Wednesday, 25 January 2017
Tuesday, 10 January 2017
14/12/16
Today we made our best scene yet! It was the opening scene, and we managed to explain exactly how our warped version of Cinderella came about, and explain more about the fairies and where they come from. We wanted to have both the good and the bad fairies add things to the story, so for instance: The fairytale Cinderella and the catwalk were chosen by the Good fairy, whereas the evil sisters and the body confidence issues were created by the Bad fairy, which is how the story ended up so muddled and different from the real version of Cinderella.
To add humour, we wanted the fairies to majorly overreact to the appearance of the ugly sisters as we took the masks off them. The idea of the masks is that the other characters are just plain normal village people, and then the fairies turn them into these magical fairytale characters. We also wanted them to go from having a plain, boring, slow physicality when walking around the street, to being instantly in their characters. Being the good fairy, I would sprinkle them with fairy dust (pink glitter) which would make them change into what ever character we wanted.
I'm really pleased with the way this scene turned out as it is fast-paced, and we used the entire stage. It has touches of comedy, and shows pieces of the traditional Cinderella story, like her sisters treating her like a slave. The scene also leads really well into the catwalk scene, however one thing we do need to think about is making sure that this scene can be adapted once the catwalk is running down the middle of the stage, or we could possibly find a way to move it on and off. If myself and Charlotte extend our conversation at the end of the scene, and do it in front of the curtains, this leaves an opportunity for the other actors to push the staging on that makes up the catwalk, provided that we leave the staircases up the whole time, however this is something we would have to consider as a group and practise in class to make sure its not too noisy and it is doable.
Now that we have created this scene, I think it is a lot clearer to the group what we are trying to achieve for our piece, and we might go back and edit previous scenes that we have set. It also really helped us all with our characterisation, and unlike other scenes we've done the fairies were actually friends despite their contrasting personalities. The ugly sister's were perfectly harsh without being too comical and sarcastic. I think this is a scene that the group will be able to look back on if we loose sight of where we are going with the piece, and if we have a slow week when if comes to ideas like last week.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ET8l5iN2E2Q&list=PLl8RU1N6TfpLBx2D9Eg4nEh5ge_EKdB4g&index=11
Today we made our best scene yet! It was the opening scene, and we managed to explain exactly how our warped version of Cinderella came about, and explain more about the fairies and where they come from. We wanted to have both the good and the bad fairies add things to the story, so for instance: The fairytale Cinderella and the catwalk were chosen by the Good fairy, whereas the evil sisters and the body confidence issues were created by the Bad fairy, which is how the story ended up so muddled and different from the real version of Cinderella.
To add humour, we wanted the fairies to majorly overreact to the appearance of the ugly sisters as we took the masks off them. The idea of the masks is that the other characters are just plain normal village people, and then the fairies turn them into these magical fairytale characters. We also wanted them to go from having a plain, boring, slow physicality when walking around the street, to being instantly in their characters. Being the good fairy, I would sprinkle them with fairy dust (pink glitter) which would make them change into what ever character we wanted.
I'm really pleased with the way this scene turned out as it is fast-paced, and we used the entire stage. It has touches of comedy, and shows pieces of the traditional Cinderella story, like her sisters treating her like a slave. The scene also leads really well into the catwalk scene, however one thing we do need to think about is making sure that this scene can be adapted once the catwalk is running down the middle of the stage, or we could possibly find a way to move it on and off. If myself and Charlotte extend our conversation at the end of the scene, and do it in front of the curtains, this leaves an opportunity for the other actors to push the staging on that makes up the catwalk, provided that we leave the staircases up the whole time, however this is something we would have to consider as a group and practise in class to make sure its not too noisy and it is doable.
Now that we have created this scene, I think it is a lot clearer to the group what we are trying to achieve for our piece, and we might go back and edit previous scenes that we have set. It also really helped us all with our characterisation, and unlike other scenes we've done the fairies were actually friends despite their contrasting personalities. The ugly sister's were perfectly harsh without being too comical and sarcastic. I think this is a scene that the group will be able to look back on if we loose sight of where we are going with the piece, and if we have a slow week when if comes to ideas like last week.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ET8l5iN2E2Q&list=PLl8RU1N6TfpLBx2D9Eg4nEh5ge_EKdB4g&index=11
12/12/16
Today we worked on the scene straight after the catwalk. We were struggling with ideas today on what the sisters could say about the competition, and I think the scene we created was weak but whether we use it or not in our final piece, it has some good ideas and improvements can be learned from watching it back. In the scene, the 3 sisters basically talk about their thoughts and feelings after the competition, but it lacks energy and is a bit boring. At the end, Cinderella comes home to find her sisters extremely angry with her, one of them slaps her and the other makes her scrub the floors.
As we are working with the sensitive subject of domestic violence in this scene, I think it's important to avoid any humorous comments. We need to either make it humorous and leave the slap out of it, or make it very dark and dramatic, but I will discuss this with my group.
The fairies do not say anything in this scene, which is fine as it seems to be just a connection between the sisters, however if this is the case we should either be on stage but not lit, and in still images, or be offstage completely. Watching myself back, I was annoyed by my character spinning her umbrella so cheerfully, especially as Cinderella is being abused, I don't think it was appropriate! Oops.
Similarly to last lesson, I think this scene could also do with some of the lines being scripted as once again our group couldn't really think of much for the characters to stay, although this could be improved by further character development.
Today we built the set fully, with the staircases and the islands. Although it used up a lot of our time which we could have spent working on the scene, it helped us gain an understanding of where out characters can and cannot go, how much room we will have to fill on stage and how to co-operate the catwalk into every scene.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UASJtUg-2mE&list=PLl8RU1N6TfpLBx2D9Eg4nEh5ge_EKdB4g&index=9
Today we worked on the scene straight after the catwalk. We were struggling with ideas today on what the sisters could say about the competition, and I think the scene we created was weak but whether we use it or not in our final piece, it has some good ideas and improvements can be learned from watching it back. In the scene, the 3 sisters basically talk about their thoughts and feelings after the competition, but it lacks energy and is a bit boring. At the end, Cinderella comes home to find her sisters extremely angry with her, one of them slaps her and the other makes her scrub the floors.
As we are working with the sensitive subject of domestic violence in this scene, I think it's important to avoid any humorous comments. We need to either make it humorous and leave the slap out of it, or make it very dark and dramatic, but I will discuss this with my group.
The fairies do not say anything in this scene, which is fine as it seems to be just a connection between the sisters, however if this is the case we should either be on stage but not lit, and in still images, or be offstage completely. Watching myself back, I was annoyed by my character spinning her umbrella so cheerfully, especially as Cinderella is being abused, I don't think it was appropriate! Oops.
Similarly to last lesson, I think this scene could also do with some of the lines being scripted as once again our group couldn't really think of much for the characters to stay, although this could be improved by further character development.
Today we built the set fully, with the staircases and the islands. Although it used up a lot of our time which we could have spent working on the scene, it helped us gain an understanding of where out characters can and cannot go, how much room we will have to fill on stage and how to co-operate the catwalk into every scene.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UASJtUg-2mE&list=PLl8RU1N6TfpLBx2D9Eg4nEh5ge_EKdB4g&index=9
5/12/16
Today we worked on a catwalk scene. In this scene it was particularly important that we showed a major contrast between my character (The Good Fairy) and Charlotte Trimble's character (The Bad Fairy) so myself and Charlotte really took the time to make sure we were constantly interacting with each other and organising small things we could do to show off our character's personalities. We did this by making my character's physicality very bouncy and energetic, whereas Charlotte's was slow and sluggish. We also played around with voice, mine being high pitched, excitable and slightly "cringey". Charlotte's however was slow and deep. We also showed Charlotte's dark side by making her trip up one of the ugly sisters during her catwalk, and we were considering having her try sabotage the other contestants catwalks.
We also wanted to show off the sister's personalities so we made Matt Holley's character have an extremely jealous and bitter reaction to coming in 3rd place to her sisters. We decided to show off the magic powers that the fairies hold by making Charlotte Trimble's character silence Matt without even touching him, as if taking away his voice. Then, when he goes to attack Cinderella, she simple waves her hand at him and propels him to the ground. This is intended not only to add a bit of magic to the scene and remind the audience that this is no ordinary fashion show, but also to show more of the bad fairy's no-nonesense attitude.
Matthew Brierly's character was thrilled to receive 2nd place, although we have discussed as a group possibly changing this. Although Matthew Brierly is the less confrontational of the two sisters, he should still be bitter about being 2nd place. We also discussed making him less angry, but more disappointed in himself, he could perhaps call himself "ugly" or say how he will never be as pretty as Cinderella. Matt Holley's character could then evily turn Matthew against Cinderella in the scene immediately after.
Looking back on the video of our scene, we need to script Charlotte Morley's (Cinderella's) winning speech, as she told us she was stuck for what to say. We want the character to be very modest and thankful so that the audience like her and root for her throughout the piece. We also need to have the music come back in at the end of the scene, as myself and Charlotte Trimble walk back up the catwalk however this depends on how the scene immediately after will start. If it starts with the sisters walking on immediately then perhaps we will cut the music.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmhAnSbvLl4&list=PLl8RU1N6TfpLBx2D9Eg4nEh5ge_EKdB4g&index=8
Today we worked on a catwalk scene. In this scene it was particularly important that we showed a major contrast between my character (The Good Fairy) and Charlotte Trimble's character (The Bad Fairy) so myself and Charlotte really took the time to make sure we were constantly interacting with each other and organising small things we could do to show off our character's personalities. We did this by making my character's physicality very bouncy and energetic, whereas Charlotte's was slow and sluggish. We also played around with voice, mine being high pitched, excitable and slightly "cringey". Charlotte's however was slow and deep. We also showed Charlotte's dark side by making her trip up one of the ugly sisters during her catwalk, and we were considering having her try sabotage the other contestants catwalks.
We also wanted to show off the sister's personalities so we made Matt Holley's character have an extremely jealous and bitter reaction to coming in 3rd place to her sisters. We decided to show off the magic powers that the fairies hold by making Charlotte Trimble's character silence Matt without even touching him, as if taking away his voice. Then, when he goes to attack Cinderella, she simple waves her hand at him and propels him to the ground. This is intended not only to add a bit of magic to the scene and remind the audience that this is no ordinary fashion show, but also to show more of the bad fairy's no-nonesense attitude.
Matthew Brierly's character was thrilled to receive 2nd place, although we have discussed as a group possibly changing this. Although Matthew Brierly is the less confrontational of the two sisters, he should still be bitter about being 2nd place. We also discussed making him less angry, but more disappointed in himself, he could perhaps call himself "ugly" or say how he will never be as pretty as Cinderella. Matt Holley's character could then evily turn Matthew against Cinderella in the scene immediately after.
Looking back on the video of our scene, we need to script Charlotte Morley's (Cinderella's) winning speech, as she told us she was stuck for what to say. We want the character to be very modest and thankful so that the audience like her and root for her throughout the piece. We also need to have the music come back in at the end of the scene, as myself and Charlotte Trimble walk back up the catwalk however this depends on how the scene immediately after will start. If it starts with the sisters walking on immediately then perhaps we will cut the music.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmhAnSbvLl4&list=PLl8RU1N6TfpLBx2D9Eg4nEh5ge_EKdB4g&index=8
Monday, 9 January 2017
Developing an Idea
At the very beginning of the devising process, we looked towards Kneehigh Theatre Company to gain ideas of what we could do for our piece. During our research, we saw that Kneehigh often recreate fairy tales in a dark and twisted way, writing the script at the very end and working on their characters first. We decided a perfect fairy tale to adapt would be Cinderella, as everybody knows it. We didn't cast specific people for each role, instead the roles fell into place the more we talked about our piece. As there are two boys in our group (Matt Holley and Matthew Brierly), we thought they would be brilliant and comedic as the ugly sisters of Cinderella, and myself and Charlotte Trimble wanted to play the good and evil fairies. This left Charlotte Morley to be Cinderella, which worked out perfectly. Unintentionally, we had copied the same sort of casting process they have at Kneehigh, where the roles just fall into place and each actor begins developing their character straight away.
We were concerned that with such a well-known family fairy tale, our performance wouldn't be dark enough to have truly stemmed from the ideas of Kneehigh Theatre Company, so we decided to start developing the darkest scene possible: a scene where the ugly sisters get extreme plastic surgery to change their appearance, turning them into complete Barbie dolls. We talked about the idea of throwing red ribbon into the air to symbolise blood, and having the sisters shout out their insecurities and talk about the models they aspire to look like. We hoped this would be hard-hitting to some audience members who may have witnessed this kind of situation in real life, seeing a young person trying to conform to ridiculous standards of beauty. This is the reason a lot of teenagers suffer with conditions such as anorexia and self harm. We also talked about the idea of using photo frames or mirrors to add depth to the piece and make it more visually spectacular.
As one of the key themes in our piece is mental health, we decided that the two fairies would be a figure of Cinderella's imagination, as if she has a condition similar to schizophrenia. We would not dwell on this two much, as we wouldn't want to detract from the main theme of body image, however we wanted to link it to the fairy tale world. Like Kneehigh, we wanted our piece to be set in the world of the play, a world made up by us. We didn't want modern technology such as mobile phones and cars, but we didn't want 20th century ideas either, as body image is a relevant issue at the moment.
Due to this, we decided to add in an opening scene before the catwalk, explaining how the whole situation came about. We wanted the fairies to dispute on what kind of story to create, and so they end up with a dark fairy tale (darkness- the evil fairy's idea/fairy tale & Cinderella- the good fairies idea).
We were concerned that with such a well-known family fairy tale, our performance wouldn't be dark enough to have truly stemmed from the ideas of Kneehigh Theatre Company, so we decided to start developing the darkest scene possible: a scene where the ugly sisters get extreme plastic surgery to change their appearance, turning them into complete Barbie dolls. We talked about the idea of throwing red ribbon into the air to symbolise blood, and having the sisters shout out their insecurities and talk about the models they aspire to look like. We hoped this would be hard-hitting to some audience members who may have witnessed this kind of situation in real life, seeing a young person trying to conform to ridiculous standards of beauty. This is the reason a lot of teenagers suffer with conditions such as anorexia and self harm. We also talked about the idea of using photo frames or mirrors to add depth to the piece and make it more visually spectacular.
As one of the key themes in our piece is mental health, we decided that the two fairies would be a figure of Cinderella's imagination, as if she has a condition similar to schizophrenia. We would not dwell on this two much, as we wouldn't want to detract from the main theme of body image, however we wanted to link it to the fairy tale world. Like Kneehigh, we wanted our piece to be set in the world of the play, a world made up by us. We didn't want modern technology such as mobile phones and cars, but we didn't want 20th century ideas either, as body image is a relevant issue at the moment.
Due to this, we decided to add in an opening scene before the catwalk, explaining how the whole situation came about. We wanted the fairies to dispute on what kind of story to create, and so they end up with a dark fairy tale (darkness- the evil fairy's idea/fairy tale & Cinderella- the good fairies idea).
Set Design and Lighting
We spent today's lesson purely working on the Set Design within our piece, as we thought this would help us to create the world of the play, and develop more ideas towards the narrative.
We knew one of our scenes would be a fashion show, so we made a long cawalk down the middle of the stage, with the steps leading down to it from either side. We also decided to have two small islands on either side of the stage for myself and Charlotte Trimble to stand a#on as we are the angel and devil fairies. We wanted to keep out of the main narrative of the play, and often be watching the events unfolds from the sides. We chose this approach to our characters as we are a figure of Cinderella's imagination and we cannot be seen by the ugly sisters. Also, at the beginning of the play we have decided that the fairies will create the story for fun, so we will be watching it unfold just like the audience is.
We also worked on lighting, and Matt Holley used the lighting rig to divide the stage into two parts. My side of the start is lit bright white as I am the good fairy, Charlotte Trimble's side of the stage is dark red because she is the evil fairy. This was very affective as it allowed us to developour characters further, and we came up with the idea that each of the fairies could decorate their island with things that represent their character. For example, Charlotte's island will be black, scattered with weapons and skulls. My island will be pink, with lots of glitter and teenage posters.
The lights are flashing different colours during the cat walk, to represent the flashing cameras of paparazzi and the whole idea of fame and beauty. We'd also like this scene to be fast paced and exciting, so we will make sure that our lighting compliments that.
On the back wall of the stage we will put up lots of posters of models and magazine covers, to show the unachievable body image standards that girls try to live up to today. There will also be pictures of famous models such as the Kardashians which the characters will reference to in the play.
Scattered around the stage are leaves and branches that we took from the woodlands behind the college. This makes the play feel more like a fairy tale, as many fairytales take place in the woods. It also helped us with our characterisation, and with developing ideas for the narrative.
Red Shoes
Here is the link to mine and Harry's presentation about the play Red Shoes:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K01xlwca460&list=PLl8RU1N6TfpLBx2D9Eg4nEh5ge_EKdB4g&index=14
Beginnings:
My initial response to the whole text was that is was very strange and eccentric however I thought the storyline was very interesting because it was so wacky. I was so excited to devise our own piece based off of Red Shoes as it would be equally as eccentric and would be humorous to create. We loved the magical, fairy tale themes from Red Shoes. In fact, the idea of the red shoes is what inspired us to do the fairy tale Cinderella, as we thought the red shoes were similar to the glass slippers. We were interested in the narrator character and therefore we decided that we needed at least one narrator in our piece, and the character of Karen would be similar to the character of Cinderella.
We did lots of research into Kneehigh Theatre Company, and their version of Red Shoes. They used a drag queen to narrate their piece, which added a bit of Kneehigh magic to it, and made it quirky and different.
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