29.01.20 - FEST - Mrs Williams

POINT PLOT / STORY LINE

• Physical Theatre Prologue (feat. Monologue from James)
• Exploring relationships with characters
• Overhears customers
• Louis and Amelie on stage together - they already live together and are planning the wedding
• Harry loves Meredith
• Meredith is a control freak and gets a kick out of controlling
• Charles wants to split Harry and Meredith because he's in love with her
• Charles tells Harry a lie that Meredith has been seen with the bar man
• Fight between Harry and Frederick 

Little things that pick at Harry

• Harry smells Meredith's perfume on Frederick 
• Phone gets left behind and receives message from Frederick
• Harry finds a piece of clothing that isn't his
• Left phone behind when she's gone to yoga, yoga teacher texts asking when she will get there
• Getting a message from a nickname / unisex name
• Leaving phone behind - message from Frederick saying 'you left your bag here' when she was at the bar with Harry
• Meredith goes to bar and bar tender pours drink and says something a bit flirty or personal which Harry doesn't like
• Charles introduced Meredith to Harry and Harry was supposed to be the wingman to Charles but just stole Meredith
• Harry at bar, notification on Frederick's phone of 'M' - Harry thinks it's Meredith but it's Marie

5 Points

• Wedding planning
• The lies
• The fight
• Harry being left alone
• They separate and find their loyalties lie within themselves

More Detail

• All characters introduced
• All relationships introduced
• All relationships shown through the wedding planner (guest list, best man etc.)
• Dinner party announcement of engagement
• Charles tells Harry about little rumour
• Series of lies in physical theatre
• Spying on Meredith
• Gradually gets more and more convinced
• Conflict
• Wedding cancelled
• Harry being left alone

WHAT WE WILL DO NOW

Do point 5 last because it's a result of everything else that happens.

Makes more sense to start with point 1

Split into groups

Louis, Tristan and Amelie (James scribes)

Emma, Silvana, Hugo and Seth come up with scenarios about the conspiracies to do with Meredith cheating

CONSPIRACIES

• I saw her at the bar with Frederick
• Frederick was giving her free drinks
• They looked all over each other
• He took her to his room
• Instead of going to yoga class, she goes to meet her lover
• She can't keep her legs closed
• Frederick keeps winking at her from across the room
• She actually eats meat
• She's slept with everyone in this town

27.01.20 - FEST - Ms Trono

MAIN REHEARSAL VIDEO
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WARM UP
For our warm-up we spent some time playing Zip Zap Boing to get our bodies moving and to put us in the right mindset.  This gave us a lot of energy and set the tone for the rest of the rehearsal which was good.

OPENING CHOREOGRAPHY
We continued to practice our opening choreography and refresh our memories.  We then performed it and I think it went quite well.

FIRST MONOLOGUE
We decided as a group that it would be best to have James' character to be the first to speak.  He, as the bar tender, is pretty much the middle of all the action so I think having him open it would be most effective.  We also thought that it would be quite interesting to include some physical theatre around him whilst he is talking, which he could also be involved in.  We got this inspiration from DV8 doing Enter Achilles.
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James was having a hard time doing improvisation for this monologue so we hot seated him to help him think of subjects to talk about.  I think this has helped him, and the rest of us, enough to be able to write a monologue for James' character.
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22.01.20 - FEST - Mrs Williams

LOYALTY CHOREOGRAPHY

In this rehearsal, we tried to combine the poems we had from the previous lesson as stimuli to create more for our loyalty choreography.  I think the movement and poem helped give more context but if we were to use it, we'd need more direction because it needed to show some more emotion.

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Louis, James and Tristan.

• I liked their chair duet because it seemed effortless and I liked how fast and smooth it was.
• The movements in their chair duet were good.
• I liked how they intertwined their characters in the piece.

Hugo and Seth

• Their lift was controlled and smooth.

Emma, Silvana and Amelie

• The puppet section was creative and effective.
• The poem worked well within the piece.
• We showed a good storyline.
• We used different frantic assembly methods.

WHAT IF?

What if we intertwined our groups?
What if we had more than one storyline?
What if we include a monologue in the choreography?
What if we used the puppet movement to show Louis and Amelie's controlling relationship?

DEVISING NOTES

We took some inspiration by looking at different pieces of art by Damien Hurst and Tracy Emin, including Bedroom.  The idea of art being totally subjective is a great place to start a piece.  We used the piece Bedroom to create a short piece of theatre which lead up to the bedroom looking like the piece of art.


LOYALTY CHOREOGRAPHY

We spent some more time on our choreography with the poem but wanted to make it fit with our piece and the characters within our piece so we switched Amelie with Silvana and James took Silvana's place.  This shows the dynamics between James and I fighting over Silvana's attention.
After that, we created the potential opening scene with different Frantic Assembly methods.  We were in pairs to show the more dominant relationships between the characters.  The couples are, in order, Seth and Tristan, Silvana and James, Emma and Hugo, Amelie and Louis.  We each went off in our pairs and created a quick movement sequence with only one starting point which was the running into the scene.  I think we progressed very well and it turned out great.  I also like how we each had a line to incorporate in the movement.  I think the overlapping is really cool as well.
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21.01.20 - FEST - Ms Trono

In today's rehearsal, we used poems as stimuli for our choreography.  There was one poem on an abusive father to his son, one on a relationship and one on someone dying.  We chose the one by ... about someone dying but it was very abstract so we altered it to be more fitting to us which we will carry on in tomorrow's rehearsal. 

20.01.20 - FEST - Ms Trono

In this lesson, we spent a bit of time going over everything we had previously done.  We then rehearsed the loyalty choreography we made from last lesson and performed it to the group.  After that, we discussed the points of which group we liked.

Seth and Hugo

• They made the storyline very clear
• Their clamp lift was smooth

Louis and James

• Their round, by, through was really smooth and effective
• They incorporated the chair duets and lift well

Amelie, Silvana and Emma

• Our hip lift looked very effortless
• The chair duet showed the theme of loyalty

15.01.20 - FEST - Mrs Williams

BRAINSTORM

Loyalty

• standing by someone at all times
• cheating on s/o
• compromising beliefs to defend people you're loyal to
• brand loyalty
• biological family vs the people who actually raised you

IMPROVISATION

Tristan and Emma

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• Silent entrance - showing the desperation
• Narrative enigma
• Shift of emotions from angry to wanting help and advise

Louis, Amelie, James and Hugo

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• Amelie entering 
• Amelie being very controlling - parental controls on phone etc.
• Bar tender character knowing everything
• Relationship between Louis and Amelie's character
• Conflict in Louis - whether to stay in bar or go with Amelie - apparent in walk
• Wedding in the air but it never quite happen
• Possibly the morning of the wedding but doesn't go right.

Seth, Silvana and Hugo

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• Betrayal of trust 
• People finding out
• Misunderstanding - Hugo not knowing and then calming down once understood - shift
• Introduction of Hugo's character

5 POINT PLOT IDEAS

1. Bar scene with Amelie, James, Hugo and Louis
2. ?
3. ?
4. ?
5. All together at house party - find out all know each other

WARM UP

We did some warming up after lunch which we had planned in the previous lesson.  In our pairs we lead a warm up.  It was important to get our bodies warm and moving around as we were doing Frantic Assembly.

Seth and I lead some stretches and also used the song Roxanne by The Police.  Every time it said "Roxanne", the girls had to do a push up and every time it said "red light", the boys had to do a pushup.

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Amelie and Silvana also lead some stretches.

Hugo and Tristan made the group do push ups for 1 minute as well as sit ups for 2 minutes.

Louis and James used the song Love The Way You Lie by Rihanna and Eminem.  When Eminem was rapping, we had to hold a plank position and when Rihanna sang, we would break.

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At the end, we played a hand game where everyone lies on their stomach in a circle facing the middle with their hands in front of them.  Then everyone put their right hand over the left hand of the person to their right.  Then we would go round in a circle and everyone would tap the floor in order of the hands.  It gets very difficult because you think that your hand is next when it isn't.  Whenever someone messed up, they would have to get up and run around the circle before everyone has slapped around the circle.  If they didn't get there in time, they would have to do 10 push ups.

SWINDON 5

We tried a Frantic method from Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime.  We started by having all of us walking around in a big figure of 8, trying to weave us together.  Then we added in points where we would change from walking forwards to walking backwards.  We then had Tristan in the middle who's objective was to get our attention but we didn't give it to him.  His next objective was to pick up a book from the ground but the rest of us had the objective of not letting Tristan pick it up.  This could be used in a panicky scene where the person in the centre feels like they can't get a hold of something or they're frustrated.  We also thought that this would be good in a train station, a school hallway and a busy hospital.

LIFTS

We moved on to lifts by Frantic Assembly.  The first lift we looked at was the hip lift.  One person had to have their arm around the other's waist and squat down to get their hip below the other persons.  Then they would take a step and then, with pressure applied to the hip area, would lift the other person up.

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The second lift we looked at was the clipboard lift.  One person had to squat to get their hips lower than the other persons and then the other person would put their arm over their shoulder and clamp it together.

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The last lift we looked at was the one rock lift.  There were two people standing opposite each other and one was squatted down.  Then the other would go up to them and press down on their shoulders and lift one leg up.  Everyone else would then lift the person from underneath.  The person in the air could then let go of the first person's shoulders.

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LOYALTY CHOREOGRAPHY

Using this music as a stimulus, we then had the task to create a piece about loyalty using Frantic Assembly's methods.  We could use the ones from last week as well, such as chair duets and round, by, through.
This is what we've created so far.
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14.01.20 - FEST - Ms Trono

CHARACTERS

David Loth - rich playboy - Hugo
Harry Thomas - office manager for stationary company - Louis
Jeffery Wilkinson - delivery man - Seth
Charles Brown - physiotherapist - Tristan
Frederick Normandy - bar tender - James
Marie Trainor - charity worker - Silvana
Jane Stephens - dental nurse - Emma
Meredith Wood - homeopathic healer - Amelie

CONNECTIONS

Relationships
Jane + David
Meredith + Harry

Siblings
David + Jeffery
Marie + Jane

Ex's
Marie + Frederick - child together

Best Friend
Harry + Charles



SETTING

East London - trendy place
Many different social classes
Frederick runs the local pub - all go there every Friday and Saturday night

EXERCISES

Jane, David, Jeffery, Marie and Frederick

Jane and Marie at bar to see Frederick, David and Jeffery at bar also

Showing relationships between characters
Some conflict between Frederick and David
Obvious it's the first time David and Jane are meeting
Uncomfortable for Marie because she wants what's best for Jane but also wants to stick up for Frederick.

Harry and Meredith

Just moved in and unpacking together

Meredith showing Harry how to meditate
Says to help with anxiety
He follows and believes - shows love for her
Says she's good for him - seems kind of toxic
Unpacking everything for her - toxic
He tries to keep calm and obeys her - doesn't want an argument
Harry trying to make jokes - she seems a bit sensitive

MONOLOGUE

You know, I'm pretty happy with my life.  I've always had a safe, secure and loving upbringing and my family have become my best friends too.  I don't know if that's such a good thing though.  They're all I need so when they're gone I wouldn't know what to do with myself.  I do have David though.  He's the only person not related to me that laughs at my jokes.  He has supported me through thick and thin.  Especially with my long hours at my work.  I don't really have much to complain about.  David has introduced me to his friends who are all super cool but have a lot of opinions on things.  I don't mind that because I have quite a lot of opinions on things too.  It's very exciting being involved in all the different dramas.  I try to be trustworthy within this but I do have a big mouth, one could say.  Hahaha.  Anyway, I should be off to work now.  Bye David, see you later my love.

13.01.20 - FEST - Ms Trono

RELATIONSHIPS

• In-laws
• Bar tender and customer
• Friends
• Husband and wife
• Parents and children
• Siblings

HOT SEATING

Tristan - 30 year old physiotherapist from London.  He played rugby with 1 sister, 1 half-sister (21y/o) and 1 brother.  His dad died and his mum married again. 

• Charles Brown
• 30 years old
• Physiotherapist
• Likes his job - gotten better over the years
• Had a bad rugby injury and wanted to help people with injuries
• Broke shoulder and collar bone
• Watched his dad get pulled from a crashed car
• Dad pushed him into rugby - brought them close
• No one to talk to when his dad died
• 2 siblings (1 boy and 1 girl) 1 half sibling (girl)
• Not bad relationship with siblings but strange relationship with half sister
• Half sister - bit of a hippy

James - Bar tender

• Frederick Normandy
• 35 years old
• Bar tender
• Doesn't like his job
• Bar tending for 5 years
• He needed money and its an easy job
• 6 days a week
• Few consistent customers
• On day off - read, sleep
• Good upbringing
• Liked studying
• No more family 
• Only son left to uni and travelling 
• No siblings
• Parents died
• Doesn't have wife
• Lives by himself

Silvana - Charity Worker for homeless

• Marie Trainer
• 30 years old
• Work at homeless shelter
• Sell paintings for money
• Abstract pieces
• 100 euros per piece usually
• Has a friend that sometimes exhibits in gallery
• 1 old friendly guy - Jeremy - always has smile on face
• Older sister and parents
• Likes helping less fortunate people
• Been privileged and gone travelling and seen people less fortunate so wants to help
• Lives in Chelsea, London

Seth - Opinionated 

• Jeffery Wilkonson
• 42 years old
• Doesn't do anything because he made enough money to retire at young age
• Doesn't want to talk about how he made so much money
• Racing motorbike
• Crashed Harley Davidson and broke arm
• Well off upbringing - 5 bedroom house and private school
• 1 brother - passed away - overdosed
• Only brother on drugs
• He has done drugs - apparently all
• He can control himself 
• Rides motorbike in spare time
• Makes friends everywhere
• Very social
• Passing by London on the way to Scotland to see old friends from school
• Lots of enemies
• Off the radar
• Scared they will find him but has a way to protect himself

Hugo - far right

• David Loth
• 28 years old
• Doesn't work - money from father - real estate
• Plays golf and tennis
• Likes cars - fave - Lamborghini 
• Goes to car shows
• Mum passed away when young
• Older brother but he is in Australia - doesn't see him much
• Brother had bug fight with dad and went off rails
• Far right - wants Brexit and votes for Boris Johnson
• No love interest
• Doesn't date many girls
• Goes to strip clubs
• Quite social and laddish
• Worried girls are after his money

Louis - anxious stationary worker

• Harry Thomas
• Run an office for shipping stationary
• 26 years old
• Well paid job
• Spends a lot of time with fiancée 
• Go on walks, meditates, plays with grass
• Girlfriend introduced meditation
• Wants a stick insect because of positive energy - girlfriend said
• Didn't believe in any of this stuff before girlfriend but trusts her
• Still takes anti-anxiety pills without her knowing
• Had anxiety since he was young
• Started taking pills mid teen years
• Girlfriend says they kill brain cells 
• Girlfriend calls herself spiritual doctor
• She has no qualifications
• Been together 2 and a half years - known for a lot longer
• She is 24 years old
• He believes her theories etc.
• Friends aren't girlfriend biggest fan

Amelie - Homeopathic lady

• Mary Wood - changed to Meredith 
• 24 years old
• Doesn't work - only does activities she enjoys - gets money
• Renowned for herbal remedies
• Everyday grass - lots of benefits - drink like tea - back pains, dislocated knees
• Husband bet life on any remedies
• She needs to tell him what to do 
• Lived with mum - not any more
• Mother doesn't approve of her - narrow minded
• Practice goat yoga daily 
• Makes baskets out of feathers
• Never remembered father - died when 2

Dental nurse - Jane Stephens

• 26 years old
• Enjoys some bits of occupation - likes to talk to people
• Earns good money
• Good and well family - close family
• Has a partner - just dating
• Considers her partners lifestyle as fun
• Likes golf
• Likes her job a lot - long hours
• Had a little girl that almost bit her finger off (worst moment)
• Loves coffee
• "Doesn't need a lot of friends"
• Lost some friends because of boyfriend
• Would like to marry him but isn't going great at the moment
• Boyfriend doesn't believe in marriage

08.01.20 - FEST - Mrs Williams

ART

In the beginning of today's lesson, we tried to improvise a scene from Art and a scene that is spoken of but not included.  We were 2 boys short today so the remaining 3 staged the "waving away cigarette smoke" scene about Marc's wife Paula.  The 3 girls (including me), then tried to improvise Paula waving away the cigarette smoke which is mentioned but not included in the play.  This was all to help create a theme or characters for us to go off of.

DINNER PARTY

We then had an improvised dinner party with contrasting personalities to hopefully give us some more inspiration.  Louis, Hugo and Seth were friends from school, now adults, with their three girlfriends/fiancées/wives.  This exercise was very useful in developing some of these characters.  The improvisation part of it was funny and surprising with some people's ideas.

WARM UP

Later on, we did a warm up when we had a bigger rehearsal space where we could move around.  We started with finding 3 different focus points around the room, then we were just walking to each one.  Then we had to run from no.3 to no.1, slo-mo walk backwards from no.1 to no.2 and then go from no.2 to no.3 with our bodies as close to the floor as possible in creative ways.

CONTACT IMPROVISATION

In this exercise, we got into pairs.  With our pairs we had to find three points of contact on the other's body.  Then we added these together into a sequence and then used the Frantic Assembly Shift, Through, Round to add to the sequence.  After that, we explored eye contact.  This set of movements had so many different meanings just by changing the point of focus.  For example, when both people looked into each other's eyes, it made the bond between the people look very strong, but when someone looks away it could portray a lack of trust.  We collectively decided we liked this a lot and wanted to include it in our piece.

MONOLOGUE

There were 6 different sheets with 2 different columns to write a monologue in.  Each sheet had a sort of relationship between 2 characters and each column was to be from their point of view.  We then had about 2 mins to write whatever we wanted on the sheet and then move onto the next.  I found it quite difficult to start the monologue but after changing sheets, it got easier as there was already something to go off of.  After we went around to all the sheets, we read out the final product.  We got some pretty good monologues, characters and relationships to use for inspiration.  We liked the relationship between a bar tender and a regular customer the most.