PERFORMANCE & EVALUATION - RISK

The Performances went very well, and all the groups impressed me. It was amazing to see how even though each group were given the same word as our stimuli for our pieces, how the combination of different people, ideas and backgrounds can produce such varied, creative and meaningful pieces of theatre.

Risk Assessment

From the start of the project I was very enthusiastic about the Risk project. The word ‘Risk’ sparked a flame inside of me and got my creative juices flowing. My initial thoughts were to create a piece that interacted with the general public, which I thought in itself was risky due to the unpredictable variables. I suggested the idea of a performance that engaged people within a Job center, highlighting the risks involved around unemployment and financial issues. ‘REAL’ was my motivating thought, I wanted to create and present a piece that was ‘real’ and ‘challenging’ for the actors and the audience. I am fairly experienced in street performances that interacted with the general public, in contrast to the rest of my group who didn't seem enthusiastic or comfortable with the idea.

I was happy with how we worked together as a group. We were open with one another, shared and explored ideas no matter how silly or absurd they might have seemed at the time. As a group we bounced ideas of each other, often an idea came from many ideas put together.

Starting with, 'What Risk meant to us' as individuals, and as a group was critical in defining our group message, which our focus in the development of our piece. 

I was aware very soon on in the project about my groups dynamic, and the roles we each individually played. After the first week of devising which was up and down I saw that my role was to keep the group on track, sticking pieces together, and filtering out the rubbish so we could get our message across.

I often asked my group questions such as, 'what's the image?’ 'What’s to gain?’ 'What’s the risk?’ Making sure we maintained the structure of the piece and didn't get carried away with unnecessary stylizing. 

As a collective we challenged each other during improvising and performance, aiming to produce compelling work for our audience.

In our final performance there were just a couple technical hiccups (due to lack of technical rehearsal time), but otherwise it went smoothly. We worked well in unison, kept to our cues, and were fairly relaxed throughout the performance. Our timings were good, as was our focus as we transitioned from scene to scene. We remained in character for the duration of the piece without breaking concentration, and in a professional manner.

I was also happy with my individual effort in the final performance. Feeling focused, energized, and maintaining in character throughout the performance. I demonstrated my vocal ability in my scene where I played the violent boyfriend, as I raised my voice in raging anger but kept vocal control. Unfortunately I felt like my opening line got swallowed due to lack of commitment to the line at that point in time. (LO Unit 73. 4.2)  I was also pleased with my performance in regards to my physicality. Ranging from the tension of the violent boyfriend to the fluidity of the flying Bird in the end image.

I was satisfied that our piece communicated the message that we set out to portray. The audience understood the symbolism used and the message itself.

Further Risks

What would work extremely well for this pieces development would be some kind of 'Risk Performance Workshops'. We would provide creative ways for the workshop participants to take risks in performance. Whether that would be experimenting with playing untypical roles, or exploring a new area of performance from singing, movement, comedy, or mask work. The aim would be to get the participants to take a risk with their art and discover parts of their performance vocabulary.

Effect

What effect did we want to have?

In regards to the effectiveness of our piece I related this question to, 'What is the Purpose of Theatre?'

In this project my personal purpose was to engage, relate, challenge, and inspire the audience. I wanted to meet our audience where they are, in their everyday lives, with there everyday challenges and take them on a journey.

We Engaged our audience on a relational level, with openness and vulnerability.

I wanted to first of all Relate to the audience so they are willing to journey with us.  I felt like this piece related well to the audience, as we showed truthful portrays of people and the challenges they face in life. Not just present challenges but also how past events in a persons life can effect present challenges.  We touched on a range of issues from guilt, isolation, insecurity, and fear. I felt by doing this in a vulnerable open manner we gained the audiences respect and trust.

Then I wanted to Challenge the audience by holding up a mirror to them, so they could see their reflection in the characters and scenarios.  This is why it was so important that the characters and situations are recognizable to the audience, and that style of the piece was naturalistic.

And finally I wanted to Inspire the audience. Not by painting a perfect picture ending which I felt would have been patronizing, but by leaving the audience with the message of Hope. Our final image of our piece I felt communicated this departing message of hope beautifully.

An Eagle taking flight for the first time, and gliding on the wind.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

DV8 (2004)                                            http://www.dv8.co.uk/

                                      Cost of Living  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NShJJr1ztkM

                                                                                                              (Accessed 11th Oct 2012)

PUSH Theatre Company (2007)                          http://www.pushtheatre.org/ 

                                 Push Theatre Promo http://www.youtube.com/watchv=DmMQN0AMk7k

                                                                                                        (Accessed 11th Oct 2012)

Swale, Jessica. (2012)    DramaGames for Devising   London:   Nick Hern Books

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hp-gCvW8PRY (2008)                           (Accessed 9th Oct 2012)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-PZlj0UH0c  (2009)                             (Accessed 9th Oct 2012)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gd0-AY2rBJs&feature=related (2011)   (Accessed 11th Oct 2012)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RbdAxZlOc0&feature=related(2011)   (Accessed 11th Oct 2012)

Coming in to Land - RISK

With 95% of the scenes in place and with the video and sound editing near completion all that was left to do was some fine touches to our acting scenes.

Style VS Substance

From the start of the project my group had a very strong connection with the issue of Risk. From our beginning discussions about what risk meant to us, it was evident that as a group we saw Risk as an important life issue, rather than relating to silly risks or spontaneous risks. As a group we identified Risk with being life changing, challenging, and necessary.
I wanted to engage our audience on their level, and challenge them throughout our piece to consider taking risks for themselves.
To do this effectively I felt our piece had to be as real as possible. Having naturalistic scenes with naturalistic acting, so the audience would be able to relate to the characters and scenarios they where watching.

In improvising the scenes we chose settings and scenario's which we thought our mostly student audience would be able relate to such as; shopping in the supermarket, attending a freshers event, and auditioning for a musical. I wanted the risks to be risks that occur in the everyday persons lifetime.  (LO Unit 29. 1.2 & 1.3) (LO Unit 29. 3.1)

There was a scene within our piece that I thought conflicted with the pieces overall style. Jonathan and Laura, improvised then scripted the 'Proposal' scene where Jonathan's character proposes to Laura's character, but after watching the scene through the first time I had some concerns about it. It was obvious that a lot of time and effort was put into the scene, but for me that was problem, the scene was too polished. The scene contained descriptive language, following dialogue and well planned staging. It was the type of scene that would have fitted well into a classical performance, but in our piece where the emphasis was on realism, for me it stood out on it's own as a display of acting and theatrical technique. In order to stick to the message of the piece, the scene had to be changed to adopt a modern context that the audience could connect with the rest of the piece.
We did some further improvising with this scene using scenarios that would appear to be more everyday life. For instance, the couple would be meeting on a lunch break, or walking home together after work. This helped create the feeling that this was a real couple living a real life together, so then the Proposal would also be a real moment.

With a few more tweaks and adjustments the piece was ready to be performed for our audience.

Q&A was our chosen method of receiving critical feedback as we hoped our piece would challenge the audience, giving them plenty of questions to ask about the characters, stages of production and the message. (LO Unit 29. 4.1)

Back to Birdy - RISK

Creating the Bird

After taking some time to look at the videos of eagles taking flight in slow motion, we came back to creating our bird with new vision and clarity. What we wanted to focus on was how the size of eagle nearly triples once it spreads its wings. From a seemingly small bird that would be perched on top of a tree, to a magnificent ruler of the skies. This also represented the message we wanted to communicate to the audience. That once you take the Risk to spread your wings you discover there is much more to you than you once believed.  

We had a few attempts at creating this bird. We had decided that 1 actor would be the main body of the bird, and the remaining 4 actors would be the bird’s wings. The eagles wings go from being concealed to unveiled in one fluid movement. This is what we focus on. 

The video above shows 3 of us working on this concept of the eagles wings going from be concealed to being unveiled. Later the other 2 performers were added to the wings to create the image of the eagle having a huge wing span. This process needed a lot of practice time in front of the mirror, as we had to see the shapes our bodies were making, and to coordinate the timing of the wing spreading motion. 

There where many times that Jonathan encouraged us not to just rely on timings but to also feel when as a group we were all in sync. This worked beautifully in creating the motion of one being out of five beings. 

For the taking off of the bird we showed the bird flight in progress. From the initial slow powerful flaps of the wings to generate height, onto quicker flaps to gain speed, then finally to gliding where the bird is now enjoying it's new found freedom. This is the final image that the piece would end on. 

After the creation of the Bird we found had a missing link in our chain. We hadn't shown at which point the characters decided to take the Risk to become a Bird and to take flight. We needed to show what the characters motivation was for finally taking this Risk. 

WHY RISK?

Going back to our initial conversations about Risk and Why people risk, our group message was, that in order in live a full life you have to take risks, otherwise you live a trapped life. Trapped was the image. We had to show that the characters decision to take the risk is because they had come to the realization that by not taking a risk there life is a life of entrapment.   

The Cage (LO unit 29. 2.1) 

The cage was our symbol for entrapment  We had to show the audience the relationship between the cage and the characters. How the cage was standing in between the characters trapped life and the characters for-filling life. 

Restriction

The cages function is to restrict the character lives. 

We showed the characters discovering the cages boundaries, the lack of space within the cage, and the feeling of claustrophobia when you realize you are trapped.  

This was the moment the characters realize they have to take a Risk.  

Let's get PHYSICAL, then TeChNIcAL - RISK

I gave Eve a slap today

To be continued...

One of the character scenarios is about a woman in an abusive relationship. During the scene the female will be slapped by the husband character.

Jonathan, who is trained in stage combat to level 4, choreographed the slap sequence.

The main points while choreographing this scene were, to be at the correct angle for benefit of the audience, and to have sufficient distance between myself and Eve, for movement and safety.

We explored the different ways in which the slap could occur. Could be premeditated, or happen during a struggle?

The aim of the scene is to show a woman who is unsure whether or not to leave her partner. With this in mind we decided against the husband being overly aggressive or abusive, but instead frustrated with his relationship, with the slap occurring out of a reaction. We felt this puts the female character in more of a dilemma, rather than what would seem like a straight forward decision if the Husband was violent and physically beating her. 

EDITING THE VIDEOS

In the editing of videos the aim was to make the films appear as they are the characters memories. These memories are what hinder the characters from taking Risks that will better their lives.  

To depict the characters Old Negative memories the video clips were edited from colour into black and white, and with an ‘Old Film’ effect added to them. This gave the video clips the appearance of being past memories and also a feeling of lifelessness.

Video footage 1

The significance of the video is that the content within the video clips influence the characters decision making as the piece progresses. During the live action of the piece each character has a moment of decision or Moment of Risk. At this point the video will play. The characters memories all have a key word or sentence which is the characters main point of reference. For instance on the above clip the character is being told he’ll never be trusted again. (Video footage 1) This line is the stimuli for the characters future decision making during the live action of the performance. Due to their importance these key lines have been subtitled throughout the video footage. This also solves the issue of the key line being missed or lost, due to our limited sound recording equipment. 


IF THE MUSIC FITS

The opening line to the piece is 'Why old Caged Bird do you sing?' Music is a big part of our piece. 
Jonathan volunteered to take the lead on the musical side of the production. 

Jonathan selecting music

The choice of music was important as the style of music had to complement the story, rather than stand out. The style that Jonathan chose was Classical. This worked very well, as it created the feeling of journeying, which is what all the characters were doing through the piece. 

There was an instance when Jonathan wanted to put a piece of music under the 'Proposal' scene. I disagreed with this decision because I felt that it made this scene a separate entity to the rest of the piece. No other scene in the piece never had music playing under them, the only exception to this was the 'Party scene', where music was part of the scenes environment. I could find no reason why music should be put under the 'Proposal' scene. We decided that it wasn't needed. 

LIGHTS, IPHONE, ACTION! - RISK

LIGHTS, I PHONE, ACTION!

Our task for today was to complete the filming section of our Risk project, we had our scenes roughly drafted and had the message we wanted each video to communicate. In the performance piece the video will represent the characters memories. These memories will be the key in determining the characters progression. For this purpose of the piece all the memories are to be negative experiences. So the idea is to edit the videos into black and white, to create the feeling of these memories being without life, and draining.


Improve to Improve

We had 5 scenarios that were to be acting out live in front of the audience. Each of these where to portray the feeling of being ‘Trapped’ in a situation, and the only way the character could overcome this would involve Risk. We used a combination of Discussion and Improvisation to create theses scenarios (UNIT 28, LO 2.2). Each improvisation had basically the same formula. The main character would be in a position where they are not happy or frustrated by their situation. But to overcome that would in Risk. 

John and Billy improving romantic scene

Improving scene about Isolation

Matthew's Judgement panel scene improv 

We had trouble thinking of a final scenario for our fifth character. We needed a scenario in which the character would be compelled a risk in order to gain something valuable to them. It was difficult coming up with a story that we felt was compelling enough to interest an audience. If it didn't capture our attention, then neither would it hold the attention of an audience. What do people in general want to gain? Why risk?

A technique or exercise that we found very useful during our time of devising was to get on our feet and ask each-other questions while we move about the space. This got our energy up, and minds flowing. We would call out thoughts, words and sentences that came to mind with the aim of finding a fitting scenario. For instance the word Courage lead to Brotherhood, then to Brothers, which lead to Family Dispute. Which was the context of our final scenario.  

WATCH OUT STEVEN!

Filming was the relatively easy part of this project, which is probably why we enjoyed so much. We had a list of our scenes to shoot, and the action to be filmed.

We resourced the MAC centre for ideal shootings locations for our various scenes. We filmed external scenes in the Canon Hill Park grounds, and internal scenes within the MAC centre. We were able to silicate assistance from a member of staff who provided us with a suitable space and props for the filming of our ‘Living room’ scene.

A challenge that came with filming was the recording of sound. Apple IPhones make great phones, but not so great filming equipment. Visuals were captured sufficiently, but the actor’s dialogue depending on where the scene was shot at times came out unclear, or was drowned out by background noise. A way we overcame this challenge was to film takes where there was an emphasis on voice projection, and diction. (UNIT 73, LO.2.2)

While filming the 5 different scenarios we each had an opportunity to experience a different role in the scenes production. Directing, Camera operator, Crowd control, and Duck control. (Yes Duck control)

Scenes were shot several times, and from various angles for back up and editing purposes.

LJ getting ready to lure the ducks into our shot by using Jonathan's crisps

BIG BIRD

For the finally of our piece we will be forming with our bodies a Physical Bird that is about to take flight.

Why? Is the question.

Amy, our Physical Theatre tutor loves to ask this question. This is annoying when you just want to get on with something and get it done. But if you can’t answer the Why then there’s no point doing it.

The Bird in flight is the representation of Freedom. The Bird being freed from its cage of restriction is the outcome of escaping from the cage by taking a Risk.

So our plan is to Physical Theatre Techniques to create this Bird with our physical bodies. We attempted this but found that how we imagined it in our minds and the actually forming the bird was some distance apart. One of the reasons for this was that the ideas we had for creating the bird were from watching video of professional physical theatre companies. And although it is a great way to draw inspiration, it is not possible for our group to duplicate the complex moves that this company has extensively trained do accomplish. Our vision was beyond our means on this one.

Resourcing companies such as these are important not only for inspiration but to also gain a greater understanding and appreciation of how different styles of theatre are used to communicate a message. Imagery is a big focus of our Risk project and physical theatre is great at portraying images. An image can paint a thousand words, which is why we are really enthusiastic to incorporate it into our piece.

Of the many physical theater companies 2 of them that we looked into are;

PUSH Theatre Company

http://www.pushtheatre.org/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmMQN0AMk7k

Another is DV8 

http://www.dv8.co.uk/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NShJJr1ztkM

What type of Bird is it? We were encouraged to look into how a bird moves, breathes, whether they flap their wings, or glide. This would help us to find the image of the bird we would like to create, and so focus our efforts. Is it an eagle or a pigeon?

The video link below is a slow motion clip of an eagle taking off.

From watching the clip in slow motion you can see the eagle poises itself as it stoops down, then the huge physical powerful movements that the eagle makes as it lifts off, followed by impressive wing expansion.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gd0-AY2rBJs&feature=related

In this 2^nd link I really recognise how the eagle seems quite small, but as soon as it spreads its wings it has a huge presence. King of the Skies

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RbdAxZlOc0&feature=related

All of these aspects we can look into as we create our Bird.

Caged Bird - RISK

The Caged Bird

Week 2 HND PA.

RISK PROJECT

After a weekend of reflection on our project I was very eager to get our piece set on a good foundation. By the latter part of our last devising session we seemed to have strayed off into the wilderness in different directions, and lost each other, focus, and the message we originally set out to portray. So we started the session off with the question...'What is our collective group message?' A simply answer from each group member was all that we needed to get us all moving together again in the same direction. Defining what our message about Risk was going to be was the best place to start from.

Why a Bird Cage? (LO Unit 29-2.1)
As a group we were really drawn to the idea of a Bird being trapped in a Birdcage. But Why? It was a great visual metaphor for us to portray in our piece, which we were encouraged to use. But why was this such a compelling image for us on the subject of risk? This was a decision we had to justify in order to clarify.

As a group we briefly shared what the Birdcage represented to us in regards to the subject of risk. This produced 2 challenging but compelling questions.

1. What does the Cage represent?
2. What does the Bird represent?

Cage Fear
Fear is often what cages a person from doing something outside the box, or in this case the cage. The Cage represents all fears and doubts that trap us, and hinder our potential to spread our wings and fly.

The Bird is us. We have the ability to fly but because we are trapped in the cage we are unable to do so.

So the solution is quite simple: Get the Bird out of the Cage. How? That's the Risk!

The Message of our piece.
In order for a person to further their potential in life they will have to take a RISK to escape from the fears that trap them.

We explored the idea of risk taking further by answering 2 important questions.

Why would someone take a Risk?                                  The Hope of Gain

Why wouldn't someone take a Risk?                              The Fear of Failure.

             FAILURE ------------------------CHOICE-----------------------------GAIN

An example scenario, and images to go with it.

UNSUCCESSFUL------------------Do I pursue an acting career? ------------------SUCCESSFUL
(Waiting tables)                                                                                                        (On the Red Carpet)


These rival images are to be the decided factor whether or not an individual chooses to or not to take a Risk.
Are they compelled to take a Risk in hope of one day standing on the red carpet, or do they decide against it for fear that they will spend a life time waiting tables? That is what we dubbed 'The Moment of Risk'.

20 Questions.
Going back to the beginning and answering some vital questions about the purpose of our performance, and the message of our piece gave us clarity so we could continue devising How we would communicate our message.


The next stage: Big Bird, and Doubts and Fears

My Brain Hurts - RISK

MY BRAIN HURTS

Today we got down to business and started devising our Risk project.

What is Devised Theatre?

What is Devised Theatre?

Swale (2012 p.16)

"On day one of a devising project, the participants jump into the abyss of the unknown. They may have starting points in mind - a text, an object, music, a space, a concept or issue - but at this stage no one will have an idea of what the final production will be like."

This is a description of 'What is Devised Theatre?', taken from a book on games for devising theatre.

For my group and I our starting point for our project development was a concept – Risk, and this concept was what we would drawing our inspiration from to develop our piece.

I am very fond of the notion of devised theatre as I see it focuses on collaboration, creativity and generating innovative theatre. I feel that Devised Theatre would be especially effective in addressing social issues within a certain group, community, or larger community. As the contents of a devised theatre piece comes from a number collaborative ideas and thoughts from a group of people, rather than a single viewpoint from an individual.

An example of this could be a devised piece on the England riots in 2011. If local authority or community groups wanted to shed some light on the reasons behind the event, or highlight the post event repercussions for gaining a fresh perspective on how to tackle issues for future development. A devised piece would draw on a variety of perspectives of how the incident was seen, a present a variety of questions with possible solutions.

The stimuli could come from interviews with victims or the participants in the riots, newspaper articles, pictures, or even exploration of locations that were damaged in the riots. 

There are several ways of collecting stimuli to creative a devised theatre piece on this particular issue, that would hopefully result in a piece of theatre that would educate, inform, enlighten an audience in the telling of this tragic event.  (LO Unit 29. 1.1 & 2.2)

Back to Devising

After a quick brief on our Risk assignment we started off with a warm up/ game. I'm quickly seeing how these games have multiple uses, and how the word 'Game' is actually not the best fitting description for what they actually achieve. The games are fun and enjoyable, but more importantly they also stimulate the mind and body, and generate focus in the individual and the group.

Group exercise: Cowboys and Singers (My own name since I don't know it's actual name yet)
The group walks around the space and respond to a number of commands that a selected individual would call out. For instance these commands could be; hop, jump, freeze, walk, make contact, greet, silence, sing OOO AAA OOO. At the command 'CIRCLE', the group would have 3 seconds to form a circle. At which the Cowboy exercise would commence.

After our warm up exercise ;) we got into our Risk project groups to start devising or piece.
To aid us with this we were given a large number a quotes to choose from on the subject of Risk. I found this helpful in identifying, and sharing with the group how we perceive the concept of risk. This was my chosen quote.

"We know there is no such thing as freedom without the risk of failure"
Rick Perry

In my own life the fear of failure has been the defining factor in risks I have or have not taken. Which is why I was drawn to this particular quote.



My Group
For this Risk Project my group members are:

JONATHAN BAILEY

EVE DALLIMORE

LAURA NOCK

MATTHEW HAGAN

As a group we shared our quotes, and our reasons for choosing them. Through this discussion we were easily able to see similarities in our perceptions of Risk. As a group we summarised our thoughts and feelings towards the concept of risk down to the following points:

1. For progression in life Risks are Necessary 
2. To take a Risk means Coming Out of your Comfort Zone
3. The Risk itself is Not a Hard as It Seems

With these ideas in the forefront of our minds we began to think ways of how to present these 3 concepts of Risk.

Birdcage

The idea of the Birdcage is about be trapped. When you are afraid to take risks in life you limit what you could actual achieve, and fall short of who you were meant to be. The metaphor we came up with was of a 'Caged Bird'. A Bird was made with wings so it would fly, but if it remains in a cage in will never do so. It's life would always be limited despite the natural potential the bird has within it.
We related this to many people who live lives well beneath their potential, because they are caged by fear, uncertainty and comfort.

The idea was that a character or characters would be trapped by a Cage. In order to leave the cage in hope of a more for-filling life where they could spread their wings, it would take the Risk of leaving the comfort of the cage that they know so well, in exchange for freedom outside of the cage, but also the unknown.

I came up with a quote

'The Friend I don't know or The Enemy I do'.
Leon Mills

Like that one I'll get it registered ;)

Break time

Broke time

Who would of thought that having a break could be so damaging???
After our lunch break we attempted to resume our discussion and planning, 'Attempted' being the key word. For whatever reason the whole group really struggled to get our minds going. It's not that we lost enthusiasm for the task, we were very excited about what we achieved in the morning session. But the thoughts and ideas were no longer there. We were unable to think with any fluidity, and combine and reflect ideas. It also didn't help that we were distracted by an incident involving one of the students where paramedics had been called in. Thankfully the student was fine, but all focus was seemed to have been left in the cafeteria. I'm thinking for future reference after returning from a break it might be a good idea to restart with some sort of group exercise to regain focus, energy and unity.

We continued to discuss our ideas but without much progression. Amy our Physical Theater tutor joined us, and gave us some challenging questions to think about.

• What is our message?
• Which kind of person would see a poster for our production and want to come to watch it? 

Myself and Eve improvised a scene with the scenario of a couple divided over the future of their relationship. The Risk factor being to stay together or separate. Unfortunately this didn't really get us any closer to defining our message. What was happening was that we were losing focus on what we as a group defined the concept Risk to be.

Next week as we resume planning our project. I will be especially attentive to making sure that as a group we are working towards defining and communicating our message on how we see the Picture of Risk.

………………That is the Question!

WHO... 

    … is your target audience?

         This is the audience for whom you have designed your piece.

        WHY…

… are you creating this piece -for what purpose? See Purpose of Theatre Doc.

WHAT…

…is your subject matter and your central motif/metaphor?

HOW…

…are going to execute your piece?

What dramatic/performance techniques are you using?

Where…

…would you ideally like to perform?

Is there a specific site that would add to the power of the piece?

When…

…would you ideally perform this?

Is there a season, month, day or hour that would suit the relevance of the piece?