Clare's Blog

The Theatre and Its Double

clareibjournal — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 01:19:53 +0000

Bibliography: Antonin Artaud, The Theatre and Its Double, Caldar & Boyars Limited, Great Britain, 1970
Artaud was influenced by Balinese and Oriental theatre to create Theatre of Cruelty
‘We will try to centre our show around famous personalities, horrible crimes and superhuman self-sacrifices, demonstrating that it can draw out the powers struggling within them, without resorting to the dead imagery of ancient myths’
‘we believe ourselves able to associate mental pictures with dreams, effective in so far as they are projected with the required violence. And the audience will believe in the illusion of theatre on condition they really take it for a dream, nor for a servile imitation of reality. On condition it releases the magic freedom of daydreams, only recognisable when imprinted with terror and cruelty’
‘on the one hand we have the magnitude and scale of a show aimed at the whole anatomy, and on the other an intensive mustering of objects, gestures and signs used in a new spirit’
‘We cannot continue to prostitute the idea of theatre whose only value lies in its agonising magic relationship to reality and danger’
‘the magic beauty of the costumes modelled on ritualistic patterns’
Language should not be done away with altogether but must be reduced to show serious importance like it has in dreams or into some kind of code
Body language should also be reduced to precise signs and signals which can be recognised
Everything on the stage should have a predetermined symbolic meaning
Costume: certain costumes have a ritualistic significance and an innate beauty as they are close to the traditions which created them
Actors must use ‘his own powers of persuasion’ –> There is no prescribed method of acting
Every character should be typified
Theatre has always been linked with religion

Reflection of Performance #2

clareibjournal — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 09:38:58 +0000

This show seemed to go better technically than the first show however I felt that the acting was not as good as it was rushed and light as well as in front of our peers and thus distracting and felt like less of a performance.
The costumes still seemed to work equally well in this show as the first as the audience commented on the symbolism of Beatrice in white and the other characters’ costumes.
The other actors seemed to do better in this performance after having practice in front of an audience especially Udi playing Orsino as he was much less nervous and remembered his lines. Also having organised the props myself made it much easier as these were all in place and ready for every scene and thus avoided any issues in this area.
I found acting in this performance was much harder than the last as I was less focused and felt slightly rushed and was so tired that it was hard to do as well. Using the Brechtian technique, these feelings did not add to the intensity of the character as I had to remain removed in a sense so that I could represent her properly.

Reflection on Performance #1

clareibjournal — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 09:38:33 +0000

The first performance went relatively well however there were some mishaps with props which impeded the flow of the performance. Thus for the second performance we decided that as opposed to putting each person in charge of knowing where their own props are, I would have to be in charge of them to avoid these problems.
From the audience reactions and comments I found that the symbolism of my costumes was very effective and added to the mood of the performance.
The blocking of the scenes also seemed to go well except at times the audience commented that Jack was not in his spotlight and that the guests in the banquet scene were saying that they wanted to leave but were sitting still in their chairs which didn’t look very good. Another audience member also commented that it was obvious the actors which did not have much theatre experience as they were really just reciting lines and thinking about the blocking as opposed to really acting and I realised that they may have needed some more workshops in this area if we had had more time. Another audience member also said that possibly as the stage was so bare and stark, the actors may have felt more awkward as the audience was totally focused on them. We also had an uneven performance as we were all acting in different styles due to different theatre experience.
Another informed audience member also commented that they thought I played my character with a Brechtian approach – playing her almost with the title of ‘rape victim’ as opposed to an intensely emotional approach which Meg took to her character. I also found it more difficult than I anticipated to get to the right state for the emotional scene with hardly any time between the scenes. However, it was relatively easy to concentrate as long as I did not look straight at the audience. I also found that I decided to act using Brechtian technique as an approach to my acting as while Artaud encouraged the performance to disturb the actors as well as the audience, I would not have been able to complete the project if I had used Stanislavski’s magic if due to the nature of the content of the performance.

IP Performance Notes

clareibjournal — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 09:37:33 +0000

Super objective: I was exploring whether theatre of cruelty would be effective in our time and whether we could disturb and discomfort the audience with the show through the characters and their movements and voice. The hypocrisy of authority
Criteria A: Does the student show initiative and perseverance in undertaking independent work during the course and in the completion of the independent project? Does the student produce relevant material in the IPP? They are not asking these questions in relation to the IP but in relation to the IPP!! Relevant material produced which shows planning, commitment, exploration, discovery, interesting range of ideas with clear evidence – clear statement of intention: aims and objectives, evidence of research into theory and practice relating key elements to the performance, good quotes important: don’t count in word limit, relate to areas of interest, problems that were incurred and accommodated, action plans, rehearsal schedules rearranged, costume designs, revised costume designs, annotated script, picture of set with where actors should be, evidence of when I changed from black to red with date, show notes and workshops for actors, recognised that they were inexperienced volunteers and were giving up their spare time and training was necessary to bring them up to speed, Laban and Artaud handout in appendix, exercises done, how did we get a performance out of the inexperienced actors who had no idea – planning, the ‘UH HA!’ moment – when you had realisations or people got things and I learned something about theatre of cruelty, what things were not planned for and not foreseen which as a result of rehearsals were changed and we did something that we had not planned – change of costume, change in banquet scene, scream, crying
Criteria B: Does the student demonstrate an understanding of production elements and theatre practice? Does the student demonstrate the skills she has acquired in the IP? Does the student understand the demands of the chosen area? Skill in area chosen, inventive, perceptive understanding of the demands of the chosen area, pictures worn in original, era, people now of same status, pictures of my costumes, explanation of the character and what the costume had to say about them, explanation of symbolism, what should the costume be conveying about the character? Always keep a sharp focus on the message, research – what Artaud said about costume, direction and acting – why did we ignore some of this and do what we did, any comments from people who influenced us on direction, Peter Brook – season of theatre of cruelty – youtube videos, annotated script of motivations for characters, set plan with character placement, creative with research and application of this, Realised it was essential with untrained actors to check that all the props were ready and in place, hard to stand back and realise that some things which were so carefully planned did not happen in the end and did not work out, must be totally literal to the actors, hard as they are our peers doing this out of kindness and we can’t be too forceful, how much of Stanislavski was used? Observation: Brechtian approach – like a title, everyone took a different approach to acting – was uneven, realised how much we’ve learned through how much they didn’t know even when we told them what to do
Criteria C: Does the student show evidence of learning and development? What was actively learned? Does the student reflect on the IP and it’s place in the course as a whole? Everything learned in the course is applied, skills learned are applied – how did you know how to direct? Do costume design? Etc. Constantly referring what I learned to the theory – what other people say and what I discovered about it, theatre of cruelty works with a few exceptions, Peter Brook – Theatre of cruelty is the heart of theatre, audience was very uncomfortable, why were changes made and how were they made – more research, went through journal etc. Reflection is the glue which holds it together, always ask why
Criteria D: Does the student write the portfolio in a linguistic manner that is appropriate to the format and subject matter? Does the student select and present relevant material? Needs to be sourced and attributed as well as in the word count
Criteria E: Application for research and practice – does the student show an ability to integrate and apply their research and practice in the development? Is this research and practice relevant to the project?
Interviews, improvisations, action plan – mention why we cut out certain sections – didn’t want to emphasise Orsino’s relationship with Beatrice because this was not integral and takes away from the message/impact of the play
Next performance – no time to re-rehearse our piece, had to trust the actors had learnt from performing in front of an audience – proof as they were so much better in the performance than the run through, interesting to see the differences if we had another actor playing Beatrice and emphasised more emotion, after what happened last time when no one was specifically in charge of props as we were relying on each actor that I would be in charge of them as this did not work, have to talk to the actors about the chairs, integral as the make-up is, as there is no preparation time, there will be no make-up for the second performance – things must be expressed more in their bodies using Laban

Dress Rehearsal

clareibjournal — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 23:50:10 +0000

This was a bit worrying as it became obvious that some actors did not yet know their lines or did not remember the blocking of scenes. Sophie had also put up the lighting but this very much restricted some of the scenes which meant the blocking had to be changed and this confused some of the actors. Also the music and props were not ready yet and this was a large concern as it may not thus run as smoothly for the performance. We also realised that some of the lighting was not effective and had to be changed so that the actors could be seen properly. I also realised that some of my blocking for the scene where they are all arrested was ineffective and the guards’ actions needed to be altered due to the use of inexperienced actors.
I found that it was extremely difficult to get to the same emotional state in the run through of the performance as I was able to in previous rehearsals when I had as much time as I needed. This was a large concern as the scene is no where near as effective or frightening if I am not in the right state. I realised that I would have to practice doing this over the next few days before the performances. I also realised that I do not know my lines well enough for the last scene and that I need to find a different way of saying them so that I sound as if I am in pain. This is incredibly important as the last scene is supposed to leave an impression on the audience.
Some of the costumes were also not what I had envisioned as it was important for all of the characters to be in the exact right colours and not for example having a grey jumper instead of black as this takes away from the symbolism. Hopefully, it will all work out for the performances.

Rehearsal

clareibjournal — Thu, 27 May 2010 02:39:26 +0000

Directing scene with the banquet: I had to change some of my blocking to fit with the set and lighting changes however this wasn’t too much of a hassle. I also have realised that while I was worried about reacting to Jack at the end of the scene as he (as Cenci) is showing that he plans to rape her, I have realised that owing to Jack’s fantastic acting ability it doesn’t take a lot of acting as I feel repulsed and sick automatically and merely have to concentrate on not losing this. Directing this scene is difficult as creating chaos with the inexperienced actors without them running into each other or looking like they are being careful however I think having the strobe lights during this will make it look more chaotic anyway.
Acting in scene 10 is also difficult as I am not yet attached to the cross and am finding it difficult to imagine what being tortured would be like and to get myself to that state. I am also slightly afraid of acting as if I am being stretched without actually being so realistically. I decided that I would just act as if I am in pain but keeping it together, taking inspiration from the TV show Buffy. I also decided to play this as if Beatrice is almost resigned to the idea of being executed until she realises that it is possible she will see her father again and then she becomes frightened.

Make-Up

clareibjournal — Thu, 27 May 2010 02:19:24 +0000

I trialled the ‘old person’ make-up on the characters of Camillo, Cenci and Lucretia. As these characters are meant to be quite old, especially Cenci and we have adolescent actors I thought this would assist the audience in believing their characters as well as help the actors to create their characters. I also thought that by making Cenci look very old, the audience would be even more horrified that he rapes Beatrice as he doesn’t just look like someone her age. This proved to be more difficult than I anticipated however and I was glad we trialled it as some of the lines, especially on the forehead didn’t turn out very well at first. I also wanted to make Lucretia and Camillo look older but not by as much and therefore decided just to do the wrinkles around their eyes and mouths which worked very well. While these looked a bit fake up close, on the stage under the lights they looked great.

Characterisation – Background

clareibjournal — Wed, 26 May 2010 02:25:53 +0000

The play is about a corrupt man who is happy that his sons have been killed and rapes his daughter. Before he can harm anymore of his family his daughter and wife hire assassins to kill him. The family is then executed for this.
Beatrice is trying to protect her family and herself from her father. She does not want him to harm her and attempts to stop him. She then prevents it from happening again by hiring assassins and tries to cover up what she has done. When she is found out she refuses to sign anything saying she did it as she does not believe that she should be held responsible. She is then executed by the Church. She is young about 19-20 years old and of a small stature. She is innocent and pure however this is corrupted by Cenci. She is pretty and usually gentle and loving towards people. However, she is strong and can be tough if she needs to be.
The first scene with Beatrice is the banquet scene where she discovers her brothers are dead and her father wants to rape her. There are many people there and it is in their house. The next scene is in Lucretia, her step mother’s bedroom just after she has been raped. Her fiancé Orsino then comes in to help them. The next scene is in their living room and Cenci’s bedroom where she instructs the assassins to kill him. The next scene is just after this has occurred where Camillo finds out what they have done and arrests them in their house. The last scene is in a torture chamber below the church where Beatrice is attached to a cross and is about to be executed.
Beatrice is the main character and is Cenci’s daughter who represents the corruption of innocence and emphasises how evil Cenci is.
She is raped and then causes Cenci’s death before being executed.
She is either at home or in the torture chamber.
The play is re-contextualised to today so that it is relevant to the audience. This is because Artaud stated that theatre should be done in the time for the people of the time. Old theatre should not be done.
It is set in Rome due to the Catholic Church and is in the city.
The original story was set in the late sixteenth century however Artaud’s performance was in 1935 and set in this period.
In this time the church had a huge influence on people and were considered of very high authority. They had the power to punish whomever they chose to through the pope and this is how Beatrice is killed.
The Cenci family are of a high class as he is a Count and they therefore have a lot of money and influence. As Cenci has so much power he is able to go about things with impunity, however, as Beatrice is female she has no power, she is subject to what her father chooses.

Costume

clareibjournal — Tue, 25 May 2010 02:49:18 +0000

As the costume designer or the original production of Cenci along with Artaud decided that costume should be symbolic I decided that I would do the same thing for our show.
They stated that colour especially in the costume should be symbolic and I thought this would work well.
I decided that Beatrice should wear white as a symbol for innocence and Cenci should wear red as a symbol of the devil, hell and sexual aggression. Camillo will wear grey as he is constantly changing sides and has no conscience. The other characters would all wear black as a neutral colour which still contrasts with Beatrice and Cenci however Lucretia and Bernado will both have a white accessory to show that they are still ‘good’ characters.

Set

clareibjournal — Tue, 25 May 2010 02:48:56 +0000

I helped Sophie and a maintenance worker with the set as I wanted to ensure that what I would be standing on for the last scene would be sturdy.
We set up the rostra, cross and box to stand on behind the set for the last scene.
This was helpful in my directing as it means that I know which parts of the blocking of scenes I need to change to suit how the set has changed.
We also went and found a sheet for Cenci to be killed behind and this meant I had to alter my blocking a lot as it would have to sit there for the whole play before that.
We will have to experiment with what we can do with the sheet as this does not really suit what we have done or envisioned.