The set
type was very simple, it was set in the round and there were not any
furnishings. We only had our small props which is what we needed for each of the
duologues. I think this very simple setting made the atmosphere a lot grungier
and edgy which is what the play entails. It’s quite deep scenarios within the
text so the emptiness made the script fill the stage. The audience attention
was all about what the two actors were talking about. It made a great impact
and the audience reactions showed that this dynamic worked well.
The actors
were always around the set/staging area which, in all, made the play more
immersive. The audience can feel as though they are part of the performance
which is probably why we got feedback that some of the audience were
uncomfortable. However, that is the reaction we were most expecting them to
have as there were some very graphic content.
The
costumes were also very simplistic just like the set. The reason for this is
because the scenes for different plays and most of us did at least two scenes
or more, so if we were changing to a different character then we would just put
something over the top, like a blazer, a coat or a top. This signified each
character as we were constantly multi rolling. The base that we wore were a
short sleeve white T-shirt and black jeans/trouser.
There were
no sound effects, only a short piece of lyric-less music which was there to
show a change of scene and give the people in the next scene some time to get
their props together and costumes on. The director also wanted to have the
music there as it gave the performance structure. the director felt it was like
the breath of the piece. I feel like it heightened the piece, the tone of the
song was very sombre. It created tension and to fit with the genre of the
performance it made it feel serious. For example, the seriousness within the
scene in shopping and fucking between Mark and Gary, it doesn’t lose its
significance as it then led on to a play about racism. It kept the mood reflective.
The
lighting was quite dim, to keep the emptiness in the room. It was simplistic yet
again and complimented the set and outlook in doing so. I noticed that the
lighting didn’t work in some cases, for example, in my scene with Jovan, as he
would sit/stand at each corner of the stage as he went round the set, when he
sat down he wasn’t lit up as well. However I find it was good in a way as
everywhere was lit and not a single place was complete darkness so I felt that
drew people in a bit more as well. This made me feel as though I could connect with
the audience more also as I had to speak to an audience member whilst I was
performing my monologue right at the end of the performance.
There were
not any specifically set characters. Everyone multi roled and had at least 2 characters
they would play one in each scene they had chosen form the plays that they chose
to perform. All characters were of all the same level so there were not any
main characters or extras. Everyone was equal performativity. However, there
was different statuses in the characters for example in my Shopping and Fucking
scene my partner and I made it clear from the beginning that my character was
of a lower status. We showed this by my partner circling me like I was some sort
of prey. Making my character look weaker because there wasn’t much movement
form my character at all.
I believe
my characters were believable. However, I did struggle quite a bit with with characterising
my monologue ‘Confirmation’ play character I had to do some research about the
play which I put into my blog. The text in the play is very complex as it has
some very in depth meaning. I overcame my struggles by researching and analysing
the speech. It helped me to be stronger in tone and more forceful which is what
I needed to have as the point of the script needed to be hard hitting and
clear. It entailed good moments of impact I feel as the person I directed my
speech to feedback to me that they felt involved and a little bit
uncomfortable. They felt like what I was saying to them was their fault like
they had actually done what I was implying.
The
dialogue was very informal and mostly naturalistic as they were duologues
discussions a mostly talking about day to day or a situation that had occurred
or is occurring. A lot of the time the people with a higher status character
had a lower more intimidating tone of voice. For example Eden in her scene spoke
low and slow. Some words she used she extended or exaggerated. The different
tones and pitches in her speech made it more gripping to watch for example
“respect”, “Religious” these difference in register gained the audience’s
attention.
We tried to
keep the scenes quickly paced and fast moving. One of the things the director
didn’t want was an elongated scene. The reason for this is because there was
not really an interval, so it had to be fast paced so people didn’t get
fidgety.
Also I got
some feedback which helped me with my evaluation. This feedback was from one of
my tutors Olga,
“You were
fully immersed in your character. Good command of the space. Every action and
word spoken was truthful. Your eyes were alive. You were ‘highly watchable’ and
gave me goose bumps. You gave a memorable performance.”
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