half of the show before beginning to block it.

Running Part Two

While I was offstage, before going on as Nurse, I decided to try and learn my lines, since I have been struggling so much with learning them. Watching Nay as Aaron, with all her lines and cues learnt, makes me panic since she's got such a big part with a lot of lines to learn and I still cannot learn a few short bits. 

When I went on as Nurse, I didn't know very much on how to play the character, therefore I just found myself with a script in my hand, standing in neutral and speaking my lines. I didn't feel good about this performance whatsoever however Ben did end up complimenting me on how I held neutral well. I feel as this scene will get better and seem more realistic once Ben has blocked it properly.

There was a scene where Ben wanted the Goths to be onstage, making up this crowd of supporters. I went up although it seemed that none of us really knew what we were doing so we were just standing there; again, I think it will look a lot more effective when Ben blocks this section - if I was directing this scene, I would use physical theatre when Hannah orders to take someone away so that there could be a slick looking lift.

Changing at Punctuation
After running through the last part of the play, Ben gave us an exercise to do about changing the tone of your voice, and the energy you put in when you say it, each time you spot a piece of punctuation.
I chose my first section of dialogue in the play to experiment with. Strangely, this really taught me ways to learn my speech and also the power I could show myself possessing through my voice.
Ben then gave us a new instruction; he said to change your physicality after each line. Although doing this looked very bad, I can appreciate what he meant since it shows a new thought and change of direction showing that the dialogue/speech goes through a journey.

Animal Research
After break, we began to do work based on our animal research. Ben gave us an example of what he wanted us to do. He started with breath and then moved on to bringing it into his physicality through things like his spine. This was really effective to watch although I couldn't find much information about my animals' spines and breath so I had to do it based on what I thought it would be.
I chose the animal of a Bull Terrier to work with. Dogs have very panting breath so I worked with that although it was quite awkward to do it properly when the whole class was completely silent; also, it was very tiring to maintain as I am not used to working my breath as hard as that. I then moved onto the spine so I got onto all fours and kept my spine straight, with a slight arch. When we began moving around, I looked at everyone with a lot of judgement and violence in my eyes, showing that I was a violent dog ready to attack. When Ben made the noise where we had to react to, I found myself standing in the front, staring at him. Thinking back at this, I should've run to attack, barking, since that's what dogs usually do.
We then became animal-like humans. I maintained the same features with a slower walk than usual, taking care with each step. We then had to walk across the room, in front of everyone, and 'greet' them when you got to the middle. I found this quite hard as Fifi started smiling at me when I was trying to maintain my seriousness.
I found this exercise to be quite helpful in finding new characteristics in my character that I didn't know I had before that I can now use to help to build my character.

Nurse

Since I am playing the character of Nurse, I have also decided to gather some facts and information about this character:

- She brings on Aaron's bastard child onstage in a panic

- She is a racist as she labels the child by the skin colour stating that it is disgusting because of it

- She is very distressed by everything that is happening

- She does not realise that Aaron is dangerous

- She is killed by Aaron at the end of the scene

Historical Context - Post 4

QUESTION: What were the theatres or ‘playhouses’ of Shakespeare’s time like and how were plays staged in them? 

In Shakespeare's time, theatres and playhouses differed greatly to the theatres nowadays.

A Playhouse could be described as a 'small, private, indoor hall';  they were open to anybody who could afford entry. Playhouses were good for actors as they provided a space to perform in all year round, despite the weather. They were also a place for audience members to feel comfortable in the luxury of the indoor warmth. Playhouses were smaller than theatres (they could fit up to 500) however the cost to watch a play in a playhouse was a lot more expensive than admittance to theatres. Since they were not open air, beautiful scenery could be introduced that could be used again and again since there was no danger of weather destroying it. An example of a building specifically built to be a playhouse is the Sailsbury Court Playhouse; The Gray's Inn and Whitehall are two examples of theatres that were transformed into playhouses.

Although the most famous theatre of Elizabethan England is The Globe, famous for staging Shakespeare plays, there were many other theatres in England that also existed however most people associated Elizabethan Theatres with those built in a similar style to The Globe. Everybody loved the theatre, it was a booming business that offered many opportunities to make money. Because plays might have been performed in several different places (outdoor playhouse, an indoor theatre, a royal palace, etc), plays had to be versatile. At the time, there were no directors so the actors would direct them themselves as well as making the props/costumes/etc.

QUESTION: Who were the actors of Shakespeare’s plays and how did the experience of being an actor differ from the experience today?

The most obvious way in which actors of Shakespeare's play differed from being an actor today is that all casts were filled with men; female roles would be played by boys or young men. Although gender-switching roles in modern day theatre is not rare, women are typically known to play women however this was not the case in Shakespeare's times due to the fact that women could not become an actor.

In modern day theatre/film, actors do not specifically have to have certain skills (such as fighting, sword-fighting, etc) to then show it onstage as the same effect could be created with sound and special effects. In Elizabethan times, this was not the case as actors had to be specially skilled to then show the skills onstage (such as, playing instruments, etc). The main reason to why actors do not have to hone these skills today because we are more advanced in technology, and such other things; for example, we can pre-record music to then play over the piece instead of it being live onstage.
Costume was very key to plays in Elizabethan times - it was a thing that theatre companies invested in greatly as it 'provided the essential "spectacle" of the plays". Typically, they were second-hand clothes that were worn by real-life people whom the characters were based off. This is very different to modern day actors as costume is usually made especially for the performance by skilled costume-makers to represent the characters. They are usually very expensive and are only used for and by the actors in their performances.

Mutius

When Titus Andronicus returns from 10 years at war, he only brings back 4 of his sons. One of these sons is Mutius. As I play Mutius in this play, I have researched some facts on this character:

- He is killed on the first day they return from the war by Titus, his father

           This is a pivital moment in the play as it foreshadows how parents will kill their                        children in this play (No one is safe)

- He tries to help Bassianus run away with Lavinia

- Mutius is a minor role however his death shows how Titus is mad as he kills his own son                without any hesitation or thought

Some of the lines that I say are actually spoken by Lucius in the actual play. Because of this, I have looked at a few Lucius facts to try and get into the mindset of both characters:

- At the end of the play, he is Titus's only surviving son

- He also helps Lavinia and Bassianus to run away as he defends her from their father]

- He changes throughout the play from bloodthirsty killer to sober and responsible leader

Historical Context - Post 3

What was London like in Elizabethan times and who were the people attending the theatre?

In Elizabethan times, London was very different to how it is now. London was the most successful city in England. Between 1550 and 1600, London's population grew from, roughly, 50,000 residents to over 200,000; it was growing mostl because of migrants from the countryside and Europe. in large places in England, the poor lived in a certain part of the city occupied by minority groups (nowadays, we would refer to them as 'ghettos') where only the poor would go. In London, the rich would live in one part of the city as the poor lived towards the East. London was the biggest and richest city in England. Successful traders, manufacturers, and their workers lived there. Royalty also lived in London along with much of the nobility. The poor kept to themselves - They even developed their own form of language, called 'Canting', so that they could communicate without anyone knowing what they were talking about therefore giving them some kind of protection against the law. 

In terms of theatre, more men than women went to the theatre however all sorts of people paid visits. Shakespeare is well-known for writing in this era. By 1600, up to 20,000 people would visit the theatre a week. Although Shakespeare's work is famous for being shown at the Globe, the plays were also performed outside of London, although Shakespeare spent more of his working life in London. Theatre companies also toured around the country. Theatre was very different from today; actors had to do everything themselves - making costumes, etc. Servants and apprentices spent the majority of their spare time there along with many wealthy people in the audience however they refused to go to public theatres so they would pay for companies of actors to perform at the courts of Elizabeth I and James I.

To have a place amongst the 'groundlings', standing in the yard around the stage, would cost minimum one penny. For one extra penny, you could have a bench seat in the lower galleries (paying one more penny for a cushion). The 'Lord's Rooms' were the most expensive option to go the an open air theatre. Putting this cost into perspective, a loaf of bread would cost one penny therefore showing how to low cost was one of the main reasons to why the theatre was so popular. Food and drink was also  available (pippins, ale, etc). There were other forms of entertainment at the time (such as, cock-fighting and bear-baiting) therefore theatres had to compete for audiences. Another difference from theatre today is that most people didn't sit and watch the performances in silence.