Berkoff - Greek - Final Performance

We performed the Berkoff piece on 26th June 2018 with success. The video below shows our final performance:

There are six distinct sections/scenes within the piece and I will critically evaluate my performance in each of the scenes before coming to an overall conclusion of the effectiveness of the piece.

1) Fortune Teller Part 1 - 0:00 to 1:48

The immediate sound effects in this scene set a good precedent for what was to come later in the piece, despite Marlon's mistake of not splitting up the line "When you were a nipper". We still managed to keep in time so that we went down at the same time. My initial externalisation and reactions are very good, however, as the scene progresses I feel like I lost my reactions at some point. This is because in the rehearsal process I didn't feel the need to add in more facial masks, but as I found in the performance, it transpired that I needed more externalisation of my facial expressions.

A mistake on my part is when Marlon says "His face meanwhile staring into the ball", I didn't make sure I was in time with everyone else. This line for me was always an area of concern in rehearsals because there was a lack of clarity as to when to do the movement. Moreover, at the line of "Course we took no notice" I moved too early with my arm - again I feel that this was because there was a lack of clarity as to when we were going to perform the movement. Despite this, I feel that I certainly had clear movements of staccato wherein my movement was defined.

During the performance, I felt that I lost my Cockney accent on the line "You're having me on". I think that this happened because the line is said as a group so I forgot to add the accent. I also nearly broke character on Izzy's long "No!!" because she hadn't done this in rehearsal so this was unexpected.

2) Fortune Teller Part 2 - 1:48 - 4:57

As suggested in the previous scene, the general succinctness of the scene was lacking as was my own externalisation due to the lack of time I realised I had where I had dead time where I wasn't reacting to any of the action. The first example of this can be seen immediately where the drop of our arms was out of time. I think that this happened because we didn't focus on this small section as much because it marks the border between the previous scene and this scene in my mind certainly so limited time was spent until close to the performance to make the action defined and in time with one another. I have a lack of externalisation as is the same with Kathryn when we make the tent but my facial expressions are contrasting at the line "What a load of old bollocks!" and "And how he upset my Missus" which captures the feminity that I had to give to the Mother and masculinity that I chose to apply to the Chorus.

The strut at the line "We went pale a bit but in we marched" could have been much more exaggerated but due to limited spacing, the movement wasn't as big or exaggerated as I'd have liked. Moreover, I noticed again the lack of externalisation after "Same old schmutter on the table" which is an issue as the audience won't necessarily understand what the Mother is thinking in response to this scene. Despite this, I believe I had great defined staccato type movement after the line "I got his powers now".

During the performance, I was very pleased that we managed to get the timing of the clap after the line "Like a trap" which we had never managed to do in rehearsal. I think this made the piece better as it showed the audience that we could successfully have some moments of synchronisation. Despite this, myself and Izzy are noticeably out of time with Maya and Kathryn at the movement on the floor which could have been addressed by clarifying on what words we were going to be moving - this is an issue that I believe hindered our rehearsal process.

The biggest issue within this scene was the line fumble from Kathryn at "They wanted not to hear the other word so turned and fled". This mistake made us all go out of sync but Kathryn had been having trouble with this line throughout the rehearsal process so it can't be attributed to her alone that she made a slight mistake. The mistake can also be attributed to the whole cast because we always forgot the movement on the word hear especially myself as I didn't realise we had this movement until it was fully ingrained into everyone else's movements so I couldn't ask for an amendment.

 At the line "Ripe to drop" we said that we'd put our arms down at the word drop but it's evident we didn't do this. I think there was a general lack of rehearsal for this section in rehearsal which made us forget when we were going to be moving. Again this is because this part of the scene was in between the big body of this scene and the following scene which meant we spent a reduced time going over this section.

3) Before Dinner - 4:58 - 5:53

As with the previous scenes, the section between scenes is largely undefined. This can be seen with this scene as I immediately have a fumble with my arm as I don't put it up at the same time as Izzy does. There was no clarification in the rehearsal process when we were going to do this action - I am beginning to think there was a slight lack of communication in the rehearsal process most probably because we all had a different idea of how we wanted the piece to look which brought up some differences in our performance style.

There are some really excellent parts within this scene. For example, I have good externalisation at the "Go down on Hitler" line shown by an excellent facial mask - I think I definitely embodied the role of the Chorus excellently in this scene as my movements are certainly reminiscent of a stereotypical Cockney man in this scene. Moreover, the vocal contrast between "Aggro" and "Tiz" showed a clear definition between sections. Kathryn and I forgot to put our arms in and out at Izzy's line of "I had to escape this cruddy flat..." which I think reduced the effectiveness of the box/trap movement that we'd encased Izzy in.

At my lines during and after "Her spotty apron.... darkie slave" I think my movement was an excellent addition that I included rather late in the rehearsal process which added a captivating sense to my portion of the scene which was lacking somewhat before. However, I needed to be more defined and succinct with my actions and I should have set words when I was going to do these actions. Although, it should be taken into account that I had to slow my speech down so that my cast members could bring their chairs on. This did allow for a variation in pace between the quicker pace before and after the slower paced section we have here.

4) Dinner - 5:53 - 7:31

The first issue that presented itself in this scene was that Maya placed the chair in front of me the worn way round but this was easily rectified. My own personal issue throughout this scene was, again, a lack of externalisation especially when I wasn't saying any of my lines. My major mistake also happened in this scene where I swapped the lines "More taters love" and "More cake love" around which caused an issue for Kathryn's following line but she easily solved this.

I think my droning tone/accent was excellent in this scene as it presented a direct contrast between the other characters I had. However, I lost continuation as when I was playing Mum in a previous scene I didn't have this droning tone. At the end of the scene, my instant switch from Mum to Chrous was easily identifiable to the audience as it was defined well.

5) Leaving Home - 7:32 - 8:38

I think that in this scene there was a distinct lack of knowledge of what we were doing movement wise because this was the last scene that we blocked and was the one that we rehearsed the least despite there being a rather large lift in. The initial good aspect on my part was the use of Total Theatre as I moved the chair right to the back of the stage which also meant that there would be enough room for movement in the following Sphinx scene. The lack of externalisation is effective in this scene when I'm stood on the chair as it directly contrasts with the externalisation I make after the "Mould on cheese" line.

During the first part of the lift where Kathryn is walking across the stage, I put my hand out because I wasn't as involved in the lift. I thought that this could represent Mum waving goodbye to Eddy as he walks "to the end of the road" and it also gives the added support of me behind Kathryn if we did drop her. We nearly did drop her in the main section of the lift, something which is clearly visible - the lift is hard to attempt when only two people are holding another above their heads.

The last synchronised sequence in this scene was really well done by all and it worked because we spent a lot of time on that particular sequence.

Transition

The transition I think worked well because it was quick and there was no need for any extra lifts or large movement. The simplicity of removing clothes offstage is reminiscent of Brecht which was one of Berkoff's influences where nothing is hidden from the audience. The noises that we made as well easily showed the audience that we were changing character and distracted them from us removing costume.

6) Sphinx - 8:38 - 11:21

The immediate change in tone was brilliant in showing the audience the change in character but I do think it got a bit grating for the audience and for myself as the scene progressed. The death at the end was well thought out especially the added humour with the spurts of blood.

At "Mistake in the middle of the night"  I forgot to do my gesturing at crotch movement and so my timing was different from everyone else's. Moreover, the movement through the legs was not as defined as I would have wanted it to be. We also spent too long in the faces at the back of the stage (using Total Theatre) and I think my facial expression was not as feminine as it should have been which removes the element of character development I had decided on. The facial expression I used does make her look terrifying to Eddy though. There was a lack of clarification at "Who could even kiss that mouth of yours?" which took away from the impressive movement of the mouth.

Overall 

Positives: 

1) The variation in tone was well differentiated between each character I played. I also improved upon the clarity of speech from the previous run-throughs which enabled a greater audience understanding.

2) The costume we used allowed for a difference in character, showing the audience what our main character was in each section.

3) The movement was overall okay as most of the staccato was done at the same time but could have been better if we had clarified what word we were moving on.

4) The sound effects were at the right volume to make an impact but didn't drown out what was being said.

Negatives: 

1) The staging was not as good as I would have hoped reducing the positive effect of Total Theatre. We didn't have that much time in the space so our moved were confined to centre stage when we could have moved out a lot more. During the piece we could have used our initiative to do this.

2) My externalisation was not as good as I wanted. There were some points where I wasn't emanating anything at all or I wasn't reacting to the things that were happening onstage when I wasn't in the main movement.

3) We didn't focus on the transitions between scenes so there was a lack of clarification.

Berkoff - Greek - Costume and Make-Up

Costume and make up are a vital part of Berkovian theatre. Both elements can add to a piece but too much of one can easily throw off the piece's balance.

Costume 

From what I have seen, the costume that Berkoff usually uses, particularly in his plays that take place in London, consists of suits, white shirts, and braces. This can be seen in the image below which is from a performance of East:

Also shown in the image is that each character has a defining feature/piece of costume that lets the audience know who they are playing. We decided to emulate this within the piece - I brought in short length, white dress shirts for myself, Maya, Izzy, and Marlon. Underneath this, we wore black bottoms and black/white shoes. For Kathryn, as the main character, she wore a white shirt and also a jacket which showed that she was Eddy. For my character piece, I chose a scarf which had a floral pattern, showing that my main character was Mum. My costume can be seen in the image below: 

The black base allowed for an easy transition into the Sphinx as shown below. It also shows a large difference between what Kathryn is wearing compared to what we are, making the scene visually interesting to look at.

Make-Up

Berkoff's make-up is generally dome so that it emphasises parts on the actors face that they move the most. He usually does this with a white background, black eyebrows, and black lips with the occasional black around the eyes and red cheeks. Some ideas that I found are:                                                                                           

 The bottom image appears to have excessive black make up which may detract from any facial expressions made. The top image is certainly much more suitable for Berkoff as it allows for facial expressions to be highlighted but not made lost.













The make-up that we decided on can be seen in the following image (please excuse the awful drawing):

Initially, we wanted to use white face paint to make the entirety of our faces white, however, the day of the performance we realised that this may destroy any/all of the facial expressions we were making. We still decided to have black face paint on our eyebrows, as eyeliner, and on half of our lips to accentuate those features. We have a marked differnece on each side of our face for those actors who were playing as the Sphinx. We decided this because it enhances the feminity of the Sphinx but also the masculinity of the other characters that we play. The feminity can be seen by the elongated eyeliner, the rose coloured cheeks, and the red face paint on the other half of our lips. 

Berkoff - Greek - Development of Characters

The three main characters that I had in the piece were Mum, the Sphinx, and Chorus.

Mum

The first scene where I was given this role was in the Dinner Scene where the mother is certainly overly caring and motherly to her children and to her husband, shown to be rushed off her feet but loving it never-the-less. The element of loving looking after her family makes it more of a disaster when Eddy decides to leave the home.

As I developed this scene and her character I was able to vary my tone of voice. I decided to elongate my vowels and lines not just on specific lines such as "Oh, he don't like my cake". I did this because it shows a marked difference between my 'normal' Cockney voice which I used as the Chorus which allowed the audience to easily distinguish when I changed character. This was also influenced by Berkoff's own experiences in East End London as the stereotype of lower-class Cockney women is that they're quite dumb - as shown by the inaccurate grammar in the line given previously in this paragraph.

My movement was more womanly than what I presented as the Chorus - this can be highlighted in the second part of the Fortune Teller scene where Mum and Dad go and see the oracle again. However, my movement was still quite telling of a Cockney woman as it wasn't as slinky as the Sphinx's movement. My facial expressions as the mother differed from general smiles in the Dinner scene to disgust in the Fortune Teller scene, easily showing the audience where her priorities and hatred lie.

Sphinx

This was the first character that we developed. Initially, we created the Sphinx as having a Cockney accent as well as the other characters, however, I suggested that the Sphinx should have a posher, higher tone of voice. The posh voice suggests that the Sphinx is more sophisticated than other characters and also shows a marked difference between Cockney women such as the mother and upper-class women. Moreover, the fact she's clever enough to come up with a riddle that hasn't been solved shows how much smarter she is than other characters within the previous scenes.

The movement for the Sphinx that I developed was slinky and cat-like because she has the body of a lion and she's portrayed as a woman. I, therefore, assumed that she may be slightly sexual in trying to put off Eddy especially as she makes references to brothels and Eddy talks about a "Hong Kong whorehouse" in their scene. I also attempted to make her sassy hence why she clicks at the line "Go now before I lose my cool". She is also much like a predator which is easily seen as she has the body of a lion (a predator) and the wings of a bird (also a predator). This is heightened as we have four people playing her which makes her seem a lot bigger than Eddy. I attempted to make my facial expressions gruesome in some instances to show how fearsome she is.

Chorus

The Chorus in this sense for me is when I say any line when I'm not presenting as the mother or as the Sphinx - for example at the line "mouth open and eyes like a carrier bag" in the Dinner scene. This relates to the traditional Greek Chorus which was a non-individualised group of performers who comment with a collective voice on the dramatic action. This is certainly seen within this character as the majority of my lines as the Chorus were said simultaneously with the other actors such as "Don't talk to me about thrills" in the Fortune Teller scene.

The tone of voice that I used as the Chorus was more manly to contrast with Mum and the Sphinx. I also attempted to have a broader Cockney accent to make the setting more obvious - this would directly contrast with the Sphinx's accent. The movement I used was more manly and more traditional towards a Cockney man - I had to demonstrate confidence and overall cockiness as this is the stereotype as highlighted in previous blogs.

Berkoff - Greek - Dinner Part 2

We added Marlon and Maya into the piece in about half an hour from the scene we made before. We kept the chair duet that we made but we added some movements behind us which will be made visible to blogs in future instalments.

We finished the last section of the piece just before "Plotting and dreaming of ruling the world". At this point, as we're all in a line again of varying heights, we look at the person to the right of us so in my case it would be Izzy as she is sat next to me after the chair duet. This was done so that Eddy's dream transcends Eddy's head becoming much more real - as Eddy does ultimately end up ruling a small portion of the world in Thebes - resulting in Marlon and his stance of victory at the end of the line. We then move in canon - stomping - at the next word of "So" which we have since changed to simultaneous standing up as the canon never seemed to work during the rehearsal process. "In a ... flash" - at the ellipsis, we move the chairs that we moved during the chair duet to the edges of the stage using Total Theatre once again and making sure that the space on stage is clear for the following lift and Sphinx scene.

The next small section is where Eddy is saying that he saw his parents in the distance as he left his house. At "I waved to my mum and dad" me and Izzy whilst stood on the chairs - gaining height above Marlon and Maya in the main part of the stage - and waved in the opposite direction to what Marlon and Maya do. This creates a nice wave effect and the slowish movement of this contrasts with the next fast movement done by Marlon and Maya - slightly echoed by myself and Izzy. After the line "wed together like mould on cheese" Maya stands above Marlon externalising a facial expression and creating a sound effect that me and Izzy copy. The next line of "Dad was the mould" certainly needs to show that Eddy/Kathryn is correcting us which is highlighted as Marlon swaps around with Maya in an effective and smooth movement.

We then attempted the following Frantic Assembly style lift shown in the video below at 25-33 seconds in:

This is from a Frantic Assembly workshop that I attended last July and is staccato enough to be involved in a Berkoff style performance. I initially suggested this lift be used in the transition from this Dinner Scene to the following Sphinx scene as it would clearly show that eddy is walking away from home and toward the Sphinx. However, we used this lift when Eddy says "as I reached the end of the road". 

We then transferred it to the lift shown below which I also learnt in the Frantic Assembly workshop. This is much harder to do especially as only four people were holding Kathryn and as we immediately did this lift after the previous one which could make the lift unstable at some points. We also hold Kathryn above our heads with only two people maintaining contact with her as Maya says "and lost the figure" - after this we drop her onto mine and Maya's shoulders which allow for better safety. Kathryn doesn't stay in the air for too long due to the immense pressure that Marlon and Izzy are put under when they hold her above their heads.

The section of speech that we used appears to be somewhat too small for such an impressive piece of movement and I do feel like there is rather an extended period of silence as we lift Kathryn in the air.

When we lower Kathryn down safety we do the following sequence:

Again we do this in a line and simultaneously with a defined point in between each action and phrase. This can't be seen in this particular video because I was trying to remember the lines that other people say in this section. The final bit of "Bye boy" as shown by the hissing and clicking is when we turn into the Sphinx as we needed a transition to get from one section to another.

Berkoff - Greek - Fortune Teller Part 3

In this section, Dad is continuing to tell Eddy about the fortune teller. Again, Berkoff's language allows for vivid imagery.

The following short video shows the movement that we choreographed for the following sentence in the scene:

This movement implies that the other person who would be laying on the floor next to me is being controlled like puppets. We did this because Dad has been controlling the scene and I felt that we needed to pay homage to that within the piece. It also allows for greater staccato type moves enhancing the Berkovian style.

The next sentence is "like an earthquake was going on inside his nut". At this point, we all attempt to get up from the floor as though we are the ones that are being affected by the earthquake that is supposedly happening in the fortune teller's head. On the word "nut" we grabbed our head with our hands. This was done in a much more staccato manner than the earthquake part of this line. This allowed for clear definition between a section of movement and a section of acute stillness.

The next few lines that I say - "You see a son of mine..... Like a nasty accident perhaps" - are done as though I'm in the character of the mother. In this case, I would have to elongate my words in order to maintain the same tone of voice that I have for the mother in a later section - the Dinner scene as shown in a previous blog.

At the line "parted his lips enough to mouth the word death" we do a canon whispering of death where we stare at the audience when we say this. This allows for a variation in speech which means that the audience maintains an interest in the piece. The next line (which for me seems to be in the same small section as the previous line) of "he then stared hard at Dinah" is when everyone in the group stares at me as the Mum (we assume) is called Dinah. I haven't yet chosen what facial expression to make at this point.

There is some more movement where we all flee in different directions, "snatch the quid back from the table" and then return to fleeing before standing in a line behind Kathryn who squats down in front of us. The line about "sweet pics you get in Woolies" allowed us to create a nice image behind Kathryn. Myself and Maya smiled at one another whereas Marlon was picking his nose and Izzy was crying at him - this was done because these are stereotypical actions that children do. This image can, therefore, excuse the constant lines coming from Kathryn. The next speech from Dad I suggested be initially quite jovial but when he asks Eddy if Eddy would kill him, Dad should become serious as though he genuinely believes the prophecy - why else would he tell Eddy the prophecy if he didn't believe it would somewhat come true?

Clarifying Confusion

Initially, we thought that the fortune teller scene was described by Eddy's biological father describing what he had learnt, however, we soon understood that it is Eddy's adoptive family that go see the fortune teller. In the original myth, Oedipus' adoptive parents hear about the prophecy and so defer Oedipus to the oracle. This is why Eddy chooses to leave home. This would mean that the characterisation of Mum on my part would be slightly off especially in the following sequence, Mum wouldn't be as predatorial. The interpretation of her about cake and tea is still accurate because stereotypically mothers do like to look after their family. Berkoff's influence here is of his childhood where presumably it was very traditional London East End background. This is suggested in an interview with Berkoff where he said he saw burly men walking down the street pretending they were tougher than they actually are, something which is stereotypical of Cockney men in particular. This toughness can be seen in both Eddy and Dad.

Berkoff - Greek - Fortune Teller Part 2

In this section, Dad is telling Eddy about the second time they went to see the fortune teller. The fortune teller repeats what his father had said about Eddy and how he'll kill his father and have sex with his mother.

The first line follows on from the previous blog about the fortune teller - "Course we took no notice. Forgot about it like" which shows that Dad is being casual and that he forgot but doesn't really care about what the fortune teller said because it doesn't affect his own life. The next section of movement is shown at "fair is back in town" where me and Kathryn make the tent like she did with Marlon earlier in the scene. This is easier for the two of us to do because we're in the middle and frees up Marlon and Izzy to do their next series of movement where they stop her from speaking. An interpretation that I took from this was that we are in her mind and we're saying what her character wants to say. I'm not too sure about this though.

I do a quick movement in the next section where I turn into the mother again. I will need to show a greater variation in facial expression to show the change in character. This gives me the perfect opportunity for further externalisation and the range of facial expressions I can create which will be enhanced by the make up that we use.

The movement and sound at "pack of dirty lies" was done to show that we think that the fortune teller was disgusting for insinuating his prophecy. The following movement after "So off we went" allows for further staccato and definition. Total theatre can be seen after "but we waited our turn" when our hands became the clock behind Marlon. This obviously shows the passage of time but by doing this movement in multiple directions indicates that there is more than one time stream at work as shown by the prophecy.

At "it was the same name" we all pop out and gasp to show that we're shocked that its the same name as before - perhaps Mum and Dad weren't expecting it to be the same name. At this point, I think me and Kathryn should lunge out a little further than we did in this video so that our facial expressions can be seen much easier. The next line of "Have your future read Fantoni's magical crystal gazer" I suggested be shouted like newsboys calling out the headline as this is what it would have said outside the tent. In this video we definitely need more definition in this line and in other lines as they tend to get muddled up and confused otherwise the audience ins't going to know what we're saying. Even though we are speaking in a Cockney accent where movements are more vital than words, it is vital that the lines are pronounced correctly especially ts.

At "In we marched" I attempted to do a strut but the lack of spacing made this difficult in the room that we were in. I will have to make sure that my steps are exaggerated but not so much that we lose space on stage. The lifting of arms in front of us shows the tent and gives a nice visual of us moving into the tent and the tent moving over us.

The "same old shmutter on the table" uses Total Theatre as we use actors to be the table and the mess that is on the table. Mine and Maya's movement draws attention to this movement in the middle. "The beads we walked through" gives a nice point for us to walk to where we need to be in the next sequence. These points have limited big movement which allows for a defined moment where there is limited movement compared with the larger movement earlier in the scene.

The creativity to have Maya speaking for Marlon but have Marlon be in front of her is outstanding. Marlon should definitely be in front of Maya so the illusion of Maya being Marlon's voice is hidden. Moreover, this emphasises that Marlon is the real Dad and that Maya is the body that we're using to present this part in the story. This illusion is better seen when Kathryn speaks for Izzy - Izzy comes to the front of the stage and this allows her to be the centre of attention without having to speak. I think the following section after Izzy goes onto Marlon's back is particularly messy because the moves aren't defined and we don't do the movements simultaneously. Certainly, the choral singing after Izzy died is unnecessary as it takes away from the piece rather than adding to it.

The imbuing of the fortune teller's vision is a big deal hence why we made the transfer of power a large movement. Despite Dad still being sceptical about the vision, the fortune teller is telling the truth and by passing on his vision the prophecy can still come true. Just like in the previous payment of the fortune teller we do another 'ching ching' which allows a theme to run through the piece which I think is quite effective even though we don't do it every single time money is mentioned.

The sentence of "So Ed, your mum and I sat down just like before" is done incorrectly in this video as it shouldn't be split up it should be one fluid sentence. Despite the gestures that are made this sentence's movement should be removed so that the grammar becomes correct again. The movement to the back of the stage after this suggests the use of more Total Theatre as we use more of the stage than we had done before. When we run back to the front of the stage we're still cramped up - it could be more effective if we spread out when we run forwards and then come together when Marlon says that the tent was small. The hurtled back shows clear definition between a slower section and faster section.

"The whiff of stale grass" should be a louder, longer sniff instead of putting our faces on the floor. The trap line always results in us getting out of time with the claps that we do - the inspiration behind this was a Venus-fly-trap.

Berkoff - Greek - Sphinx Part 2

We only had a small amount of the Sphinx scene left to choreograph following on from the last blog. Straight from "Men need killing off before they kill off the world" which is said simultaneously, we go into the following video:

This video is not of all of us doing the movements, but should give a fairly accurate representation of what we did. Again we came to the front of the stage, partially in a line - I'm still getting slightly frustrated that most of our moves are done in a line as I feel there should be more elements of variation. These initial four movements are done at the same time - the challenge here was making sure that we were doing exactly the same movement as I especially wanted the Sphinx to have accurate movement as we're meant to all be one character.

At "You are so alone and pathetic" we tapped Kathryn once with one finger which made her drop to the floor showing the power of the Sphinx. We then walked far away from Kathryn, making use of the entire stage showing Total Theatre. This was also done for a pragmatic purpose as it allowed more room to stalk towards Kathryn in a later section.

We then included a fight sequence. In the original myth, Oedipus answers the Sphinx's riddle and the Sphinx then throws herself off a cliff. However, as we didn't have all the scripted parts for the Sphinx we had to improvise a fight sequence so that it was definite that Eddy himself has killed the Sphinx. This certainly makes Eddy more of a hero than before, perhaps even the tragic hero - a great or virtuous character in a dramatic tragedy who is destined for downfall, suffering, or defeat - as he end up winning his biological mother's hand in marriage due to defeating the Sphinx which is why he is a tragedy.

Kathryn hits us all in succession and we maintain our position and sound effect for definition purposes. We then, at the last moment, included the line "To love is to enslave a woman" which suggests a personal vendetta against men from the Sphinx. We then returned the violence to Kathryn via the audience, again breaking the fourth wall. After this we stalk towards Kathryn hissing who then strikes us at the throat meaning that we all squeal and die. We have a final staccato section where we freeze in the Sphinx with our arms extended as though we are the bird part of the Sphinx again. The fighting sequence was especially hard to choreograph in order to get it much more defined and staccato. 

Berkoff - Greek - Sphinx

Sphinx 

The first scene that we attempted was the scene in which Eddy goes and defeats the Sphinx by solving her riddle. We wanted the Sphinx to include four people because it allows for bigger and more exaggerated movements which enhanced the Berkovian style. We found the Sphinx lines quite repetitive so have had to cut out sections of her speech in order to reduce the amount of time our piece lasts for.

One of the first issues that was raised was that Marlon, a male, was included within the Sphinx. The Sphinx in the myth of Oedipus Rex was a female. This allowed us to play with the idea of femininity and make the Sphinx be more sassy to suggest that Marlon was playing a gay man who has a more feminine side. The issue that then stemmed from this was that Marlon's characterisation stood out more than mine, Maya's or Izzy's which suggested that we had decided on different characterisation which wasn't what we were trying to convey. From this feedback, I decided to be slinky and predator-like toward Eddy to show that I was more feminine than any other character I play within the piece.

We also have an issue with where Kathryn is stood at the start of the piece. Initially,we had the Sphinx facing Kathryn which meant that her back was faced towards the audience, hiding her facial expressions. Because of this, we then decided to move the Sphinx round so that she was talking through the audience so was then stood facing the audience allowing facial masks and therefore greater externalisation to be seen.

I suggested that we change the accent of the Sphinx to one that is posher. This is because Eddy and his family speak in a Cockney accent. So not only will this show a variation in our voices, but it will also suggest that the Sphinx is smarter than the other characters. This can be proved as the Sphinx has a riddle that no one has ever answered until Eddy eventually answers it.

We spend most of the Sphinx scene thus far in a line facing the audience. I feel that of the sections we have done so far, we do too much of standing in a line meaning that we're not always using the entirety of the space, neglecting the use of Total Theatre.

We begin the scene Marlon saying "Who are you little man?". All the people playing the Sphinx say the bolded word as it allows for greater emphasis and shows more intimidation. At this point we point our hands forward, gesturing out to the audience and towards eddy, breaking the fourth wall again showing a Berkovian technique. The next line is "Pip squeak scum!" which is said by Maya. At this point I don't do any movement I simply stare out into the audience. I think I would need to use a facial mask in this section that differs from what I used in the previous line to show more externalisation, allowing the audience to understand the Sphinx's intentions. The following line is my first line within the Sphinx section and is "Drip off the prick!". Here, the Sphinx is suggesting that Eddy was a mistake (the bolded words are the words which I have chosen to emphasise). At the word "drip" I push Izzy forward as she's in front of me. At the word "prick" I hold my hands out, as shown in the following video:
The emphasised words are emphasised both by the tone of my voice and by the movement described above. The next line spoken by Izzy "Mistake in the middle of the night" is the concluding sentence of the Sphinx's insult about how Eddy was mistakenly conceived. At the bolded word, I gesture to my crotch area to image what Izzy is doing in front of me.

The next line is said by Marlon: "You've come to answer my riddle?". The emphasis here is put on the my because I think the Sphinx would be quite proud that no one has ever managed to solve the riddle - What animal walks on four legs in the morning, two legs in the afternoon, and three legs in the evening? (correctly answered by Oedipus as Man).

We then moved around in a large and threatening shape whilst clicking and making whooshing sounds. In Greek mythology, the Sphinx sometimes has the wings of a bird, so this sound effect signifies the bird clicking its beak and attempting to fly. Our arms are also outstretched to show the wings - we are also on different levels showing a use of proxemics. I am on the floor between Izzy and Marlon's legs - I think I need a better way of getting through them because I currently seem to wiggle through without any allusion to defined movement. Perhaps I could try two defined pulls through legs, but this would need to be done when we have access to the performance space.

The next line of "Fuck off you maggot" is said in canon, starting with myself on the floor and flowing up through Izzy. The variation in speech allows the audience to maintain interest in the piece. The words bolded are again the words that are emphasised but simply by voice and not by movement - by me at least as I can't see what other people are doing in this movement. The next line is part of the same sequence: "Before I tear your head offffff". The off at the end of this section lasts for longer showing variation in tone and is something that we do throughout the piece. This also demonstrates an element of creepiness to the Sphinx as well as further intimidation.

The following video shows the first demonstration of a section of the piece:

The first line that I say in the video is one that I have trouble remembering - the line in the script is actually "Rip your eyes out of your head and roast your tongue". This is because this line is between two sections that we worked on so I feel that the movement is also a little off on my part. I think I could say this line a bit differently to how I said it in this. I think that the line should be said quicker because the speech in this scene up to now has been slow. This would allow for more definition between sections and improve the pacing. The 'scream' at the end of the sentence is reminiscent of Australian rugby's Hakka which is used to terrify their opponent - I suggested this to add to the piece which would make the Sphinx seem more terrifying to Eddy. It shows that the Sphinx is more of a gruesome creature.

"You nothing, you man?" is said with an element of confusion because Eddy is played by Kathryn who is clearly a woman. The ideological approach is that the Sphinx is questioning Eddy's masculinity, something which is damaging to the character of a tragic hero - Oedipus is the traditional tragic hero.

The slow lean forward and sharp pull back on "Go now before I lose my cool" definitely shows some element of definition. I personally don't like this movement because I feel that its too fluid for Berkoff. However, Berkoff does allow for elements of fluidity as long as it is in a defined section which this move is to some extent. I think that the movement should be more threatening because the Sphinx is supposed to be a large body that everyone is afraid to combat. 

Something which is not as visible on the video is that Kathryn moves to the back of the stage during this section. We keep having issues with Kathryn's blocking but we should be sure to rectify this in future rehearsals. As seen, Kathryn comes through the middle of the Sphinx, effectively splitting her up into her counterparts, potentially making her less powerful without her being intact. The hissing that we do is inaccurate because we seem to be constantly getting the Sphinx confused with Medusa which is something that we will again need to rectify. The grotesque faces we pull at the back of the stage show greater externalisation through the use of facial masks, however, I do think that we maintain this stance and facial expression for much longer than needed. 

We then all stalk toward Kathryn like a predator. An adaptation that I suggested which has since been cut was to walk fast in a straight line towards the front with neutral expressions before quickly turning and grabbing Kathryn. However, as shown in the video we stalk towards her losing the definition that I had suggested before. 

After this moves in this video was shown we continued to devise movements for this section. When Kathryn says "Because you can't love, loveless" me and Izzy at the front throw her back where she is caught by Marlon and Maya. This shows that the Sphinx is violent but may also have been affected by man in the past which is something I think we'll develop later in the rehearsal process. Kathryn's line of "Who could even kiss that mouth of yours?" is enhanced by the creation of an image of a mouth, encompassed by a sound which I think is one of the most impressive sections of the piece so far due to how defined it is. This can be enhanced further by externalisation of bearing teeth emanating the larger image we created. 

At the line "Hong-Kong whorehouse" me and Izzy on the floor become the women in the brothel and Maya and Marlon become the customers. We vary our tone of a 'scream' so mine would be more feminine. This is vulgar but is just the kind of thing Berkoff would like to see from one of his pieces, especially the language is something that allows for the large movements which should tell the story more than the words (partially due to how complicated they are for the audience). 

The line "You make me laugh you fool man" is emphasised by us stalking around Kathryn. The laugh that we used initially was harsher and we didn't time it together, showing less definition. I think that the laugh should be much more condescending and be in time with each other which would show the ultimate power of the Sphinx. Something that is much more condescending is Maya's line of "You should know about brothels" where we do a slight lift of her over Kathryn. 

The final line that we have choreographed for this section thus far is for "Men need killing offff before they kill offfff the world". Again, these words are elongated to show that the Sphinx is predator like and more condescending. 

In the next sections with the Sphinx, we should definitely block out the movements before going over what we have already done so that we don't run out of time in blocking and to give us enough time to perfect the scene. 

Berkoff - Greek - Fortune Teller

Wednesday 6th June 2018

In this section, Eddy's father tells Eddy the story of how he and Eddy's mother went to see a fortune teller at an Easter fair. This fortune teller reveals that Eddy will kill his father and have sexual relations with his mother. Much like in the other sections we staged it so that everyone gets to speak in each paragraph by splitting it up. In this section, Marlon (playing Dad) was the narrator for Dad's actions where I played Dad and Mum when they went to see the fortune teller - I played both roles in the following video because Maya wasn't at rehearsal. Izzy played the fortune teller and Kathryn was Eddy once again. The distribution of lines allows for a quicker pace and means that people won't have to learn a large paragraph.

As shown in the video above, we immediately go into the fortune teller as soon as the scene begins allowing the fast-paced nature of this scene to be revealed. In some aspects I feel that it has little variation in pacing and the parts of the scene that a slower pace can be adopted will be discussed a little later on. As shown we used a noise to signify going into the bulk of the scene. Not only does the noise suggest mystery, it also highlights that the bulk of the scene is told as a flashback. The pin lift that we do at the Easter Fair is easily recognisable as Jesus on the cross. This image is encompassed by a 'heavenly choir' which is also touched again later in the scene in a different section (that will be talked about in later blogs/later in this blog).

The line "don't talk to me about thrills" is said by all as shown on the video. This, therefore, makes the line louder, distracting from the lack of impressive movement on stage, allowing for a nice and simple transition into the reveal of the fortune teller. The use of Total Theatre is apparant here as we use Kathryn and Marlon to make the circus tent that leads into the fortune teller. The circus tent also means that we use more of the available stage area, something I think we need to be wary of, especially as I feel we've stayed mainly in the middle throughout the scenes we've made thus far. We could spread out more in this scene or in the dinner scene where each chair could be a ridiculous length apart. Externalisation is clear when I enter the tent (between Kathryn and Marlon), mouth agape, showing a different facial mask to what I had shown previously in the scene. Due to my changing role, I will have to adapt some of my facial masks, and indeed some of my movements as I will be Mum in this scene when we add Maya in as Dad.

The lack of significant movement at the line "Who don't have a son?" is a cause for concern as I felt awkward at this point. Although the lack of a large image contrasts with what we had done previously which does show a definition between the sections - entering the tent and listening to what the fortune teller has to say to Mum and Dad.

I am annoyed at myself for breaking character during the "I'm not taking it for gen" speech, which I shouldn't have done. Although, as this small speech won't be mine to say, I will be doing what the other three are doing and reacting to what Dad is saying - changing facial masks to highlight what Dad is saying.

The "violent death" that we showed is quite staccato with its movements. In this section, I wasn't quite sure what to do with my movements so I decided to react as though I was getting stabbed as well. I think that myself and Maya will have to come up with a series of movements that echo our characters' shock towards what's going on, that doesn't distract the audience from what I think is the most important image in this section, but also means that we aren't stood there with no movements. After this, I think there should be a short break of silence before the line "But I'm his dad" in order to have humour but also to vary the pacing and keep the audience interested. Moreover, this should be defined in order to stick to Berkoff's style.

The handshake that we do is quite fast paced and contrasts with the slower part that I have just identified. Due to it being fast paced it meant that both handshakes were out of time with each other. Although this is a small issue I think that the movements should be much tighter - in fact, this goes for all of our movements so far in every scene that we have done. The sound effects that we do allow the handshake to be more manly and as Eddy is seen as a hero would make him more credible in society if he was stereotypically manly due to societal norms. I don't know how we're going to fit Maya into this part of the scene - we may have to do a whole group handshake but this may get complicated. We will have to figure this out in later sessions.

At "You're having me on", I think that our vocal tone and group movement is reminiscent of the Sphinx which is the previous scene. I think that we should change this slightly so we don't stick with the same tone and type of movement all the time. I think that when we run outside the tent, we should have a much longer pause for breath to define where one part of the scene ends and another begins. Moreover, the "chinaman with jaundice" line feels a bit racist and I don't feel comfortable doing the action shown because of this.

The good bits of this scene are:
- large physical movements especially the tent and death sequence
- noises throughout that aren't a necessary part of the script allow for more immersement

The things we need to improve upon are:
- including Maya into the scene and ensuring that her part is just as inclusive as our own
- the prnunciation of words that are lost through our accent
- the definition of movements and between different pacings
- I need to come up with ideas as to what I could do in parts that feel uncomfortable or where I don't move as much as I could do.

Berkoff - Greek - Dinner

The second section that we worked on was after Eddy's Dad is telling Eddy the story of how he met a gypsy fortune teller. At the beginning of the section, Eddy explains that he'd never have sexual relations with his mother. The middle of the section is taken up by a dinner scene where we included a lot of staccato movement. The end of the section explains what the family do after they've had their dinner. The section is told completely from Eddy's memory and after this, Eddy leaves the family house. 

In the lesson that we did this section, we were missing two people from our group which means that in future sessions we will have to add in both of these people which may cause issues or make the section flow better. 

There were many positives to this section, the most obvious being the large amount that we managed to block in the time given. Although it is not perfect, the fact we got through a large section within the piece means that we can power through the whole script and then return at a later stage to improve upon what we'd done. There was an overall variation as to who said what line, including various lines that were said at the same time which gave them emphasis. I think that as a group our facial expressions were exaggerated nicely with the use of various facial masks, as were our cockney accents. 

One part of the section that I want to go into more detail on is where I sit on Kathryn's leg as the mother when she asks Eddy if he wants more cake. This could either show that the mother is aptly mothering him and forcing him to have more food. It could also be more suggestive as it may imply a romantic aspect to their relationship as Eddy does end up having sexual relations with his mother. This closeness, therefore, accentuates the later developments in their relationship. 

However, there were some negatives to this piece. I feel like I need to vary my tone a lot more when moving from Eddy's speech to the mother's. I think that the lack of change in tone is also evident in the Spinx scene where I need to adopt a more feminine voice. I think that this is something to do with a lack of confidence. We also need more definition in some of our moves and definition as to where one section ends and another begins. This will be easier to complete when we have a full cast again. We also need to work on our pronunciation so that the audience can understand what we're saying as the speech is quite hard to understand due to the accents. Finally, we need to work on pacing and where to put in slow sections which would be juxtaposed by faster sections. 

Berkoff - Greek Introduction

Over the next few weeks, we will be performing a ten-minute extract from a Berkoff play in his style. The group that I have been assigned consists of myself, Izzy, Kathryn, Marlon, and Maya. We will be performing the play Greek which is a modern interpretation of the Oedipus myth written by Sophocles where amongst other things, Oedipus marries his mother, kills his father, and defeats the Sphinx.

Video Explaining the Oedipus myth: 

This video has made the myth much more accessible and now I understand the basics of the myth - Oedipus' real father went to an oracle who told him he would be murdered by his son. When Oedipus' mother becomes has a son, Oedipus is sent away from Thebes and grows up as the son of the royal family of Corinth. When he grows up, he hears rumours that those in Corinth aren't his real parents so decides to go to an oracle about this - the oracle instead tells him that he will kill his father and marry his mother, so therefore he decides to travel to Thebes to stop this fate from happening. On the way to Thebes, Oedipus kills his real father (the king of Thebes) and defeats the Sphinx at the city wall. Creon (Oedipus' uncle) is now king of Thebes and says that anyone who defeats the Sphinx can marry Jocasta (Oedipus' mother) whom Oedipus goes on to marry and have four children with. Thebes begins to grow desolate and the only way to stop this is to rid a plague from the city unknowingly caused by Oedipus due to marrying his mother. Eventually, the truth comes out so Jocasta kills herself and Oedipus pulls out his own eyes, banishing himself from Thebes.

Certainly, the myth is brutal and I can see where Berkoff has drawn his influences - the brutality especially would allow for Berkoff to use impressive language which was present in East to describe the plague and various other parts of the myth. The impressive language, although filled with various cockney colloquialisms and doesn't make that much sense to me, is easily understandable to those who recognise the colloquialisms. Berkoff has made the myth more accessible to those who stereotypically wouldn't read Sophocles' plays by putting it into a modern interpretation.

Berkoff speaking about Greek: https://vimeo.com/17232111

Below is the analysis of the script that we've been given. (Please excuse the poor camera work).

Berkoff - East

The first scripted piece that we attempted for Berkoff was East performed for the first time in 1975. It deals with growing up and the rites of passage in London's East End, meaning that it is full of cockney colloquialisms which made the first read-through of the section of the piece we were looking at (the very beginning of the play) very hard to understand. Berkoff grew up in the East End which means that he would have seen men act with bravado and confidence, traits which Mike and Les (two of the characters in East) present in the section that we looked at.

As we progressed through the creation process we added cockney accents which made the language easier to understand, but I think that this play is better suited to those who live in London or have the same background experience as Berkoff so that they have some understanding of the piece. The language appears to be Shakespeare mixed with cockney, allowing for great images to come through from the words that are done in a modern interpretation. This language alongside the premise of the play may be trying to show to the upper-class people - those who stereotypically come to the theatre - that those in the lower-classes are intelligent despite what many upper-class people may think. Even if people can't understand the colloquialisms, the movements that are done help tell the story which is what myself and Maya tried to achieve in the section we took from this first section.

In the section that we chose to perform in the Berkoff style, the characters Mike and Les describe how they met whereby Les tried to take Mike's fiance (Sylv) which resulted in them getting into a fight - Mike ends up with a smashed in head and Les has knife wounds all on his face inflicted by one another. This results in the two becoming best friends. We did the main fight sequence in the middle of the section where Les gets stabbed in the face, allowing for bigger facial masks and more moments of definition. It was difficult to remember lines when mixed with a cockney accent but this was made easier when we added actions.

The video below is our first attempt at East. 

The first section from "Use your iron" to "Shithead" demonstrates the violence that the people around the fight (the "five and fifty chinas") expect from Mike and Les. As the violence is outwards, it links to the first Berkoff lesson where we stood quite far apart. This allows for greater exaggeration and also breaks the fourth wall, making the audience feel more involved in the piece. During this section, we also attempted to define the moves more by having a break between them. I think that we could have done this for a bit longer to make the violence a bit more defined but the fast-paced movement still contrasted with the slower movement in the following section. The change of pace keeps the audience interested - the change of pace would be easier to do in the whole scene, not just in this section.

I stand on the chair at the line "Anoint the cunt with death" which sticks with Total Theatre by using everything on stage and also gives more focus to this line. Moreover, it allows for level variation. This next section has a slower pace compared with the previous section and the following section which gives the piece more definition. When Maya begins to talk about Sylv, I move my hands at the same time as she does. This is because both characters are attracted to Sylv so both would potentially react to what she said. At the line "raziory" we make a noise to signify Mike drawing the knife from his pocket. This draws more attention to the 'knife' - we didn't use a prop for the knife as Mike and Les are acting out how they met to the audience so most likely wouldn't have a knife on them - and uses total theatre due to the sound effect which makes Mike's motivation very clear to the audience.

We then move onto the next fast-paced section at "danced about his face like fireflies". In rehearsal, I initially jumped off the chair to the same side that I had been on previously. This meant that we weren't using total theatre as we weren't using the whole of the stage. By jumping to the opposite side, I used more of the stage, showing more total theatre. The quick movement here, although defined in pace, was not defined in movement which we would have to solve for the next performance of the piece. Moreover, the small part where we walk back towards the chair could have been improved upon as it seems boring by simply walking when we could explain the words more.

We utilised the chair more in the following section which was again more fast-paced than the walking in the previous section and showing total theatre by using all the props. We used it to stop the 'blood' from splattering against us, however, we could have used more sound effects to demonstrate this even more instead of just using the chair. The lifting of the chair also serves a pragmatic purpose as it allows for the soft thud in the next line.

I used a large facial mask in the piece when Maya 'stabs' me with a knife. Again, we did the violence not close together which allowed for greater exaggeration of my face. The exaggeration of this section is also evident when Maya became the flap of skin on my cheek - this again used total theatre as we used all the actors and props on stage.

In my section of the speech, I felt that we only did limited movement compared with what we did in Maya's section of the speech. Although defining between non-movement and movement parts, I felt that I could have done greater exaggeration at this point in the piece. Moreover, at "kissed death flush on the lips" I felt the movement that I did was too fluid and seemed less Berkovian than the other movements we had been doing previously.

Although the cockney accents were good, we needed more definition on certain words. Sometimes the words were mumbled as cockney accents (certainly for myself) made it hard to speak leading o incorrect pronunciation. Despite this, we still embodied the stereotype of 'hard' cockney men.

We performed the piece in class with some improvements made:

The first section that we changed was "danced about his face like fireflies". Instead of Maya saying this by herself, we changed it so that both of us said it, drawing attention to the fast-paced movements both of us were doing. This is directly juxtaposed by the slow movement of the word "fireflies" - we did this because fireflies are meant to be pretty so it felt wrong to be doing something violent in that section. We also tried to define our movements more in this section by having three quick moves however, they weren't as defined as I would have liked them to be so in the future we would have to make it abundantly clear where one moves ends and another begins. We could have potentially done this by leaving a small gap between each of the words, however, this could have slowed the pace down making the juxtaposition less so.

We also changed the part where Maya says "Little yellow gaslight" where previously we walked backwards, we now put in movement. There was no reason for the movement that we did but it did put us in a good position to move the chair in the following sequence. We took inspiration from Joel's group at the "soft and hard at once" as it gives Maya something to do in her speech juxtaposing my stillness and then her movement.

Overall, we could have added more sound effects and have bigger movements but we did manage to differentiate between movement and stillness as well as the pacing.

Berkoff - Introduction

Over next few weeks, the practitioner that we are studying is Steven Berkoff, a British playwright and director with a unique style of writing and performance which completely opposes the style of Stanislavski. He was born on the 3rd of August 1937 in the East End of London which has influenced the type of plays he has written, some of which focus predominantly in the East End such as East. Moreover, he has a Russian heritage as his grandparents fled Russia in the 1890's due to their religion of Judaism which will again have affected Berkoff's upbringing and will have influenced the plays he has written. Berkoff began his theatre training at Her Majesty's Theatre in Barrow-in-Furness before studying at L'Ecole Internationale de Theatre Jacques Lecoq in Paris in 1965 where his main styles were naturalism; after this, he moved onto non-naturalism. His plays include the verse plays East (1975), Greek (1980), and Decadence (1981). He has written many more plays and has appeared on many TV shows and films, often playing the villain as he finds it "flattering" to play evil characters, saying that the best actors assumed villainous roles. His work is best described as in-yer-face-theatre coined by British theatre critic Aleks Seirz; this describes work by young playwrights who present vulgar, shocking, and confrontational material on stage as a means of involving and affecting their audiences - Brecht and Artaud could also fit under this description.

Berkoff's style is not natural and is unrealistic. It is not meant to be realistic in terms of form (which can be seen in his play East where the dialogue is reminiscent of Shakespeare but with added colloquial phrases taken from the East End of London hence the title of the play) and composition - this was something that he struggled with at first as he had studied naturalism before so his style was something completely new to him originally. Berkoff takes inspiration from physical theatre such as mime in order to create exaggerated facial expressions which is something called Externalisation. This aids the audience's understanding of who the character is, what feeling they're trying to show, and what their intention is without words. In some ways, this is similar to Brecht and gestus. Any words that are said (which are often many as Berkoff writes in a Shakespearean type manner but with more Cockey colloquialisms) should be pronounced properly so that they aren't lost to the audience - this is called Definition. Additionally, Stocatto is where an actor's movements are detached from one another so that they are defined. Berkoff uses Total Theatre which is where every part of the performance from lighting to where an actor places their foot is used to reinforce the key aims of the performance. Much like Brecht, Berkoff breaks the fourth wall in his performances which increases the audience's participation and emotional investment, making them more easily manipulated.

Berkoff has many influences. These include Edmund Keen (who performed Shakespeare in a melodramatic way much like Berkoff), Jacques Lecoq (physical theatre and mime - Berkoff attended his school in Paris), Artaud (physical theatre and shocking the audience), and Brecht (intention/message and the Verfremdungseffekt).

Lesson: Monday 14th May 2018

In this lesson, we were introduced to Berkoff and his exaggerated style. I feel that I need to let go of some of my inhibitions about physical theatre because I felt that at the beginning of this lesson I didn't exaggerate my movements a lot. I think this is due to a lack of confidence. Also, we have been heavily focused on naturalism in Anatomy of a Suicide which means that I feel slightly out of my depth. I think that in the following lessons, I will overcome these inhibitions and become much more confident with this style of theatre.

Face Swapping 

Much of the lesson consisted of exaggerated facial features. In this activity, someone would make a weird and overly exaggerated face and show this to the class. They would then "remove" this face and "throw" it to another member of the class who would then have to "put on" this face - they would create the same face back. This person would then "remove" the previous face and create a new face which they would then "throw" to another person and so on. This links to Externalisation. Moreover, with the faces, our whole bodies began to change with the changing faces, often changing stance. As I have mentioned previously, in this lesson I held back due to lack of confidence which meant that I didn't participate in this activity well, to begin with. However, as we understood the activity more, I found it easier to engage in the activity.

Fight 

This was a pretend fight where we understood definition and staccato. The physical movement of the fight should have a clear start and end hence why we paused after each movement. After getting the initial ideas of the physical movement, we added words to this. The words were simple at first and described the movement that we were doing. We ensured that the words, much like the movement, were defined and pronounced correctly. After this, we added some larger adjective words which linked to how Berkoff uses extravagant language in his work as shown in East. I feel that the combination of language and physical movement is hard for me personally because I found that I forgot the simple words during the physical movement. This will be something that I feel may have a negative impact on me throughout this unit.

Nose Circles

An invisible circle, as big or as small as we wanted, was attached to our noses which we had to follow around as though it was attached to our nose. This meant that our bodies got into strange, weird and exaggerated positions. Chipp told us to stop at a specific point in our circle and then told us to walk around in the position we'd been stuck in and adopt a facial expression for the 'character' that we had then created.

First Date 

We were told to create an improvisation using the stances and facial expressions that we were stuck in following the previous activity. During the improvisations, I found that the stance and facial expressions determined how I would speak. It also influenced the topic of conversation that occurred in the first date.

Laying the Table



The above video shows a staccato and definition practise. Mine and Bella's piece is the first in the sequence and, in my opinion, I don't feel as though it was much of a success as other people's in the sequence such as Lauren and Joel's shown at 3.47 in the video. There's was much more static and their movements much more defined when compared to mine and Bella's. thei actions were also much easier to understand.