We met at my church at 3.30pm, straight after my cell group time finished. I expected it to be the same as every rehearsal but this time I saw someone new! Apparently my church friend who has connection to Stacy was watching us do our stuff. Stresss!!!
Today was also quite different due to the fact that we were arguing a lot more than usual. There were a lot of conflicts between us regarding our motion, positioning and speech. For the first time I actually felt pissed off at Stacy when he was being so particular about everything. In the end I still smile, but at least I know the feeling now. It feels like there's something very tense inside just waiting to explode. My eyes widened and became more focused at the center than at the sides. There's also some restlessness, which follows up with very fast actions. Hopefully i'll be able to recreate that. Unfortunately our dear friend could not feel the emotions we were portraying, but we did learn a lot. Which means we have to argue more! :)
Improvements
- Stacy does less hand gestures during second monologue and puts in eye contact
- Afiqah's entry is more natural and convincing
- I smiled less and learnt to throw the trophy better
Things we need to improve on
- Stacy needs to work on motivation for every action, especially first monologue during "with inspiration" where his arms are everywhere and his tone/speech does not sound appropriate/natural. Also the "papa help me" needs work as it's not urgent/scared enough
- Afiqah has to sound more annoying when giving the "I said she won, are you deaf?" part and have more violent and longer fits. Also lines when entering scene need to be happier, like that last time when you screamed "wait till you see this" in that high pitch tone. I felt the joy and excitement when it was done.
- I need to stop smiling completely and work on first monologue. I could not shock the audience with my anger and I havent decided how I'm going to say "it's none of your fucking business who I am" and "ruth if you dont shut up I'm going to have you put away". Also my face is constantly looking down, and I need to make more eye contact. Lastly, I'm very confused as to what my action is when Ruth is screaming "are you deaf?", so we need to discuss on that.
As for now I am currently reviewing my script and changing it to suit my idea of Benjamin and I will present to you all tomorrow. I deeply apologize for being fucking annoyed/annoying today. Work hard guys, D-day is coming!!!
Benjamin Hunsdorfer
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Thursday, April 23, 2009
dates for rehearsals
since P-day is coming...
we are having intense rehearsals...
so here are the dates...
jot them down in your planner cows and tech cows...
SATURDAY 25 april 2009 at 5pm. meeting place to be comfirmed(preferably somewhere near esplanade)
SUNDAY 26 april 2009 at 3.30pm at Isaac's church
MONDAY 27 april 2009 4.5pm- meet outside bbox
TUESDAY 28 april 2009 6-8pm- meet outside bbox
WEDNESDAY 29 april 7-9pm- meet outside bbox (last rehearsal)
THURSDAY 30 april 2009 -P-DAY!!!
please be good cows and attnd every meeting!
love yoou guys and let's continue working hard ya...
afiqah
we are having intense rehearsals...
so here are the dates...
jot them down in your planner cows and tech cows...
SATURDAY 25 april 2009 at 5pm. meeting place to be comfirmed(preferably somewhere near esplanade)
SUNDAY 26 april 2009 at 3.30pm at Isaac's church
MONDAY 27 april 2009 4.5pm- meet outside bbox
TUESDAY 28 april 2009 6-8pm- meet outside bbox
WEDNESDAY 29 april 7-9pm- meet outside bbox (last rehearsal)
THURSDAY 30 april 2009 -P-DAY!!!
please be good cows and attnd every meeting!
love yoou guys and let's continue working hard ya...
afiqah
full dress rehearsal.
Full dress rehearsal
Attendance: FULL
Place: Blackbox
Ok. Firstly, let me day that we all did a good job despite all the technical problems and the rushing. So, YAY COWS!!!
Ok, we were unprepared, I admit it. Firstly, we did not train our tech team so they were clueless about what to do and also where the set is supposed to be at. So that was problem no.1, and thus, we have learnt our lesson that it is VERY IMPORTANT to have the technical run with the tech team so that the lightings and sounds and whatever else goes smoothly and the actors can focus on acting and being in character.
For the whole play itself, I was quite disappointed because all the comments and improvements that we made prior to this was not implemented ad we reverted to our old ways of doing the actions. Also, the mood of the play was not there I think, particularly because of the rushing.
These are the comments from me:
Isaac, you need to be angrier and also remember to look up so that the audience can see your face and you can catch the lighting.
For the ringing of the phone thing, you need to show the frustration more, that you are really having a headache and you are damn pissed at the person calling.
I think you were hesitant on your movements when you are wrecking havoc in the house, so you need to work on being really pissed. =)
also, when you are screaming at me “ ruth, is you don’t shut up…”, please remember to cut me off and stand to show that you really can’t stand me talking to you like that.
basically, work on movement and physicality to show your character’s anger and frustration.
for stacy, I think that he need to put in more emotion in his inspirational lines, where the audience can really see your love and passion for science.
your, “papa, help me” should be more urgent.
holding the rabbit more tenderly, show that you really care for it.
as for me, I think that I should work on being more natural when reacting to papa, and not just say my lines- as ms. Norzian have said too.
also, I think that my interaction with stacy can have more emotion so my “ they ought to put you away” could be done with more loathe and hate at papa.
need to work on “benny the loon” say it in a cold manner???
must practice fixing gaze on he window and also on the rabbit cage.
These are the comments from the rest of the people:
Isaac-
need to be pissed and angry in your expression and voice.
press button angrily
turn towards audience, tilt head even when looking at phone?
more angry movements.
expression does not show what you mean, very difficult to understand.
volume variation, angry and passive nearly same volume.
whole body needs to show aggression.
good pressing buttons the 2nd time =)
what do you feel after you help ruth, the audience cannot tell! And then you are suddenly angry, awkward, need to find motivation.
maintain anger in face, you look confused and worried instead.
show pain when you say, “I hate the world” use your whole body!
face audience! Cannot see your face.
expression of shock when ruth talks to you + satisfaction and smirk when she threatens you.
legs have to show anger too, not just face and hands.
voice was very strained and draggy.
eyes did not show anger.
not smooth( I’m guessing dialogue?), feels very planned.
gesturing wildly looks unnatural
moving around when 2nd call a bit distracting
good anger: breathing heavily.
Afiqah-
anger could be much better portrayed
despair over rabbit must show more
more frantic when enter scene again with rabbit?- as a build up to the fit.
blocked by matthew when lying down on sofa
fits more vigorous to be more convincing.
voice and inflection is okay.
ripped paper at the wrong place where papa ripped it.
“if you did anything to it…” can’t really hear.
more tension all over body when having fits, teeth???
For Chen Xing, the comments are not with me, so I can’t type them up, will ask him to do it later. =)
When we asked ms. Norzian about the play, she said:
we need to work on our motivations as the characters, always know why we are doing something.
for me: don’t just wait for your line, react to the given situation to make it more natural.
our tension is okay, but can do better, the climax and also the progression must be shown more clearly.
for papa: please practice your facial expression
don’t use the tech too much, she wants to see the acting.
Ok, today was not that bed, we got a comment that we improved! And ms. Norzian also said that we improved, even though by a bit only. But still YAY!!!
Okay so to solve the many problems that we encountered this day,
MORE PRACTICE
SIT WITH CREW AND TELL THEM EXACTLY WHAT WE WANT
REHEARSAL WITH CREW!
Oh yes, not all of use were in full dress. SO THIS IS A REMINDER! Please go and get you outfit and shoes and hair style down before P-day. Also, props must all be there, where art thou, PETER??? We are also missing a breakable trophy for papa to throw.
Ok my lovely cows, we still have 1 more week till P-DAY!!
Don’t let our hopes down and continue our effort to do our best!
We can do it!
Love,
afiqah
Attendance: FULL
Place: Blackbox
Ok. Firstly, let me day that we all did a good job despite all the technical problems and the rushing. So, YAY COWS!!!
Ok, we were unprepared, I admit it. Firstly, we did not train our tech team so they were clueless about what to do and also where the set is supposed to be at. So that was problem no.1, and thus, we have learnt our lesson that it is VERY IMPORTANT to have the technical run with the tech team so that the lightings and sounds and whatever else goes smoothly and the actors can focus on acting and being in character.
For the whole play itself, I was quite disappointed because all the comments and improvements that we made prior to this was not implemented ad we reverted to our old ways of doing the actions. Also, the mood of the play was not there I think, particularly because of the rushing.
These are the comments from me:
Isaac, you need to be angrier and also remember to look up so that the audience can see your face and you can catch the lighting.
For the ringing of the phone thing, you need to show the frustration more, that you are really having a headache and you are damn pissed at the person calling.
I think you were hesitant on your movements when you are wrecking havoc in the house, so you need to work on being really pissed. =)
also, when you are screaming at me “ ruth, is you don’t shut up…”, please remember to cut me off and stand to show that you really can’t stand me talking to you like that.
basically, work on movement and physicality to show your character’s anger and frustration.
for stacy, I think that he need to put in more emotion in his inspirational lines, where the audience can really see your love and passion for science.
your, “papa, help me” should be more urgent.
holding the rabbit more tenderly, show that you really care for it.
as for me, I think that I should work on being more natural when reacting to papa, and not just say my lines- as ms. Norzian have said too.
also, I think that my interaction with stacy can have more emotion so my “ they ought to put you away” could be done with more loathe and hate at papa.
need to work on “benny the loon” say it in a cold manner???
must practice fixing gaze on he window and also on the rabbit cage.
These are the comments from the rest of the people:
Isaac-
need to be pissed and angry in your expression and voice.
press button angrily
turn towards audience, tilt head even when looking at phone?
more angry movements.
expression does not show what you mean, very difficult to understand.
volume variation, angry and passive nearly same volume.
whole body needs to show aggression.
good pressing buttons the 2nd time =)
what do you feel after you help ruth, the audience cannot tell! And then you are suddenly angry, awkward, need to find motivation.
maintain anger in face, you look confused and worried instead.
show pain when you say, “I hate the world” use your whole body!
face audience! Cannot see your face.
expression of shock when ruth talks to you + satisfaction and smirk when she threatens you.
legs have to show anger too, not just face and hands.
voice was very strained and draggy.
eyes did not show anger.
not smooth( I’m guessing dialogue?), feels very planned.
gesturing wildly looks unnatural
moving around when 2nd call a bit distracting
good anger: breathing heavily.
Afiqah-
anger could be much better portrayed
despair over rabbit must show more
more frantic when enter scene again with rabbit?- as a build up to the fit.
blocked by matthew when lying down on sofa
fits more vigorous to be more convincing.
voice and inflection is okay.
ripped paper at the wrong place where papa ripped it.
“if you did anything to it…” can’t really hear.
more tension all over body when having fits, teeth???
For Chen Xing, the comments are not with me, so I can’t type them up, will ask him to do it later. =)
When we asked ms. Norzian about the play, she said:
we need to work on our motivations as the characters, always know why we are doing something.
for me: don’t just wait for your line, react to the given situation to make it more natural.
our tension is okay, but can do better, the climax and also the progression must be shown more clearly.
for papa: please practice your facial expression
don’t use the tech too much, she wants to see the acting.
Ok, today was not that bed, we got a comment that we improved! And ms. Norzian also said that we improved, even though by a bit only. But still YAY!!!
Okay so to solve the many problems that we encountered this day,
MORE PRACTICE
SIT WITH CREW AND TELL THEM EXACTLY WHAT WE WANT
REHEARSAL WITH CREW!
Oh yes, not all of use were in full dress. SO THIS IS A REMINDER! Please go and get you outfit and shoes and hair style down before P-day. Also, props must all be there, where art thou, PETER??? We are also missing a breakable trophy for papa to throw.
Ok my lovely cows, we still have 1 more week till P-DAY!!
Don’t let our hopes down and continue our effort to do our best!
We can do it!
Love,
afiqah
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
At the Foyer.
Hello TGO!! =D
And HELLO to everyone else too!! =)
Okay. Today's rehearsal was THE ONE.
Asked to bring the actual attire and we didn't use it. D;
Yes. I was late. Because of choir as usual. So in a sense, I've skipped quite a fair bit of rehearsals. Yes, the one Ruth and Benny did.
We focused mainly on Voice. YES VOICE.
Benny isn't an all-time throaty person. So Isie, you must take note. =) Remember what I've said just now? Your emphasis and all. It was all gone just now. D; If not, then it was disrupted by the occassional, "this one can?" Terrible habit. =( Remember to use the diaphram and put everything that I've mentioned during the vocal practical session to use! Isy, this is the consequence of not paying attention. =| Remember to speak using the falsetto technique BUT in your normal tone in order to not strain your throat. This will help you in your pronounciation. =D Ermmm... And not only that though.
It too, helps in bringing forth the tension that we've always wanted to convey. AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, DECREASES THE CHANCE OF YOU GETTING A SORE THROAT!! x)
We did rehearse and change some stage directions.
So yes. In scene 1 (Benny's mono), move more towards the front or diagonally towards the front and not towards the side (let alone the back). LOOK UP (most of the time)!! If not, NOT ONLY the lights will not shine on you BUT also YOUR HAIR / HAND GESTURES will cover your face. =(
Scene 3! Yeah. We had little times for that so... Isy's line, "I'd have you put [pause] a-way!" ONLY HERE, after you've said "WAY" then you THROW the "trophy" at the carpet. =) Remember yeah?? =D
Oh yes! And after Matt said, "I'd better call the doctor", Isy turn around, lift your hand up and pushes Matt (preventing him from coming any nearer towards you). Then pushes Matt onto the ground at the normal time. =) I'll work out my fall. We didn't manage to do much after Ruth left. In fact, a short while after Ruth's departure, the school attendance invite us out of the school.
Oh well... D;
AND ISY (I'm saying Isy not Benny cos BENNY LAUGHS and Isy doesn't). It's not very good to laugh at me when you find my actions fake. >< class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Chenxing.
And HELLO to everyone else too!! =)
Okay. Today's rehearsal was THE ONE.
Asked to bring the actual attire and we didn't use it. D;
Yes. I was late. Because of choir as usual. So in a sense, I've skipped quite a fair bit of rehearsals. Yes, the one Ruth and Benny did.
We focused mainly on Voice. YES VOICE.
Benny isn't an all-time throaty person. So Isie, you must take note. =) Remember what I've said just now? Your emphasis and all. It was all gone just now. D; If not, then it was disrupted by the occassional, "this one can?" Terrible habit. =( Remember to use the diaphram and put everything that I've mentioned during the vocal practical session to use! Isy, this is the consequence of not paying attention. =| Remember to speak using the falsetto technique BUT in your normal tone in order to not strain your throat. This will help you in your pronounciation. =D Ermmm... And not only that though.
It too, helps in bringing forth the tension that we've always wanted to convey. AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, DECREASES THE CHANCE OF YOU GETTING A SORE THROAT!! x)
We did rehearse and change some stage directions.
So yes. In scene 1 (Benny's mono), move more towards the front or diagonally towards the front and not towards the side (let alone the back). LOOK UP (most of the time)!! If not, NOT ONLY the lights will not shine on you BUT also YOUR HAIR / HAND GESTURES will cover your face. =(
Scene 3! Yeah. We had little times for that so... Isy's line, "I'd have you put [pause] a-way!" ONLY HERE, after you've said "WAY" then you THROW the "trophy" at the carpet. =) Remember yeah?? =D
Oh yes! And after Matt said, "I'd better call the doctor", Isy turn around, lift your hand up and pushes Matt (preventing him from coming any nearer towards you). Then pushes Matt onto the ground at the normal time. =) I'll work out my fall. We didn't manage to do much after Ruth left. In fact, a short while after Ruth's departure, the school attendance invite us out of the school.
Oh well... D;
AND ISY (I'm saying Isy not Benny cos BENNY LAUGHS and Isy doesn't). It's not very good to laugh at me when you find my actions fake. >< class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Chenxing.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Monday Rehearsal!
Righhtt after a daunting day at school which ended at 4, we had a rehearsal! WoohOO!
Anyway, here's what we did
1. Got into character, tried different actions and tones
2. Full rehearsal
I felt a bit more comfortable with my character and threw in some new actions, stacy also did the same thing, but end us both of us still got stuff to work on. I didn't feel natural at some parts!! :(
3. Full rehearsal again! (with comments from 2 loving drama mates)
We learnt that the growling seriously makes me hard to hear, that problem must faster fix man. Also our emotions seem to change either too fast, or the story gets draggy. I personally felt that the pause while stacy is picking up the rabbit is too dam long, I feel kinda dumb standing there.
Oh yes! I found a new way to push stacy! and I also changed the tone so it would sound less stupid. Must tell stacy and afiqah tmr..
4. Dealing with my inability to stop smiling
I swear, my upbringing has caused me this difficulty to be angry, cause as myself when I'm angry, I will smile. So..frowning and looking mean has turned out to be more tough than it seemed. I'm planning to ask my father to teach me how to to be angry since he can do it so well, I got a lot of experience ah, trust me.
Overall, we improved slightly but not really that much, we're gonna need a lot more practise and drive ourselves crazyy!! Hopefully we dont die by d-day. Good Luck everyone!
Benjamin Hunsdofer
Anyway, here's what we did
1. Got into character, tried different actions and tones
2. Full rehearsal
I felt a bit more comfortable with my character and threw in some new actions, stacy also did the same thing, but end us both of us still got stuff to work on. I didn't feel natural at some parts!! :(
3. Full rehearsal again! (with comments from 2 loving drama mates)
We learnt that the growling seriously makes me hard to hear, that problem must faster fix man. Also our emotions seem to change either too fast, or the story gets draggy. I personally felt that the pause while stacy is picking up the rabbit is too dam long, I feel kinda dumb standing there.
Oh yes! I found a new way to push stacy! and I also changed the tone so it would sound less stupid. Must tell stacy and afiqah tmr..
4. Dealing with my inability to stop smiling
I swear, my upbringing has caused me this difficulty to be angry, cause as myself when I'm angry, I will smile. So..frowning and looking mean has turned out to be more tough than it seemed. I'm planning to ask my father to teach me how to to be angry since he can do it so well, I got a lot of experience ah, trust me.
Overall, we improved slightly but not really that much, we're gonna need a lot more practise and drive ourselves crazyy!! Hopefully we dont die by d-day. Good Luck everyone!
Benjamin Hunsdofer
Sunday, April 19, 2009
REHEARSALS SUNDAY
Time: 3.30pm-5.30pm
attendance : FULL
Okayyy~
We had rehearsals today!
1) experiment physicality
2) run through the entire script
3) comments and improve =)
So, we met at Isaac’s church and it was super hot, but Isaac said there was a room that we could use that was AIR-CONDITIONED!!! Haha, so, we went into the music room and Stacy started to play the piano, and it was so good so that was the entertainment for today…
Moving on, Isaac said he wanted to try out his character’s actions after the session with Henry the other day. However, I think that he could have done it better…
1) DON’T SMILE =(
2) Move like a drunk man
3) Try to wreck the room, i.e.: throw pillows, rip paper of window
4) Be angrier!
5) Don’t kick the rabbit cage to hard!
Other than that, I think that Papa had improved and he got rid of the growling voice. It was good, and we will see how it goes again tomorrow…
For Stacy’s scene, we pointed out that he looked unnatural with the sudden burst of happiness when talking about the gamma rays… and he tried it again with better results. YAY =)
The last scene, where I come in needs to be worked, we seriously need to build the tension between Ruth and Papa so that is doesn’t look fake and weird.
1) Need to figure out the settings of the house once and for all! So that Ruth knows where she is looking at and papa knows where he tears the paper from.
2) The blocking between Ruth and Mattie must practice until perfect. =)
3) Timing of Papa’s appearance and how he snatches the trophy.
4) Ruth needs to be angrier but have a limit when shouting at father.
5) Emotions!!! BE in CHARACTER people, find out motivation and do better for next rehearsal.
6) PRACTICE x3!!
Okay and this is a few comments about the scene after I passed out.
1) Will papa really throw Mattie to the ground, what direction, blocking? Must address this issue next meeting.
2) Emotions for when Papa says “I hate the world” and the timing with the music.
3) Mattie’s position? Standing or sitting, when? What is more effective, and must not make it so monotone. =)
So, I think we did about 4 rounds of rehearsals and GOOD JOB COWS!! We really persevered and got through 2 hours of hard training…. Okay….with entertainment from Stacy and the piano but still…
I noticed that we can really get into character easier since ms Norzian helped us and another thing is that we really need to be focused and stay in character so that we don’t make a lot of mistakes and it helped when we got chased out and used the music room downstairs instead where there was a full sized mirror so that we can see our own reflections.
We need to try out more of our character’s physicality! So next rehearsal, be prepared cows.
REMINDERS-
1) Lightings and sounds to be confirmed with Stacy and written out to give partner group.
2) Costumes latest by WEDNESDAY!!! Yes Isaac, I do mean you…
3) Pillows! And confirm other props! Oh, and a breakable trophy would be nice =)
4) Get enough rest and don’t forget to practice, P-DAY is in 2 weeks time!!!
NEXT MEETING
Outside bBox
Don’t be late, we only have an HOUR!!!
Friday, April 17, 2009
Rehearsal!!
Bah I can't believe I have to write this on my own now, I have such bad memory!! Guys if I leave out anything just go leave some comments and hopefully I will read them. Ok? Alright lets start!
We actually got Ms. Norzian to observe us today! After making sure the lighting and the tech stuff was ok, we got to do a full rehearsal. It so did not turn out well la! Our positioning was off, our movements were awkward and we didn't play off each other's energy.. So dissapointed!! X(
Ah, but after that Ms. Norzian commented on our overall performance and gave us very helpful tips. We were to question our motives, find out why our characters reacted the way they did, even suggesting that we each have our own "quirks" to make our character more unique to us. Also we were told to work on our voice projection and the actions we carried out when we were not saying lines.
It was after that and a long series of retrys and re-dos that made us improve by a lot! Our positioning during scene 3 was dramatically changed, and I was given a lot more things to do than just shout. Personally, I felt that the changes made really brought more life and reality to our characters. The play seemed more real and our actions and intentions were clear.
There is still a lot more room for improvement I feel, we need to start experimenting more on our speech and movement to find what suits our characters more. Also after the experimenting is over we will need a lot of practice to pull it off.
For a closing note, I would like to say that you guys did a wonderful job, and that I will try harder not to smile on stage. I'm so sorry for throwing you stacy!!!
Best wishes,
Benjamin Hunsdorfer
We actually got Ms. Norzian to observe us today! After making sure the lighting and the tech stuff was ok, we got to do a full rehearsal. It so did not turn out well la! Our positioning was off, our movements were awkward and we didn't play off each other's energy.. So dissapointed!! X(
Ah, but after that Ms. Norzian commented on our overall performance and gave us very helpful tips. We were to question our motives, find out why our characters reacted the way they did, even suggesting that we each have our own "quirks" to make our character more unique to us. Also we were told to work on our voice projection and the actions we carried out when we were not saying lines.
It was after that and a long series of retrys and re-dos that made us improve by a lot! Our positioning during scene 3 was dramatically changed, and I was given a lot more things to do than just shout. Personally, I felt that the changes made really brought more life and reality to our characters. The play seemed more real and our actions and intentions were clear.
There is still a lot more room for improvement I feel, we need to start experimenting more on our speech and movement to find what suits our characters more. Also after the experimenting is over we will need a lot of practice to pull it off.
For a closing note, I would like to say that you guys did a wonderful job, and that I will try harder not to smile on stage. I'm so sorry for throwing you stacy!!!
Best wishes,
Benjamin Hunsdorfer
Sunday, April 12, 2009
MONDAY!!
Heyy all!!
TOMORROW's MEETING!!!
4pm at the CAFE!!!
Don't be late people!!
We're gonna get some food before proceeding to a place (most prolly outside sc room) to rehearse. =D
Everyone fine with everything??
Heeheee!!
If not, tell me NOWNOWNOW!!! =D
Cheers,
Chenxing (Matthew)
TOMORROW's MEETING!!!
4pm at the CAFE!!!
Don't be late people!!
We're gonna get some food before proceeding to a place (most prolly outside sc room) to rehearse. =D
Everyone fine with everything??
Heeheee!!
If not, tell me NOWNOWNOW!!! =D
Cheers,
Chenxing (Matthew)
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Post Showcase Suggestions for Improvements.
Okay, firstly, I'd wanna CONGRATS everyone!! =D
We all did a very good job as compared to previously. =)
A little hiccups here and there are inevitable given the "Performance" settings.
Now, know how it feels like up there, and deliever your utmost best on our actual performance day!
I've been believing in one quote that my friend said during one of the church musical's debrief that I took part in, and that's "Prepare yourself to give 200% on stage and you'll be left with 100%".
And that's so true! When we're on stage, maybe it doesn't show, or you don't think so. We'll be nervous in a way or another. Don't let this "undue factors" steal our chances to rock the theatre okay! =D We can do it man!!
Okay, lets get into things proper.
Starting with the comments they gave in the overall and how we should improve as a group.
"We need to work on our voice".
Yes this is SO TRUE. Especially for Benjamin. We must always keep in mind on the tension level on stage, and be very aware of our surroundings while focusing on what we're doing at every given time.
One point raised by Ruth was drawn towards Benny's expressions (tone) during his first monologue. Perhaps we all didn't bother or didn't notice, or rather, didn't know the impact of such trivial matters that we didn't go into it. The front few lines from "May I speak to the principal..." to "...don't give a fucking business who i am!" was mainly used to build tension for the play and to set the atmosphere... It was mostly well done UNTIL the joyful and... careless "oh, i see". It was said in a comical, yet tuneful tone that totally ruined the tension created earlier. We are doing Stanislavski people, NOT BRECHT ALIENATION!!! The laughter from the crowd changed the tension but it was quickly brought back. For that, I must congratulate you. =) Well done. But do watch out on potential anti-climax tone that'd break any tension. Same goes for EVERYONE. =(
Again, for tone. Mr Choy brought up a very good point. We should never strain our voices unless denoted in the script. Touchwood, no one should lose their voice in the middle of a play. That brings me to the next point that was also brought up by Mr Choy and that's "ANGER DOESN'T ALWAYS EQUATE TO SHOUTINGS / LOUDNESS IN OUR VOICES!!" We can make use of the T.H.O.S.E. aspects in our scene instead of forcing our voices to the limits.
Tension wise, in my opinion, was affected partly by the set and also the dryness of the third scene. The sudden change of tension and sequence can't really be changed or improved if we've given our best and we're purely following the script.
Talk about the set. It's angled in such a way that it gives audience an impression that the house is wide. With the wide spread of lights, and "long" set, it gives the audiences the feeling that the tension that we were trying to focus from where we were (slightly off center from the front of the sofa), were dispersed throughout the space. One direct approach we can take to change such a problem is to reduce the lightings to only on us. But it'll also restrict our movements later on. Otherwise, we can shift the set, redesign it. And that means, redrawing the stage-directions. D; We'll go further into detail during our next meeting, tomorrow.
Last point that I'm gonna raise up as a reminder, is to be very sure of the relationship between the characters in the play. Though it was stated in what we say, the idea wasn't conveyed apparently. Maybe we should work on that.
I've no idea what time are we meeting tomorrow.
Guess it's 4pm at Esplanade lobby open performance area.
Seeya there for the TSD MEETING!! =D
Don't be late!!
I'll try to rush down from Choir alright?? =)
Cheers,
Chenxing (Matthew)
p/s: Ruth have tried to book the bbox on Monday 4 - 6pm and Thurs 6 - 8pm for rehearsals and tag run. =) Try to clear your timetable to suit that slot first. Details / Confirmation to come SOON!! =D
We all did a very good job as compared to previously. =)
A little hiccups here and there are inevitable given the "Performance" settings.
Now, know how it feels like up there, and deliever your utmost best on our actual performance day!
I've been believing in one quote that my friend said during one of the church musical's debrief that I took part in, and that's "Prepare yourself to give 200% on stage and you'll be left with 100%".
And that's so true! When we're on stage, maybe it doesn't show, or you don't think so. We'll be nervous in a way or another. Don't let this "undue factors" steal our chances to rock the theatre okay! =D We can do it man!!
Okay, lets get into things proper.
Starting with the comments they gave in the overall and how we should improve as a group.
"We need to work on our voice".
Yes this is SO TRUE. Especially for Benjamin. We must always keep in mind on the tension level on stage, and be very aware of our surroundings while focusing on what we're doing at every given time.
One point raised by Ruth was drawn towards Benny's expressions (tone) during his first monologue. Perhaps we all didn't bother or didn't notice, or rather, didn't know the impact of such trivial matters that we didn't go into it. The front few lines from "May I speak to the principal..." to "...don't give a fucking business who i am!" was mainly used to build tension for the play and to set the atmosphere... It was mostly well done UNTIL the joyful and... careless "oh, i see". It was said in a comical, yet tuneful tone that totally ruined the tension created earlier. We are doing Stanislavski people, NOT BRECHT ALIENATION!!! The laughter from the crowd changed the tension but it was quickly brought back. For that, I must congratulate you. =) Well done. But do watch out on potential anti-climax tone that'd break any tension. Same goes for EVERYONE. =(
Again, for tone. Mr Choy brought up a very good point. We should never strain our voices unless denoted in the script. Touchwood, no one should lose their voice in the middle of a play. That brings me to the next point that was also brought up by Mr Choy and that's "ANGER DOESN'T ALWAYS EQUATE TO SHOUTINGS / LOUDNESS IN OUR VOICES!!" We can make use of the T.H.O.S.E. aspects in our scene instead of forcing our voices to the limits.
Tension wise, in my opinion, was affected partly by the set and also the dryness of the third scene. The sudden change of tension and sequence can't really be changed or improved if we've given our best and we're purely following the script.
Talk about the set. It's angled in such a way that it gives audience an impression that the house is wide. With the wide spread of lights, and "long" set, it gives the audiences the feeling that the tension that we were trying to focus from where we were (slightly off center from the front of the sofa), were dispersed throughout the space. One direct approach we can take to change such a problem is to reduce the lightings to only on us. But it'll also restrict our movements later on. Otherwise, we can shift the set, redesign it. And that means, redrawing the stage-directions. D; We'll go further into detail during our next meeting, tomorrow.
Last point that I'm gonna raise up as a reminder, is to be very sure of the relationship between the characters in the play. Though it was stated in what we say, the idea wasn't conveyed apparently. Maybe we should work on that.
I've no idea what time are we meeting tomorrow.
Guess it's 4pm at Esplanade lobby open performance area.
Seeya there for the TSD MEETING!! =D
Don't be late!!
I'll try to rush down from Choir alright?? =)
Cheers,
Chenxing (Matthew)
p/s: Ruth have tried to book the bbox on Monday 4 - 6pm and Thurs 6 - 8pm for rehearsals and tag run. =) Try to clear your timetable to suit that slot first. Details / Confirmation to come SOON!! =D
Sunday, April 5, 2009
REHEARSAL!
hey all!
since we have a workshop on monday(6/4) at 5.30pm,
our rehearsal will be on (6/4/2009)
from 4.00 pm-5.30 pm.
meet at cafe at 4.00 sharp.
don't be late!
bring script and whatever props that has not been brought!
see you!
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Hahahahaaaa!!!
TOMORROW'S MEETING!!!!
9AM OUTSIDE THE SC ROOM!!! =D
Isaac, don't come at 9PM okay?? x)
9AM OUTSIDE THE SC ROOM!!! =D
Isaac, don't come at 9PM okay?? x)
Cheers,
Chenxing.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
rehearsals again!
27 march 2009
blackbox
full attendance
2-3pm
6-7pm (stacy has choir in between)
AGENDA
1) full run through
2) finalise lightings
3) dv discussion
we arrived right on the dot.
stacy brought such a huge cage that we think that it just would not be good to be in the set, fortunately, rachel offered to bring us a smaller cage. YAY!
I broke the wine glass but will bring a new one next monday!
the rabbit was still missing and isaac wanted to buy a more believable rabbit but we still have not decided yet.
i asked Priscilla to bring the trophy to school cause i don't have one=)
reminder, to write stuff on the display board to make it more believable.
there were some changes made to the settings.
first off, mattie's display is now under light 20 and we decided that we need to use the flood lights as we need to be able to see his face, thus the living room setting can now be seen whivh does not add much effects to the presentation scene=(
but what to do?
next, we rehearsed but both me and isaac did not really get into character because of som unknown reasons. Stacy showed us - or mabe let us hear -the sound effects for the applause and the theme music. we went through the play once and some comments from mark on how to improve the lightings and then stacy had to leave for choir!
sooo,
isaac and i did our character analysis as stacy had met up with a senior and told him several tips to improve the play, such as prolonging the scene where ruth comes in with the dead rabbit and such. also, she told stacy that MAttiE's scene actually represents the whole play and the impact has to be there and also stacy added that the sounds of the electronics was sort of to put him back to reality in which his presentation was dreamy surreal.
While waiting for stacy to come back, Isaac emo-ed for a bit to sort out his character's history and we helped the lucky ones with their play by giving comments.
Lights 13&14 got busted for no apparent reason and were felt that we were so screwed. the mood was gone for a while but it picked up.
so, the lucky ones finished of and MARIGOLDS group part 1 came. Hamid also stayed back to help with the lights.
thus, stacy came back and we had the rehearsal again, this time with more excitement and we could get into character. Stephanie gave us some comments and i realised my fits were not good! must practice.
we practised some more and got the lightings fixed(it is with Stacy) and then we decided to stay back and help the other group.
DV
we went into the dressing room to do dv and the agenda was as such
1) character analysis
2)sub-text in which we have to do our motivations and the place we are standing and our actions at each part
3)re-do our crap dv at home
4)meet up after winter's tale to discuss
ok, so
just A FEW REMINDERS.
SUBMISSION OF DV BY TUESDAY, 31 MARCH
MEETING ON MONDAY 30 MARCH to finalise dv @ 4 sharp at library.
PROPS TO BE IN BY WEDNESDAY LATEST!
finalise lightings and sounds!!!
love,
ruth
blackbox
full attendance
2-3pm
6-7pm (stacy has choir in between)
AGENDA
1) full run through
2) finalise lightings
3) dv discussion
we arrived right on the dot.
stacy brought such a huge cage that we think that it just would not be good to be in the set, fortunately, rachel offered to bring us a smaller cage. YAY!
I broke the wine glass but will bring a new one next monday!
the rabbit was still missing and isaac wanted to buy a more believable rabbit but we still have not decided yet.
i asked Priscilla to bring the trophy to school cause i don't have one=)
reminder, to write stuff on the display board to make it more believable.
there were some changes made to the settings.
first off, mattie's display is now under light 20 and we decided that we need to use the flood lights as we need to be able to see his face, thus the living room setting can now be seen whivh does not add much effects to the presentation scene=(
but what to do?
next, we rehearsed but both me and isaac did not really get into character because of som unknown reasons. Stacy showed us - or mabe let us hear -the sound effects for the applause and the theme music. we went through the play once and some comments from mark on how to improve the lightings and then stacy had to leave for choir!
sooo,
isaac and i did our character analysis as stacy had met up with a senior and told him several tips to improve the play, such as prolonging the scene where ruth comes in with the dead rabbit and such. also, she told stacy that MAttiE's scene actually represents the whole play and the impact has to be there and also stacy added that the sounds of the electronics was sort of to put him back to reality in which his presentation was dreamy surreal.
While waiting for stacy to come back, Isaac emo-ed for a bit to sort out his character's history and we helped the lucky ones with their play by giving comments.
Lights 13&14 got busted for no apparent reason and were felt that we were so screwed. the mood was gone for a while but it picked up.
so, the lucky ones finished of and MARIGOLDS group part 1 came. Hamid also stayed back to help with the lights.
thus, stacy came back and we had the rehearsal again, this time with more excitement and we could get into character. Stephanie gave us some comments and i realised my fits were not good! must practice.
we practised some more and got the lightings fixed(it is with Stacy) and then we decided to stay back and help the other group.
DV
we went into the dressing room to do dv and the agenda was as such
1) character analysis
2)sub-text in which we have to do our motivations and the place we are standing and our actions at each part
3)re-do our crap dv at home
4)meet up after winter's tale to discuss
ok, so
just A FEW REMINDERS.
SUBMISSION OF DV BY TUESDAY, 31 MARCH
MEETING ON MONDAY 30 MARCH to finalise dv @ 4 sharp at library.
PROPS TO BE IN BY WEDNESDAY LATEST!
finalise lightings and sounds!!!
love,
ruth
Rehearsals for 1st week of school.
23 march 2009
blackbox
full attendance
We managed to get the blackbox for rehearsals today due to the fact that the seniors were having exams.
THE AGENDA!
1) Lightings
2) Rehearse the whole play with the lightings and props.
3) check out where the sounds would come in.
4) comments from the rest =)
5) finalise settings of our play
ok so, first off, me and isaac set up the scene using our initial settings that we had planned weeks before, however, we realised that there was a lot of problems with that setting, so we turned the whole set around and the audience is now at the controls.
The settings is simple enough, for the first scene, the sofa woud be placed right under light 41, in the center of the black box(or close enough), beside the sofa, to the right is the table with the phone, wineglass and phonebook Chloroform bottle. The cardboard box would be placed at the other end of the sofa with the blue towel inside.
For scene 2, there will be no shift of set, however, Matthew's presentation would be at a corner of the blackbox, nearer the audience, we decided to place the tables under light 9, and on the tables was the display board and also the marigolds that our dear stacy had bought! Hamid commented that it so does not look like mutated marigolds, but, what to do? When there is no marigolds, we make do with cactus.
for scene 3, it is the original set minus the Chloroform bottle and the rabbit and towel. =)
ok, so on to the lightings.
we tried out the lights for the 1st scene with isaac and the problem was basically that the lightings that we used we not suitable cause isaac's face could not be seen, but sacy, our awesome tech man managed to make it work. I don't have the finalised lighting scheme with me so bear with it alright? it's with matthew so, i'll badger him to post it soon. =)
moving on to scene 2, there was much arguments over which side of the blackbox to place the presentation due to the limitations of lighting but finally we choose to use the yellowish lighting at 9. the setting will be such that the living room set won't be seen and only mattie and his presentation is seen. unfortunately, there was no music as stacy did not bring it with him.
the same is for scene 3 but with variations to the lightings at different parts of the play. again, will badger stacy to post later.
PROPS
ok, today, we brought most of our stuff but there were some missing items like the rabbit and the cage and the trophy. The rest will come in due time. We kept the props in the store room.=)
on to serious business, the actual acting of the play.
we had 4 rounds of acting(if memory serves me right) and i have to say that we were awesome! ok, not fantastic, but we improved and also, there was no major mishaps!!!! good job cows!!
haha.
ok, comments for scene 1.
Isaac needs to be more angry and display his anger in a more obvious manner.
good job for not smiling=)
then, his movements needs to be more fluid and obvious and needs to see his facial expressions when he wants to pick up the rabbit.
we also, timed the lightings and all that so, great job!!
fyi, there is no sounds for his monologue.
scene 2
ok, the first thing was that matt's expression could not be seen due to the lightings but we ignored that for now and just went on with the acting.
it was okay, matt needs to be more inspirational in the last part and need to memorise his script a bit more, other than that, it was good.
more hand gestures would be good.
the sounds for this scene is the gongs, applause and also the electronics.
last scene,
there were a lot of comments the firt time we ran through the scene.
Ruth: needs to know exactly where to pull matthew and needs to remember hre lines properly!!!
also, the moan must be more emotional and distressed. WZ helped...haha
comments from hamid that the fits was okay was such a relieve but still need to work on it to be perfected. scene with papa must be more dramatic.
Mattie: needs to be more worried about his sister when she is having her fits. also, he needs to be more scared of his father as the "bury Peter" part. Also, his last monologue must be more impactful. But the last line that he did was perfect! there was trouble with the movement for the moologue but we mananged to work it out!
PAPA: ok, papa needs to look more drunk, someone commented but basically, there was not mush comments for his part. GOOD JOB!
the sounds in the last scene is the theme music and stacy added the disco ball in his monologue to make it look more dreamy.
all in all, it was a good rehearsal albeit a hot and stuffy one.
we got to go through our play without interruptions and thanks to the lucky ones for helping us out.
Love, Ruth
blackbox
full attendance
We managed to get the blackbox for rehearsals today due to the fact that the seniors were having exams.
THE AGENDA!
1) Lightings
2) Rehearse the whole play with the lightings and props.
3) check out where the sounds would come in.
4) comments from the rest =)
5) finalise settings of our play
ok so, first off, me and isaac set up the scene using our initial settings that we had planned weeks before, however, we realised that there was a lot of problems with that setting, so we turned the whole set around and the audience is now at the controls.
The settings is simple enough, for the first scene, the sofa woud be placed right under light 41, in the center of the black box(or close enough), beside the sofa, to the right is the table with the phone, wineglass and phonebook Chloroform bottle. The cardboard box would be placed at the other end of the sofa with the blue towel inside.
For scene 2, there will be no shift of set, however, Matthew's presentation would be at a corner of the blackbox, nearer the audience, we decided to place the tables under light 9, and on the tables was the display board and also the marigolds that our dear stacy had bought! Hamid commented that it so does not look like mutated marigolds, but, what to do? When there is no marigolds, we make do with cactus.
for scene 3, it is the original set minus the Chloroform bottle and the rabbit and towel. =)
ok, so on to the lightings.
we tried out the lights for the 1st scene with isaac and the problem was basically that the lightings that we used we not suitable cause isaac's face could not be seen, but sacy, our awesome tech man managed to make it work. I don't have the finalised lighting scheme with me so bear with it alright? it's with matthew so, i'll badger him to post it soon. =)
moving on to scene 2, there was much arguments over which side of the blackbox to place the presentation due to the limitations of lighting but finally we choose to use the yellowish lighting at 9. the setting will be such that the living room set won't be seen and only mattie and his presentation is seen. unfortunately, there was no music as stacy did not bring it with him.
the same is for scene 3 but with variations to the lightings at different parts of the play. again, will badger stacy to post later.
PROPS
ok, today, we brought most of our stuff but there were some missing items like the rabbit and the cage and the trophy. The rest will come in due time. We kept the props in the store room.=)
on to serious business, the actual acting of the play.
we had 4 rounds of acting(if memory serves me right) and i have to say that we were awesome! ok, not fantastic, but we improved and also, there was no major mishaps!!!! good job cows!!
haha.
ok, comments for scene 1.
Isaac needs to be more angry and display his anger in a more obvious manner.
good job for not smiling=)
then, his movements needs to be more fluid and obvious and needs to see his facial expressions when he wants to pick up the rabbit.
we also, timed the lightings and all that so, great job!!
fyi, there is no sounds for his monologue.
scene 2
ok, the first thing was that matt's expression could not be seen due to the lightings but we ignored that for now and just went on with the acting.
it was okay, matt needs to be more inspirational in the last part and need to memorise his script a bit more, other than that, it was good.
more hand gestures would be good.
the sounds for this scene is the gongs, applause and also the electronics.
last scene,
there were a lot of comments the firt time we ran through the scene.
Ruth: needs to know exactly where to pull matthew and needs to remember hre lines properly!!!
also, the moan must be more emotional and distressed. WZ helped...haha
comments from hamid that the fits was okay was such a relieve but still need to work on it to be perfected. scene with papa must be more dramatic.
Mattie: needs to be more worried about his sister when she is having her fits. also, he needs to be more scared of his father as the "bury Peter" part. Also, his last monologue must be more impactful. But the last line that he did was perfect! there was trouble with the movement for the moologue but we mananged to work it out!
PAPA: ok, papa needs to look more drunk, someone commented but basically, there was not mush comments for his part. GOOD JOB!
the sounds in the last scene is the theme music and stacy added the disco ball in his monologue to make it look more dreamy.
all in all, it was a good rehearsal albeit a hot and stuffy one.
we got to go through our play without interruptions and thanks to the lucky ones for helping us out.
Love, Ruth
Elaborations on Matthew's complicated emotions and the Stage Direction for him.
Stage directions (Scene Two)
Scene two begins with Matthew, standing towards the left of the display (instead of the right) due to some lighting angle problem in the blackbox. He shivers as he tries to catch his breath. He refers to his cue cards and started reading off it, "The Past".
In fear, he crosses to the right of his display board. There, he gains confidence in speech as he begins on "The Present". He gains speed as he recite his points. He will move further right, pointing at the different degrees of mutated plants that was behind him.
He started gaining confidence and allowing his passion to out rule his emotional ability as he enters a dreamy state of mind. With lots of inspiration and confidence, he exclaimed that he believes in a day when mankind will thank God for the strange and beautiful energy of the atom. The outburst of energy engulfed the whole of him.
As the distant applause is heard, he was stunned by the presentation that he gave. Holding back his ego, he takes deep breaths and tries to calm himself down. A smile can be seen on his face as a symbol of success. This didn't last long. He was forced into the realization that he's father wasn't there for him. Everyone (audience) supported and acknowledged his success, he thought. Till he remembered about his father and established the link between the effect of gamma rays on marigolds and his family. He've lost his sense of success at this point of time after being drawn back to reality by the electronic sounds; becoming very helpless.
Stage Directions (Scene Three part: A)
Still overwhelmed by his ego, he smiles at his victory as his sister, Ruth, attempts to report it to Benjamin, their father. With the sense of satisfaction starting to fade, the scene turns into a quarrel between Benjamin and Ruth. Matthew stood in the middle, as if he's a mediator; helpless. He knows not what to do to calm down and tries to say something but was interrupted everytime the other two shouted at each other. He finally got a chance to ask about the situation and raised a question "you didn't kill it, did you?" (line 253). But Matthew question was ignored when Ben insisted that, "Nanny goes tomorrow". Being in a state of fear, he knows not what to do for he don't want to go against his father. He took a few wary steps back.
The tension was disrupted by the moaning of Ruth over the dead rabbit. Not knowing what happened, Matthew ran over to bottom of the stairs to check out on Ruth, asking if she's alright. Concern and confusion creeps in as he checks on Ruth, but Matthew still shows bravado as he doesn't want his family to be affected by him.
"Shall I call the doctor?" (Line 270)
Matthew as lost all of his enthusiasm for his success in his science presentation but was irritated by the scene created at home. He rushes to call the doctor but was stopped by his father (line 273). Frightened and upset, he suggested on burying the rabbit. Being stuck in a mental hodgepodge, he then changed his mind to bury the rabbit in the morning. He then moved over to Ruth and comforts her...
Stage Directions (Scene Three part: B)
Approximately 5 - 8 seconds will be set aside in silence as the theme music fades in slowly. Tension on stage will slowly build up during that period of time in preparation for "The Conclusion". The conversation between Benjamin and Matthew from line 281 - 285 will be filled with pauses as if they're both in a lost for words due to depression and upset over the World (family matters) they live in. The entrance of the vocal part serves as a cue for Matthew to start his monologue. Initially, it'll be rather monotonous from line 287 to 292. Then Matthew will slowly start to indulge in his own emotional World of fantasy where there's hope in ever thing from line 293, where his passion engulf him. All these passion will then fade away as he returns back to reality. He looks at his hand, and placed them on his heart as he says, "The atoms of our hands, the atoms of our hearts..." It symbolizes whatever he do to help change Benny, may affect him. And that whatever that made up his own hand, his own body, is actually the exact same atoms that made up Benny and everything else in the Universe.
Line 305, "atom, atom, ..."
Matthew remains depress as he look down and chant the first word of atom to himself... He then look up, helpless, as he re-emphasizes the word atom. "What a beautiful word" literally translate to the his realization of the truth, the truth about the atom being so small yet significant in the World that we live in. It not only affect his Father, Benjamin and causes him to create so much damage to the family, but also himself for he knows that he is also a victim of this infectious "radiation" reality.
Cheers,
Chenxing.
Scene two begins with Matthew, standing towards the left of the display (instead of the right) due to some lighting angle problem in the blackbox. He shivers as he tries to catch his breath. He refers to his cue cards and started reading off it, "The Past".
In fear, he crosses to the right of his display board. There, he gains confidence in speech as he begins on "The Present". He gains speed as he recite his points. He will move further right, pointing at the different degrees of mutated plants that was behind him.
He started gaining confidence and allowing his passion to out rule his emotional ability as he enters a dreamy state of mind. With lots of inspiration and confidence, he exclaimed that he believes in a day when mankind will thank God for the strange and beautiful energy of the atom. The outburst of energy engulfed the whole of him.
As the distant applause is heard, he was stunned by the presentation that he gave. Holding back his ego, he takes deep breaths and tries to calm himself down. A smile can be seen on his face as a symbol of success. This didn't last long. He was forced into the realization that he's father wasn't there for him. Everyone (audience) supported and acknowledged his success, he thought. Till he remembered about his father and established the link between the effect of gamma rays on marigolds and his family. He've lost his sense of success at this point of time after being drawn back to reality by the electronic sounds; becoming very helpless.
Stage Directions (Scene Three part: A)
Still overwhelmed by his ego, he smiles at his victory as his sister, Ruth, attempts to report it to Benjamin, their father. With the sense of satisfaction starting to fade, the scene turns into a quarrel between Benjamin and Ruth. Matthew stood in the middle, as if he's a mediator; helpless. He knows not what to do to calm down and tries to say something but was interrupted everytime the other two shouted at each other. He finally got a chance to ask about the situation and raised a question "you didn't kill it, did you?" (line 253). But Matthew question was ignored when Ben insisted that, "Nanny goes tomorrow". Being in a state of fear, he knows not what to do for he don't want to go against his father. He took a few wary steps back.
The tension was disrupted by the moaning of Ruth over the dead rabbit. Not knowing what happened, Matthew ran over to bottom of the stairs to check out on Ruth, asking if she's alright. Concern and confusion creeps in as he checks on Ruth, but Matthew still shows bravado as he doesn't want his family to be affected by him.
"Shall I call the doctor?" (Line 270)
Matthew as lost all of his enthusiasm for his success in his science presentation but was irritated by the scene created at home. He rushes to call the doctor but was stopped by his father (line 273). Frightened and upset, he suggested on burying the rabbit. Being stuck in a mental hodgepodge, he then changed his mind to bury the rabbit in the morning. He then moved over to Ruth and comforts her...
Stage Directions (Scene Three part: B)
Approximately 5 - 8 seconds will be set aside in silence as the theme music fades in slowly. Tension on stage will slowly build up during that period of time in preparation for "The Conclusion". The conversation between Benjamin and Matthew from line 281 - 285 will be filled with pauses as if they're both in a lost for words due to depression and upset over the World (family matters) they live in. The entrance of the vocal part serves as a cue for Matthew to start his monologue. Initially, it'll be rather monotonous from line 287 to 292. Then Matthew will slowly start to indulge in his own emotional World of fantasy where there's hope in ever thing from line 293, where his passion engulf him. All these passion will then fade away as he returns back to reality. He looks at his hand, and placed them on his heart as he says, "The atoms of our hands, the atoms of our hearts..." It symbolizes whatever he do to help change Benny, may affect him. And that whatever that made up his own hand, his own body, is actually the exact same atoms that made up Benny and everything else in the Universe.
Line 305, "atom, atom, ..."
Matthew remains depress as he look down and chant the first word of atom to himself... He then look up, helpless, as he re-emphasizes the word atom. "What a beautiful word" literally translate to the his realization of the truth, the truth about the atom being so small yet significant in the World that we live in. It not only affect his Father, Benjamin and causes him to create so much damage to the family, but also himself for he knows that he is also a victim of this infectious "radiation" reality.
Cheers,
Chenxing.
MATTHEW!!!!
Profile:
Matthew Hundsdorfer
Age:
17, a year younger than his older sister, Ruth
Location:
Staten Island
Miscellaneous:
Personality:
Matthew is generally a soft and painfully shy teenage. A serious introvert. Without the love of his parents, he isolates himself from people surrounding him. He indulges in his studies and also, he's interest which was enhanced by his Science teacher. He doesn't like to get involved in any conflict and would always try to resolve any if faced with them. When he came in touch with the experiment related to the effects of gamma rays on those marigolds, he was initially fascinated by whatever he saw. But as it goes on, especially during the science presentation, he came into a realisation that it was this radiation that he and his sister's being exposed to everyday. He fears for the worst for his family but didn't mention any of his realizations with his family members, keeping it all to himself. Despite his quiet character, he's also a rather determined person with a strong willpower to bring changes to his family.
Cheers,
Chenxing.
D/S for scene 2 and the concluding section of scene 3.
Dramatic Sequence; Lights and Sounds – (Elaboration)
Matthew’s first monologue: - A science presentation.
Only lights above or angled towards the front of Matthew should be switched on. This main objective was to focus a;; attention onto Matthew. The lighting sequence for this scene must be kept as simple as possible with minimal changes so as to portray a normal (actual) science presentation even though it meant something more serious and emotional.
The repetition of “gongs” that was played as the presentation progresses from a stage (past, present or future) to another, symbolizes the cruelty of time, not allowing Matthew a chance to find the answer to his family tragedy but to slip away, leaving Matthew helpless. An indirect contrary was brought up in this scene. With every striking of the “gongs”, Matthew and this family were brought nearer and nearer to the stage of destruction. Matthew, however, presented as increasing confidence level in speech as he became really hopeful for the hypothesis for the future, before coming to the realization that reality doesn’t always respond to how we want things to.
The distant applause represents him still being in a dreamy state where he was forced back to reality with the electronic sounds. The fading of lights represents a decrease in level of hope and acceptance.
“Papa… Papa!!” – I want my father’s love just like how the audiences acknowledges my effort placed in my competition!!
Dramatic Sequence: From line 281 – the end.
An Earth-Shattering Realization:
Begins with “Walking in Solitude”, my own composition. The emptiness of the slow yet gradual progress of the scale in the introduction represents a lost of hope in both Matthew and in Benjamin. “I hate the World”, the repetition said in monotone and as if he was sighing. The entry of the vocal part was meant to be slow, soft and very light. It acts as an entry cue for Matthew’s last monologue, “The Conclusion”.
The running passages in the theme music resemble Matthew’s willpower, his courage, and as well as his worries (the difficulties that he’ve to face). It more or less portray his inner feelings as he went on in his own World. As the climax was brought back to emptiness and depression in realization that he’s facing something almost impossible, the vocal parts fade away, leaving the empty piano part as a representation to show that Matthew’s back to square one again.
Lightings from the original “house scene” will dim to only a few spot lights on Ruth and Matthew with a pinch of red-light from the back to minimize the set to only a silhouette slowly. This silhouette-effect resembles the darkness as portrayed on the set, portrays the set as how darkness would to befall onto the family. That was in-line with Matthew’s concluding speech for his science presentation that has a literal translation to the future of the family; a tragic ending.
During the monologue, apart from the background semi-silhouette created, two lights – above Matthew and one angled towards Matthew should be turned on with the former stronger than the latter. This’d further enhance the darkness in the family that was already produced and at the same time, blend Matthew’s image with the picture formed.
This tragedy, however, went against the fact that Matthew still has a hope, a burning hope that would better the situation. He believes that every atom in him and everybody, comes from the Sun, and it’s his responsibility to find this source, to better the situation. This hopeful dream emphasized will be enhanced with the use of revolving lights with the focal centre still on Matthew. Lights in the background (red), should have slowly faded away before the revolving lights turns on.
So the lighting sequence goes like this for this part:
“But most important, I suppose…” (line 297) Back lights (red) starts to fade away slowly but gradually till Matthew says “every atom in me” (line 299).
The revolving lights will only be switched on from “has come from the Sun” (line 300) till “places beyond our dreams” (line 301).
The lights will fade to just a single faint pinch on Matthew as he whispers, “Atom, atom. What a beautiful word”, in tears. Probably his helplessness have out ruled all in his dreams… He walks into darkness.
Okay...
This is the detailed elaboration of the D/S of my part. =D
Cheers,
Chenxing.
Benjamin Hunsdorfer - have fun reading!
Benjamin Hunsdorfer
Age: 47
Address:
Occupation: Waiter
Social Status: Friendless, no social life after work
Other Facts: Heavy drinker, head of the house, mistreated by his boss, no communication with co-workers, takes care of a lodger called Nanny
Character: bossy, rude and abrasive, eyes burning with rage, slightly violent, pessimistic, touchy, hateful, tortured, insensitive, loud and arrogant.
Childhood History:
Born in
Family History:
It was during this time Benjamin picked up drinking. He favoured the bar across the street, where he met Paulina. Benjamin liked her flirtatious nature and in 1950 they were married. Benjamin was 28 and Paulina was 23. Paulina gave birth to Ruth in 1951 and Matthew in 1952. However, their love did not last for long. Paulina stopped flirting and started becoming a nagging housewife while Benjamin’s age was causing his charm and beauty to fade, which later cost him his job. Arguments became more frequent and Benjamin’s patience could stand for it no longer. In 1962 he cracked when Paulina called him a “useless piece of shit” and punched her in the face. Paulina felt so distraught and trapped that she committed suicide, thinking that death was the only option. Benjamin was so shocked that he started drinking even more. To pay for his alcohol and his two children, Benjamin took up a job as a waiter. Benjamin became unstable due to his excessive drinking, turning into the same character as the father he so despised.
View of Matthew and Ruth:
Benjamin loves both his children but is incapable of showing it. He is proud of Matthew for accomplishing something and being good at science but is rather annoyed at his lack of initiative and quietness. He hates the fact that Ruth is not doing well at school and that she doesn’t seem to care about it. He feels that Ruth is merely a flirt and is useless, wishing that she would take the important things more seriously. His dissatisfaction with Ruth is the root of all the arguments he has with her.
Line-by-line analysis
Line # | Change of movement, feelings and motivation |
186 | -Sitting down, head facing downwards -Anguish, hatred building inside -I want to tell the principle just what I think about him and everyone else |
187 | -Head looks to the center, moves forward at the word “off” -Dissatisfaction added to feelings -I don’t care if he’s on stage, I want to talk to him |
188a | -Fists clench at “none”, starts to stand at “of your”, finger points at phone and voice is much louder at “fucking business”, hand moves down at “who” -Anger, rage, disgust -I am appalled that they ask for my identity and I want to make it clear. |
188b | -Back straightens, facial expression less intense -Reluctant acceptance -I am disappointed but I still need to say something |
189 | -Starts pacing and adding sarcastic tone, mouth opens wider at the “and”s -Satisfied, hatred still building -I want to act happier to imply my inner disgust for the school |
190 | -Sarcasm and pacing stops and shouts with head facing the phone at “for”, turns and looks up at “would”, turns and looks slightly downwards at “thank”. Slams phone, takes drink, ignores telephone ringing, and dials another number. -Hatred bursts, feels empty afterwards, hatred slowly starts building again -I finally get to show just how angry I am |
195 | -Stays still, informative tone -Empty -I want them to take me seriously because of who I am |
196a | -Sarcasm and pacing starts, head looks up -Reminded of Nanny, disgust and hatred flows, slightly pleased that I frightened them -Right now I just want to piss them off |
196b – 199 | -Hand raises at “died” and “career” -Feelings unchanged -I’m telling them that Nanny isn’t important, and that being Miss career woman of the year doesn’t mean anything |
199b | -Head nods slightly -Exasperated -The woman at the phone asked me such a stupid question.. |
200 | -Points outside at “out” an on the floor at “tomorrow” -Angry -I want that Nanny out of my house |
201 – 202 | -Points to phone at “you”, hand swings at “rolled”, twirls at “try”, points outside again and stops pacing at “get the hell out”. -Stressed, worked up and pissed off -I want to explain the situation to get what I want |
202a | -Voice stresses “don’t” and fist clenches, fist opens up but still tense at “so” and voice becomes very tense -Seriously Annoyed and angry! -Can’t you hear what I’m saying?! Are you stupid? |
203 – 204 | -turns at “I”, voice quickens -slightly pissed -I don’t need a reason, so I’ll just give something stupid |
205 | -point’s upwards at “out”, fist clenches at “collect”, screams into phone “you bitch!” and slams the phone -Hatred burns out -I cannot tolerate her any longer, she has to go |
245 | -turns very slowly while saying “Ruth”, shouts “shut up” at her face, pauses, then continues rest of line glaring at Ruth -Disturbed, annoyed, furious, in a drunken rage -Ruth is such a noisy bitch, she has to shut up and stop being rude to me |
248 – 249 | -head turns away after being insulted, turns back and gives lines -Hurt, vengeful -I will show Ruth how it feels to be lose something you love |
252 | -Looks down away from Matthew -Empty, distraught -What is it Matthew wants to ask me |
254 | -Looks straight at Matthew, hand points downwards at “first thing tomorrow”, shifts up and down at each word, then goes down, voice stresses every word -hatred, slight inner satisfaction -I want to remind Matthew that I control the house and its inhabitants |
265 | -turns around violently at “what”, eyes widen and back straightens at “oh my god”, runs and pushes Matthew at “Get the wooden spoon!” -Anger, then surprise and then urgency -I didn’t notice until Matthew shouts |
271 | -turns to face Matthew at “no”, head nods towards Ruth at “she” -Anger, rage, decisiveness -This has happened before, there’s no need to make a big deal out of it |
273 | -grabs Matthew at “I”, pushes Matthew after finishing lines -Fury, anger is about to explode but is restrained -How dare he defy me, I will show him who is in charge here |
276 | -body stays still -anger slowly boils down -the towel is more important than that useless dead rabbit |
281 | -says “Matthew” when he goes behind me, body stays still -Sadness, regret -I need Matthew’s consolation and understanding |
283 | -turns directly away from Matthew, head turns to Matthew at “do” -Sadness, regret -Nothing turns out the way I want it to, I need at least one person to know that |
285 | -hand covers face, head turns away, walks slowly offstage -deep rooted hatred towards everything, sad and empty, feel like dying -I just want to say that I lost faith in everything |
Saturday, March 28, 2009
RUTH
Character analysis
The effects of man-in-the-moon marigolds
Year: 1969
Place: America, New York, Staten Island
2 storey brick house
Family: Benjamin Hunsdorfur (father), Matthew Hunsdorfur (younger brother), Paulina Hunsdorfur (mother) (deceased)
Ruth Hunsdorfur
18 born 1951, september 30
Medical history: subjected to epilepsy seizures
Shelton High School; senior
Single
Childhood history:
Ruth had childhood which was not as enriching and fulfilling as it should be. With the lack of attention and love given by her father, Ruth has lived her childhood with no one save herself to take comfort in. She does not really know her mother as her mother had died when she was still a child and thus, she was the one who took care of the household and also her younger brother. Despite this, she is not very close to her brother as they do not talk or communicate much and Ruth does not understand her brother and his fascination for science. However, she still loves her brother dearly and would not want anything untoward to happen to him.
Personality:
Ruth is a typically outgoing girl who is popular school and has many friends because of her attractiveness to others; also, she attracts many boys and almost always has a boyfriend. Ruth is quite an independent girl as since her mother died when she was 8, she had to take care of both herself and her younger brother as her father started to drink excessively and became uncaring.
Ruth personality has many layers, on a superficial level, people would stereotype her as shallow because of the fact that she is constantly thinking about boys, does not do well in school and of course, is embarrassed to be known as Matthew’s sister as he is what she calls a “nerd”. However, Ruth is a caring and loving person, although it does not come out that much, her natural affinity for Peter, the pet rabbit shows that she is capable of love and Ruth also longs to have a normal family and shows her love for Matthew in her own way, for example, she is honestly and genuinely happy for Matthew when he won the competition.
As a teenage girl, the neglect from her father has caused her to be very hurt and she retaliates when provoked. This could be the cause of many of their arguments as she feels that her father is not listening to her and she feels rejected and emotionally exhausted trying to talk or get along with her father as she feels that her father does not love her at all and is always finding fault in her. I think that Ruth covers up the hurt that she feels by the façade of “uncaring” that does not really work as she is an emotional person and the outburst of emotions or feelings has caused her to have fits. Her fits started when she was 12 years old, after a particularly bad argument with her father and has been a natural occurrence since then, especially when she is having fights or is feeling too much as a certain point in time. Fortunately, she has not had her fits in school and thus, only Matthew and Benjamin know about.
Ruth does not like to talk about her family life with her friends as she is too embarrassed by her father, whom she has not heard good comments from and is also known as “Benny the loon” and thus, her confidant is actually Peter, where she can be assured that the feelings that she reveals to Peter would not be spread as she can’t talk to Matthew who also does not express his feelings much.
Ruth, even though she does not have a good relationship with her father, wants to please him and make him proud of her but she always fails to do so and she is frustrated. She takes out her frustration on Matthew as he is the one she has most power over, being the older sister but she feels bad after bullying Matthew and tries in her own way to make it up to him, which also turns out to be a failure.
Ruth might seem cruel and malicious but that is her way of not breaking down every time she gets an emotional beating from her father. The reason for her having so many boyfriends is that she feels the need to have that security in knowing that she is not as useless as her father thinks that she is, that she can be successful in an area where others like her brother lack. The emotional security that is present in having a boyfriend could actually replace the lack of love from the part of her family.
The effects of man-in-the-moon marigolds
Year: 1969
Place: America, New York, Staten Island
2 storey brick house
Family: Benjamin Hunsdorfur (father), Matthew Hunsdorfur (younger brother), Paulina Hunsdorfur (mother) (deceased)
Ruth Hunsdorfur
18 born 1951, september 30
Medical history: subjected to epilepsy seizures
Shelton High School; senior
Single
Childhood history:
Ruth had childhood which was not as enriching and fulfilling as it should be. With the lack of attention and love given by her father, Ruth has lived her childhood with no one save herself to take comfort in. She does not really know her mother as her mother had died when she was still a child and thus, she was the one who took care of the household and also her younger brother. Despite this, she is not very close to her brother as they do not talk or communicate much and Ruth does not understand her brother and his fascination for science. However, she still loves her brother dearly and would not want anything untoward to happen to him.
Personality:
Ruth is a typically outgoing girl who is popular school and has many friends because of her attractiveness to others; also, she attracts many boys and almost always has a boyfriend. Ruth is quite an independent girl as since her mother died when she was 8, she had to take care of both herself and her younger brother as her father started to drink excessively and became uncaring.
Ruth personality has many layers, on a superficial level, people would stereotype her as shallow because of the fact that she is constantly thinking about boys, does not do well in school and of course, is embarrassed to be known as Matthew’s sister as he is what she calls a “nerd”. However, Ruth is a caring and loving person, although it does not come out that much, her natural affinity for Peter, the pet rabbit shows that she is capable of love and Ruth also longs to have a normal family and shows her love for Matthew in her own way, for example, she is honestly and genuinely happy for Matthew when he won the competition.
As a teenage girl, the neglect from her father has caused her to be very hurt and she retaliates when provoked. This could be the cause of many of their arguments as she feels that her father is not listening to her and she feels rejected and emotionally exhausted trying to talk or get along with her father as she feels that her father does not love her at all and is always finding fault in her. I think that Ruth covers up the hurt that she feels by the façade of “uncaring” that does not really work as she is an emotional person and the outburst of emotions or feelings has caused her to have fits. Her fits started when she was 12 years old, after a particularly bad argument with her father and has been a natural occurrence since then, especially when she is having fights or is feeling too much as a certain point in time. Fortunately, she has not had her fits in school and thus, only Matthew and Benjamin know about.
Ruth does not like to talk about her family life with her friends as she is too embarrassed by her father, whom she has not heard good comments from and is also known as “Benny the loon” and thus, her confidant is actually Peter, where she can be assured that the feelings that she reveals to Peter would not be spread as she can’t talk to Matthew who also does not express his feelings much.
Ruth, even though she does not have a good relationship with her father, wants to please him and make him proud of her but she always fails to do so and she is frustrated. She takes out her frustration on Matthew as he is the one she has most power over, being the older sister but she feels bad after bullying Matthew and tries in her own way to make it up to him, which also turns out to be a failure.
Ruth might seem cruel and malicious but that is her way of not breaking down every time she gets an emotional beating from her father. The reason for her having so many boyfriends is that she feels the need to have that security in knowing that she is not as useless as her father thinks that she is, that she can be successful in an area where others like her brother lack. The emotional security that is present in having a boyfriend could actually replace the lack of love from the part of her family.
Theatre studies and drama
The effects of Gamma rays on man-in-the-moon marigolds
Isaac- Benjamin Hunsdorfur
Afiqah- Ruth Hunsdorfur
Chen Xing- Matthew Hunsdorfur
Directorial Vision:
What is the play about?
Benjamin Hunsdorfur is a man who is constantly drunk and does not show affection to anyone, even to his children. As a result, the children, Ruth and Matthew Hunsdorfur are affected by his actions and we can see the parallel with the science experiment that Matthew is taking on where Paul Zindel (playwright) actually uses cobalt-60 as a representation of Benjamin while he's decaying, exposes the harmful radiation onto his children (the plants used in the experiment), the excess exposure to the gamma rays that is highly destructive would wield dwarf plants or the plants are killed. We can see how both Matthew and Ruth are affected by the dangerous waves by Benjamin where Ruth has her fits and how Matthew is too shy.
Some of the main themes of this play includes family relationships and how the family dynamics work where as opposed to showing love and care for ones’ family, in actuality, there are more layers to a family relationship and unconditional love is just a word, not something that is shown or given even by our parents. We also see how the individual family members can purposely hurt one another, emotionally and psychologically where Benjamin kills the rabbit (Peter) that Ruth loves.
There's a lack of love between the members of the family, causing the lack of trust between them. This in fact, reflects a society in which there is a presence of miscommunication and misunderstanding where people do not go the extra mile to understand each other
The many depths of each character and the problems that they face all contribute to how they treat ach other, Ruth, who longs for the approval of her father becomes emotionally unstable and Matthew is constantly being pushed back and becomes the mediator between the two. The positive outlook on life that was portrayed by Matthew gets dimmer and duller the more he is “exposed” to his father. However, Matthew is the voice of hope in the story as he finds the beauty and wonder of the universe outside even when he is faced by the constant bickering and exposure to the ”gamma rays.”
Message
We want to show how ones’ actions can affect another, especially those closest to us and that is our family members, we want people to appreciate the fact that they have their family and also not take them for granted, this would be ingrained when the audience sees how Ruth and Matthew was affected by the deliberate killing of Peter and how callous Benjamin was in dealing with Ruth’s fits. Also, Matthew was not paid any attention to, even when he wins a prestigious competition and usually, winning something would be cause for celebration but what Matthew had to deal with is another fight between Ruth and Benjamin.
We want the audience to be emotionally, psychologically affected, to feel the emotions that the characters feel and not take it light-heartedly, to really understand that hurt is not just in a physical sense but also emotional. To reflect on their own lives and whether they have achieved the goals that they have set for themselves and for their families and see if there is a way to improve relationships or strengthen bonds.
Target audience
The target audience of this play is young adults and families. This play deals with the issues of family relationship and how it affects the individual. Thus, this group of people will be able to identify with and relate to the play and its characters as they have more experiences or knowledge about the issue. Young children who have not seen what the reality of the society is would not be able to understand the play and the issues discussed. We want the audience to reflect on the play and its themes and then reflect on their life and how well they have lived it and also reflect on the actions and consideration that they have given to their family members and really understand that as a family, to make it work, understanding is needed. It is good if families can go together as they can reflect on the play as a whole.
How're we going to portray the play?
We are going to make the play as realistic as possible in a sense that the characters are relatable. The monologues would be emphasized to show the impact on the feelings and emotions of the character, using dramatic sequences. However, we would want to make the quarrel as natural as possible.
So the actors must really be their character and thus, we are using Stanislavski’s acting system in which we would understand the character's background and be the character.
The 3 Step approach:
Actors will prepare by analysing the given text, understand and develop the characters.
Actors will bring out physical characteristics.
Actors will then combine physical and mental aspects to portray the character.
We are doing this because we want to capture the essence of the characters and play each character with emotional depth rather than just do it in a showy way, thus create a claustrophobic atmosphere where the characters turn on each other instead of trying to get out of the space.
settings
Will add in the details of the settings later on.
lightings
Lightings is with stacy!
sounds
Ditto.
props
will post later.
Love, ruth
The effects of Gamma rays on man-in-the-moon marigolds
Isaac- Benjamin Hunsdorfur
Afiqah- Ruth Hunsdorfur
Chen Xing- Matthew Hunsdorfur
Directorial Vision:
What is the play about?
Benjamin Hunsdorfur is a man who is constantly drunk and does not show affection to anyone, even to his children. As a result, the children, Ruth and Matthew Hunsdorfur are affected by his actions and we can see the parallel with the science experiment that Matthew is taking on where Paul Zindel (playwright) actually uses cobalt-60 as a representation of Benjamin while he's decaying, exposes the harmful radiation onto his children (the plants used in the experiment), the excess exposure to the gamma rays that is highly destructive would wield dwarf plants or the plants are killed. We can see how both Matthew and Ruth are affected by the dangerous waves by Benjamin where Ruth has her fits and how Matthew is too shy.
Some of the main themes of this play includes family relationships and how the family dynamics work where as opposed to showing love and care for ones’ family, in actuality, there are more layers to a family relationship and unconditional love is just a word, not something that is shown or given even by our parents. We also see how the individual family members can purposely hurt one another, emotionally and psychologically where Benjamin kills the rabbit (Peter) that Ruth loves.
There's a lack of love between the members of the family, causing the lack of trust between them. This in fact, reflects a society in which there is a presence of miscommunication and misunderstanding where people do not go the extra mile to understand each other
The many depths of each character and the problems that they face all contribute to how they treat ach other, Ruth, who longs for the approval of her father becomes emotionally unstable and Matthew is constantly being pushed back and becomes the mediator between the two. The positive outlook on life that was portrayed by Matthew gets dimmer and duller the more he is “exposed” to his father. However, Matthew is the voice of hope in the story as he finds the beauty and wonder of the universe outside even when he is faced by the constant bickering and exposure to the ”gamma rays.”
Message
We want to show how ones’ actions can affect another, especially those closest to us and that is our family members, we want people to appreciate the fact that they have their family and also not take them for granted, this would be ingrained when the audience sees how Ruth and Matthew was affected by the deliberate killing of Peter and how callous Benjamin was in dealing with Ruth’s fits. Also, Matthew was not paid any attention to, even when he wins a prestigious competition and usually, winning something would be cause for celebration but what Matthew had to deal with is another fight between Ruth and Benjamin.
We want the audience to be emotionally, psychologically affected, to feel the emotions that the characters feel and not take it light-heartedly, to really understand that hurt is not just in a physical sense but also emotional. To reflect on their own lives and whether they have achieved the goals that they have set for themselves and for their families and see if there is a way to improve relationships or strengthen bonds.
Target audience
The target audience of this play is young adults and families. This play deals with the issues of family relationship and how it affects the individual. Thus, this group of people will be able to identify with and relate to the play and its characters as they have more experiences or knowledge about the issue. Young children who have not seen what the reality of the society is would not be able to understand the play and the issues discussed. We want the audience to reflect on the play and its themes and then reflect on their life and how well they have lived it and also reflect on the actions and consideration that they have given to their family members and really understand that as a family, to make it work, understanding is needed. It is good if families can go together as they can reflect on the play as a whole.
How're we going to portray the play?
We are going to make the play as realistic as possible in a sense that the characters are relatable. The monologues would be emphasized to show the impact on the feelings and emotions of the character, using dramatic sequences. However, we would want to make the quarrel as natural as possible.
So the actors must really be their character and thus, we are using Stanislavski’s acting system in which we would understand the character's background and be the character.
The 3 Step approach:
Actors will prepare by analysing the given text, understand and develop the characters.
Actors will bring out physical characteristics.
Actors will then combine physical and mental aspects to portray the character.
We are doing this because we want to capture the essence of the characters and play each character with emotional depth rather than just do it in a showy way, thus create a claustrophobic atmosphere where the characters turn on each other instead of trying to get out of the space.
settings
Will add in the details of the settings later on.
lightings
Lightings is with stacy!
sounds
Ditto.
props
will post later.
Love, ruth
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Theme Music.
Okay people!! =D
I know it's a little late now. But I've decided to print screen and save a lot of time. =x I did this in an hour and thirty minutes (excluding the editing time), so pardon the odd soundings clashes. Okay. It's meant to sound clashy. But not too clashy because I don't want to disrupt the audience too much from the main conclusion (ie, I don't want my music to steal the limelight from me!) HAHAA!!!
Enough of the crappings.
The song's called "Walking in Solitude", composed by me (yay!)
Here's the programme note:
Yes. It's not really related to the main extract that we're doing. But my mind was blank when I sat on the piano the previous evening. I was stuck with a really nice, suitable motif but I just can't put myself in Tillie's shoes and write something out. So I'd just put Tillie in my shoes instead and write something similar. =)
This piece revolves around these few pointers...
Longing; Conflicts; Rejections; Emptiness; Loneliness; Hope.
AND IT GOES REALLY NICELY WITH THE CONCLUSION!! xD
Okay, it's meant to be for the conclusion. =x So yeah. It've to (duh).
Want a glimpse of the piece?
Click to enlarge.
I know it's a little late now. But I've decided to print screen and save a lot of time. =x I did this in an hour and thirty minutes (excluding the editing time), so pardon the odd soundings clashes. Okay. It's meant to sound clashy. But not too clashy because I don't want to disrupt the audience too much from the main conclusion (ie, I don't want my music to steal the limelight from me!) HAHAA!!!
Enough of the crappings.
The song's called "Walking in Solitude", composed by me (yay!)
Here's the programme note:
"Walking in Solitude" is a monothematic composition. Written in G minor, it portrays a person stuck with all the conflicts he'd have to face in his life, and how much he hope that someone would understand his plight.
The piece revert back to the motif used in the introduction, representing the fact that no one, no soul that he've found could understand him, leaving him to walk the path of life, in solitude.
Yes. It's not really related to the main extract that we're doing. But my mind was blank when I sat on the piano the previous evening. I was stuck with a really nice, suitable motif but I just can't put myself in Tillie's shoes and write something out. So I'd just put Tillie in my shoes instead and write something similar. =)
This piece revolves around these few pointers...
Longing; Conflicts; Rejections; Emptiness; Loneliness; Hope.
AND IT GOES REALLY NICELY WITH THE CONCLUSION!! xD
Okay, it's meant to be for the conclusion. =x So yeah. It've to (duh).
Want a glimpse of the piece?
Click to enlarge.And please note: This piece is written with the tempo mark GRAVE!!! 42 crochet beat per minute. Please don't stare at bar 17 - 18's semi-quavers running notes okay!! Yes. Choir.
*The Great One, now you know why am I in choir for?
Performer's note:
Happy listening to the imaginary sound just by looking at the score. Well, I'll try to get the sibelius to work on my side and export the music file out either by midi, mp3 or wmv. So, wish me luck!
Oh! And before I forget, this piece shouldn't follow the script. It should fade in from line 281 where Benjamin (Beatrice) says, "Matthew?" ("Matilda?" in the script).
I will settle the rest of my monologue. D;
That's all for now, okay people??
Cheers,
Matthew (Chenxing).
p/s: if you found that the score's not complete (ie, no dynamics and no phrasing; there shouldn't be much dynamics fluctuation in the piece because it's just plain accompaniment. As for the phrasing, it can be seen with the chordal sequence in the bass. I'm too lazy to draw the phrasing lines. You know, sibelius is very troublesome when it comes to lines.), don't panic. Read this, if you still can't accept it, tag me.
*The Great One, now you know why am I in choir for?
Performer's note:
This piece was written with inter-locking melody lines weaving between the chordal progression to leave a draggy feeling in the audience.
Despite the rigid tempo, the piece should be slightly flexible with it's timing (rubato tempo).
The pianist musn't lift the pedal till the next ped sign! Reason: To retain an empty feeling atmosphere, creating a surreal reality to allow the audience to indulge, not in the music, but what the actor's saying, thus creating a background surround around the performance area.
Happy listening to the imaginary sound just by looking at the score. Well, I'll try to get the sibelius to work on my side and export the music file out either by midi, mp3 or wmv. So, wish me luck!
Oh! And before I forget, this piece shouldn't follow the script. It should fade in from line 281 where Benjamin (Beatrice) says, "Matthew?" ("Matilda?" in the script).
I will settle the rest of my monologue. D;
That's all for now, okay people??
Cheers,
Matthew (Chenxing).
p/s: if you found that the score's not complete (ie, no dynamics and no phrasing; there shouldn't be much dynamics fluctuation in the piece because it's just plain accompaniment. As for the phrasing, it can be seen with the chordal sequence in the bass. I'm too lazy to draw the phrasing lines. You know, sibelius is very troublesome when it comes to lines.), don't panic. Read this, if you still can't accept it, tag me.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
March Holidays Rehearsal Day 2!! =D
Time: 8.30am - 1pm.
Venue: Church of the good Shepard & Matthew's place!!
Attendance: FULL!! =D
Agenda for the day. =)
(not in sequence)
We wondered where we were supposed to rehearse, and alas! We saw the playground!! =D AND PAPA LEAPED FOR JOY FIRST. Followed by the rest. =p We made our way, slowly, until we saw the lock on the gate... "noooooooooooooo!!!!" - the two others yelled. I say "awww..." So we took the long way that turned out to be 1 minute. VERY FAR LEH!!!! D;
We leaped up the playground and discussed what we wanna do today. This was how it went. "Hey! Have you memorized your lines??"
"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
"I memorized some..."
"Got effort put into it okay!"
"What are we gonna do today?!"
Then we discussed lightings.
And Mattie drew the nice lighting diagram of the blackbox. =)
And we had a detailed discussion about the positioning and the movement. Will type out more when we actually rehearse properly in the blackbox. =D
Please await, eagerly. =)
Then we moved inside. Then I thought of the theme music and started towards the piano and played very emo song. SO NICE, ruth says. "IT'S NOT A SONG!!!" Mattie's exclaimed.
"Oh. Tune!" Ruth interupted.
Then we decided on the emo thingy for our theme. SET!! D; Mattie will work on it. GOOD LUCK!!! =( "Make it as emo as possible, "says PAPA. Then we moved on into another room with SOFA!! And we felt like giants. =D Cos' everything was just SO SMALL!!! We shifted the furniture around the room to facilitate our movements. Got the positioning wrong. No surprise. =0 Everybody was confused.
Before we started to rehearse, we found out that PAPA conversation was NOT UP TO STANDARD. =( So we took 4 Takes of it (WHAT THE HELL!) until PAPA was happy. Finally. Dx
Rehearsal started.
With scene ONE!! =D
Comments: PAPA still smiling. That's a NONO!!! Somehow he didn't want to say some words. "He didn't want to swear in church." PAPA exclaimed. Today was less emotions for the first scene than other days. But it was good. PAPA memorized his script. YAY!!! =D
Scene 2!! D;
Comments: Badly done. Dx PAPA and Ruth were screaming, "MORE EMOTIONS!!!" Over and over again. Matt got really sad. =( Emo. STRESSED!! D; Then we practised with MATTIE over every lines so that he could get it right and we also wanted to see him move more on stage and not be so tensed and to display more Pa-si-ons. D; More gestures would be better for the "with inspiration" part. But at the end, he did it better than when he started. GOOD JOB!!! =D
"Much much better!!" Exclaimed PAPA.
On to SCENE 3!! =D (SO EXCITING!!)
Comments: Took a long long long long time discussing movements and how Ruth should fall (don't scared ruth!). And then, practised saying lines with more emotions. And figuring out the emotions of the character at every line. STRESSSSSSSSSSSSED and hungryyyyyyyyyyyyy... We didn't eat. Boohoooo!!!! As usual. =( PAPA MUST PRACTISE KICKING THE RABBIT AND WE ALL MUST BE VERY COMFORTABLE WITH THE POSITIONING BECAUSE WE ARE ALWAYS AT DIFFERENT POSITIONS AND THIS IS VERY AWKWARD WHEN SEEN BY AUDIENCE!! We'll work on it. D;
So we practised somemore, until like 1115h, then we went BUBBLING!!
BUT FIRST!! We did the conclusions for Mattie. =) As usual, need more inspiration. But the last part was nice and emotional. "I like!" Ruth said. Satisfied, we went BUBBLING!! PAPA ordered Sour plum and Matt ordered Rock Melon. Unfortunately, Ruth went to 7 eleven instead and got herself a bottle of F&N orange. =)
YAY US!!
Waited for the bus to go to Mattie's house. =D
Commented that it was so far away from civilisation. Ruth complained about the buses. "HOW CAN YOU LIVE HERE?!"
We waited for Matt's computer to load. While waiting for Matt's computer to load, we did the geography quiz on Matt's Graphic Calculator and we got 90%!! NEW HIGH SCORE!! YAY us!! "HAH GEOGRAPHY!" Take that!! xD
So now the computer's loaded. We typed this. WAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!!!
Happy reading!!! =D
Agenda for next meeting,
Director: Good job guys, we improved a lot today. =) STOP SMILING PAPA!!!!
Ruth: Today's rehearsal was more organized, I think. In terms of the play itself and I think that if we put in more effort, we can do better. YAY!!! Good Job People!! Lets work on our emotions!
Matt: They stole my lines. So TADA!!! =D
Thank God they didn't comment on my you-know.. D;
Signing off,
the-great-cows!! =D
XOXO,
you know you love us. x)
Venue: Church of the good Shepard & Matthew's place!!
Attendance: FULL!! =D
Agenda for the day. =)
(not in sequence)
- Rehearsals;
- In-depth Rehearsals;
- FURTHER IN-DEPTH Rehearsals;
- Directorial Vision;
- Lightings.
We wondered where we were supposed to rehearse, and alas! We saw the playground!! =D AND PAPA LEAPED FOR JOY FIRST. Followed by the rest. =p We made our way, slowly, until we saw the lock on the gate... "noooooooooooooo!!!!" - the two others yelled. I say "awww..." So we took the long way that turned out to be 1 minute. VERY FAR LEH!!!! D;
We leaped up the playground and discussed what we wanna do today. This was how it went. "Hey! Have you memorized your lines??"
"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
"I memorized some..."
"Got effort put into it okay!"
"What are we gonna do today?!"
Then we discussed lightings.
And Mattie drew the nice lighting diagram of the blackbox. =)
And we had a detailed discussion about the positioning and the movement. Will type out more when we actually rehearse properly in the blackbox. =D
Please await, eagerly. =)
Then we moved inside. Then I thought of the theme music and started towards the piano and played very emo song. SO NICE, ruth says. "IT'S NOT A SONG!!!" Mattie's exclaimed.
"Oh. Tune!" Ruth interupted.
Then we decided on the emo thingy for our theme. SET!! D; Mattie will work on it. GOOD LUCK!!! =( "Make it as emo as possible, "says PAPA. Then we moved on into another room with SOFA!! And we felt like giants. =D Cos' everything was just SO SMALL!!! We shifted the furniture around the room to facilitate our movements. Got the positioning wrong. No surprise. =0 Everybody was confused.
Before we started to rehearse, we found out that PAPA conversation was NOT UP TO STANDARD. =( So we took 4 Takes of it (WHAT THE HELL!) until PAPA was happy. Finally. Dx
Rehearsal started.
With scene ONE!! =D
Comments: PAPA still smiling. That's a NONO!!! Somehow he didn't want to say some words. "He didn't want to swear in church." PAPA exclaimed. Today was less emotions for the first scene than other days. But it was good. PAPA memorized his script. YAY!!! =D
Scene 2!! D;
Comments: Badly done. Dx PAPA and Ruth were screaming, "MORE EMOTIONS!!!" Over and over again. Matt got really sad. =( Emo. STRESSED!! D; Then we practised with MATTIE over every lines so that he could get it right and we also wanted to see him move more on stage and not be so tensed and to display more Pa-si-ons. D; More gestures would be better for the "with inspiration" part. But at the end, he did it better than when he started. GOOD JOB!!! =D
"Much much better!!" Exclaimed PAPA.
On to SCENE 3!! =D (SO EXCITING!!)
Comments: Took a long long long long time discussing movements and how Ruth should fall (don't scared ruth!). And then, practised saying lines with more emotions. And figuring out the emotions of the character at every line. STRESSSSSSSSSSSSED and hungryyyyyyyyyyyyy... We didn't eat. Boohoooo!!!! As usual. =( PAPA MUST PRACTISE KICKING THE RABBIT AND WE ALL MUST BE VERY COMFORTABLE WITH THE POSITIONING BECAUSE WE ARE ALWAYS AT DIFFERENT POSITIONS AND THIS IS VERY AWKWARD WHEN SEEN BY AUDIENCE!! We'll work on it. D;
So we practised somemore, until like 1115h, then we went BUBBLING!!
BUT FIRST!! We did the conclusions for Mattie. =) As usual, need more inspiration. But the last part was nice and emotional. "I like!" Ruth said. Satisfied, we went BUBBLING!! PAPA ordered Sour plum and Matt ordered Rock Melon. Unfortunately, Ruth went to 7 eleven instead and got herself a bottle of F&N orange. =)
YAY US!!
Waited for the bus to go to Mattie's house. =D
Commented that it was so far away from civilisation. Ruth complained about the buses. "HOW CAN YOU LIVE HERE?!"
We waited for Matt's computer to load. While waiting for Matt's computer to load, we did the geography quiz on Matt's Graphic Calculator and we got 90%!! NEW HIGH SCORE!! YAY us!! "HAH GEOGRAPHY!" Take that!! xD
So now the computer's loaded. We typed this. WAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!!!
Happy reading!!! =D
Agenda for next meeting,
- Full-on rehearsal with as many props we can bring on monday. D;
- Will try to get the blackbox to confirm the lightings and positionings.
- And to get used to the environment.
- And seriously memorize the script.
- Please be reminded, clothes, week 2.
- We'll do hotseat next week!!
- We'll force other groups to comment on our play and give constructive criticism.
- Hopefully, next meeting's on monday at 4pm! Meet at Cafe first. Don't be late.
Director: Good job guys, we improved a lot today. =) STOP SMILING PAPA!!!!
Ruth: Today's rehearsal was more organized, I think. In terms of the play itself and I think that if we put in more effort, we can do better. YAY!!! Good Job People!! Lets work on our emotions!
Matt: They stole my lines. So TADA!!! =D
Thank God they didn't comment on my you-know.. D;
Signing off,
the-great-cows!! =D
XOXO,
you know you love us. x)
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