Anatomy of a Suicide - The Stanislavski Method

The use of Stanislavski within the piece 

In order for me to explain how we used The Stanislavski Method within Anatomy of a Suicide, I must first recap Stanislavski and how he said a performer must prepare for a character/role.

Three Core Elements

The three core elements for acting, Stanislavski said, were to 1) read the script to 2) find out the character's motivation and 3) to find the given circumstance of each scene using the subtext within. I think that throughout this process, I have attempted to do each of these things. As soon as I got the script, I read through each timeline separately to understand the play and how each character related to the other, hence why I drew the family tree as shown the blog Anatomy of a Suicide - Part 7. I have shown Anna's motivation in Anatomy of a Suicide - Part 29 where her objectives and aims are given - her motivation throughout the play is to understand the reasons for Carol to leave her. I have shown the given circumstances in Anatomy of a Suicide - Part 7 where I created timelines for each of the three main women.

Circles of Attention

This was where an actor would create a 'circle' in his or her own performance where they would devote their entire attention. Anything outside the circle would cease to exist. This would mean the performance would be totally dedicated, without any disruption from anything else, like a noise from the audience, or anything out of the ordinary. When playing Anna, my circle of attention would be confined to the middle of the stage, however, when completing transitions, my circle of attention would be confined to the stage and the backstage areas - at any time, my circle of attention should not have been focused on the audience. It could be said that I broke this Stanislavski rule during Wednesday's performance of Scene 5 where I visibly looked out into the audience, slightly breaking character and therefore breaking my circle of attention. However, it could be said that my personal circle of attention separate to Anna's would be the whole stage in order to listen out to cues from other actors on stage - Anna's character would remain oblivious to this, but I as the actor would have to be hyper aware of this.

Moment of Orientation

Stanislavski described this as the moment on stage where the audience understands the relationships and history between the two characters, normally at the start of the scene and often (not always) before anyone speaks. The audience can usually gather this through subtext and body language.

Magic "If"

The Magic If enables actors to get in the mindset of their character at a point within the script which enables an actor to ask "What if this situation happened to me?". This enables an actor to think like their character. I think that I managed to do this in some instances - for example, in Scene 14 when John tells a younger Anna about Carol's death, I allowed myself to try and think about what I'd do in that situation as that scene appears to be the catalyst for Anna's timeline. This enabled me to understand Anna's super-objective more.

Observation 

Stanislavski encouraged his students to people watch in order to adopt physical traits for their character as well as their personality. He said that every person is unique so therefore every character should exhibit unique traits. I think that I managed to do this to some extent with Anna - in order for me to portray smoking in a believable and naturalistic way, I took to watching people smoke when outside which allowed me to some extent to be able to copy this. However, I don't think that I managed to smoke completely believable. I did, however, develop a unique character trait that Bella didn't have in her version of Anna - every so often I'd rub my nose with my right hand. I didn't notice that I did this until after the Wednesday performance when an audience member commented that I did this a lot as Anna. Therefore, I think that I managed to complete this section of the Stanislavski method.

Motivation and Super-Objective 

As mentioned previously, the motivation and therefore the main thing that I believe Anna wanted to achieve was to understand why Carol left. A better explanation of this can be found in the blog Anatomy of a Suicide - Part 29. 

Given Circumstances

The given circumstances are plot points and character history that an actor knows about the character before the scene starts which influences their actions throughout the scene. In some instances, the actor may have to read ahead in the script to understand the given circumstances for a previous scene. This can be seen in Scene 4 where John tells Anna that he hasn't heard her call him Dad since she was 16 which would be Carol's Scene 14. In order to understand the given circumstances of the three women, I created a timeline which can be seen in the blog Anatomy of a Suicide - Part 7 which would, therefore, give the given circumstances for each scene, dependent on where they fall on the timeline. I think that throughout the play, the given circumstances are different for the audience than they are for the actor playing the character - for example, I read the script which means that I know Anna's background and how she is influenced by Anna, however, the audience has different given experiences as they don't know (for example) how John told Anna that Carol had died which would have a severe impact on Anna for Scene 2 but this wouldn't be fully realised by the audinece until Scene 14 or by Scene 5 when Anna reveals Carol died.

Internal Monologue

Stanislavski said that people have a semi-constant flow of thoughts which would mean that the character and therefore the actor would have a stream of thoughts. This helps the actor as it makes them believe that each action is happening spontaneously. This also prevents the scene from becoming dull after a while. As shown in previous blogs, I did have an internal monologue in some of the scenes where my dialogue was limited which allowed me to act throughout the scene rather than just when speaking my lines and reacting to other people within my scene.

Objectives 

This is what a character wants to achieve in a scene or through an action. As shown in previous blogs, I and Bella chose three objectives that Anna wants to achieve throughout the play which coincides with the super-objective, regardless of Anna manages to achieve them or not. The objectives are as follows:
1) To stop being dependent on drugs.
2) To have steadiness.
3) To be a good mother.
Again, these are explained in more detail in a previous blog - Anatomy of a Suicide - Part 29. 

For each scene that Anna is present (in the timeline that I presented), I will aim to discuss how the Super-objective and Objectives relate to the scene, what the Moment of Orientation is, and what her motivation is.

Scene 2

In this scene, Anna is attempting to get an IV from her "mate Dan to take the edge off her (your) come down". This would, therefore, relate to her motivation as her motivation in this scene is to simply get the IV whilst simultaneously trying act less drunk and high than she is - she fails in both her motivations dramatically as Dan doesn't give her the IV and she certainly seems very drunk and high. At this point, Anna is somewhat invested in her super-objective because the cause of her drug/alcohol addiction could be attributed to her trying to figure out why Carol committed suicide as she may not have found a reason or blamed herself for her mother's suicide - as shown by her Scene 5 monologue; "if my Mother couldn't, well then, I must be an almighty piece of Shit". It doesn't appear that any of Anna's smaller objectives fit into this scene.

The Moment of Orientation (MoO) in this scene I think occurs within the first few lines in the scene where it is clear that Anna is drunk and/or high shown through my stance and the word choices given to Anna - this allows the audience to understand that Anna is drunk/high but is trying to show that she understands the situation when she clearly doesn't. Another MoO within the scene is when Dan says "You came in and asked for an IV off your Mate Dan to take the edge off your come down" - this would clearly identify to the audience that Anna is high and is becoming a problem for Dan in this situation. This line also identifies the audience what Anna's motivation is in this scene which is to get an IV so that her come down isn't as bad as it would be without it.

Scene 3

In this scene, Anna is taking heroin which would, therefore, go against one of her objectives; to stop being so dependent on drugs - this objective is realised after this scene. It could also relate to her Super-Objective for the same reason as I outlined in the previous scene - she felt as though Carol committed suicide because she had done something wrong as a child. Anna's motivation is simple in this scene: she wants to get high, potentially in order to forget what Carol had done but also to fulfil her own needs as she is dependent on drugs at this point. The MoO in this scene occurs when Anna takes out heroin from her bag - that is for the members of the audience who can see this as the position of Anna on the ground near the front of the stage caused some sight lines to not be able to see her do this. For those who did not see this immediately, the MoO would, therefore, be when the 'heroin' (sugar) begins to smoke.

Scene 4

In this scene, Anna is in rehab which directly links to one of her objectives to stop her dependence on drugs. It would also link to the objective of trying to find stability as once she's off drugs, she tries to find it which can be seen in this scene as she's trying to reconcile with John. The super-objective is also present here due to the mention of "she" (Carol) within the scene which shows that Anna has been thinking about Carol and about how Carol left. The MoO in this scene happens when Anna says "Dad" which allows the audience to understand the relationship between the two characters. This links to the motivation for Anna which in this scene is to try and re-establish a healthy relationship with John which further links to the objective of Anna trying to achieve stability - she knows she cannot achieve full stability through John but it appears as though she could achieve some small amount of stability by allowing John back into her life.

Scene 5

In this scene, Anna speaks to her future husband, Jamie, about how she got to the commune she is staying in. Certainly, the Super-objective is present in this scene as Anna mentions her mother directly and indirectly within the scene - "The Shock and something else" "my mother, she was, she was Dead by this point" "If my Mother couldn't" "My mother's name was Carol" - which would, therefore, show that Anna has been constantly trying to understand why Carol left, something which is acutely obvious in the Scene 5 monologue. The audience is given two MoOs within the scene - the first MoO is at the start of the scene where it is clearly obvious that Anna and Jamie are attracted to each other. However, at this point, their relationship isn't made quite clear as it is suggested by the camera that the two are about to engage in sexual activities for a film. The relationship is identified when Jamie asks Anna "I'm just sort of asking everyone how they came to be here" which shows that the two are just filmmaker and speaker, rather than the aforementioned idea. The motivation for this scene for Anna is to speak to Jamie and the camera about her experiences - I don't think she expects for the splurge of detail about Carol to come out as it did, rather she wanted to keep that section of the story closed but once she starts speaking she can't stop as she seriously wants to tell someone who won't judge her. Or maybe she does want someone to judge her, especially someone whom she clearly has an attraction to so that she can warn them away. Although, this would directly contradict with the stability objective but I don't think she expects to find stability with Jamie in the way that she eventually does.

Scene 6

In this scene, Anna meets Jamie to discuss and watch the film but this turns into an argument about how Jamie sees her - "Radiant". At the beginning of the scene, Anna is smoking which links to her objective of trying to quit smoking - studies have shown that people who have recovered from drug abuse are more likely to take up smoking in order to curb their addiction to the more destructive drug. Moreover, it is increasingly hard for smokers and drug users to quit both at the same time. This would suggest that Anna is trying to curb her dependence on drugs by smoking. It may also relate to the Super-objective of trying to feel closer to Carol as it is shown that Carol smoked throughout Anna's childhood. Moreover, the objective of Anna trying to find stability without actively seeking it is shown when she responds to Jamie's words about how he "wants to hold (her). Very close. Just here" which is exactly what Anna wants in her stability. The MoO for this scene is when Jamie walks in with the flowers which allow the audience to understand that Jamie believes that this is a date - further on in the scene, the audience understand that Anna doesn't want this to be a date as her motivation is to watch the film. However, it could be argued that part of Anna's motivation is to start a relationship with Jamie as shown by her buying a tea and coffee and her response to Jamie's monologue at the end of this scene.

Scene 7

In this scene, Anna and Jamie are preparing for their new life together in the family house. This can immediately be seen in the MoO when Anna is painting and Jamie is putting boxes at the front of the stage. this sets up their relationship nicely for the audience as the audience are now aware that Anna and Jamie have started a serious relationship and it must be serious as Anna has moved into the house that she told John in Scene 4 that she didn't want/couldn't move back into. This links to one of Anna's objectives of finding stability because if she feels safe enough with Jamie to move into the house her mother bought, then she must have found something secure and stable within him. It may also link to the Super-objective because as Anna feels stable with Jamie, she is allowed to explore why Carol left - I think that because she's with Jamie, she is no longer afraid to search harder for her mother within the house which is why Anna says that this is "a Good Thing". Anna's motivation at the start of the scene is to paint the house but this changes when she becomes scared later in the scene with her motivation turning to the Super-objective.

Scene 8

In scene 8, Anna is getting ready for her wedding. The MoO is obvious straight away - that Anna is getting ready for her wedding. This is due to the wedding dress that she puts on in the scene - the audience can recognise what may happen in the scene from the transition when the wedding dress is being put on stage. Anna's motivation is therefore easily recognisable as to get ready for her wedding. I think that Anna finally achieves one of her objectives within the play in this scene which is further consolidated in the following scene - she has found stability through Jamie and their relationship.

Scene 9

In this scene, Anna tells her cousin Daisy that she's pregnant something which is identified by the MoO when Daisy says "Collection of cells ... sitting in your wife's uterus that you helped put there with your wonderful almighty penis". This further links to Anna's objective of stability because she is certainly grounded by Jamie (now her husband) and the baby Bonnie to be. This is also the first scene in which Anna uses the objective of wanting to become a good mother as shown by the line "I think I might be good at it. Being a mother. I think I might be okay". This quote also links to the Super-objective in some way because she has somewhat identified (or feels as though she has identified) one of the reasons why Carol committed suicide. She may also feel closer to Carol as she may finally get to understand why Carol began to unravel more after Anna's birth. Anna's motivation is simple in this scene - to tell Daisy about the pregnancy and host a dinner party successfully where she succeeds in both.

Scene 10

In this scene, Anna is shown mid-labour giving birth to Bonnie. Anna's motivation in this scene is to, therefore, give birth. The MoO in this scene is shown straight away, in fact, as soon as the pilates ball is brought onstage as the audience - after being shown the given circumstance of Anna's pregnancy - will most likely know that pilates balls are used to help in labour. This MoO is enhanced as soon as the scene starts as Anna begins to breathe heavily, appears to be in pain, and is sitting on the pilates ball with her legs outstretched slightly - all things which happen during labour. The main objective in this scene is to be a good mother despite the harsh words that are said by Anna to Jamie - "How Dare you try to get Anywhere near my Fucking Vagina when I'm trying to Shit a Fucking Baby out of it!" - which is certainly called for as Jamie does try to "move things along" in a sexual way. Despite this, she is trying to be a good mother, it's just that under the strain of labour, she is finding it increasingly hard to put up with Jamie's antics.

Scene 11

In this scene, Anna is shown to be deeply disturbed after Bonnie's birth and tells a nurse, Lola, about the nightmare that she had about a baby boy. She is certainly beginning to realise her Super-objective even more as she will be acutely aware that Carol most probably felt like this after Anna's birth as is shown in Scene 5. This allows Anna to understand clearly why Carol left due to severe post-natal depression. Another objective that Anna clearly wants to achieve in this scene is to be a good mother. Although this is not entirely obvious, I think that she is trying to look after Bonnie as shown by her concerned "She doesn't eat". Although, she could be trying to fault herself for not providing for Bonnie properly as shown by her line "There's no milk". The motivation for Anna in this scene would, therefore, fall towards concern for Bonnie but to also tell Lola about the nightmare that she had as well as to tell Lola about the things she is already doing 'wrong' as a mother. The MoO is shown straight away as Anna seems severely affected by the birth hence why she is standing there. This, coupled with the given circumstances from Carol's side of the stage - such as the anxiety Carol showed after giving birth to Anna - underpins the audience's view that Anna is suffering from post-natal depression.

Scene 12

In this scene, Anna has been walking and returns to her hospital room to find John waiting for her which sparks her motivation in this scene which is to tell John about her walk and to reveal how she feels about herself, Bonnie, and Carol. This would show that the Super-objective is used in this scene as Anna is evaluating the impact Carol made on her and on John. She uses the line "Live very big. She said" which I think is revealing how Anna finally understands why Carol said that to her - to give Anna an idea of something to live for that Carol couldn't achieve herself. The MoO is shown immediately when John is sat onstage as the audience recognise that he is Anna's father from Scene 4. The relationship between them is further shown when Anna walks onstage and tells him about her 'walk' to which John visibly sinks in his chair showing that Anna has become detached from him and the reality around her.

Scene 13

In this scene, Anna is given ECT. Her motivation in this scene, possibly influenced by Jamie and John, is to have ECT to 'get better' however, this motivation doesn't follow through as she seems more mentally affected the next time the audience see Anna in the following scenes. As the audience has already been open to the idea of ECT from Carol's side of the stage, the MoO is much easier for them to identify - when they see the hospital bed being brought onstage and the shocking that follows in the scene, they understand the treatment that Anna is being given. The objective for Anna in this scene is to become a good mother as she enquires about Bonnie in the scene. This would show that she still wants to be a good mother and is prepared to have ECT in order to return to normality which never happens in the play.

Scene 14

In this scene, Anna is staring at a Moses Basket which Bonnie is inside and wants to pick her up (the motivation for the scene) but can't. The MoO is established throughout the scene as Anna becomes increasingly distressed that she can't pick up the baby which is identified by the audience the more distressed Anna becomes.

Scene 15

In this scene, Anna is shown rocking Bonnie and then shown walking offstage in order to kill herself which is the motivation for this scene. The motivation for the scene could also be to stop what she is feeling in order to return to normality - when this doesn't happen, she resorts to suicide.  

In my opinion, I think that Anna does achieve her Super-objective because she manages to come up with her own reasons for her mother's suicide - Anna's influence on Carol's life - which I think she fully believes certainly at the start of the play and towards the end of the play. Moreover, she does succeed in quitting drugs and finding stability, although this doesn't last. She is also partially successful in being a good mother, particularly in Scene 9, however, after the birth, this declines and ultimately spirals out of control.

Anatomy of a Suicide - Part 29

Week Commencing 12th February 2018

Monday 12th February: 

During this lesson we focused on the proxemics/blocking of Scene 6 and Scene 7.

Scene 6 is where Anna and Jamie meet to get coffee so that Anna can look at the film which doesn't happen. When Jamie (Bruce) walks on stage, I, as Anna, can feel his presence and so I turn around whilst smoking (breathing in at this point) which cues Bruce to say "Radiant" which means that it's clear from the start that Jamie didn't know what to say when he sees Anna. After Jamie has said this line, I exhale and blow out the smoke which shows how funny it is for someone to say something like that - it also adds in a comedic element. It transpired that I was saying the line "My aunt used to say radiant". I said it as though I was simply pointing out that Emma used to say radiant rather than making fun of Jamie. When I say the line "I haven't been here in ages" I was told to gesture to where 'here' actually is, potentially with large arm movement or looking around with my head. This will allow for the audience to understand where the scene is set and let them know that this is the first time in a while that Anna has come back to the city where she grew up. Anna kept away from this place because of the memories that are contained here - growing up, her mother dying, and potentially her own downfall into drugs. As Jamie begins to confess his 'love' for Anna, Anna becomes to get gradually more angry, and so looks away from him, probably beginning to smoke again to show that she's really annoyed with him - it is found out in Scene 9 that Jamie doesn't like people who smoke, so Anna continuing to smoke here would potentially annoy Jamie himself slightly. Jamie's "Anna" after he has said "I can't stop thinking about you" is therefore to get her attention - it certainly will get the audience's attention because Jamie and Carol say this line simultaneously. As Anna begins to speak after Jamie has confessed this, her words should be less fluid, allowing her some thinking time about what she's going to say hence why there are phrases such as "It is not Unpainful" and "that is not not difficult" to indicate that she's messing her words up slightly. This shows that she is romantically invested in Jamie because even when she was high in Scene 2 and dealing with an emotionally compromised John in Scene 4 with words such as "Veracity" and "facetious" being said - she can't string words together and is using less complicated words as she herself may be slightly emotionally compromised because of Jamie during this scene due to her attraction and due to her overwhelming anger.

In Scene 7 Jamie and Anna have just moved into the family house together. There were few things that needed to be directed in Anna's section of this scene because of the little amount that Anna actually does - for the majority of the scene she is painting. When Jamie and Anna hug there was an issue of where I should put my face without it being stuffed into Bruce's chest. When Anna says her line "I'm not. That's not what I" she should turn her head out to the audience - this also means that the line isn't muffled into Bruce's chest. Additionally, I was told to put both arms around Bruce (before, I had thought that my right arm would stay dangling down so that I could get paint on his leg) so that the paint roller and paint now go on his back, rather than on his leg - this makes the hug more realistic and shows that Anna is reciprocating it. When Anna goes into her spiel that starts with "She's just quite a bit closer than she's been. She's just" I pause after "She's just" in order to draw attention to the kiss between Laura and Carol that's happening on Carol's side of the stage which has repercussions seemingly with Bonnie's own sexuality. 

N2C, 14th February 2018: 

At this weeks N2C we focused on Scene 5's proxemics and cuing. In Scene 5 Jamie interviews Anna about how she got to the refuge and contains Anna's largest monologue. At the beginning of the scene, Jamie is setting up his camera whilst Anna is watching on until Jamie says "Hello". The assembly of the camera suggests to the audience that Jamie and Anna are going to make a porn film, especially as the audience have seen Anna get high and have heard that she's raped a 15 year old boy - they wouldn't put it past her to engage in this sort of activity. Jamie sits Anna down by assembling a light box next to her and aligning her face up to the camera at the same time as Anna is offering him a drink. When Anna says that she'll go and make the drinks she stands up. After she's done this, Jamie replies with a "No, no. I'll go." Here, Anna should have a massive reaction to what he's said because it's very weird that he would suggest he do that when it's not his house as Anna does point out a couple of lines later. When Anna calls out to him "Good luck. God speed" these should be louder as though she is shouting through a large house which immediately contrasts with her next lines which are quieter. During the quiet moments in Anna's scene when Jamie is gone from the stage, she should be nervous by looking around, showing that she is interested in him. At one point she gets up from her seat and looks at her reflection in the mirror, sorting out her hair and face. Both of these things may again suggest that Jamie and Anna are going to make a porn film. Another couple of things that we added in which further suggest the making of a porn film are that when Jamie says the line "Let me just check we're all set" he should take off the jacket that he's been wearing in the scene. Additionally, when Jamie asks if Anna has "done anything like this before" Anna's response of "What?" is punctuated with Anna uncrossing her legs. These subtle hints will suggest the making of the porn film but when Jamie begins to ask Anna about her journey and especially when Anna begins her monologue, these thoughts are interrupted - the audience may berate themselves for believing the worst in Anna but this is acceptable because of what the audience have already seen - the monologue gives more depth to Anna's character that the audience haven't yet seen. 

Thursday 15th February 2018:

During this lesson we applied some of Stanislavski's methods to the play. We used Objectives, Super-Objectives, and touched upon Tempo and Rhythm.

Super Objective: The final goal that the character wants to achieve.

Objectives: What a character wants to achieve in a scene or an action.

Tempo: The speed of an action.

Rhythm: The intensity or depth of the experience.

The super objective that Bella and I chose for Anna was to understand Carol's reasons for leaving her and causing her this much pain. Anna is massively affected by Carol's death so the super objective can be seen throughout her life from when she is 16 and has just been told about Carol's death. One of the reasons why Anna began to take drugs was because of Carol's death - Anna may feel as though she is a cause of Carol's death which is somewhat true. In Scene 7, Anna says that she hasn't felt as close to her mother as she is feeling at that moment in years - this could show that although Anna doesn't fully understand the reason for Carol's death, she is beginning to accept her death which allows her to think about the good times that the two of them shared.

We also chose 3 smaller objectives that are present at certain times within the piece. These were:

1) To stop being dependent on drugs - this applies to the beginning of the play and is achieved by Scene 4 when Anna is shown in rehab.

2) To have steadiness - she doesn't actively seek steadiness as she says in her Scene 5 monologue, but we thought that she wants some semblance of steadiness that was akin to her childhood hence why she decides to go to the commune and moves into the family house. This links to the super objective because both of these places are able to reconnect Anna to Carol and therefore help her understand why Carol committed suicide. Anna achieves steadiness by Scene 7 with Jamie but this is brutally ripped from her in Scene 11 after the birth of Bonnie.

3) To be a good mother - Anna first shows this objective in Scene 9 when she lets Daisy know of her pregnancy as Anna says "I think I might be good at it, being a mother, I think I might be okay". However, Anna never gets to complete this objective as she becomes severely depressed after Bonnie is born and commits suicide before Bonnie has a chance to know her.

In order to show the super objective and various objectives myself and Bella made a movement piece. We added in quotes from the play that showed these objectives and also linked/pointed to her super objective of understanding carol. The quotes that we picked are as follows:

1) "She wouldn't have expected" - from Scene 4. This scene shows the first time in which Anna mentions her mother but this is not explicitly clear to the audience. At this point in the movement piece I grabbed Bella's arm to signify Anna's drug use - this shows that Carol didn't expect Anna to get addicted to drugs. In the play, Anna says this line to explain to John that he didn't have to keep the house but with the manipulation of the line, it takes on a whole new meaning.

2) "If my mother couldn't, then I must be an almighty piece of shit" - from the Scene 5 monologue. This is the first step into Anna trying to understand why Carol decided to commit suicide showing that she blames herself. We used this line to show that Anna has lost the steadiness that she had when she lived with Carol.

3) "She's just right here in a way she hasn't been since" - from Scene 7. This shows the super objective of Anna finally becoming close to Carol, accepting why she did what she did, and to some extent understanding why she had to leave.

4) "Line's gone. Hook's gone. Down." - from Scene 15. It is in this scene that Anna commits suicide and shows that she has failed her objective of becoming a good mother. It also shows the link to Carol who said in Scene 9 that Anna was "a fish hook pulling me up when I want to be under" suggesting that Anna finally understand what Carol was going through in order for her to commit suicide. At this point in the movement piece, Bella lowered me down gently showing that Anna wanted to be a good mother but due to her suicide in this scene failed in her objective.

We only touched on tempo-rhythm slightly by exaggerating a section of movement that we have blocked in the play so far. Despite it being abstract, the exaggeration of Anna shooting up meant that I was able to think about why Carol had decided to commit suicide slightly which would have a large impact on Anna in this scene. 

Five Truths - National Theatre

Extra Research

What is the National Theatre?

The National Theatre is a public funded theatre that supports new talent. It was originally based in the Old Vic Theatre, London, whilst the current theatres that it currently 'lives' in were being built. It tours across the UK and provides performances of plays/musicals written by Shakespeare, international classical drama writers, and contemporary playwrights. Additionally, it provides National Theatre Live which is where performances of National Theatre productions are broadcast to cinemas across the UK and around the world; the first National Theatre Live was in 2009. The calls for a National Theatre date as far back as 1847 where there seemed to be a 'star' system in the theatre industry in Britain. Finally, on October 22nd 1963, the National Theatre opened with a production of Hamlet. The company houses three separate theatres: Olivier Theatre, named after Laurence Olivier, the first artistic director; Lyttelton Theatre, named after Oliver Lyttelton, the first board chairman; and Dorfman Theatre, named after Lloyd Dorfman. There was also a Temporary Theatre from April 2013 to May 2016.

The Five Truths Series

The National Theatre created the Five Truths Series which was a series in which a scene from Hamlet and the character Ophelia are examined. They are presented in five different ways in the style of five different theatre practitioners: Stanislavski, Brecht, Artaud, Grotowski, and Brook.

Stanislavski

In my opinion, I think that this version of the piece was the most boring one, especially compared to the more interesting and genuinely frightening versions such as the Artaud inspired one. It was very naturalistic, which could be used to describe Stanislavski's style of theatre, and although there seemed to be vast amounts of emotion that Ophelia had about the deaths of her potential husband and her father but not as much compared with that of the Grotowski version. This piece did show the emotion that would be needed to become fully immersed in the character and it seems as though the actress may have thought about the Magic If which is why she seems so affected by the Hamlet's death.

Brecht

The Brecht piece was much more interesting to watch than the Stanislavski piece. To me, I think that this piece was more compelling to watch due to Ophelia's lesser reaction to Hamlet's death which showed her to be distancing the audience - the Verfremdungseffekt - and also suggests that the actress is presenting an archetype rather than immersing herself into the character. Additionally, Ophelia shows less emotion throughout the piece than what is shown in the Stanislavski and the Grotowski pieces, especially when she commits suicide at the end. This would allow the audience to think about the reasons why she committed suicide, rather than the emotional needs - theatre is for "the brain not the heart".

Artaud

Artaud was a French dramatist who worked at around the same time as Brecht. He, however, took a different route to Brecht, and in some ways was somewhat similar to Stanislavski, because he wanted the audience to become emotional when watching a piece, although, Artaud wanted the audience to look into their fears, rather than get lost into the piece that they were watching. Artaud presented the Theatre of Cruelty where he wanted the audience to experience discomfort/confusion about the piece that they were watching. In many of Artaud's pieces, there was no storyline, but rather a theme that ran throughout, which is similar to the political themes presented in Brechtian theatre. His pieces would have minimal dialogue, instead animalistic noises - such as grunts and screams - were used to present the story. He was heavily influenced by surrealism due to a life long addiction to opiates such as heroin. Additionally, he had spells inside mental institutions which also influenced his work.

Visual Poetry - Instead of words, Artaud used stylised movement, gesture, dance, music, and sound effects to communicate with the audience.

Dream World - Combined with visual poetry, Artaud used symbolic props and costumes in order to affect the audience's emotion and subconscious.

Assaulting the Audience - Lights, music, sound, and images were used to shock and confront the audience; this has been made easier in recent years due to the development of technology.

Involving the Audience - The action would take place around the audience which would allow them to be closer and more a part of the action; in some Artaud inspired pieces (and in my GCSE Drama devised piece) actors can go into the audience in order to affect them emotionally.

Deliberate Cruelty - This is an attack on the audience's emotions and senses in a deliberate attempt designed to shock and total involve the audience.

This version of the scene from Hamlet was again exciting and interesting to watch. There was a complete change of props from the previous two pieces, including a goldfish bowl from which the camera was placed which I thought was an effective way of getting the audience directly involved with the action. For the first few minutes of the piece there were distorted sounds and images on screen where the sounds were amplified. At this point the actress was making the form of words with her mouth but wasn't actually speaking, so when she began to speak I got shivers from how distorted and unexpected her voice was. I thought this piece was the most effective way of showing Ophelia's pain because I thought the distortions could resemble her emotional pain and may also show the state of her mind which gives a clearer reason to her death - which seemed vastly more dramatic than in the other pieces. This piece also attacked the audience's senses (and made my younger brother scared when I watched it in the room with him!) which directly involved the audience.

Grotowski

Grotowski was a Polish dramatist who thought that theatre had become too infected with extravagant costume, make up, acting and staging. The only thing, to him, that was required for a performance was the actors themselves and that the relationship between the actor and the audience was key and wanted to eliminate unnecessary movement. He wanted audiences to experience truths about human experience through watching actors access their own inner truth. He did this by training actors to be stripped away of pre-conceived ideas and masks that would aid them in their acting. Additionally, he trained actors to have supreme power over their mental and physical state and wanted an actor's voice and body to be mirrored by the text.

This version of the scene was again interesting to watch, however, the first time I watched it (without researching the practitioner) I found the piece confusing which may have affected my view on the piece. Much like Artaud, the piece was far more dramatic in showing Ophelia's mental state, especially at the beginning where Ophelia seemed to be losing herself in her grief. Her voice and body at this point mirror the text and suggest that she is very affected by the prior events. Additionally, this piece was effective because there was less of a build up to her death in the beginning, which for me was easier to watch because it was less boring for the audience. There were fewer props and less of a focus on hair and make up which allows the audience to focus on the person rather than on what's around them which sticks to Grotowski's style of theatre.

Brook

Brook is an English theatre and film director who was inspired by Artaud, Brecht, and Grotowski. He has directed a lot of Shakespeare with the Royal Shakespeare Company. He wants to liberate actors from methods and wants to break down the classic conventions of theatre. He called these classic conventions 'Deadly Theatre'. He also coined terms such as 'Holy Theatre' (seeks out spiritual/ritualistic nature of theatre) and 'Rough Theatre' (popular without pretentions to art). His personal theatre was 'Immediate Theatre' which is the notion of experimental theatre but is a pretty useless theory.

I found this version of the piece quite boring to watch as the tone stayed relatively the same throughout and didn't really present Ophelia's emotions. However, it could be said that the tone of the piece shows how bad her mental state is because she hardly seems to be reacting. Despite this, I found it harder to connect with Ophelia in the piece than I had in others such as Artaud.

Anatomy of a Suicide: Part 5

Lesson: 12th October 2017

Carol and John

During this lesson, we again focused on Carol and John and their relationship. In my opinion, their relationship is not an open one which is highlighted in the very first scene where it is clear that John doesn't know Carol's inner most thoughts at all and was completely taken by surprise by Carol's suicide attempt. It is clear that John feels somewhat guilty for not being there for Carol but still wants to support her. Below are three freeze frames and their transitions which were initially based upon Carol and John's relationship. However, before we performed it, we said that the piece was based upon the phrase "We said vows" which is said by John. I think this highlights John's despair and hurt towards Carol because the fact they married suggests that they should be open about everything which Carol clearly isn't due to her failed suicide. In my opinion I think that the succession of freeze frames suggest John's response to the line and his opinions on how the two ended up in the situation presented at the beginning of the piece.

This freeze frame initially was to show how John and Carol's relationship may have been at the beginning where they would have told each other everything that they're thinking about. This is shown by how tightly Carol and Peter (here played by Hannah and Peter) are hugging each other and that they can keep depressing thoughts at bay (shown by the rest of the group laid around them in a circle) by each others presence. However, with the emphasis put on the aforementioned line, it slightly changed the idea behind the freeze frame. It suggests at first that John's opinion on their relationship is very much the same as it was before, that they were initially very close in their marriage. However, as the people on the floor are gripped onto their legs, it suggests that Carol's bad thoughts are clinging on but, as their relationship (to John at least) seems strong, the thoughts are kept at bay, which is shown by the ring being lower than Carol and John. Additionally, the ring could symbolise a wedding ring and with people gripping onto the couple's leg it suggests that Carol maybe feel constrained by marriage due to these thoughts that she thinks she can't ever share with her husband.

Initially, this freeze frame showed how John appears to be bearing the brunt of the guilt in the relationship due to Carol's suicide. However, with the line change, it suggests that John is trying to hold Carol up throughout the marriage without even realising it. As Carol appears to be falling/sliding down John's back, this suggests that she's not in control of the situation which puts more pressure on John to heal the marriage, especially after Carol's suicide. Again, the other people within the freeze frame are either lifting Carol up on John's back even more, or are pressing John's head further down. This suggests that their marriage is faltering slightly due to Carol's invasive thoughts and due to her attempted suicide.

At first, this freeze frame was meant to show John's grief and despair at Carol's attempted suicide and the problems that it will cause for both of them. With John standing in front of Carol, it suggests that John is fully taking control of the situation but is also ashamed of what Carol has done. In this sense it is somewhat clear that John holds all the power in their marriage because it seems that Carol has given up on their vows and has broken them by trying to die - in essence, an escape clause from the marriage. In this sense, the 'old' Carol could be dead to John, replaced by a woman who he no longer thinks he understands.

Bonnie and Jo

In this lesson we also read the first scene in which Bonnie appears. Bonnie is the daughter of Anna and the granddaughter of Carol and it is clear to see some echoes of both Anna's and Carol's stories in Bonnie's throughout each scene. There are some major differences between Bonnie's first scene and the other two women's; for example, Bonnie is not the character who has most of the speech in this scene, instead this is given to Bonnie's future partner, Jo. This would suggest to the audience that Jo is the main character within this story, confirmed as Jo is the character who's injured within this scene and not Bonnie. Additionally, Bonnie begins the scene by saying a variation of "I'm sorry" which is how both Anna and Carol had begun their scenes. This would signal to the audience that Bonnie is the main character within this story, but this may be missed due to Jo's overwhelming speech.

I think that the audience would warm to Jo more because she shows more embarrassment at the situation than Bonnie does, most probably because Bonnie is a doctor and sees this on a daily basis. This could make the audience want Jo to be the main character within this story because Jo has allowed more of her character to be seen and more of her life (her given circumstances). In contrast, Bonnie is quite subdued about her family life, possibly because of her mother's suicide and of her slightly dysfunctional family, which would make the audience trust her less than Jo.

Whilst this scene is happening, there are two other scenes also occurring on stage. In Carol's scene, Carol is talking to a child, Daisy, about her attempted suicide - Daisy is being unsupportive throughout and telling Carol about what other members of Carol think about her. In Anna's scene, Anna is taking heroin; both of which juxtapose the humour in Bonnie's scene by being slightly more serious.

Stanislavski

Lesson: 25th September 2017

Emotional Memory Work

We started off today's session by talking about the play that we will be performing as a group in the style of the practitioner, Stanislavski. The play that we will be studying is "Anatomy of a Suicide" by Alice Birch where the main themes are inherited suicide and what it takes to be a woman. I will be going further into this in later blogs when we begin to work on the play itself.

We then did a Stanislavski type 'workshop' where we looked at one of his main ideas; emotional memory (or affective memory). This is where actors to call on the memory of details from a similar situation (or more recently a situation with similar emotions) and import those feelings to those of their characters. Instead of applying this to a character, we simply thought of a memory that had a strong emotion attached to it. I thought of a memory that made me feel quite sad but also panicky; most of the other people within the class also chose a sad memory that gave them a strong physical reaction, for example, I started crying. If this was done during a piece of Stanislavski inspired theatre, it would have allowed the audience to see how upset the character would be.

After a while of simply thinking about the memory laid in a space of our own in the dark in the semi-supine position so that we could concentrate on our own feelings/breathing and not another persons, we were told to sit up and write a letter that voiced our feelings about the situation that we had chosen. At this, I began to grow more emotional as I got more invested in the emotion and situation that I was remembering. At this point, other people began to become so upset that they had to leave the room in order to reign their emotion in.

After 'writing' our letter, we were old to reread it and then fold it up and continue to sit in the dark. This made me feel quite isolated even though I was in a room with a group of people that I feel fairly comfortable with. Additionally, my emotions were become more and more physicalized as was, I suspect, the remainder of the class.

Chipp then used lighting in order to create a sort of scene whereby he would 'read' the letter that we had 'written' describing how we felt in that moment of the memory that we had remembered. As he didn't know what was 'written' on the letter, his reactions, although fairly similar, meant different things for each person. The light that was used, pictured to the right, made me feel quite isolated and on the spot as Chipp 'read' my letter. The lighting also made me feel quite exposed to the rest of the class. Chipp's reaction to the letter made my emotions even more physicalized due to the nature of what was 'written' on the letter as he reacted with disgust. This section was the section of the lesson that seemed most fake because it was the most that was similar to a scene within a play.

I felt that I could express my emotion well more during the part where we were laid in the dark in the semi supine position. This is because I was able to focus more on the memory rather than on what Chipp's response was to the letter and was able to immerse myself more fully into the memory.

After, we all comforted each other as most of us were distraught by the memory that we had used.

 Stanislavski and His Method

Stanislavski was a Russian actor who developed the drama that we recognise today by using realism. This was introduced by him in the early 20th century and included the aforementioned emotional memory. He said that an actor's entrance on stage should be a continuation that precedes the situation presented on stage. He also said that an actor should train his senses so that he can respond freely in the stage environment which would create a wide emotional range. He said that the stage should be an addition to the real world which contrasts heavily with the style of Brecht.

Three core Elements
Stanislavski said that there were three core elements that an actor should use to understand their character. First the actor would go over the script carefully to, secondly, find out what the character wants. They would then determine the given circumstance of the scene such as the setting from subtext within the script.

Objective
The objective for a character is what they want to achieve from any given line/scene/from the entire play. This can be done by breaking a scene into beats that end with the change of subject which could be based on a change of emotion. The actor must also work out the key motivation between each line.

Magic "If"
The Magic If enables actors to get in the mind set of their character at a point within the script which enables an actor to ask "What if this situation happened to me?". This enables an actor to think like their character.

Obstacles
Obstacles are things which prevent a character from their objective. This can be dealt with through:
1) The character gives up their objective.
2) The character finds a way to go around the obstacle.
3) The character plunges along regardless.
This can give an actor an insight into how the character behaves at any given situation.

Internal Monologue
Stanislavski said that people have a semi constant flow of thoughts which would mean that the character and therefore the actor would have a stream of thoughts. This helps the actor as it makes them believe that each action is happening spontaneously. This also prevents the scene from becoming dull after a while.