Urgent request!

Hello All,

We notice that so far, no-one has completed the first impressions survey – please can we ask you to do this as a mater of urgency – it will take you under 10 minutes, and we will be able to use the feedback to develop the course positively. You can click on the link below, or access the survey via Blackboard.

You will need to know that your course code is : FHFDR1

First Impressions Survey

Hope you are having a great break, and thanks in advance for completing the survey,

Lisa & Vanessa

Notes from peer evaluation discussion

Notes from discussion & questions to consider:

• What is the thinking and intention behind the techniques? What did those practitioners want theatre to do?
• What are the difference between Gestus and Gesture?
• What do you value in feedback? 
• In feedback what is the balance between personal feelings and objective analysis?

Zoe & Chris:

Quickly established 4th wall. touchy subject approached with humour. Character changes were clear. Interesting, clear & engaging use of gestus and narration. Impressed with the signs as they were very visual. Gameshow idea was interesting. Easily imagine lighting supporting the decisions; effectively staged. Use of levels made it easy for audience to focus and be drawn but not too much; reminding audience of theatrical setting. Would have liked to have seen swapping of characters to emphasise the mechanics of demonstrating character. Disagree; you don't have to use all of the techniques in one performance to make it effective as a Brechtian piece.

Yvette & Greg:

Engaged the whole time; i could see the truth. The change in Greg's emotion was truthful. Note to Greg; found stillness in beginning to be truthful but later the physicality wasn't there slipped into 'Greg hands'. Emotions were effective as were the changes. Atmosphere was strong in the beginning and then changed effectively; by looking at it i could feel it before speech happened. Natural, conversational dialogue; atmosphere of power struggle. Like watching a tennis match where we didn't know outcome. I did not feel the atmosphere, it felt like one character had simply forgotten lines rather than a filled silence. Interesting point; how can audience read an actor thinking or the character thinking? A small 'something' movement to show connection between characters. Chekhovian in the way it set up solid atmosphere in the beginning.

Sam & Jonathan:

Engaging and intriguing; the mixture of sign and spoken language. It could have been more truthful; ie when hearing aid came out it could have been part of the piece. Sam held tension well with his breath created empathy. Fishing rod disappeared? No it was put down but needed more detail. Sam's character had been calmer with violent outbursts in rehearsals. In final performance more mixed. Better not to be as vicious as in rehearsal; motivation was more truthful to keep the friendship. Jonathan strong posture showing introversion; could see emotion memory in the cowering. Something snapped in anger which may have come from emotion memory. Verbal and sign language combination very truthful. Relationship seemed to have history to it. Anger gesture for Sam could be more definite with arm movements. Physicality and breath showed attempt to control anger. Suspense until hearing aid moment  where energy dropped.  Last shout did not feel as truthful; the last pause too long. Disagree the sex gesture was more for audience rather than the truthfulness of the scene. What is difference between Stanislavski & Chekhov?

Laura & Gonzalo:

The relationship of siblings was clear. Not sure how old G's character was. 13? G started with high energy and that was engaging though too young? Laura's characterisation clear except the line 'i am the moustache', not as truthful that character believed that. Disagree that G played character too young; sibling relationship makes you behave younger. Felt connected with Laura's character and atmosphere had impact. Diction very clear by both. Couldn't really see Laura's face from where i was sitting. Too cruel a character though? Was the love there as well?

Paige & James:

Clear gestus made character swap very obvious. Loved the use of placards; time and place and also thoughts. James needed a little more work on diction. Paige performance strong with elements of comedy and consistency kept me interested. Another comment on diction; breaking fourth wall was effective. The song was very funny as was character swap. Good ending. A lot of Brechtian elements; most effective when adjusting each other's character. Issue for me Brecht supposed to make you think; did this piece do that? The piece did well ' actors concentrate on characters and audience concentrate on actors'. Brechtian moment was brilliant; the push away of James. The singing part was Brechtian and expressionist. Adjusting each others' gestus not as effective could be made more of.


Harry & Chris & Sam:

Well done Harry for dealing with change. Good idea to stage by the doorway but the squeeze disengaged me. Could have given yourself more space. But closeness good technique for giving feeling of changing room. Disagree; the spacing helped show relationships and motivation. As an actor, spacing made lines intimate. Portrayal of sexuality was very clear. Stanislavskian choice to not go for camp cliche choice. The second eye; if you were gay that is how you would be a gay man so that was truthful. Physicality demonstrated attraction and was believable. The leaning in for kiss was natural without hesitating. Truthful portrayal of character; physicality affecting your speech was truthful. I could see you were thinking about a million things.

Peer Assessments

These are the relevant criteria for this unit.

Please have a look before you post in the comments your feedback to peers.

1. A developed knowledge and understanding of given discipline specific routines and standards for studio and workshop practice
2. A demonstrated competency with application of given discipline specific routines for workshop and studio practice

Please also comment on how you think the pieces demonstrated the relevant practitioner's ideas and practice.

Library and Learning Resource Area opening times for next week

Over half term/Reading Week, the library, FLA and Learning Resources will be open at our West Durrington Campus every day until 1600.

More research ideas for your reflection

Look at this event. Do these questions apply to your duologue work?

The Department of Drama, Theatre and Performance at University of Roehampton presents, in partnership with Sadler's Wells:

'Of Two Minds: an afternoon on duet collaborations'.
Thursday 30 October, 2-6:30 pm
Sadler’s Wells, Lilian Baylis Studio
Rosebery Avenue, London, EC1R

Booking: http://www.sadlerswells.com/whats-on/2014/an-afternoon-on-duet-collaborations/

Resonance, counterpoint, and confrontation, self and otherness: what does working as a duet mean? What creative methodologies, or creations does it foster across - and among - diverse fields of practice? How is the duet different from other forms of collaboration? When does this experience of alterity become an experience of duality? And what happens then? Join us for an exploration of these questions in an afternoon of talks, dialogues and presentations focusing on the practice of duets by scholars and artists from performance, theatre, dance, music, visual arts and creative writing. As befits the subject matter, participants will take the floor in pairs in a dynamic reimagining of the traditional symposium.
'Of Two Minds' will be followed by an evening performance of 'Control Signal', a duet by Haranczak/Navarre: Karen Christopher and Sophie Grodin. Christopher -  formerly of the renowned American collective Goat Island - and Grodin explore invisible influences and the inexplicable connections we feel but fail to acknowledge.

Also, look at National Theatre five truths for comparisons on practitioners.
http://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/backstage/five-truths

Enquiry about our presentations

Hey I just wanted to ask quickly what it is you're looking for in the presentations?

I've got a bit of an unorthodox idea and I don't want to put time into it if it doesn't match up with what you're looking for.

Referencing help

Found this pdf with loads of useful information about harvard referencing, easy to read, loads of examples. Just click on the link then save/download the page.

http://www.lc.unsw.edu.au/onlib/pdf/harvard.pdf


Yvette :)

A web page about Chekhov.

Here is a website with some information about Chekhov for those of you who might have chosen him!

http://telltojoytheatre.com/michaelchekhov/http://telltojoytheatre.com/michaelchekhov/


Yvette :)

DV8 at Brighton Dome

If you don't book this very very quickly it will sell out!

Unit 1 duologues

Choice of practitioner approaches Stanislavksi, Chekhov, Brecht, Artaud



Dan & Harry Shopping & f... pages 50-51

Paige & James Morning pgs 42-43

Zoe & Chris Morning pgs 15-16

Sam & Jonothan  Herons pgs

Yvette & Greg No Romance pgs 70-71

Gonzalo & Laura Morning pgs 14-15

Adding pics to the blog

To add this pic, which Paige was having trouble with, I saved the pic by right clicking and clicking "save image as" , so that I could retitle it and save to my desktop. 

then I clicked new post on the blog tool bar , and then clicked on the pic image icon, to the right of the LINK icon, about halfway across the top tool bar.

From that point I could choose to upload the image and hey presto!

For the correct reference, and how to find this image, please look at Paige's blogpost which has all the details !

USING END NOTE WITH PAGES

Hi all,

Helen has done some research and found a plug in which will allow mac users to use End- Note with Pages - Tony from I.T Services will be rolling it out on the macs upstairs soon, so good news for all...

Well done for today, I'm enjoying seeing what you have been uploading!
Lisa :)

End note induction mission

The practitioners most closely associated with naturalism would include Constantin Stanislavski and Michael Chekhov (who studied under Stanislavski at the Moscow Art Theatre).

The method of playing which he suggest systematically compels the empathy of the spectator; it is not a result of chance, mood, ingenuity. (Brecht and Mueller 1964)

This is an E-Journal I found by using AUBlibrary. I do not feel this was a great source because, to read the full text you must Register for a MyJSTOR account however it gave me an experience on how to use the website and adding the citation to my Endnote account for future reference if needed. It is written by Bertolt Brecht the practitioner and Carl Mueller.

Edward Gordon Craig who influenced the development of the theatre in the 20th century associated with Adolphe Appia born 8 years apart worked on symbolic theatre.

“The theories of Wagner and Nietzsche provide the basic principles for this volume, disseminated by the work of Appia and Craig, and affecting the later plays of Ibsen, Maeterlinck, and lungé-poé’s Theatre de LéOeuvre. Recent avant-garde theatre in America and Britain also reveals elements of symbolism.” (Styan 1981)

I found this book in the library by using the library catalogue on blackboard. It is written by J.L Stylan and covers symbolism, surrealism and the absurd. I feel, by what I have seen and read, that it is a very good source of information for anybody needing to learn and further their knowledge on symbolism. However It is not written by any of the practitioners themselves. On page 22 there is an image of Shakespeare’s Hamlet set design in 1912 designed by Craig which we briefly looked at in our unit 2a class Monday.

For the visual source I found a video on digital theatre of Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House however because the software was out of date I could not watch the video itself, but I accessed the gallery and copied a picture of Nora Helmer in her dress ready to dance the Tarentella. I chose this picture because in A Doll’s house I believe there are a few examples of symbolism as well as it being acted in a naturalistic manner. The dress she is wearing, along with her red hair accessory, symbolises the poison of the tarantula and also the intent to kill herself at the end of the play. In a sense we see the tarantella as a dance of death. (Persson.J 2012)

Picture won't show on bog however is saved to my documents.

Brecht, B. and C. R. Mueller (1964). "Notes on Stanislavski." The Tulane Drama Review 9(2): 155-166.

           

Styan, J. L. (1981). Modern Drama in Theory and Practice: Volume 2, Symbolism, Surrealism and the Absurd, Cambridge University Press.

           

Persson.J, 2012, Hattie Morahan as Nora Helmer, [picture online] available at https://www.digitaltheatreplus.com/study-guides/a-dolls-house/image-gallery/image-7, accessed 14/10/14.

Sam Purkis- Extension Task

‘An Actor Prepares’ by Stanislavski is follows a fictional student, Kotya, as he begins his actor training. Although it follows a fictional character it is also autobiographical in the sense that the character is just replacing what Stanislavski himself did at the time. The book is about the various techniques and exercises he explored In order to find himself as a performer. It teaches the reader to explore their creativeness and imagination through acting in order to find truthfulness in performance.  It also lays out the foundations of his natural approach to theatrical truth and his approach to the equilibrium between performance and truth.

It was originally published in 1936.  (Stanislavski, 1981)

‘Symbolism in Theatre’ is an ejournal by Tisdel.F looks at the impact of symbolism in theatre and what meaning it generates for audiences. It also asks what symbolism is as well as looking at prominent uses it ranging from Shakespeare’s ‘Macbeth’ to Ibsen’s ‘The Master Builder’. Tisdel was a Professor of literature who worked in many universities where he would study and write books on many different aspects of literature including the use of symbolism in plays. (Tisdel, 1920)

‘Twentieth Century Actor Training’ by Alison Hodge looks at various practitioners who have had a strong hand in creating the methods of acting taught around the world. It looks at the father of Naturalism, Stanislavski as well as influential expressionists such as Brecht. It outlines the basic approach of naturalism and how Stanislavski came up with his various approaches to it. (Hodge, 2000)

This picture was taken off a blog, which was looking Edward Craig Gordon and his use of symbolism in the theatre. The picture shows how Gordon was stage a play and it shows how his form of symbolism uses light an shadow to convey meanings i.e. More sinister characters would always be in the shadows or if a characters mood has darkened the would perform in the darker areas. It is a useful source in that it gives a clear visual representation of how symbolism can be used in the theatre. However, as I have not seen it live I cannot form my own solid opinion on how it was used and as such I can only speculate on how I believe it could be used based on my own theatre experience.  Picture will not show on blog

Hodge, A. (2000). Twentieth century actor training: London : Routledge, 2000.

Stanislavski, C. (1981). An actor prepares: London : Methuen & Co Ltd, 1981.

Tisdel, F. M. (1920). Symbolism in the Theatre. The Sewanee Review, 28(2), 228-240.

Gordon.E, Sebastiao and theatre, http://sebastiaoandtheatre.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/edward-gordon-craig.html