The Bunnies

Living Gallery and Amygdala Evaluation 

Last nights living gallery performance was very exciting to be a part of, however I don't feel it was very effective, at least not as much as we hoped.

Our performances were fine, and so was our set and props, but what made the piece lacklustre was the lack of context. We didn't have anything to explain what our piece was about. For some reason we didn't have our explanation card whereas other groups did. The only feedback we received was "weird" and "cool" but that wasn't our aim. Our aim was to both confuse them and show them how idiotic a young brain is. And we failed to reach our objective. This cancels out all of the preparation we did for the piece as our aim wasn't met.

In terms of location, we had it difficult, as much as it was a great little spot, it was exceptionally hard to signal to the audience to come see our piece as we were at the end of a hallway and tucked behind lockers. This meant that a large majority of our performance was trying desperately to entice audiences to come see, which kind of made it hard to stick to our original plan.

One thing however that was successful was the prop choices. The party poppers was just enough to make audiences come see our piece and the balloons made it look aesthetically pleasing to all ages, despite our intended audience being more mature. We wanted to attract people who were teenagers or middle aged, preferably smokers but that is something beyond our control. We ended up attracting four teenagers, eight middle aged men and women and a child and his mum. Some of the responses we got were odd. Chloe Harris from the year above started saying "ah yeah love a fag" and another girl around eighteen years old started acting very sarcastically and almost defensive. I guess the aim of showing how childlike smokers looked worked really well, but the main connection to the brain in our piece was that our risk section of our brains haven't developed yet, thus we do stupid things. This wasn't conveyed as well as it could have.

In terms of the final performance, one of the major successes for the entire ensemble is that we were so in tune with one another that we were able to execute the freezes perfectly; being aware of Elijah's cues. This caused the piece to be really slick and look almost like the whole show wasn't a devised piece but just a spontaneous show. This something that really worked. Another thing that worked really well was our audience participation. We managed to get the audience really involved on sections like the number game and the final hokey cokey. The audience and actor connection was really enjoyable to experience as we all felt as one, which felt really unique to this show and the environment we were in and the themes of the play. We all, in a way, felt the same age by the end of the play, as we all just wanted to play.

One thing which went wrong was both the water in the cups and the circle of jaffa cakes. At the very start of the performance, one of the cups of water had spilt around the area that Joe was laying in semi supine, which happened to be in the very centre of the stage. This caused people to stray towards the edges of the stage in fear of slipping over. So when we started doing the yoga stretches, I was the only one who was somewhat near the centre. This did also cause an injury at the very end of the show during the mass hokey cokey when Jimmy and Joe slipped over. While the jaffa cake circle looked aesthetically pleasing, it served as a problem later in the show when people trod on them causing the remains to smear along the stage. This made the floor really sticky, but alas I'm nit picking problems from the show as I'm exceptionally proud of how the show turned out. 

Using ideas from new, experimental practitioners like Yoshi Oida and Brian Wilson have really opened up a new way of devising for me. I'm now more likely to play rather than overthink my work, the same way we devised the show. Personally, I was really happy to play my guitar in front an audience for the first time, and to have two other guitarists to enjoy playing with. One thing to definitely improve however is our voice.  Since the play is so physical at times, we neglected our projection and articulation. Many of the audience, despite only sitting a few feet away, couldn't hear any of the amazing written pieces that were being performed. This is partly due to the music over the top, but mainly through lack of projection.


Overall, I found that the living gallery posed more difficulties than originally intended and was too out of reach for an audience to fully grasp the context of the piece. That being said, The Amygdala is a performance that I'm very proud of, and think it that managed to achieve it's purpose throughout the course of the show. I have learnt a copious amount of new techniques about devising that I wouldn't of have known and I feel like I have improved a lot as an actor over the past seven weeks.

LIVING GALLERY

Both Phoebe and I decided to scrap the idea of being dragged in a potato sack as our self esteems as we found that we didn't have the materials necessary for the piece and we also didn't feel like it would tell a story or convey a message very well. However, Phoebe and I both brainstormed the idea of choosing a tiny black room outside room 415 and using it to create a mini party room.

We decided that we could decorate the tiny room with party balloons, fun disco lighting/stage lighting and continuously play fun music. This could be children party music or our songs of joy from our performance workshop classes.  

The idea is to create a fun and inviting environment, one that will incite the audience to come sit one on one with us. Both Phoebe and I will act child like, this will make things feel innocent, and then we will ask the audience to blow up a balloon and inhale the air. We will call the balloons 'fags' or 'cigs'. Hopefully this will show the audience how when you are young you try stupid things because you think they're grown up and it's part of experimenting with new things. Hopefully it will also show people who do smoke how childish they look as an extra meaning. 

This will make the audience feel confused, but it's meant to do so. They're meant to leave our mini room thinking 'what the fuck just happened?'. We want the experience to feel like you're in a different world where you feel like the world has flipped. Hopefully this will both put the viewer at a slight unease or make them feel confused.  

**BELOW IS THE FINAL RISK ASSESSMENT OF OUR LIVING GALLERY **

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1pLMo3AcwZQPSsYloZyxWO4ULR2cnJ5O_86mnh-0MGLo/edit?usp=sharing

THE JOY OF SOUND PART IV

Today we ran the entire show from start to finish and then performed the piece to a year 10 class. This was a really definitive time for us as it allowed us to trial new ideas and to block a running order for the entire show. Some of the feedback we received was really positive. We were told that our energy was exciting and fresh and the way we presented our ideas was unique. However, in this dry run we lacked confidence in what we were performing. We knew the running order, but there was little time to piece together transitions so the entire performance was very shaky. But yet again it was dry run. I was very disappointed with how my guitar playing was. I ruined the solo. It went horribly wrong, but I tried to look like less of a tit. Luckily, I don't think the audience noticed. One thing I now understand is that we can develop a whole play just from messing around in a sacred circle exercise.

THE JOY OF SOUND PART III

The Sacred Circle of Party Rings and Jaffa Cakes

In todays lesson we discovered what the Sacred Circle exercise was. This would later become the foundation for most of the performance. In this circle, we placed our objects of joy. One by one we entered the circle and began to play with them and improvise. The rule was that whoever was inside the circle must constantly being playing and committing whilst those who were on the outside stayed quiet and watched patiently.

My object of joy was my acoustic Freshman guitar which was the first guitar I ever bought with money I saved up for a long time with. Both Benji, Jimmy and myself brought our guitars into the circle, and thus a mini band was formed. Those with musical instruments began to play with each other following each others chords, sometimes sporadically changing the style of music to peaceful and then back to aggressive angst. This changed the entire dynamic of the circle as the others who were in the circle altered their reactions upon the tone of music. For example, Benji and I played an aggressive and fast song and this caused jimmy and Elijah to start throwing Jaffa Cakes at each other. This all changed when Benji broke off into a relaxing medley causing the anger to vanish and a peaceful and happy environment to grow. At this point I decided to leave the circle and watch as I wanted to see how the audience reacted.

I found this particularly to be one of the most exciting experiences of the devising process so far. It was the moment that I realised that music had a power to change peoples emotion in the same way words do, or a piece of dance. I always knew music had an emotional gravitas to each song but I've never seen a clearer image of it happening first hand.

One thing I really enjoyed from other peoples objects is when Nansi entered the space and began reading numbers from a diary. This caused Max, Eden and Gabriel to start playing a random number repeating game. This really excited me as it caused a ripple effect where over 5 or 6 people slowly began to join in on the game and eventually it became the essence of play we had been trying to find. This is something that really worked well as everyone was listening and responding to the natural stimulus that was being offered to us. I felt very overwhelmed by this section as, being an onlooker, made me want to jump in and play because it one hundred percent reminded me of when I was young. This will have an exciting effect on the audience if we invite them to join in on the game.

SURFIN' USA (CHRIS WOODLEY) 

In one of the science rooms above the musical theatre department, we devised an introduction into the Amygdala piece. This consisted of scientist stripper, Madonna and an over the top (intentionally cheesy) surfing/beach dance routine. This would be performed after our Living gallery pieces. After the introductory scene, we would perform a two minute piece in groups of five. My group consisted of Jake, Kymarni and Susanne. We devised a piece in which I play the guitar to the tune of Nirvana's - Marigold, and over the top they would each say a mini speech about what music means to them. This would then transition to Jimmy's group.

This was effective as in summarised the performance we were about to show in a short and quick 2 minute explanation.

THE JOY OF SOUND PART II

Today we began our lesson again doing a cleansing exercise to warm up our bodies. Today I focused on my Harrah rather than my eyes, and I felt more in touch with my body.

We mainly focused on different theatre practitioners and how they all influenced each other and what their methodologies were.

Peter Brook

Peter Brook

"I can take any empty space and call it a bare stage.."

Name: Peter Stephen Paul Brook (CBE, CH)

Born: 21st March 2925 (aged 91)

Peter Brook is an English theatre practitioner who was heavily influenced by Antoine Artoud. Brook believed in minimalism, a technique that stripped the performance to its bare minimum. He would often have nothing but a few chairs on his stages. He believed that it is the actors ho drive the story forward rather than dressing a stage. His style of rehearsal and devising was enduring intense physical exercise. This made the company's he worked with to feel more in tune with their bodies.

Yoshi Oida

Yoshi Oida in practice

"The invisible actor" 

Name: Yoshi Oida

Born: 26th July 1933 (Aged 83)

Yoshi Oida created the theatre exercise 'The Cleansing of the Nine Holes', in which an actor will lay on the floor in semi supine and massage their eyes, ears, mouth, belly button (harrah) and other parts of the body. He also believed in cleaning the space before every rehearsal. Everyday before rehearsal he would conduct a process of Misorgi. His cleansing exercises are known as Kabuki.

Antonin Artaud

"This cruelty is a matter of neither sadism nor bloodshed."

Name: Antonin Marie Joseph Artaud

Born: 4th  September 1896, Marseille, France - 4th March 1948 

Artaud was a theatre practitioner, playwright and poet. Artaud came up with 'The Theatre of Cruelty', which argued that "drama must abandon it's emphasis on text and rely on more mysterious, primal expressions of sound, movement and light".

Artaud was educated at the Coll'e du Sacre Coeur in Marseilles and became a writer for a magazine aged just 14. After committing himself into a mental hospital in 1918 - he was released three years later. Upon his release from the institution in Switzerland, he travelled to Paris and studied alongside actor and director, Charles Dullin. Artaud began to work on stage and backstage  from the mid 1920s.

Oliver Sacks (Musicophilia)

"We see with the eyes but we see with the brain as well. And seeing with the brain is often called imagination" 

Name: Oliver Wolf Sacks

Born: 9th July 1933 - 30th August 2015 (Aged 82)

Oliver sacks is an internationally known neurologist who studied music and it's effect on the brain. He wrote a book called Musicophilia which is his studies into the field. Peter Brook and Yoshi Oida collaborated together to produce one of Sacks works, 'The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hate'.

Brian Wilson (Beach Boys)

"I think in terms of emotions. And feelings. So sometimes what I say may not always be clear. But creatively, there's a lot to be said for that way of thinking."

Name: Brian Douglas Wilson

Born: June 20th (Aged 74)

Wilson is an american musician, songwriter, singer and record producer notably known for his work in the Beach Boys. Wilson had a deteriorating mental heath after taking drugs in his young life. These drugs caused him to have a strange phenomena in which his mind would always hear music even if there wasn't any.

LIVING GALLERY

In this lesson, Phoebe and I put our ideas up on it's feet. I brought in a piece of rope about 2 metres in length and we explored ways of puppeteer each other. This was difficult as in did'n't seem right when we performed it. The piece wasn't developed enough that we could create any sort of purpose to the piece. It was simply there because it was there. This meant we decided to go back to the drawing board and rethink of an idea.

We came to the conclusion after much discussion that our piece will be called 'Self-Esteem' and will feature myself inside a sack being dragged by a dirty Phoebe, whilst I sit emotionless in the bag with a party hat and a party whistle. This idea was striking in it's imagery and was entertaining to devise. We feel the piece is effective as it creates the sense of contrasting images. The girl struggle to carry the entire world of a joyful and happy person which is so far away from herself. This links to the mind as when a child hits their teenage years, they become more conscious of things around them. What makes them sad? What makes them angry? What makes them happy? Our piece symbolises the stage where you're sad for no apparent reason and always trying to lug a happy persona with you at all times. This piece could also represent depression and mental health. 

Quick mock up of our initial idea

THE JOY OF SOUND

Nine Holes

In todays lesson we learnt the warm up techniques of Yoshi Oida and the Cleansing of the Nine Holes. Yoshi Oida believed that by washing our bodies before a rehearsal, it creates a fresh new start to each devising session. We washed our Belly buttons, mouths, ears and eyes to wake us up. By washing our belly buttons, also known as our Hara, we are connecting to our mothers, as it is  a spot of extreme spiritual value as the Japanese believe the soul is in the Hara. This is why when samurai warriors kill themselves after something shameful, they put their katana swords through their belly buttons, as it destroys the soul. We also cleared the space before the rehearsal as this is another Oida technique. An ensemble will work in silence to clear the space of anything that's impractical to the rehearsal. This develops a mutual respect for the space and clears the mind as well as physical environment.

Class Experiment

Today we conducted an ensemble exercise. The experiment consisted of three different songs being played, and as an ensemble we had to choose whether to respond to that piece of music by writing, drawing or physical movement. This exercise made me broaden my mind to different ways of thinking when listening to music. Music is a form of expression and by combining it with other mediums of expression creates something powerful. This exercise was interesting as it made the class get to terms with the joy of music and how our minds respond to sound in a primitive fashion. Some songs make you feel different emotions and we crave a need to express ourselves whether that medium be dance, art or writing. By expressing ourselves it is a release. Thus being joyful. So each song has an element of joy. Songs are created to stimulate different emotions.

Track 1: Leadbelly - Goodnight Irene 

This song made me write a piece of writing based upon my Nan. Since both of my Nan's suffer from Dementia and Alzheimer's disease, this song reminds me of my Nan on my mums side as she used to dance to the Irish version of Goodnight Irene. In the care home, we always play music similar to that song and we see her smile and get up out of her seat to dance, and in our way, music brought back our Nan for a short period of time. This song captures the joy of family in my opinion. 

Track 2: Tom Jones - It's Not Unusual

This song made me get up and dance. It wasn't so much a physical theatre movement, it was more of a primitive need to get up and dance. It was very happy and joyful which made me think of the brain in the sense of just responding to music without thinking. The beat, rhythm, pace and the instruments in the song strike a chord in all of the class as the song oozes fun. 

Track 3: Brian Eno - Music for Airports

In response to Eno's 'Music for Airports', I created a piece of drawing. Said drawing consisted of lots of different stairs leading in a winding circle, leading to the nowhere but always seeming as if there is an end. This piece is very spiritual sounding in nature and doesn't necessarily bring joy, but relaxation. I felt like I could fall asleep peacefully. Which is what Eno had designed the song to be.  

MY SONGS OF JOY

This is a tiny collection of songs that bring me joy and make me happy. These songs may be about depressing and sad topics but they still bring me joy.

Jimi Hendrix - Voodoo Child (Slight Return) 

Led Zeppelin - Moby Dick + John Bonham Drum Solo

Nirvana MTV Unplugged 1994 - Where Did You Sleep Last Night (Leadbelly Cover) 

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