Performance Evaluation

Personally I thought our first performance in the New Theatre was the best we'd done so far. I felt we used the space better than in previous rehearsals, spreading out in the opening scene to make for visually pleasing staging which allowed all of the audience to see most of the characters on stage from the Thrust theatre arrangement. This therefore helped to keep their attention, helping them to stage engaged with the action. 

I thought that the whole cast kept a good focus, with everyone making sure they heard their cues and kept themselves in the world of the play. 
For the first time doing the fifteen minute long open I thought that we maintained a strong focus, although I found my mind did wander slightly, although not allowing me to stray from my given task of cleaning guns. I was never longer than a minute or so before I refocused focused and watched out for our next moments of action. I thought this work really helped to portray the factory atmosphere, aiding the audiences future understanding of what was going on.

Specifically in the second French scene I thought it had dramatically improved, as we all brought a lot more energy, bouncing off each others vibes to display our characters anguish at English advancement. During our the scene I found that I had improved my own character, able to maintain a stronger regal posture and attempted to remain strong and clear with my lines to give the essence of my Kingly persona, although I do feel as though I may have rushed some lines due to nerves.

At times the nerves did cause people to rush lines or mumble them but the nerves also meant that everyone wanted to do they're best, meaning that as it was our first time with an audience we were also very excited, giving the play a lot of energy.

One small thought I had was that I was conscious that in the beginning scene Jasmin should've been brought forward before myself because I thought it may have looked to some audience members that I was Henry instead of her and bring her forward first would clear up any confusion that it might have caused.



The performance in Brighton required a lot of focus from everyone because the layout was slightly different to how we'd rehearsed and with no rehearsal available before the performance we all had to adapt our movements individually. We had to make sure we paid attention to the different exits, mainly relying on common sense to sort out any differences. Every member of the cast and crew also had to remain focused at all times as the backstage was on show to the audience and with anyone messing about would've distracted their attention away from the play.
Those on stage had to be especially focused, more so than before, because performing in the cafe meant that we had to contend with the general public who weren't always savvy to what was going on resulting in regular distractions that required the cast to work around effectively.

I also found that in our French scenes we could go for it even further. With conditions meaning that we had to raise our voices to even be slightly heard by our audience it meant that our scenes, which mainly had an air of anger to them, could be almost shouted, giving them a more angry feel that I thought gave us more energy to play about with the scene.   
I personally didn't feel completely ready to perform in Brighton because I was unused to the staging and we'd not rehearsed in a week which I also heard was an opinion reflected by many others. However I felt the differences gave the performance a whole new energy that helped to make the performance more concise, without scenes dragging for longer than necessary, helping to maintain the play's flow and the audiences attention.



From the two performances I think there are a few thing that we can take to our performance in Stratford, one primarily being projection, especially due to having to perform outside. As the theatre will be outside it will not have the same acoustics that the New Theatre had, and as we found out in Brighton we must project to be heard to retain the audiences' full attention. It is therefore important to avoid having backs to the audience, because with no wall for the sound to bounce off the sound with not reach the audience.
We must also make sure to be prepared to cope with issues that might arise from the different space, as well as issues from the public, weather and props which are all things that can't be planned for. This requires us to work professionally, maintaining a constant focus and the ability to be flexible if needs be. 

Eighth Session: The tech run

During the technical rehearsal it was predominately focused on sorting out the back stage departments jobs, however it was an opportunity for the cast to familiarise themselves with the set before the dress rehearsal so then we could just focus on our performance.

One of our first notes for the rehearsal was about the opening, asking us to make more of the space and spreading out to make more it more aesthetically pleasing. Originally we'd been rather bunched together leaving huge gaps at the forefront of the stage because we weren't used to performing in such a large space. This meant that we had to utilise our spacial awareness which required us to maintain a good focus, however for the second section of our tech rehearsal a lot of people struggled to take it as serious and lacked the same energy because they weren't in costume. I felt this occurred as some people struggled to commit to their characters as costumes had previously aided their characterisation as well as being slightly jealous as they weren't in costume like the rest of us, which we all saw as a novelty.
With it also being a larger space it meant that we needed to make sure we projected our voices as Shakespeare's words are the most important part of one of his play to be able to understand what it occurring.

Scenes also required a lot more energy to start a scene in order to mask the fading energy as the previous scenes actors leave. This helps to keep the audiences attention and allows the other actors to absorb this energy, thus bringing more energy to the entire scene.

Another important note was to keep our eyes on the stage to avoid breaking the illusion of the fourth wall between the stage and the audience, this keeps the audience engaged in the performance as they begin to feel as though they are looking into the play's world. By looking into the audience it can also put the actor off, especially if you make eye contact or see someone you know which could cause some one to momentarily break character or those that are less secure on their lines to mess up. 

Regards to specific props and set in for myself, it was noted that those gathering the two crowns at the beginning needed to plan the journey of where their crowns were and to whom they were giving them to. It was important to go through this journey before the play begins to make sure the crowns have been set in the right place.
The speed of setting up the French scene was also found to be too long, causing a lull in energy so in conclusion we had to come up with a more efficient method, giving each person a job to move a crate or table. The scene also had to be started a little earlier down stage to avoid losing the audiences attention and distracting them from the changing set. 

To make sure it was accurate to the context it was set in (a World War I ammunitions factory) it was also key that no jewellery or nail polish was worn because the small details matter as otherwise the audience will disengage due to the lack of continuity and the limited care and commitment the cast had for the piece.  

A note for most people was to look at their lines in verse, seeing what different meaning it might give and saying them the way Shakespeare intended. This would help us to understand what we were saying, making the characters more truthful.


 

Seventh Session: Both run through notes

General notes:
In general it was found that the dynamics of the runs were rather slow, often because people had a lack of knowledge of their cues or entrances/exits. It was also effected by peoples' apprehension towards their lines, which was down to either not knowing them well enough or becoming overwhelmed due to the fact that it is Shakespeare. I know that to begin with I found it daunting tackling his work because it often includes language that's not regularly heard in life so it can be a struggle to make sense of it. Therefore I find it helped to be confident with the lines, knowing them off by heart so that you can find your own meaning in it as it's performed as well as doing your own research and translating it. This also helps improve the colour in the lines because you feel as though there are a wider variety of ways to respond which allow actors to play about with the lines, although maintaining it's true meaning.  
   
An issue I found was I struggled to maintain character if set was out of place but Simon pointed out that by moving it to where it should be with confidence and in character, the audience will be kept engaged because the façade isn't broken. Similarly it's important to solve issues that might arise creatively and in character.

It was also suggested to, as well as knowing what your own character is saying, to know what the others in your scene are saying so that you can react accordingly because this will make the scenes more believable as in normal life people always have an opinion. 
Simon also acknowledged that we needed to pay more attention on proxemics, being aware of each other and the space to make sure that it is pleasant for the audience to see, and keeping the stage alive instead of reverting to boring lines.

Throughout the rehearsal it was found that when people messed up they broke character, which in turn meant that any characterisation they'd brought to the scene was lost  and consequently saw the energy leave the scene. Therefore its important to style out mistakes, covering them up in character because in a real performance you can't ask for your lines.

I found that we needed to avoid moving too much, limiting it to just moving when necessary and if it had a purpose because it helped it to appear more natural and didn't over complicate it. It meant that actors were able to listen and respond to what was being said, not always having to face the person you're talking to which makes it more real and believable for audiences.

In the opening & the tableau:
We need to make sure that the movement in the beginning scene doesn't become naturalistic, maintaining its stylistic nature to highlights the idea of the factory's machinery.

When Lauren is singing it is important to listen to the word, giving the impression that although maintaining to work we do react to the song, letting it trigger a response. Maybe it encourages sad or hopeful emotions as it talk about our loved ones being so far away. The song needs to spread across the room gradually to the camaraderie of the women workers, showing how they've all be brought closer together due to the war. 

When Chloe calls for a break we need to remember to use the whole space, so that when the chorus begins they're watched from the whole stage. It's important as the staging is in traverse and with us spread across the stage, more of the audience will be able to see our reaction and will then consequently be drawn to the chorus as well as feeling more involved in the performance.

For the tableau it must be a gradual acceptance of ideas because it must give the impression that its not a regular occurrence so maybe guns and jackets need to be grabbed after some hesitation as the idea begins to settle. However this mustn't be overplayed because we need to be ready to hit the position by the final line in the prologue. For my character I choose for her to begin apprehensive of what's going on but after being puled into position she eagerly joins in and starts morphing into her character. I like that each person has a different journey towards the final tableau as it makes it interesting to watch and the energy bounce off each other, which I feel makes my own performance better. 
We then must take time to leave the stage so that there isn't a crush to leave, which might distract away from the scene that's being performed.


Pg 18 notes:
In my first scene as King Charles of France (Act II scene IV) it was mentioned that the staging required to be set up by the chorus as well as others from the French court, minus myself and the Dauphin. This should help to speed up the process, although if it does take a while we must stage the scene down stage which helps to keep the play flowing and the audience's attention captured.
Another character note is that I must remember to retain a regal posture because although I can sit like a man, it shows little of his kingly status. This requires me to improve my posture, walking and sitting with a straight back and shoulders back. 

Final scene:
Focusing on characterisation I could include an edge of bitterness in my final scene (Act V scene II) due his country's loss of the battle, however my character also holds the knowledge that with his daughter marrying the King of England his grandson will one day become the King of both England and France. Therefore although he may hold some resentment towards King Harry and his court, he is somewhat content with the results.

Rallying the troops

This is a brief clip of the ending of Jasmines final speech as King Henry, showing her rallying the troops with strong voice and war-like spirit. She is seen effectively gaining the support of her "soldiers" as her words are spoken clearly, making sure people can understand her requests. 

This is the same scene, however a few weeks later, after more rehearsal and you can witness how Jasmines character has progressed to an even strong one. She stands with more confidence and a more kingly presence, showing her status above the rest, which is also represented through her good posture. 

Stage Layouts

I found it helpful to draw out the stage layouts for my different scenes to familiarise myself with them so that I could become comfortable in the space. It took away my apprehension of working in the space so that I could focus predominantly on my characters, therefore giving them a more truthful portrayal that would be more enjoyable for an audience to watch.   I could also perform on the stage reflecting the characters' relationships with it, again aiding the authenticity of my roles.

By also including my entrances and exits it helps to make me more efficient, being in the right place at the right time for my scenes. This helps my own performance, as well as others, because each scene can flow into the next without hindrance of people late on stage which helps people to maintain their characters.

Sixth session: Physical Workshop - the battle (includes character notes)

The Battle- 
The French and English army were split between stage left and stage right, where from there people from each side rose over the tables to cross the stage with guns raised. This idea was to pay homage to the men that went "over the top" in WWI and each line of soldiers symbolized the waves of men that would've made that journey. It was important that we maintained a strong focus, with regimented movement that was in sync in order to give the impression of the army. By next combining the two sides as they approach the front it gives the impression of the ambiguity of the soldiers, suggesting how all sides are equally effected by war which enforces our want to show the futility of it. 

To begin it was difficult to make our movement as regimented as it could be, however with an improved focus it started to give a clearer war like impression when our movements became clipped and in time with each other, mirroring those of soldiers. People also struggled to hold the guns correctly and some of us with small pistols did look like "Charlie's Angels" but after being told and gaining more confidence wielding the weapons the images improved.

To exit/dress the stage it was suggested that some people die or get injured on their way back over the trenches (tables). From this we discovered that too many people wanted to "die" and blocked the staging for others, it also saw that the only level really used was low to the ground. This saw Olivia and myself to decide to get injured up on the steel deck, helping each other to safety, in order to give a wide range of proxemics. The varied image then looked more interesting for the audience and widened the space so they could see more of what was going on. 


Character development (aside) -
I feel that as my lines weren't completely solid I was unable to fully commit to the role, so by learning my lines better I will be able to focus better on the character and the words I say will become more instinctive. I can then look into my interpretation of the lines, enabling my self a better understanding of what's being said as well as it being more accurate.

For the speech which begins "Where is Montjoy the Herald?"I must remember to have a strong king-like quality, with a powerful voice, as though to rally him men to fight the war. This is the moment in the play when Charles is annoyed with what Harry England is doing through France, which causes him to seek vengeance and insights his attempt to encourage France to fight back. I get the impression he may not completely believe himself but he needs to remain strong for his country so with his Kingly experience he is able to keep a strong stance. Therefore making it important that I deliver the lines correctly.

I felt that I held a good man-like quality to my body, however it needs to be more refined because Charles is a King and would have more sophisticated behaviour. I need to also remember to keep my chest open, with shoulders back, which will help to show my status and character as a man. 

Fifth session: Physical workshop - in the factory (and the beginning tableau)

In the factory-
We worked on the movements in the factory scene that opens the play,  having some props which meant that people no longer had to mime their movements. I was however still miming so Rachel and I briefly worked on making it as honest as possible. As I mimed pushing a heavy lever around, Rachel asked me to imagine it's weight, was it difficult to pull and easy to push or visa versa, or maybe it was all quite heavy or all easily moved. To show me what it might feel like she got me to use her hands as a lever pushing and pulling them round. With the impression in my mind I was then able to apply this to my movement, able to re-enact it displaying similar tension within my arms, which I felt made it look a lot more believable than prior Rachel's help.

 

She also suggested to me that I use my whole body, as the girls in the factory might have done due to their lack of strength compared to the previous workers. However it made it more interesting to the audience watching, as well as giving it the stylised effect Simon wished for.

Tableau- 
The tableau begins  part way through the opening prologue, on the line about "two mighty monarchies", when the chorus pull Jasmine and myself to the front of the stage. Looking confused we must listen to what is being said and start to come around to the idea of performing the play, gradually adopting our Shakespearean characters.

On the final lines of the monologue we must all begin to slowly hit our positions for the final tableau. This is gradual move so that the audience can't see what the image is until we strong hit the final position on "our play". The image we display is a war-like pose replicating the patriotism and battles that are seen within the play, as well as showing what the Chorus has just described.
We struggled to get the movement in time, which I think is because we could not fully understand the reason for the image and what it was showing, however with an improved focus we eventually managed to do so, freezing in unison.