4.10.2013
Word of the week: Motif:

• Things that are repeated (music, movements, images, etc.)
• Often changes

This week, we were really trialling out different things to see what worked well with 'moments'. For example, when working with Jill we created some scenarios by story telling in a big group at random. This meant we would all say a part of the story then finally put it all together. Our stories included a man watching TV as his wife dies next to him. The confusion of this would make the audience think that it was really strange but mysterious and enjoyable to watch to see what happens next. We also made up a scene of a man watching a scarecrow outside of his window that comes to life, all of our scenarios were thriller/horror based to make them a lot more quirky and therefore a lot more enjoyable for the audience to watch. It keeps them on their toes and makes sure the attention is kept all of the way through the performance.
 We then split the class into two and each had to decide which created story they wanted to use. My group chose to use the husband and wife story because it was really weird and a lot could come out of it. We decided that Jess and Danny were going to play the husband and wife, whilst the rest of us in the group acted out as demons trying to get the husband back for the crime that he had committed. The demons were Ryan, Sian, me, Beth and Lauren. I thought that it really worked well in what we did because it looked strange with so many things happening at one time. It reminded me of a Pina Baush performance, 'Cafe Muller' because it came across as a tragic, and unwelcoming piece but with a lot of love and passion secretly shown. It was a very strange piece but I liked that side of it. It made it different and unique, however there were some weaknesses throughout. These were the fact that we did not have too long to rehearse each of our performances but this can easily be solved by rehearsal being taken part in on days to come. I would really love to use this in our final piece because I thought that it really worked well in the quirky theme that we have.

 We also created a mimed piece. This in my opinion worked really well because it left out speech which made us work extra hard to get across exactly what was happening. It was also funny which would put a lighter side on the dark piece that we are showing. It would then overall show a big contrast in the emotions the audience would in the end have towards the performance.

 I found this part of the abstract piece to be very fun to rehearse and easy to make look good because the whole thing is based on facial expression and body movement, everything is over exaggerated so that it looks good and the audience know exactly what is going on throughout. I enjoyed making this and really hope to put this in our final piece because I know that it could get a lot of laughs and confuse the audience as to what is happening when they have gone from miserable and fearful, to happy and enjoying what they are seeing in a really positive way.

 In a discussion, we decided to get rid of the doll movements from our final piece. I think that this was a good idea because it did go on for quite a while and dragged the performance on negatively. This could however be exchanged with the mime performance which would allow a slapstick comedy side to the piece. I really like this idea because it confuses the audience where they would not know how they are supposed to feel which would have a big impact on the overall viewing of it. This is a really great idea to me and I hope it is featured!

 We also researched Steven Berkoff. I found that Berkoff trained in London and Paris, then formed the London theatre group. He has featured in plays, films and is also a big influence to many. He was originally influenced by Lawrence Olivier and his role model was Edmond Kean. Steven created the two plays, 'West' and 'East'. In West, the dynamics were very strange. His voice was based in the present, yet his body was in the past with his actions. There were some controlled movements, and also some rapid and erratic movements which was all completely different. It makes the atmosphere very confusing but also intriguing. The blood on the screen in the clip made the scene more intense and quite gruesome also. I would imagine that this would cause a lot of controversy throughout the audience, and would be very effective in emotions with shock, anger, and more. I feel that this would be what we are aiming to also achieve in our final performance of moments. A lot of controversy throughout the audience and also a sense of confusion too. This makes the viewing very versatile and organic. By this, I mean that all of his work is completely different every time and forces you to make your own judgement and not being told what to think about each piece. Allowing the audience to make their own judgement on a piece gives a completely different approach and outcome against other performances. I like this about his work because nobody will then have the same final decision on the performance which gives it a lot of versatility and additionally, a different view for yourself even if somebody watched one of the pieces several times it would be a different experience each time.

 I have also been collecting some random quotes that I have over heard to act out and use in our final piece. Here is what I have found so far...

"I'm  going to wear your shoes when you go."

"Well, that's a dog of a treat."

"That's the longest skateboard I have ever seen."

"The weird smells that you like."

"I think it's a big meaty place."

"The boys think he looks gorgeous without a beard."

"Do spiders have noses?"

"The ones with fins."

"Terry... the slush!"

"No one squash me because I've got it in my bag."

"Come near me I'll eat ya."

"Let's just give them the uncle Bens!"

"I'm going for a bath, I feel like a piano has landed on my head."

"They take it's teeth out so it is friendly."

"Kinky pigs."

In our final piece, from my quotes we used the quote "Do spiders have noses?". However we extended it a lot and also made it very grotesque to watch. In the final piece, my group decided to all come on one at a time shouting different spider quotes that repeat then overlap and finish on a bang. The quotes that came out of this first quote were all very different but still came from the same sentence. I liked how that happened because it shown a lot of creativity from us and what we could actually come up with from one quote. I thought that it really worked well and the progression we made from the start in my opinion was a massive improvement and I really enjoyed it too.