24/11/12 -exercises

24/11/12-

The first thing we did in today's lesson was discuss the relationships between some of the characters one of the relationships were between Angel and her mother. Angels mother wants a traditional happy family life ignoring any bad things/issues going on however all Angel wants is for someone to believe her, comfort her and wants to feel protected, this relationship goes against the stereotypical one of a mother and daughter. 

One of the physical movements we did was we would fall into the arms however they would push our hands away, Angel would then fall into her mothers chest they would grab her head to comfort Angel but she would slide through the arms and fall onto the floor. When Angel falls the mothers hand are still in the same position when they were holding Angels head this shows that she is missing her and is longing for a closer relationship. And Angel slipping out of her mothers hands shows that the relationship they had is slowly going because her mother refuses to listen and believe her. 

Another relationship we did was Brotha and Couzin, they have very opposite personalities, for this exercise Brotha would go to random people and try to loop with them however Couzin would not let him and keeps pulling him away. This allowed us to explore their relationship all Brotha wanted was comfort and to feel safe but Couzin was not allowing that to happen. 

17/11/17- How to creatively rehearse

How to creatively Rehearse:

• Get the world right, so the actions, objectives and everything else linking to the character the lines will then follow.
• focus on the actions and objectives not the lines.
• Work out the dynamics of the scene, the speed, tempo and the atmosphere you are trying to create.
• Do not rely on your lines to move the scene forward. 
• You need to figure out the personalities an characteristics of all the characters. 
• There's no such thing as blocking.
• We need to use impulse when performing, the text rides on the action.
• Don't rush into the text, experiment with your character, try not to be perfect as you will get stuck on doing the same thing over and over again. 
• Remember the moments you like in rehearsals.
• External stimulus, make the space first. 

Torn -family tree

How does Torn fit with the ethos of the Royal Court

How does Torn fit the ethos of the Royal Court?

The Royal Court mainly perform new shows, they believe in the right to fail and try new ideas everything. They open their doors to the unheard voices and free thinkers that, through their writing, change our way of seeing. While also discussing controversial themes which are still relevant in today's society, therefore linking to Torn because this play does contain all the criteria's needed to be put on by the Royal Court. 

In addition to that Torn is a play that contains controversial issues that question society and what we see as the social norm therefore allowing it to be accepted withing the Royal Court. Some of the topics raised are hidden and feared by society so to perform this in large, well known Theatre such as, The Royal Court which is known for discussing issues with a similar nature is very effective. 

Furthermore it's helping a new and undiscovered writer with a passion and understanding of creating a world a better place and question the issues we face as a society. The writer of Torn is Nathaniel Martello-White who was an undiscovered writer. 

What effects Status in Torn

What effects status in Torn?

• Age 
• Secrets/knowledge - who knows what in the family? and what they hiding from everyone else? 
• family hierarchy (where you stand in the family/the importance you hold)
• Race 
• Experience -the family is more likely to believe someone older
• Gender -When it comes to family the women hold more power 
• Knowledge -The fear of gaining knowledge

What Political Theatre changed the world?

What Political Theatre changed the world?

One play that changed our society is 'Angels in America' it's a play in two parts by American playwright Tony Kushner. The work won numerous awards, including the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, the Tony Award for Best Play, and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Play.  

Angels in America is about: America in the mid-1980s. In the midst of the AIDS crisis and a conservative Reagan administration, New Yorkers grapple with life and death, love and sex, heaven and hell.

Angels in America is often treated like a documentary about AIDS and the NYC gay community in the '80s, and while that's true to an extent, it's also a statement about the promise and contradictions of the United States of America. At its heart of the play is the personal trouble caused by the failure of that political promise of equal rights—not just the freedom to pursue happiness, but the state's responsibility to protect that pursuit. 

This play changed the way society thought about AIDS and homosexuality 

Why are we studying Torn during political Theatre

Why are we studying Torn during political Theatre?

I believe that we are studying this play during political term because it questions society and how we are living, and this is one of main aims of political Theatre. While also discussing political issues underlining today's society such as abuse and race, therefore allowing a discussion to be held withing audience members and allowing them to have an opinion on the matter. 

Political Theatre is all about showing the different opinions and sides to the issues being raised, resulting in the audience having their own opinions without being influenced by biased discussions.

This is what the torn does: shows all aspects and views of the families issues and how every member feels about it, this can be very controversial but so is every political view and debate therefore resulting in a very real and intimate performance. 

Why is Torn written for an audience of 2016?

Why is torn written for an audience of 2016?

I believe that torn by Nathaniel Martello-White was written for an audience of 2016 because it discussed issues which are present in today's society, for example one issue is 'broken' family homes looking happy on the outside but having deeper issues within, this theme is still part of society which allows the audience members to relate it to their own families. I believe that this also shows society that everything is not what it seems, everyone is fighting their own battles even if we can't see it. Therefore going against societies beliefs in what a happy family is. 

In addition to that abuse within families being covered still plays a big part on today's society, no one really likes to talk about the issues going on within because they don't want to damage their families reputation (Happy families) they would rather pretend that it never happened so they don't have to face the truth. 

Torn -The questions, challenges and themes

Torn:

Torn was fist performed on Wednesday the 7th of September 2016 until Saturday 15th of October 2016, when i read Torn i personally didn't like it whatsoever, it was very hard for me to understand what was going on even if i re-read the scene more then once i just didn't understand. I also found it hard to keep track of the characters and who was related to who. Even in the end i still didn't have a clue on what was going on until we discussed it in class, but nearly everyone in my class found it difficult. However i do feel like the issues it tried to bring to the light were very big ones that people don't talk about, but for me i feel like it could of been done in a much clearer way for people to understand. 

Questions raised in Torn:

• Why is angel is being ignored?
• Why is family fake 
• why are some family members treated better the others?/Why is there an hierarchy?  
• What do they not want to talk about?
• Why are so many people determined not to talk and speak up about the issues but would rather push them under the rug?

What are the challenges in Torn?

• There are a lot of characters talking at the same time in the script so it becomes difficult to pay attention to both and know what they're talking about. 
• It's hard to know the relationships between all the characters/ who is related to who, however we can solve this issue by drawing a family tree to make things more clearer. 
• The way that Torn was written made it very difficult to understand what was going on throughout the scenes. 
• The name of the characters could have actually been names, only three of the had proper names,  however we discovered that the named characters had the closest relationship with the protagonist Angel, whereas the others were stereotypical family members e.g. Aunty, Couzin. 
• In one scene there was two different conversations going on at the same time but they were from two different periods in time which made it hard to understand, there has to be an establishment to see that they're two different conversation. -The play is a build up of conversations that don't happen. 
• It doesn't have linear narration (not chronological)
• It will be a challenge presenting the flashbacks. 
• The structure of how its written is hard to understand. 
• The scenes never have a beginning nor end. 
• All the family are always present and are often talking over each other causing a confusion of words. 
• The form is confusing at the expense of understanding, but that's okay if the actors understands the background and what they're trying to say to the audience. 

Themes:

• Family 
• Race 
• Ageism 
• Mistrust 
• Neglect 

10/11/17- What is the point of Political Theatre

What is the point of Political Theatre?

I think that the point of political theatre is that is raises questions about the environment we are living in and how it effects different people. This type of theatre also prompts the audience not to accept societies social norms, its about art that makes us question and stand up to the status quo. I believe that this is a very effective way to inform people of all ages about the issues in politics but it does it in a very entertaining way which draws us in more as an audience. 

Political Theatre should leave the audience feeling motivated to do something or create a change, but it should also leave them questioning themselves and the society they live in. This type of theatre is a way the actors can comment what they feel about the issue they are facing, while also confronting the government. Political theatre is a tool used by old and young actors, it gives actors,directors etc to talk about the issues they face and they cannot be stopped for it.