The first rehearsal in the new theatre wasn't a dress or a tech this was more just to get used to our new set and the volume at which we'll have to speak. The dressing rooms weren't open so we had to wait outside when we weren't on stage which also meant that we didn't have the small televisions where we could watch what was happening on stage and see when we needed to get ready to get to our entrances.
When I had to go onstage I got to my entrance on time but I didn't realise how quickly I had to get to my place which is on the opposite end of the stage. I almost skipped across stage which isn't acceptable unless my character is extremely gay so for future reference I'll have to speed walk and come on first. After my scene is finished, I'm backstage for the rest of the play so I have a lot of time to kill.
The tech run was mainly the tech team going over lighting cues as this play is largely dependant on lighting. The volume at which we speak directly correlates to the lighting changes because if the lighting managers can't hear what we're saying and miss a cue, it could cause a lot of confusion during a performance. So this run was more for them and if they asked we had to repeat scenes to make sure they had everything right. No set changes have to be made either so there won't be blackouts where TTA sneak on and change things. Apart from the tent but actors onstage do that.
The dress runs were just us performing but in full costume. There wasn't that much of a difference at all but it completed our characters. For some people they figured out what underwear worked with their costume and for the convicts women, they found out that bending over too much or climbing on things was a bit revealing. The costume department have also decided that the officers and convicts will have separate dressing rooms because if we touched the convicts too much we got dirt on our costumes. For us officers, it meant managing our wigs and making sure they fitted well. Sometimes if we felt they were sliding off or someone's wig was crawling off their heads, we would let them know so they could adjust it. It also meant us bringing the appropriate shoes (black boots) because if you didn't have them, you looked like an idiot. You ruined the illusion.
Tuesday, 10 December 2013
Tuesday, 3 December 2013
Rehearsal
This rehearsal we rehearsed act 2 and worked on the transitions which need to be quicker. The scenes were quite static and when Sarah gave notes out to the actors, almost all of them were about pace which was dropped.
Some of the actors in the company have been having trouble finding meaning in what they're saying and when they face this problem, the audience don't believe them. So they did an exercise with us where they stood on a raised platform in front of everyone and spoke their lines out. Whenever we didn't believe them, found an important part where they could place more emphasis or a part that could sound better we said "what was that?" or "you want what?" or whatever suited the moment. They would then repeat that bit over and over until we believed it. After a few attempts, the lines sounded better as we helped them find how to say it and they began to find the meaning behind what they were saying. This helped the entire scene develop as well because if one actor doesn't understand what they're saying it becomes a hindrance to everything else.
Some of the actors in the company have been having trouble finding meaning in what they're saying and when they face this problem, the audience don't believe them. So they did an exercise with us where they stood on a raised platform in front of everyone and spoke their lines out. Whenever we didn't believe them, found an important part where they could place more emphasis or a part that could sound better we said "what was that?" or "you want what?" or whatever suited the moment. They would then repeat that bit over and over until we believed it. After a few attempts, the lines sounded better as we helped them find how to say it and they began to find the meaning behind what they were saying. This helped the entire scene develop as well because if one actor doesn't understand what they're saying it becomes a hindrance to everything else.
Tuesday, 26 November 2013
Rehearsal
This rehearsal was our first time working with the crates in the space. The crates are made of proper wood so they're quite heavy and it's wise to be wary of splinters and they're first used in our scene and used throughout the play, mostly as chairs.
The transition from scene 5 to our scene is quick and as soon as the actors from that scene start walking off, we walk on straight to our places and all make eye contact and, in sync, put our crates down and begin the scene. At the end of our scene, we look at each other, pick up our crates in unison and walk off apart from Layla and Finn who stay on and position the crates for the following scene which is the one between Duckling and Harry.
Our scene still has the regular problem of pace and forgetting to cut each other off. If we remembered that this is an argument scene, we would be cutting each other off at the end of our lines but as we forget this the scene drags on. If we cut each other off it would go from one person to the other immediately and the scene wouldn't be as long and boring.
The transition from scene 5 to our scene is quick and as soon as the actors from that scene start walking off, we walk on straight to our places and all make eye contact and, in sync, put our crates down and begin the scene. At the end of our scene, we look at each other, pick up our crates in unison and walk off apart from Layla and Finn who stay on and position the crates for the following scene which is the one between Duckling and Harry.
Our scene still has the regular problem of pace and forgetting to cut each other off. If we remembered that this is an argument scene, we would be cutting each other off at the end of our lines but as we forget this the scene drags on. If we cut each other off it would go from one person to the other immediately and the scene wouldn't be as long and boring.
Thursday, 21 November 2013
Accent Coach
Our Country's Good has a variety of different accents so we had an accent coach who came in to work with us. He was a Scottish man called Gary and he's worked with many different actors, drama schools, theatre companies, etc. I was very exited to work with him and he was immediately quite assertive in what he wanted from us because we only have this week and the next with him.
The first lesson we were introduced to different "zones" of the mouth/throat. When you use these different zones, your voice and accent may change and as you use the zones you realise how different accents use different parts of their mouths that we don't. So I found some of them quite hard. I found than when I used zones at the front of my mouth my voice sounded deeper whereas zones in the back of my mouth sounded higher. The positioning of the tongue really does affect a lot in terms of sound and slight movements and changes to position changes a lot of things. We did some work with the northern accent as that was his natural accent and it would be easier to teach us that as we all know what it sounds like.
For example; the "L" sound made in the northern accent is different than that of a Londoner accent because Scots do what is called a "Heavy L" and that is where the tongue touches the back of the teeth but curves down whereas the one in a Londoner accent, the tongue stays straight or curves slightly upwards. The end of some words are elongated and some consonants are dropped to form a Scottish accent.
After we did that, he said that if you ever forget your lines onstage and are doing an accent, learn whatthe hesitation for that accent would be. That way you won't break the illusion. Gary also said to research the history of the accent you're doing, the dialect and how it came to be what it is.
The accent I'll be doing is RP (Received Pronunciation) which is spoken by those of a middle class or "Queen's English". I have a quote from Wikipedia that briefly explains the history of RP:
The following lesson we focused more on our individual accent that we would be doing. I, as earlier mentioned, am doing RP and that means articulating every vowel and consonant. I have a habit of sometimes dropping my consonants and not opening my mouth very wide when I speak, but with RP you need to use your mouth, face muscles and tongue a lot more when you speak. You can't rush speech either or you will trip on words, so taking time will allow you to make more sense of your sentences and make them clearer. There is also a way you carry yourself when you speak with this accent. You can't speak in this accent and slouch, it doesn't match up. Plus, when I do this accent it makes me feel prestige so I work on my posture and how you communicate with others. As officers, we are sophisticated men so the note on posture and interaction is for us all.
The first lesson we were introduced to different "zones" of the mouth/throat. When you use these different zones, your voice and accent may change and as you use the zones you realise how different accents use different parts of their mouths that we don't. So I found some of them quite hard. I found than when I used zones at the front of my mouth my voice sounded deeper whereas zones in the back of my mouth sounded higher. The positioning of the tongue really does affect a lot in terms of sound and slight movements and changes to position changes a lot of things. We did some work with the northern accent as that was his natural accent and it would be easier to teach us that as we all know what it sounds like.
For example; the "L" sound made in the northern accent is different than that of a Londoner accent because Scots do what is called a "Heavy L" and that is where the tongue touches the back of the teeth but curves down whereas the one in a Londoner accent, the tongue stays straight or curves slightly upwards. The end of some words are elongated and some consonants are dropped to form a Scottish accent.
After we did that, he said that if you ever forget your lines onstage and are doing an accent, learn whatthe hesitation for that accent would be. That way you won't break the illusion. Gary also said to research the history of the accent you're doing, the dialect and how it came to be what it is.
The accent I'll be doing is RP (Received Pronunciation) which is spoken by those of a middle class or "Queen's English". I have a quote from Wikipedia that briefly explains the history of RP:
"RP is often believed to be based on the Southern accents of England, but it actually has most in common with the Early Modern English dialects of the East Midlands. This was the most populated and most prosperous area of England during the 14th and 15th centuries. By the end of the 15th century, "Standard English" was established in the City of London.[16] A mixture of London speech with elements from East Midlands, Middlesex and Essex, became known as Received Pronunciation. By the 1970s it was estimated that 3% of British people were RP speakers."
The following lesson we focused more on our individual accent that we would be doing. I, as earlier mentioned, am doing RP and that means articulating every vowel and consonant. I have a habit of sometimes dropping my consonants and not opening my mouth very wide when I speak, but with RP you need to use your mouth, face muscles and tongue a lot more when you speak. You can't rush speech either or you will trip on words, so taking time will allow you to make more sense of your sentences and make them clearer. There is also a way you carry yourself when you speak with this accent. You can't speak in this accent and slouch, it doesn't match up. Plus, when I do this accent it makes me feel prestige so I work on my posture and how you communicate with others. As officers, we are sophisticated men so the note on posture and interaction is for us all.
Tuesday, 12 November 2013
Rehearsal
WE'VE BLOCKED THE WHOLE PLAY *fist pump*
So the blocking is going very well and I'm particularly enjoying the scene where Major Ross comes into the rehearsal and ruins everything AND breaks the news that Liz Morden will be hung. I think that the energy and characterisation in this scene is so strong, particularly Tian who really makes you hate his character for being such a killjoy. His accent in coming along very well and he plays the pauses and tension. This scene is quite an important one too because it exposes the convicts and makes us feel sorry for them. We truly see that they're not the bad people here, the officers are. The play doesn't have any scenes of what they endured on the ship either but we get a taste of it in this scene and watching the humiliation is painful. When the other convicts run their lines in order to save Mary from revealing an extremely personal tattoo, relationships come to surface and we see that even though they do cuss each other and have attitudes a lot, they have each other's backs. It's very sweet.
However, Sarah says we still need to work harder and we should. Though we've blocked the whole play and are starting to add details, we need to pick at those details but still do our own research outside rehearsals to help development.
Friday, 8 November 2013
Rehearsal notes
This rehearsal, we blocked a few more scenes in act 2. In fact we're almost done which is quite exiting.
As part of our warm-up, we assessed ourselves on where we think we're at in terms of rehearsals. I put myself between merit and distinction because though I know what I'm doing, I'm on stage when I need to be and when I'm off stage I'm quiet and doing something productive. However when I am on stage I feel like I'm not doing enough, I feel I could be doing more. My scene is the only scene I'm in and I want it to be tense, snappy and electric not boring. With my lines I think I need to play around with how I want to say them. There is only one line that I have this problem with but I want it to be a one good line that can "boast" my character.
Notes that Sarah had were that she wants to change the opening scene slightly because she feels it's too comical. It's when the convicts are brought on, they're just thrown into a pile and admittedly I can see what Sarah means. There could be more time taken with this scene and more fear can be struck into this. Detail needs to be put into the scenes and relationships need to be established between characters and applied to the scenes to make it more real.
In terms of detail and playing relationships, I think it would be interesting if Finn and I played with the relationship between our two characters in the scene. Finn's character, Reverend Johnston, disapproves and almost hates my character throwing indirect comments to him here and there. If me and Finn could be sat close to each other and irritate one another, I believe it would bring some fun to the scene.
As part of our warm-up, we assessed ourselves on where we think we're at in terms of rehearsals. I put myself between merit and distinction because though I know what I'm doing, I'm on stage when I need to be and when I'm off stage I'm quiet and doing something productive. However when I am on stage I feel like I'm not doing enough, I feel I could be doing more. My scene is the only scene I'm in and I want it to be tense, snappy and electric not boring. With my lines I think I need to play around with how I want to say them. There is only one line that I have this problem with but I want it to be a one good line that can "boast" my character.
Notes that Sarah had were that she wants to change the opening scene slightly because she feels it's too comical. It's when the convicts are brought on, they're just thrown into a pile and admittedly I can see what Sarah means. There could be more time taken with this scene and more fear can be struck into this. Detail needs to be put into the scenes and relationships need to be established between characters and applied to the scenes to make it more real.
In terms of detail and playing relationships, I think it would be interesting if Finn and I played with the relationship between our two characters in the scene. Finn's character, Reverend Johnston, disapproves and almost hates my character throwing indirect comments to him here and there. If me and Finn could be sat close to each other and irritate one another, I believe it would bring some fun to the scene.
Wednesday, 6 November 2013
Off Text Improvisation
This was an exercise we did you test ourself on how well we knew our given circumstances, objectives and characters.
We went through our individual scenes and almost paraphrased them. This was a good exercise if you understood all these things but some people had struggled a bit because they were trying to learn their lines as well as objectives and it was a bit much for them. We only covered the scenes we had blocked and started rehearsing. Through doing this, we gained an understanding of what purposes our characters served to the scenes and how the individual scenes affected the whole play. I think it's important to have done this exercise so we all got the general gist of the play and I think doing this in your own time can help you learn your lines easier. Perhaps in the performance if someone was to forget their line, they would know the direction of the scene and can improvise a line that doesn't disturb the harmony of the scene.
We went through our individual scenes and almost paraphrased them. This was a good exercise if you understood all these things but some people had struggled a bit because they were trying to learn their lines as well as objectives and it was a bit much for them. We only covered the scenes we had blocked and started rehearsing. Through doing this, we gained an understanding of what purposes our characters served to the scenes and how the individual scenes affected the whole play. I think it's important to have done this exercise so we all got the general gist of the play and I think doing this in your own time can help you learn your lines easier. Perhaps in the performance if someone was to forget their line, they would know the direction of the scene and can improvise a line that doesn't disturb the harmony of the scene.
Tuesday, 5 November 2013
Rehearsal
We started off with an improv warm up about our characters. We got into partners and improvised a scene (that is not in the play) based on something we wanted to explore about our character. I was paired with Asa and we did my little scene first which was George's interview for the position of 1st lieutenant. I didn't think this would be that useful but it really was because when asked about past experiences with the navy, I told him when I was younger I served with my regiment.
When I researched George I found out that his father was a captain and got him a position as a second lieutenant when he was roughly 12 years old. I don't know George's personal experience on his childhood, but when asked about serving with my regiment as a young boy I said it gave me a firm basis for knowledge and skills. But after the exercise, I thought about what it would really have been like serving with the marines at such a young age. Would it have caused damage? Was he scarred? Did he see things a child of his age shouldn't have?
I also was asked about family. I wasn't sure about George's marital status at the time so I said that I had a wife and two young children, Matthew and Lily. I was asked how I felt about leaving them behind, what my plans were in terms of keeping contact, etc. I said I was confident that my children were in good hands with the rest of my family and would grow up to be resourceful members of society and if possible, I would latewr bring them over to Australia so they could be part of this new country. In reality I'm not sure how most officers would have felt about leaving their family behind, especially their children. I don't know whether they were particularly close with their children, if they came over to Australia or if they were ever reunited again.
We switched over and did Asa's scene. Asa is playing the role of a convict, Robert Sideway and in his scene we improvised a conversation between a prostitute he lives with (me) and himself. He's just come back from a round of pickpocketing and saw his favourite actor, David Garrick, come out of the theatre. Through this improvisation I realised how intelligent Robert Sideway is. Most of the convicts or people of his class wouldn't have cared for much let alone the theatre but Sideway's love for it shows how clever he is. He seems to have gone to watch several of Garrick's plays and loved them, showing a level of understanding for literature. Asa plays this very well and onstage, the intelligence exhumes from his character. He has the common touch yet has his airs and graces.
We ran though act 1 and the transitions need to be quicker and sharper. People can sometimes slack when it comes to that and are unsure of that they're doing. We all need to be off book as soon as possible because some scenes are doing well but having a script in your hand takes away from the scene. We all really need to work on volume too.
I think the scenes that are really strong and working well are the scenes between Duckling and Harry because James and Tiffany don't acknowledge the potential awkwardness that could be in their scene. They got over that pretty quickly and when they're onstage, the chemistry between them seems true. They don't lie about it and take their time.
A scene I think can improve is still the discussion between officers scene. When we haven't ran over it after a few rehearsals it gets shoddy and boring, though it has been boring for quite a while. Pace is the main issue in this scene because it's such a long scene but there's nothing entertaining about it. The stakes are quite high in this scene but we aren't playing that yet.
When I researched George I found out that his father was a captain and got him a position as a second lieutenant when he was roughly 12 years old. I don't know George's personal experience on his childhood, but when asked about serving with my regiment as a young boy I said it gave me a firm basis for knowledge and skills. But after the exercise, I thought about what it would really have been like serving with the marines at such a young age. Would it have caused damage? Was he scarred? Did he see things a child of his age shouldn't have?
I also was asked about family. I wasn't sure about George's marital status at the time so I said that I had a wife and two young children, Matthew and Lily. I was asked how I felt about leaving them behind, what my plans were in terms of keeping contact, etc. I said I was confident that my children were in good hands with the rest of my family and would grow up to be resourceful members of society and if possible, I would latewr bring them over to Australia so they could be part of this new country. In reality I'm not sure how most officers would have felt about leaving their family behind, especially their children. I don't know whether they were particularly close with their children, if they came over to Australia or if they were ever reunited again.
We switched over and did Asa's scene. Asa is playing the role of a convict, Robert Sideway and in his scene we improvised a conversation between a prostitute he lives with (me) and himself. He's just come back from a round of pickpocketing and saw his favourite actor, David Garrick, come out of the theatre. Through this improvisation I realised how intelligent Robert Sideway is. Most of the convicts or people of his class wouldn't have cared for much let alone the theatre but Sideway's love for it shows how clever he is. He seems to have gone to watch several of Garrick's plays and loved them, showing a level of understanding for literature. Asa plays this very well and onstage, the intelligence exhumes from his character. He has the common touch yet has his airs and graces.
We ran though act 1 and the transitions need to be quicker and sharper. People can sometimes slack when it comes to that and are unsure of that they're doing. We all need to be off book as soon as possible because some scenes are doing well but having a script in your hand takes away from the scene. We all really need to work on volume too.
I think the scenes that are really strong and working well are the scenes between Duckling and Harry because James and Tiffany don't acknowledge the potential awkwardness that could be in their scene. They got over that pretty quickly and when they're onstage, the chemistry between them seems true. They don't lie about it and take their time.
A scene I think can improve is still the discussion between officers scene. When we haven't ran over it after a few rehearsals it gets shoddy and boring, though it has been boring for quite a while. Pace is the main issue in this scene because it's such a long scene but there's nothing entertaining about it. The stakes are quite high in this scene but we aren't playing that yet.
Friday, 1 November 2013
The Start of Blocking
Over the past few rehearsals, we have started to block the scenes in act 1. The whole cast has been cooperative in this process, so blocking the scenes wasn't too dragging. However, we've gone over the scenes so that everybody knows what to do and what works for individual scenes, which deliveries create the most energy. We know what's going on for each scene and we are now at the point where we can go through act 1 smoothly with the exceptions of words.
The opening scene will be happening as the audience come in. I find it quite pleasing to watch because the layout is solid, regimented and it's silent but it's effective. I think that if in this scene, the lighting was just white spotlights that change when the audience are seated and the play is ready to begin. I'm interested in seeing the final choice made with the lighting for this scene.
The officers (the more important ones which don't include me) are stood at the left and right and back of the stage and are rigid apart from Tian who signals Layla to bring the convicts on one by one and throws them into a square (their enclosure) on the floor. Once they're all in there, the play begins.
My scene is in act 1 and we blocked it. It's a scene that definitely needs work and commitment because it becomes boring so easily. We started off by trying it with a meeting table layout where we were all sat down in a horseshoe-like formation and this was so deadbeat. I was getting bored and it's my only scene, I was pitying the audience who would pay money to sit through a dry scene. We all agreed that it was boring and tried a more scattered layout where people could get up from their chairs and walk around if they pleased, though hierarchy determined where you would be seated or stood. We also tried changing the way we delivered our lines. Before we were letting people finish their sentences and we decided to change it to being on the end of each others' sentences and borderline cutting people off. This is, after all, a scene where the officers are discussing whether to let this play happen, they have different opinions and are getting hot-heated about it so naturally this would be a fast-paced scene.
When it comes to cutting each other off and keeping a fast pace, you have to be careful with tripping over your words and making sure you articulate your words. Also finding and following through with the meaning of your point is important. We all need to be aware of this in the scene because this can either go really well or really badly.
If we rehearse this scene more and know what we're saying, I think there's a lot of potential to make this scene electric.
The opening scene will be happening as the audience come in. I find it quite pleasing to watch because the layout is solid, regimented and it's silent but it's effective. I think that if in this scene, the lighting was just white spotlights that change when the audience are seated and the play is ready to begin. I'm interested in seeing the final choice made with the lighting for this scene.
The officers (the more important ones which don't include me) are stood at the left and right and back of the stage and are rigid apart from Tian who signals Layla to bring the convicts on one by one and throws them into a square (their enclosure) on the floor. Once they're all in there, the play begins.
My scene is in act 1 and we blocked it. It's a scene that definitely needs work and commitment because it becomes boring so easily. We started off by trying it with a meeting table layout where we were all sat down in a horseshoe-like formation and this was so deadbeat. I was getting bored and it's my only scene, I was pitying the audience who would pay money to sit through a dry scene. We all agreed that it was boring and tried a more scattered layout where people could get up from their chairs and walk around if they pleased, though hierarchy determined where you would be seated or stood. We also tried changing the way we delivered our lines. Before we were letting people finish their sentences and we decided to change it to being on the end of each others' sentences and borderline cutting people off. This is, after all, a scene where the officers are discussing whether to let this play happen, they have different opinions and are getting hot-heated about it so naturally this would be a fast-paced scene.
When it comes to cutting each other off and keeping a fast pace, you have to be careful with tripping over your words and making sure you articulate your words. Also finding and following through with the meaning of your point is important. We all need to be aware of this in the scene because this can either go really well or really badly.
If we rehearse this scene more and know what we're saying, I think there's a lot of potential to make this scene electric.
Wednesday, 30 October 2013
Laban Forces
The Laban Forces are different ways of altering our centre to find how your character moves. This allows you to experiment with how your chaacter moves and where they lead from.Characters can lead from anywhere but mainly:
- The forehead
- The nose
- The chest
- The hips/waist
- The feet
We walked around the space leading with these different body parts to see what we felt suited our characters. I felt that as an officer, I had a poise and standard to keep and that leading with my nose worked quite well. My head is tilted upwards and it's quite good for giving dirty looks.
The movements themselves were:
- Punch: Direct, strong and sudden
- Slash: Indirect, strong and sudden
- Push: Direct, strong and sustained
- Wring: Indirect, strong and sustained
- Dabby: Direct, light and sudden
- Flick: Indirect, light and sudden
- Glide: Direct, light and sustained
- Float: Indirect, light and sustained
From this part of the exercise, I have decided that George was direct and he walked with a purpose, he knew where he was going and what he was doing. He was strong and had assurance but he glided at the same time. Like a very slow race car. So that would make him a "Punch".
Footnote: I got the exact names and meanings of the Laban forces from this blog: http://actingwithoutthedrama.blogspot.co.uk/2010/03/labans-eight-efforts.html
Friday, 25 October 2013
The Debate
To help understand the bigger picture of the world this play was set in, we had a debate on whether or not harsh punishments were necessary for convicts and whether or not they could be reformed. We were split into halves for this debate, one side for harsh punishments and one side against.
Those arguing for this treatment towards the convicts were trying to make the point that without serious punishment the convicts wouldn't take officers seriously and there may be an uproar from them if they begin to gain to much power. Once a convict has committed a crime, they will continue as it becomes a habitual thing for them and they know no better. It becomes somewhat an instinctual thing that they pass down through generations and all the rehabilitation in the world wouldn't change that. It's like taking a wolf from the world it knows and trying to tame it; it will take generations to happen at all.
Those arguing against (I was in this half) argued that convicts only committed crimes because they had no other choice. Back in Britain where they stole things or the women sold themselves it wasn't out of choice, they had to. If they didn't they'd have been homeless and probably have died of starvation or illness. They may have had families to provide for or just fir themselves but it's partially down to material deprivation. They didn't have what they needed to live - deprived of this - and had no other choice but to steal.
When it comes to how you punish them and being able to rehabilitate them to become respectable members of society, you need to remember that you get what you put in and if all you do to them is give them harsh punishments and abuse them all the time then you can't expect much of them. Those who are aggressive are like that because they need to defend themselves, being kind to your gaolers doesn't get you far.
However, if you treat them with kindness and patience, they will slowly respond to your attitudes and become more cooperative. Despite their lack of education, they can still be educated and grow to be more than you expect because everyone is capable of the same thing.
This debate didn't get far because the fire alarm went off.
But I personally go against harsh punishment and believe that criminals can be reformed. I think we were all on this side but the society of the 17th century and today's society are very different. Back then you had the rich and the poor, it wasn't questioned and they were two different worlds. The upper class didn't make any attempts at trying to understand and help those living in poverty because they probably believed that this was where they belonged and it could not be changed. They believed that they were a lot less intelligent than they but the poor were never given any chances of going up the social ladder and becoming part of the upper class unlike today where we have many opportunities, government schemes, free education, ect. For those who are juveniles, in units or anything likewise they are given chances of reformation and becoming successful but whether they take these chances is down to their discretion.
If treatments of the convicts were brought back and those in such positions were punished that way the public would be shocked and there would be an inevitable uproar, but could it change the way people behave? If it did, it would be out of pure fear. The shock would change things but we in our modern society are a lot more free than the convicts of the 17th century and if people had their rights taken from them like that I suppose it would make us all rethink about what we have and what we take for granted.
Those arguing for this treatment towards the convicts were trying to make the point that without serious punishment the convicts wouldn't take officers seriously and there may be an uproar from them if they begin to gain to much power. Once a convict has committed a crime, they will continue as it becomes a habitual thing for them and they know no better. It becomes somewhat an instinctual thing that they pass down through generations and all the rehabilitation in the world wouldn't change that. It's like taking a wolf from the world it knows and trying to tame it; it will take generations to happen at all.
Those arguing against (I was in this half) argued that convicts only committed crimes because they had no other choice. Back in Britain where they stole things or the women sold themselves it wasn't out of choice, they had to. If they didn't they'd have been homeless and probably have died of starvation or illness. They may have had families to provide for or just fir themselves but it's partially down to material deprivation. They didn't have what they needed to live - deprived of this - and had no other choice but to steal.
When it comes to how you punish them and being able to rehabilitate them to become respectable members of society, you need to remember that you get what you put in and if all you do to them is give them harsh punishments and abuse them all the time then you can't expect much of them. Those who are aggressive are like that because they need to defend themselves, being kind to your gaolers doesn't get you far.
However, if you treat them with kindness and patience, they will slowly respond to your attitudes and become more cooperative. Despite their lack of education, they can still be educated and grow to be more than you expect because everyone is capable of the same thing.
This debate didn't get far because the fire alarm went off.
But I personally go against harsh punishment and believe that criminals can be reformed. I think we were all on this side but the society of the 17th century and today's society are very different. Back then you had the rich and the poor, it wasn't questioned and they were two different worlds. The upper class didn't make any attempts at trying to understand and help those living in poverty because they probably believed that this was where they belonged and it could not be changed. They believed that they were a lot less intelligent than they but the poor were never given any chances of going up the social ladder and becoming part of the upper class unlike today where we have many opportunities, government schemes, free education, ect. For those who are juveniles, in units or anything likewise they are given chances of reformation and becoming successful but whether they take these chances is down to their discretion.
If treatments of the convicts were brought back and those in such positions were punished that way the public would be shocked and there would be an inevitable uproar, but could it change the way people behave? If it did, it would be out of pure fear. The shock would change things but we in our modern society are a lot more free than the convicts of the 17th century and if people had their rights taken from them like that I suppose it would make us all rethink about what we have and what we take for granted.
Monday, 14 October 2013
Day in the Life of improv
We did another improvisation but as our characters and this was to discover what we would be doing in our day to day lives.
My character, George, wakes up bright and early at 06:00 and gets ready for breakfast. After that, he attends to his duties and as he is a lieutenant (not a high rank but high enough), he would oversee things such as making sure the convicts are doing their work, training officers, making sure they have enough food and drink, aiding in the decision of what happens to badly behaved convicts, etc.
When I was interacting with other people, it was clear to me who were officers and who were convicts; officers walked up straight with their hands behind their backs and gave a slight nod to greet whereas convicts glared at you from the sides and slunk around.
The difference between ranks in the officers because visible. When we sat down for "dinner and lunch", lower rank officers sat in one place and higher ranks sat in another. When I went to speak to two of the higher ranks (not knowing who they were), I was told that I should address them as their full titles and bow to them. So I learnt that I should learn who is who.
The aborigine was watching us all from a corner for almost the whole thing and he had collected pieces of cardboard and set up in the corner. I knew that George wouldn't have liked the aborigine, so I shooed him away. He went away but he walked on all fours or on his legs but very low down a bit like a gorilla, I applaud his characterisation.
Through this improve, I learnt a bit about what George would do, but I need to learn what his specific duties would have been and what his personality s like to further the development of my character.
My character, George, wakes up bright and early at 06:00 and gets ready for breakfast. After that, he attends to his duties and as he is a lieutenant (not a high rank but high enough), he would oversee things such as making sure the convicts are doing their work, training officers, making sure they have enough food and drink, aiding in the decision of what happens to badly behaved convicts, etc.
When I was interacting with other people, it was clear to me who were officers and who were convicts; officers walked up straight with their hands behind their backs and gave a slight nod to greet whereas convicts glared at you from the sides and slunk around.
The difference between ranks in the officers because visible. When we sat down for "dinner and lunch", lower rank officers sat in one place and higher ranks sat in another. When I went to speak to two of the higher ranks (not knowing who they were), I was told that I should address them as their full titles and bow to them. So I learnt that I should learn who is who.
The aborigine was watching us all from a corner for almost the whole thing and he had collected pieces of cardboard and set up in the corner. I knew that George wouldn't have liked the aborigine, so I shooed him away. He went away but he walked on all fours or on his legs but very low down a bit like a gorilla, I applaud his characterisation.
Through this improve, I learnt a bit about what George would do, but I need to learn what his specific duties would have been and what his personality s like to further the development of my character.
The Box Improvisation
To understand more about what the officers and convicts (more so the convicts) went through on the boat journey to Australia, we did an improvisation. But first, I will bore you with some fun facts.
Australia had began to be used as a place of exile for convicts after the Americas didn't want anymore British convicts, they were trying to build a new nation and convicts were too troublesome. The boat journey to Australia took 8 months and convicts' conditions were extremely cramped (they were literally cages) and highly unhygienic. The men were made to stand, not up straight though because there wasn't enough headroom and the women were sat on the floor both in their own crap. Their living quarters were almost never cleaned so the build up of human waste and the amount of people in one enclosure made diseases frolic happily from one person to the next. Most diseases were spread through parasites, breathing and physical contact so illnesses were very common, the human waste would have contaminated their food too, so cholera and dysentery would have happened here and there.
For the improvisations, nine of us volunteered to be convicts on a boat on the way to Botany Bay and we all had to fit into a square outlined by tape on the floor measuring 1.5x2 metres. About four people volunteered to be officers. The parts were given to us regardless of our actual roles in the play, this was purely for the exercise. I was a convict and we all had to sit in this square.
At first, I sat in a position that was quite comfortable and occasionally shuffled a bit, but the guards told us to stop fidgeting and look down, we could tell that they were doing this because they were bored and there was nothing else they could do so we didn't take them that seriously at first. They started getting louder and talking about our mothers and throwing vulgar insults at us, they were actually starting to get scary. They were really getting into their characters, especially Tyler who would come down to your level and spit words at you like "did I just see you fidgeting?". They started taking out people who were disobedient to get flogged. Some of them went willingly whereas others made a scene about it screaming and fighting the officers and that was the one time we could look at what was happening, because we were ordered to watch.
It didn't take long before everything was against the rules and it was getting pretty intense. My bum had gone numb, my whole back was aching my arm was twitching and I had an itch on my nose but I was way too scared to move because I didn't want them to shout and flog me, I wanted to be left alone. I kept my head between my knees and closed my eyes when the officers got near me. There may have been some real convicts who would have behaved the way I did, but I don't think I would have lasted 8 months otherwise I would have exploded or gone mute.
James, who was next to me, had started to insult the officers and spat at them. I suppose because he had enough. He was taken away but he was shouting and fighting the officers as he went out, it was unsettling to say the least. Everyone in the box had formed some kind of silent bond and when one was taken away, the rest were sad but it mean more space so we weren't complaining.
The improvisation lasted about 45 minutes but it felt a lot shorter than that. I found it really helpful because I gained some understanding on what life was like on board. I know that other things would have happened too such as rape and being ill, but we couldn't explore those. I think that the results of the improvisation could be used in our final performance at the beginning when the audience come in so they gain some understanding, I think its something interesting too.
Australia had began to be used as a place of exile for convicts after the Americas didn't want anymore British convicts, they were trying to build a new nation and convicts were too troublesome. The boat journey to Australia took 8 months and convicts' conditions were extremely cramped (they were literally cages) and highly unhygienic. The men were made to stand, not up straight though because there wasn't enough headroom and the women were sat on the floor both in their own crap. Their living quarters were almost never cleaned so the build up of human waste and the amount of people in one enclosure made diseases frolic happily from one person to the next. Most diseases were spread through parasites, breathing and physical contact so illnesses were very common, the human waste would have contaminated their food too, so cholera and dysentery would have happened here and there.
For the improvisations, nine of us volunteered to be convicts on a boat on the way to Botany Bay and we all had to fit into a square outlined by tape on the floor measuring 1.5x2 metres. About four people volunteered to be officers. The parts were given to us regardless of our actual roles in the play, this was purely for the exercise. I was a convict and we all had to sit in this square.
At first, I sat in a position that was quite comfortable and occasionally shuffled a bit, but the guards told us to stop fidgeting and look down, we could tell that they were doing this because they were bored and there was nothing else they could do so we didn't take them that seriously at first. They started getting louder and talking about our mothers and throwing vulgar insults at us, they were actually starting to get scary. They were really getting into their characters, especially Tyler who would come down to your level and spit words at you like "did I just see you fidgeting?". They started taking out people who were disobedient to get flogged. Some of them went willingly whereas others made a scene about it screaming and fighting the officers and that was the one time we could look at what was happening, because we were ordered to watch.
It didn't take long before everything was against the rules and it was getting pretty intense. My bum had gone numb, my whole back was aching my arm was twitching and I had an itch on my nose but I was way too scared to move because I didn't want them to shout and flog me, I wanted to be left alone. I kept my head between my knees and closed my eyes when the officers got near me. There may have been some real convicts who would have behaved the way I did, but I don't think I would have lasted 8 months otherwise I would have exploded or gone mute.
James, who was next to me, had started to insult the officers and spat at them. I suppose because he had enough. He was taken away but he was shouting and fighting the officers as he went out, it was unsettling to say the least. Everyone in the box had formed some kind of silent bond and when one was taken away, the rest were sad but it mean more space so we weren't complaining.
The improvisation lasted about 45 minutes but it felt a lot shorter than that. I found it really helpful because I gained some understanding on what life was like on board. I know that other things would have happened too such as rape and being ill, but we couldn't explore those. I think that the results of the improvisation could be used in our final performance at the beginning when the audience come in so they gain some understanding, I think its something interesting too.
Saturday, 12 October 2013
My Little Task
Sarah gave us all tasks to do to enrich our knowledge.
Mine was to study the phrase "off the cuff" and where it comes from.
When I googled this phrase, it means to do or say something with little or no preparation or thought. It is quite hard to get a definite origin of the phrase, but the ones that are most common are that this phrase is possibly related to last minute notes one may write on their cuff of their shirt sleeve when delivering a speech. It makes sense though because it's making a speech without giving it any thought, you're speaking OFF THE CUFF of your sleeve.
If I apply this to OCG, there aren't many characters that say things off the cuff apart from Wisehammer. He tends to express this fondness of words without even thinking about it. He just starts talking to anyone about the words he likes. He seems like a very spacey man who's in his own little word, he doesn't give much thought to things he just says them.
Mine was to study the phrase "off the cuff" and where it comes from.
When I googled this phrase, it means to do or say something with little or no preparation or thought. It is quite hard to get a definite origin of the phrase, but the ones that are most common are that this phrase is possibly related to last minute notes one may write on their cuff of their shirt sleeve when delivering a speech. It makes sense though because it's making a speech without giving it any thought, you're speaking OFF THE CUFF of your sleeve.
If I apply this to OCG, there aren't many characters that say things off the cuff apart from Wisehammer. He tends to express this fondness of words without even thinking about it. He just starts talking to anyone about the words he likes. He seems like a very spacey man who's in his own little word, he doesn't give much thought to things he just says them.
Monday, 7 October 2013
Lines
I got my own copy of the script today and highlighted all my lines and parts where I was mentioned or stage directions. Initially I didn't think there was much at all to be said about me because my character is in this scene and this scene only and doesn't say much, but now I've looked a little further into everything, I've found a few details on George. In the scene that he is in, the officers are discussing whether the play should be put on or not.
Through one of the comments made by Reverend Johnston, I figured that my character is for the female convicts being used as mistresses for officers and with that being morally wrong and exposing the women to rape and abuse, the Reverend isn't happy about it. I might even say that the Reverend doesn't really like George very much, I'm not sure about the other men though.
However, his next like contrasts with what I was just saying, or with what the reverend is saying, because George talk about how Jesus said female convicts should be treated with compassion and that most of the crimes the women have committed were small and petty. Not that punishable. Whilst making a point, he is cut off by Collins who seems to have heard this point being made many times and Tench goes on to say that a crime is a crime end of.
George's next line isn't anything particularly important, he is just suggesting a word. The line after is him saying that he is for the play being put on, believing that it will benefit the convicts and goes to prove his earlier point of treating convicts with compassion. His last line is him saying to Ralph that Major Ross is extremely angry with the whole idea of a play being put on and he may come to regret it later. Actions may be taken whether it's a backlash or the cold shoulder.
From this, I've learnt that my character is somebody who isn't present much, but he is still significant in many ways because he is part of the decision that allowed the plans for the play to be carried forward. I also think that he's quite a kind-hearted guy, though I personally disagree with him making female convicts mistresses but at the same time, it's better than doing hard labour and during those times, it was kind of merciful that they be used for that instead of hard labour. It wasn't nice, but hey.
Sunday, 29 September 2013
Character Research - Army Ranks
In this play, my character is lieutenant George Johnston and after the "a day in the life of" improvisation we did in class, I realised I had absolutely no idea where my character stood in the army hierarchy. To understand the attitudes my character would have towards his other colleagues and the attitudes they would have towards him, I decided it would be wise to research the food chain of the marines.
(Starting from the top dogs)
(Starting from the top dogs)
- Field marshal
- General
- Lieutenant General
- Major General
- Brigadier
- Colonel
- Lieutenant Colonel
- Major
- Captain
- Lieutenant
- Second Lieutenant
- Officer cadet
From this we can see that George (my character) is third from the bottom and isn't rated very much. He would have to be respectful to almost everyone else because most of the officers in the play are of a higher rank than he is.
Nevertheless, he has a role to play. First lieutenants command platoons of around 30 soldiers and normally get promoted within three years of being in the position. They can sometimes take on jobs that are outside their field and develop skills there and work in fields such as machinery, aviation and medical.
Of course in the 18th century, there wasn't a great deal of machinery let alone planes, so my character would have been more planning attacks and helping injured soldiers.
Tuesday, 24 September 2013
Initial Reaction to the Script
Today, we had the first read through of the script and it wasn't too different from what I expected. I already knew that the play was set in the late 1700's (1780's to be exact) and that it was based on the settling of the British in Australia, but not much more.
After the read through I found out that the play focused more on whether they've traveled all the way to Australia to punish the convicts or to rehabilitate them - punishment vs rehabilitation. The punishment was typical of the time using methods such as flogging, decapitation and hangings or just imprisonement. Rehabilitation was a resolution most unheard of at the time and in act 1 scene 6 (the scene I'm in), the marines are discussing Ralph's idea of doing a play with some of the convicts. Some of them are for it and some of them are against it. Some of them were saying that a play can put their ideological society into their heads for the future and others are saying a criminal is a criminal and should be punished, not given opportunities. Most of the convicts were illiterate so that was also an against factor.
The characters in the convicts have strong cockney dialect and the marines are well-spoken. At first, the convicts are quite eager to be in the play and there is some conflict between them, especially liz, ralph and the other women but they come closer together as the all have the love and passion for theatre that brings them together, especially towards the end where it is announced that liz will be hung. At this point, the theatre becomes like a therapy for liz because it might be the last thing she may ever enjoy and it also brings the rest of the cast together when sideway proposes creating a theatre group after the show. There is a sense of sweet unison towards the end.
The themes in Our Country's good are crime and punishment, death and love. I think it'll be interesting to see how this play will grow and develop but this is a kind of play that needs to be energetic and made understandable to the audience, or it'll be boring. The play is set in a time and society that is irrelevant to ours but we can make it relatable.
I'm also quite excited to see the set too. I'm hoping that it's modernised with the Georgian essence, easy to work with but also aesthetically pleasing.
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