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.