tsdian

TSD Humanities Blog Post 3

2010-05-30T05:44:00.000-07:00

THE GIRL IN THE RED HOOD by I Theatre (Singapore)

Where is the wood, who is the wolf, what is Grandma and why does the girl wear a red hood? Three girls all in red make their way through a timeless forest. Destination - Grandmothers house. They confront wolves, relatives, one another and themselves. Who will live and who will die? The Girl in the Red Hood - a reflection of what society sees in little girls. But is she the innocent helpless victim or the teasing temptress? Travel with us to discover as we craftily interweave several versions of this time tested tale. Specially for the older children and teens from ages 8 to 14 years old!

As part of exposing myself to the form of children's theatre, I decided to go attend this play along with some other TSD classmates. Little did we know that since we had booked the tickets so early, we ended up with front row seats! Being seated among scores of children indeed made us feel out of place. But I must say admit that watching a children's play can be as exciting and interesting as those for grown-ups!

This play was really intesresting especially in terms of how it presented its thematic issues. It managed to use the timeless tale of "The Little Red Riding Hood", and adapted it in such a way that the play was able to showcase society's perception of females as well as the many "big bad wolves" present in society today. What really enraptured me was the fact that the play showed how Little red riding hood was allowed the opportunity to change her own tale - finding a way to save herself without the help of the woodcutter. It was through four hilarious attempts at trying to change her own tale that showcased the feminist ideal that females are not necessarily damsels in distress, and that there is no need to wait for a male to save them.

Finally, the play was brought to current time, where it was subverted to show the male counterpart being the "damsel" in distress! And of course, with the female playing the role of the bad guy. All in all, this play was not only extremely enjoyable for the children, but definitely for the adults as well. It never fails to amaze how seemingly deep issues and themes can still be brought out without the use of extravagant theatrics.

TSD Humanities Blog Post 2

2010-05-14T07:25:00.000-07:00

Performance Evaluation of Group Practical Assessment on 11/05/10

My group, 4.5F, had our practical assessment a few days back. In our piece, we wanted the audience to realize that it is difficult for one to reconcile all our different identities. Our aim was to help them reflect on and think about the issues we were presenting and not be emotionally caught up in the piece. Also, our piece was a response to the Ant Play, an anti-war play. In the Ant Play, there was limited perception of war and we felt that the characters were too one-dimensional. Characters seems to be merely blindly following orders which was the main reason why we did not agree with in the war context. Our group felt that human would surely have conflicting opinions and might be facing individual problems. The Ant Play was more focused on the war itself, whereas, we wanted to shift the focus on the characters to portray the theme of identities in war. As a result, we looked into practitioners who used war as a context to comment on society and that is where we decided on Bertolt Brecht.

We had two layers of techniques to the acting style in Brecht. Firstly, we used the Stanislavski Method of "becoming" the character and using the Magic 'IF', in which we thought of how we would react/behave if were the character. This is needed in order for us to understand our characters even better and know his/her background. However, one of Brecht's acting technique was to PRESENT the characters instead of BEING the characters. Hence, during rehearsals, each of us read our script in the 3rd person's view - the use of she/he instead of I. This allowed us to be emotionally detached from our character so that we can PRESENT the characters and also switch roles quickly.

One unique key feature we supplemented was the use of Physical Theatre. This was the main problem in our assessment as we were unable to bridge the link between the principles of Brecht and Physical theatre. Brecht elements were minimally used and it was difficult to balance/merge Brecht's style and Physical Theatre. Hence, we decided to look back on previous productions which has inspired/influenced us. One significant piece was "Woyzeck" by The Sadari Movement Laboratory.

We were inspired by The Sadari Movement Laboratory's use of physical theatre and chairs in the play "Woyzeck" and decided to use their creative process and style as a guideline for ours. This is a short clip of their performance:

The Sadari Movement Laboratory made use of chairs as their key prop in the entire play consistently which was a symbolic representation of Woyzeck's minscape and emotions. It was interesting to see how the could use chairs to create so many different structures that could bring out the range of emotions and effects. It was simple but creative. Their movements were precise and accurate, and their ensemble was extremely tight and synchronized. The choreography was entertaining and could show what Woyzeck was feeling and the different states of emotions at each moment. Chairs were used to shape environment, bodies, background, emotions and situations. They made the piece more dynamic.

(photos are too large, unable to see full image. Alternative source: http://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?pid=5942797&id=736791139)

We decided to use their style of performance and hence have to further to research on their use of Jazz music and multimedia.

Lastly, we found it difficult to contextualize war incidents to a Singaporean audience because they have never been to a war. We had to bridge more links between our performance vision to the modern Singaporean audience to either create awareness and lesson learnt after watching our performance.

TSD Humanities Blog Post 1

2010-04-30T21:23:00.000-07:00

Homeboxes -Presented by Paper Monkey Theatre Ltd in collaboration with Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay as part of The Studios

Boxes, a medium that we use to pack our things and stack them away...with it out memories and unsettle feelings. Putting it all aside, we move on - out of sight, out of mind. Then one day, we chance upon these boxes. The memories and emotions that were carefully tuucked away surfaces uncontrollably. Carefully but with hesitance, we go through the cherished items kept within.

Through the voices of six actors, a collection of three stories will be shared as the boxes unfold stories of dreams that had been long forgotten, quarrels that were unsettled, hopes that were dashed and love that was shattered. This performance features puppetry, song, movement, drama and culinary as one complete experience while we take on a journey about the fragility of relationships with loved ones and feeling for these stories that is close-to-heart.

On the ninth of April, I went to watch Homeboxes, a play put up by a local theatre company. It was a cathartic experience indeed. The play started out with the 6 actors singing a medley of songs originating from the 1970's till modern day. It was not only fun for the audience to watch, but we could also tell that the actors themselves were having a ball. ( we found out later that the director put this sequence in to allow the actors to have some fun on stage.)

The stories dramatized by the actors were stories that the audience could definitely relate to. A mute man trying to profess his love, a young girl trying to achieve her dreams despite her father's objections, a daughter being embarrassed by her own mother, and a broken family. With the emotive performances by the actors, and the stark parrallels that the stories portray to our reality, it left the audience laughing in their seats, and countless others crying.

One interesting thing to note about this performance was that the stories were not performed in a chrnological order. Instead, the various stories were segmented into different parts and then distributed throughout the play. The one thing connecting one sequence to the next, was the same recurring symbol. The ringing of a telephone. And ironically, the caller was never revealed. I found later in the post show dialogue that the director deliberately portrayed the stories in this manner as he did not want the audience to be lulled into a sense of them knowing what was going to happen next. Instead, he wanted the audience to question, and in doing so, keep the audience interested.

Puppets was a major device used in this play, especially with the director (Benjamin Ho Kai Wai) being a puppeteer himself. I felt that it was simply ingenious how the actors were able to manuever the puppets in such a way that a simple emotion was able to be conveyed with a just a similarly simple movment of the puppet. Different types of puppets were used - rod, shadow, hand, human - showing the versertality of the puppetry device.

Homeboxes was indeed an enjoyable play for me to watch, especially since it was a relatable, amusing and heartwarming performance.

Lighting Workshop

2009-11-22T06:48:00.001-08:00

"Light is the 3rd actor on stage."

The lighting designers are truly inspiring! Even though they were only talking on and on about their "life" in this theatre industry, I felt that they were actually telling us what's so special about LIGHTS. They really really love their lights. I guess it was their passion that kept them in this path. From today's talk, I learnt to appreciate lights more.

WE MUST PLACE LIGHTS ON A EQUAL BASIS WITH THE OTHER SKILLS!
"I'm a painter, I paint with lights. I'm an artiste."

Lights: To express emotions. To tell a message. Has the power to change the show.Unlike the olden days, technology has made lightings easier to be configured, etc. now. We have more knowledge, aesthetics and references that allowed us to have more options such as accessibility. However, technology is used for 'support' only. We can't depend on it too much that we lose focus on the lights itself (the expression here is abit weird...hehe...) We need to learn to put our creativity into use! Creativity > Technology.

"Lights mustn't steal the show, it compliments."

Sometimes having more lights doesn't necessarily means that it's a good thing! LESS = MORE! In Singapore, we* believe that a great performance should consist of "boomz" lights. We often expect more lights cause' we think that it means more coverage (face value!). But we must really change that thinking. Less is usually more beautiful as compared to more. Hehe.*: 'We' means the Singaporeans, not referring to us hahaha.

"Lighting is a language itself."

Xiao Li Heng, a China lighting designer. (as mentioned)Some experiences that influenced their way of working with lights.
- Precision is not really necessary. Sometimes, being anal is not good!
- It's important for lighting crew to "feel" the show so that the lights can have the right "feel".
- We need to get back to basics!!! This will help us to really appreciate our lights more.
- Images helps one to be more visually stimulated. Keep a book of pictures!
- Kuo Pao Kun: Attitude is important.
- Christian Jade: Break away from conventions!!!
- Concept is more important than face coverage, etc. CONCEPT CONCEPT CONCEPT.
- Challenge: Using light intensities to create feelings.
- Light = material. Feel the texture.
- Experience is key!
- DARE TO EXPERIMENT!!!

"We learn when we bang walls."

Texture of lights is more of an emotion, not really physical texture. It depends on how you interpret it. And also, lighting doesn't take influence from any culture but from the designer himself.When there is no artistic direction, there will be no life. So, light design needs to suit all the other designs for the perfect piece!

Advices:
- EXPERIMENT. Only when you see and experience it in real life will you be able to understand.
- PLAY. Play with layers. Play with intensities. Play with colours.
- BE SENSITIVE. Your environment (light sources) is a great source of inspiration :D
- ENJOY. You must first enjoy the play before you can pick the correct lights.
- KEEP A BOOK. Jot down ideas, put in images.
- DAYDREAM. It opens up many possibilities.
- RECALL. Personal experiences can help.

-Rachel Boo

Sound Talk- Republic Poly

2009-11-22T06:39:00.000-08:00

Sound Talk

The sound talk at Republic Polytechnic did not exactly give us the desired learning points we had hoped to gain by the end of the day. Even though many of us were disappointed that we did not learn anything much about sound DESIGN per se, there were some points in the talk where I though we could at least incorporate into our productions.

The speaker was very technical about his work. He taught us how to set up a sound system and how to overcome their respective environmental difficulties. For example, setting a system outdoor provides different challenges that when one is inside. In a room, one has to take into consideration how absorbent or reflective the surfaces in the room are to sound. Foam usually makes a good sound proofing material. For the outdoors, the temperature difference between the ground and the air is also important. If the ground is hotter, the sound waves travel upwards. The converse is true for the opposite situation.

In this way, if we were ever to perform in say… the ampitheatre compared to the blackbox, we at least know how the sound waves would travel. Setting up the sound system was something else altogether.

Another learning point was that direct sound (as opposed to indirect sound) was the ideal kind of sound we want. Indirect sound comes from echoes and the like whereas direct sound is pure and natural. With different frequencies, we also find that some sound waves (especially bass) hits harder and further than higher pitched sounds. However, based on contextual knowledge, I figured that we need a balance of both of course. By adding in more sound proof materials, we are able to cancel out the indirect sound. That added with clear speech and a balanced “EQ” of our voice, the audience should be able to at least enjoy and understand what we are saying very clearly.

I actually propose putting in more sound proof (or at least soft) materials in our black box so that we won’t have to worry about 2 different things: Sound leakage to the outside world, and echoes reverberating throughout our little dungeon.

All in all, the workshop was useful in the essence of giving us a better understanding of how sound in general, works. In the aspect of design however, there were little or no insights. I guess all we need to do is make use of that technical information to design our sounds in the way we want and need it to be. Maybe that’s what’s lacking in us. The desire to do the “correct” thing makes us forget what Theatre could be all about: doing what we can with what we have. Perhaps, like lights, there is no “theory” to sound. Just technicalities. It’s the painter’s paint, the puppeteers’ puppets, the musician’s instrument. What we create with it is entirely up to us.

-Mark

Reflection - Physical Theatre Workshop with Julius

2009-08-23T09:07:00.000-07:00

DISCIPLINE
Be punctual.
Listen to instructions carefully.
Don't try, it's either you do it or you don't.
Be quiet and keep your focus when training.
Don't stop to talk/listen.
Explore your own body.
Be agile and efficient, don't waste time.
Don't "huh", just do it and you'll know if it's wrong or right.
Practice regularly on your own.
Be creative.
Be patient. Don't rush to get the end product. It's the process that matters.

In last week's workshop, we played the "Don't let me catch you" game. We learnt to control our muscles and be aware and observe our surroundings. We had to be very accurate in the timing and had to predict the next move we want to make. It involved our senses and muscle control.

We tried isolation exercises - the drinking water exercise. It trained our observation skills. We had to absorb whatever we saw him doing and immediately do the same. Each movement had to be observed in detail and we had to break down the steps such that each muscle movement can be seen clearly. Very tiring, requires alot of concentration and body control.

Walking exercises improved our observation skills and also move along with the tempo of others. We had to make full use of the space and at the same time watch Julius' tempo. We have to catch his movements and tempo fast and react quickly. It tests our reaction speed and focus level.

The 3 exercises we created ourselves have to involve the whole body. It's not all about stretching and endurance.

Physical Theatre requires you to involve your whole body and creativity. You have to explore and imagine!

Working with NSA

2009-08-23T07:22:00.000-07:00

I never knew the word "Areas For Improvement" could ever come to bite me in the ass other than during PW, but strangely enough after doing PW for the year you realise that everything has it's takeaway. And that includes our Promotional pieces we had to do.

For one, there is such a thing as over-rehearsing, and this unfortunately accompanies any movement piece one has to do. The line between expressing yourself with emotion through movement and having sharp definite movements to create emotion are two very different things. That's not to say everyone should stay away from Movement, no. Just be reminded that motivations of movement still apply, as much as motivations for all characters in any dramatic performance. I think my group took too long to choreograph movements and this inevitably led to us getting sick of our own piece, seeing as how we had to rehearse it over and over again to get movements right.

Secondly, never think that theatre traditions are rubbish. They aren't, because without them, you'd be as clueless as to how to even begin defining what your piece is. Choose something that is enduring, something that is applicable even to today's theatre practitioners. In that way, applications can be made easier, and justifications are more sensible based on what traditions you have chosen to follow. Don't try avant-garde crap for promotionals - because that usually entails alot of thinking about what is it you want to say. Choose something stable. That's not to say don't take risks, but don't be too reckless either.

Above all, KEEP THE CONCEPT SIMPLE. I don't think I can stress this enough. I think we all learnt this the hard way when we decided to do something that sounded really promising on paper and different in performance. Simplicity allows for themes, issues, performance intentions to come out easily and effectively. Hiding one simple lesson beneath layers of interpretation and metaphor is not going to help anyone, least of all the examiner. If they cannot understand your piece, then God help you.

I'm sorry if reflections seem as short, but for me these are the lessons that stood out the most strongly towards the end. I am thankful for not having a group that is fraught with conflict (except for the first part), and thankfully enough no one decided to poison anyone else's waterbottle.

The people I worked with have different working styles, and granted the most important thing in keeping a group together is to have structure. It sounds really conformist, but having a sense of order and regularity will allow your members to expect what happens next, so no one runs around like a headless chicken. Clearly define roles, deadlines, announcements, so that no one is left with vague instructions. Above all, realise that your members are not machines. They have lives too, so accomodate meeting times as best as you can to their school days. TSD is not the only H2 subject all of us offer.

Working with M&Ms

2009-08-21T08:40:00.000-07:00

These points are either some of my lessons learnt, or i have a very strong opinion/view towards it, and i think my members and other people should learn too.

1. I learnt that we should always believe in what we do, and not compare ourselves with others. We must understand that no human beings are perfect. We cant judege ourselves as 'lousy' just because we saw other groups are good. This is definitely WRONG! And just because you see someone/other groups is doing better than you, does that mean that you have to give up on what you do?! That was the case for my group, as we changed the skills many times, after learning that other groups were doing much more better than us in terms of movements! We shall not compare ourselves with others!!!

2. I learnt that we must always put aside friendship and professionalism when it comes to TSD. Within a group, once there is a rehearsal or meeting, the attitude we have for each other SHOULD NOT be the attitude we have as friends. It will be hard for a person to scold/reprimand his/her(i shall not mention names) friend, because professionalism is not there, as there is always this barrier of friednship which sometimes is hard to make someone scold his/her friend for mistakes done. ( you guys get what i mean?)

3. I learnt that in order for a member to be respected by other members, he/she must first learn to respect his/her members. In TSD, there is often quarrels and disagreements. However, quarrels and feuds should not go to the extent of humiliating someone, or having a certain biasness towards other members. This will cause members within the group to not respect you. Personally, i was often shouted at for the slightest 'mistake'(which i dont think is a mistake at all) by someone in my group(i shall not mention name). Although i dont show it on the outside that i really dislike the manner in which i was treated, it affected my perceptions towards that person.
So people, learn to say right thing to your members and do not act harshly. Your reputation will be cahnged FOREVER! Learn to respect your friend's dignity too! I believe in KARMA!

4. I learnt that as a member of the group, we as an individual must have our own stand on certain stuff/decisions. We must not always follow what your friends say, because your friends may not be right/true. This means that you are undecisive and always foloowing what others say, although you may not know whether the person is right or wrong.

5. I learnt that group DS is a task that should be kept KIS (keep it simple). Looking at other groups DS, i realize that DS should not so complicated and sophisticated. I am really happy that my group did mime, OMG, if not we would have died. ( Chinese Opera?!! NO! lol haha)

6. I learnt that for skills that require movements, we must not talk so much, but rather do the movements, so that we are able to explore different moves and gestures that you would not have thought of. Its really a wonder to know how maginificent your body can be.

7. I learnt that keeping to dealines and submissions are important. Basically, punctuality. It is not just about punctuality in work, but also in attendance, for rehearsals and meetings. It is really NOT FAIR to come late for almost all the rehearsals when others are early. This will cause a waste of time and dragging other back.

8. Lastly, as a leader(i was 'forced' to), i learnt that giving the specific roles in the group is essential for the development of the play. Specialisation allows others to focus on specific tasks and thus allows effienciency in the work. This is my first time being a leader in a TSD group. I would say i was a bit pressurized at first, because soemtimes i dont really know how to initiate things. However, slowly i roughly know how to handle it as i go with the flow. However, i think that other members of the group should help the leader in all ways, and not discourage him/her a leader to achieve better results in the future. To me, being a leader has shaped me into a stronger person, both emotionally and socially. Emotionally because the process required me to really contain my emotions although i badly want to let it go so much sometimes. It made me realize that there will definitely be more challenges ahead, and you may even find a more difficult person to work with in the future. Socially because it expands my understanding and knowings about the members in my group. Before i was a member with them, i know them in a certain way, but after this experience, i know them even deeper. When you work closely with someone, all the stuff you do not know about the person slowly reveals itself,be it the personality character etc....

My lessons learnt shall end here. The message here are not meant to cause hurt or anger in anyone. These are just some of my strong opinions and views. THX for reading!

Reflection- Experience with WereRojak...

2009-08-21T07:58:00.000-07:00

TONS of learning points-

1) WORK WITH STRENGTHS- There is a need to work with the members strenghts. Its vital for the group. Roles have to be divide in a way such that members are comfortable with what they have been assigned.

2) NEED TO KEEP PPL IN CHECK- Yet, these members have to be kept in check, as their passion may lead them off the path that had been previously set.

3) START STRONG EARLY- The future of the piece is unclear, one can never predict what it will turn into. BUT, there is a need to start with a concept early, a strong one that wil last through.

4) THE STORY IS THE KEY- One must on begin with the structure, as theatre is all about the message. Starting with the structure is not wrong, but there are dangers that the message and intention will not be brought out.

5) WORKING HABITS- There is a need to work with other peoples working habits and what they prefer. This may not be to the groupos advantage, but people wil have to take note of it and then work around it. Division of roles should be done according to this.

6) COMMUNICATION- is VITAL to the piece, and conflits are deadly. Being proffesional is a key thing i learnt to do and also learnt the impact and results when this was not practised.

7) WHEN ALL ELSE FAILS, KEEP AWAY!- Bonding time is necessary, even though we work around a tight schedule. BUT, when people cant stand each other, keep them away from each other. Bonding does not help.

8) ROLE REQUIREMENT- When in a group, roles have to be clearly defined. If not fulfilled, others should come in immediately to help out, but the person in charge will have to voice out for help, the group leader also has to be alert for any SOS's being sent out.

9) AN ANGEL FOR EVERYONE- There always has to be someone to keep another person in check. Each member should have someone assigned to them (with respect to the fields they are incharge of) so they can 'take care' or give a 3rd persons perspective rather.

10) DRAMATURGE- I learnt what being a Dramaturge was like.. It wasnt fun.. but it was enjoyable and a tremendously enriching experience.

OhHowDoWeCountMuscleAches?

2009-08-08T08:25:00.000-07:00

Physical Theatre Workshop Part ONE.

It was really a blast; an eye-opener; a seemingly unreasonable one too!
To start off the session, we were asked to “do a forward row and a cartwheel without stopping”. Okay. The first thought that came to mind for almost everyone was, “Oh no I can’t do it” or for me? “Oh no! I’ve not been doing this for the past godknowshowlong and I’m scared that I can’t do it!”

And so everyone did. Incredible yeah? Some better than the others; but we all completed the task. Well, he used that to illustrate his point to “just do it”. Never wait and ponder about how do we do the given task but just get straight to hands-on work and focus on perfecting it.

We went on to having an ice-breaker. Well, not really so. Just an exercise to help the instructor get to know us better. Through that, we also knew more about each other; why did we ended up in the same class together! Okay I shall skip this part.

He posed us some questions about theatre and physical theatre especially. Questions like:
• What’s the “Readiness of Mind”?
• What’s the difference between film acting and theatre acting?

That was to get us started in our journey onto Physical theatre. Well, no answers need to be given. Just think about it. =)

We came out with 5 initial rules to begin with:
• Silence;
• Punctuality;
• Respect;
• Listen;
• Honesty.

We went onto the task of feeling each others’ rhythm. That’s to start and stop with the leader without being late yet doing the same thing as he / she (in this case, the instructor) is doing. This one I must admit that I can’t follow… yet. Frankly speaking, I think everyone’s basing it on sight. Noticing the leaders’ actions then reacting to it. Right? So he gave us more tasks and that’s to make sure our footsteps doesn’t make a sound, and at the same time, ensure that the space is evenly distributed with people. Now that’s the tough one; multi-tasking and 100% alertness. xP

Tedious as it may be, we tried to catch each others’ tempo and work with spaces. The question that was ringing in my mind was “dang how long will this last.” I know I’ve drifted elsewhere. =x But basing on the previous lesson learnt about “just do it”, we all did.

Exercises!! The fun part!! Okay, I take back my words; the a little boring one.
We were each tasked to come out with 3 different static exercises that’d help us in different ways as an actor. And so we did. Most of us emphasized on stretching. The most common form of exercises picked was pumping and ma3bu4 (马步). I was expecting him to actually ask us individually about how our chosen “exercises” can help us in the little different ways as an actor. Oh my, that’s a little tough. But to my surprise, he didn’t. He merely took a look at it and see if it’s feasible (to hold in that position for as long as time can tell). According to him, movements and exercising is the same. There must be life in everything that we do and we must be able to sustain it no matter how long. We must encompass different movements into the exercises (or stretches) that we’ve chosen and present it so that others’ will see life. To him, self-belief is very important in this field. We believe in all that we can do; and we do it. So we were asked to present the 3 exercises individually. I believe he was accessing our skills so as to evaluate whether we’ve chosen the right exercises to do and all (whether we are able to sustain in that position for a long time). Or so I assume.

And then comes the confusing part. He’ve tasked us to come out with 3 static exercises when in the end, he’d asked for dynamic actions that’s filled with life. The first thing that came to my mind was, “Huh? How can static be dynamic and lively?” Then it all boils down to the idea of just doing it. And so I did. Guess what came after? Muscle cramps. xP

Still images were a must. We were split into two groups; A and B. We each give themes to work with for each other. They’re mostly impromptu. We were given an initial theme of having a “centre piece in a museum”.
The trick to this was to be the first; “The first person to take the first step gets the easiest job.” The main objective of this game was, I believe, to relate the poses that we gave to a certain theme. Most probably and to also test our skills on choosing a suitable pose to hold for a long period of time – say 10 mins?

All in all, I’ve enjoyed the first practical session with him!! =D
and If I’m not wrong, his (instructor) name is Julius. xP

afiqah's script

2009-06-17T04:38:00.000-07:00

Playwriting

Scene 1
It is a moderately sized hotel room, with 2 bedrooms at the far end, door-to-door and half opened. Outside, there is a television facing 2 sofas, upholstered and red in color. A mini bar nests snugly beside the sofa. A small kitchenette at the right corner of the room. The velvet drapes are pulled back, allowing light to fill the room. The sound of water from the shower is heard and then, rustling. Out comes a man, Julian, tall with dark hair wet. He strides to the sofa, plops down and starts channel surfing.
Bella: Shit Lizzie, just shut the hell up. [Enters room and heads straight to the toilet, slamming the door after her]
Lizzie: [enters, with 8 bags in her arms, grins at Julian half heartedly] Some help?
Julian: Sure.
Silence as they put the bags down on the sofa.
Julian: Did you get something to eat?
Lizzie: Crap. I’m so sorry Jules, i forgot. I’ll go get something for us. [Grabs wallet from one of the bags]
Julian: hey, it’s okay. [Grabs her arm]
Silence. They look at each other. He releases grip.
Lizzie: Em, I’ll...
Julian: What happened?
Lizzie: What?
Julian: Between the two of you. [Waits expectantly]
Lizzie: Nothing. It’s nothing. Really.
Julian: Don’t give me that Liz, i know you.
Lizzie: [defeated] It’s just, you know how Bella likes to shop. I’m just tired.
Julian: Is that all?
Lizzie: Yeah.
[Bella comes out of the toilet]
Bella: hey, babe. [Leans in to kiss Julian] so, do you wanna go grab lunch? I’m starved.
Julian: yeah, I’ll just get changed first. [Leaves into one of the rooms]
Silence
Lizzie: you’re shameless. How could you?
Bella: shut up Liz. It’s my life; my business and you can just shut the hell up or get lost.
Lizzie: you have the nerve to say that to me? After you kissed him like nothing was wrong? That you weren’t playing tonsil hockey with some goddamn stranger just a few minutes ago? How could you do that to Julian, Bella? dammit, he does not deserve this. he loves you. and you. you...
Bella: [slaps Lizzie] as I’ve said before, it’s none of your business. stop acting like you know me. i know all about your stupid , pathetic little crush on him and it is just so annoying that he invited you for our holiday.
Lizzie: Bitch.
Bella: yeah, i am. and you know what? you may be his best friend but I’m his girlfriend, so just don’t bother me again and we’ll get along just fine. oh, and stop clinging to him. as I’ve said before. it’s pathetic.
[Julian enters]
Bella: come on baby, let’s go.[pulls him to the door]
Julian: what about Lizzie?[stops Bella]
Bella: who? oh, her. she’s not hungry. let’s go.
Lizzie: yeah, go. I’m fine.
Julian: you sure?
Lizzie: yeah. [smiles]
[door closes]
Lizzie: I’m totally fine.

Scene 2
the time is late night. Lizzie is sitting on the sofa, watching heroes, in her hands, a cup of hot chocolate. she is dressed for bed, in Pokémon top and shorts.
the door opens.
Julian enters.
Julian: hey, you still up?
Lizzie: yeah, sylar is trying to kill peter. again.
Julian: [sits next to her] god. that is so lame.
lizzie: that is not lame. what is so lame about being able to fly, and kill people?
Julian: whoa Liz, you’re bloodthirsty. i better watch my back. [pretends to be frightened]
lizzie: yeah, you’d better be afraid. be very afraid. [starts tickling him]
Julian: ok.ok i surrender. white flag.
lizzie: hah! wuss. [suddenly realizes something] where’s Bella?
Julian: huh? oh, she’s at the massaging place. her muscles felt tense.
lizzie: oh. ok.
silence
Julian: yeah. so, did you get any work done?
lizzie: no, not really. you know me, procrastinator. but the article is due next week, so no problemo.
Julian: if only they knew “miss independent” is a lazy ass that likes to wear kiddy clothes. []grins as he looks at her Pokémon top]
lizzie: yeah, yeah, you can’t bring me down. hey, you smell bad. did you drink? go take a bath. you’ll stink up the whole place, stinky breath. go! GO! [pushes him away]
Julian: if i stink, than you my dear, will have to stink too. [starts tickling her]
lizzie:[laughing] stop. stop it Julian. seriously. ok. ok. I’m sorry. stop.
Bella enters
Julian and Lizzie jump up.
Julian: I’ll go take a bath now.[leaves hastily]
lizzie: [switch off TV] hey. I’m going to bed. night.
Bella: stop. you better watch it. don’t think for one second that Julian will fall for someone like you.
lizzie: [turns to leave. stops. turns to Bella] no. you better watch it. the only reason that i haven’t told him about the “little” incident this morning is because it will hurt him. so. have a good night.[leaves to her room]
Bella: arggh. [goes into room]
Julian is on the bed.
Julian: what’s the matter? hey, don’t look so sour. come on bell.
Bella: Julian, tell me the truth. do you have any feelings for her?
silence
Bella: shit. don’t answer the question.
Julian: don’t be like that.
Bella: just go to sleep. I’m going out. [grabs her handbag]
Julian: where?
Bella: none of your goddamn business. [storms out]
Scene 3
Lizzie is in her room. having just woken up from sleep. she stretches, and yawns. she moves out of the bed and advances to the door.
Julian: Mornin- [julian is standing outside her door]
Lizzie: crap. you nearly gave me a heart attack.
Julian: sorry. morning.
Lizzie: morning. is that coffee?
Julian: er-
Lizzie: yes. that’s coffee. gimme!
Julian: [laughs] old habits die hard huh? still the same Lizzie, can’t function properly without caffeine in the morning.
Lizzie: [too busy drinking]
Julian: I’ve been meaning to ask…
Lizzie: sorry, need a minute, wait, maybe more than a minute. [slams door]
Julian continues to the kitchen and takes the freshly made waffles, pours maple syrup and takes a fork. he continues to the sofa and sits there.
Lizzie: hey, sorry about that. I needed to bathe and feel human before talking to anyone.
Julian: I understand. I still remember that time during camp when you nearly blew of that guys’ head when he tried to talk to you in the morning. man. his poor heart was broken. no one dared crossed you after that.
Lizzie: that was so long ago. I can’t believe you still remember.
Julian: well. there’s some things you just never forget. and Liz, and you’re one of them, to be honest-
Lizzie: yeah?
Julian: em, nothing. there’s some more pancakes, eat.
Lizzie: you cooked?! today just keeps getting weirder and weirder.
Lizzie goes to take her food.
Julian looks at her wistfully.
Lizzie: hey, this is actually not that bad. I’m impressed.
Julian: I feel insulted. you doubted my abilities? be still my heart.
Lizzie: hahaha. cut the crap Jules. what’s your agenda for today, going to see the Eiffel tower?
Julian: hmmm, I’m actually not sure. Bella usually just drags me around.
silence
Lizzie: she’s out?
Julian: yeah.
Lizzie: this early?
Julian: apparently.
Lizzie: o.k.
beat
Lizzie: Julian, are you-
Julian: hey, do you want to-
Julian: go out together. for today that is.
Lizzie: I don’t kno-
Julian: come on, we could eat nice food. enjoy the weather. accompany poor julian…[puts on a puppy dog face]
Lizzie: I really don’t think that it’s appropriate.
Julian: come on Liz, you’re my best friend. we haven’t spent time together in ages.
Lizzie: still. [pause] I’ve got a lot of work to do anyways. you go and enjoy yourself. I’m sure you can find something to do that doesn’t involve-
Julian: do I need to spell it out for you?
Lizzie: huh?
Julian: I don’t want to spend time alone, nor do I want to spend time with Bella.
Lizzie: then?
Julian: dammit, I want to spend time with you.
Lizzie: oh.
Julian: yes. do you get it now?
Lizzie: get what?
Julian: [clenches his fingers] I love you!
silence
Lizzie: shit. this is not happening. Julian, you’re playing a joke on me right. come on, say April’s fool… anytime now.
Julian: I’m serious Liz.
Lizzie: what about Bella?
Julian: I don’t know. I really don’t know. shit.
Lizzie: omg. you need to get your thinking straight Julian.
Julian: shit. shit. I need to get some fresh air.
Scene 4
Lizzie is curled up in her bed. her eyes are red and puffy.
Lizzie: crap. what the bloody hell have you gotten yourself into Elizabeth Brown?
Lizzie hears shuffling outside and the bedroom door slamming. she gets up, wipes the tears from her eyes and starts outside.
Lizzie: Julian, is that you? [knocks on door]
Lizzie: hey, who’s inside? Bella? I need to talk to you.
no answer
Lizzie: hey, are you alright? I’m opening the door.
Lizzie: bloody-
Bella: get out bitch!
Lizzie slams the door shut.
Lizzie: shit. oh god.
The door opens, Bella come out, half dressed, only in a oversized t-shirt. her hair tousled and on the bed, there is a guy, only covered by the blanket. offering a huge grin to both girls.
Lizzie reaches out to close the door.
Lizzie: what the hell is your problem?
Bella: my problem?! you’re asking me what the hell is my proble-
Lizzie: why are you in bed, fucking some god knows stranger who-
Bella: Lizzie, you know what. I really need you to shut the hell up and stop giving me a fucking migraine.
Lizzie: shit Bella. you are so screwed up. you’re here on vacation, with your boyfriend, who is great, dammit. and here you are screwing some other guy. are you crazy?
Bella: yes. I’m crazy. I’m totally insane. are you happy now?
They stare at each other, breathing hard.
Lizzie: you know what. I don’t care anymore, go and screw some more guys till you drop.
Bella: oh, don’t worry. I will.
Lizzie: I just hope you won’t regret this.
Bella: you’re talking about regret now? fuck you. do you want to know what i regret the most? I regret ever meeting Julian, ever meeting you! I loved him! but I always knew he didn’t love me. every time he sees you, it feels like I’m so bloody insignificant to him. it’s always Lizzie this, Lizzie that and I’m bloody sick of it.
Lizzie: Bella-
Bella: shut up, you just shut the fuck up. he loves you dammit. YOU! not me. it has never been me. and I hope you’re happy now. you got what you wanted right? just leave me alone. [slams door]
Lizzie: Great.
Scene 5
The time is night. Lizzie is alone in the hotel room, in her bed, typing on her macbook.
Lizzie: [reads aloud]dear miss “miss independent” I just found out that my best friend is in love with me. the problem is though, he already has a girlfriend. what should I do? signed, troubledgurl.
Lizzie: [writes]dear troubledgurl, you should…. [pause] I don’t know what you should do. call the fire department. the cops. put yourself in a mental institution. just get yourself out of that situation. fast. before it’s too late.
Lizzie: oh yeah, and comfort yourself with the fact that his girlfriend is not cheating on him and you don’t know whether to tell him the truth or not.
Lizzie: shit. my life is a bloody mess.
Knocking sounds
Julian: hey, I thought I heard sounds coming from here.
Lizzie: [slams the laptop shut] yeah. just finishing some work you know. busy busy. haha.
Julian: yeah. hey. do you have a minute?
Lizzie: depends.
Julian: On?
Lizzie: what you’re gonna say.
Julian: [smiles] come on Lizzie.
Lizzie: ok. ok. let me have it. [sits cross legged on bed]
Julian: see, the thing is, I’m sorry if what I said made you feel uncomfortable. I realized that it is a shock for you. but Liz, what I said is still true. I’ll break up with Bella before I start anything though.
Lizzie: Julian-
Julian: I know you don’t like it. but even if you don’t return my feelings, I realized that I can’t continue on with Bella. I just can’t. I hope you understand.
Lizzie: Julian, I appreciate your honesty but I really think that Bella’s feelings will be really hurt-
Julian kisses Lizzie
Lizzie: shit. stop Ju-
Julian: shut up.
He continues to kiss her.
Bella: You Bitch!
Lizzie: fuck. [ pushes julian away]
Lizzie: it’s not what you think Bella. really, let me explain-
Bella: slut. that’s my boyfriend you’re kissing.
Julian: Bella, calm down, let me explain-
Bella: you shut the fuck up and you, you whore, boyfriend stealer-
Lizzie: Bella, I know you have all the right to be angry, but please listen.
Bella: [strikes Lizzie] you deserved it!
Lizzie: that was the last fucking straw. fine. you want to play it that way. sure, you’re some paragon of virtue. right? what was that you were doing a few hours ago? huh? in your bedroom, the one you shared with Julian? Bella, tell me. tell me now.
Bella: it’s none-
Lizzie: of my fucking business right? well since you don’t want to say it let me. Julian.
Julian: yeah?
Lizzie: I’m so sorry to tell you that your girlfriend for the past 2 years was fucking some Frenchman that she picked up during one of our shopping trips. fucking him hoarse.
Bella: [gasps] how could you. bitch.
Lizzie: YES! I’m a fucking Bitch and you know what, I’m glad that it’s all out. you, get your head straight and your priorities right first before talking to me again. I may have kissed your boyfriend, but that does not give you the right to have it at me. go to hell and you know what, rot there for all I care.
Julian: lizzie-
Lizzie: and you. I am your best friend and I swear to god I deserve to be treated better than this.
Lizzie: I’m leaving. both of you. Have a nice life.
[exits]

Scene 6
silence
Julian: I’m sorry-
Bella: I’m sorry-
Julian: I’m really sorry Bells. I don’t know what else to say. I should not have done that.
Bella: [sits on bed] you know what Julian, I think we’re equal. I cheated on you. you cheated on me. so, it’s even.
Julian: still-
Bella: the thing is, I’ve always known that you loved Lizzie. that you were in love with her, even before we got together. if was in your eyes every time you looked at her.
Julian: you knew? I did not realize it myself though-
Bella: but I was selfish, I wanted you. so, I guess I had it coming.
Julian: Bella. I’ll be honest when I say that I did not know that I was in love with Lizzie, I only thought of her as my best friend but-
Bella: I know. I think this is where our time together end.
Julian: are you sure?
Bella: come on Julian, let’s not kid ourselves. you have no more feeling for me and I don’t think that I feel the same for you too. it would be futile to continue.
Julian: thanks Bella.
Bella: I think that I’d better find another hotel to stay in. I don’t think that Lizzie would appreaciate me here.
Julian: you have somewhere to go?
Bella: yeah. that French guy is surprisingly sweet. and rich. [pause] I’m sorry Julian. I hope we can remain friends.
Julian: hey, same here. no hard feelings?
Bella: yeah. [she moves to hug him] thanks Julian. for everything. I’ll miss you.
Julian: me too. take care.
Bella: yes. I will. bye.
Julian: bye.
[Bella exits]
Scene 7
it is the next morning, Lizzie is packing her things. there is a knock on the door.
Julian: Morning. coffee?
Lizzie: is that a peace offering?
Julian: if you want.
Lizzie: I’ll take it.
Julian: Lizzie, the thing with Bella, it’s over.
Lizzie: and?
Julian: I’m sorry if I had hurt you. really.
Lizzie: Jules, just save it-
Julian: no listen. [grabs her lightly] hear me out Lizzie.
Lizzie: you have 5 minutes.
Julian: I was really stupid-
Lizzie: you don’t say-
Julian: shhhh. I was stupid. I didn’t see what was in front of me all this years. I didn’t see you. and I will forever regret it.
Lizzie: [stares at him]
Julian: Elizabeth Brown. I love you.
Lizzie: wha…what do you want me to say?
Julian: say you’ll forgive me. and say you’ll be my girlfriend.
Lizzie: geez. I don’t know Jules. you made me wait all these years, you big doofus-
he kisses her
Julian: say yes.
Lizzie: yes.
curtain

playwriting last session

2009-06-17T04:15:00.000-07:00

ah, the bittersweet farewell.

okay, for our last session, we all had camp and were all sleep deprived but it was a good session.
there was a mad rush to hand in our 10 page "homework" but in the end, i would like to congratulate all the playwriting people for doing a fantastic job writing your scripts! YAY us!

we started of the session with a detailed examination of "LIV" the play that we all watched, including TC, that was not good. of course, it was not a well made play but an experimental piece where the focus was not on the script, but in the production. we commented on how it was messy and boring that people fell asleep. and we learned that it was because it did NOT follow the well made play structure and therefore, did not capture the audiences' attention.

what it did not have
1) it dd not keep the audience guessing, rather, everything was thrown for the audience
2) there was no exposition and climax
3) the directorial vision was sketchy

LIV, TC told us, was a "found text" and a "recounting reported speech that does not have a structure. it is a performative text, a "director's piece" where the script is only a supporting devise.

so, once again we went through what makes a good dramatic script,(everyone must remember ah!
1)don't tell, show- playwright gives clues, not spell things out for the audience, so that they are engaged.
2)wants- your character must have wants be it eating or bigger wants and it must show in their actions
3) cannot be episodic- domino effect to climax, if episodic, there are chuncks of dominoes missing making it(the story) very weird.

so, we went on to write a script with the LIV characters and situation, that includes their wants and following the well made play structure. but this failed halfway as TC re-read our recent SDEA piece and found it not up to standard and NOT a well made play. oh, the disappointment! so he gave us advice, such as asking us, what does Michelle want? to die? to live? and all that. back to the drawing board people.

then, after reading our submitted piece, he said that our individula pieces were better than the combined piece for the SDEA.

he commented on the good things in our scripts and also, ways to improve it.

Playwright's voice- where the playwright has an opinion and the resolution is key to tell the audience tour stand. this will make your play more interesting and an example is Waiting for Godot.

Mataphor- in the story, the metaphors must be clear and whatever you put on stage always means aomething to the audience so we must be careful of our intentions..

i would recommend that everyone read the scripts that we wrote. so how about we post our scripts in the blog? i'll start by posting mine.

Playwriting was fun and i shall miss TC's wit.

Playwriting - Chong Tze Chien

2009-05-20T06:35:00.000-07:00

We discussed our SDEA script with Tze Chien today.
He felt that it was a bit confusing and there were too many focus points - homosexuality, religion, inferior...

1. Have different characters to bring out different points of view - Examiners? Mother? Boyfriend? Girlfriend? Sister?
- He suggested we could have different examiners of different religions.
- Right at the start of the play, we must show that this play is not happening in Michelle' real life, it's only a mental landscape. Or else, audience will be confused.
-Voices of mother, boyfriend, girlfriend and sister should be consistently appearing throughout the play
2. Let the situation speak for itself - SHOW NOT TELL
- In the monologue for Michelle, there's a part where she mentions "I don't have an identity!" or something along that line.
- Don't tell the audience that she doesnt have. Instead, you SHOW it, and the audience will know.
3. Use conversations to bring out theme
4. Don't confuse theme and story
- Story can still focus on the choice of having to live of die.
- Theme is the Politics of Identity.
Theme can still be carried out in a story of life and death via conversations.

He helped us with a few lines in the script to give us a rough idea of which direction it should go towards.

After discussion, he told us to write about any scenario happening a hotel room.
[Exposition - 2 pages, Rising Action - 5 pages, Climax - 2 pages, Falling action+Resolution - 1 page]
1. You must develop the background/history of your the character first
2. What does the character want in the play?
3. Relate to real life examples and rmb SHOW NOT TELL
4. Use of conversation and movement
5. If you're stuck, it means you have not fully develop your own understanding of your character and his/her objectives
6. Create unexpected events in between
7. Fix the characters involved - No enter/exit of new characters after exposition

Yup, thats what I've learnt! :D Hope it's of good use hahaha.

Rui Shan

2009-05-18T06:25:00.000-07:00

Physical Theatre

We started off this session with an exercise, that was very much like Columbian Hypnosis, but is called Magician. We got into pairs, and one person would be under the spell and the other would be the magician. This exercise really helped us to be focused. To make this exercise interesting, we also got the chance to change partners, therefore we got to work with different people. Also, the exercise got tougher. We then had to choose a different body part to lead the our partner, and the partner had to follow with a different body part as well (not eyes). Therefore, we needed to work together well as partners, knowing each other's limitations (do not lead a person to a level where they cannot follow with that body part). I also learned that we had to make it clear who was leading and who was following,which meant that we had to be very focused and worked together well. On top of that, we learned to be creative with our space. We could crawl under tables, over chairs, around the scaffold etc. etc.

Next, we did an exercise where by we walked around the space and then in a few seconds, had to form a straight line as a whole cohort. We could not talk at all, therefore it was rather tough. What I did was I simply waited for someone to stop, and then the rest of us followed and formed a line beside that person. We also had to walk around the space in a straight line as a group, without looking at each other. So basically, we had to face forward, yet from the corner of our eyes, watch each other and see which direction the group was moving to. This taught me how to multi-task! (haha), and also to work together as a team, which is very important in doing theatre work.

Last but not least, we did a continuation of what we did last week, which was the text and the object. This week, however, we focused mainly on the object. As I was not present last week, I spent a few minutes panicking and wondering what object I was going to use and finally decided on my wallet. We had to explore our object, the sounds it makes, the things it could do that we never thought it could....then present it to the class. Now the trick here is not to use our object as a symbolism of another object (for example a pen as a lipstick). What I did with my wallet was shake it and hear the sounds the coins make, opening and snapping it shut (It created quite a nice beat), and emptying the coins and letting it shower down on the floor, making a beautiful ringing sound. These actions would then be used as props for our texts. The purpose of this was to ensure that we know our props, even before we used them. Therefore, exploring whatever props we had is important, as it gives us a sense of what it could be used for, and also be creative about it.

That's all. {:

xoxo,
mel the bimbo!

Playwriting Workshop

2009-05-11T19:13:00.000-07:00

Let me apologize to begin with...

I was late. No hiding that fact, therefore I humbly offer my apologies and promise that it will never happen again( I hope). OK, so when the very late me walked in, this was written on the board: Dramatic Writing: create a situation. Underneath the heading were lots of words which I later found out to be an impromptu story our instructor had made up. It was about a boy's conversation with his mom at home on the morning he was supposed to go get his O' level results and he was feeling quite nervous. There were two scenarios. One was where he was in the kitchen and just before he said:" Mom... I...I don't want to go to school today..", he walked towards the window. In the other situation, he was sitting on his bed and talking to his mother the whole time. We were then asked to pick which one had more tension to it. Obviously, credits went to the first "story" for the suspense created especially when the boy walked to the window.

He then told us to imagine an everyday situation(a problem). We came up with the idea of asking a teacher for an extension in the deadline for a crucial piece of work. We were then instructed to picture this in a totally different location. I was going to say the zoo or the movies, but he gave us something much better... Zouk xD yup! There we are, in Zouk. Asking our teacher for an extension in deadline. All the while trying to ignore the constant dance beats and drunken yells. To add to this, you are, a little bit tipsy... Mmmhmm, delicious scenario! Haha, here's Donna's story(she was told to present)or the rough gauge of it:

*Donna dancing with a group of friends, spots a hunky looking guy at the back and motions to friends that she is getting a drink then dances her way next to him*

*Hunky looking guy spots her*

Guy: Donna?!?

Donna: Who?

Guy: You.

Donna*takes a double look*:Mr T?!?!?!

{i humbly apologize but I forgot the middle part}

Donna: I'll hand it in by tomorrow*flees*

Haha as for me, I was having so much fun impaling myself in Zouk in front of TheGreatOne that I completely forgot the part about asking for an extension. Thus, I shall not post that up. However, interested fellows are more than welcome to ask for the rubbish I wrote :D

After that, we looked at the situation from a teacher's perspective of meeting a student in Zouk. Here, I shall post my story up as it isn't that bad:

(Teacher checks phone in Zouk. One sms from student X: Tcher, my aunt just died. Can u gimme some extension for e hw? Teacher feels generous and says yes)

Teacher*accidentally stepping on someone's shoe*: Oh, sorry!

X: OW! What the !@#$% pain sia!

Teacher: I'm really sorry.

X*recognises teacher*: Ahhh, nevermind, nevermind!! *mumbles incoherently and walks away*

Teacher: Hey, hang on... ... X?!?

X: No! No, no, no!! Not me! I'm not drunk!

Teacher: Didn't your aunt just pass away X? What are you doing here?

X: No, no!! I wasn't... I... I was just leaving! I gotta go!!

Haha. Don't think it was that bad. Stacey's story though was rather tangled up in that it was absurd and i-dunno-what-to-say-LOL. Someone should give that girl, I mean guy, a prize. xD. I would recommend people to read Mark's scandalous story though. It's totally... Mark ;D

We were asked for another scenario and we came up with buying hot dogs from the cafe on hotdog Tuesdays. The instructor then asked us for some more details and before you know it, we had a story of the runaway kid and his last meal going on xDD. The story goes that you have run away from home because of an argument with your parents who don't want you to continue with Drama(suddenly I see my life story flash out before my very eyes). For unbeknownst reasons, you still continue with school even though you are already staying over at a friend's house and you don't have any money left. So on that particular Tuesday, you were starving and only had $1.20 to pay for THAT LAST HOTDOG. As you were savouring it in your hands, you BUMPED into somebody causing your hotdog to FALL to the ground. You look up, bewildered just to see YOUR PARENTS looking at you. Haha, and here's my story:

*BUMPS*

Me: HEY! Watch where you're going, bitch!

Mum: What... ... *takes a double look* (insert name here)?!?

Me: Huh, what?? I... *Sees mum. Stops, then turns away bitterly*

Mum: Wait! Where are you going?! Aren't you coming home??

Me* rounds on mum*: What! Aren't you happy enough that you've driven me out of your house and now you've messed up my last meal and... and... Oh for God's sake, just LEAVE ME ALONE! PLEASE!!*runs*

After that, we were told that plot NOT EQUALS story. A story is a sequence of event sin real time while a plot is a sequence of events told from one person's point of view and told in such a way to gain dramatic effect.

A good story or a plot will, ultimately, follow this sequence:

EXPOSITION (10%)

RISING ACTION (30-40%)

CLIMAX (10%)

FALLING ACTION (20-30%)

RESOLUTION (10-30%)

The exposition is the introduction of all the who, what , why, where and when. There must be a problem to which a stake is tied to, which will lead to a situation. This problem must stem from your protagonist's unconscious want. The rising action involves the characters in the story trying to overcome the problem but, inevitably, making it worse. The "solutions" they use in trying to fix the problem will invariably lead to even more problems. Here, secondary characters are introduced to help our protagonist. In the climax, the protagonist has to make a difficult choice to continue. This is the heart of the entire play. Here, we must never judge a character but must humanize him. For instance, we cannot condone the actions of the tragic hero for making the wrong choices as that will turn audiences off. Instead, we must humanize him to show why he is what he is and why he does what he does. S/He must show conflict whether it is

physical(action flicks where the hero & villain fights)

interest(I want to do this in my best interest but my parents don't allow me to)

value systems(the hero & villain's value systems are different in that they fight for different reasons and hope for different outcomes)

emotional(an internal struggle within the protagonist)

Of course, emotional conflict is of the highest order and to attain that in the audiences being on the same page and realizing what your protagonist has to do is, of course, ultimately desired in all story lines. After the climax is the falling action where the consequences of making the wrong choices by the characters(regardless who s/he is) in the climax is shown. Finally, there is the resolution. This is where there is an internal or external change. An external change is one where the world is changed because of the actions or decisions made by the protagonist. A good example is R&J where the Capulets and Montagues realize their fatal mistake and never fight again. An internal change is one where the protagonist him/herself is changed like any of the movies where s/he walks off gloriously into the sunset. :D

Oh yes, one more thing we learnt was how to create a situation. It's really simple. Just follow this 3 easy steps xD:

Take a normal situation

Give it an atypical location

Change the point of view it is seen through

and voila! you have... a situation!

Finally, I would like to end this (very late) 1st review from a quote from the man himself:

*A maggie mee problem that escalates into World War II*

Let's Get Physical workshop 7/5

2009-05-07T08:26:00.000-07:00

I came in, first thing I saw was two white parallel strips and everyone staring at me, so I sat down quickly. Today what we did was very different! We started off with vocal exercises. Not voice projection, vocals. That means we worked with vowels and consonants and the moving of our jaw. It was 15 minutes later that things changed and got a lot tougher.

Now Julius was going around humming with a high pitch and a volume so low it was hard to match the softness. He wanted to communicate to us using only physical gestures and for us to match his singing and stance. So, he called us up using his hands and used whatever means he could to give signals or propose actions to us. Only when there was no alternative would he give verbal instructions. Thing is, he wanted to form a story through the singing and the proposing, not just have us to follow him. So I managed to play along with him a bit since I had this Bollywood idea. He actually said "good"! A huge change from the "late"s and the "noisy"s that I was so used to hearing. I learnt that it's good to step out and just try something without fear of being judged or laughed at.

Our next activity was to walk/run from one end of the black box to the other, only that there was to be a wall of jelly or any thick medium in between the two strips, so we were to slow down while we were inside that zone. It was harder than it seems because we had to analyze and repeat our motion slowly, giving special attention to the timing of the arms and legs. We became more aware of our bodies and how they move.

After that we walked down the strips first normally then very slowly. We were taught to not move our upper body while keeping our feet in line. So.. we had to maintain a relaxed posture, keeping our body and head straight while slowly moving down the lines, which trained our balance and the smoothness of our motion. We were also not allowed to look at the floor so we had to use our sense of touch or some other methods to make sure we were in line.

Following which we were to think of a simple action, play it out in real time, then deconstruct the actions and after that do it in slow motion. Mine was opening a corked bottle and then drinking from it, spilling some of the wine on myself. Deconstruction I found was very very hard. We have to isolate every separate movement as so: reach out, grab, pick up, insert, twirl, and so on. Also there was one point where I "finished" but no one said anything or continued the lesson so I was very confused and ended up doing some extra actions and left everyone slightly amused. Julius told me that I have to sure where my end point is so when I end, I'm just gonna stone and if no one says anything, so be it.

The two hours went surprisingly fast, our last exercise was simply having to say whatever script we chose, which was about four lines. We were also told to take out our item we were supposed to bring and think of an action to do with it while saying the lines. Personally I didn't prepare that well, so I ended up with a bible quote and an umbrella. I'm not sure how I'm going to link bible verses with an umbrella but I'll surely think of something. Training my improvising skills ah.

Wish me luck.
Isaac Wong

Absurd workshop!!! -Priscilla

2009-05-01T01:52:00.000-07:00

hey hey..
well i thought it would be rather unfair to ask Melvyn to post up stuff and then not do so myself.. so yeah, here goes-
I met with Mr Low too, but just 2 times. The first time we read through the first play and i explained to him what i thought of the character, and what i expected of her.
It was a challenge for me to play the part of the minister, because women in general aren't really as cold hearted and severe as this minister.
I tried portraying her as a very confident, cold hearted, emotionless and strict woman.
I thought of using a very bored, cold and direct and sometimes threatening tone for the whole piece. But realized that if i used that method to tackle the piece, it would become monotonous, and kind of boring.
Mr Low taught me to vary, and to use the monosyllabic words to bring out the power of the piece. So using his feedback, i tried to mold my character into shape.

The other problem that i faced was the fact that I had the habit of wavy my hands around in a very 'graceful' manner. This was inappropriate, as the character was supposed to be strict and stern. So i had to keep my hands to myself, and only move them when making certain statements. They also had to be swift, stern, severe and powerful.

My second session with Mr Low was kind of the same stuff. We just went through the rest of the play, and he helped to pick out the parts that he thought i needed to improve on. And then we proceeded to try and correct them. Also, I had to brainstorm over the issue of what costume and props i was going to use. There was a huge problem of me being unable to find the right costume, since i did not know of any way that i could get an army uniform that fit me. I also wanted to add in a scar on my face, but could not cause i don know how to!

Well anyways, on the day of the performance, i managed to get a full set of the army uniform!! THANK YOU KHAI!!!! I OWE YOU ONE!!! well he was such a sweetheart, and got me one that perfectly fit me! So with that, a tight pony tail and eye liner on, i entered the battle field :P.. he he he...
I did talk to Mary before the start of the programme, and she gave me a few headers as to how i could go about playing my character so that i could create more tension, fear and respect from the audience. Things like going up to them, standing beside them, looking them up and down, suddenly pointing to them, giving them the 'your so so so dead' look and everything else. And then after the session that i had with her, i went to be locked up in the storeroom.

The performance was ok, cept for the fact that i kept forgetting my lines! (silly me!) but the tension was there i guess (hope so). Well the audience giggling and smiling at me SSOOO DID NOT HELP!!! thanks Afiqah, Saad and Nishal, you guys really tested my skill of keeping a straight face! Well other than that, I guess it all went well.

Did not stay for long after that, so my learning point i guess was how to play with the audience, and their feelings, and using things like lighting, tone., pace and all sorts of other things to create the environment needed.

-Priscilla Jamir

Political Theatre Workshop.

2009-05-01T00:11:00.000-07:00

It's MAYDAY people!! =D

Hah. And yes, I shall get back into topic.... Political theatre huh...
In the form of a press conference (since it's best to portray political contrast between people of power [minister] and commoners [in the form of journalists / press] themselves), we discussed about how Pinter wants to portray the "lost" freedom-of-speech of the general public in theatre.
We were also asked to "explore the irony between the different characters" during the duration. Yepp.

We started off the workshop with a surprise. Wow!! The pro personally demostrated her own idea of "the Minister" for us as a sneak preview. x) The tension that she created was so swift! At one blink of an eye, she's transformed into a scary woman in power, creating the tension that she wants to present, and getting all the attention she wants. First comment given by WenZhen was, "Wah! She power man!!" HAHAHAAA!!!

Okay. Now into the real one.
She invited our first presenter, MELVYN!! x)
Ohohhh!! Not forgetting his bodyguard (MARK!) and his (I mean Mel's) expensive western suit. xD

We discussed about Melvyn's confidence level in play. Despite his character's politness, he still portray a sinister threat to the audience (the press). And yes! His western suit presented a twist in the story. The western suit makes people think that he's on our (the general public represented by the press) side and that he won't be any form of a threat to us. The pace of one's speech makes a difference too. Melvyn's presentation was rather "melodious" and more charismatic in a sense. It captures people's attention by presenting an eagerness to answer the press's questions.
Before I forget, the things that he does (takes someone's phone) also creates some sort of tension and fear between the press. =) What master of deceive he was and still is. ><

In comparison, we've another Minister with a completely different personality to come up. Yes! Pris and her NCC uniform. Hahahahahaaa!!!! - Thou shalt not grin at other's appearance no matter how weird. =x

She doesn't have a bodyguard. Well, but the use of the NCC or Army Uniform immediately brought forth tension to the space. Pris choice of speaking tempo was so much slower and yet monotonous. This choice so much enhanced the reluctancy to answer questions. Her demand for respect was shown from that fact that she only allow questions from people who raise their hands. This totally diminished the press's "freedom-of-speech". FIERCE ah pris. ><

We moved on to experiment on the usage of lights, and the different use of bodyguards.
Let's save the best for the last and talk about bodyguards first. x) Mark was asked to choose idon'tknowhowmany body guards to stand among the crowds. Well, it was immediately shown the contrast in the tension levels created by different bodyguards. Their standing posture makes a difference! That one.... The T.H.O.S.E aspect came in. Guards that are taller demands more attention. Guards who are still and not open at all presents a very stressful atmosphere (I'm not making much sense so please help yourself to make sense of it.) Also, we've found out that the closer the bodyguard is to the press, the higher then tension level was. What logic; but it works. >< The people in power may want his / her bodyguards to step forward to the crowd so as to get his / her will done. The reluctancy in the audience may be seen and felt and it too, creates tension among people. The choice of bodyguards are important too!
Normally it'd be a guy person of power with all guys bodyguards, or a female person in power with female bodyguards, or a female person in power with all male bodyguards. No mix bodyguards. x) WenZhen take note yeah?? xP

Now for the exciting part. LIGHTS!! xD
Front lights that are nearer to the Minister gives him the attention that he wants, while back lights allow him to create the tension that he wants. Diagonal side lights are also angled at an angle nearer to the person in power to create tension (If you guys don't know what am I saying... Refer to your memories of how kevin set the lightings that day).
Enough for the lightings on the Minister. The most impactful use of lightings will be the other spotlights angled and focused directly on the audiences themselves (in this sense, the press). The more uncomfortable the lighting is, the higher the tension level would be. It'd be good to have moving lights so as to focus lights on people who speaks. Other general lightings can be used to focus on some random area that the crowd gathered in. All these, to create tension.

Yadayadayada... All about tension. Hahahaa...
Yes it is ALL about tension. D;

So much for my personal reflection of the political theatre workshop. There's just too much to it that I thought will be worth us exploring ie; the use of the smoke machine! =D
Figure it yourselves yeah?? =)

Cheers,
Chenxing.

Workshop on Political Theatre

2009-04-30T06:34:00.000-07:00

As the name of the workshop suggests, it was indeed a very weird but interesting experience. The text of "Press Conference" made little sense with it crazy components, and I had to act the character of the Minister. Of course, I had help from Mr Emen Low along the way.

Over two weeks, I attented 3 sessions with Mr Low. In the first session, we went through the first page of the text only. We did an exercise where Mr Low and I faced each other and as each of us was saying our lines, the person saying the line had to try to cross over to the other's boundary. The only rule is that we could not have any physical contact of any sort. This exercise ended with the both of us facing each other in a face-to-face shouting match. This showed me the incorrect way of portraying the character of the Minister as the motive of the press conference was not to have a shouting match, but rather to win the press over. Next we did an exercise whereby I performed the play, and he sat at the back of the LT1. He feedbacked that I remained at the same energy level throughout, and thus the climax of the play seemed unclear. Thus, I learnt the importance of varying the tension.

In the second session, I attended it with Saad, and it became rather interesting. The first exercise we did was that Saad played the role of the press and I, the minister. In this exercise, basically each line that we say is literally a bullet to the other person. Hence, each time one of us say a line, the other person had to literally dodge the bullet in whatever means possible. Such as ducking and rolling across the floor, lifting chairs and hiding under tables in the classroom. Then, we did another exercise where Saad acted as an annoying kindergarten kid and I had to persuade him to believe in what I was saying as Minister. This later became the basis for my portrayal of the play where I basically see the audience as children.

In the third session with Mr Low, we basically did a run through of the full play. He feedbacked that he wanted me to portray the Minister in such a way that I simply oozed charisma and went completely lunatic at the part where I talked about critical dissent. At first when I tried to do this, Mr Low said I wasn't crazy enough. (Even though I felt that I was already acting crazy enough) He said that I should just let myself go when I perform.

Therefore, I went into the day of the workshop itself ready to just go crazy. However, when I rehearsed with Mary Luckhurst before the workshop officially started, she said that she preferred that I not go into lunacy but rather just remain jovial but stern. I was in a disarray. It turned out that this was exactly how Absurdist theatre workshops were supposed to be. The teachers will give you different directions, and it is up to the actor to interpret it for himself.

In the end, I think I managed to portray the character of Minister relatively well, what with the handphone moment and all, and I have definitely gained alot of experience from this workshop.

P.S. Thanks Mark for being my bodyguard!

-Melvyn

Let's Get Physical! Part 2

2009-04-22T07:25:00.000-07:00

When we all got ready and gathered up the first thing we got to do was the physical exercise we had in the first session, the one where we had follow our instructor's tempo and rhythm. It went better than the first time, there were less "LATE!"s and "NOISY!"s. This time though, he tried something different. He switched the leaders around so we were following different people at different times! A bit more confusing, there was one part where he said "Calvin and Hobbes leader!" and I didn't know it was me until later, I was still blindly following!! So the exercise really kept me on my toes (literally and figuratively) and warmed up both our minds and our bodies.

Next, we were to come out on our own 3 at a time to perform as a not-so-inanimate object. Things like a falling egg, a crushed paper, a dying flower and and a candle came out. We were not told what to do until we stepped out, so we had to think of something on the spot, which stressed me a bit. The main thing I learnt was that we have to be different in a way and not follow what everyone else is doing. We also have to be confident in our own idea and believe in what we are showing. Also, we had to be aware of our body.

Ah, then we got to play a game! There were two sides and each side had to choose between a troll, a giant, and a wizard. Like rock paper scissors but more actions. The winning side was to drag their opponents into their area, thus converting them. As the group got bigger, it was harder to pass the message and on some occasions the leader would do something and hope the rest would follow. I think we learnt how to work as a team and that we have to make decisions fast. Also the whole game was very fun and our minds had to be very quick in order to win.

For our final exercise, we were to choose 2 out of the 5 elements, using both actions and sounds to mimic their properties. The exercise dealt with our different ideas of how "this" element was to be shown. Most of us were doing different things even though what we were portraying was the same. I felt that as actors, we have to be confident of our own style and also to show our body language, much like in the second exercise.

So far it's been really helpful, although it can be a bit stress at times. I look forward to seeing the bald guy again :)

-Isaac

Introduction to Electra Workshop (April 14)

2009-04-14T17:23:00.000-07:00

Introduction to Electra workshop

This was the second part of two workshops that Christina Sergeant taught us, and today's workshop focused primarily on Tadashi Suzuki's adaptation of "Electra".

The first activity for the workshop was for us to watch the prologue of the play Electra. The introduction for the play itself was 10 minutes long and it left most of us with many questions as to what relationship it had with the play, despite its funny moments. After watching the prologue, we learnt that Suzuki's style tend to place more emphasis on the feet, as can be seen through all the stamping. Every actor were part of a commited ensemble that worked together to convey a message. Action and sudden immobility is also a crucial part of suzuki training, and thus, the use of the core as well as maintaining the tension of the body is an important part of being a suzuki actor. We learnt that for suzuki actors, connection with the floor through the body results in not only a finely tuned strong voice, but also a physically powerful strong breath. (All the breathing sounds we heard.) Lastly, in suzuki training, whilst moving, the upper body is not disturbed, and only the lower body is working like mad and is working seperately.

Next, we tried a suzuki style practise. For the rest position, it is important to keep a low centre of gravity, bent knees, and maintain a lax upper body. We were then to do a short warmup whereby we had to sit down with our knees to our chest, with our toes up and heels on the ground. On her command, we were to open up our body like turtles, and remain immobile. This exercise was quite interesting to do and see, considering that some of us had trouble keeping balance.

Next. she taught us the suzuki way of walking, where essentially we used our hips to move our legs and then move forward, and not moving our whole body as we are used to. We then had to apply this in slow motion, with our eyes and mind focused on where we want to go. Through this exercise, I learnt how important it is to be aware of your weight as well as the tension in your muscles.(This seems to be a common trend in the workshops we have attended.) I found it difficult to maintain a lax upper body as my upper body would tense up naturally.

Statues was the name of our next exercise, where we had to go up from rest position to 3 different levels of height. T.H.O.S.E anyone?

The last exercise of the workshop was an improvisation of an Electra text. Many groups had different versions of Electra, which included a court version, a korean drama version, and an interview. It was really interesting as it allowed us to see how one story can be conveyed in many different ways. All in all, this workshop was very fun!

People to look up on : Tadashi Suzuki
Ethene Decroux
Jacques Lecoq
Vesevelod Meyerhold
Alexander, Feldenkrais, Pilates, Laban.

Cheers,
Melvyn.

2009-04-14T05:48:00.000-07:00

"Let's Get Physical" - Saturday, 11th April 10:00-12:00 p.m

This first workshop for our physical theatre was very enriching, I must say. After being told that I should bring a towel and change of clothes and "it might get dirty", I already started getting scared about what we would have to do for the workshop.

When we first started the workshop, the instructor said "Okay get into two lines and do a forward roll and a cartwheel." There were many gasps from us, because most of us could not do a forward roll or a cartwheel, including myself. However, we carried on with it even though we could not do it properly. We tried! Our efforts were commended by the instructor, but we told that we were too "noisy". He then went on to explain how discipline is important in doing physical theatre, and how we had to be focused on the task given.

Next, we got into a circle and discussed what we knew about physical theatre. Physical theatre is basically the use of the body, and how the emphasis is not placed on speech. We were then asked to each come up with 3 exercises that would improve our fitness. We had to show them to the class, and most of the comments given by the instructor was that our exercises were "dead". We had to be constantly in motion, and have life in our exercises.

After that, we did an exercise whereby we had to follow the instructor's tempo and beat. This was rather difficult, as our movements had to be exactly the same as his. For example, when he steps into the circle, we have to step into it at exactly the same time, and when he quickens or slows down his pace, so should we. We were also told to watch the sounds we made, for example, the shuffling of our feet. We had to move with as less sound as possible. The instructor was constantly shouting remarks such as "LATE!" AND "TOO NOISY!", which were rather intimidating and I felt quite stressed out. The next round of this was done not by the whole class. The instructor started off first, then he looks at someone and "invites" the person into the circle. He did this either by smiling at you, using his eyes, or gesturing. It was quite hard to tell if he was inviting you, therefore for the first time we tried it out, no one moved into the circle because we were unsure. But after awhile, we realised what we had to do and followed. Even if we were unsure if he was inviting us, we had to go by our instincts.

Overall, this session was quite exhausting due to all the running and moving, but we learned important lessons useful to physical theatre such as focus, having "life", and using our instincts.

-Mel :)

06 April 2009 Workshop.

2009-04-09T07:51:00.000-07:00

Workshop (06 April 2009)

At first, I was skeptical to whether this workshop was something that I would enjoy. Also, this would be the first time doing something with the J2 seniors.

The instructor, Kristina, came into the black box with poles and a kompang. We were all interested in what they would be used for. Then, she introduced herself and told us what we were going to do and why. As it turns out, we were to be more exposed to the art of physical theatre, in which, the emphasis would be more of the movement of our body, rather than our voices. This, to me, was quite interesting as I was intrigued to how physical theatre like mime was about and how people actually train for it. We then went on to do some stretching. It was so painful! At first, I thought we were going to do ordinary stretching but boy was I wrong. We learned that the most important part for physical theatre was actually our torso area or “the core” as she called it. An actor must be grounded so that his movements would look fluid and natural so we established the zero position, with feet, knees and tailbone parallel and relax the tension in the arms and neck. This was further proved to be useful when we watched the play of “7 boards” and saw how easily the actors moved what looked like super heavy boards. It was effortless and Kristina told us how the zero position actually helps in the moving of the boards.

After the awesomely painful stretching, we were treated to “catching the fly.” When Kristina hit the kompang, we were to jump and catch the fly, thereafter, come back to our zero position. I realized the impact of our stretching when we were able to execute a ¾ jump and back.

Moving on, we then practiced with the space in the black box. The objective was to focus on a specific object and walk towards it while at the same time use our peripheral vision to avoid clashing into one another. Also, when the kompang is hit, we had to stop and immobilize ourselves. This was not so much of a challenge than the next part of the exercise, in which we had t stop and start by ourselves. Without anyone telling us when. At first, it was very jerky, with people hesitating over when to stop and start, however, I realized that everyone of us had sort of a routine where we just instinctively knew when to move and stop. I realized that as an actor, be it physical theatre or not, the ability to “sense” other people on stage is crucial to make the play better and more fluid. We then had to walk vertically and horizontally, and make turns at a 90 degree angle. Then, we had to move in an arc and then a mixture of both. I did not get this exercise but maybe this can help us with the way we use the stage, how it is important to know exactly how you move and where so that it does not look disorganized or unsure on stage.

Then, the “moving between 2 people in a fishbowl” exercise. This was seriously hilarious as there was always a “traffic jam” in the middle of the bowl and also, finding 2 people to go through is really tough as everyone wanted to move, but no one wanted to give space for others to move. After 2 rounds, we got better, I admit, but to me, it was still a mess. This teaches us that we have to be considerate of the space on stage that we have to use and how our movements can affect other people and as a physical theater actor, awareness of the space and the people in it needs to be evidently there in our actions and body.

We then had to do the thing where she told us a number and body part and were had to find ways of achieving it. This was a prelude to the real exercise in which we had to find a partner and use our bodies to show the space that we have, for example, making your body as big as possible while still remaining in contact with your partner, also, twisting your body in many interesting ways. This exercise I think helps us understand that we do not really need to be acrobats to be good physical theatre actors, but it’s how we use our body to convey the message across to the audience.

Kristina had us follow her in an isolation exercise where one part of the body was isolated but the rest is moving, this I think, is the basis of most mimes. It was very interesting. Some of the actions I could follow but some just too difficult to emulate. This shows again, the importance of our core and how the core is useful in doing many different actions.

Following that, we were split into 3 groups and had to do a tablo with an abstract theme, I think this was because she wants us to use our bodies to show our message rather than words. It was particularly challenging to pick out a theme but we decided on “dreams.” So, I had totally no idea what I was going to do because I thought that the scary element was more than enough and adding more to it would just be redundant. The problem was solved when I became the person sleeping and WZ was my shadow. It was great as we all had fun playing our scene but it ended up being more of a “nightmare” theme. The other groups also did well but I think that Kristina misunderstood us, we did not jeer our friends, rather, when the group with the title “nightmare” came out, my group was like, crap, it’s the same thing. So, we were disappointed in ourselves for doing the same thing and not being bad audiences to the other group. However, there were differences and I think that as a whole, we did good.

Then, we watched 7 boards and I was really fascinated with this play as it is so physical and abstract. There were absolutely no words uttered and a different style of theatre that I was used to.

Overall, this workshop was a useful one in helping me and most of the J1s to be exposed to the different aspect of theatre and extend our repertoire of knowledge. Thumbs up and hoping for another one like this!

afiqah

Movement of Joints Workshop

2009-04-09T07:29:00.000-07:00

Theatre Studies Workshop Reflection: Introduction to Movement of Joints.

The workshop conducted on that day was really enriching in my opinion. It was aimed at exposing us to the mechanism of the joints and to help us understand certain things about ourselves hitherto unknown. So we started off by playing a simple game, ‘Simon Says’. I thought this game was actually a good precursor to the work that we were going to do that day, because the game of ‘Simon Says’ requires one to follow instructions.

Now it sounds simple but in actuality this isn’t the case. Sometimes we might want to move our bodies in one way to express an emotion, but perhaps due to the incapability of our bodies, we are unable to do so. So while playing that game it started to dawn on me that discipline of the body is crucial in theatre. One has to be in complete control of his body, because after all he is its master.

Shortly after the game concluded, our instructor introduced us to a few types of puppets, namely the finger puppet, the mouth puppet, the glove puppet, the puppet that is controlled by rods, and string puppets. He showed us a few techniques of a puppeteer and demonstrated to us certain concepts of puppetry that could also be applied to that of theatre. I think this was really enriching as well because I myself don’t have a lot of exposure to the technicalities of puppetry, but it was really amazing to see him move these puppets and “breathe life” into them. While he demonstrated moving the puppets, he then related concepts of puppetry, such as energy, to all of us. One has to mimic life, and transfer that into the puppet, or the movements would just look jerky and artificial. Similarly, an actor needs to be precise in his movements, and know exactly how to move and speak to achieve desired effects and emotions.

We then watched a few videos of interesting pieces that used puppetry. These people did not use elaborate puppets, or elaborate props. Simple things like Styrofoam balls and a doll can already be used to create beautiful art. He also told us something important: “If one does not appreciate art, one would not know how to create it.” A lot of theatre is about feeling. There is no “right” or “wrong”, but everything is again dependent on the audience receiving your piece.

Day FOUR

2009-03-24T07:05:00.001-07:00

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.

DAY 5 LAST DAY!!:(

2009-03-24T06:34:00.000-07:00

REFLECTION
DAY 5 (LAST DAY) L

Today was sadly the last day of the workshop. We had all been asked to start on our monologues and to work on them while the others had their one on one session with Tim. We brought our own props, costumes, music and everything else we needed. We presented our acts to Tim, and he helped us put in more creative stuff an advice as to how to create the piece.
This was how mine went-

A very good afternoon ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to “The Reason”. I am Malvolio, The butler of Lady Olivia. Today, I am going to let you all see what goes on in here. I usually never ever ever ever let anyone in, so consider yourselves privileged. I am not the dignified, reserved, solemn, grave and boring person you see now. Keep that in mind.

Let me ask you. What is ones childhood suppose to be like? One full of joy and freedom would you not agree? But NO, NO NO NO. Mine was just the opposite. My parents were poor and I had 6 other brothers and sisters. My father was busy getting drunk while my mother could not care less about us.

But oh, they ALWAYS had the time to complain, criticize and scold us. My mother told me that I, I, I was a good for nothing looser, that I was filthy, worthless and dumb. Hmph, that was when I took the oath. I vowed…

I shall run away from here, this stinking hell hole. I can do nothing whilst I am here. I will prove my mother wrong. I will NOT become the man she thinks I will be. I will be dignified, I will be rich, I will be powerful, I will be the best in whatever I do. I will be who I want to be and NOBODY, NOBODY will be able to stop me. NOONE!

And so I ran away, in hopes that I might be able to one day fulfill that oath I made when I was 10.
I lived in the streets, and during the day, I managed to creep into the compound of a local school, sit outside the class and try to learn what the teachers was teaching.

Sand and dirt was my paper, and stones my pen. One day the mayor of the area was visiting the school, he took pity on me when he saw me in my pathetic state, took me in and provided me with an education. It is because of him, that I am the person and in the status that I am in now.

Now, I am clean, now I am worth something, now I am of a high status, the head of a house. Now I have something to be proud of. Now I have fulfilled the oath I made so many years ago.

I have long washed my hands of my past and the pathetic place I came from. I cannot stand drunk people, I cannot stand dirty people and I cannot stand things being messy or out of place, they are the past, they have no place in my present.

Remember what I said at the beginning of the play? About that not being who I am? Well, that cold, stubborn, spoiler of moods expression is in fact a façade that I put on. Why you might ask? Why would one need to? Let me ask you, how else would one run a household?

How else could a person possibly try to create an environment of law and order, a place where ones madam can find rest and happiness? There is no other way I tell you. No, none. Some people are just so annoying, they do not care what you say, they continue in their rowdy most ungentlemanly ways!

Urgh, they disgust me! Take Sir Toby for example that fat man who wobbles around drunk all day, shouting out undecipherable nonsense. If I told you he was my Madams Uncle, would you have believed?

All he does is suck the money out of my Madam. That good for nothing old fool! My poor madam, what did she ever do to have such a nut case come and live with her!

Oh Madam, my dear madam, my sweet madam. When I make you smile, when you laugh, your joy makes me feel whole again, it makes my day, even though Toby did vomit on my favorite yellow jacket that day!

Oh, I cannot help but imagine the day we shall be united as one. How I long for that day. I do, I do. I do, I do (marriage vows, fake putting on ring).

Oh the day I shall be able to be called Count Malvolio, the day Sir Toby kisses my emerald studded ring on my finger and I say ‘You must amend your drunkenness’.

Sir Toby, that rascal. Played a prank on me just because I was trying to do my duty and keep order in my Madams house.

That unreasonable jerk of a man! He locked me up in a dark room and made me think that my madam was in love with me so that I could have false hopes! He destroyed me, broke me and severely pissed me off.

I never made him play the part of a fool, I never harassed him, I never shamed him in front of others, I never played a heartless prank on him, and I never demanded anything from him except respect.

For the trick that you poked me with, I shall get my revenge, but I will not punish you, a higher power, one that is much much greater than you and everyone else will give you a taste of your medicine. Not very sweet now is it? Is it? Is it? Is it? Is it? ( I slowly lie on the ground and SLEEP…. WAKE UP with confused expression to show that this was all a dream)

Yup, that was how it went. There were parts duringmy speech where I added in the applause which my imaginary audience gave me. This was to create a sense of a dream like nature, as the monologue is suppose to be his dream, where he is given a chance to explain to the world the reason that he acts the way he does, so that people will be able to understand him better and thus not hate him as much. That is why it is called "The Reason" In the beginnig of the speech.

I had an AWESOME time people, totally unforgetable and oh so educative! im PRO WORKSHOPS now! he he.. I would not trade it for anything in the world, though i might fail my profiling tests, i still think it was worth it..:D
And yes, I guess it is a good way of getting to know fellow TSDians from the other schools.. Socializing with the elite is good,. and fun.,. they are really nice you know.,., not all of them are snobs!!

So yeah.. tahts how my experience went..
Hope your happy with my rambling Miss Norzian.. Pass...:D:D

DAY TWO REFLECTION

2009-03-24T06:21:00.000-07:00

REFLECTION
DAY 2.

So the day started out with a very simple exercise.

How the game is played- Tim moves his hands, pointing to the front, upwards, side wards or under armpits. We, have to follow his movement.

Objective- To prove how brainless this exercise is and to show us that if a pattern is repeated, the brain merely follows the same pattern with no thinking. When the pattern is suddenly changed, we sometimes tend to miss the change, our brain still hooked onto the previous pattern.

In a way, it is like the world and how things work. Our lives are in this certain pattern that our brain is so used to, tat it stops thinking sometimes. Art, on the other hand has to be out of this pattern, it needs creations that break the pattern, if one even exists.

One step further- He asked us to follow him 1 and then 2 steps behind his actions. This was tougher obviously, and required our brains to store in pictures of the previous actions. This was done just to prove that brain power was needed.

NEXT GAME-

Objective- We all sat in chairs that were spread out. One person was picked, and asked to stand at the edge of the group of chairs that was furthest from his/her original chair. The main aim of the game was for that person to get to the chair. To try and stop them, the other members sitting in the chairs had to rotate, and switch seats. The restriction on the person though was that they could only walk, moving their legs from knee downwards.

Aim- The exercises really demanded understand and co-operation from the group which honestly I think we lacked severely. Attributes like taking the initiative and using common sense were other things that were tested. The ‘Chosen One’ was also told not to finish the game off so fast. It was not a mater of winning or loosing, but a matter of enjoying the game.

We went on to more serious stuff. We had previously been asked to bring one object and an item of clothing that we though symbolized Malvolio. Ill try and include everything that I remember. Thara brought a scroll with a seal, which was meant to represent the letter that Malvolio found, stating Olivia’s love for him. Her item of clothing I think was a black shirt?

Well then it was my turn. I had printed out a picture of a peacock feather. I had done some research and found out that in many of the pictures of Malvolio, it showed him with feathers in this hat. Peacock feathers in particular added an emphasis on just how proud and self obsessed he was. My item of clothing was what I imagined to be a long black (dark coloured) velvet coat. Why? Long because I think it looked more official and dignified in those days (Elizabethan Era), black because it signified, importance, seriousness, dignity again, and the texture velvet because when thinking bout it, I felt kind of ‘Royal’. It was soft, seemed expensive and gave a higher status feel to those who wear it.

Carol brought a capsule that when submerged in hot water would open up and a sponge animal would start to form. I found that fascinating! WOW, such a toy actually existed, and what in the world was she doing with that set? Well anyways, what she was trying to say was that Malvolio kind of had two personalities. He was prim, proper, strict and very on task when he was around people. But, what about when he was alone? Did he break down and cry? Is he really confused about what he really is and to hide that vulnerability he puts on a façade of strength and stringent nature? In the play, we do see his vulnerable side sometimes, times when he dreams and imagines what his life could be and might be in the future.

Some one brought a watch, as it showed how systematic and on task he was. Perhaps, she said, He would check the time and according to it tally the work of the servants in the house to see if they are behind schedule, etc. This brings out the meticulous and perfectionist side of him.

A mirror was another item that was brought by Jonathan (I think). This showed Malvolio’s arrogant side. The part of him that always had to be dressed immaculately, every hair in its place. Once again, this could be seen as a cover that he creates, maybe he wants people to look at him this way to cover and hide the inner turmoil that he is going through. A tie was another object that could symbolized his need for outward presentation.

A tight fitting 2nd piece of a 3 piece suit was the next item. This was a sort of imitation of what Malvolio would have worn, since it made his posture to a more upright on, making him look proud, bigger than the rest, commanding respect.

An orange is used to signify the fact that he is a misunderstood person (one never says, I love oranges the way one can say I love apples). An orange can be both sweet and sour, or either. Likewise, we don’t know if Malvolio is to be hated because of his arrogance and pride or pitied because of his pathetic situation and the fact that he is being bullied. Similar to the pill- they both try to bring out the fact that the Malvolio that people see and the Malvolio he really is are two totally diff people.

Can’t remember the rest, or they were kind of similar in one way or that other or I’m just too lazy and tired to type.

After that, we had a writing exercise. We had already listed out some adjectives that described Malvolio like annoying, anal, irritating, arrogant, self obsessed, etc.
Using those expressions and adjectives, we were asked to come up with daily encounters and situations in Singapore that we think would cause Malvolio to react in anger and displeasure. We then penned them down into a letter to the higher authority in charge. Most of the letters, if not all were written in elaborate, formal yet angry and demanding style. It was always as if the writer thought that he was right and the other party was wrong. It did have a proud tone to it in a way.

To,
The Head of the Tourism Board,
Singapore.
Dear Sir/ Madam,
I recently visited your country on a holiday. I was told that your public transport was one of the best, most systematic and cleanest in the worlds. However, when I did take a rise on the MRT, I was shocked to see that there was a huge, disgusting, puddle of pink liquid right in the middle of the train, it was running and had been splashed all over the seats causing the passengers, especially me great inconvenience! How can one be so slacked on rules dealing with food and drinks on trains? I see your BIG RED signs saying “NO FOOD ALLOWED!”, and the fine that you threaten the public with. What’s more, you even write it in four languages! But yet, it gets you nowhere. I believe that you and your board are not strict enough. So what if the rule exists? What us the use if it is not implemented?! I hope that this will be a wake up call and that you and your staff well get off your ass and do something about the pathetic state of your transport system!

As if that wasn’t bad enough, the bus which I traveled on broke down! Right in the MIDDLE of the highway! I mean how does that even happen?! How utterly atrocious! Don’t the bus drivers do a routine check on those machines of theirs? Are your buses that old? How can one leave the passengers stranded in the middle of a highway! What’s more, no spare bus was sent to the rescue to transport the passengers to their destinations! All we were given was a ticket that we could use on the next bus. How in the world is that enough compensation for precious time wasted? Or is our time not precious enough for you?! I demand you to come up with a more efficient method of dealing with a situation. Because if the kind person that I am, I will suggest something’s to you, and I hope you do treasure these golden suggestions. You could have called a bus to rescue the passengers and make sure that they reached their destinations, the money for their trip should also be returned, and an apology for delay and loss of time should be issued to the people involved, or even to the general public if you think that it is too much work to take down names and addresses. I fell that bus drivers should be more prepared to deal with situations such as this. The bus driver was totally unprepared, and was sweating like crazy when dealing wit the situation. How can you explain that! He was more nervous and anxious than all the passengers put together! Cowardly fool!

My experience with the Singapore’s public transport was unpleasant, horrid and caused me great distress, annoyance, inconvenience and anger. I feel that you definitely do not deserve to be rated one of the cities with the best transport in the world, and I promise that if nothing is done about it, then my name is not Malvolio. I will take this up with your superiors and even the government. I am not afraid to voice out my opinions and contempt, so please do the necessary if you want to avoid getting into deeper trouble. Watching and Waiting.
- Malvolio.

After reading all our letters out aloud, we had to squeeze the letter into a sonnet, following the pattern ababcdcdefefgg. I had HELL I tell you!! I don’t like poetry, I’m not good at rhyming words and I don’t like poetry. So yeah, it was tough. After reading them out, BREAK!!!:D:D:D

After the break, we started on a more performance based exercises.

We were all asked to sit on chairs, in a straight line. One of us was asked to sit opposite, in the middle and just do NOTHING. The rest of us, the ‘audience’ were then asked to look at the ‘performer’ and try to figure out whether he was in the past or present, sad or happy, and answer the question where could he possibly be.

It was amazing that when the performer looked at different points, his expression changed. For example, when looking down, he looked sad and pensive, thinking about the future. Yet, when he looked up and sideways, he had a more inquisitive present look on his face. Looking straight up gave him a far off look with a more ‘stoned’ expression. All this time however, the performer did not DO anything. He just sat there and stared at the point.

What was the lesson learnt? You do not have to DO anything for the audiences’ attention. An actor does not have to be constantly in motion to be a good actor. A good actor is in fact someone who allows his audience to THINK and to really be involved with the play and top play an active role in trying to determine what is going on. For the audience, it gave them a certain power, the power to be able to derive and determine the meaning/message that the actor was trying to bring out. There is no right or wrong, there are just opinions.

Next, the performer was asked to look straight ahead at his audience. And the audience was asked to study what it felt like to be the audience. To me, being the audience felt very relaxed, and we had the freedom to do what we wanted and a sort of fascinating ability to try and translate the performers’ expression to words, emotion, action, situation, etc.

We were then asked to one by one pick up our chairs and bring them over to the other side to add to the performance, until there was only one from the audience which was left. That person would become the performer. We were asked to study the transition from being the audience, to being the performer. When I became the performer, I felt a little stressed out, one could really feel the eyes upon you, judging your every move. There was a lot more tension and a sort of queasy feeling. You were more aware of yourself and had to make sure that every single part of your body was positioned in the right way.

This exercise really told us about the misconception by some people, that actors have to move about and try not to keep silent, or else the audience will loose interest.

Next, we had a sort of competition, two volunteers were asked to step out and act, they were competing for the audience attention. The audience in the meanwhile was tasked to point to the actor that they were interested in.

The lesson that we learnt from this was that in order to keep the audiences attention, ones action need not be elaborate and eyes catching. Those actions die off and become boring. What the actor should do is to make the audience question what they are seeing. We have to make them want to know what is going to happen or ask why we are the way we are. We have to make them think, and do something that has a sort of mysterious sense to it as well. The action can be mysterious, unexpected, sudden, dark, or whatever, as long as it intrigues the audience.

The next work was more brainy. We were asked to voice out a list of things that we think Malvolio tries to do to other people when talking. Eg- manipulate, put down, move, baby sit, dominate, persuade, etc. We were then given one or two lines that Malvolio spoke during the play, and asked to create a new way of presenting/performing it using one of the characteristic that we had come up with and also an action to accompany it.

I got the lines “ I tell thee that I am as well as any man in Illyria” This phrase had initially been said in what I imagine as a pleading, moving tone since he is after all locked up and trying to prove his sanity. I chose to add a more proud, dismissive, determined and show off tone to it. I also repeated and stressed on more words. My end product- “ I tell thee, I, I Malvolio tell thee that I am as much in my senses than any man in Illyria (palm to audience), any man (finger pointing), any man (dismissive wave of hand)!!” The others were really fascinating as well. Mr Choy’s action was using a mirror, with Malvoli practicing his lines while shaving and putting on lipstick. Others were done in a recording format, with a video camera as if it was a digital library/ journal. Yet another’s action was done on a voodoo doll, with an evil tone to it. Someone even turned a harsh insulting piece into a seductive scene, where the character was writing it on a letter while lying on the floor.

After a break, we watched “I peasblossom”.
It was another play that he had created. It’s from the Shakespearen play Midnight Summers Dream, and is told from the perspective of the fairy Peasblossom. The pklay was divided into scenes, and the end and beginning of each scene was signified by Tim PB (Peasblossom falling asleep on the table on stage. The story was told in the form of PB’s dream, each scene was a change in his dream. The audience for this play were kids , and as such, simple language and actions that were entertaining had to be used. The language was a little ‘Chim’, to put it in Singlish, as Tim likes to keep the language used in his plays that way. In order to retain his audiences attention, Tim used Bertolt’s method of stepping out of the play as the narrator, instead of PB. This was done on occasions where he involved the audience in his play. He handed out name cards with characters from the play written on them, and told the person in the audience holding it a little about the character, like their characteristics, etc. He then used them to represent those characters throughout the play. Sometimes, he even asked them to read of cards that he had in his pocket. This allowed the audience to get involved, and laugh along as well.

He even had a little intermission during the show, where he called upon volunteers to help him show off his ‘magic skills’. (I’m sure were all old enough to know that they aren’t really all that magical).

So yeah, I though it was way way way more interesting than ‘I B…” which we had watched the previous day. I stayed awake through this one!:O..:D

I Malvolio Workshop by Tim Crouch

2009-03-24T06:01:00.000-07:00

Hey people,
This is a reflection of the w9orshop that i attended during the holidays..
It includes stuff that we did, their objectives and what i personally though of them as. I have also included stuff that we were told to fdo druiing the workshop, like write stuff.. Have included the purpose for writing them as well..
It's really long so please bear with it...

Here is a bit of stuff that i found out about him before the workshop, and some other random facts....

Tim Crouch

-British actor.

- Works for the national theatre of Britain.

- He is an actor and playwright.

- His play “The Oak Tree” is about the topic of grief of the loss of a loved one (daughter) by embracing sentiment but avoiding sentimentality. The girl’s father is played by different person from the audience every day. (Jerzy Grotowski)

- He comes up with the ideas to his plays first before weaving them into a story and play.

- “When I teach I talk about the subject of theater being what happens in the audience; and the object of theater being what happens on the stage. This is a guiding principle for my work.”

- I like the human imperfection -- the tensions, the blocks, the trapped voice, the wonky features. In An Oak Tree I try to create a place where those imperfections can be acknowledged and celebrated.

The stuff I write in black is what I write after watching a bit of the show “Oak tree” and “The arm”

- Obviously, most, if not all of his plays are monologues.
- He focuses in plays that have a theme and then he builds a story on that.
- He seems to do more story telling than an actually play.
- He doesn’t have explosive, expensive, bright props. Instead, he has very simple ones, if any.
- Sometimes, like in “My Arm” he introduces the people that affected his character with mere pictures.
- He enjoys and usually describes a situation, objects, motions, life to the audience instead of showing them.
- He always involves the audience in all his plays. He MAKES them imagine and thus contribute to the play in their own way.
- He tries sometimes to fit in jokes here and there to entertain the audience.
- When he talks, he talks like he is describing his life, telling the audience of what happened to him. He makes it feel real by telling us about little details, what people in is life said and did and introduces us to people who were in his character’s life.
- His aim is to communicate with the audience that is what he thinks theatre is all about.
- He tries to incorporate the problems of society and connect it to the play he does. Example- In Malvolio, right now he is trying to incorporate Singaporeans problems and what the youth in particular think of Malvolio and how they connect to Malvolio.

DAY ONE WORKSHOP
REFLECTION

Well, the day started off on a good note. We were the first college to be there. All the rest came annoyingly late. We started off with a simple introduction by the British Council and then by Tim. He told us a little bit about himself, how he came to be a prominent actor and play write. He also introduced us to his style of theatre and why he uses it and how he makes it work, also, he elaborated a bit on his expectations and reasons for conducting the workshop.

Our first exercise was about teaching us ‘not to be correct and the lack of the need to be perfect’. We sat in pair opposite each other and were given two pieces of paper. On the first one, we were given 30 seconds to draw our partners face. BUT, we could not, never ever ever look at the piece of part through the whole process. Mine was just so retarded; it was uneven, totally out of place and proportion. After than horrifying experience (for my partner), we were given 5 seconds to draw the same person’s face :O.
I was like ‘WHAT!!! As if 30 sec wasn’t short enough, plus the added torture (well it was actually good) of not looking at your drawing. He allowed us to do what ever we liked. We could focus on one part of the persons face, or do the whole face, and a girl even drew smiley faces with expressions that her partner could possibly have. Surprisingly though, the 2nd one was better than the 1st one. Why was this I asked myself? The answer was pretty clear, the less you think about it, the better it gets in a way. You don’t have to ponder about the details of what you are doing.

The next thing we did was to go through the play ‘Twelfth Knight” by Shakespeare which is the play we are focusing on. The character we were trying to study is called Malvolio. He asked us to get an object from our belongings, it could be anything at all, a pen, marker, glue stick, keys, umbrella, panadol tablets, you get the picture. We took and object and gave it a characters name and placed in on our ‘island of Illysia’ (which is where the play is set). Then, using these projects to represent the characters, we went through the WHOLE play. Yes, it did get a tad bit draggy and my leg hurt like hell. But it was fun never the less given than he was a very animated reader.

We had a lunch break after that. We all marched to J8 and ate, obviously, we were late for the next session. How in the world can students ever be on time!:O that would just be a crime. So yeah, after that we all sat around a table and picked a character from the play.
Example-

Sir Toby
T
Telephone booth (Write name of place starting with T)
Tearful (Emotion starting with T)
Tie (Item of clothing starting with T)

(Then, using all these words we had to come up with a monologue. The restriction, we had to add in these words AND all the words used HAD to start with the letter T)

So this is how mine went.. It was crappy really…

TOBY
Telephone booth (place…)
Tearful (Expression…)
Tie (Wearing a…)

Toby torn, tattered, thrown, trampled! Thinking that Task! That tormenting task! Toby tearing, Toby tearful, Toby trembling! Trembling… trembling… trembling. To tell them their trophy trampled! Terrible… terrible... terrible… This to torment them? Too treacherous...Terrible! Toby torment? Too terrible…Too terrible! This tragic transformation, tie tied to tie torn. This threatening to take Toby to the transformer! Transformer terrible! Terrible transformer! Toby terrified! Trying towards transformed tomorrow. Trying trying trying. Trying to think. Toby think…think…think… Try… think… Too tiring… Toby Tired, Toby tearful…

Everyone presented/ performed their pieces. And some of theirs were really really awesome; we had the whole FABULOUS language thing going on. What he wanted to teach us from that exercise was the fact that even with restrictions, in fact with restricts, a writer is able to write with more ease. Given a wide scope to choose from, a write would be very confused by all his choices. When given instructions and boundaries, it is easier and a faster process and it also shows us just how creative the person is. He gave us the example of Shakespeare’s play, like the 14 line sonnet that he used for ‘Romeo and Juliet’. He also imposes such restrictions on himself, which makes it easier for him to write his plays.

The last ‘exercise’ of the day was to watch a movie of the play ‘ I B…’ ( I forgot what its called!) which he wrote and acted in. It was a version of Mc Beth that he composed for young people aged 12 and above. I was really tired so am guilty of having lost the battle against my eyes occasionally. BUT, I did manage to get the main jest of the play and what he was trying to bring out. The play was basically written from the perspective of the smaller characters from Mc Beth. In fact, B is the Mc Beth (main Characters) best friend. This is the story portrayed from his point of view.

One may think ‘Wah! Monologue! So boring!’ Well, no, not really. His monologues (all his plays) include the audience. No, the audience is not asked to come up on stage and do an impromptu act, but they are involved in the play. In this one for example, Tim describes to the audience what they are in the play. He asks them to play Mc Beth by describing to them the character they are playing in detail and how the character feels. In this way, the audience does not need to have any previous knowledge of the play yet have fun with it.
Since the target audience for this play was young people above the age of 12, it had to be able to capture and hold their attention for 45 minutes! One of the ways he did this was to add in a very visual side of the play. Because the play has a lot of blood mentioned, with a lot of gory scenes involved, he brought on stage a sort of cauldron with a liquid that looked like blood. During the play, he splattered the blood on the white sheet of paper behind him. This created a very visual aspect for the audience. Also, while describing his own death and how he was cut up into pieces, he beats himself up with a blood stained hand.

Another thing I realized was that music was a very important part of Tim’s performances. In “I B….” his son played the electric guitar during the performance. At some points, it was meant to add on and build the atmosphere of intensity, hatred and anger of the character. At other times, it signified the change of scene.