|
REHEARSAL BLOG
(written by our work placement students from UEL)
Tuesday 6th April 2010 Today we started the workshops. The morning was spent playing ‘get to know you’ games and introducing the project. The whole basis of the project is story telling and taking on individuals stories from the past so we wanted to introduce these ideas right away. We encouraged the students to tell each other in partner’s real stories from their lives. In the afternoon we also introduced the basic acting techniques such as voice and movement. To work on use of action, gestures and meaning behind language we used the gibberish techniques which is where two students are asked to have a conversion without real words but just using sounds that means nothing. The students took this technique on really well and created huge actions and scenes that were both entertaining and clear. The afternoon focused mainly on the idea of games and hobbies that the students have now and what they know about what was played in the 1940’s and 50’s because it is key element of Pastimes. We asked them to brainstorm them as a group as we took notes. They then paired up to chose their favourite games and explain how to play them to the group. The students seemed really interested in this and it was fun to end the first session on a high note! Today we worked on telling personal stories in partners and then to the group. We started by encouraging the students to tell light-hearted, funny stories and then became more serious when we asked them to tell stories of bravery and overcoming problems. Some students were reluctant, which was fine but they still respected everyone else by listening intently. From this we introduced playback theatre techniques where students in the class listen to one individual’s story ad then took it on and re-enacted it. The care they took with this in order to create something true and reflective was really good. The trust in the group was really building. In the afternoon as a group we brainstormed the type of characters that we could find in a story, for example witches, wizards, kings and queens and the students were instructed to create stories inspired by the morning’s discussions on overcoming problems. The pieces that were created varied so much and we were really able to see the amazing imagination of the group. Today was also the day that the group started to create work that Dvora could use for the final piece. This morning we focussed on slowing the group down and focussing on movement. The energy of the group was amazing so we wanted to channel this into controlled and focussed movement. We began by playing exercises that relaxed the group and made them confident with their movements and body. We then moved on to mirroring exercises in partnerships and groups. This is a technique that is commonly used to create team work and concentration and it was really successful in this group. The images that they created were really spectacular and it was nice to see them working so well together as a team. In the afternoon we used the brilliant atmosphere that was created in the morning to work on some performance extracts that could be directly placed in the final piece. We worked mainly on the contemporary story that runs through the final piece and the group was broken into smaller groups and they worked on a situation where they could imagine how stories from the past are introduced. This afternoon was when the students really got a good understanding of what the project was aiming to achieve and the shape it was going to form. One piece was created by a team of three that focused around a summer festival that has been taking place every year since the 1940’s and 50’s until present day was really impressive and the practitioner was particularly inspired by this. In the morning we concentrated our exercises on character building and the emotions that would go along with these characters. We did something new today where we asked all the students to find a space on the floor on their own and lie back with their eyes closed. The students took to this really well even though it was really different to what we have done with them before. We gave them a situation, in this case the evacuation of young people in the war and ask them to imagine how they would feel and embody this situation themselves. As they rose we encouraged them to stay within the characters that they had created and start to move and think how they would if they were in the situation where they had to say goodbye to their friends and family. From these initial exercises we gave the students their first written account for them to devise from which was real stories of individual’s war time evacuation experiences. The students used the sources really well and re-enacted the stories really well. It was really nice to see them take the stories really seriously and empathise with the people within the story. They were able to do this because of the exercises they had done in the morning and they put this into their acting which made the stories really moving. Today we worked on writing down own stories about how we came to be living in Plaistow. The stories were all so different and some went back many generations so it was fascinating to hear. The stories that are being shared are crucial to the group and we are encouraging the students to ask their families more about them and even bring in family photos. In the afternoon we brainstormed ideas around prejudice and racism and the effects it could have. These brainstorming session are really important to the workshops because it allows the whole group to have one large discussion and encourages further thought that they can carry on to their scenes that they create. Today we went on to create performances in smaller groups about when someone new comes into a class and they are treated badly but eventually something happens in which the situation is resolved. I think that today was really important because it seemed that nearly everyone in the group had some experience of being new to a class which was clearly reflected in the scenes that were created. The techniques and skills that the students have been learning in the workshops as well as their school drama classes are also beginning to shine through without much prompting form the creative team. Today we worked on exercises to do with sound and movement and building large sequences together as a group. We went on to use music and song to tell stories. We gave the students opening sentences for the stories and then let their imaginations run wild. They seemed to really enjoy using this form and the energy was buzzing! In the afternoon we discussed as a group what a stereotype is and how it may affect people. The group was then split into two and given personal stories of a person’s immigration into East London after WWII, more specifically the Irish and the Bengali. The students read through these and created a performance based on the ideas and images that struck them the most. The scene were really good as we encouraged them to use their bodies to create objects as well as characters. We started the day with some lively warm-ups to get the energy levels up and then focused the group again by playing counting games. The atmosphere was really calm and it allowed the work that followed to be productive and interesting. As a group we then discussed ideas about what characters create a story, for example the protagonist, antagonist and a helper. The students were encouraged to create performances in small group around the ideas that we have been working on over the past 2 weeks. This was the perfect time for us to see how much the students have engaged with the ideas and history that we have introduced to them. In the afternoon we worked with telling stories from our own lives about how we came to be living in Plaistow. The true beauty of this group is that we are all from such different backgrounds with interesting stories. One of the creative team started by telling their stories on their history and then something brilliant happened… the students wanted to come up and tell their stories. The group became a safe space as we watched all the students respectfully listen and ask question of interest to each other. In the afternoon we brainstormed ideas on celebration, festivals and rituals. What made this discussion so rich and diverse were the varying cultures and nationalities in the group. Everyone was willing to share their celebrations and we were all really interested in learning something new. The students then picked out one celebration that interested them the most and they re-enacted it in within a story and with strong characters. It was interesting to see what the students became interested in and how they were fascinated with learning about and creating work to do with cultures and celebrations that weren’t their own. Today each member of the Creative Team who was a student on work placement ran a warm up and this provided variation in the warm ups for the students. We then moved on to smaller group where we created a story from scratch person by person and used the story to create a scene. The imagination the children showed was beautiful. Then we revisited the idea that we have worked on previously in the week of what the contemporary scene will be that will carry the final piece through. The idea was that the group have learned a lot more since they original discussed this and their ideas should have progressed and matured. The scenes that were created were great examples of the all the drama skills that we have been teaching them and the ideas and themes that we have touched upon as a group. |
