Scenes 10, 15 and 16

Scene 10

When Mau says 'I have a plan' we all enter from different doors as islanders and say 'No'. We stand in two circles boys and girls and perform a dance relating to the four elements, girls are fire then water and the boys are air and earth. The circles cross over and we spit in the middle to show a ritual is taking place. The steady chanting of beer creates a tribal atmosphere. We then all perform our offerings into the middle in groups using levels, movement and voice in order to create a beautiful picture of all the islanders coming together in order to save a child. In this section we use shoulder lifts and echoes and whispers, in order for this to work well we need to fully go for it and work well as an ensemble. I think this did go well in the rehearsal cause no one cared what they looked like and went full out however I do need to rehearse getting onto Lara's shoulders cause it needs to be slick and look easy.

After the ceremony we go back into a circle and when Mau says 'come' we turn into trees. Becoming a tree we have to create weird body positions and link with others around us in order to make space for Mau and Daphne to travel through. The cue for us to turn into piglets is 'look', here we have to snort and fight for our place by the mother. This occurs in the top corner by the stage.

Finally on Mau's line 'that's it, come on' the piglets disappear and in that same corner in a huddle we enter as tired and hungry islanders, we look around the island and then exit through the doors underneath the balcony slowly.

In order for this scene to look successful we need to have good transitions and work together as an ensemble so that our movement and voice are strong. Other tips given in the lesson were to keep up the energy and open the voice if trying to show you are higher status. To improve we need to rehearse this scene so that everyone knows what they are doing and so that transitions work effectively.

Scene 15

Everyone enters as death, walking around Daphne keeping her always in our sight. Whenever Locaha speaks we freeze in order to show that he is our master and we are controlled by him. We then split into four groups when Mau says 'Run Daphne'. We then become dream fish, we cross the centre and then move around. In order for this to be effective we have to use our whole body to create a ripple effect to make it seem magical.

When Daphne says 'I cant', we turn into islanders, I have chosen three actions, lighting the fire, chopping and stirring a pot. This is all in mime so the actions have to be really clear so that the audience will understand what we are doing. We then notice a telescope in the middle of the stage, between the rows of audience. We start dancing with happiness to create a contrast between our happy atmosphere and the voice of Locaha. We laugh and dance to ourselves not realising what is happening between Locaha and Daphne. Then when Mau says 'it's coming' we notice a huge wave coming from the balcony, we scream in terror and run to the sides of the room.

Finally we create the funeral scene, I am a mourner. We walk in a group, two people are carried representing the dead mother and baby. As we begin to sing we walk to the edges of the room while the coffins are lowered to the ground. Daphne then has her speaking bit when she places the baby into the mothers arms.

To improve this scene we need to all learn the words to the song, again like scene 10 there are lots of changes in setting therefore we need our transitions to be smooth in order for the scene to be effective. Also because this is a magical scene everything needs to be clear and easy to understand because it might be difficult for the audience to grasp what is happening.

Scene 16

After scene 15 we stay in our circle around Mau, Daphne and the other principal characters. When Marisgala says 'dream fish' we do a quick arm action to represent the fish connecting it back to the previous scene. After this we begin to hum and echo 'what does it mean' as the circle splits and moves round to the entrance of the cave (the door under the balcony). Here we are trying to draw them into this magical cave to show there is more to come in Act Two.


Through all of these scenes the main techniques we are using are ensemble, lifts and changing the voice which I have spoken about in my previous post: http://nationhollygarcia.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/scene-7-and-11.html

Scene 7 and 11

During this rehearsal we devised the two raider scenes. Even though I was not chosen to be in these scenes, I was able to watch and learn lots of techniques from my fellow class mates. This are the theatrical techniques we used in the lesson.

Ensemble

Working as an ensemble means that everyone should work together with both voice and physicality in order to create a single effect.

This was done both physically and using voice. Ensemble was used throughout to show that the group of raiders worked as one. Some of the moments I thought were particularly goo were when the raiders entered in formation. They all performed the same arm movements and used there voices to show that they were a pack that worked as one. The use of the 'who, hah, hee' sounds were particularly effective because it demonstrated that they did not speak the same language and they were tribal people.

To improve the ensemble work they all need to be focused and know what they are doing in order to show they are a group that attacks and lives together. Ensemble was a key technique in both scene 7 and 11 and where essential for some of the other techniques that I will be talking about later.

Lifts

In the scenes we used lifts in order to include levels. This was done in order to show status and emphasise the characters.

To carry Cox onto stage, Courtney used a fireman's lift in order to carry him safely. We also performed throws with Danny over head, The raider chief was lifted in order to show his status as well as the throw for his death and for Edgar and Hector two lifts were performed. The first was them being tied to a poll and carried by two people with the carpet poll on their shoulders and the second was being lifted upside down to show they are slaves and not important to Cox.

In order to perform these lifts the base needs to be strong and the raiders have to work as an ensemble in order to create a stable structure for the person to feel comfortable in. Whenever they rehearse these lifts they need to be careful and complexly focused because if not the lift could go wrong and there could be serious consequences.

Stylised movement

The way that the raiders moved was very important, they had to move quite animalistic and also act aggressively.

This was shown in the march section where they use the arm signals, also when cox becomes the leader we see the x turn to a cross in order to show the different leadership. Also when cox is in the circle talking about the bishop we see the pack working together hunched over and growling, scared and confused by this strange being.

In order to improve their movements they need to be a lot more free with their movement, constantly acting defensive and be growling in order to show they are not civilised people, they are cannibals.

Cross cutting/Double scene

Cross cutting is when you cut from one setting to another.

In scene seven we see cox entering a dream state, he believes he is back in Wiltshire with the bishop, Ermintrude and his boy. In order to show that he thinks he is home but actually is still on the island he uses the raiders to represent the people he is talking to, Cox also spins around on the floor to show that he has gone slightly insane and doesn't know what is happening.

In order for this to be effective the raiders need to act very scared of cox and confused at what he is talking about. They must be protective of each other and Cox needs to show that he has gone mad, by having quick changes of thought and not noticing what is going on around him.

Transitions

Transition are slick movement from one movement to another.

Transitions are key in these two scenes in lifts, when creating the chain and dragging the bodies. They are also important for those with lines because they need to be quick sharp and there should be no pauses otherwise the energy will be drop. They need to be able to lift and dismantle in a matter of seconds otherwise the audience may loose interest.

In order to achieve this they need to practise the lifts and transition so that they are quick and clean and they need to be constantly focused and know when there lines are supposed to be said

These two scenes were created in a short period of time and they include an immense amount of detail, therefore I would suggest to those in the scenes that they practice the lifts and transitions regularly so that when we come to do these two scenes again they will know exactly what they need to do.

First rehearsal

In this rehearsal we worked from the beginning of the play to the end of scene two.

Prologue

In the prologue we worked as an ensemble looking around the space, investigating and chatting to one another. In order to make the entrance affective we enter from different doors in order to give the audience the idea of chaos and children breaking in to this abandoned building. I enter through the fire exit and we are the pin ball group, this means that we have to be darting around the room in order to keep the energy up. In order to work as an ensemble we have to interact with one another and keep the transitions smooth and slick.

When clay enters as Mau, everyone creates a circle around him, this is so the audience only focus on him. when he shouts 'Mah!' we all scatter away as birds. In order to make this realistic we searched up different birds looking at the sound they make and the way they move. We then hide away at the edges of the room.

In order to improve the prologue I need to be constantly on the go when searching the building otherwise it may get boring after a while for the audience and also i really need to in body the bird. No one should be embarrassed about doing it because if we all do it well the audience will understand what we are trying to convey.

Scene One

This is the scene on the sweet Judy. We have set it so that the scene takes place on the balcony so that the audience can represent the scene. After all the lines the boys lift Mau in order to represent him being carried by the waves. As they do this the girls fall and twirl to the floor in order to represent the drowned sailors. I need to not fall onto the floor as quickly as I did in rehearsal because I need to take my time and use my facial expressions in order to represent the drowning sailor. As we fall to the floor we fall in uncomfortable strange positions to show the strength and power of the wave.

I believe this is very effective because when Mau stands up with all our bodies on the floor it shows how alone he is, and how many have died.

Scene Two

In this scene we all start hitting the floor in unison and we sing the 'Imo' song. In order for this to be effective we all need to know the lines, sing in the same rhythm and work hard as an ensemble in order to recite the song.We them begin standing one by one creating weird body shapes as we get up to show that we are no longer human. Mau runs around and we he takes us we scream fall to the floor and curl off. In this section we have to be really experimental with our bodies because we are supposed to be Locaha's people, therefore we cannot act normal.

We then stand and shake one part of our body to represent zombies and as Locaha passes we create a Mexican wave to show our alliance with him. The wave needs to be big and dramatic because it also represents the tsunami that happened at the beginning of the play.

Lyrics - Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are.
Up above the world so high,
Like a diamond in the sky.

When the blazing sun is gone,
When he nothing shines upon,
Then you show your little light,
Twinkle, twinkle, all the night.

Then the traveler in the dark,
Thanks you for your tiny spark,
He could not see which way to go,
If you did not twinkle so.

In the dark blue sky you keep,
And often through my curtains peep,
For you never shut your eye,
Till the sun is in the sky.

As your bright and tiny spark,
Lights the traveler in the dark.
Though I know not what you are,
Twinkle, twinkle, little star.

Twinkle, twinkle, little star.
How I wonder what you are.
Up above the world so high,
Like a diamond in the sky.

Twinkle, twinkle, little star.
How I wonder what you are.
How I wonder what you are.

Scene Idea Notes

Our Research and THE BIG IDEA

We gathered up information and here is where kitty put it together into a presentation...

https://prezi.com/embed/e9ssjnjgdyys/?bgcolor=ffffff&amp%3Block_to_path=0&amp%3Bautoplay=0&amp%3Bautohide_ctrls=0&amp%3Bfeatures=undefined&amp%3Btoken=undefined&amp%3Bdisabled_features=undefined

Our Idea

We were given scene Four the beach.

We think Mau should begin on the stage, on the island when he is speaking to Imo. Daphne should be just under the Balcony looking through a telescope. She should then begin walking forward so that she is in between the Audience and should say the lines 'He looks troubled...'. Meanwhile Milton will stay on board the shipwreck so the performance is spread across the building.

Daphne will make her way onto the stage in order to say 'Good Morning' and will continue to talk until Mau charges towards here. Mau and Daphne will then run between the audience into the see. Daphne will use an umbrella from a member of the audience in order to represent the gun. They will continue to talk here until Daphne exists (shown on the Diagram).

Finally the |Grandfathers will be based in the orchestra pit and as they talk the audience will only see their hands to show they are spirits and are no longer living.

Sources

Source One
The British Museum
18/01/15
http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/cultures/oceania/polynesia.aspx

Source Two
Wikipedia
18/01/15
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polynesians