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Journal
The First Week and Stanislavski's Method
This was my first week of IB theatre and I had a lot of fun. We worked with Stanislavski frequently this week, focusing today on Stanislavski's method of acting. During this I realized I had been using some of Stanislavski's ideas without even realizing it. I have used "actions" when I am crafting a monologue for a couple of years after one of my directors showed it to me but I did not realize or recognize that Stanislavski came up with this idea. The idea of actions has helped me a lot in monologues as it allows me to create an effective pathway of emotions of the character I am portraying. One thing I do differently from how it was presented in class is I split my monologue in to many more different sections, sections of which I apply a different action to. Though sometimes repetitive, this helps me analyze the text better and get to the subtext, another topic that Stanislavski works with. Stanislavski said, in reference to the importance of subtext, "Spectators come to the theatre to hear the subtext. They can read the text at home." (Moore 28) I really like this quote because it was an idea I had not thought about before. I love pulling out subtext in passages and portraying that when acting and Stanislavski's works bring this idea to a new level. I have also worked with the idea of emotional memory. I have some specific memories that make me happy, sad, angery, or anxious and I use those to help me craft a realistic sense of character. I agree with his opinion that emotions on stage are different from emotions in real life but I still try to create as much of a real experience as possible when acting. I also like how much emphasis Stanislavski puts on physical acting. Another director that I worked with for a long time put a lot of emphasis on physical acting, he always used to say, "90% of actors now only work with their face and hands. My goal is to teach you how to act with your whole body" and I have always tried to incorporate this belief into my work. Overall, looking into Stanislavski's work has been very insightful and allowed me to reflect on where I get my ideas of how to act.
This was my first week of IB theatre and I had a lot of fun. We worked with Stanislavski frequently this week, focusing today on Stanislavski's method of acting. During this I realized I had been using some of Stanislavski's ideas without even realizing it. I have used "actions" when I am crafting a monologue for a couple of years after one of my directors showed it to me but I did not realize or recognize that Stanislavski came up with this idea. The idea of actions has helped me a lot in monologues as it allows me to create an effective pathway of emotions of the character I am portraying. One thing I do differently from how it was presented in class is I split my monologue in to many more different sections, sections of which I apply a different action to. Though sometimes repetitive, this helps me analyze the text better and get to the subtext, another topic that Stanislavski works with. Stanislavski said, in reference to the importance of subtext, "Spectators come to the theatre to hear the subtext. They can read the text at home." (Moore 28) I really like this quote because it was an idea I had not thought about before. I love pulling out subtext in passages and portraying that when acting and Stanislavski's works bring this idea to a new level. I have also worked with the idea of emotional memory. I have some specific memories that make me happy, sad, angery, or anxious and I use those to help me craft a realistic sense of character. I agree with his opinion that emotions on stage are different from emotions in real life but I still try to create as much of a real experience as possible when acting. I also like how much emphasis Stanislavski puts on physical acting. Another director that I worked with for a long time put a lot of emphasis on physical acting, he always used to say, "90% of actors now only work with their face and hands. My goal is to teach you how to act with your whole body" and I have always tried to incorporate this belief into my work. Overall, looking into Stanislavski's work has been very insightful and allowed me to reflect on where I get my ideas of how to act.
Week of October 12-16, 2020
This week we spent most of our time working on the monologues we picked out, mine being a monologue from Rose in Street Scene. I felt like I have made a lot of progress in my monologue over the week. Initially, I was unsure of this monologue as I did not know how to play a woman trying to tell her partner that she had to take a break for a while as I don't have any real-life experiences that resemble this scene. I felt like I was trying to act out something that was not really my place to act out. I don't often play a character with a significant love interest, so I found this rather uncomfortable. I do think that this monologue has allowed me to push myself and create experiences that I had not had before. I tried to focus on specific emotions such as love, longing, sadness, and regret as my real-life experience instead of an actual event. I think that this worked really well for me, instead of focusing on a specific event that happened in my past to focus on the emotions I felt because I could craft the monologue to be more individual to Rose rather than myself. I felt that Tuesday, our in-person day, was incredibly helpful because I could perform in front of everyone and get specific feedback. One idea that our teacher/director had was to act as if my (Rose's) love interest, Sam, was behind my back. I felt like this really helped me imagine Rose telling Sam she needed to take a break but also, deep in her heart, wanting to be with him. I think that this also helped me stage the monologue in a more exciting way, allowing me to stand up and sit down instead of just staring at the audience the whole time.
Another major aspect of this week was giving feedback to others, which was hard for me and allowed me to grow. I have acted for a while, so I felt like it was easy for me to give simple advice to people, such as speak slower and keep in character even if you forget a line, but it was hard for me to give more personal feedback. I felt like I was intruding and rude when giving personal, direct feedback, but I also knew that it was part of the process and did it anyway. I believe that this is a common struggle as I did not get much personal feedback from my peers, and I think that this is a part of theatre that we all need to come together and discuss. Maybe if we were able to talk about how it is not actually directed personally and that we are not trying to be mean but rather informative and helpful. Overall, I felt that I made quite a bit of progress in my work in monologues and assisted others in their monologues.
This week we spent most of our time working on the monologues we picked out, mine being a monologue from Rose in Street Scene. I felt like I have made a lot of progress in my monologue over the week. Initially, I was unsure of this monologue as I did not know how to play a woman trying to tell her partner that she had to take a break for a while as I don't have any real-life experiences that resemble this scene. I felt like I was trying to act out something that was not really my place to act out. I don't often play a character with a significant love interest, so I found this rather uncomfortable. I do think that this monologue has allowed me to push myself and create experiences that I had not had before. I tried to focus on specific emotions such as love, longing, sadness, and regret as my real-life experience instead of an actual event. I think that this worked really well for me, instead of focusing on a specific event that happened in my past to focus on the emotions I felt because I could craft the monologue to be more individual to Rose rather than myself. I felt that Tuesday, our in-person day, was incredibly helpful because I could perform in front of everyone and get specific feedback. One idea that our teacher/director had was to act as if my (Rose's) love interest, Sam, was behind my back. I felt like this really helped me imagine Rose telling Sam she needed to take a break but also, deep in her heart, wanting to be with him. I think that this also helped me stage the monologue in a more exciting way, allowing me to stand up and sit down instead of just staring at the audience the whole time.
Another major aspect of this week was giving feedback to others, which was hard for me and allowed me to grow. I have acted for a while, so I felt like it was easy for me to give simple advice to people, such as speak slower and keep in character even if you forget a line, but it was hard for me to give more personal feedback. I felt like I was intruding and rude when giving personal, direct feedback, but I also knew that it was part of the process and did it anyway. I believe that this is a common struggle as I did not get much personal feedback from my peers, and I think that this is a part of theatre that we all need to come together and discuss. Maybe if we were able to talk about how it is not actually directed personally and that we are not trying to be mean but rather informative and helpful. Overall, I felt that I made quite a bit of progress in my work in monologues and assisted others in their monologues.
Week of October 19-23
We got to be in person two times this week and thus were able to do many things, but we started our week by performing our monologues. I felt like I did a pretty good job with my monologue, but a few things were out of my control. I wanted to record it before school, so I would not have to do the monologue live, but my house is never quiet, and I never got a good time to do a recording. Instead, I did the monologue live and did have troubles with my dogs, which was nerve-racking, but I handled it. I had a hard time staying in character because while my "audience" could not hear the other noises in the house, my brother was talking with some friends on his computer very loudly, and they were saying funny and distracting things. I felt like overall, I did a good job. I stayed in character and performed my monologue. I liked how my peers responded to my monologue, they gave many compliments, which was really lovely, and I got some excellent feedback. One piece of feedback that I have tried to incorporate into my acting is trying to create pauses without a rhythm because when I performed my monologue, the breaks I took had a rhythm to them. I have heard that I do this before, I am a very musical person, so this could be why, but I have tried to pay more attention to when I pause. I felt like overall, I had an excellent experience performing my monologue.
The rest of the week, we have been working on Commedia dell Arte, which I have had fun doing. I have heard a little bit about Commedia dell Arte before, but it has been super amazing to immerse myself within this theatre form. I love how each character within Commedia dell Arte not only has a specific personality but a particular way they hold their body as well, and it has been amusing trying to mimic that. I especially enjoyed when our class went outside on Tuesday, one of our in-person days, and tried out each character's body movements. We have also been working on devising our own skit using the Commedia dell Arte characters. I have had a hard time doing this because I want to create an engaging, original piece and fit within the structure of Commedia dell Arte, which has been much harder than I expected it to be. Our group has come up with an outline of a plot, but we are having a difficult time making sure all of our characters fit into the Commedia dell Arte characters. I feel like while devising this piece has been challenging, it has been enjoyable as well because we have made many funny moments within the skit, and it has just been fun trying out a new type of theatre. We have also been working on Gromalot, a nonsensical language used by Commedia actors, which has been fun but challenging. I feel like it is much harder to speak Gromalot than I initially thought because the sounds still have to convey emotion, but it has been fun trying it out. I feel like overall, this has been a fun week because I have been able to try many different things that I never imagined I would ever do.
We got to be in person two times this week and thus were able to do many things, but we started our week by performing our monologues. I felt like I did a pretty good job with my monologue, but a few things were out of my control. I wanted to record it before school, so I would not have to do the monologue live, but my house is never quiet, and I never got a good time to do a recording. Instead, I did the monologue live and did have troubles with my dogs, which was nerve-racking, but I handled it. I had a hard time staying in character because while my "audience" could not hear the other noises in the house, my brother was talking with some friends on his computer very loudly, and they were saying funny and distracting things. I felt like overall, I did a good job. I stayed in character and performed my monologue. I liked how my peers responded to my monologue, they gave many compliments, which was really lovely, and I got some excellent feedback. One piece of feedback that I have tried to incorporate into my acting is trying to create pauses without a rhythm because when I performed my monologue, the breaks I took had a rhythm to them. I have heard that I do this before, I am a very musical person, so this could be why, but I have tried to pay more attention to when I pause. I felt like overall, I had an excellent experience performing my monologue.
The rest of the week, we have been working on Commedia dell Arte, which I have had fun doing. I have heard a little bit about Commedia dell Arte before, but it has been super amazing to immerse myself within this theatre form. I love how each character within Commedia dell Arte not only has a specific personality but a particular way they hold their body as well, and it has been amusing trying to mimic that. I especially enjoyed when our class went outside on Tuesday, one of our in-person days, and tried out each character's body movements. We have also been working on devising our own skit using the Commedia dell Arte characters. I have had a hard time doing this because I want to create an engaging, original piece and fit within the structure of Commedia dell Arte, which has been much harder than I expected it to be. Our group has come up with an outline of a plot, but we are having a difficult time making sure all of our characters fit into the Commedia dell Arte characters. I feel like while devising this piece has been challenging, it has been enjoyable as well because we have made many funny moments within the skit, and it has just been fun trying out a new type of theatre. We have also been working on Gromalot, a nonsensical language used by Commedia actors, which has been fun but challenging. I feel like it is much harder to speak Gromalot than I initially thought because the sounds still have to convey emotion, but it has been fun trying it out. I feel like overall, this has been a fun week because I have been able to try many different things that I never imagined I would ever do.
Week of October 25-30
This week was all about our Commedia sketch. I have had so much fun working on the sketch because I feel like it is expanding my acting creativity, and it also helped with bonding with my peers. I feel like we have been able to work a ton on our physical acting skills and getting better at acting physically. It is sometimes hard when you cannot say words to express how you feel, but I have improved this ability by working on the Commedia piece. The hardest part for me was making sure the play we created to fit within the boundaries of Commedia del Arte and that our sketch counted as a Commedia del Arte sketch. I think that after many revisions, our piece now follows the rules and is appropriate for Commedia del Arte. I also felt like I had a hard time communicating when we were doing our piece on zoom. Though this is unavoidable, trying to perform such a physical theatre piece through zoom was too complicated to make much sense. While I feel like we were able to get lots of work done when we were in person, Commedia del Arte did not transfer into a zoom format. It was too confusing.
I think that working on Commedia del Arte was significantly different from working on my monologue. The most obvious difference was the emphasis on words and speaking vs. the focus on physical actions. I feel like when I was working on my monologue, I spent most of my time working out how to say my words, but this is not a problem for Commedia. While we had to figure out how to speak using gromalot and how to express our emotions, we do not spend as much time crafting our speech. It felt much different, creating a sketch vs. working off a monologue that was already written. I think the skillset we used for each piece was very different, while with our monologue, we had to spend time researching and making sure our acting worked for the specific character. This is not as much the case for Commedia. While we had an archetype to work off of, for example, the young lovers or Zanny, we got to create our character within the parameters. I felt like we had much more freedom when working with our Commedia characters, and while this freedom was fun, it is not always a good thing. I think our group had a hard time working within these parameters because we all interpreted them differently and had trouble making sense of precisely what each character was supposed to be doing. I feel like with our monologues, the intentions behind the character and the character themself were much easier to understand. I have also had much more practice working with monologues, while I have never done with Commedia before. I feel like it is hard to judge my work between the two because of this experience difference, and it would be interesting to see what we would come up with if we were to create a different Commedia piece after the experience from this first try. I have had so much fun working on both pieces, our monologues and our Commedia sketch, and I think that while they are very different from each other, they have both helped me improve as an actor.
This week was all about our Commedia sketch. I have had so much fun working on the sketch because I feel like it is expanding my acting creativity, and it also helped with bonding with my peers. I feel like we have been able to work a ton on our physical acting skills and getting better at acting physically. It is sometimes hard when you cannot say words to express how you feel, but I have improved this ability by working on the Commedia piece. The hardest part for me was making sure the play we created to fit within the boundaries of Commedia del Arte and that our sketch counted as a Commedia del Arte sketch. I think that after many revisions, our piece now follows the rules and is appropriate for Commedia del Arte. I also felt like I had a hard time communicating when we were doing our piece on zoom. Though this is unavoidable, trying to perform such a physical theatre piece through zoom was too complicated to make much sense. While I feel like we were able to get lots of work done when we were in person, Commedia del Arte did not transfer into a zoom format. It was too confusing.
I think that working on Commedia del Arte was significantly different from working on my monologue. The most obvious difference was the emphasis on words and speaking vs. the focus on physical actions. I feel like when I was working on my monologue, I spent most of my time working out how to say my words, but this is not a problem for Commedia. While we had to figure out how to speak using gromalot and how to express our emotions, we do not spend as much time crafting our speech. It felt much different, creating a sketch vs. working off a monologue that was already written. I think the skillset we used for each piece was very different, while with our monologue, we had to spend time researching and making sure our acting worked for the specific character. This is not as much the case for Commedia. While we had an archetype to work off of, for example, the young lovers or Zanny, we got to create our character within the parameters. I felt like we had much more freedom when working with our Commedia characters, and while this freedom was fun, it is not always a good thing. I think our group had a hard time working within these parameters because we all interpreted them differently and had trouble making sense of precisely what each character was supposed to be doing. I feel like with our monologues, the intentions behind the character and the character themself were much easier to understand. I have also had much more practice working with monologues, while I have never done with Commedia before. I feel like it is hard to judge my work between the two because of this experience difference, and it would be interesting to see what we would come up with if we were to create a different Commedia piece after the experience from this first try. I have had so much fun working on both pieces, our monologues and our Commedia sketch, and I think that while they are very different from each other, they have both helped me improve as an actor.
Final Week of Mod B- November 2-6
As it was the final week of the mod and the last week of theatre class until 2021, we had a busy week, but I feel accomplished and proud of the work that I have done during this mod. We started this week with our performance of our Commedia piece. I was quite nervous because I did not think that our audience (our teacher and the seniors) would understand what was going on. I was worried that we were not prepared enough and that the storyline did not fit in with what a Commedia sketch should be. However, despite my worries, I think that we put on a show that not only made sense but had some good, funny parts as well. When our teacher asked the seniors what they thought the play was about, they got the story right, down to what each of our characters was. I was relieved that they understood and happy that we had performed a piece that is an accurate replica of Commedia. On Thursday, we did our presentations on the different projects required for IB theatre. I partnered with one of my classmates, presented in the Research Presentation. I was also quite nervous about this presentation because, due to unstable internet connections and online school, we could not communicate much or practice our presentation together. Fortunately, I think we did a good job of giving information based on the Research Presentation. I thought it was cool to hear about the other projects, it gave me a better understanding of what will happen in these next two years.
I think that the mod as a whole went well, I was not sure what to expect when I came into IB Theatre, but I have had so much fun. It has been cool to be around other actors or people wanting to give it a shot and improve my skills. With each of the projects that I did, I learned something new and interesting. With my monologue, I feel like I was able to improve my acting skills when performing alone. I thought it was fascinating how many different ways a person can play a monologue, and I completely switched the way I did my monologue. I started focusing mainly on one emotion, but I choose to focus on another when my performance came around. I do not think one way was necessarily right, but for me, the way I did it in the performance just made more sense. When doing our Commedia piece, I learned how to build a piece up, starting from scratch, without much outside help. I feel like I could connect and bond with my classmates because we all had to be vulnerable and share our ideas. I think that this piece also helped me with collaboration, I was able to take some leadership roles as well as just being an actor. One thing I would like to improve upon in the next mod is working on giving feedback. It is easy for me to provide input on basic acting skills such as cheating out or slowing down when speaking, but it is harder for me to talk about things that I thought they could improve upon with their actual acting. I feel like if I do that, I will hurt their feelings, and I do not want to do that. I hope that next mod, I can figure out more ways to critique my classmates, when necessary, without feeling rude or like I am mean. I would also like to work on getting out of a "presentational" style of acting. I feel like I could improve my acting by taking a loser approach when first starting a scene or monologue, so I do not sound so presentational. Overall, I had an excellent mod in IB theatre, and I am excited about the next mod.
As it was the final week of the mod and the last week of theatre class until 2021, we had a busy week, but I feel accomplished and proud of the work that I have done during this mod. We started this week with our performance of our Commedia piece. I was quite nervous because I did not think that our audience (our teacher and the seniors) would understand what was going on. I was worried that we were not prepared enough and that the storyline did not fit in with what a Commedia sketch should be. However, despite my worries, I think that we put on a show that not only made sense but had some good, funny parts as well. When our teacher asked the seniors what they thought the play was about, they got the story right, down to what each of our characters was. I was relieved that they understood and happy that we had performed a piece that is an accurate replica of Commedia. On Thursday, we did our presentations on the different projects required for IB theatre. I partnered with one of my classmates, presented in the Research Presentation. I was also quite nervous about this presentation because, due to unstable internet connections and online school, we could not communicate much or practice our presentation together. Fortunately, I think we did a good job of giving information based on the Research Presentation. I thought it was cool to hear about the other projects, it gave me a better understanding of what will happen in these next two years.
I think that the mod as a whole went well, I was not sure what to expect when I came into IB Theatre, but I have had so much fun. It has been cool to be around other actors or people wanting to give it a shot and improve my skills. With each of the projects that I did, I learned something new and interesting. With my monologue, I feel like I was able to improve my acting skills when performing alone. I thought it was fascinating how many different ways a person can play a monologue, and I completely switched the way I did my monologue. I started focusing mainly on one emotion, but I choose to focus on another when my performance came around. I do not think one way was necessarily right, but for me, the way I did it in the performance just made more sense. When doing our Commedia piece, I learned how to build a piece up, starting from scratch, without much outside help. I feel like I could connect and bond with my classmates because we all had to be vulnerable and share our ideas. I think that this piece also helped me with collaboration, I was able to take some leadership roles as well as just being an actor. One thing I would like to improve upon in the next mod is working on giving feedback. It is easy for me to provide input on basic acting skills such as cheating out or slowing down when speaking, but it is harder for me to talk about things that I thought they could improve upon with their actual acting. I feel like if I do that, I will hurt their feelings, and I do not want to do that. I hope that next mod, I can figure out more ways to critique my classmates, when necessary, without feeling rude or like I am mean. I would also like to work on getting out of a "presentational" style of acting. I feel like I could improve my acting by taking a loser approach when first starting a scene or monologue, so I do not sound so presentational. Overall, I had an excellent mod in IB theatre, and I am excited about the next mod.
What considerations do directors, designers, and actors make when creating a piece of theatre? Reflection on The Comedy of Errors Sunday, January 10, 2021
When building a production directors, designers, and actors have to take in mind how their audience will be receiving their piece of theatre. This can be seen on all fronts: a visual performance, vocal, and philosophical/metal. Within The Comedy of Errors that we watched on digital theatre plus they were performing to children and they had to keep that in mind when performing. The directors and actors had to make certain choices that allowed the audience, filled with mostly children, to understand their performance, using exaggerated hand gestures and funny bits to keep the audience engaged and entertained. In The Comedy of Errors they used music throughout the performance to add vibrance to the play. This was a choice made by the directors that highlighted the actor's multifaceted talents as well as added funny sound effects and chilling music to the play as a whole. The designers are in charge of setting the scene and transporting the audience to where the set is taking place. The Comedy of Errors had a simplistic set but they used their actors to create meaning. The simple, almost thrown together looking set gave the production a playfulness and allowed the audience to give in to the make believe scenes that the actors created. For example, there was a scene where two of the characters were playing ping pong and they did not have anything for ping pong, they made it all up, but the audience bought it because of the design production and the actors conviction. The choice to make the set look handmade gave the audience a degree of intimacy with the actors and allowed them to get away with missing props and other exaggerations of reality. Another choice made by the directors was to have the actors interact with the audience. This was a good choice because of the small space where they were performing, the intimate vibe of the production, and the fact that they were performing to kids. There were times when a character was looking for another character and they would ask the children where the person was which seemed to make the kids laugh and enjoy the production more. One of the Dromios in the production also carried a kid on stage and used them in the scene. This choice to break the 4th wall is controversial within theatre and can edge on cheesy sometimes, but in The Comedy of Errors they used it tastefully, allowing the audience to become more engaged with the play. When creating a piece of theatre the directors, actors, and designers each add elements to a production that make it unique and allow the production to flourish within the boundaries of space and audience.
When building a production directors, designers, and actors have to take in mind how their audience will be receiving their piece of theatre. This can be seen on all fronts: a visual performance, vocal, and philosophical/metal. Within The Comedy of Errors that we watched on digital theatre plus they were performing to children and they had to keep that in mind when performing. The directors and actors had to make certain choices that allowed the audience, filled with mostly children, to understand their performance, using exaggerated hand gestures and funny bits to keep the audience engaged and entertained. In The Comedy of Errors they used music throughout the performance to add vibrance to the play. This was a choice made by the directors that highlighted the actor's multifaceted talents as well as added funny sound effects and chilling music to the play as a whole. The designers are in charge of setting the scene and transporting the audience to where the set is taking place. The Comedy of Errors had a simplistic set but they used their actors to create meaning. The simple, almost thrown together looking set gave the production a playfulness and allowed the audience to give in to the make believe scenes that the actors created. For example, there was a scene where two of the characters were playing ping pong and they did not have anything for ping pong, they made it all up, but the audience bought it because of the design production and the actors conviction. The choice to make the set look handmade gave the audience a degree of intimacy with the actors and allowed them to get away with missing props and other exaggerations of reality. Another choice made by the directors was to have the actors interact with the audience. This was a good choice because of the small space where they were performing, the intimate vibe of the production, and the fact that they were performing to kids. There were times when a character was looking for another character and they would ask the children where the person was which seemed to make the kids laugh and enjoy the production more. One of the Dromios in the production also carried a kid on stage and used them in the scene. This choice to break the 4th wall is controversial within theatre and can edge on cheesy sometimes, but in The Comedy of Errors they used it tastefully, allowing the audience to become more engaged with the play. When creating a piece of theatre the directors, actors, and designers each add elements to a production that make it unique and allow the production to flourish within the boundaries of space and audience.
The Woodsman reflection, Friday, January 15, 2021
I loved watching The Woodsman, a play that tells the Wizard of Oz story about how the tin man became the tin man. I thought it was a dramatic, experimental production that was both whimsical and sad, centering on how the tin man lost his heart, his true love. Throughout the production elements of T.E.A.M., tension, emotion, atmosphere, and meaning were prevalent . One moment that I thought really showed T.E.A.M. was when the boy, who eventually becomes the tin man, gives the girl, his true love, his heart. I feel like the heart is a very symbolic piece the director choose to add to the show, it was originally the boy's mother's heart, but when she died it was given to him. Thus the heart has emotional meaning to the audience, it is an important piece of the play and an important choice made by the creators. I think it is also a moment that brings up emotion in a sweet, heartwarming way, as the audience feels happy for the boy and girl, as they have found each other. The atmosphere of this moment is very warm, the way the lighting and how the actors are performing shows the tenderness of this moment. Another moment I felt showed T.E.A.M. was when the old lady, who uses the girl as servant, sees that the girl has the heart and takes it away from her. I think that this moment shows tension as the audience is waiting to see what the girl is going to do, if she will fight for the heart or give it away. As I said above, the heart carries much meaning within the show and this is thus an important moment because it shows how the girl feels about the boy who gave her his heart. I also think that there is very intense emotion within this moment as the old woman and girl are fighting. This moment invokes fear within the audience as they are not sure what the girl will do. The atmosphere within this moment is very dark, expressing the tone of moment. The old lady, who is portrayed by a puppet, is a scary figure within the play and the dark set makes it look like a cave or unwelcoming place. I think the choice to make the old lady a puppet by the creators was an important one as it adds a sense of unknown, the audience is unsure how to react to a puppet, and invokes emotions on hesitance when the puppet is around. While the girl eventually gets the heart back I felt like this was a very tense, scary moment because I did not want the girl to give up the heart. I felt that overall The Woodsman used T.E.A.M. to heighten the performance and make it more engaging and interesting, I really enjoyed the show.
I loved watching The Woodsman, a play that tells the Wizard of Oz story about how the tin man became the tin man. I thought it was a dramatic, experimental production that was both whimsical and sad, centering on how the tin man lost his heart, his true love. Throughout the production elements of T.E.A.M., tension, emotion, atmosphere, and meaning were prevalent . One moment that I thought really showed T.E.A.M. was when the boy, who eventually becomes the tin man, gives the girl, his true love, his heart. I feel like the heart is a very symbolic piece the director choose to add to the show, it was originally the boy's mother's heart, but when she died it was given to him. Thus the heart has emotional meaning to the audience, it is an important piece of the play and an important choice made by the creators. I think it is also a moment that brings up emotion in a sweet, heartwarming way, as the audience feels happy for the boy and girl, as they have found each other. The atmosphere of this moment is very warm, the way the lighting and how the actors are performing shows the tenderness of this moment. Another moment I felt showed T.E.A.M. was when the old lady, who uses the girl as servant, sees that the girl has the heart and takes it away from her. I think that this moment shows tension as the audience is waiting to see what the girl is going to do, if she will fight for the heart or give it away. As I said above, the heart carries much meaning within the show and this is thus an important moment because it shows how the girl feels about the boy who gave her his heart. I also think that there is very intense emotion within this moment as the old woman and girl are fighting. This moment invokes fear within the audience as they are not sure what the girl will do. The atmosphere within this moment is very dark, expressing the tone of moment. The old lady, who is portrayed by a puppet, is a scary figure within the play and the dark set makes it look like a cave or unwelcoming place. I think the choice to make the old lady a puppet by the creators was an important one as it adds a sense of unknown, the audience is unsure how to react to a puppet, and invokes emotions on hesitance when the puppet is around. While the girl eventually gets the heart back I felt like this was a very tense, scary moment because I did not want the girl to give up the heart. I felt that overall The Woodsman used T.E.A.M. to heighten the performance and make it more engaging and interesting, I really enjoyed the show.
Journal on the Director's Notebook, January 31, 2021
This last week has been all about the director's notebook. So far, we have completed sections A1 and A2. I think that while this section has been challenging I have a better understanding of how to do the directors notebook. At first I felt confused and overwhelmed because I was unsure of what to do. In order to fix this I just started writing, I wrote about The Peloponnesian War, about the actual play, Lysistrata, and the themes within it. I went over the page limit but that was okay because at least I had something on the page. From there I edited out all of the unnecessary parts from my writing and formatted it how I wanted to. I think that method actually worked very well for me, and I was proud of what I had created. I took some inspiration from other notebooks that we had looked at for formatting. One of the director's notebooks we looked at was set up in landscape mode and I thought that was a really good idea so I did that as well. I also added some pictures in this section of my director's notebook because other notebooks did that as well. I was not sure I wanted to do this at first but I decided that it would be a good idea to make the notebook visually interesting. I had a hard time focusing solely on this section because it is much heavier on the writing than the pictures and I did not know how to make it look good. Other theatre students have talked about how much writing is needed when doing IB theatre and this is very true. I have to rearrange my homework schedule because the workload in this class has increased quite a bit this week. While I think that this is okay it has been stressful. I have been able to manage this workload by spreading out my time wisely. Overall, I think that this week has gone well and I am excited to continue working on the notebook.
This last week has been all about the director's notebook. So far, we have completed sections A1 and A2. I think that while this section has been challenging I have a better understanding of how to do the directors notebook. At first I felt confused and overwhelmed because I was unsure of what to do. In order to fix this I just started writing, I wrote about The Peloponnesian War, about the actual play, Lysistrata, and the themes within it. I went over the page limit but that was okay because at least I had something on the page. From there I edited out all of the unnecessary parts from my writing and formatted it how I wanted to. I think that method actually worked very well for me, and I was proud of what I had created. I took some inspiration from other notebooks that we had looked at for formatting. One of the director's notebooks we looked at was set up in landscape mode and I thought that was a really good idea so I did that as well. I also added some pictures in this section of my director's notebook because other notebooks did that as well. I was not sure I wanted to do this at first but I decided that it would be a good idea to make the notebook visually interesting. I had a hard time focusing solely on this section because it is much heavier on the writing than the pictures and I did not know how to make it look good. Other theatre students have talked about how much writing is needed when doing IB theatre and this is very true. I have to rearrange my homework schedule because the workload in this class has increased quite a bit this week. While I think that this is okay it has been stressful. I have been able to manage this workload by spreading out my time wisely. Overall, I think that this week has gone well and I am excited to continue working on the notebook.
Journal on Pygmalion, February 7, 2021
This week I read and did a play reading report on the play Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw. I really enjoyed reading this play and I feel like I would be successful doing a director's notebook on it. I love the musical My Fair Lady and I thought that possibly doing the director's notebook on Pygmalion, the inspiration for My Fair Lady, would be nice. One of the main reasons that I would like to do this play is because of the theme of class. Pygmalion is a critique of upper class life as Eliza, Henry, and Pickering are showing that anyone can fake being upper class if they have the right clothing and attitude. It addresses the idea that upper class society is all a facade, full of secrets and people who are not truly happy. I think that this theme is very relevant in today's world, with all of the politics around class and the distribution of wealth within America. Despite the heavy themes, Pygmalion is a romantic comedy and I think that overall, the show is entertaining and engaging. Another reason I am considering doing this play for my director's notebook is because just reading this play has already given me ideas on costuming, set, lighting, ect. I was getting excited to direct this play when I was reading and thinking about whether I should do my director's notebook on it or not and I think that this is important when deciding what play I would like direct. Overall, I think that Pygmalion is a good option for my director's notebook but I am definitely keeping my options open for other plays.
This week I read and did a play reading report on the play Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw. I really enjoyed reading this play and I feel like I would be successful doing a director's notebook on it. I love the musical My Fair Lady and I thought that possibly doing the director's notebook on Pygmalion, the inspiration for My Fair Lady, would be nice. One of the main reasons that I would like to do this play is because of the theme of class. Pygmalion is a critique of upper class life as Eliza, Henry, and Pickering are showing that anyone can fake being upper class if they have the right clothing and attitude. It addresses the idea that upper class society is all a facade, full of secrets and people who are not truly happy. I think that this theme is very relevant in today's world, with all of the politics around class and the distribution of wealth within America. Despite the heavy themes, Pygmalion is a romantic comedy and I think that overall, the show is entertaining and engaging. Another reason I am considering doing this play for my director's notebook is because just reading this play has already given me ideas on costuming, set, lighting, ect. I was getting excited to direct this play when I was reading and thinking about whether I should do my director's notebook on it or not and I think that this is important when deciding what play I would like direct. Overall, I think that Pygmalion is a good option for my director's notebook but I am definitely keeping my options open for other plays.