The story of Blood Wedding was based off a local crime story about a wedding which ended tragically. He took a clipping of the story, then found it 5 years later and finished the play within a week.
None of the character's in Blood Wedding have conventional names, apart from Leonardo, but instead have names of roles or elements of nature, such as The Moon or Death. The Moon is a common theme in Lorca's work, for example a famous poem written by him titled 'Ballard of the Moon, Moon'. This also relates to Greek and Roman mythology which states stories of the moon coming down to capture a young man and take him away- this is a key inspiration in the story of Blood Wedding.
In a lot of Lorca's work he uses the Moon to symbolise Death which is interesting as Death is a separate character in Blood Wedding. The Moon also represents a world of intense cold, with the absence of the sun the only way to warm itself is with the sacrifice of blood. Death plots with the Moon to end the men's lives violently so that she can get her death and the Moon can receive it's blood. Death/the Beggar Woman also represents human nature, and as the bad choices of the other character's start to affect their community she uses that to her advantage.
The fact that Leonardo is the only character with a name could suggest either that he is the most important character in the play, and therefore has a name so that the audience can relate to him and understand him more, or perhaps that he is the least important/represents the most criticism. The fact that Leonardo is the only one with a name suggests that unlike the others he is no more than just Leonardo - this could be a statement on the 'modern' Spanish man. Also by having only the Felix family names allows the audience to define them from the Protagonists, and their individuality and exceptions from Lorca's rules could reflect how the Bride and Bridegroom see them in the play.
Another reason why the characters may not have specific names is to make them more vague and to make the audience less emotionally involved with the characters as opposed to the actual story. This way, similar to Brecht's style of theatre, Lorca makes the audience reflect on what the characters are supposed to represent rather than a naturalistic tale of a tragic wedding.In contrast their vagueness could give them a universality allowing the audience to relate to each character on a personal basis. Also as they each have quirky personalities, their broad names gives them more opportunity to be related to by the audience.
Tuesday, 24 November 2015
Wednesday, 18 November 2015
Lesson 18/11/15
The focus was on Brecht's idea of gestus.
Gestus is the attitude of the actor as they perform gestures and movements. The purpose in Brecht's style is show meaning or to represent something, to explore this using the mode of a car salesmen, a lawyer and a telemarketer the focus was on communicating the image of those people through minimal voice and movement.
Through exaggerated movement I explored Brecht's theory to convey my occupation through stereotypical words or gestures. An example would be with the theme of a Lawyer. By having a straight posture and speaking in a clear, strong tone I showed authority in my voice suggesting that I was a Lawyer but not giving enough information for the audience to get attached to my character.
To contribute to this with each gesture, such as walking towards my defendant, or pleading with the judge, to add to the stylised piece I said subject specific words such as, object!, client and not guilty.
This follows Brecht's theatre by limiting my speech to key words I can give the same message - that I am a lawyer- but without performing in a naturalistic style and therefore the brief encounter does not allow the audience to emotionally invest in the character.
If I was to do this exploration again I would, as a lawyer, show less emotion through my face, as I think, for the style of Brecht, it shows too much emotional depth to the character rather than portraying them as a member of authority or perhaps a representation of the upper social class.
Gestus is the attitude of the actor as they perform gestures and movements. The purpose in Brecht's style is show meaning or to represent something, to explore this using the mode of a car salesmen, a lawyer and a telemarketer the focus was on communicating the image of those people through minimal voice and movement.
Through exaggerated movement I explored Brecht's theory to convey my occupation through stereotypical words or gestures. An example would be with the theme of a Lawyer. By having a straight posture and speaking in a clear, strong tone I showed authority in my voice suggesting that I was a Lawyer but not giving enough information for the audience to get attached to my character.
To contribute to this with each gesture, such as walking towards my defendant, or pleading with the judge, to add to the stylised piece I said subject specific words such as, object!, client and not guilty.
This follows Brecht's theatre by limiting my speech to key words I can give the same message - that I am a lawyer- but without performing in a naturalistic style and therefore the brief encounter does not allow the audience to emotionally invest in the character.
If I was to do this exploration again I would, as a lawyer, show less emotion through my face, as I think, for the style of Brecht, it shows too much emotional depth to the character rather than portraying them as a member of authority or perhaps a representation of the upper social class.
breif notes on Brecht
Brecht is a practitioner born in Germany in 1898 who had original ideas about the purpose of performance, and how theatre should be performed.
Brecht did not want his actors to follow the style of naturalistic theatre, he did not believe that actors should become their characters, and should not get emotionally attached but should identify with their characters through specifically chosen gestus. The actors movements were not meant to present messages and meanings in a stylised way.
The idea of Brecht's theatre required whats known as the 'V effect'. This theory is that the audience is aware the whole time that they are in a theatre and that everything is just acting (the house lights were often left on). This is to distance the audience and make them critical observers, to question what is happening and for them to learn something from the performance instead for just entertainment.
Brecht did not want his actors to follow the style of naturalistic theatre, he did not believe that actors should become their characters, and should not get emotionally attached but should identify with their characters through specifically chosen gestus. The actors movements were not meant to present messages and meanings in a stylised way.
The idea of Brecht's theatre required whats known as the 'V effect'. This theory is that the audience is aware the whole time that they are in a theatre and that everything is just acting (the house lights were often left on). This is to distance the audience and make them critical observers, to question what is happening and for them to learn something from the performance instead for just entertainment.
Friday, 6 November 2015
Lesson 04/11/2015
Brecht
'destroying the illusion'
Brecht was born in 1898 Germany and thought that theatre could make people think instead of just entertainment. His productions include minimalist props, costume and settings and tried to not show real life. Brecht believed actors should represent things rather than become them. There is a quote from Brecht that says:
'destroying the illusion'
Brecht was born in 1898 Germany and thought that theatre could make people think instead of just entertainment. His productions include minimalist props, costume and settings and tried to not show real life. Brecht believed actors should represent things rather than become them. There is a quote from Brecht that says:
"He who only imitates and had nothing to say
On what he imitates is like
A poor chimpanzee, who imitates his trainers smoking
And does not smoke while doing so
For never will a thoughtless imitation,
Be a real imitation."
what this quote is trying to say is mimicking or imitating something, like a character in a play- will never be more than an imitation. You have to decide whether you are going to mimic a character or become them.
Created Epic Theatre:
-Wants the audience to be critical observers questioning what is happening on stage, realising the characters are actors and that the stage is attempting to be real.
Montage:
-Epic theatre precedes in fits and starts, in a manner comparable to the images of a film strip.
Gestus:
-It carries the sense of a combination of physical gestures and "gist" or attitude.
Verfremdungskeffet - The V Effect
-Means to alienate or distance the audience from the actors and the performance.
Created Epic Theatre:
-Wants the audience to be critical observers questioning what is happening on stage, realising the characters are actors and that the stage is attempting to be real.
Montage:
-Epic theatre precedes in fits and starts, in a manner comparable to the images of a film strip.
Gestus:
-It carries the sense of a combination of physical gestures and "gist" or attitude.
Verfremdungskeffet - The V Effect
-Means to alienate or distance the audience from the actors and the performance.
Tuesday, 27 October 2015
Assessment 22/10/2015
In this lesson the class was split into pre-determined pairs and was filmed as we performed a scene from 'A Doll's House'.
My partner Anton, and I performed the scene in which Nora is first being blackmailed by Krogstad and it is the first instance the audience hears of her dishonesty. The characters Nora and Krogstad have a strong dislike of another so to show that in another way than the dialogue, we chose to position the characters at the opposite sides of the stage- the distance representing the distance in their relationship, I, Nora, was positioned upstage to show the contrast in class between us- as Nora has a higher status than Krogstad she is stood further forward .
A problem I faced in this scene is trying to maintain her moral high ground whilst also giving in to Krogstad's blackmail. In order to remedy this issue I tried to stay strong with my voice and words and direct them forwards instead of to Krogstad to show his initial lack of influence. Gradually as it becomes clear that he is blackmailing Nora, I delivered my lines facing him and walking closer, decreasing the distance between us to show that Nora has lost her power over him and given into him
George and Maria's performance as there was a good amount of energy between then which transcended the appropriate tension and spark between the characters. However in this performance George adopted a Scottish accent. Although it is perfectly feasible that Krogstad has a Scottish accent as it was not consistent it made the audience confused and disengaged from the performance. If the accent was executed successfully I think I could add a sense of mystery behind the character of Krogstad, which would boost the intrigue from the audience making him more engaging.
My partner Anton, and I performed the scene in which Nora is first being blackmailed by Krogstad and it is the first instance the audience hears of her dishonesty. The characters Nora and Krogstad have a strong dislike of another so to show that in another way than the dialogue, we chose to position the characters at the opposite sides of the stage- the distance representing the distance in their relationship, I, Nora, was positioned upstage to show the contrast in class between us- as Nora has a higher status than Krogstad she is stood further forward .
A problem I faced in this scene is trying to maintain her moral high ground whilst also giving in to Krogstad's blackmail. In order to remedy this issue I tried to stay strong with my voice and words and direct them forwards instead of to Krogstad to show his initial lack of influence. Gradually as it becomes clear that he is blackmailing Nora, I delivered my lines facing him and walking closer, decreasing the distance between us to show that Nora has lost her power over him and given into him
George and Maria's performance as there was a good amount of energy between then which transcended the appropriate tension and spark between the characters. However in this performance George adopted a Scottish accent. Although it is perfectly feasible that Krogstad has a Scottish accent as it was not consistent it made the audience confused and disengaged from the performance. If the accent was executed successfully I think I could add a sense of mystery behind the character of Krogstad, which would boost the intrigue from the audience making him more engaging.
Lesson 19/10/2015
For this lesson the main focus was on breathing. The lesson objective was to control our breathing and to learn how to breathe correctly and effectively.
For the first part of this activity when had to breathe in through our nose and hold it in for 5 seconds and then release it and fold our bodies over loosely in half.
The objective was to let our lungs breathe out instead of up.
The second part of the lesson was focused on how the character walks and to understand why they walk they way they do. Sam and Lily were good particularly good at this task.
To make Lily's walk more like Mrs Linde's, she walked with a quicker pace to represent Christine's business and need to be working. She also walked with her shoulders slightly hunched over to show her opinion of herself and also how she feels she is placed in society, in a low position.
To make Sam's walk like Torvald's he led with his chin to show that Torvald is of a high status and therefore above the other characters. His steps were also wide and slow, another indication of power as he is showing the audience the stability in his life. Showing that he is well off and therefore no need to rush.
To improve my walk for Nora I would have led with the top of my head. This would align my spine and given the posture of amore confident, possibly higher class, woman. I would also have made my pace slower fore the same reasons aforementioned however I would like to keep Nora's pace faster than Torvald's, as she is more highly strung than he is, so that would should a contrast in their characters.
For the first part of this activity when had to breathe in through our nose and hold it in for 5 seconds and then release it and fold our bodies over loosely in half.
The objective was to let our lungs breathe out instead of up.
The second part of the lesson was focused on how the character walks and to understand why they walk they way they do. Sam and Lily were good particularly good at this task.
To make Lily's walk more like Mrs Linde's, she walked with a quicker pace to represent Christine's business and need to be working. She also walked with her shoulders slightly hunched over to show her opinion of herself and also how she feels she is placed in society, in a low position.
To make Sam's walk like Torvald's he led with his chin to show that Torvald is of a high status and therefore above the other characters. His steps were also wide and slow, another indication of power as he is showing the audience the stability in his life. Showing that he is well off and therefore no need to rush.
To improve my walk for Nora I would have led with the top of my head. This would align my spine and given the posture of amore confident, possibly higher class, woman. I would also have made my pace slower fore the same reasons aforementioned however I would like to keep Nora's pace faster than Torvald's, as she is more highly strung than he is, so that would should a contrast in their characters.
Lesson 12/10/2015
The homework for this lesson was to draw an 'emotional graph' for our characters. The points on the graph were different lines the character says in the play, and the points should correlate with the intensity of their emotions.
I chose 4 lines said by my character, Nora:
'How do you do Mrs Linde. You don't recognise me I suppose.'
- I chose this line because it has a relatively low emotional intensity, Nora doesn't feel particularly strong about Christine, but they are friends so she greets her welcomingly whilst also using relaxed, informal speech by saying 'don't' instead of 'do not'.
'You are just like all of the others. They think that I am incapable of doing anything really serious...that I have gone through nothing in this world of cares.'
- I chose this line because it has high emotional intensity. It is during this point in the play where it is revealed to the audience that Nora has committed this indiscretion and her deliverance of the news shows the audience how much Nora loves her independence. This line is the first instance of Nora not conforming to her womanly expectations, challenging the opinion others have on her.
'You are going to work I suppose'
- This is another low intensity line. I chose this to show contrast to Nora's more emotional lines. For the majority of the play when Nora is with Torvald, she is more subdued and becomes the recessive character in the scene, this line signifies that. This shows the growth of her character throughout the play.
'Yes indeed I can. It was tonight, when those wonderful things didn't happen; I saw that you were not the man I thought you were'
-This is a high intensity line at the end of the play, when Nora is about to leave Torvald. There are a lot of clauses in this line, which provide lots of breaks to form short sentences. This shows that Nora wants Torvald to understand what she is saying. Also in the last pat the language becomes more formal saying 'were not' instead of 'weren't' shows the separation between the characters, that Nora no longer feels comfortable around Torvald and see's him as a stranger so she talks to him as if he is one.
After this the task was the perform each line one after another, how they were meant to be delivered at their point in the play. For this activity I only chose 2 of the lines as there was a short time limit and I chose quality over quality.
I chose both of the high intensity lines because although they both convey lots of emotion, they are from different emotional strengths from the character i.e one is before she realises she is capable of so much more and the other is once she has come to terms with herself.
This first line I chose was 'You are just like all of the others. They think that I am incapable of doing anything really serious...that I have gone through nothing in this world of cares.' To deliver this I stood with my back facing away from where Mrs Linde would be standing to show the audience my frustration towards her and also creating space between us to show the building tension between our characters. The pause in this line also allowed me to build tension and show Nora's inner conflict, that she knows she shouldn't rebel against her duties but does anyway.
The second line I chose was 'Yes indeed I can. It was tonight, when those wonderful things didn't happen; I saw that you were not the man I thought you were' To deliver this line I was sat down and sat down, to show that Nora meant what she was saying, that she was serious. I displayed a concerned emotion in my face but did not express this so much in my body language to show the audience that any feelings Nora had for Torvald didn't transcend through her whole body, they weren't real.]
I think Anton's interpretation of this task was effective as his lines were read in order of their emotional intensity, and with each line Anton took a step forward. Anton spoke all 5 of his lines and by stepping forward as an audience we could appreciate the growth and change of the character.
I chose 4 lines said by my character, Nora:
'How do you do Mrs Linde. You don't recognise me I suppose.'
- I chose this line because it has a relatively low emotional intensity, Nora doesn't feel particularly strong about Christine, but they are friends so she greets her welcomingly whilst also using relaxed, informal speech by saying 'don't' instead of 'do not'.
'You are just like all of the others. They think that I am incapable of doing anything really serious...that I have gone through nothing in this world of cares.'
- I chose this line because it has high emotional intensity. It is during this point in the play where it is revealed to the audience that Nora has committed this indiscretion and her deliverance of the news shows the audience how much Nora loves her independence. This line is the first instance of Nora not conforming to her womanly expectations, challenging the opinion others have on her.
'You are going to work I suppose'
- This is another low intensity line. I chose this to show contrast to Nora's more emotional lines. For the majority of the play when Nora is with Torvald, she is more subdued and becomes the recessive character in the scene, this line signifies that. This shows the growth of her character throughout the play.
'Yes indeed I can. It was tonight, when those wonderful things didn't happen; I saw that you were not the man I thought you were'
-This is a high intensity line at the end of the play, when Nora is about to leave Torvald. There are a lot of clauses in this line, which provide lots of breaks to form short sentences. This shows that Nora wants Torvald to understand what she is saying. Also in the last pat the language becomes more formal saying 'were not' instead of 'weren't' shows the separation between the characters, that Nora no longer feels comfortable around Torvald and see's him as a stranger so she talks to him as if he is one.
After this the task was the perform each line one after another, how they were meant to be delivered at their point in the play. For this activity I only chose 2 of the lines as there was a short time limit and I chose quality over quality.
I chose both of the high intensity lines because although they both convey lots of emotion, they are from different emotional strengths from the character i.e one is before she realises she is capable of so much more and the other is once she has come to terms with herself.
This first line I chose was 'You are just like all of the others. They think that I am incapable of doing anything really serious...that I have gone through nothing in this world of cares.' To deliver this I stood with my back facing away from where Mrs Linde would be standing to show the audience my frustration towards her and also creating space between us to show the building tension between our characters. The pause in this line also allowed me to build tension and show Nora's inner conflict, that she knows she shouldn't rebel against her duties but does anyway.
The second line I chose was 'Yes indeed I can. It was tonight, when those wonderful things didn't happen; I saw that you were not the man I thought you were' To deliver this line I was sat down and sat down, to show that Nora meant what she was saying, that she was serious. I displayed a concerned emotion in my face but did not express this so much in my body language to show the audience that any feelings Nora had for Torvald didn't transcend through her whole body, they weren't real.]
I think Anton's interpretation of this task was effective as his lines were read in order of their emotional intensity, and with each line Anton took a step forward. Anton spoke all 5 of his lines and by stepping forward as an audience we could appreciate the growth and change of the character.
Wednesday, 7 October 2015
Lesson Summary 07/10/2015
In Today's lesson we explored characterisation.
The first task was to pick 4 stages of our characters lives, 3 before the play, 1 afterwards. The stages of Nora's life I chose were her as a child, her being introduced to Torvald, being given her first child to hold, and Nora buying a train ticket once she has left Torvald.
I chose Nora as a child to show that she is inquisitive, and bright - features that set her apart from her fellow characters. I did this by sitting in a straddle position on the floor, trying to seem as un-ladylike as possible to emphasise the change from her childhood to when she is older. I also chose for Nora to interact with a butterfly to highlight her interest in her surroundings and to show the audience that she is a bright child.
I then chose to show Nora being introduced to Torvald as it would be a big turning point in her life, also the fact that she is being introduced to him shows her lack of control over her own life which then foreshadows the twist later on in the play when she takes control and leaves Torvald.
The third stage in Nora's life I chose was when is first handed her son, Bob. I chose this because it would have been the first time Nora had any real responsibility. As a woman to a man with a respectable career there would have been little that she was expected to do, but once she had a child - despite having a maid and a nanny- she would have been given something that depends on her. Furthermore, Nora's achievement in the play is that she is headstrong and responsible with money so yet again the short scene foreshadows what is to come later on in the play.
Finally, I chose to show Nora getting a one way ticket on a train because it was a way of showing her independence without addressing it directly. Also as Nora is not set in any scenes outside of her building it shows her growth as she is finally able to leave the constraints of her home and her old life.
In the next activity our task was to write a monologue from any point in the characters life. I chose to write my monologue as if I was writing a letter to Nora's mother about her upcoming marriage to Torvald. By writing a letter Nora is able to voice her real opinions whilst trying to put them into words, which shows the audience her internal conflict. If I were to do this activity again I think I would slow down the pace of speech and perhaps move around more about the stage. This would mean when I come to the final conclusion that I will marry Torvald the audience would be able to see the turmoil in my head.
Anton's devised monologue was good because he moved around the stage to mimic the confusion and panic in his mind. He also had a good use of props, as although he was reading the letter (with his monologue on it) he interacted with it and the chair to make his speech more engaging. He also showed a god contrast in Krogstad's emotions. Although he is seen as the antagonist in the play, he is also quite a desperate character which I think Anton showcased well by jumping from anger to fear and worry.
The first task was to pick 4 stages of our characters lives, 3 before the play, 1 afterwards. The stages of Nora's life I chose were her as a child, her being introduced to Torvald, being given her first child to hold, and Nora buying a train ticket once she has left Torvald.
I chose Nora as a child to show that she is inquisitive, and bright - features that set her apart from her fellow characters. I did this by sitting in a straddle position on the floor, trying to seem as un-ladylike as possible to emphasise the change from her childhood to when she is older. I also chose for Nora to interact with a butterfly to highlight her interest in her surroundings and to show the audience that she is a bright child.
I then chose to show Nora being introduced to Torvald as it would be a big turning point in her life, also the fact that she is being introduced to him shows her lack of control over her own life which then foreshadows the twist later on in the play when she takes control and leaves Torvald.
The third stage in Nora's life I chose was when is first handed her son, Bob. I chose this because it would have been the first time Nora had any real responsibility. As a woman to a man with a respectable career there would have been little that she was expected to do, but once she had a child - despite having a maid and a nanny- she would have been given something that depends on her. Furthermore, Nora's achievement in the play is that she is headstrong and responsible with money so yet again the short scene foreshadows what is to come later on in the play.
Finally, I chose to show Nora getting a one way ticket on a train because it was a way of showing her independence without addressing it directly. Also as Nora is not set in any scenes outside of her building it shows her growth as she is finally able to leave the constraints of her home and her old life.
In the next activity our task was to write a monologue from any point in the characters life. I chose to write my monologue as if I was writing a letter to Nora's mother about her upcoming marriage to Torvald. By writing a letter Nora is able to voice her real opinions whilst trying to put them into words, which shows the audience her internal conflict. If I were to do this activity again I think I would slow down the pace of speech and perhaps move around more about the stage. This would mean when I come to the final conclusion that I will marry Torvald the audience would be able to see the turmoil in my head.
Anton's devised monologue was good because he moved around the stage to mimic the confusion and panic in his mind. He also had a good use of props, as although he was reading the letter (with his monologue on it) he interacted with it and the chair to make his speech more engaging. He also showed a god contrast in Krogstad's emotions. Although he is seen as the antagonist in the play, he is also quite a desperate character which I think Anton showcased well by jumping from anger to fear and worry.
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