Pre-Writing

Analysis of the literary features of the text

• Quick summary of scene
• Foreshadowing
• Death
• Love
• Translated to performance - emphasis on love, romeo and death

Exploration of the chosen approach to the text

How well has the student addressed the theatrical questions raised by the extract?

How well has the student explored the dramatic potential of the chosen extract through his or her selected approach and its realization?

• Emphasis on words
• Blocking issues
• Memorization issues
• Emotion
• Levels
• Use original response to video AND performance logs

Use of language, structure

• ?????

To be edited in class and Wednesday

Bushnell Review

I enjoyed Warriors Don’t Cry. It was a remarkable story portrayed by a talented actress. The lead actress was very good at switching between characters, but sometimes it did get a little confusing.  However, there were a couple issues with the execution of the show. Some of the lighting was very distracting, and there were a few slip ups with lines that were a little disruptive to the flow of the story. Despite these technical issues, I still really liked the show and thought it was well done.

One of the most difficult aspects of a one-person show is portraying different characters in one body. An actor has to change voice and posture, and somehow keep all stories in their head. Some of the parts this actress played really stood out: Melba, her grandmother, and Danny, the guard. Young Melba was very easy to identify - she stood up, even leaned her body out to audience as she spoke in a higher, girly voice. For grandma, she bent over and spoke with a cracked voice. Danny stood very straight up and had a deep voice. Some other identifiable characters included her mom and the white folk heckling her, however they stood out much less. Overall, her character work was very impressive.

The set of the show was very simple, with black curtains, and a wooden table and bench. This simple set allowed her to let our imaginations transform the furniture. She used the bench, for example, as a car and a desk. However, the lighting was distracting. Two “windows” were shined onto the black curtain, and they were uneven and unnecessary. It may seem like a small thing, but it did not add anything to the set and took my attention away from the story.

At the end of the show, the actress informed us she has been playing Melba for four years. This was kind of surprising, as there were a few line slip-ups. I know every actor has an off day, and it really was not bad considering the amount of memorization that must have gone into that show. Unfortunately, since it was a one woman show, this mistakes became very visible and could not be hidden behind another actor.

Warriors Don't Cry

Warriors Don’t Cry is the memoirs of Melba Pattillo Beals, one of the first black students to experience integration with a white high school. She was one of the Little Rock Nine. The book is about the discrimination she faced as a student, and before she was enrolled. The show is verbatim from the book, written in 1994. The book portrays the year 1957.

Arkansas was filled with tension in 1957. Segregation was legal in America, and a new conversation had began about integration - especially in public schools. Melba Beals wanted an improved education, and the same opportunities as the white people in Little Rock. She signed up to attend an all-white school.
I was curious to see how the actress would adapt the book to stage, while still quoting it verbatim. Having never read the book, I was expecting it to sound like a historical textbook rather than a story. I was pleasantly surprised when I saw it onstage, as it was told as a story and had multiple characters. There was virtually no statement of facts, or explanation of a historical event. Instead, the actress brought us through a plot, something with a storyline. It was very well done.

R + J Review

I was fairly satisfied with my performance in Romeo and Juliet. However, I did not feel quite ready when it came time to film. I would have liked to work more on staging and blocking, and set design. We had a very loose design on set, with a table and a few chairs. It worked for the scene, but some props in the back proved to be slightly distracting when I watched the video. If I could redo the set, I would use a bigger table, have a real knife, and some more bottles for Kevin/Friar to search through.

While watching the video, I also noticed issues with the knife. Part of that was due to not actually having one - but I was also bad at threatening to kill myself instead of threatening to kill Friar Lawrence. Too often was the knife pointed towards him I could have worked more on my knife skills.

One thing I think I did well was portray emotion. I worked very hard to identify emotions and reactions in the skit, and I think you could see it in my face, body, and hear it in my voice. “If in thy wisdom” is a particular line where I liked my emotion. I turned away from Friar, signifying that I was giving up, and my voice got softer - again emphasizing Juliet’s loss of hope. The addition of some blocking helped portray this emotion. I told Kevin to touch my arm during his attempt to comfort me, and me pushing him away showed some more conflict between the two of us.

I wanted to add more crossing in the skit, but did not know how to do that without making it look unnatural. One way it was added was by having Kevin cross in front of me when he went to grab the vial. I thought of Kevin escorting out “Paris” through the door in front of me, but since we did not have an actor to play Paris, it seemed as though he was crossing for no real reason.

I also liked my emotion in my final monologue, when I was alone on the stage. In my script, I highlighted words or phrases where Juliet changed her stance, or had a separate thought. Then when acting, I used these phrases as a rough outline for places to move or do something physical. This helped me show the camera and audience the conflict Juliet was facing.

In terms of literary devices, this scene was riddled with foreshadowing - Juliet talked a lot about her will to die, even begged the Friar to allow her to kill herself. She finds hope in his potion - but it kills her in the end. Knowing this, I emphasized every time she mentioned death. I also played up the theme of love, by pausing most times before I said “Romeo.” By doing both of these things, I could convey to the audience the foreshadowing and love Juliet feels.

Overall, the skit was well done. Many of the things I did not like were unpreventable, and others were cancelled out by the parts I did do well.

https://youtu.be/uR-dH9cxybA

Gretta

Performing in James Joyce’s the Dead was an unique experience. It was fun, but long and slightly draining. Mr. Aronson wanted us to confuse the audience, and I think this was done very well - in a good way. The show is perplexing to watch, there are many stories intertwined and yet something heavy underneath it: “an unimaginable depth.” After all, it was entitled The Dead. As an actor, I had to be both somber and celebrating, hanging out with friends and family. Those are two conflicting emotions - yet somehow she was both.

      This was my first time portraying a character as emotionally complex as Gretta Conroy. I found myself relating to her, which was helpful onstage. However, thinking about events that allowed me to relate to Gretta was exhausting, especially when it was done every night for a week. In the last scene especially, I had to think about the loss Gretta must have gone through, and the conflict she faced with Gabriel. She loved him, and knew confessing her feelings for an old flame would hurt him. As an actress, I had to address all of these feelings.

I thought it was interesting how the bulk of the emotion in the show happened in the last few scenes. This is different from a classic plotline, in which all the action happens in the middle. The change really left the audience with a lot to deal with in a little time. It was probably very overwhelming. I know James Joyce did this on purpose, but I have to wonder why. He must have enjoyed making people think - a valuable skill, but sometimes it seemed like a bit much.

One way James Joyce grabbed the audience’s attention was through the story of Michael and Gretta. Michael’s death made very little sense to me. I understand the reason it was included - it was moving to listen to and perform, but how exactly did Michael die? At first I thought suicide, but the more I listened to my lines the more I thought he just got a cold that night in the rain and never recovered. Isn’t that awfully, well, boring? It’s a mundane way to die made into a haunting story about young love and loss. Not what you would expect, but Joyce knew that.

I would like to read the original short story at some point, probably over the summer. The stage adaptation probably left out some major points. Overall, the show allowed me to grow as an actor, and gave me a deeper understanding of emotion onstage.

Performance Log #3: 11/7-11/11

11/7

Today we had our memorization quiz - which I had completely forgotten about over the weekend. I went over it during lunch and extra help, and found I knew most of it - I just struggle with certain key sentences. I highlighted these, and used that to study. The method of memorization I found most effective (and fast) was using black on notability to cross out the script, then write my lines next to it. I then had a side-by-side comparison of my lines and my memorized parts.

I struggled the most with the middle monologue, which I thought would be the easiest. The language in it was different, for example, the line “Which the commission of thy years and art” was just really difficult to get into my head. If I got that line, I had the rest of the monologue down - but if I forgot it, I found it really difficult to figure out the rest.

I think this difficulty was in part because I memorized the lines in “current” speech. Kevin and I went through and translated every line. This helped me in some places, because I knew how to flow from one was to the next, and would definitely help me in a performance, because improv would come more naturally. However, in a written memorization quiz like this one, knowing the translation was dangerous. I could not put the language back into “shakespeare talk,” and missed exact lines.

11/9

Today was our first draft without scripts! Thankfully I knew most of my lines. It was really hard to perform today, because Kevin and I had very little, if any, rehearsal time between our first draft and today to rehearse. I wanted to fix blocking, but instead I just told Kevin to bring everything downstage. It really helped. Still, we have a lot more to do. Now that we both have the lines, blocking should come easily, but we need to figure out when and where to move. Right now, it is a lot of standing. The most helpful feedback we got was to work on levels and add specific movements at specific lines. Ms. G suggested we use a chair in the middle, for Kevin to use to attempt at calming me down. I think we will try it the next chance we have to rehearse.

I was pleased to learn that I slowed down a decent amount this performance. However, I understand I need to do more. When I get a chance, I will go through the script and add pauses for effect, and to slow the scene.

11/10

More presentations without scripts happened today. Kevin and I did not go again, instead we both watched everybody else. Some people used levels really well, which I found to be useful and something I want to mimic in my own skit. A common comment from people was “too quiet,” so I have to make sure Kevin and I are both loud. I know I am loud, but I worry Kevin cannot match me - I might have to quiet down. In Abby’s skit, Ms. G gave the feedback that the most powerful person should be the most downstage. With Kevin and I, I think Kevin might be more powerful, so he should try to be downstage, but Juliet (myself) is so emotional that it might push her more downstage - and there is a struggle between the two. This is another way I can add movement to our scene.

11/11

Finally, rehearsals! I missed most of class due to Open House, but the 15 minutes I had were well spent. Kevin and I finally decided how the set would look. We are going to have a table in the middle, with the knife and a vial, and then three chairs. One chair is directly in front of the table, facing the audience. The two others are stage right, where Kevin will have a “conversation” with “Paris.” We also added some movement to the scene, where Kevin walks “Paris” out, and crosses in front of me. I do not yet know if that will work, because it could further confuse the audience. I have to try it on Monday. Hopefully Monday we will also have more time to rehearse in the black box.

Performance Log #2: 10/28 - 11/4

10/28

Monday is our first run through, which kind of scares me. Kevin and I have tried to work out the blocking, but it is difficult on stage because the set is set up. I am thinking I will just wing the blocking for the first run through. I can really tell that Kevin is trying to do well in this scene, and I find that reassuring. It is nice to know that I am working with somebody as devoted as I am.

10/31

Today was our first run-through for Ms G. Ours went alright, and I did get some helpful feedback from my peers and teachers. I think one of the biggest things Kevin and I have to work on is staging. I found myself pushing him back towards the corner, as he backed away from my threat and knife. This was frustrating, but I think the only way to change it is to directly block the scene, and not just do whatever feels natural. One of the best notes I received was from Abby. She gave me some ideas about how to use the knife, and since I was having trouble deciding what to do with it, it was useful to hear. Julia also advised me to stop bending down as much, which I did not even realize I was doing. Everybody told me to slow down. I think I speak so fast in this scene because I try to show so much emotion that everybody gets lost. Now, I am such a fast talker that I did not even notice how quickly I was speaking. One of the main reasons I like getting notes from others is so they can point out things I did not realize, which was why today’s rehearsal was stressful  but helpful.

11/2

Today was an emotion activity. We went through our scripts and color coded, line by line, what emotions we were feeling. The scene I am doing is extremely emotional, but I had trouble pinning down exactly what emotions Juliet was feeling, and when. I think this scene is more about her mix of emotions, and that she is not sure what to feel. The one thing Juliet knows in this scene is that she loves Romeo. She does not know what to think about her impending marriage to Paris - what can she do about it? Her love for Romeo drives her to threaten suicide and other drastic measures. I would like to portray her as a woman who is willing to kill herself for him, not just as a girl who is foolishly in love, but I think that will be very difficult. There is a thin line between crazy teenager and serious adult, at least when it comes to love.

11/3

Ms G was not here today, so we worked on memorization. Instead of working with Kevin, I opted to work by myself/with Julia and Nadya. Watching other people work on their lines was useful, as I have never had to memorize something like Shakespeare before and have to play around with different techniques. Julia is very rythmic about her memorization - she uses the iambic pentameter and memorizes it phrase by phrase. Nadya memorizes monologues in chunks, ignoring the natural flow. I followed Nadya’s lead and tried to break my long lines into smaller chunks. This was mostly successful. However, what I found really worked was blocking the lines and then rewriting them, by hand, directly next to the lines. This allowed me to do a side-by-side comparison of the script and my memorization. The one thing I am worried about is the end monologue, because it is long and not very conversational.

11/4

Class today was cancelled, so we did not take our memorization quiz. To make up for this loss, I decided to run the lines with my brother. I think I have it almost all memorized - I’ll run it again on Sunday, just to make sure. I am having the most trouble with the end monologue. Trying to memorize the lines while working on the emotions behind them is proving itself to be difficult, which I find odd. I figured if I focused on the emotions the lines would follow, but that is not the case right now. I will keep working at it.