Day FOUR

REFLECTION
DAY 4

Morning- waking up exercise- clapping. We all stood in a circle passed the clap around, getting faster and faster. Basically he was trying to wake us up and test or reaction skills.

Next, we played the same game we played the day before. One person walks towards their chair with knees together while the others try to stop him/her.

Exercise to demonstrate what an action is. It was done 4 at a time.
Each one imagines the other 3 are characters from the book- Olivia (shows favor to the person), Cesario (puzzled, unable to understand expression) and Toby (detest). The person is Malvolio. This way, the audience can see how personalities clash. All of them are Malvoilio’s, and they all treat the other person differently, according to what they had previously tagged them. So while one of them might favour the 2nd, the 2nd might show detest to the 1st. We also had to include actions, like being at a launderette, or Horse riding. No need for expressions and words that were obvious signals of who the person was to you, mere slight signals and light expressions should be used.

Walk around in our own spaces, stop. Imagine and act out how Malvolio would have prepared to go to bed. While sleeping, dreams of past (childhood), an incident 10 years after incident during childhood, and a dream he has (recurrent). Go back and share with group.

My childhood- He was dressed in shabby dirty clothes and his Mother was scolding him for being irresponsible and lazy while actually he wasn’t. He was down cast and angry for being falsely accused. He vowed to prove him mother wrong and do the best he could to rise above his lowly status.
In University- He was constantly being bullied and teased for being such a geek. He was the top in his class, the best he could be. He had finally proved his mother wrong.
Dream- He dreams that the people under him and around him (Maria, Toby, Andrew) will turn into the bullies who made his life a living hell when he was in university.

Around table, read suicide note aloud. Some of them cursed and vowed to be revenged, while others had a sad and hurting tone to them. Most of them were angry though, and there was even one which classified Mal as a psychopath and a mad man.

I took a more revengeful, why do you hate me tone…

I never made you play the part of a fool; I never harassed you physically or emotionally; I never caused you to feel shameful in front of others; and I never played a heartless prank on anyone; I never demanded anything from you except respect, nothing else. All I did was create an environment of law and order, a place where my lady could find rest and happiness. And yet you treated me so. You shall be punished, but not by me, but a higher power, one that is so much greater than you and everyone else. I put the blame of my death on you. On your shoulders I place the blood I am about to shed. It shall taunt you endlessly, never shall you rest, and never shall a day go by without you looking over your shoulders with fear and regret. NEVER, I TELL YOU! NEVER! I on no account did anything wrong or anything that deserved the treatment you all gave me. You tricked, deceived and lied. No you shall be repentant, petrified and taunted till the day you all shall cease to exist once and for all.

Ma’am, everything I have ever done was done to please and provide for you and this is how you treat me? Did you never think of your servant which I was in that hell hole? Do you hate me so much that you left me in the “care” of your drunk cousin, the one you know I do detest. I feel cheated, abused and used. If for loyalty and execution of ones duty one gets repaid with hatred and persecution, then this is not what I want any longer. I was treated unjustly but no one cared. My life means little to anyone, so why live it? Now I give up the last thing left that I truly treasured. My life.


LUNCH

In pairs, one tried to persuade the other to stop drinking, turn down the music and stop chewing gum. There were many methods that were used, most commonly of course threatening. Unfortunately physical violence was not allowed. (:P) There was also persuasion, and sometimes though rare (since the persuader was to be Mal) there was the act of pleading, black mail was also used, and the use of things close to the one being persuaded heart. This exercise3 was done to show us just how hard it is to get someone to listen to a higher authority. We were paced in Mal’s shoes to see why he acted the way he did. It made us pity him and see the ligher side in him. Done in prep for the next writing exercise.

One person out of the group. The rest are rowdy teenagers. Lone person tries to control the rest- Silent treatment, shouting, screaming, switching off the lights, taking away one by one (isolation). Silent treatment and isolation worked the best. It showed us the power of a person when they are not saying anything at all. The power of just being there, the power of silence, the power of the glare.

Writing, Malvolio married to Olivia and tour of his mansion. Him in happier days, his imagination.
So basically, we , as Malvolio, take the rest on a tour of our house…

Hello! Welcome Ladies and Gentlemen to the guided tour of the “MaOli Mansion” As you can probably tell, the house was named after me and my wife’s names, three letters of each, what balance and perfection! I must tell you, that you are indeed a very special group. I don’t usually give tours of the mansion, but I have made an exception since I had some spare time. So yes, here we are in the garden. You should have seen it before I arrived! What a horrid state in was in! Oh my! But now, as you can see, it has been restored fabulously. I saved it of course, with some famous gardener guy called Jean… something. The plants come from various countries from all over the world of course, very high class indeed wouldn’t you say? I hire about 50 gardeners, all of them are graduates with honors from the ‘Gardening Institute of learning’ very very prestigious school you know. I hire only the best.

Lets walk in now. As you can see the living room is very bright indeed, because of the reflection of the mirrors which cover the walls. Oh how beautiful they look and how good they make you look. There is this fascinating thing with the windows, they are made out of this material which allows the person on the darker side of the pane to see themselves, it magically turns into a mirror! I don’t know what its called, but then again, who cares!

Further down, we have the display room; it is the most precious room in the house to me at least. Here, the first item seen is my most precious, valuable and loved object, my yellow stocking. It was while wearing these that I feel in love with Olivia’s and she with me. Ill let you in on a little secret; I wore it for our weeding, underneath my pants. Here are Olivia’s jewels, most of them obviously bought by me for her. She is so lovely that one just has to buy her the best and most beautiful of gems. And I have my own collection of jewels. Here is my magnificent ring that I wear on special occasions to denote my authority and position in society. Also, this watch which was designed by the late Antonin Stanvarkski of Germany. Very precious, valuable and a treasure I must say. Ah yes, Maria, I was just bringing the guests around. Everyone, this is Olivia, the head of the servants, with the head of the house obviously being me. You may go along now. Yes, she is in charge of all the servants, all 200 or so of them. So many, I just cannot keep track of them. What’s that you say? Why I need so many? Well of course I need that many! They are experts in their own fields, there are the gardeners, chefs, maids, toilet specialists, master of the art at washing laundry, sweeping, and you get the point don’t you?

Well here we are at the dining room, I know, big isn’t it? Well me and Olivia dine here with the 6 children everyday. Yes, I have six of them, theyt are all with their tutors right now, so unfortuanteky you will not be able to meet them. The china as you can see is just fabulous. Not from China, no no, that would be just way too common. They come from Italy, Greece, Venice and all those cities who make treally good glass and pottery ware. Beautiful, fragile, special, and bloody expensive as well, but what is the money spent comopared to the satisfaction!

Come along now; let me take you to the Master bedroom! The second favorite room on my list of favorite rooms, since I spend lots of time here with my love, Olivia. Oh, yes, this long staircase has numerous portraits hung on it. There is one of me, and another, Myself, I, yes that is me when I was younger, see how different I look in that one, that was before and after the haircut, don’t I look different? Oh yes, and me and Olivia, that’s us again, and again, the two of us with the Queen of England, yes that was on the occasion of her birthday. There are lots more, but I’m afraid that I will have to hurry you on, as there will be no time to see the rest of the house, and trust me, you do not want to miss that. So here we are at the master bedroom. Please, do take your time to admire the doors. They are made out of the most expensive and fragrant wood in the world and have been exquisitely carved out. They cost me a lot, not a fortune of course, but a lot. It carpenter spent 40 years at it, and was actually made for someone else, but I bought it over. Oh my, look at the time, dear me, I’m sorry but I will have to leave you in the care of by trusty servant to show you the rest of my palace. I have to run, Olivia is waiting for me, were flying off on a business trip, see you!


Write a text with 26 letters. 1st word start with A last word with Z, etc. This exercise was used to show us just how useful restrictions can be. If he had asked us to write something, anything we would have been so confused. But, when you give someone restrictions, it really makes them think and shows their creative side. It helps to bring out the best work.