31/1/2014
Today we carried on the run-through from yesterdays rehearsal. We only done a few scenes because these were the last few scenes and they hadn't really been blocked yet or even rehearse. Throughout our rehearsals we were more focusing on the first few scenes or the middle scenes, not the end.
The last few scenes had to be rehearsed more than once today as people would mess up their lines, read the wrong lines or just go wrong so that they had to start again.
When we got to one of the last scenes where Rodolpho and Marco are caught, we came across the fact that we needed two Immigration Police. Back when we were first talking about the scenes we would perform, we said that we would just have the Police offstage and have them talking from there. Yet when it came to that today, we decided that we should have the Police on stage. But as we acted out this scene, we did realise that it needed internal editing to get rid of certain parts and keep the time limit reduced.
Friday, 31 January 2014
Thursday, 30 January 2014
A View from the Bridge: Runthroughs 30/1/2014
30/1/2014
Today we set up the stage and went straight for a full run through. However we only got half of this done as the bell went for the lesson to end and at the start of the lesson we spent a while talking about the extracts and trying to find a decent sized table for the scene. We had a slow start but in the end we were okay to start running. We didn't come across any issues with our rehearsal today.
We also used the lights today to have the audience dark and certain bits of the stage lit. But this was not a full technical run through.
Not everyone was off book like we should have been. We all had to keep looking down at our books to remember the lines, including me. There are some lines I can't get out when I try to speak. They get stuck and there is just a silence on the stage. Only sometimes though. Many people do get stuck on their lines but we don't know them that well, even though we have had ages to learn them.
I know some of my lines, but there are also those pages that just will not stick in my head.
When the lesson ended we were just going onto the next Beatrice and Catherine group.
The rehearsal went well but we are not very prepared for the upcoming performance. We haven't gone through costumes or props or the full lighting such as when lights will fade and if they will fade between our extracts. Barely anyone knows their lines which all definitely need to be improved upon in order for a good performance.
We now have come up with a schedule for rehearsals which will be every Monday, even though there are only two left. I personally feel like we need more rehearsals in our groups and also as a whole group to put the whole performance together. This was the first time we went for it and properly rehearsed with everyone and started bringing everyone together. I do not feel ready for the performance at all because we have barley done it as a group and also we haven't rehearsed much due to everyone needing the same person in their scenes.
A problem with trying to rehearse at other times is that some people can't do rehearsals after school due to jobs and other people wont rehearse at lunch because they are 'busy' when they aren't. Others seem against rehearsing and just see the play as a time to not take anything seriously and just take it as a laugh.
Today we set up the stage and went straight for a full run through. However we only got half of this done as the bell went for the lesson to end and at the start of the lesson we spent a while talking about the extracts and trying to find a decent sized table for the scene. We had a slow start but in the end we were okay to start running. We didn't come across any issues with our rehearsal today.
We also used the lights today to have the audience dark and certain bits of the stage lit. But this was not a full technical run through.
Not everyone was off book like we should have been. We all had to keep looking down at our books to remember the lines, including me. There are some lines I can't get out when I try to speak. They get stuck and there is just a silence on the stage. Only sometimes though. Many people do get stuck on their lines but we don't know them that well, even though we have had ages to learn them.
I know some of my lines, but there are also those pages that just will not stick in my head.
When the lesson ended we were just going onto the next Beatrice and Catherine group.
The rehearsal went well but we are not very prepared for the upcoming performance. We haven't gone through costumes or props or the full lighting such as when lights will fade and if they will fade between our extracts. Barely anyone knows their lines which all definitely need to be improved upon in order for a good performance.
We now have come up with a schedule for rehearsals which will be every Monday, even though there are only two left. I personally feel like we need more rehearsals in our groups and also as a whole group to put the whole performance together. This was the first time we went for it and properly rehearsed with everyone and started bringing everyone together. I do not feel ready for the performance at all because we have barley done it as a group and also we haven't rehearsed much due to everyone needing the same person in their scenes.
A problem with trying to rehearse at other times is that some people can't do rehearsals after school due to jobs and other people wont rehearse at lunch because they are 'busy' when they aren't. Others seem against rehearsing and just see the play as a time to not take anything seriously and just take it as a laugh.
Friday, 24 January 2014
A View from the Bridge: More Blocking 24/1/2014
We carried on blocking the scenes out and performed the middle scenes on the stage. I wasn't in these scenes so I helped to direct then went and learnt my lines.
However I did keep getting distracted when trying to learn my lines because of the people around me who were talking to me and I just didn't have the patience to learn my lines.
I have been struggling lately with learning my lines. I have re written them on paper and on the computer to help me learn them but I can only get a few in my head.
However I did keep getting distracted when trying to learn my lines because of the people around me who were talking to me and I just didn't have the patience to learn my lines.
I have been struggling lately with learning my lines. I have re written them on paper and on the computer to help me learn them but I can only get a few in my head.
Thursday, 23 January 2014
A View from the Bridge: Staging 23/1/2014
Layout of the apartment - 23/1/2014
I had a rough idea in my head of how I thought the apartment would be laid out. But then we came across issues with the table within each scene and how everyone would be sitting around it - the seating arrangements had to be realistic. Not staged and looking fake.
These are the different arrangements for the flat I came up with. As a group we decided to have the kitchen, Eddie and Beatrice and Catherines bedroom all off stage. This gave us more space for the main room of the apartment to work in.
I was working along side someone else in my group, she came up with very similar set designs and we weren't exactly working together. We simply drew how we thought the apartment would be. But in the end we came up with near enough the exact same designs.
Since the group started to have a small debate over the set and the table being 'fake' because of seating arrangements, we split into two groups and each came up with new designs. One group were on the stage and the rest of us were back drawing on the board. When we went in to see what they had done, they were using one of the designs but changed it a little.
Once we all had finally set out the stage and entrances, exits, where bedrooms were and also acted in the space. We decided to move the door and Eddies chair to have a clear lay out and have space for Catherine and Rodolpho to dance in one of the scenes.
Having people act around in the stage with the layout was much easier than just drawing it because we were able to see were people would be stuck on getting to where they needed to go and we were able to see if everyone was able to be seen.
The scene being performed, I was not in, so I was the only one to sit back and watch with them in the setting. This meant I could see where things were going wrong with the table. Not everyone could be seen. So then we stopped and rearranged where people would be sat and moved everyone about.
Layout:
- Table: Downstage Left
- Eddies chair and extra chairs: Upstage right
- Beatrice/Eddies bedroom: Upstage centre
- Catherines bedroom: Upstage left, off
- Kitchen: Downstage left, off
- Front door and coat rack: Downstage right
- Street: Across the front of the stage on the floor, audience level
- Alfieris office: Downstage right, on the floor, audience level
Having the street and Alfieris office being level with the audience meant that we could use the stage for the apartment and the audience level for anything extra which will be happening. As there are a lot of props to be laid out on the stage, there wasn't much room for a stage and the office. Also there is a large piano downstage right on the floor which limits us on where we originally wanted the office. I thought ahead, knowing the piano was there and decided to put the office on the other side of the floor area.
Some original images of the stage layout. We changed this one because there was a big gap downstage left and you wouldn't have a table infront of the door.
More recent images of the stage layout, before moving door and chairs
I had a rough idea in my head of how I thought the apartment would be laid out. But then we came across issues with the table within each scene and how everyone would be sitting around it - the seating arrangements had to be realistic. Not staged and looking fake.
These are the different arrangements for the flat I came up with. As a group we decided to have the kitchen, Eddie and Beatrice and Catherines bedroom all off stage. This gave us more space for the main room of the apartment to work in.
I was working along side someone else in my group, she came up with very similar set designs and we weren't exactly working together. We simply drew how we thought the apartment would be. But in the end we came up with near enough the exact same designs.
Since the group started to have a small debate over the set and the table being 'fake' because of seating arrangements, we split into two groups and each came up with new designs. One group were on the stage and the rest of us were back drawing on the board. When we went in to see what they had done, they were using one of the designs but changed it a little.
Once we all had finally set out the stage and entrances, exits, where bedrooms were and also acted in the space. We decided to move the door and Eddies chair to have a clear lay out and have space for Catherine and Rodolpho to dance in one of the scenes.
Having people act around in the stage with the layout was much easier than just drawing it because we were able to see were people would be stuck on getting to where they needed to go and we were able to see if everyone was able to be seen.
The scene being performed, I was not in, so I was the only one to sit back and watch with them in the setting. This meant I could see where things were going wrong with the table. Not everyone could be seen. So then we stopped and rearranged where people would be sat and moved everyone about.
Layout:
- Table: Downstage Left
- Eddies chair and extra chairs: Upstage right
- Beatrice/Eddies bedroom: Upstage centre
- Catherines bedroom: Upstage left, off
- Kitchen: Downstage left, off
- Front door and coat rack: Downstage right
- Street: Across the front of the stage on the floor, audience level
- Alfieris office: Downstage right, on the floor, audience level
Having the street and Alfieris office being level with the audience meant that we could use the stage for the apartment and the audience level for anything extra which will be happening. As there are a lot of props to be laid out on the stage, there wasn't much room for a stage and the office. Also there is a large piano downstage right on the floor which limits us on where we originally wanted the office. I thought ahead, knowing the piano was there and decided to put the office on the other side of the floor area.
Some original images of the stage layout. We changed this one because there was a big gap downstage left and you wouldn't have a table infront of the door.
More recent images of the stage layout, before moving door and chairs
Thursday, 16 January 2014
A View from the Bridge: Blocking 16/1/2014
16/1/2014
Over the day we blocked out the first couple of scenes. This helped us know where we were going on the stage and also know when to leave and enter. We haven't run all of the scenes yet and there are still some which haven't been ran. This was a better way of acting out each scene because we knew exactly where we were going and the people who were not in the scene all acted as directors and put in their own thoughts on where someone should go on the stage.
Everyone had their own say on when someone on the stage should sit down or where they should move to, also if the acting on stage was too still because many of the scenes are set around the table.
Over the day we blocked out the first couple of scenes. This helped us know where we were going on the stage and also know when to leave and enter. We haven't run all of the scenes yet and there are still some which haven't been ran. This was a better way of acting out each scene because we knew exactly where we were going and the people who were not in the scene all acted as directors and put in their own thoughts on where someone should go on the stage.
Everyone had their own say on when someone on the stage should sit down or where they should move to, also if the acting on stage was too still because many of the scenes are set around the table.
Friday, 10 January 2014
A View From The Bridge, 10/1/2014
10/1/2014
Today we started our 4th extract from A View From The Bridge. We started on the 4th one because not everyone was in the lesson. Therefore we took people from other extracts for them to stand in and were directed by the people who were not in the extract since there were no more roles to fill in.
This took a while to try to put together because some people were not focused and also others were late. So we had then started with someone acting as one character, then the actual person playing that character came in and we all had to change about and tell him what to do.
The extract is two pages and a half and is also the first time we will meet Rodolpho and Marco who have come to America from Italy and are trying to get money in order to send it back to their families for food.
We set out the stage and planned where the kitchen, bedroom and front door would be so we could act properly in the area. This was only confusing because we had a lot of chairs about where we had set out where each room was. People would then be sitting on the chairs or move them about. We over came this by telling people strictly where they had to go and that they had to be quiet because we needed to get this done. Our group are more into talking and annoying one another than actually rehearsing. But once we told them that we really did have to do this scene in order to perform it and that we needed to keep going with our work, not keep stopping because people can't focus enough.
Today we started our 4th extract from A View From The Bridge. We started on the 4th one because not everyone was in the lesson. Therefore we took people from other extracts for them to stand in and were directed by the people who were not in the extract since there were no more roles to fill in.
This took a while to try to put together because some people were not focused and also others were late. So we had then started with someone acting as one character, then the actual person playing that character came in and we all had to change about and tell him what to do.
The extract is two pages and a half and is also the first time we will meet Rodolpho and Marco who have come to America from Italy and are trying to get money in order to send it back to their families for food.
We set out the stage and planned where the kitchen, bedroom and front door would be so we could act properly in the area. This was only confusing because we had a lot of chairs about where we had set out where each room was. People would then be sitting on the chairs or move them about. We over came this by telling people strictly where they had to go and that they had to be quiet because we needed to get this done. Our group are more into talking and annoying one another than actually rehearsing. But once we told them that we really did have to do this scene in order to perform it and that we needed to keep going with our work, not keep stopping because people can't focus enough.
A View From The Bridge: Character Workshop Methods/Exercises
Over time we have done these exercises:
Off text improvisation
We were in our Beatrice & Catherine pairs and had to come up with two improvisation scenes which would not have happened within the play. At first we wanted to create a scene which was just after Eddie had died or at Eddies funeral. However this would not have helped us improve on our characters as it was not a scene that would have occurred throughout the play.
Instead we chose when Beatrice was taking Catherine for her job interview and also before the cousins arrive when Catherine was sent into the kitchen. Within the play Eddie sends Catherine to clean up the dishes but we do not see the scene within the kitchen, we just see the cousins arrive.
We only improvised one scene which was the one within the kitchen. Although some of the things we said within our improvisation were wrong, we still tried. We did struggle with improvising on the spot but it is helpful in case anything ever goes wrong within the play for someone to improvise on the spot.
Doing these scenes gave us sense of the types of conversations Catherine would've had with Beatrice and how they both were when Eddie was around.
We all showed our scenes but only gave one group tips on how they could improve their scene as they started laughing and didn't do anything. After we gave them tips they re done the scene but struggled again. Then we were all going to say 'stop' and take over from one character. But no one did do this.
'Wizard Of Oz Game'
This exercise is when you come up with a key line that a character says with a gesture. Since there were 3 Beatrice's and 3 Catherine's, each Catherine came up with their own key line for each section and the same with each Beatrice. I came up with 'I got a new skirt, you like it?' and ran my hands over the skirt. This helps us memorise something the character says and we can link together the characters.
Conscious Alley
At first I did not understand this game. It was when we chose a situation that the character was in and everyone else stood on either side of this character. One side was saying reasons for not doing something and the other was saying the reasons for doing something.
We chose Eddie and his situation of calling the immigration police or not. I was on the side of reasons for calling immigration. I came up with reasons such as 'You'll have your niece back' and 'Rodolpho will be gone'. But as I was on the end I had to come up with two thoughts on the spot and in a row. I struggled with this more because I didn't understand this exercise and wouldn't really know what Eddie would think because I was not playing Eddie. But then that was the point of this. If a character went wrong on stage, with us knowing their thoughts we could contribute to what is going on on stage.
We also put Catherine in the situation of loving Rodolpho. I came up with reasons that I thought she would like him from when I played Catherine such as 'He's a blonde'. Other people said about how Rodolpho cooked and created dresses.
I personally found that this game didn't help me because I wasn't in the Alley but I did also struggle with what was going on.
Status Game
With this we used cards with numbers 2-10 and a Queen, King and Jack.
Off text improvisation
We were in our Beatrice & Catherine pairs and had to come up with two improvisation scenes which would not have happened within the play. At first we wanted to create a scene which was just after Eddie had died or at Eddies funeral. However this would not have helped us improve on our characters as it was not a scene that would have occurred throughout the play.
Instead we chose when Beatrice was taking Catherine for her job interview and also before the cousins arrive when Catherine was sent into the kitchen. Within the play Eddie sends Catherine to clean up the dishes but we do not see the scene within the kitchen, we just see the cousins arrive.
We only improvised one scene which was the one within the kitchen. Although some of the things we said within our improvisation were wrong, we still tried. We did struggle with improvising on the spot but it is helpful in case anything ever goes wrong within the play for someone to improvise on the spot.
Doing these scenes gave us sense of the types of conversations Catherine would've had with Beatrice and how they both were when Eddie was around.
We all showed our scenes but only gave one group tips on how they could improve their scene as they started laughing and didn't do anything. After we gave them tips they re done the scene but struggled again. Then we were all going to say 'stop' and take over from one character. But no one did do this.
'Wizard Of Oz Game'
This exercise is when you come up with a key line that a character says with a gesture. Since there were 3 Beatrice's and 3 Catherine's, each Catherine came up with their own key line for each section and the same with each Beatrice. I came up with 'I got a new skirt, you like it?' and ran my hands over the skirt. This helps us memorise something the character says and we can link together the characters.
Conscious Alley
At first I did not understand this game. It was when we chose a situation that the character was in and everyone else stood on either side of this character. One side was saying reasons for not doing something and the other was saying the reasons for doing something.
We chose Eddie and his situation of calling the immigration police or not. I was on the side of reasons for calling immigration. I came up with reasons such as 'You'll have your niece back' and 'Rodolpho will be gone'. But as I was on the end I had to come up with two thoughts on the spot and in a row. I struggled with this more because I didn't understand this exercise and wouldn't really know what Eddie would think because I was not playing Eddie. But then that was the point of this. If a character went wrong on stage, with us knowing their thoughts we could contribute to what is going on on stage.
We also put Catherine in the situation of loving Rodolpho. I came up with reasons that I thought she would like him from when I played Catherine such as 'He's a blonde'. Other people said about how Rodolpho cooked and created dresses.
I personally found that this game didn't help me because I wasn't in the Alley but I did also struggle with what was going on.
Status Game
With this we used cards with numbers 2-10 and a Queen, King and Jack.
Thursday, 9 January 2014
A View From The Bridge, 9/1/2014
9/1/2014
Single Lesson
Within this lesson, we set out our first extract which is the opening scene of A View From The Bridge. We were doing this on the stage which is a Proscenium March setting. This was the first time we had properly started working on our extracts, since before we were doing extracts that we wouldn't actually perform because we all have one character in our scenes which means he has to keep changing groups.
We were directed by a girl in the class who is playing the same character as me. This was helpful because we could talk about how to act as Catherine and that she is a lot younger than us even though she is the same age. She just doesn't know much about the world like we do and is an innocent girl who will do anything for her Uncle Eddie. We set out where Catherine would be sitting with Eddie until Beatrice, her aunt, came in and also their reactions to each other. I needed to be more of a child like Catherine would've been because the play is set in 1950s Brooklyn. Teenagers weren't educated as well since it was just after World War 2 and women were needed out of education to commit to war help.
We finally set out the scene and decided to perform it without our books which we were reading our lines from. There were a few lines which I got stuck on but they were the simple lines such as 'Why?'. Since this was our first actual time of reading the lines out together as a extract group, I wasn't use to how fast people would read their lines compared to how slow I was reading them to myself whilst trying to learn my lines.
Double Lesson - That afternoon
That lesson we had the single people missing from our lesson. This meant that some of us couldn't do our extracts and then Eddie had to be needed within another extract so I couldn't rehearse properly without him as most of my extracts are just conversations with him. Instead I stood in and played Rodolpho, but we didn't get to the point where I could say the lines because the first part of the extract had to be kept going over to get it perfect.
Single Lesson
Within this lesson, we set out our first extract which is the opening scene of A View From The Bridge. We were doing this on the stage which is a Proscenium March setting. This was the first time we had properly started working on our extracts, since before we were doing extracts that we wouldn't actually perform because we all have one character in our scenes which means he has to keep changing groups.
We were directed by a girl in the class who is playing the same character as me. This was helpful because we could talk about how to act as Catherine and that she is a lot younger than us even though she is the same age. She just doesn't know much about the world like we do and is an innocent girl who will do anything for her Uncle Eddie. We set out where Catherine would be sitting with Eddie until Beatrice, her aunt, came in and also their reactions to each other. I needed to be more of a child like Catherine would've been because the play is set in 1950s Brooklyn. Teenagers weren't educated as well since it was just after World War 2 and women were needed out of education to commit to war help.
We finally set out the scene and decided to perform it without our books which we were reading our lines from. There were a few lines which I got stuck on but they were the simple lines such as 'Why?'. Since this was our first actual time of reading the lines out together as a extract group, I wasn't use to how fast people would read their lines compared to how slow I was reading them to myself whilst trying to learn my lines.
Double Lesson - That afternoon
That lesson we had the single people missing from our lesson. This meant that some of us couldn't do our extracts and then Eddie had to be needed within another extract so I couldn't rehearse properly without him as most of my extracts are just conversations with him. Instead I stood in and played Rodolpho, but we didn't get to the point where I could say the lines because the first part of the extract had to be kept going over to get it perfect.
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