Theatre Journal
Over the weekend, we each looked at other IB Theater students' collaborative projects and examined their videos and journals. One group's work that I particularly enjoyed was titled "Insomnia" and dealt with different ideas exploring the concept and what teenagers experience during high school. The main thing that I enjoyed about the provided process journal was how it was split half and half; one half hand-written and the other half typed, which gave a somewhat of a personal touch which I might contemplate adding to my own process journal. Another element I liked that they utilized was flow-charts to express their process of ideas. Even though I'm not a huge fan of flow-charts I found it useful to help comprehend and understand the reasoning behind their work. I also liked how they incorporated their own drawings as well as pictures from during the process as well as the performance itself. One of the final things that I really enjoyed and will probably include in my own process journal, was the simple aspect of lists, whether it be of elements, concepts, or even just adjectives and highlighting the important parts of each, mainly because I've found our group using this method a lot already.
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today in our devising time, after having figured out the layout of what we wanted the show to move off of, we chose to go the stage that we'd be working on and make some mock up set designs. We first made s big poster board with the stage on it and used post it's to put different elements on the stage and then after we solidified them we drew them on the the poster. Having previously worked with the school's lighting board, I went to the light booth so we could map out the lights, in regards of which light was where, what number channel it was on, and if it was a warm, cool, or neutral tone. I then pulled up each light individually to see where it hit on the stage and made another map of this. Afterwards we made another poster with the light map and included an aerial view of the stage as well and decided later after adjusting the lights, that we would add in where each light hits with their specific color tone on the map.
This last week with in our devising group, we sort of got stuck in a rut because we knew what we wanted the theme of the piece to be and we knew how we wanted to make the audience feel we just didn't know how to get there and what was the next step we needed to take. In one of our sessions previously, we had discovered some sort of set up for how we wanted to create moments and how to link them to each other. We tried working on and exploring setting ideas and what physical elements we wanted to include on stage. We knew we wanted to create some type of real world and nostalgia world. We discovered that we wanted some type interaction to happen were a physical object would change in some shape or form that would trigger a character's sense of nostalgia. After exploring what each of our objects, sounds, or actions would be we then figured out a simple set up and guiding concept for our piece where one of the characters is moving and them as well as the other characters would experience their own idea of nostalgia while cleaning out the house.
Today during our devising session, we first started with a centering exercise consisting of a sort of meditation to get into the right mind set. We then were sort of at a somewhat stuck point in our process because we had developed our theme and ideas, but we just didn't know what to do with them. I then came up with the idea for the group to just write short excerpt, poem or paragraph about what we thinking of when we here nostalgia. We then went on to discuss our written ideas and try different exercises to potentially come with moments for our piece. This is what was produced from the exercises
For our next assignment, we were given a worksheet with a table that was to explain the process that we chose to use for our devised piece. There was a table with examples and we were given a table of our own. We filled out the portion where it asked for information on the preparation for the project. But we then decided that we wanted to have an organic and more spontaneous process that comes to us in the moment so we chose not to fill out the rest of the table until we finished those aspects of the process.
This last Friday, a few of the IB Theater students went and saw the 5th Avenue Theater's production of "Man of La Mancha", a musical based on the novel Don Quixote by Don Miguel de Cervantes. The premise of the musical is that a man, Cervantes, and his servant have been imprisoned by the Spanish Inquisition. While in prison, the other prisoners decide to put them on a trial of their own, where if they're found guilty, the rest of the prisoners get to take their personal possessions. One of Cervantes' possessions happens to be a play that he wrote which he chooses to produce as his defense, making it a play within a play. Because the musical is written about the Spanish Inquisition, it would normally take place at some point between the 1500's and the 1800's. The production team chose to set the musical in a high security prison in present day, but does not designate the country. There were times that I felt like the prison concept worked and then other times where I felt it didn't because of the way they used the container. Even though the concept was sometimes difficult to grasp because it was a play within a play, the set itself and the lighting were outstanding and amplified each scene. We also had to take into account that it was opening night of previews for the musical, meaning that there might be further changes made to the production, so it explained for some questionable costume choices and sound difficulties that occurred. Overall, it was a very memorable and enjoyable experience.
To achieve a sense of trust and main goals for our devising group, we examined a list of agreements and then went on to make a list of our own. One of the main ideas we liked to focus our agreements on was to be somewhat professional and try to maintain a sense of focus knowing that we all tend to goof around. We wanted to keep the aspect of goofing around for each of us, but in a sense that it would still help move the project forward. We also wanted to maintain a sense of respect for one another because we are all loud, boisterous teens who can say harsh things but not really mean them; we wanted to make sure we think before we say things to one another or to our group as a whole. We also knew that we aren't necessarily independent people, but we each tend to take charge of a project without even knowing it, so from now on we have to really consider each other's ideas and that we wouldn't be able to experience and complete the project with out one another and their ideas.
To me, devised theater is a bag of tricks that is technically under the category of theater, but is so much more than just theater. It's a way of researching, questioning, relating to, and finding things out about society and the world we live in. Devised theater is almost the "other" category to put something in. You're able to do, literally, what ever you want with it and explore so much. Theater for me, has always been a way to discover new points of view; devised theater is a way to express my point of view as well as the others around me. When watching a devised piece, my favorite question to ask is why and where? Why did you choose to do that? Where did the inspiration come from? The aspect I like the most about devised theater is that there are no limits, and if there are, you get to make them.
In previous projects I have been involved with, there are many different approaches to take and ways to get to the final product. In one of the after school's plays, Secret in the Wings, the original script was a devised piece, so for our performance we were able to have a more free way of developing our ideas and characters. We would look to the script as our main resource. In the devised piece I worked on for my sophomore year, our group wrote a main script to go off of and used that as our backbone of the project and would edit and change ideas as the project would go on. For both of these pieces there were different containers that we worked with and usually had a main point or theme to get across.
When my current devising group looked at other professional devising companies, we noticed the main idea of trial and error. We looked at a Fevered Sleep, a devising company from England who constantly reinvents the process as well as the project to make each new experience different. Their main objective is to share their discoveries with the outside world, and for the outside world to make people think and get a sense of familiarity. For another group, Fork Beard, they usually focused on the sensory aspect rather than a thought or idea and usually tried to achieve a main theme or aesthetic. I've always been a perfectionist ever since I was little. I try to make things to the best of their ability and aim for excellence even though I am one of the laziest people I know. I like to create extensive work that accurately portray my ideas. I've also been known to have grammar that is top notch. When starting a project I like to find a certain angle to go from or a certain concept that will be the main focus of a project and go from their. Many a time I have too many ideas and can't always finish my ideas the way I would like to. I like to have a solid foundation of whatever I'm working on so I know the basics of what I will be depicting. Ever since I was a little girl I danced, but stopped in sixth grade. Because of this, I have a knack for rhythm and movement when it comes to voice and physicality that I've grown to love and respect. As well as using my own body in for purposes of musicality, it is what also has blossomed my love for the electric bass and ukulele. Whenever hearing different songs, I've loved being able to find a tab or watch a cover over and over again to make my own interpretation of the song. Along with being interested in art and music like most other theater students, I also have a fascination with the blossoming of flowers, specifically rose hips. I've been riding horses since fourth grade so that's a major passion of mine as well. Being a horseback rider has also enlightened me on other sports that are also not as respected. I've always enjoyed learning new people's perspectives and how to interpret their thoughts and ideas.
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