TIE - Part 19

This Thursday we had our second performance of the TIE piece. Overall, this performance went better than the previous performance - I think this was because I had a clear structure on how to talk to the TA when directly facilitating and talking to them. This performance we had a lower ability group, however, I think they had the same excellent grasp on Macbeth that the higher ability group did and were able to engage in the piece with ease - I think this was because we catered to their ability rather than the higher ability. Moreover, I felt that I pronounced words better than I had done in the previous performance. I will evaluate my performance below: 

• The thoughts section received fewer laughs on my part, however, it was still effective. 
• The translation of Act 1, Scene 2 was accurate as it was last week. 
• I made sure that my speech was much clearer and much more pronounced during the reading of quotes from Act 3, Scene 4. 
• My discussion with the TA part of the way through Act 1, Scene 7 was much better than it was last week. This was because I stuck to the structure that I had established in my previous blogs which allowed for better conversation and a better understanding of ideas. The girls who I was talking to easily grasped the concept of the sliders and were able to find quotes from this scene and later on in the play to solidify their ideas.
• My facilitation after Act 1, Scene 7 I think was much better than last week. This is because we had organised a way to get students' opinions on the matter. Moreover, I repeated what the students were saying and related back to what they were saying later in my facilitation when speaking to Bella after the facilitation. This repetition also made me listen more to what the students were saying which aided me in my facilitation. 
• My discussion with the TA after Act 2, Scene 2 was much better because the students had to look for all the quotes. This meant that they were more engaged. Moreover, the girls who I was talking to were able to answer my question about other quotes that could be related to the quotes we had on the board. 
• My facilitation of the hamartia section wasn't as good as my other sections of facilitation. This was because I fumbled on which slider I was talking about, however, I did recover from this.

Thus ends our TIE journey. I believe that we covered the majority of the client's needs and engaged our TA pretty well. There were a few things that I would want to adapt in the piece such as the explanation of the witches' prophecy and to make it so that it is focused more on Macbeth's character development and how this is shaped by other things in a much more structured way. Nevertheless, it achieved its aim and our TA is better prepared for their exam next week.  

TIE - Part 18

After the performance last Thursday, we made some slight adjustments in order to amend mistakes made and to further enhance our facilitation. The amendments we made on Thursday after the performance and on Wednesday at N2C were mainly how to facilitate and the ending of the piece.

For the facilitation on Thursday's performance, we found that we didn't know how to ask appropriate questions to allow our TA to develop their understanding as our client wanted. Moreover, we found that in some aspects the facilitation was too complex in that we weren't explaining it appropriately or it was too simple for the higher ability students. The complicated section was during the character mixing desk where Leah spoke rather fast and thus the meaning was lost; the speed of talking and clarity of voice was something that we needed to improve on as a group. We were reminded that not all of our TA can differentiate between the characters and thus we needed to pronounce our words appropriately. Moreover, a good proportion of our TA have English as their second language so may not understand the character's names or what we're trying to get them to do. Thus, Leah has been told to slow down her words and have more enthusiasm and variation in her tone. The 'easy' section is our modern version of Act 2, Scene 2 - we felt that especially for higher level students that this was too easy and this could be similar to lower level students. Thus we asked them to find all quotes including the bonus quote and then afterwards we can single out the quote that we had before. This allows our TA to stay engaged in the piece. Additionally, Chipp has suggested that during the feeding back portion of the facilitation - that Leah, myself, and Maya engage in - we repeat and clarify what our TA mean in order to further their understanding. This allows the whole of our TA to hear what has been said and have the interpretation stick in their head.

At the ending of the piece on Thursday, three people spoke at the same time which our TA became confused at because they didn't know who to listen to. We decided to change it in order to allow our TA to know who to listen to and allows the things we're saying to be clarified.

Throughout the piece, we've made subtle adjustments in order to clarify our speech for the reasons suggested earlier in the blog.

TIE - Part 17

On Thursday we had our first performance of the TIE piece. There were certainly moments that worked well however, in some aspects there were limitations. I'm going to evaluate my own performance in relation to this:

Positives 

• My role as one of the thoughts achieved laughs thus catering to the humorous element; this section clearly related to much of our TA and can be regarded as a success. 
• During the general facilitation at the start of the piece, I focused on the person who was talking. 
• My translation of Act 1, Scene 2 was clear. 
• My reading of specific lines from Act 4, Scene 3 were emphasised correctly; moreover, I remembered them accurately. 
• To some extent the 1st facilitation went well as I talked to a Y11 named 'John' who responded to my questions well enough. 
• My explanation of what to do in the post 1,7 facilitation was clear. 
• I covered for Leah in the Witches section effectively. 
• The TA reacted exactly as we thought they would when confronted with the hamartia quote/physical representation which helped in the lack of enthusiasm when we said 'quote to prove it'. 
• I remembered my quote during the argument - I am oft prone to forgetting it in rehearsal. (They have tied me to a stake I cannot fly but bear-like I must fight the course.)

Negatives

• My facilitation of Act 1, Scene 7 could have been much improved; I didn't stick to the structure set out in my previous blog and thus the conversation wasn't as good as I was expecting to have and thus was a little awkward. 
• During the post 1,7 facilitation, I talked to a group of girls; the questions and explanations I offered weren't as clear as I would've wanted them to be and thus it felt awkward. Moreover, I feel like I impacted negatively on their understanding. 
• There were no laughs when I was killed by Lauren as Duncan. 
• My 2,2 facilitation was poor. 'John' immediately got the right answer and I forgot to ask my follow up questions and so I was stood in silence for most of the facilitation part. In the next performance I must stick to the structure I set out in my previous blog. 
• I felt my facilitation post-hamartia could have been better and a lot clearer. 
• I don't like the physical representation of the quote that Bruce gives - I think we should all just clear off the stage allowing more emphasis to be put on the quote. 
• The part at the end where we all give advice was too complicated as there were 3 different people speaking at once and our TA didn't know who to look at. 

Overall, I believe this was an effective first performance. I do think that my facilitation methods could be improved upon however, in general, the TA understood where I was coming from and knew the answers immediately. It's the follow up questions that I appear to have an issue with to extend their learning. Most of the things that need to be improved are a group thing or don't involve myself that much. Thus I believe the performance was somewhat effective. 

TIE - Part 16

A major aspect to our TIE Macbeth piece is the use of facilitation. During the rehearsal period, when we've reached the point of facilitation (i.e. actually talking to our TA) we haven't been really discussing what we want our TA to be led to or how we're going to do this. The facilitation is potentially the most important part of the piece because it allows our TA to think for themselves and solidify the knowledge that they already have.

Before our first performance on Thursday, we discussed the importance of facilitation and how it should factor into the piece. The points of direct facilitation/contact occur at:

• The Character Mixing Desk for Act 1, Scene 7; occurs part of the way through the scene (whether the TA believe Joel has put the sliders in the correct place) and also at the end of the scene (whether the sliders stay the same throughout the scene or if they change).
• After Act 2, Scene 2 where we discuss where the modern day English quotes match up to the Shakespearean version. 
• After hamartia, where we ask our TA what they believe Macbeth's fatal flaw is. 

It is important that we get the hang of getting the TA to shape their responses around the point that we are trying to make which relates to the client's vision and need. This ideal of shaping our TA's responses can be done during the feeding back portion of the facilitation, where the main facilitator who remained onstage can ask further questions; this can also be done when making contact initially as asking further questions will solidify our TA's opinions and thus we are achieving the aims of the client. It must be noted that facilitation is much different than normal acting because you have to make contact with the TA and engage with them; thus speech has to be slower in order to help them understand both the task that we want them to complete and also to solidify their knowledge.

In class, we went through the above points of facilitation and predicted the answers that we may get from our TA and found ways to which we could deepen their understanding with secondary questions to make them think better. It's good to structure questions so that when getting feedback we get good responses.

At the moment, I do feel that we are massively up against time. As Director's Challenge ran on for a little longer than expected and with focus on the Y12 BTECs' performance of The Pillowman it has been hard to merely focus on TIE. Moreover, I do feel that we discussed for too long on certain aspects and didn't discuss enough on others. For example, we had massive debates on whether we needed 1,7 and 2,2 because of the similarities between the scenes but we didn't discuss much about the impact of Banquo nor the impact of the Witches and as a result these latter sections have been more rushed in the devising process and don't have the same level of thought behind them. Additionally, as this moment in time I don't believe we're fully prepared for the facilitation and discussion with our TA aspects of the piece because, as I mentioned earlier, we've been skipping over these bits in rehearsal - arguably, these are the most important parts of the piece. Nevertheless, with our first performance on Thursday it is important that our facilitation is to the best of our ability, although I do not know how I'll react when confronted with a room of Y11s!

Facilitation 1 - Correction of Joel's sliders

This is the first point of communication with the TA as a whole and as a result it needs to be quite strong in what we say and the questions that we ask. It must be noted that we are not trying to be teachers and as such should approach the TA as a friend - in some aspects this will be simple because we are of similar age to our TA (2 years difference) - but we still must appear knowledgeable in the subject. I think this may be a bit of an issue because I do think that a good majority of our class haven't done appropriate research into the topic and as such have limited knowledge - it could transpire that our TA know more about the subject than us however, on the other hand, this may be expected because they have been studying Macbeth for 2 years whereas our class have had about 3 months. Nevertheless, we must appear knowledgeable and this will assert our status for the rest of the piece.

Initial questions that we could ask are:

• Do you understand what we're doing? (In order to reinforce the task; if they don't understand it, we should explain further and relate it to our slider.) 
• Where do you think the slider should go in the extract that we've just watched? (Allows them to not make single word answers although this is a closed ended question.) 
• Can you pick out a moment in the scene we've just watched that shows this? (Directs the students to a specific point - asking a why do you think that question would only make them say 'I don't know' and this would be bad in aiding their understanding.) 
• Are there any key quotes from this section or in the whole play that support this? (Makes them think a little more - relating to the whole play is something that they will have to do in their exam thus reinforcing their learning.) 
• Do you think your slider is impacted on by the other sliders? (Allows for relation to different themes and may help them pick out what the overarching character trait of Macbeth is.)
• Other questions can be asked dependent on what the students say but this structure to questioning may be good. 

Facilitation 2 - Whether Macbeth's sliders change in the scene? 

Although I am not completely active in this facilitation because I am the main facilitator and so remain on stage, it is important to ponder what questions I could ask our TA if I see someone who's sat doing nothing. The questions for myself to begin with should be whether the sliders do change - the fact that we're asking the question does mean that we expect our TA to say that they do change. Indeed, I believe that all the sliders fluctuate but the main interpretation that we want to achieve is that ambition increases, guilt decreases and morality jumps around - this will be aided if we ask about the impact of Lady Macbeth. 

Initial questions that we could ask are: 

• Do you understand what we're doing? (Explanation for this as before.) 
• From watching the 1,7 how do you think the sliders changed? 
• Was there anything in particular in the scene that made you think this? Any quotes from this scene or actions? 
• Are there any quotes that you can link this to from the rest of the play? 
• Can you link the change to other sliders? Does one slider changing affecting yours or does your slider affect another slider? 

Facilitation 3 - Modern to Shakespearean English 

This facilitation has been done to enable our TA to better understand the quotes and so that they can be used in the exam with their proper meaning - allows our TA to not be confused. Moreover, this section allows our TA to stay engaged in the scene as they're looking for a specific translated quote. 

Initial questions that we could ask are: 

• Have you found the quote? Where about is it in the piece? (If they've not found it, I could ask them to translate the quote and then ask them where they think they heard something along those lines.) 
• What do you think Shakespeare was trying to imply/suggest through this? Do you think you could relate this to the sliders from earlier? 
• Have you found the bonus quote? What do you think Shakespeare was trying to suggest through this? 
• Are there any other quotes or moments in the play that can relate to this quote?

The ability to explain what a quote means allows our TA to write better in their exam. 

Facilitation 4 - Hamartia

I don't engage in this facilitation because I remain on stage. 

TIE - Part 15

The script below is what we have written/devised thus far - I would like to take credit for writing and recording lines to put int the script as it was quite stressful. The comments like this are my opinions on certain parts of the script:

(General welcomings in. Everything hopefully settles down and then – our fake students enter. They sit down at their exam chairs. The thoughts pop up from behind them and begin massaging shoulders, calming them down etc.)

BRUCE: You have 2 hours in which to complete the extracts in front of you. Your time begins now!

MARLON: Okay okay etc

PETER: Breathe in. And out. Okay.

HANNAH2: Okay, okay. That’s a really good letter A and its sunny outside. Ohmygod. Nope! We need to focus on Macbeth.

MARLON: Right. Okay. There’s nothing. Let’s just have a look round – ohmygod she’s wrote loads!

PETER: Blah blah blah waffle waffle waffle. Lady Macbeth and power. Done. What does that even mean?!

HANNAH2: Art thou a man? Nope, cross it out.

PETER: Oh god the examiners here, don’t look, okay we’re looking.

(Fart joke)

BRUCE: You have five minutes remaining.

(Various states of panic. And then. Calm)

PETER: There’s a question two!

The humorous element here allows for us to engage with our TA on the same frontier - we are on the same side and thus will get the important information across much easier as our TA won't be fighting us. On the other hand, this could result in our TA feeling a bit awkward as the scene may not be as funny as we're making it out to be. 

(Panic. The thoughts freeze. Chatting with TA along lines of look how stressed they are you don’t ant to be like that.)

KATHRYN: Hi guys! We’re N2C. We’re here today to help you with your exam so that you don’t end up like our fake students here.

HANNAH1: This is an interactive performance so we want you guys to get involved.

IZZY: So, let’s take you out of the exam hall so we can talk to you about Macbeth properly.

JOEL: I don’t get it. He’s supposed to be the hero but ends up being the bad guy?

H2: Yeah, but he starts as the hero, you remember that?

ALEX: Oh yeah, he was in a war right?

BELLA: He got called ‘Valour’s Minion’ didn’t he?

LAUREN: That’s right. Let’s take a look at Act 1, Scene 2. So, before we start we’ve got translated quotes on the board here. Let’s go

We've fully sorted this small section out - by writing it down and having a concrete way of how lines fall enabled us to get through the scene faster. 

(Battle. Shouting and the like. Translations of the lines – Kathryn, Izzy, and Hannah2. And then - )

JOEL: So the brandished steel that smoked with bloody execution, that’s his sword right?

ALEX: Okay, but I still don’t get how he turns into the villain if he was so good to begin with.

IZZY: Well, he kills Duncan, Banquo – although Fleance escapes.

BELLA: Everybody was killing everybody back then though so why does that make him a villain?

KATHRYN: He kills the king and that’s regicide. Don’t you remember the Divine Right of Kings?

(Non-committal mutterings)

PETER: And he killed children!

BELLA: When?

PETER: After he finds out Macduff is a threat to him, Macbeth kills his family.

JOEL: Oh yeah! And all his chickens!

ALEX: They are the kids you idiot.

We're hoping that the fake students have the same questions our TA have and may be too frightened to ask. Thus by having Joel acting like an utter fool it may make them feel better about themselves. 

(Act 4, Scene 3 – murder of the children and stuff with translations – Bruce and Hannah2)

ALEX: Wow, look at all the chickens.

JOEL: That’s not funny, this is terrible. Macduff thought they were safe when he left them.

BELLA: And they should have been.

JOEL: He must have been devastated.

BRUCE: He was devastated. Let’s take a look at Macduff’s reaction in Act 4, Scene 3. Peter you can be Macduff and I’ll be Malcolm.

(Small scene)

MARLON: So, here we see Macbeth abusing his power as king to assert dominance and engage in the slaughter of innocents thus leading to his downfall.

I like the above line because this is how I would write in an exam. By including this, it allows our TA to see how they should be writing - we may need to make this little aim a bit clearer. But its fine for now if we don't explicitly want to make that point - I just like fancy language! 

JOEL: I don’t get it.

MARLON: This is Macbeth. Macbeth indirectly murders Macduff’s family. Macduff wants revenge so kills Macbeth. Do you get it now?

BELLA: Yeah. Okay so, I get he was a hero that became a villain. Why did he turn evil? I don’t get it. What made him that way?

BRUCE: Shall we look at the relationship between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth in order to understand how Macbeth became a tragic hero?

ALEX: Why are they standing behind those chairs?

LEAH: This is our Character Mixing Desk! It shows the different emotions that a character may feel throughout a scene which in turn gives different interpretations. On our first slider we have:

H1: Ambition. This is the thirst for power.

LEAH: On our second slider we have –

MARLON: Guilt. The feeling you get after doing something wrong.

LEAH: And our third and final slider –

LAUREN: Morality. The inner feeling of right or wrong.

LEAH: So, let’s set the sliders where we think Macbeth is throughout the scene. Joel, would you like to give it a go?

(Joel sets them wrong because his character is a fool)

LEAH: Joel, have you actually read Macbeth?

JOEL: Yeah. I read the SparkNotes!

LEAH: Right. Let’s see if you think Joel is right by watching Act 1, Scene 7.

By Joel setting the sliders wrong it allows our TA to pick up on the mistake and stay engaged within the piece. Moreover, many students may have just 'read the SparkNotes' and thus may be in a similar position to Joel - this will hopefully get our TA on side. 

(1,7 – Bruce acts it guilty and nervously. Pauses at – I dare do all that may become a man, who dares do more is none)

LEAH: Let’s pause it there and take a look at those sliders again. Do you think Joel set them right? No, Joel did it wrong! I’m gonna split you into 3 groups. Alex, Bella, Joel’s team take (slider) and talk to the people around you about how we could change the sliders.

(Interacting with audience for 60 secs. Quotes from the scene are on our powerpoint – reference these in the discussion.)

LEAH: Alright, so that was some great discussion. Shall we set the sliders to where they should be?

(Each section is responsible for each slider – Alex = ambition; Bella = guilt; Joel = morality. We ask our TA for where the sliders should be.)

LEAH: Okay, shall we continue the scene.

(The scene continues, Bruce seems a lil angrier?)

HANNAH2: That was brilliant guys. But, do you think the Macbeth sliders stay the same throughout the scene or do they change? Have a quick chat with the people sitting around you. We’ll be over to help.

(Feedback. Setting the sliders??)

HANNAH2: What was everyone’s opinion? Alex/Bella/Joel input.

The many different parts of discussion engage our TA. The use of facilitation by asking open-ended questions allows our TA to think for themselves and not get bored - they can apply their knowledge to the piece they are seeing and thus can feel like they're getting somewhere. 

BELLA: I get that but I feel like Lady Macbeth drives him to be like this.  

H2: You’re right. And a good scene that shows this is Act 2, Scene 2.

BELLA: Which scene is that?

JOEL: Macbeth just killed Duncan.

LAUREN: What is this dagger which I see before me?

(Proceeds to stab Hannah2. Only the students react – facilitators stay deadpan)

We made another small sequence here where we actually saw Macbeth killed Duncan. We scrapped this for two reasons: 1) Act 2, Scene 2 already shows this with our translation into modern English as described below. 2) We felt like a quick, snappy transition was needed. 

BELLA: Can we do it in English this time?

KATH: Shakespeare is English.

ALEX: Proper modern day English

MARLON: Yeah, that’s a good idea. So for this we’re gonna put you in teams and have you closely look at the scene using the quotes that are on the board behind us.

??: This is Joel’s team.

(Joel’s quote)

??: This is Bella’s team.

(Bella’s quote)

LAUREN: And this is Alex’s team.

(Alex’s quote)

MARLON: So, what we want you to do is find the modern day English version of the Shakespearean quote to win some points for your team. We good? Let’s go!

JOEL: Wait! What’s that quote in red?

KATHRYN: I’m glad you reminded me. That bad boy is your bonus quote. If you find this quote you get some extra points for your team.

JOEL: What do we get if we win?

HANNAH2: A GCSE in English.

Humour allows for engagement. 

(Modern version of 2,2 – Izzy and Peter)

FACILITATION

We haven't scripted the facilitation of this scene yet because Maya wasn't in class and she knows the right lines to say. There may need to be a contingency plan put in place here. 

ALEX: Alright so he’s a decent person who gets pushed by his wife. But he’s a hero so how did he get like this?

LAUREN: That is the influence of the supernatural – the witches.

JOEL: Dem witches be crazy!

BELLA: I get that the witches say that stuff but I’m confused.

LEAH: The prophecy works like this.

MARLON: Macbeth without witches.

PETER: I’m Banquo.

IZZY: I’m Macbeth.

KATHRYN: I’m MacDonald and I’m gonna stab you.

(Stab – kath dies)

H1/LAUREN: Oh no

H2: I am King Duncan. Welcome Macbeth. You can be Thane of Cawdor.

IZZY: Thank you.

LEAH: I’m Lady Macbeth

IZZY: I’m Thane of Cawdor.

LEAH: That makes me hot.

MARLON: And they all lives happily ever after.

BELLA: That’s not very tragic!

MACBETH: Exactly. Macbeth with witches.

PETER: I’m Banquo.

IZZY: I’m Macbeth.

H1/L/K: We’re the witches

KATH: You’re gonna be thane of Cawdor and king

IZZY: That’s cool

H1/L: Your kids are gonna be king when Macbeth dies.

PETER: Nice.

IZZY: Hey.

LEAH: Hi

IZZY: I’m Thane of Cawdor and I’m gonna be king.

LEAH: That makes me super hot.

H2: I’m Duncan.

IZZY: I quite like him.

LEAH: Do it.

(STAB)

IZZY: what’s the point in being king if my son’s aren’t gonna be king? Assassins!

(Peter dies. Bruce runs away)

IZZY: Everything’s gonna be okay?

K/L/H1: You’ll be okay until Birnam Wood comes to Dunsinane Hill

IZZY: Trees can’t move

K/L/H1: No man of woman born can harm you

IZZY: Everyone’s been born!

KK/L/H1: Be careful of Macduff.

MARLON: I’m Macduff. And my family is over there.

IZZY: Assassins.

(Leah and Bruce die)

MARLON: I’m gonna get revenge. Let’s get camouflaged. Cut down those trees.

IZZY: The trees are moving.

MARLON: I’m Macduff.

IZZY: you can’t kill me because you were born!

MARLON: Fun fact: I was born by c-section.

IZZY: Oh.

MARLON: Stab

(Izzy dies)

BELLA: That was pretty tragic.

The comparison of the play with and without witches is something that my group worked on a couple of months ago in preparation for the piece. It allows our TA to see the major impact the witches have on the piece. 

ALEX: Yeah but Banquo got a prophecy too but he didn’t turn evil.

MARLON: Banquo is a good person. He thought that fate was best left alone. We’ll show you.

LEAH: Example number one: The witches.

MARLON: Macbeth’s view.

IZZY: Wow, witches are telling me I’m gonna be king. That’s awesome.

LEAH: Banquo’s view.

PETER: I don’t care either way – whatever happens will happen.

EVERYONE: Quote to prove it.

LEAH: Example number two: After Duncan’s death.

MARLON: Macbeth’s view.

IZZY: I’m king. Wow.

LEAH: Banquo’s view.

PETER: I’m suspicious. I fear he’s done a terrible thing.

EVERYONE: Quote to prove it.

LEAH: Example number three: Why Macbeth kills Banquo.

IZZY: I’m afraid he might know I killed Duncan. He’s so honest and good.

MARLON: He even sacrfices himself for his son.

PETER: No.

EVERYONE: Quote to prove it.

LEAH: Example number four.

EVERYONE: We don’t have one.

Our client suggested that we include the comparison of Banquo and Macbeth as seen above and below this comment. Our client wanted us to focus on the hamartia (fatal flaw) - this is something I reference in the opening sequence - because this is a key English term that our TA have been encouraged to use in their exam. 

JOEL: So what is it about Macbeth that makes him take this so seriously? What makes him go bad?

H2: Hamartia

JOEL: I don’t really like sushi.

KATH: No, no. Hamartia.

JOEL: A martian. That’s such a good film.

ALEX: It was good wasn’t it.

JOEL: I didn’t think it would maintain my interest.

BRUCE: No, you’re going off topic.

EVERYONE: Hamartia.

JOEL: Hermione. Isn’t she that clever one from Harry Potter. Have you seen her lately, she’s proper fit!

ALEX: She’s like eleven.

JOEL: No, I’ll show you a picture.

ALEX: Oh she is fit isn’t she.

EVERYONE: No! Hamartia.

JOEL: Oh. What’s that mean?

KATH: Hamartia is the fatal flaw. The thing that is broken in Macbeth but could also be a good thing if used correctly.

H2: Do you remember the sliders?

JOEL: I was quite good at those.

H2: Which one of these represents Macbeth’s fatal flaw? Have a quick discussion and we’ll be around to help you.

(Discussion)

H2: This is morality.

LAUREN: I know that I’m doing something wrong. I know I shouldn’t kill the king. It’s bad and a last resort.

H2: Do we really think Macbeth is the fatal flaw? Or is it overshadowed by something else like guilt?

MARLON: At the beginning I felt terrible about killing Duncan, I couldn’t even look at his body but slowly I felt that things became less bad.

H2: So, maybe not guilt then. Something must be overpowering that. Ambition?

H1: I started when the witches told me I wasn’t going to be king and when I wasn’t made Prince of Cumberland as that was the only legal way I could be king. It spiralled from there.

H2: And that’s why we think Ambition is Macbeth’s fatal flaw. So, we’re going to show a physical representation of a key quote that we think shows this? You ready?

MARLON: On your marks, get set, go!

H2: I need to go faster, so I’m using the spurs on my horse! Oh a jump, we need to go faster! Ohhhhhhhhh Noooooooooooooo.

EVERYONE: Do you get it etc.

EVERYONE: Quote to prove it.

JOEL: Okay, so what would be a good quote to show Macbeth’s change?

(Argument!)

BRUCE: I’ve got one:  I have supp’d full with horrors, direness familiar to my slaughterous thoughts cannot start me.

EVERYONE: That’s pretty good! What does it mean?

BRUCE: It’s like he’s so full of the evil things that he’s done that he can’t stop thinking about them and everything bad that happens is not as bad as the things going on in his head.

(Image)

H1: Are you ready to retake the exam?

The use of quotes throughout allows our TA to take these quotes and use them in the exam if they feel like they haven't done much revision. 

The performance dates that we have been given are Thursday 2nd and 9th of May. We still have quite a bit to do in order to reach the time set and to make the piece very slick. It may be worth checking our original client notes to see what else we could do. 

TIE - Part 14

In order for us to remember what we have done, I wrote a play script which has most if not all the lines said by various people. These are subject to change as will be seen later in the blog, however, as people keep changing what they say each time they say it, there was confusion as to who says what as will be shown by the script:

(General welcomings in. Everything hopefully settles down and then – our fake students enter. They sit down at their exam chairs – and desks? The thoughts pop up from behind them and begin massaging shoulders, calming them down etc.)

BRUCE: You have 2 hours in which to complete the extracts in front of you. Your time begins now!

MARLON: Okay okay etc

PETER: Breathe in. And out. Okay.

HANNAH2: Okay, okay. That’s a really good letter A and its sunny outside. Ohmygod. Nope! We 

need to focus on Macbeth.

MARLON: Right. Okay. There’s nothing. Let’s just have a look round – ohmygod she’s wrote loads!

PETER: Blah blah blah waffle waffle waffle. Lady Macbeth and power. Done. What does that even mean?!

HANNAH2: Art thou a man? Nope, cross it out.

PETER: Oh god the examiners here, don’t look, okay we’re looking.

(Fart joke)

BRUCE: You have five minutes remaining.

(Various states of panic. And then. Calm)

PETER: There’s a question two!

(Panic. The thoughts freeze. Chatting with TA along lines of look how stressed they are you don’t ant to be like that.)

KATHRYN: Hi guys! We’re N2C and we’re here today to help you in your exams in July so hopefully you don’t end up like our fake students here.

(Does someone else say something here? Maya?)

HANNAH1: This is an interactive performance so we want you guys to get involved.

IZZY: So, let’s take you out of the exam hall so we can talk to you about Macbeth properly.

(We do as is said)

HANNAH2: What can you remember about the play? Remember, Macbeth starts off as the hero?

JOEL: Yeah he does but he’s not even in the beginning, I don’t get it.

HANNAH2: Right that’s because he’s described as the hero by the Captain in Act 1, Scene 2.

BELLA: Oh yeah. He got called “Valour’s minion” didn’t he?

LAUREN: That’s right. So, shall we take a look at that scene? The battle?

(Battle. Shouting and the like. Translations of the lines – Kathryn, Izzy, and Hannah2. And then - )

JOEL: So the brandished steel that smoked with bloody execution, that’s his sword right?

(Is there something here?)

ALEX: Okay, but I still don’t get how he turns into the villain if he was so good to begin with.

IZZY: Well, he kills Duncan, Banquo – although Fleance escapes – and Macduff’s entire family.

BELLA: Everybody was killing everybody back then though so why does that make him a villain?

KATHRYN: He kills the king and that’s regicide. Don’t you remember the Divine Right of Kings?

(Non-committal mutterings)

PETER: And he killed children!

BELLA: When?

PETER: After he finds out Macduff is a threat to him, Macbeth kills his family.

JOEL: Oh yeah! And all his chickens!

ALEX: They are the kids you idiot.

(PETER: Shall we have a look at how villainous Macbeth is portrayed? - ??)

(Act 4, Scene 3 – murder of the children and stuff with translations – Bruce and Hannah2)

ALEX: Wow, look at all the chickens.

JOEL: That’s not funny, this is terrible. Macduff thought they were safe when he left them.

BELLA: And they should have been.

JOEL: He must have been devastated.

BRUCE: He was devastated. Let’s take a look at Macduff’s reaction in Act 4, Scene 3. Peter you can be Macduff and I’ll be Malcolm.

(Small scene)

MARLON: Macbeth did this to show his ultimate power over Macduff but in doing so set himself up for tragedy as Macduff would only want revenge.

JOEL: I don’t get it.

MARLON: This is Macbeth. Macbeth indirectly murders Macduff’s family. Macduff wants revenge so kills Macbeth. Do you get it now?

BELLA: Yeah. Okay so, I get he was a hero that became a villain. Why did he turn evil? I don’t get it. What made him that way?

MARLON: There are lots of different ideas about why Macbeth turned evil. Let’s have a look at the Lady Macbeth interpretation in Act 1, Scene 7.

ALEX: Why are they standing behind those chairs?

LEAH: This is our Character Mixing Desk! It shows the different emotions that a character may feel throughout a scene which in turn gives different interpretations. On our first slider we have:

PETER: Ambition.

LEAH: On our second slider we have –

MARLON: Guilt.

LEAH: And our third and final slider –

LAUREN: Morality.

LEAH: So, let’s set the sliders where we think Macbeth is throughout the scene. Joel, would you like to give it a go?

(Joel sets them wrong because his character is a fool)

LEAH: Shall we have a look at Act 1, Scene 7 and see if you all agree with where Joel has put the sliders?

(1,7 – Bruce acts it guilty and nervously. Pauses at – I dare do all that may become a man, who dares do more is none)

LEAH: Let’s pause it there and take a look at those sliders again. So Joel was saying that Macbeth has high ambition, no guilt, and questionable morals. Does that seem right from watching the scene? With the people sat around you have a quick discussion about where you think the sliders should be. We’ll come around to help you.

(Interacting with audience for 60 secs. Quotes from the scene are on our powerpoint – reference these in the discussion.)

LEAH: Alright, so that was some great discussion. Shall we set the sliders to where they should be?

(Each section is responsible for each slider – Alex = ambition; Bella = guilt; Joel = morality. We ask our TA for where the sliders should be.)

LEAH: Okay, shall we continue the scene?

(The scene continues, Bruce seems a lil angrier?)

HANNAH2: That was brilliant guys. But, do you think the Macbeth sliders stay the same throughout the scene or do they change? Have a quick chat with the people sitting around you. We’ll be over to help.

(Feedback. Setting the sliders??)

HANNAH2: So, we’ve seen Macbeth’s character development throughout the scene, what about Lady Macbeth? It’s clear that from Macbeth’s changes that Lady Macbeth has a clear impact but her character on the sliders could be perceived as – having extremely high ambition, having really low 

guilt and morality.

MAYA: But, does this change in Act 2, Scene 2. Let’s have a look at that scene.

BELLA: Which scene is that?

JOEL: Macbeth just killed Duncan.

LAUREN: What is this dagger which I see before me?

(Proceeds to stab Hannah2. Only the students react – facilitators stay deadpan)

ALEX: Can we do it in English this time?

??: Shakespeare is English.

BELLA: Proper modern day English

MARLON: Yeah, that’s a good idea. So for this we’re gonna put you in teams and have you closely look at the scene using the quotes that are on the board behind us.

??: This is Joel’s team.

(Joel’s quote)

??: This is Bella’s team.

(Bella’s quote)

LAUREN: And this is Alex’s team.

(Alex’s quote)

MAYA: So, what we want you to do is find the modern day English version of the Shakespearean quote to win some points for your team. We good? Let’s go!

JOEL: Wait! What’s that quote in red?

MAYA: I’m glad you reminded me. That bad boy is your bonus quote.

KATHRYN: (whatever the line is)

MAYA: If you find this quote you get some extra points for your team.

JOEL: What do we get if we win?

HANNAH2: A GCSE in English.

MAYA: Alright guys let’s go. 

(Modern version of 2,2 – Izzy and Peter)

The major thing that has been changed since writing this script is the way that we have facilitated 1,7 and 2,2 as per our discussion concerning 2,2 as talked about in my previous TIE blog. The issue that I had was the way in which we introduced 1,7 - instead of saying how Lady Macbeth influences Macbeth before 1,7, Marlon simply introduces the sceen so we can see how Macbeth starts off in his character development. Leah, as the main facilitator in 1,7 has the sliders to introduce themselves and what they mean so that our TA can better understand where we are coming from. When I enter as the facilitator at the end of 1,7 I mention the quotes on the board from the beginning, middle and end of the scene and ask our TA how they think Macbeth's character has changed overall. It's after I've receieved feedback concerning this, that I talk about Lady Macbeth and then how she involved herself in Macbeth's character development which leads onto 2,2. This is a much better way of introducing our ideas in my opinion and this was the major change during the last few weeks. 

TIE - Part 13

For the past couple of weeks, we've looked at Act 2, Scene 2 of Macbeth and how we can facilitate it. The overall consensus was that we use a modern day English version of the scene and translate said scene ourselves so that we have a better understanding of the scene ourselves in order to talk to our TA audience about it.

The modern-day English version runs thus:

LM: The wine that we have drunk has made them weak but me brave, I can do this, I'm ready. Nothing can stop me. (Gasp). Okay, it was just an owl. Macbeth is doing it, everything is ready. The doors are open. I've drugged them, they have no idea what's going on.

M: Who's there? Tell me!

LM: Oh my god, are they awake? If we get through this, if nobody sees him going in or out, we'll be okay. (Listening). I've put everything our there's no way he could have missed the daggers. I would've killed Duncan myself if he didn't look like my dad whilst sleeping.

(Enter M).

LM: Macbeth.

M: I've done it, didn't you hear?

LM: I heard an owl, nothing unusual. Didn't you just call out?

M: When?

LM: Just now.

M: Yes, when I came back.

LM: Yeah.

M: Shh. Who's sleeping next door to Duncan?

LM: Donalbain.

M: This is a sorry sight.

LM: Don't talk like that.

M: One laughed and one shouted murder. I heard them wake each other up but they said their prayers and then went back to sleep.

LM: There's two in the same room.

M: They shouted 'God bless' and 'Amen'. It was like they had seen the blood on my hands so I could not say Amen back.

LM: Stop overthinking.

M: Why couldn't I say amen? I needed to say it for God's forgiveness but I couldn't.

LM: We shouldn't think about it. It'll make us crazy.

M: I thought I heard someone say Macbeth murders sleep. Sleep that is healing and pure and soothing and necessary for life.

LM: What do you mean?

M: The voice shouted throughout the house, sleep no more. Thane of Glamis has murdered sleep, therefore, Cawdor cannot sleep. Macbeth cannot sleep.

LM: Who said that? Why are you thinking about it so much? Go and get some water and wash the blood from your hands. Why did you bring the dagger back? They must stay there. Go and take them back and cover the guards with his blood.

M: I'm not going back, I'm afraid of what I have done, I don't want to see his dead body again.

LM: You coward! Give me the daggers. The sleeping and the dead look the same but only children fear the dead. If he bleeds I'll smear the blood on the guards because they need to look like the murderers.

(LM exits). 

M: Wait, can you hear knocking? Why does every noise scare me? I don't even recognise myself. Even holy water couldn't clean my hands, I'd just turn it red.

(Enter LM).

LM: My hands now have blood on them - stop being so pathetic. I can hear knocking at the south door. Let's go to bed and wash our hands. It's easy. You've lost your mind, stop daydreaming. Listen. More knocking. Put on your nightgown, let's act like it didn't happen in case someone comes to get us it looks like we've been asleep. Snap out of it.

M: I can't believe what I've done. I wish that knocking would wake Duncan, I would wake him if I could.

There was much discussion about how to facilitate the scene and it took on the form of a debate about how similar Act 1, Scene 7 and Act 2, Scene 2 were in terms of character development. The image below shows our different ideas about how we could facilitate this scene and indeed future scenes in the piece:

I led the debate on the similarities between 1,7 and 2,2. I suggested that maybe we shouldn't focus on these scenes because of the lack of character development which is what we were trying to achieve with the piece and how different elements caused Macbeth to turn from hero to villain. The lack of change was disturbing. The argument that Peter put forward was that this scene was to show the impact that Lady Macbeth had on Macbeth. I countered this by suggesting that this was precisely what we were doing in 1,7 so didn't see why there was a need to repeat the exercise in a new way. To be honest, I'm still quite confused. Nevertheless, it was decided that we would facilitate 1,7 to show Macbeth's character and 2,2 to show the impact Lady Macbeth would have on Macbeth.

The video below shows the facilitation that I took part in:

The main idea that we were trying to get across was the use of Shakespearean quotes and what they mean in modern-day English. This would enable our TA to better understand the quotes we have chosen - the ones from the video are vital quotes from Act 2, Scene 2 which could be used in an essay on this subject - and will aid them in their exams. The idea of splitting our TA into teams allows for better cooperation and for them to stay involved in the piece rather than drift off elsewhere. The interactiveness and humour imbued into the scene means that our TA will want to stay involved and makes our job as facilitators much easier than before. 

Mr Jones, an English teacher and thus part of our client base, joined us in the latter part of the lesson and watched the two facilitations on offer. The video below shows the discussion that we had with him. It confirmed that what we were doing was what our client would want from the piece: