War- task 3

War task 3 script writing

Sergeant Thomas enters from front stage left inspecting the soldiers uniform and to see the Weapons and artillery have been restocked. sergeant Stands tall, and intimidating in front of private Percy. as the other soldiers stand in a line.

Sergeant:
we have been given clear instructions we must bomb 
prepare the weapon .operation cobra must be carried out. The enemy must be disposed of.

*soldiers prepare there weapons except private Percy stands centre stage silent. There is a pause before sergeant Thomas narrows his eyes and stares private Percy in the eye*

sergeant:
well what are you waiting for? get to it!

*private Percy flinches as he is intimidated by sergeant*

private:
*clears throat but speaks quietly*
i..i don't think this is a ummm

sergeant:
*inturupts*
Don't mumble ,boy speak properly! have you got a problem with the plan private?

private:
*speaks up but doesn't make eye contact*
I just..... there are innocent people out there. children, families.

sergeant:
and they are the enemy we must fight for our country now follow my orders before I do something I will regret.
*he warns in a stern voice*

private:
sir, I don't want to *a pause* these people are innocent, we are killing innocent people.

sergeant:
*anger is building and tension*
it is our duty to protect our country! don't argue with the plans you will follow my orders.

private:
*hesitates everyone turns to him*
it its not duty this is MURDER! were killing people.

Sergeant:
*glares at the others before making eye contact with private*
We have no choice we must fight for our country, our families lives are at stake.

Private:
There are families out there. There villages are being burnt down and families are being separated. Is there not another way couldn't we just.. just go on foot and kill the enemy?

Sergeant:
I am following orders we mustn't put our people's lives in dangers it's either us or them *sergeant speaks convincingly*

Private:
What if... WHAT IF THAT WAS YOUR FAMILY!
*private shouts*

Sergeant: *there is a long silence*
Your a coward and nothing but a coward even your children think of you as a weak worthless soldier!
You will be punished if you don't do your job

*private looks worried and turns to get ready for battle sergeant EXITS front stage right*

War- Task 2

Non-naturalistic drama is a performance that is the opposite to life like drama. Non-naturalistic drama was introduced by a German playwright and  director called Brecht. He used non naturalistic drama to give his work a political message. Non-naturalistic drama is strange and unreal so the audience thinks more about the message. life- like drama is a 'slice of life' and shows a realistic performance that you can relate to. In my opinion I prefer non-naturalistic drama because it can portray a message, and it makes the audience think more. This means that the audience would be very captivated by the performance and it allows the audience to infer there own meaning to the play and what the plays message is. Furthermore I think that Non-naturalistic drama is more exciting because it can show something surreal. I think the overall message of the play is not to believe the government. I think it also is saying that the government tell lies (and put up stuff like propaganda) posters to encourage and persuade you to join  the war. When it was much worse than it seems. These lies lead to dreadful things so telling lies is a bad habit. If the performance was turned into a play I think it would be aimed at most ages. because, it still conveys a important message today. this play would help everyone to understand lies are not good and it would make the government feel guilty for the lose of lives they caused in WW1. To younger kids I think this play shows an important message of " don't tell lies" , but to adults I think it shows the horrors of war.

we based our performance on the words dreams, fatigue, begging, shot and cancer. after our still image of dreams ,we used a short role play of someone getting bullied and peer persuaded into going to war. the bully would say something like " your a coward what's better than fighting for your country." We used the Brechtian technique of placards. The placard we held up during this scene said " Was it his friends how told him this?" To me this was asking the audience there point of view. This question is telling us that the bully was told so many lies that he thinks it is okay to pressure someone into going to war although he probably does not know the horror of war. This could also give the audience Ideas on how the government is twisting the truth. Therefore it is also showing the meaning of the poem. Furthermore I think this technique added more meaning to the scene and meant the audience could think about the meaning of the story rather that being told  the meaning.

In the last still image based on the words "dreams" In this scene there is the soldier from the beginning crouched down holding his head, while people stand over him in an intimidating way. This shows that the memories  of war still haunt and taunt him. This would make the audience feel sad, and upset for the character as this one situation has caused him life lose and sadness. It would also make the audience think how much the "lies" have affected this characters life. In my opinion Brecht's idea of non-naturalistic drama has given our play more meaning and helps to captivate the audience. 

Target:
During the short role-play ,with the soldier and the bully. The soldier is being peer pressured to go to war. However he is not being forced therefore, he has a choice to go to war or not. He can make a decision ,and in the end the audience can see that the soldier decides to go to war. They can see this because the soldier begins to cry and then it goes into a still image of him heading too war. we used the word "fatigue" and had a number of people standing at different levels. this makes the audience realise that we have a choice but sometimes do not make the right choice. Brecht used this technique to also portray a message that we have a choice to do good or bad.
 

assessment feedback spring 2 DNA

In my drama assessment I think we did very well. We stayed fully in role during the performance, even when there were mistakes. For example we did not have someone play Cathy, so we stayed in role and continued to perform skipping her lines. we all remembered our lines well and got them right, however I did have to pause once because I forgot no one was speaking Cathy's line. I paused when Cathy was suppose to say "how" when talking to Phil asking him how to kill Adam. We projected our voices during the performance so that the audience could hear and understand what was happening. We also showed good understanding of the scene, for example when Phil is speaking to Cathy saying "do you understand Cathy?" We made it so Phil's objective is to urge Cathy to kill Adam but being very secretive. I also did well at showing believable emotions such as anger sadness and fear. For example when Phil put a plastic bag over Brian's head I put my hands over my mouth to show fear and shock.
In my opinion I think we could improve on changing our tone of voice to fit the character we are portraying. For example because I pay Lea I could make my tone of voice more sweet and timid (high pitched) Also I could make my accent more clear to show my characters background and type of person they are. I think that the characters would have Essex accents. I think I did well at responding to other characters fluently but, when Ryan (Phil) was telling brain "you and Cathy are going to play a game with Brian" There was silence before I spoke. To improve I could practice responding faster to show a believable performance. 

DNA task 2 - improved

DNA Task 2 as a director

As a director, to prepare actors I would use hot seating. I would use this because it can help the actor get a better understanding of the character they are playing. This could help an actor because by having abetter understanding of there character they would know how to respond and interact with other characters. It would also help them to remember the personality of the character. hot seating an actor who plays John Tate I would ask questions such as 'Why do you dislike Richard? has anything bad happened in your past?' I would ask these questions because John Tate is a very strong, mean character and wants to better than Richard. Therefore something must of lead John Tate to become this harsh character maybe a bad experience. Asking these questions could allow the actor to improvise a background story for John Tate developing their understanding of the character. This would improve the way the speak certain lines for example the line 'are you?' could be used as John Tate challenging Richard and the others using their fear of him.

             As a director I would also use Actioning text to develop and change a performance. For example when john Tate says ' or what?' I would make sure the character is challenging the others and steps forward as he says this. I would also make sure there was a sense irritation when he says this line. This technique means the actor is prepared to respond, and can look through the script and make notes on how they would like to portray their character. Furthermore I would also make sure there is a pause after this line to show the tension and to create an atmosphere. Also, if the stage we were using was a Proscenium stage I would place john Tate one side of the stage, and the others and Richard on the other side of the stage. This means when he askes Danny and Cathy if they are on his side as they are scared they would feel forced to move to his side.

                Im. Furthermore because of using hot seating the actor would have a better understanding of their character. This means that even though they are improvising they are following the personality and characteristics of john Tate. For example because he bully's the others, if they tried to defend Richard (the leader of the group , John Tate disagrees with and wants to be dominant over) he would threaten or try and use their fear to control the others within the group. Within this certain scene improvisation can be used but can not change the relationships between the characters.

The others in the group seem to like Richard as the leader but fear and dislike John, because he is too controlling.

     feedback
Improvisation can be used as a technique during rehearsal, it helps the actor understand the characters background and personality. It allows actors to show creativity in making up a characters background based on who they are. an example of improvisation is because john Tate is a mean character you could create a scene of something that influenced him to become a mean person. For example you could create a scene where he is being bullied this could be the influence. Because he might want revenge and uses others peoples fears against them to cover up that he is weak. 

Dna task 1 homework

DNA Task 1
                                                                Proscenium stage

This a Proscenium stage. This stage is at the front, the chairs for the audience are placed so each one is facing one side of the stage directly but can see the whole stage from either left or the right. The seats are almost placed in a semi circle formation. Furthermore the seats are placed at different levels so the audience can see the actors without being blocked. The the further away the seat is the higher level it is. Greek theatres use this type of stage.

In the round stage.

This is a in-the-round-stage it is normally used for performances that may need audience contribution/ involvement. This is because it creates an intimate atmosphere for  the audience. The in-the-round stage is positioned or built at the centre of the audience with four or three entrances from which the actors enters.

comparison

One difference between the in-the-round stage and the Proscenium stage is, the lighting and scenery. for a performance on a in-the-round stage it can not have a backdrop/scenery, although it can have props, also it can not have curtains from either side as that is were the audience is seated. On the other hand the proscenium stage can because it would not be blocking the audiences sightline. Also lighting is more difficult for a in-the-round.

Furthermore because on an in-the-round stage exits and entrances are made from either side through the audience there can not be surprise entrances. Finally with a in the round stage, actors must not turn their backs to the audience for long periods of time a so they can be seen and heard properly. Therefore it is very difficult.

one thing both stages have in common is there seating arrangement have different levels going from low to high. On the contrary a transverse stage has all the audience seats at the same height blocking the audiences view. 

twelfth night task 2-improved

twelfth night lesson 2 character challenge

Viola- A young woman who is the protagonist in the play. She is stranded after a ship wreck on the shore of Illyria. She goes to work for duke Orsino by dressing as a man she ends up falling in love with the Duke. She has a very good relationship with her brother and Olivia.

Orsino- The Duke of  Illyria he runs Illyria. He is in love with Countess Olivia. However she does not love him. Over time he grows to like his new page boy ( viola dressed as a man) but still cant bare to leave Olivia. He gets a bit confused as he finds his new page boy (viola) very attractive

Olivia- Olivia is a noble and beautiful countess of Illyria. She constantly refuses duke Orsino as she is still mourning over her brothers death. She starts to fall in love with Viola (who is dressed as a man) However ends up forming a relationship with Sebastian.

Sir Toby- Olivia's uncle, she does not approve of his drinking, late nights and behaviour. He despises  Malvolio. But has a good relation ship with maria and sir Andrew.

Sir Andrew-  A friend of Sir Toby’s. He thinks he is funny, cool ,witty, and brave. However he is not

at all he attempts to court viola but it fails. he likes to join sir toby with his bad behaviour.

Sebastian -  Viola’s lost twin brother, they got separated during the shipwreck. Countess Olivia wants to marry him. He misses his sister and wants to see her.

Malvolio- The posh servant/butler of countess Olivia. Has a bad relationship with sir Toby and thinks he is a complete idiot. He believes countess Olivia is in love with him.

Maria -  Olivia’s daring young waiting-gentlewoman. Succeeds what malvolio does not and has a good friendship with Olivia and Sir Toby. Has to constantly try to keep sir toby under control to prevent being blamed by malleoli.

 

twelth night research

Shakespeare's plays

who was Shakespeare?
William Shakespeare was an English play write poet and actor during the Jacobean era.
he wrote plays such as:

• Macbeth
• Mid summer nights dream 
•  Romeo and Juliet
• Hamlet

He is also known as "The nations poet" He was raised in Stratford. He died on 23 April 1616.

Shakespeare influenced our writing and acting. His plays were based on genres like comedy history tragedy  and love. It was believe he even invented some words we use today such as excellent and gloomy. he was very important and is the reason we speak and like we do. During his performances only men would act so boys would play women. His plays were usually performed in the theatre "the globe theatre"

twelfth night

twelfth night is a play about love and comedy. it consists of  the characters such as, Olivia viola and duke orsino. The play consists of a love triangle which is duke orsino loves Olivia however Olivia loves viola who is dressed and pretending to be a boy. Viola loves orsino but he loves Olivia so its complicated.

plot    

In a place called Illyria, a man named Orsino wines about his love of Lady Olivia. He cannot have her because she is upset about her dead brother and refuses any proposals of marriage.  off the coast, a storm has caused a terrible shipwreck. A woman named Viola is taken onto the shore. she assumes that her  brother, Sebastian, has been drowned in the wreck, and tries to figure out what sort of work she can do. A sea captain tells her about Orsino’s courtship of Olivia, and Viola says that she wishes she could go to work in Olivia’s home. Viola decides that she cannot look for work with her. Instead, she decides to disguise herself as a man, taking on the name of Cesario, and goes to work in the household of Duke Orsino.

what does twelfth night mean?

twelfth night relates to a holiday a celebration. During the Twelfth Night season people ate, danced and drank twelfth night marks the last day or end of this celebration. Twelfth Night was performed for Queen Elizabeth and her guest, Count Don Virginio Orsino, on January 6, 1601. (Orsino,  is the name of Viola's love interest in the play.)

autumn 2 assessment

Holly responded fluently to others even when she was not speaking for example when Aimee says "mickey I don't know what she told you but me and Linda are just friends" she responded quickly by turning around and shouting holding the gun at Aimee. She didn't stutter or come out of role when Aimee was speaking she continued to respond to her actions. Also Holly used a pause after she said "get her out of here mister" to show emphasis and create tension in the audience which was affective.

I think holly could Improve on using posture and gesture to show role an emotion because stayed same position through out the performance. During the section where she is gets angry at her and says "I could kill you" she could come closer to get a better reaction from Edward and captivate the audience. This could also be achieved by using space. Another thing I think holly could improve on is her accent to show the characters background and culture. I think this because in some line she spoke with an accent and some times she didnt. So she needs to practice her Liverpool accent and speak fluently.