1.
All the characters of Porto entered alone, one by one they came on stage, no character appears comfortable in Porto, and therefore it could be argued that all characters share one objective; to leave. When they leave they leave together, as one, as a community that they have become thorough the journey of Porto.
The opening ensemble piece is quite a telling one, it demonstrates that together these people represent a society and that this is the way they conform, and it is powerful when we see the characters who are not conforming with the rest of the cast slowly begin to loose their individuality and become a member of the community. And then again at the end, but this time it is far more deliberate, sinister and dark maybe to suggest the wear and tear and exhaustion that they have undergone, or perhaps it could represent the community more comfortable the slow movements are almost tranquil. When Nicolas hood is revealed the whole cast leans in collaboratively, this is a nice example of the community sharing experiences with similar goals. And perhaps the strongest event to suggest that this is a community is when the entire cast works together to stop Lenya taking pictures. She is obviously is a nuisance to this society and the community works together to drive her away, this urge to remove Lenya tied the community together and ultimately it lead to the exit of Porto being found, and the ensemble leaving together as a society.
2.
When we moved to a different space it became apparent that some things needed to change some choreography wasn’t going to work and some blocking needed adjusting. But this was a really nice way of refreshing what we had done and revitalising our belief in the show, reworking some of the material reinforced its quality. Now we were in the theatre we could really begin to envisage how the show was going to look. The theatre space also offered new possibilities such as the roster at the back, this was used constantly throughout the show, yet it didn’t feature in the studio space. In the studio the space that was representing the wings was far to cluttered, but with all the space in the arena people on the peripheral really began to experiment and play with their characters engaging far more with all the new opportunities it came with. However this also meant many things wouldn’t work as well, for example people positioning was drastically rearranged on the peripheral compared to the studio and this meant that some planned interactions were no longer possible. Fortunately the freedom that we all had over our character meant that it was our responsibility to behave how we did so changing things and small details didn’t need the ok from the director unless it was a direct link to the storey of Porto. The room is the theatre was far bigger and that showed when we began rehearsals in the space because things were less cramped. However when we had been running through it in the studio a lot of the work was set downstage and because of the layout seating style in the arena much for the space could not be seen from the back of the auditorium. Therefore we had to push a lot of the work right back, so despite having what we initially thought was a lot of space, it had to be moved right back for viewing purposes meaning that more last minute rearrangements had to take place.
3.
Personally I always felt the RSVP model was continuously in motion, as our character was entirely devised by ourselves, I felt we constantly adapted with every run through, on the peripheral of the stage I was constantly finding new depths to my character the more I was in role. I would experiment with things, and then keep them for the next show if I felt they worked or scrap them if they didn’t. Some members of the cast were keen to interact with me as they felt it was true to their character, but we had done very little or perhaps no work on this whatsoever right up until the final rehearsal before the first show. We began to discuss what we had in mind, but then decided that it would be better if we simply improvised it on stage as our characters during the run through, this felt more natural to the Porto development theme. Even during the shows we were constantly creating new interactions with one another and I discovered my character found a whole new side, prior to this work my character was very dominant and aggressive, seeking the attention of a certain character and acting over protective of her, not letting others near etc. however when we began to run through the shows my characters dominance was almost lost and an incredibly venerable side was revealed, an almost child like side to my character was unfolded, and that was a huge personnel growth for my character. Other members of the cast began fighting me for the characters attention I craved, and successfully deterring me from my motives which was a development that had never took place before. The impact on the show when the audience was introduced was epic, the energy and vibe from the crowd gave the added pressure to perform and the atmosphere was completely different, it made everyone concentrate much more and I felt that the show was revitalised from the tedious repetition we had all got into the habit and routine of performing and transformed into a focused faster paced more purposeful piece of theatre. Taking that energy from the audience and transforming it into something positive was a key part of the show progressing with every performance, and I think that’s what we did. I feel that the show got better with every performance
Friday 15 May 2009
Sean Kennedy-Lockwood Final blog
1)
Throughout the validating stage going into the performance stage of the process one of the common themes which developed and occurred throughout was a longing for love and friendship, people generally looking for companionship within a foreign place. This can be seen with the subgroups, such as, the scene of the characters sharing the load that needed each other within the piece and also with my own character lusting after the female characters. There is also a sense of discovery with Porto in the beginning with people being in new surroundings feeling alone and uncomfortable around other people.
“A character in a play, like each of us, is constantly growing and changing in response to her life experiences – the people, places, things and situations with which she comes in contact.” (Alberts, 1997, p47)
Slowly, as the performance went on, this developed into a community with people forming relationships and a common purpose, much like the two characters wearing superman tops who were childlike with there characters and they formed a bond between each other. As an Ensemble everyone was at a crossroads being in a certain place in there own individual journey, which can be seen in the beginning of the ensemble work with peoples own movements. Eventually people become in sync with one another and there is a sense of shared history and we all have a common purpose.
Tying the group together was that we all were carrying baggage from the past, which was shown literally, through our bags which were significant to us, which we carried on our own journey. There is also a sense of beings trapped within this strange place shown through the first ensemble piece where we all repeated the same movements. Also within the piece bags and baggage where the ensemble watch as there is a fight for suitcase we are all much like a rabble ganging up on these two individual characters.
2)
One of the positives of taking the performance into the Arena space was the concentration of the group increased and peoples focus was the strongest it had been throughout the whole process. Giving a large group, as we are a bigger space gave everyone a chance to have there own space without intruding on other people which gave the ensemble a chance to experiment when working in the periphery to expand there emotional connection to other people. When entering the arena we also had to adapt to the spatial proximity, going from the studio, which was smaller than the arena space.
This was both good and bad as we then had the space to be able to use on the periphery and when it came to the sub groups there was enough space for everyone to be able to perform there part. It was also a bad point, as we had to expand the work to the arena space, this meant spreading the work across the space and using the back in the periphery. This was difficult when coming to the reprise as everyone was close together and there was not enough space for people to move. It was expanded to the back and this gave people room to move around. Moving into the Arena also gave a new level of emotion for the characters myself in particular grew a stronger emotional connection resulting from the new environment, which felt like Porto this made my performance on a whole a lot stronger. The emotional connection made by characters made the movements developed a lot stronger and there was meaning behind each one which could also be seen with the whole ensemble as everyone was producing strong work when entering the Arena space. The Technical rehearsal we ran through was challenging, as it was a tedious day of sitting around until peoples certain scenes came up but group focus was only weak at few moments and the ensemble knew that the lighting would help the performance and enhance the scene.
3)
On a whole over the three shows the performance as an ensemble grew stronger and the emotional connection of each character increased as the performance went on. My character in particular carried on evolving over the three shows from the last rehearsal to the matinee performance on the Thursday my performance was emotionally not as strong however through the two other shows my journey carried on growing so my journey increased emotionally as I developed my characters.
Throughout the piece I did develop new material with changes to my character. The changes I made were to my entrance making it bolder and more confident, which is more to what my character is. There was also material within the community disrupted scene with my character having to remove a coat, this changed just before the show to be more aesthetically pleasing when taking the coat off. The more interesting growth was with the peripheral work of the piece for myself as my character was able to develop more with other people and also increase the bond with the two people I work with the most. This is where my character stood out for me rather than in the photo scene.
I found it hard to work through the RSVP model. This was due to having to make a character before doing any improvisation, this forced me to make connections with other people who I have never work with before and I struggled to find myself in the performance space of Porto. What I believe would have been better for me is if we were free to improvise within the Porto space before having a character and gradually develop one through improvisation. I found that throughout the whole piece there was a stronger connection within the periphery work rather than in the other scenes. As an ensemble the model was still developing, there was still validating up to and including the last show. The majority of the process was emotional journeys were still taking place and changing with my own journey it was becoming more intense, my lusting after other woman and found that looking at other woman in the performance provoked a reaction from the people who I was working with.
“You must be able to work as an ensemble to tell the story moment by moment… Eye contact is a crucial ingredient, so is a heightened sensory awareness of others in the space.” (Callery, 2001, p.88)
Overall the performance never stopped evolving and becoming stronger as an ensemble the bond between everyone was intense and emotionally draining but with everyone pushing themselves further within the three shows it came across and the audience read the semiotics which were put across.
Bibliography
ALBERTS, D. 1997. The Expressive Body. Heinemann.
Callery, D. (2001) Through The Body A Practical Guide To Theatre Nick Hern Books Ltd.
Throughout the validating stage going into the performance stage of the process one of the common themes which developed and occurred throughout was a longing for love and friendship, people generally looking for companionship within a foreign place. This can be seen with the subgroups, such as, the scene of the characters sharing the load that needed each other within the piece and also with my own character lusting after the female characters. There is also a sense of discovery with Porto in the beginning with people being in new surroundings feeling alone and uncomfortable around other people.
“A character in a play, like each of us, is constantly growing and changing in response to her life experiences – the people, places, things and situations with which she comes in contact.” (Alberts, 1997, p47)
Slowly, as the performance went on, this developed into a community with people forming relationships and a common purpose, much like the two characters wearing superman tops who were childlike with there characters and they formed a bond between each other. As an Ensemble everyone was at a crossroads being in a certain place in there own individual journey, which can be seen in the beginning of the ensemble work with peoples own movements. Eventually people become in sync with one another and there is a sense of shared history and we all have a common purpose.
Tying the group together was that we all were carrying baggage from the past, which was shown literally, through our bags which were significant to us, which we carried on our own journey. There is also a sense of beings trapped within this strange place shown through the first ensemble piece where we all repeated the same movements. Also within the piece bags and baggage where the ensemble watch as there is a fight for suitcase we are all much like a rabble ganging up on these two individual characters.
2)
One of the positives of taking the performance into the Arena space was the concentration of the group increased and peoples focus was the strongest it had been throughout the whole process. Giving a large group, as we are a bigger space gave everyone a chance to have there own space without intruding on other people which gave the ensemble a chance to experiment when working in the periphery to expand there emotional connection to other people. When entering the arena we also had to adapt to the spatial proximity, going from the studio, which was smaller than the arena space.
This was both good and bad as we then had the space to be able to use on the periphery and when it came to the sub groups there was enough space for everyone to be able to perform there part. It was also a bad point, as we had to expand the work to the arena space, this meant spreading the work across the space and using the back in the periphery. This was difficult when coming to the reprise as everyone was close together and there was not enough space for people to move. It was expanded to the back and this gave people room to move around. Moving into the Arena also gave a new level of emotion for the characters myself in particular grew a stronger emotional connection resulting from the new environment, which felt like Porto this made my performance on a whole a lot stronger. The emotional connection made by characters made the movements developed a lot stronger and there was meaning behind each one which could also be seen with the whole ensemble as everyone was producing strong work when entering the Arena space. The Technical rehearsal we ran through was challenging, as it was a tedious day of sitting around until peoples certain scenes came up but group focus was only weak at few moments and the ensemble knew that the lighting would help the performance and enhance the scene.
3)
On a whole over the three shows the performance as an ensemble grew stronger and the emotional connection of each character increased as the performance went on. My character in particular carried on evolving over the three shows from the last rehearsal to the matinee performance on the Thursday my performance was emotionally not as strong however through the two other shows my journey carried on growing so my journey increased emotionally as I developed my characters.
Throughout the piece I did develop new material with changes to my character. The changes I made were to my entrance making it bolder and more confident, which is more to what my character is. There was also material within the community disrupted scene with my character having to remove a coat, this changed just before the show to be more aesthetically pleasing when taking the coat off. The more interesting growth was with the peripheral work of the piece for myself as my character was able to develop more with other people and also increase the bond with the two people I work with the most. This is where my character stood out for me rather than in the photo scene.
I found it hard to work through the RSVP model. This was due to having to make a character before doing any improvisation, this forced me to make connections with other people who I have never work with before and I struggled to find myself in the performance space of Porto. What I believe would have been better for me is if we were free to improvise within the Porto space before having a character and gradually develop one through improvisation. I found that throughout the whole piece there was a stronger connection within the periphery work rather than in the other scenes. As an ensemble the model was still developing, there was still validating up to and including the last show. The majority of the process was emotional journeys were still taking place and changing with my own journey it was becoming more intense, my lusting after other woman and found that looking at other woman in the performance provoked a reaction from the people who I was working with.
“You must be able to work as an ensemble to tell the story moment by moment… Eye contact is a crucial ingredient, so is a heightened sensory awareness of others in the space.” (Callery, 2001, p.88)
Overall the performance never stopped evolving and becoming stronger as an ensemble the bond between everyone was intense and emotionally draining but with everyone pushing themselves further within the three shows it came across and the audience read the semiotics which were put across.
Bibliography
ALBERTS, D. 1997. The Expressive Body. Heinemann.
Callery, D. (2001) Through The Body A Practical Guide To Theatre Nick Hern Books Ltd.
Final blog - Richards Shields
1.
Once we moved as a company through the validating stage to the performance stage, a lot of themes started to emerge some we had not noticed before and other began to be emphasized more for the audiences benefit. Each character had the own individual issues that we saw clearly during the entrances to Porto, but we began to see common shared themes from the characters of Porto emerging such as loneliness.
Porto opens showing each character and their individual movement into the world of Porto. A common theme arises at this point as all of the characters in Porto for one reason or another all seem to quite perplexed and bewildered at this new situation they have found them self entering.
From the audiences perspective during the first ensemble piece of Porto it was the first time in which they really saw the community come together in unison. The characters all had a number of gestures which were repeated until every member of the community was in unison with each other. The next time the audience saw the characters together as an ensemble was at the very end of Porto when the characters all repeated the gestures from the original ensemble piece but at a much slower pace. The audience saw the transition of themes from total disorder and uncertainty to tranquillity. This was the major scene in which we could see the community tied together. Another point that needs to be highlighted on this scene was the positioning of the characters. The location off the chair enabled the characters to show that they had become part of Porto and settled in after placing themselves in their own subgroups.
The use of bags and items were extremely important when analysing the themes and issue through the Porto journey. Almost every character had a bag and an item inside in which they brought on their journey through Porto. Through the story of Porto the audience began to see the emotional venture of characters and their items. For my character (‘superman 1’) initially I felt a real emotional attachment to my items, they were a link to the past and also represented emotional baggage for me. My character used the playing cards as a way to make friends although once my characters journey really stared to become comfortable the cards became less important and the strain of the emotional baggage I brought with me into the world of Porto started to disappear.
“If you believe in your physical life on stage, you will also experience appropriate emotional feelings and a logical connection between them.” (Fischer-Lichte, E (2002) p.282)
2.
For me the most interesting part of performing Porto was the transition from the studio into the arena theatre where it was to be performed. I found that this was when Porto began to come alive and more realistic. It was a fresh change from the studio we had created Porto in, although it did come with a few problems that we had to overcome in a short space of time.
The first problem we faced was one more based on the technical aspect of Porto which was the sound and light management. With such a big performance space to fill and a constantly progressing piece this problem took quite a while to overcome. Although having certain lighting aspects and sound cues it forced the performers into not straying from the material they had and allowed us to focus and refine on the material we had. So although initially this was seen as a problem it actually became a positive experience for us.
A big dilemma though we found with the arena space was that a lot of the work we had previously rehearsed in the studio was up close to the audience but due to the Arena’s seating layout it meant that this work was not viable to do as it would not be seen from the audience members at the back. Other problems that arose due to the arena space were the entrances and exits of the new space. Although this did not cause any major problems as it just meant some scenes were carefully adjusted to suit the needs of the arena space.
One positive that came from the transition in performances spaces was that in the studio space that we worked from for a long time, the work performed in the periphery looked very cluttered and detracted a lot of attention from the action in centre stage, but once in the arena space that work was pushed into the outskirts with minimal lighting which enhanced the work performed in centre stage whilst also allowing the performers in the periphery to still be seen.
A last dilemma faced whilst performing in the arena theatre was that as we had many hours performing in there, speaking from the characters point of view; we became very emotionally involved with the space of ‘Porto’. It was hard to let go and leaving the space became quite intimidating. Especially on the final show when emotions of some character/performers were running very high.
“The task of emotion management is to rise to the opportunity, and prepare for the loss... We need to feel attached to others, and we dread the loss of attachment in a very pre-modern way.” (Robb,M (2004) p.255)
I originally referred to the emotional attachment as a dilemma but in fact this actually added the originality and believability of the show.
3.
For the duration of the performances Porto grew and was still developing after every show. For my character there was not one show the same, with emotions running differently for each show. The group seemed to thrive in front of an audience constantly pushing towards perfection, gaining more and more emotional attachments along the way.
I believe the RSVP model did still run throughout the performance. The performances were always changing, constantly developing and refining material. The RSVP model ran whether the performers noticed it or not.
For my character the main element of the performance that developed was the interactions with others in the periphery. My character worked with both of the superman/girl characters in the periphery claiming one corner as our property. During each performance the emotion to keep everybody else out of our corner grew stronger and stronger. It was as if we were like children protecting our fortress in a game, each performance someone new tried to get into our space and we had to find different ways of making them leave which constantly grew even during the performances as well as during rehearsals.
My character also grew during the entrances of Porto. My character walks on stage (behind the other superman character) kicking my bag along the way, the first rehearsal we had in the arena space it was pointed out that a lot of characters had become too familiar with the space, a point which I had not realised before. Because we had all performed for so long devising Porto we had actually grew accustom to it, but from the audience’s perspective, this was a new space which characters should have never been too before. This created a new emotion of slight anxiety, an emotion that was shared by the whole group during the performance. I believe without changing this at the last minute Porto would have been analysed totally different for the audience.
Also during the entrances the timing of the comic situation where my character and the other superman character both reveal their superman tops together was always changing, I feel the last performance we did was probably the best in terms of comic effect. It was hard to get the timing right for the audience to realise that we were two total strangers feeling quite embarrassed.
A further moment in the show where my character developed using the RSVP model was during the final performance, I had never noticed that the religious character (Waqar) which the superman/girl characters had previously encountered early on in the show, was sitting just to the left of my corner space. I accidently caught eye contact with and immediately turned my head sharply away as he did. As my character I felt it was appropriate to carry on taunting and copying him which is what I choose to do. For me it added another layer into the individual performance.
I found it great see that on every show different emotions came through from different characters and to see how the effect of different audiences reacting differently to the same situations had an effect on the characters/performers. The RSVP model ran throughout the whole entire length of Porto including the performances, which I feel was great as it kept the performance alive and was more enjoyable for the audience and the performers.
“A play is essentially an audio-visual experience. No two members of the audience see quite the ‘same’ play and no two performers are ever exactly the same.” (Shakespeare,W. Seely,E (2000) p.7)
Bibliography
Fischer-Lichte, E. (2002) History of European drama and theatre. Routledge
Robb,M. (2004) Communication, relationships and care. Routledge
Shakespeare, W. Seely, E (2000) Advanced Shakespeare series – Hamlet Heinemann
Once we moved as a company through the validating stage to the performance stage, a lot of themes started to emerge some we had not noticed before and other began to be emphasized more for the audiences benefit. Each character had the own individual issues that we saw clearly during the entrances to Porto, but we began to see common shared themes from the characters of Porto emerging such as loneliness.
Porto opens showing each character and their individual movement into the world of Porto. A common theme arises at this point as all of the characters in Porto for one reason or another all seem to quite perplexed and bewildered at this new situation they have found them self entering.
From the audiences perspective during the first ensemble piece of Porto it was the first time in which they really saw the community come together in unison. The characters all had a number of gestures which were repeated until every member of the community was in unison with each other. The next time the audience saw the characters together as an ensemble was at the very end of Porto when the characters all repeated the gestures from the original ensemble piece but at a much slower pace. The audience saw the transition of themes from total disorder and uncertainty to tranquillity. This was the major scene in which we could see the community tied together. Another point that needs to be highlighted on this scene was the positioning of the characters. The location off the chair enabled the characters to show that they had become part of Porto and settled in after placing themselves in their own subgroups.
The use of bags and items were extremely important when analysing the themes and issue through the Porto journey. Almost every character had a bag and an item inside in which they brought on their journey through Porto. Through the story of Porto the audience began to see the emotional venture of characters and their items. For my character (‘superman 1’) initially I felt a real emotional attachment to my items, they were a link to the past and also represented emotional baggage for me. My character used the playing cards as a way to make friends although once my characters journey really stared to become comfortable the cards became less important and the strain of the emotional baggage I brought with me into the world of Porto started to disappear.
“If you believe in your physical life on stage, you will also experience appropriate emotional feelings and a logical connection between them.” (Fischer-Lichte, E (2002) p.282)
2.
For me the most interesting part of performing Porto was the transition from the studio into the arena theatre where it was to be performed. I found that this was when Porto began to come alive and more realistic. It was a fresh change from the studio we had created Porto in, although it did come with a few problems that we had to overcome in a short space of time.
The first problem we faced was one more based on the technical aspect of Porto which was the sound and light management. With such a big performance space to fill and a constantly progressing piece this problem took quite a while to overcome. Although having certain lighting aspects and sound cues it forced the performers into not straying from the material they had and allowed us to focus and refine on the material we had. So although initially this was seen as a problem it actually became a positive experience for us.
A big dilemma though we found with the arena space was that a lot of the work we had previously rehearsed in the studio was up close to the audience but due to the Arena’s seating layout it meant that this work was not viable to do as it would not be seen from the audience members at the back. Other problems that arose due to the arena space were the entrances and exits of the new space. Although this did not cause any major problems as it just meant some scenes were carefully adjusted to suit the needs of the arena space.
One positive that came from the transition in performances spaces was that in the studio space that we worked from for a long time, the work performed in the periphery looked very cluttered and detracted a lot of attention from the action in centre stage, but once in the arena space that work was pushed into the outskirts with minimal lighting which enhanced the work performed in centre stage whilst also allowing the performers in the periphery to still be seen.
A last dilemma faced whilst performing in the arena theatre was that as we had many hours performing in there, speaking from the characters point of view; we became very emotionally involved with the space of ‘Porto’. It was hard to let go and leaving the space became quite intimidating. Especially on the final show when emotions of some character/performers were running very high.
“The task of emotion management is to rise to the opportunity, and prepare for the loss... We need to feel attached to others, and we dread the loss of attachment in a very pre-modern way.” (Robb,M (2004) p.255)
I originally referred to the emotional attachment as a dilemma but in fact this actually added the originality and believability of the show.
3.
For the duration of the performances Porto grew and was still developing after every show. For my character there was not one show the same, with emotions running differently for each show. The group seemed to thrive in front of an audience constantly pushing towards perfection, gaining more and more emotional attachments along the way.
I believe the RSVP model did still run throughout the performance. The performances were always changing, constantly developing and refining material. The RSVP model ran whether the performers noticed it or not.
For my character the main element of the performance that developed was the interactions with others in the periphery. My character worked with both of the superman/girl characters in the periphery claiming one corner as our property. During each performance the emotion to keep everybody else out of our corner grew stronger and stronger. It was as if we were like children protecting our fortress in a game, each performance someone new tried to get into our space and we had to find different ways of making them leave which constantly grew even during the performances as well as during rehearsals.
My character also grew during the entrances of Porto. My character walks on stage (behind the other superman character) kicking my bag along the way, the first rehearsal we had in the arena space it was pointed out that a lot of characters had become too familiar with the space, a point which I had not realised before. Because we had all performed for so long devising Porto we had actually grew accustom to it, but from the audience’s perspective, this was a new space which characters should have never been too before. This created a new emotion of slight anxiety, an emotion that was shared by the whole group during the performance. I believe without changing this at the last minute Porto would have been analysed totally different for the audience.
Also during the entrances the timing of the comic situation where my character and the other superman character both reveal their superman tops together was always changing, I feel the last performance we did was probably the best in terms of comic effect. It was hard to get the timing right for the audience to realise that we were two total strangers feeling quite embarrassed.
A further moment in the show where my character developed using the RSVP model was during the final performance, I had never noticed that the religious character (Waqar) which the superman/girl characters had previously encountered early on in the show, was sitting just to the left of my corner space. I accidently caught eye contact with and immediately turned my head sharply away as he did. As my character I felt it was appropriate to carry on taunting and copying him which is what I choose to do. For me it added another layer into the individual performance.
I found it great see that on every show different emotions came through from different characters and to see how the effect of different audiences reacting differently to the same situations had an effect on the characters/performers. The RSVP model ran throughout the whole entire length of Porto including the performances, which I feel was great as it kept the performance alive and was more enjoyable for the audience and the performers.
“A play is essentially an audio-visual experience. No two members of the audience see quite the ‘same’ play and no two performers are ever exactly the same.” (Shakespeare,W. Seely,E (2000) p.7)
Bibliography
Fischer-Lichte, E. (2002) History of European drama and theatre. Routledge
Robb,M. (2004) Communication, relationships and care. Routledge
Shakespeare, W. Seely, E (2000) Advanced Shakespeare series – Hamlet Heinemann
Thursday 14 May 2009
Alex Blower, Porto, Final post
1.
During the move from validation to the performance of Porto there were clear themes that began to emerge for the ensemble as a whole, one of the clearest themes from an audience perspective would be the transition from confusion to almost serenity as the piece progressed. Porto opens with a very chaotic and sensually offensive ensemble movement, as the characters began to feel comfortable with their surroundings however movements around the periphery of the stage became less overt as the characters began to settle. This led to the final ensemble movement which mirrored the actions of the opening sequence, the tempo however was drastically slowed giving the movements an air of familiarity which was lacking previously. Positioning of the chairs was also vital in the final ensemble movement as it allowed the subgroups that had formed in the previous sections to be explored by the community as a whole, with characters sitting next to those who they felt a connection with rather than who they were thrown together with during the first movement.
Secondly the importance of each member of the ensembles baggage became clearer as the performance progressed. As nearly every member of the community had an item in the luggage which held a characteristic personal to them, it was interesting to note how the emotional connection with item changed as the performance progressed. As the piece progressed for my character he became less dependent on the comic book item and its utilisation as a defence mechanism. As soon as a level of comfort was reached in the sub group which the character was a part of, the need to hide behind an item was lost as relationships were formed and solidified.
2.
One of the most interesting parts of the Porto was the transition between rehearsing the performance in the studio space to rehearsing, and finally performing on the stage at the Arena Theatre. One of the main challenges that the ensemble faced during the move were the practical issues of space change and the introduction of stage lighting into the performance. The floor space in the arena was larger than it was in the studio and, as such the performance had to expand accordingly. Whilst the periphery work done in the studio detracted attention from the action going on centre stage, when the performance was moved into the Arena the depth and width of the space, along with the focus of the lights allowed the work done on the outskirts to be seen, but not to the extent that the audience members would lose focus on the movements vital to the narrative of the piece.
Another challenge which emerged from the change of performance space into a conventional theatre involved the actor performing being seen. Whilst it did not matter whilst rehearsing in the drama studio how far forward we went, as soon as an audience was involved it became clear that the actors could not be seen by all audience members in certain areas of the stage. As such it was important for all cast members to become increasingly aware of their stage position at all times so that none of the movements carrying meaning were missed by observers.
Moving away from the purely practical, one of the biggest issues we felt as performers was the realisation that the studio space had become a comfort zone for us as an ensemble and that moving out of that zone was a daunting prospect. As Dymphna Callery states in Through the Body ‘Commanding the stage demands a control of space’ ( 2001,p70) and as the ensemble were not one hundred percent at ease in the space straight away it became a challenge for the space not to take control of the performer rather than the other way round. However, after a couple of day’s rehearsal, the new space gained a familiarity and with a high level of focus I believe the ensemble took control of the new space effectively.
3.
During the time that was spent in the Arena theatre the performances of Porto evolved with every showing, this could be attributed to the change in space, as well as the effect the audience reaction had on the ensemble as a whole. One of the key aspects of the performance that really changed during the showings was intensity of emotion, from my perspective as a performer the first matinee showing seemed rather flat. It could be argued that this was because the members of the cast were nervous and that more attention was being put into the moves they were doing rather than the emotion behind them. However, once the first performance was out of the way the initial fear of ‘mucking up’ was laid to rest and the cast could concentrate on fully giving themselves over to the work.
On an individual level I feel that throughout the performances in the theatre space my character not only strengthened but also changed in some rather large aspects of his personality. During the warm ups before shows I found my character slowly focusing more and more on Waquar and utilising every available opportunity to mimic and intimidate him. This then carried across to the performance as by the final show I was even making time in the periphery work to find Waquar and make him uncomfortable through stares and mimicry. Secondly throughout the performances my relationship with Lizzie changed, during the first show she was in my opinion just a member of mine and Richards’s gang. This evolved throughout the 3 performances so that, on the Friday night the character I was playing felt certain protectiveness for Lizzie, almost like a little sister that sometimes you tease but you will always do your best to look out for. I believe the reason that these changes occurred was largely down to the environment and the emotions resonating from other cast members, as the focus during the Arena shows had rarely been reached before by the cast it was almost as if a new layer of emotional content had been accessible for the first time.
As to the relevance of the RSVP method in this final stage of the Porto journey I believe it to be as relevant, if not more so than at any other stage. The final performances were a coming together of each stage of the process. If you imagine the process as baking a cake, R.S.V and P were the ingredients being added to the bowl whilst the Arena performance was the finished cake. If any one of the ingredients had been missing at any stage then there would have been no way that the finished product could have been achieved to such a high standard.
Bibliography:
Through The Body, Callery Dymphna, Page 70, Nick Hern Books 2001
Wednesday 1 April 2009
Jay Duggan Process & Performance Blog 3
1.
The research/resource stage of Porto seems far behind us now as we start to enter the score stage of development. But as we look back it is apparent how truly crucial that research stage was, we see constant reminders in our show of how we employ that critical research within Porto during the research resource process at the beginning of our journey we used tactics such as creating a performance circle and letting anyone come in or step out as they see fit. The interactions and relationships created entirely on impulse that were built all that time ago can still be found in parts of Porto in the current score phase of development. And even the way we approach devising for the show stems right back the research resource process. It wouldn’t be unfair to suggest that we haven’t really come out of the research resource element and we are all undergoing research until the day of validation.
2.
At first I couldn’t see how the ensemble was going to collaboratively exist on a performance stage with motives and objectives that would be in anyway similar, or make sense, but the stimulus of Porto really helped give each and every characters seemed very individual, but currently the ensemble seems to of creative somewhat of a community that have one thing in common, there trapped in Porto, I have heard many people describe Porto as limbo or purgatory, but every character seems to have a reason for been on stage. There are many hidden messages throughout Porto giving it ample meaning and narrative, usually based around social issues and boundaries. Such as mundane repetitiveness of the community representing society’s ways of how people should behave, and the characters not conforming to those rules. The tear between western and eastern culture, this performance is littered with metaphors for common problems within people lives.
3.
Since the start of the creating process my character has drastically transformed every element of his physicality and motives, to adapt to the ever changing course of Porto. In the research resource stage of devising I explored what my physical capabilities were and I am now using that knowledge to apply them to the score process. My character has really grown over the past few months, and I have my own personnel challenge of connecting emotionally with my character, and to exploit a more venerable side, this really has been my goal for Porto. In the “R” phase of practice I really found myself in terms of boundaries and limits, as well as discovering other people boundaries and limits, this is what allowed me to set a target for what I wanted my character to achieve throughout the process. Upon reflecting on my personnel transition into the character I am currently exist as, I find myself pleasantly surprised at my achievements, almost without realising it I have learned so much. Now I can feel a real sense of my character starting to break down and I am keen to see how far I can push this.
The research/resource stage of Porto seems far behind us now as we start to enter the score stage of development. But as we look back it is apparent how truly crucial that research stage was, we see constant reminders in our show of how we employ that critical research within Porto during the research resource process at the beginning of our journey we used tactics such as creating a performance circle and letting anyone come in or step out as they see fit. The interactions and relationships created entirely on impulse that were built all that time ago can still be found in parts of Porto in the current score phase of development. And even the way we approach devising for the show stems right back the research resource process. It wouldn’t be unfair to suggest that we haven’t really come out of the research resource element and we are all undergoing research until the day of validation.
2.
At first I couldn’t see how the ensemble was going to collaboratively exist on a performance stage with motives and objectives that would be in anyway similar, or make sense, but the stimulus of Porto really helped give each and every characters seemed very individual, but currently the ensemble seems to of creative somewhat of a community that have one thing in common, there trapped in Porto, I have heard many people describe Porto as limbo or purgatory, but every character seems to have a reason for been on stage. There are many hidden messages throughout Porto giving it ample meaning and narrative, usually based around social issues and boundaries. Such as mundane repetitiveness of the community representing society’s ways of how people should behave, and the characters not conforming to those rules. The tear between western and eastern culture, this performance is littered with metaphors for common problems within people lives.
3.
Since the start of the creating process my character has drastically transformed every element of his physicality and motives, to adapt to the ever changing course of Porto. In the research resource stage of devising I explored what my physical capabilities were and I am now using that knowledge to apply them to the score process. My character has really grown over the past few months, and I have my own personnel challenge of connecting emotionally with my character, and to exploit a more venerable side, this really has been my goal for Porto. In the “R” phase of practice I really found myself in terms of boundaries and limits, as well as discovering other people boundaries and limits, this is what allowed me to set a target for what I wanted my character to achieve throughout the process. Upon reflecting on my personnel transition into the character I am currently exist as, I find myself pleasantly surprised at my achievements, almost without realising it I have learned so much. Now I can feel a real sense of my character starting to break down and I am keen to see how far I can push this.
Sean Kennedy-Lockwood Process and performance blog assesment 3
1)
Within physical theatre there are four separate stages of the devising process, "RSVP" the R stands for the research phase, this is the stage where the ensemble were given a presentation to look at and interpret certain part of different pictures which is where the idea of Porto came about. We then took this and created our own character this was taken into the workshop to use in the play sessions. The play sessions is where the ensemble could create a personality create bonds with other characters and develop a deeper understanding of who they are in Porto. Now the Ensemble are at the S phase of the RSVP model which is the score part of the work where we have to refine and developed further through the aid of the directors working within the sub groups. We are now creating scenes within Porto also introducing music into the piece giving the scenes a new dynamic. The score phase is where we are establishing the various scenes giving them a narrative for the audience to follow.
2)
A narrative of the performance is beginning to show within the ensemble however it is for the audience to interpret and decode the piece for themselves through the semiotics installed within Porto.
‘ The audience has to become imaginatively engaged in order to decode and interpret what is happening’ (Martin Lewis, John Rainer 2005)
One theme which, is running subconsciously throughout the work that is giving the performance a structure is the initial stimuli we received, which was Porto, the definition of the word and how it applies to liminal journeys. Through certain scenes there is a stronger narrative which is more apparent than others at a particular time, for example with the photo scene, where it is obvious to the audience that we all have something in common and are similar with the item we take on our separate journeys. Within Porto there is also the presence of Blake and Nicola who are noticeably different to the ensemble and their presence in Porto is throughout, with the action of everyone surrounding these two figures. Through moments of ensemble work the audience can decode a narrative seeing that we all share a common purpose and we are on a journey.
3)
With my character it has been a frustrating process, I feel that it hasn’t developed a great deal with the majority of scenes that I am present in, being choreographed structured movement my character was held back and was unable to progress. This was difficult as I was trying to find characters that I had attachments to but unable to do so. Through play sessions in the workshop however I have been able to develop bonds with other people and physically and emotionally grow new dynamics of my character, which have helped in performance. ‘Brook not only uses play as a starting point, as a basis for personal growth and self development in his actors.’ (Callery, D 2001)
Now that we have been given more freedom for improvised work within the scenes I am creating more interesting work, finding a transition of my character who is more confident with other people and is less restricted. My character has developed further with there being a new dynamic with there being two people I am working with now rather than one, making the work more creative and giving more ideas to the overall creation of Porto.
Bibliography
Martin Lewis, John Rainer (2005) Teaching classroom drama and theatre: practical projects for secondary schools, Routledge PG 43
Dymphna Callery, (2001) Through the Body a Practical Guide to Physical Theatre, Nick Hern Books
Within physical theatre there are four separate stages of the devising process, "RSVP" the R stands for the research phase, this is the stage where the ensemble were given a presentation to look at and interpret certain part of different pictures which is where the idea of Porto came about. We then took this and created our own character this was taken into the workshop to use in the play sessions. The play sessions is where the ensemble could create a personality create bonds with other characters and develop a deeper understanding of who they are in Porto. Now the Ensemble are at the S phase of the RSVP model which is the score part of the work where we have to refine and developed further through the aid of the directors working within the sub groups. We are now creating scenes within Porto also introducing music into the piece giving the scenes a new dynamic. The score phase is where we are establishing the various scenes giving them a narrative for the audience to follow.
2)
A narrative of the performance is beginning to show within the ensemble however it is for the audience to interpret and decode the piece for themselves through the semiotics installed within Porto.
‘ The audience has to become imaginatively engaged in order to decode and interpret what is happening’ (Martin Lewis, John Rainer 2005)
One theme which, is running subconsciously throughout the work that is giving the performance a structure is the initial stimuli we received, which was Porto, the definition of the word and how it applies to liminal journeys. Through certain scenes there is a stronger narrative which is more apparent than others at a particular time, for example with the photo scene, where it is obvious to the audience that we all have something in common and are similar with the item we take on our separate journeys. Within Porto there is also the presence of Blake and Nicola who are noticeably different to the ensemble and their presence in Porto is throughout, with the action of everyone surrounding these two figures. Through moments of ensemble work the audience can decode a narrative seeing that we all share a common purpose and we are on a journey.
3)
With my character it has been a frustrating process, I feel that it hasn’t developed a great deal with the majority of scenes that I am present in, being choreographed structured movement my character was held back and was unable to progress. This was difficult as I was trying to find characters that I had attachments to but unable to do so. Through play sessions in the workshop however I have been able to develop bonds with other people and physically and emotionally grow new dynamics of my character, which have helped in performance. ‘Brook not only uses play as a starting point, as a basis for personal growth and self development in his actors.’ (Callery, D 2001)
Now that we have been given more freedom for improvised work within the scenes I am creating more interesting work, finding a transition of my character who is more confident with other people and is less restricted. My character has developed further with there being a new dynamic with there being two people I am working with now rather than one, making the work more creative and giving more ideas to the overall creation of Porto.
Bibliography
Martin Lewis, John Rainer (2005) Teaching classroom drama and theatre: practical projects for secondary schools, Routledge PG 43
Dymphna Callery, (2001) Through the Body a Practical Guide to Physical Theatre, Nick Hern Books
Alex Blower blog post 3
1.
During the Process of devised work it is imperitive to organise work into sections so as to work cohesivley in the construction of a piece. Firstly as a company we had to enter the research phase of the process, this consisted of gathering knowledge through academic rescources as well as the more physically based workshops and ‘play’ sessions. The importance of this phase in the creation of a performance is outlined in Jane Millings book Devising Performance, A Critical History ‘At the core of all devising or collaborative creation is a process of generating performance’ (Milling,2006, Page 3) giving emphasis to the importance of this phase in relation to the final perofrmance as a whole.
Secondly as we enter the scoring phase, involving blocking out the devised material so the different scenes come together smoothly and effectivley. It is interesting to note that, although it is true the pieces are more refined than they were in the research phase, changes are still happening and new ways of working still being discovered. As a performer and colaborative deviser it would be be a valid comment to make that that the research phase of creating a performance is never truly left behind but rather used as a tool in the scoring phase to help smooth out links between scenes and morph the process into a complete performance.
2.
With regards to the structure of Porto, as the scoring phase is being more heavily implimented there is a clear beginning and end becoming apparent, it is interesting to note that both of these sections are ensemble work with key characters either implimenting or resolving issues. At the beginning of the piece it is abundantly clear to the audience that Blake and Nicola are outsiders in Porto as the ensembles work is fluid and clean until either Blake or Nicola move and attention is focused on them. However at the end of the piece a feeling of resolution is achieved with Nicola as Jay finally manages to reveal the true character by the lifting of the hood. As this is happening the ensemble moving in syncronisation around them supports the changes that Nicola has experienced throughout her time in Porto.
In the productions middle section however things are not quite so clear, whilst it is true each section has come a long way since the research phase there are no clear links between scenes. It will be interesting to see at this point how the benefits of keeping the research phase open as we got on with scoring will prove to be an advantage.
3.
It would be fairly accurate to say that at the end of the research phase of Porto I was feeling wholly uncomfortable with my character and the intentions behind it. I had the idea in my head that my character was young however there was an element of seriousness there that went against my characters youthful and exuberent side. As a result I found myself in a state of limbo, not quite engaging with other characters as the mix of emotions were very different from the other characters in the community’s idea of the norm. However as we moved into the scoring phase there was a link between scenes in which I found a character that was very similar to mine in the Porto community. As I have a comic book as my item and they had child’s Pokemon cards it was suddenly very easy to concentrate on my characters immature, playful nature, in turn allowing a bridge to be built and further work to develop from it.
It is also interesting to note here that although I have an established character and personality now, at the start of the scoring phase I did not, perfectly illustrating the fact that the research phase is never one which is left behind, but is instead carried through to support the development of the later devising phases.
Bibliography
Milling Jane, Devising Performance, a critical history, Palgrave Macmillan, 2006
During the Process of devised work it is imperitive to organise work into sections so as to work cohesivley in the construction of a piece. Firstly as a company we had to enter the research phase of the process, this consisted of gathering knowledge through academic rescources as well as the more physically based workshops and ‘play’ sessions. The importance of this phase in the creation of a performance is outlined in Jane Millings book Devising Performance, A Critical History ‘At the core of all devising or collaborative creation is a process of generating performance’ (Milling,2006, Page 3) giving emphasis to the importance of this phase in relation to the final perofrmance as a whole.
Secondly as we enter the scoring phase, involving blocking out the devised material so the different scenes come together smoothly and effectivley. It is interesting to note that, although it is true the pieces are more refined than they were in the research phase, changes are still happening and new ways of working still being discovered. As a performer and colaborative deviser it would be be a valid comment to make that that the research phase of creating a performance is never truly left behind but rather used as a tool in the scoring phase to help smooth out links between scenes and morph the process into a complete performance.
2.
With regards to the structure of Porto, as the scoring phase is being more heavily implimented there is a clear beginning and end becoming apparent, it is interesting to note that both of these sections are ensemble work with key characters either implimenting or resolving issues. At the beginning of the piece it is abundantly clear to the audience that Blake and Nicola are outsiders in Porto as the ensembles work is fluid and clean until either Blake or Nicola move and attention is focused on them. However at the end of the piece a feeling of resolution is achieved with Nicola as Jay finally manages to reveal the true character by the lifting of the hood. As this is happening the ensemble moving in syncronisation around them supports the changes that Nicola has experienced throughout her time in Porto.
In the productions middle section however things are not quite so clear, whilst it is true each section has come a long way since the research phase there are no clear links between scenes. It will be interesting to see at this point how the benefits of keeping the research phase open as we got on with scoring will prove to be an advantage.
3.
It would be fairly accurate to say that at the end of the research phase of Porto I was feeling wholly uncomfortable with my character and the intentions behind it. I had the idea in my head that my character was young however there was an element of seriousness there that went against my characters youthful and exuberent side. As a result I found myself in a state of limbo, not quite engaging with other characters as the mix of emotions were very different from the other characters in the community’s idea of the norm. However as we moved into the scoring phase there was a link between scenes in which I found a character that was very similar to mine in the Porto community. As I have a comic book as my item and they had child’s Pokemon cards it was suddenly very easy to concentrate on my characters immature, playful nature, in turn allowing a bridge to be built and further work to develop from it.
It is also interesting to note here that although I have an established character and personality now, at the start of the scoring phase I did not, perfectly illustrating the fact that the research phase is never one which is left behind, but is instead carried through to support the development of the later devising phases.
Bibliography
Milling Jane, Devising Performance, a critical history, Palgrave Macmillan, 2006
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)