Major changes that cannot be made.

I was really nervous about the showcase to the seniors but they were surprisingly impressed by the concept. Not that it was fantastic, but they liked it! However, I realised that due to the lack of foundation and research done by the group, a lot of concepts were not put into place and it is too late to change them. If we had more time I am sure we would have made the requirements. As of today, scene 4 is the only one without any changes or complaints. It was too bad we reached the point of realisation only then. Actually, our whole group wanted the sounds to be similar to that of Romeo and scene 4. But we did not know where to find or create that type of sound. In fact, it was only when Rui shan stumbled upon the bipolar track did we get the sound we wanted.

If we had had more time to research or knew where to find sources, we would have built a better foundation. But we had to dive into the movements too early. Miss Norzian pushed for a good foundation (every decision and move with justification) from the beginning but I guess we just wanted to get things done quickly, with our own movements and our favourite songs for our own story.

Things that could not totally be changed: Sound choices (especially scene 1), movement vocabulary, character air time (due to nature of our story. However, we did let each character have his/her moments in the play)

However, I felt that although we could not always reach an equillibrium with our 2 skills, we did effectively brought out the emotions and message of our piece to the audience. In addition, we made a good decision to weave each scene together to create one storyline instead of the usual, episodic and sometimes confusing expressionistic plot. This way, the 15-16 year olds we are targeting would understand the play better.

Major Change!

Due to comments from the last showcase, we had to change our script. Each scene now is directed to the theme of a choice of identity. All the characters get to have their moments but we still don’t have the “airtime” requirement covered. It is hard to have everyone’s story spread out evenly in 20 minutes without losing focus.

So here are the changes:

Scene 1- A 45sec build up for the father’s character using the interludes of Plastic Flower. Choice of identity shown in father’s character.

Scene 2 – The original scene 2 and 3 combined to give Hamid and Chen Xing more air time and to show the theme of identity because of the choice the protagonist has to make between the nerd and the friend.

Scene 3- Original scene 4, shows how the sibling is forsaking her identity because of her father and how she is beeing hurt in the process.

Scene 4 – Original scene 5, protagonist sees in her sister, the identity she could become and runs away from it.

Scene 5- All identities come on stage where the protagonist has to choose the identity she wants.

We will also be using sound and lights as our skill instead of multimedia. However, we will still have the video to support our piece. The screen would be hanged further in front so that it would not be distracting.

We have scene 5 left to choreograph after today’s rehearsal!

Update: Original notes from meeting this week:

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Scene 1

• Basically the same movements
• Changes include: Sibling will be in the scene all the time. This scene causes her illness to seep in. Audience can see moments of insanity.
• Father tries to parent children, they do not listen.

Scene 2

• Child, Friend 1 & 2, Father watching at the sidelines (with intention to help again)
• Friend 1 & 2 presents a choice to Child, differing routes to follow.
• Friend 1 & 2 affects each other at the same time in their endeavour to influence Child.
• “Pitching” their ideals to Child, Child is affected, wants to choose but don’t know how.

Scene 3

• Parent and Sibling scene.
• Parent gives up on giving them a choice, asserts his.
• Parent’s violent behaviour causes her to be fully psycho.

Scene 4

• Child & Sibling interaction.(same movement)
• This scene shows the Child what she could become.
• Child runs away from this “choice”.

Scene 5

• End result.
• Child will make a choice in this scene.
• This scene shows how Identity is based upon how one ultimately makes a decision, in between external factors. (How others affect you à DV) It is more of an internal struggle than an external one.

Blog entry 4d (reflection)

Costume I admit was not good at all. But it was the cheapest way. T-shirts and fabric paint with stickers. Simplistic, not what I had imagined but then again, we are not using costume design as our skill so I guess I’ll just have to deal with the basic aspects like what type of line/pattern/etc

Anyways, rehearsal was great! This time, we choreographed it together! Through the laughs and funny things we tried, we got scene 3 done in an hour. Which is a miracle considering the amount of time it took for us to do the first 2 scenes. I really thought the fish eye thing I suggested was the best, direct-and-specific idea I have had. BUT software software software! As of now, we will not be using videos so the effect can be put in place. I know of friends who can do fish eye effects without a Holga on existing digital photos so it should be feasible.

I have been researching on the possible backgrounds(stated in 4a) we could use on the screen for each part of scenes so that multimedia is used in more ways. Furthermore, using expressionist art for what it means to us would help us convey the message better and help the audience see what the protagonist sees.

Lighting had to be considered while designing the costumes so we got that roughly done way before the next lighting and sound cue deadline.

In conclusion, although we are behind our own targets, we are picking up the pace for movement choreography which is good! Hopefully we can meet our end july target by finishing everything. Scene six will be hard but we shall overcome! Even if we miss the target by a slight bit, we would have enough time to brush up yea? haha

Blog entry 4c (sketches)

The Green one is the father’s costume, the yellow is the friend’s one, the black is the nerd’s and the last is the sister’s.

Blog entry 4b

Sorry this came in late, I just came back home.

Character: Protagonist

She will be wearing a white childlike top to symbolize innocence and purity. It also makes her stand out as she is the only one in every day clothes unlike the others. This will immediately tell the audience that she is the protagonist. The shape of her top would be a triangle and the angular sides would tend more towards horizontal than vertical. Thus, making her seem shorter compared to the other characters who try to suggest what she shoud be or could be. This will bring out the theme of politics of identity as the more dominant characters in her life impose ideas on her. This will also bring out our DV as the audience sees how she is affected by the actions of the more dominant characters in her life.

Character: Father

Advancing features:

(Space)Large, unbroken.

(Line)straight, continuos, thick, sharp, solid, vertical, long,

Advancing Features

Aspect	Design	Effect/symbol of
Path	Straight	Stiffness, Tension, austerity
width	Thick	Forcefulness, aggressiveness
Continuity	Unbroken	rigid
Sharpness	Sharp	Assertiveness, hardness
Contuor	Shaped
Consistency	Solid	strength
Length	Long	elongates
Direction	Vertical and horizontal, checked	Strength, austerity, widens and elongates
Space (pattern)	large	enlarges, makes character look more dominant
Shape (pattern)	straight edged	harsh, Assertive, rigid
Scale (pattern)	Large	enlarge
Colour	GreenUnder red light – Under blue light-	nature, learning

Blog entry 4a (Costume Theatre Tradition)

Tradition

Costume would follow cubism as expressionist theatre used cubist costumes (mostly).

Searched on Sonia Delaunoy.

Coming up:

1. Blog entry 4b (Costume CC)

Character:

Colour:

Why: character? Relationship to other characters/DV?

Lines: (path, thickness, continuity, sharpness, contuor, consistency, length, direction)

Why:

Shapes:

Why:

Pattern:

Why:

2. Blog entry 4c (Costume Sketches):

3. Blog entry 4d (reflection on rehearsal)

(Will update by 2moro)

side notes, expressionist paintings we could use as background:

Vincent van gogh: Scene 1a sunflower, Scene 2 stary night.

Edvard munch: Scene 1b The dead mother, Scene 3 Anxiety from L’Album des Peintres Graveurs

http://www.vangoghgallery.com/

Blog entry 3b (Sketches)

Have to discuss transitions for the protagonist, the sibling and the father with the group before designing the costumes to show the transition. Expressionist designs should inform the audience the stereotype/state the character is in or how the protagonist views the situation. Therefore, designs are exaggerated. So maybe we would have to show the exaggerated changes in character too.

For the 2 friends, I used large stickers as badges as they are cheap and show the audience immediately that friend 1 is all fun and games like pokemon and friend 2 is all about book awards, etc.

For the protagonist I was thinking of a dress like the one in the picture above. I found a top that has the same “structure”- the bottom being a lot larger than the chest area, the cloth used having the ruffle effect and puffy at the shoulders except that it is almost like a sleeve-less top for ease in movement. The actress would not wear a dress as it would restrict movement. Instead she will wear a similar top and leggings.

Blog entry 3 (showcase)

I realised that we needed more research on laban and that though reading is a chore, the laban book must go through all of us! I watched the lifehouse skit again and realised what Miss Norzian and the rest were talking about. The lifehouse one was really like a skit but ours, a dance. However, we want to use contemporary, laban dance techniques. So I was thinking that we would have to do something like lifehouse at the first part where there was dance but not to the beat. More towards a story being played out. Something like mime maybe? However, I felt that scene 2ais something like a skit. The only drawback is that I don’t know whether we can achieve the same energy as a dance.

Another feedback was that the words were too distracting. I thought that we could have the words on 3 occasions in the 1 scene. The first part when the father is reading it and everyone does not much. The second one at the song transition. And the third at the other pause. Coincidentally those times are when the father starts to try new teaching techniques. Also I suggested that we could find expressionist art to be projected. We’ll see how it works out.

Blog entry 2b

I did not want to edit the original one because it was part of the thinking process. Basically what happened in the middle of the week was – Miss Norzian told us that we had to have a solid script and research on laban. Also, we had technical conflicts.

Everything on the internet about Laban was about his life and notation. So me and Hamid went to the explanade on Sunday to find the books. We spent half the time trying to find it and the other half trying to find which is actually useful. In the end, we only found 2 books that were useful and that we could borrow for Rui shan to read. Lesson: I read a few things and thought that the heavy weight was used in our piece when we were controled and the light when we were trying to break free.

We had a lot of changes in the middle of the week. I showed them Lena Park’s plastic flower for the 6 scene, and Lifehouse video for the 1 scene and Ruishan showed the Chinese song. We had conflicts but compromised on plastic flower for the first scene.The 6 scene is left undecided for the end. The first 1.5 mins of the Lifehouse video helped convey what I saw for scene 1a to the rest. We did not use exact movements but had a vision of what it would be like.

Lifehouse video

Lena park – plastic flower

Notes on expressionism from the books

1) Heights

2) Setting not seperate from stage action – plasticity of stage design.

3) Check up on edward gorden craig and Adolphe Appia set designs – radical.

4) Henrik Ibsen was a realist and was into symbolist drama. (Expressionism is the anti-realism so we are using his idea and going against him hahaha that is why it is okay for me not to like his play)

5) ” where the impressionist tried to paint external reality, the expressionist insisted on conveying his private experience, his inner idea or vision of what he saw.”

6) Drama of protest – at first with pre-war authority of family and community, the rigid lines of social order and eventually the industrialization of society and the mechanization of life. (it basically goes against conventions/authorities/social order of those times, we are going against the conventions of the singapore study society)

7) Write what could not be seen but felt – nothing objective, all subjective.

expressionist drama appeals to emotions while epic theatre sequences are arranged to stimulate intelligence of the audience like brecht.

Characteristics and techniques of an expressionist play:

1) Atmosphere- dreamlike and nightmarish

2) Setting – Bizzare shapes and sensational, unnatural colours.

3) Characters lost their individuality – Identified by ‘the son’ ‘the father’ ‘the engineer’ and so on. such characters were stereotypes rather than individual personalities and represented social groups rather than particular people . they In their impersonality, they could appear grotesque and unreal.

4) Plot and structure was disjointed, episodic. Instead of dramatic conflict of a well-made play, the emphasis was on the sequence of dramatic events made by the dreamer -like the author speaking directly to the audience.

5) Dialogue evokes sympathetic feelings directly instead of ’spoken action’ in which the words directed a person’s action.

6) The style of acting avoided detail of human behaviour- a player might appear to be overeacting and adopting the broad mechanical movements of a puppet.