Starting the One Act Play

July 7th 

Description:

Since the school play is officially over, we have been studying Andean theatre in class, but this week we have began to plan the One Act Play. For it we sat in a room and started discussing for possible concepts and stimuli. We had a piece of paper each and we tried to write down some ideas for it. At first we were out of them, but then we started to develop some interesting possibilities. 

Analysis:

Firstly we started thinking about if the play this year should be a comedy or if we were trying a different proposal. As we decided it would be a comedy we thought about different ideas such as all of us being insects in the play and having as a setting a honeycomb. As we brainstormed ideas, suddenly we thought of a bathroom which was an unusual setting but we were willing to make it happen. They were all loose ideas that we tried to connect somehow. As the lack of ideas was an obstacle for us, we were asked to write our own interest on paper. This was done so we could identify what we were trying to say; because as we know theatre is for us to say something. As we started talking about are interests we joined some ideas and came with an attempt of a story. We decided two important things in that moment:  we were going tho represent a crime and by talking we were given the idea of making it a Melodramatic play. We started creating a story of a man that would find an old picture of a man holding his teddy bear which would automatically create mystery since it is an unexplainable event. It was an interesting proposal, but we found ourselves lost in the plot since we didn't know what would happen next and wondering if we should have started by the end so we knew what actually happened. It was way too complicated considering what we wanted to do. So instead we thought of a simple proposal that would as well be entertaining: a small situation made big and fun by the characters. 

As we wanted Melodrama we had come characteristics established:

• Extreme situations
• Improbable or incredible situations
• Brief pause on face expressions

This meant we had to take in account these characteristics while creating a story. Suddenly an idea of a family came out and how a small deal could become something really big. We thought for a suitable and simple situation for us 6. Five family members and a maid, tried to discover which of them was guilty of giving the family secret recipe book to the neighbours. This was a perfect situation to demonstrate that a small situation could be turned into a big one by Melodrama and it was a simple story to be made. We started by choosing who would represent each character and then how would the situations be. The characters created were, a son, a daughter, a father, a mother, a grandpa and a maid. As for the plot itself we tried to related to three things: love, money and health. We tried to fit it with our developing story and we did in a subjacent way. We linked that to one of the first ideas we had and we decided to set it in a bathroom. This was unusual and would give us a chance to explore the situations that could happen there but still make sense. 

We planned a storyboard of the possible events in the play and it looked like this:

• Grandpa Alfie had smelt something from the recipe book 
• Berlinda goes in to clean the bathroom
• Grandpa says he had smell one of the recipes
• The three characters discuss the issue and Berlinda accuses the mother of giving it away to pay her debts at the casino because now she is calmed with no need of her pills (HEALTH)
• Berlinda yells at Harriet Jessica Lauren
• Harriet Jessica Lauren discusses with Caroline Elizabeth Shaniqua since she thinks she gave it away for the love of their neighbour (LOVE)
• Caroline Elizabeth Shaniqua gets enough of her mother yelling at her for something she didn't do so accuses her brother of doing it to win one of his Yu Gi Oh cards (MONEY)
• Caroline Elizabeth Shaniqua meets her brother at a party and starts hitting him
• Spencer Alexis III ends up in the bathroom cleaning himself and putting on make up

This is the order of how things happened in the story but not how we are going to represent them. We are going to portray them in a flashback way: from the last thing that happened to the first. As well, we ended up dividing our play in three (according to the scenes) and it looked like a pyramid:

Pyramid showing how the play looks like graphically

The letters represent each of the actor's initial

Another interesting aspect our play would have is its order chronologically and inside the story. We managed to make bot parallel. By this I mean that the whole play is a racconto. Its first scene in real time shows what happened last in the story. The second scene shows what happened in between and the third scene shows what happened first in the story. It is an interesting factor that maintains the audience attention and makes them link the details together as the play progresses. 

Finally I would like to state that, we realised that the theatricality of this play relies on what is not shown such as the things typed in cursive above. It makes the audience imagine it by themselves and maybe in a different way we thought of it. It makes the connection with the audience not only by the funny part but by making them have a job, which is to imagine what happens in between scenes.

Connections:

I can connect this with last years' independent project we had to do. This is because for it we also had the idea of solving a crime. We had a similar story but it involved a dead person. Its setting was at a police station and every time showed a racconto of how each character saw the same event according to their point of view. It was supposed to be mystery and suspense unlike this play which is comedy.

I can make connections with the soap operas I have watched before such as 'Teresa', 'Amores Verdaderos', etc. This is because Melodrama has characteristics of its own and you can clearly identify them. The fact of being exaggerated and making small thing into bigger one. And also the stating of obvious facts and how there is a brief pause in the character's face.

Reflections:

We are starting a new play and once again I can see the creation process from a closer distance. It was interesting how one idea drag to another and it suddenly became our story for this play. I like how we are keeping the tradition and making it comedy and it would be funnier being melodramatic. This is a new theatre practice that we are experiencing and we are not yet so familiar so we are hoping that the audience will understand it. Anyway, we tried no to underestimate the audience, they can be clever interpreters and make their imagination flow if it is something that attracts them. So I was wondering to what extent can Melodrama work to create a connection with the audience? Does it limit itself to making them laugh? Or makes them feel what the character is feeling as well? Does is rely heavily on how attached you are to the plot like in soap operas?

It's officially over: goodbye play, hi Paucartambo

June 30th
Description:
This week is our goodbye time. On Tuesday we got a chance to say goodbye not only to the people in the play but to the play itself, we will never perform it again. This makes all of us sad but satisfied it went all so well. Mr. Cino and Mr. Quantrill came over to congratulate us for our big effort.
Now that the play is over, what we have been doing in class is studying about Andean theatre, more specifically the celebration of la Virgen del Carmen in Paucartambo, Cuzco. Since we are going in a couple of weeks we have to be well informed and were given several handouts.

Analysis:
As Roberto said, we should always finish what we started, not only in theatre but in everything we do in life. This is true, we should always find a proper way to finish up things. So we decided, as every year to talk, share and comment about the play while we were all together.
We started with the smaller ones and then got to the older ones. Most of the people said they were glad to be in the play and that they are definitely going to be a part of the next one. We also shared the comments of what other people had said to us about it: "It was really good", "One of the school's best plays", ""I enjoyed it very much", etc. After all I can say we were all satisfied with what came out. Mr. Cino and Mr. Quatrill as well shared some comments with us about what people thought about the play and even asked some questions which made us reflect. It felt good they congratulated us because it meant they were valuing our effort.

Moreover, in class we started studying Andean theatre! We studied things like the form, text, culture, art, ritual, author,  conventions and theatre. It was general information given to us to comprehend widely our next topic. Terms such as the difference in 'real' and 'reality' were defined as "Everything is real; real is what is there" and "Reality is the way we separate what is real".
We learned about how was the celebration was going to take place. It was a tradition so it had a strict order but the way it was represented depended on the actors. We were told about the research we were going to do and what were the conditions for us to consider the celebration theatre:

1. Involvement of the body to represent another person in a certain time and place through performance.
2. A content, something to say.
3. Order, composition and game.
4. A social and ritual function.

Having this said, we were explained how did each of the previous terms was incoorporated to the celebration. As I repeat, it was generally explained to us, as if we were discussing Andean theatre and not the celebration specifically.

So overall we learned about the concepts previously mention and had a general idea of what to expect when we got there. We were to read the different handout to learn more about this interesting culture.

Connections:
I have to might a big connection here with German Expressionism. This is not only because we are finishing a chapter and starting another one, but because these two theatre practices can be really different but as well very alike.
As we know German Expressionism is a theatre practice that has as its characteristics overwhelming buildings, big and exaggerated movements, lines over curves, intense use of make up, etc. It is aiming to show what you want to say which most of the times were a critique to the bourgeois, no matter if people like it or not; it was generally not done for entertainment.
On the other hand, on what I have just learned about Andean theatre, the celebration is to venerate the Virgin. It shows in a playful and colourful way how people honoured the Virgin. It tends to be happy and accompanied by dances.

Anyway, as I mentioned German Expressionism tries to critique bourgeois society and in a way Andean theatre as well. They don't specifically critique anything but they make fun of thing and parody the current affairs happening in the country. They make of it a funny situation. So we can say both criticise in a way or another how things were in the context or what they wanted to say.

Also German Expressionism aimed for the creation of a "new man". Someone who was not the person interpreting but the archetype of a group of people represented by a single being. They aimed to transcend, to make the audience feel identified and connect with them.
As for Andean theatre, they aim to transcend in a different way. By wearing their masks and revealing parts of them that they wouldn't without them. That is their way to connect with the audience; by playing, by dancing, by being near them, etc.
In this way we can see both theatre practices aim to transcend at their own way. They might differ but as well have some aspects in common.

Reflections:
Being a part of this year's school play has been one of the best experiences ever. And I actually mean it. As I have mentioned in previous entries, having more responsibilities in it makes you feel more attached to it and have a special love for it; not only because you acted in it, which is important, but because you had bigger responsibilities like production tasks. This time it was really special for me, not only because of the responsibilities but because of the bonding with people. Being in charge and directing a scene turned you into a symbol of authority which meant you were able to control the kids you were in charge of; it meant you were responsible for their scene and that you were showing one of your proposals to make the play better as a whole.
I have learned a lot of team work by doing this play. I was never involved in scene transitions many times before, but this year we all had to do everything. I worked with the other actors to move around things. We depended on each other.
Overall I can say you cannot be selfish doing this. This is something that required commitment, this year more than others before. It was not about acting, which was all I did the previous years but about worrying about other aspects that were involved in the play; to try to make it as perfect as possible, to check every detail. That is why it was way more satisfactory for me than the years before, because I put a whole lot of effort more and it was worth it.

Studying Paucartambo right now made me question many things. I didn't know there was so much behind a 'fiesta patronal'. At first I thought it was all about partying and drinking, but there is way much more than that. The importance of the party relies on the Virgin; she is the main reason why everything happens. I learned that I have a special interest in this celebration, it sounds really appealing and I can't wait to go. It sounds interesting how this culture has a very specific and different (for me) way to celebrate their saint. It makes me reflect on how many other cultures there are in the world and their own particular ways to make a celebration. They might be really unfamiliar to us but normal to them. It just makes me think of how different we all are in our thoughts and ways of being; and how can theatre be our channel to bond with other people, the channel in which we say something or critique something.

All this week made me realise, there is some certain satisfaction in being congratulated and people liking the play, but theatre in general is done because you want to say something, and being this German Expressionism theatre, where we shouldn't mind if other people like it, why do we still feel this? Why do we still mind what other people believe of our play while there are other representations of theatre, such as Andean, that are to venerate? Should we always have in mind the audience? Or should we sometimes think only about what we want to say?

PS: I know this is a very descriptive entry, but this week has been mostly of the transition from one theatre practice to another.

Romper la piel

June 23rd
Description:
This week has been the most intense of all. I can believe this week was the premiere of "Romper la Piel". It meant so much to all of us and we are glad it turned out good. During the week, we stayed to rehearse from Monday to Wednesday, being this day the general rehearsal. Finally on Thursday 20th, Friday 21st and Saturday 22nd we have the play on stage. In this entry I will explain some aspects of the play during this week such as my production task and the play in general including music, lights, props and what were some obstacles we faced.

Almost there

June 16th
Description:
Being this the last week before the premiere we are all very excited. The rehearsals have been much more intense since we are staying from Tuesday to Saturday. This week we have rehearsed once again  Act I and some specific scenes of Act II. We rehearsed with our costumes on and try to get to pass the whole play so we could get a general idea of what it would look like. What I did specifically this week was:
1. Improved and kept working on my characterisation on scenes 3, 4 and 10.
2. Worked on my production task (scenery).

Analysis:
As we rehearsed scene 3 which belonged to Act I, I started refreshing my mind on what it felt like. This means, I had lately been focusing on scene 8 so much that I had to remember what it was like to do the 'Family scene' again. For this time Micaela and I knew we were supposed to make a divided technique, in which I was going to say the lines of her character while she did the mimics and vice versa. It was the first time we were trying it so we didn't know the lines each was going to mimic. This made it look not so realistic because we were not prepared to make gestures and movements to interpret what the other was saying. So we decided to learn the other's lines and worked mainly on voice characterisation. As I have mentioned on previous entries, my character and hers are opposites; physically and vocally. Hers is distorted and spider-like movements while mine is elongated, large posture and slower movements. While her character's voice is high pitch mine was low. So we as well exchanged that during that part of the scene. I was supposed to stay at a still picture while I said her lines and vice versa. We worked together to learn our lines and we finally did it. Also we added some movements to our characters because the scene itself was very static so we had to make it at least a little bit more dynamic. We did this, during the dialogue between the father and his son; we weren't a part of it but we were still on stage and it was really long. Here it was important for us to know that even though you might not alway be he main part of the scene, you are still on stage and you should be acting all the time on it.You should be in character and belong to the scene in a way. Knowing this we knew that even having fade light on us we were still being watched and had to stay in character. As I mentioned, our small movements gave dynamism to the scene; making in a way the audience have a break during the dialogue between father and son.

Another appealing aspect after the scene transition, was the introduction of the 'brumas' on scene 4. Basing ourselves on the concept already mentioned, the family had a small part in this scene (could be seen as the background) but we were all on stage and kept our characterisation. As an attempt to belong to it in a technical way, we were told we were going to wear something purple, so we can define when the dream started which would as well give a heads up to the audience.
Going back to the 'brumas', it is interesting the effect they created, because even though they were kids and are supposed to be innocent, they were aiming to be creepy and overwhelming. They were dressed in a Charleston cute way , but scared the protagonist. They wanted to oppress him. I believe this appeals to an interesting proposal, as we have been working on opposites, (at least my character and Micaela's) the fact of them being kids and symbolising the joyful of life (the actresses, not entirely sure if the characters; even though it could be assumed as the protagonist calls them sisters) against the fact of them being creepy and moving in a slow pace. In addition the light and shadows in this part of the play helped to emphasise this effect. This means that since it was a dream scene (this automatically means that the lights and scene in general changed to another colour) it was supposed to be a little more joyful than the real life scenes. So there were shadows and purple lights to make the overwhelming and playful effect bigger. As well as creating mystery of who were those characters which were not exactly well defined.

As for scene 10, my characterisation had improved now since I had already learned the lines I had to I was now focusing on the characterisation. I worked on voice and tried to make it as similar as possible to the one in previous scene I appeared. But it varied, it was sometimes similar and sometimes not so I also considered that my character might change her voice during some situations. Obviously, not so much but still. Furthermore on scene 10, we were working on how the play would conclude. As for the technical aspects, Eduardo would go down through the trapdoor standing while the characters on scene would act as if they were burning. For this to be represented, there were some proposals considered such as red plastic bags, maybe red cloth, etc. We decided for the bags, because it was easy for each character to hide during the scene until they wore them. They were cheap and pretty much represented the fire we wanted to be shown. I was given a giant wig, which for me was an obstacle. It meant for me to be much more careful when acting. And with the rough movements while threatening Eduardo I planned to do it became much harder. The wig was really large and hard to maintain in the same place, it kept on falling. I manage a way to introduce it so it wouldn't fall anymore. I learned that even though it was an obstacle for me, it helped me as well to get in character. Such a prop would make me feel like my character a little bit more than usual. As well, it helped me to adopt posture I would have to do during the scene so it wouldn't fall that had to stay for the aunt.

For my production task was scenery. Being so close to the premiere, I had to establish some order of it. For this I took note on where were the things placed on stage, where they should be and who should place them there. This took me a while since there are several things that are supposed to be done, even more since we don;t have 'backstage' people. I had to see which actors were available to move something, which were strong enough. By taking note, I believe that it made everything much more organised, so everybody that could would be moving something.

Connections:
I can connect this rehearsal with the one of school plays years before in general. Not only because of the nervousness we felt every time, but how we are successful at each theatre practice we are trying to represent. Each one in a different way. Some are more liked than others, but in a way they are all successful; what I mean with successful is we all feel good with them, we feel complete. Because we know we have put a lot of our effort in something that would only last 3 day, it gives you satisfaction.

Reflections:
During this rehearsal I notice how fast the time has passed. The premiere is next week and I had never seen from so close what is it like to be in the play and have more responsibilities than the others. You get to do things you've never done before, and be ready to replace anyone if they are absent. I had to organise myself in order to organise the people I was  in charge. I was pretty proud of the 'brumas' scene and how it evolved, since I was in charge of it for a while. We were adding the final touches for it to be ready and perfect. We had our costumes and the scenes ready, as well as the transitions. Next week we had the general rehearsal and the premiere. I was anxious to know what would people think and how it would finally turn out. This all made me think of how important it is to have something to say in theatre, I mean, it would be pointless all of this if we didn't. As well I started thinking if I was personally ready and also in general. I began to think when can we decide when a play is completely ready? Or how? Is there a certain way to know? Is it once you begin to feel comfortable on how it looks? Or maybe when you feel you have expressed well what you wanted to say? Is a play ever ready?

Order & lines

June 9th
Description:
This week, like most of the past weeks, we have been putting the scenes together and rehearsing Act II. Specifically what I did was:
1. Helped in the changes of scenes during Act II.
2. Created my character's lines and started to develop my character for scene 8.

Analysis:
I would like to start by saying that I have been doing number 1 for a while now. I now understand and face the pressure of sometimes not having enough hands to move the scenery and what it is to be in charged. For example, we have been rehearsing scene 8 the most because it is apparently the weakest. This is because of the lack of energy the actors have, they are not putting the same amount of effort as they did before. Their animal sounds were not working as before, their energy and volume were low, etc; so the overwhelming effect has decaying. As I was saying, the change of scene from the scene before is being continuously rehearsed. It is supposed to be slow in order to create a transformation effect to achieve a more Expressionist view. The team work is really important since we are supposed to collaborate and move everything. By helping in this area, I realised the changes of scene are not only something technical but something as a part of the play that creates an effect. This means that unlike the plays before in which the scene changes were fast and tried to be as objective as possible, with no intended effect (or maybe not as notorious); these changes of scene are slow and are not aimed to be rushed. They are slow and transmit the effect of metamorphosing since it converts from one state to another. They are a essential part of the play because it demands actors not only to act but to be involved in other things since we were making the 'backstage' job as well.
To overcome the obstacle of having to move everything in a small amount of time we organised ourselves for each to move a specific piece of the scenery. For example the people in the office are supposed to carry their own tables first, then their chairs and finally their typewriters. This established an order and would make things easier behind scenes. At first, it was way to messy since people just moved any object and left it anywhere, but when we decided who was moving what then it improved. Another obstacle in the scene was that when "El hombre" started banging on the white panels so they would open and he could then bang on the tower; there was no one to move one of the panels and it was hard for Eduardo to move it alone. So one of the actors that didn't appear in the scene helped to move the panel. This was to create dynamism in the scene, so the movements were smoother and didn't seemed too forced. As for the desks in scene 8, "La Oficina", they were not aligned correctly sometimes. They were supposed to be aligned in a zig zag form to create monotony and order, but as the desks were carried in, there was not some kind of coordination that didn't allow the symmetry in the scene. To avoid and improve this, we ordered the desks and practiced the scenes in order to make them symmetric without going back to disorganised.

As for my characterisation, I had already created my lines but didn't learn them. Even though I wrote them myself, it was hard to know them by heart already. So in my attempt to remember my lines on the scene I was leaving behind my voice and body characterisation and focused on the lines only. It was hard to be able to remember and at the same time put the same effort in acting, so I kept on losing the voice and got it back when I remembered. It was the first time we blocked this part of the scene, so I had to use my creative skills to create this part. During this rehearsal I learned how important it is to be able to internalize your lines and know them really well; this makes you focus on your body, voice and actions rather than what you are going to say. It's not only what you say but how you say it. I improvised some of the movements on the scene in order to see which would stay; they weren't perfectly done but as I said, it was the first time.

Connections:
I can connect these rehearsals with the ones on the last school plays. Not only because we are really close to the premier but because they differ in several ways. Even though we already know that we make a different Theatre practice each year, this time with German Expressionism we have followed its conventions strictly. It is not a play you have watched before. The conventions such as straight lines, bright colours in technical aspects are something we have managed very well by alternating the scenes from dream to reality and also by incorporating its characteristics in the scenery and props. It is interesting the jump we have made from black and white to colour since it as well add dynamism to the play since it is pretty monotonous when it is on 'reality'. As well, this play is trying to reach the audience by two specific feelings: overwhelming and oppressive which differs from the past school plays in which the effect on the audience was up to them to feel as it progressed.

Another connection I could find in terms of characterisation is with 'Miyuki y los tres demonios'. During the mentioned play, my character was one of the feudal lord's geishas, we were four. This meant that we said our lines in unison and they were short and straightforward. If you didn't know the lines very well, you would remember them when the other ones started saying them. This gave you reassurance of the line you were going to say and also as we were four the volume was way higher. As for this play, specifically in this scene I was by myself and had to raise my volume and know by  heart my lines.

Lastly, a connection I could find in technical terms was with 'Shadow Queendom'. One of my responsibilities during that play was to move the ladder and place the banner on it during the scene transitions with Nathalie. This was the first time I had something to do with the scene transitions; and I remember every member was responsible for a piece of scenery. This means that everyone had to move something specific and nothing was left randomly. Just like in this play, everyone was assigned to move a specific object during the scene transition. Anyway the transitions in this play are way slower than the ones in 'Shadow Queendom' which gives more time for things to be settled.

Reflections:
During this week I learned several things. Firstly how important and basic can team work be. I remember in my last school plays in which I only acted but had nothing to do with the scene transitions; I didn't know how hard others worked for things to be organised. The interesting aspect in this play, specifically regarding the scene transitions is that even the smaller kids had something to do with it. I believe it taught us all how to work as a big group. Even if we were not strong we would help to move the objects around, to receive them while we could. In this way we were achieving the goal. We still had to work on it anyway. I learned that the characterisation process could be fun if you want it to, it could be enjoyable. I mean, this week it was frustrating for me because I could do two things at the same time (say my line and characterise) but I realised I could put more effort in learning my lines sooner so I could specifically focus on my characterisation. There are several ways I could try for my character in this part of the scene, it had to have some relation with what she acted like in the previous scene she appeared on; but the mood was different as well. I learned that even though there was a relation in between the scenes, a character could as well act different in another scene due to the different circumstances just like us; how we react to a situation could have many different possibilities. This lead me to the question, why do we try to have every characteristic of the personality of our character so well defined? Why do we want to know how he or she is during certain situations if it is just like us, everyone has different reaction to a certain situation. We could never know how our character would act in a situation. And to what extent can a character be different on one scene according to another? Which factors affect it apart from their mood and the situation?