Final Performance Evaluation

The show in general was extremely successful and I feel that the majority of the cast members put a lot of effort into their characters and their performances. One of the aspects I feel we improved greatly on in our last couple of rehearsals as a collective group was our pace in different scenes, this was extremely apparent in our final performance, as we managed to get the show done a lot quicker than we had done in rehearsals. I feel that the majority of us managed to capture the pace that our characters would interact and carry themselves and presented that effectively to the audience.

I felt one of the main strengths of my performance was the fact I knew all my lines and my cues confidently enough to be able to focus on her character and the way I was going to portray her story towards the audience. Not needing to worry about my lines as I knew them well was extremely useful as I could put the extra effort into portraying her character and playing my objectives during my performance. Another aspect I felt that was one of my strengths was that I used my voice effectively enough to articulate my words and I felt that I used enough projection that my lines were able to be heard by everyone in the room. This was one of the main struggles for the cast in general as I found that during rehearsals it was quite hard to hear some peoples’ performances and so I tried to put in extra effort to be able to be heard clearly and I think I carried that out successfully in my final performance.

If I had had more time to work on Ranyevskaya’s character, I would have gone into greater detail about her characterisation and more specifically, her physicality. Though, I feel I managed to portray the basics of her characterisation through my physicality – I feel this was one of my biggest weaknesses and I would have liked to developed it in increased detail and really have explored the way she holds herself. I found it quite hard to approach Ranyevskaya’s physicality with bold characteristics, as her physicality isn’t completely specified in the text, and I didn’t want to stray too far off the text. However, I would have liked to have had the chance to spend a little more time developing a further understanding. Another aspect I would have liked to improve and have explore further, if I had the chance, would be the way Ranyevskaya uses her voice. I that was another one of my weakest areas as I feel I barely touched on the surface and would have liked to have experimented more using my voice to explore layers of her character.

Over the term I learnt that naturalism is hard to portray on stage and it takes a lot of understanding to do it effectively as you have to learn and get the grasp of many different techniques to staying true to the character. Initially I found this quite challenging to understand, however, over the term my understanding developed through the different workshops that took place and my own research. By understanding the different key aspects of naturalism, I could use different techniques effectively in my final performance. I think I managed to achieve the most naturalistic performance I could at this stage in my acting development in my final performance; however, in the future I would like to explore naturalism further and develop my skills.

Stanislavsky’s different naturalistic methods helped me develop a deeper understanding of my character, I explored different areas of my character that I usually wouldn’t have approached or looked at in great detail previously. I felt his exercise of ‘Magic If’ really helped me explore the different ways Ranyevskaya may react in different situations. This helped me develop a further understanding of her character and how I would present that in my final performance. Another method I found useful was his use of objectives and splitting scenes into units. By giving Ranyevskaya an overall super-objective it meant I was able to understand her character in better detail and develop a deeper understanding on how to present that on stage. My development was also helped by splitting the singular scenes into different units and giving each unit a different objective – this meant I understood Ranyevskaya’s motivation in each scene and what she was trying to achieve. This was one of my main strengths in my final performance as I kept my objectives in mind throughout the performance and I feel I managed to portray my objectives towards the audience effectively enough to present a performance true to her character.  

I felt that one of the strongest performances was Felix's portrayal of Yepikhdov. He managed to portray the unhappiness and hurt behind Yepikhdov’s character really successfully, causing the audience and myself to feel sympathetic towards the character and his situation. He held Yepikhdov’s physicality in such a way that presented him as of a lower status than those around him, he seemed drawn in on himself and sad, presenting his inner turmoil over his feelings towards Dunyasha to the audience. However, contrastingly, there were also scenes where he played Yepikhdov quite confidently – such as; in his first scene with Lopahkin or with his argument with Varya. This added different layers to Felix’s characterisation of Yepikhdov, presenting the idea that his character is a lot more refined than what may be displayed on the surface.

Overall, I feel that my performance as Ranyevskaya was successful and I am extremely happy with our final performance. I think I managed to portray her character to the audience through different aspects of Stanislavsky's techniques whilst staying true her character. I have learnt many different skills over this term which I had never had the chance to develop before and so I have gained new knowledge and experience that I will definitely use in further roles and their development.

Costume

We decided that Ranyevskaya would wear a simple black pencil skirt, a shirt or blouse and black heels. This way we chose a costume that is simple and easy to replicate and wouldn't take much effort to bring together. To colour and add characterisation to the costume, Ranyevskaya will have piece of fur that's unique to her character. This costume managed to capture Ranyevskaya's personality and her outlook on life, she's generally possesses a simple and positive outlook on life and doesn't need anything extravagant to wear. However, I feel the fur helps add and portray the status of Ranyevskaya's character and how she perceives herself. As we aren't approaching the text traditionally, our costume has to be relevant as if the story would be taking place right now - this is why we're in more modern wear rather than traditional 1900's costume.  

Maria's characterisation of Dunyasha is comical and I feel it captures exactly what Dunyasha's character is like. Though she is a house maid, it's clear she has a good relationship with the members of the house and I think Maria presents that effectively. She managers to capture the good relationship Dunyasha has with Anya and the dynamic of their relationship together. She also works with physicality to enhance her lines and add bolder colours to her character. 

I think Romy and Jack's scene is one of the strongest in the show, both actors use their voice effectively to display what the scene is trying to portray. Romy manages to capture Ranyevskaya's pain from her past and they both work well together to portray the character's relationship. Their character choices are interesting and make their performances more dynamic and true to the characters. Their characterisation comes through the lines and physicality effectively, giving the audience a good idea about who they are playing and what they are going through. They also manage to connect to the audience in such a way that causes the audience to feel sympathetic towards the characters and intrigued to find out who their story ends. 

Character Work

What my character has said about other people;
"...And Varya's just the same as before - she looks like a nun."
"My beloved child."
"...You're the same as ever Lenya."
"...He's a good man"
"You were still a boy before, just a nice young student."
"...My poor Varya feeds everyone on milk soup to economize.."
"Why do you drink so much, Lenya? Why do you eat so much? Why do you talk so much?"
"My husband died of champagne - he was a terrible drinker."
"That wild man - he's ill again, he's in trouble again."
"This is the room where our poor mother loved to walk.."

These are all different examples of Ranyevskaya talking about other people. I feel like Ranyevskaya generally has a positive outlook on life and tries to find the good in everyone - "...And Varya's just the same as before - she looks like a nun.". This may because of her need to find comfort and love in everything she does to chase away the events of her past. But, that can sometimes be pushed to the limit and taken advantage of, for instance with her husband - he took advantage of her broken state, this causes her to speak about him quite negatively. This also gives me an idea about her relationships with other people and how I should approach them. I feel like she has strong relationships and cares very much about the people she loves - "My beloved child."

What other people say about my character;

"She's a fine woman. Easy, straightforward."
"I felt so sorry for her, I put my arms around her..."
"Then she tips all the waiters a ruble each."
"Mama couldn't bare it. She escaped."
"I love you like my own flesh and blood."

These are different examples of other characters speaking about Ranyevskaya. I feel that many of the other characters are sympathetic towards Ranyevskaya, almost pitying her for the events that have happened. However, it's clear that many have great respect for her and obviously look up to her as a leader. I also feel that some characters may see her as quite a clueless woman who's just trying to escape the demons of her past - this is suggested by Anya's comment about Ranyevskaya throwing her money around and paying the waiters - "Then she tips all the waiters a ruble each.". Looking at what other character's say help me get an idea about how other character's perceive and see my character and how that may influence their relationship.

What I say about myself;
"I slept in here when I was a little girl."
"I gave myself to him."
"I tried to poison myself...so stupid."
"If only I could forget my past."
"Today my fate is being decided...my fate."
 "Laugh at me I'm such a fool"

From what Ranyevskaya says about herself it's clear she hasn't managed to let go of her past, it's still following her every move - "I slept in here when I was a little girl." "I gave myself to him. I feel that this causes her to try and prove to others that she's okay when really it still effects her greatly. She tends to obsess over issues and events that have happened in the past, dwelling on them until they become too much for her. I feel like she hasn't really found her place in the world yet and she knows it, she keeps jumping from place to place ignoring what she leaves behind - "I tried to poison myself...so stupid."

Ranyevskaya Character Work

• Who am I? 

I am Lyubov Ranyevskaya, I am mother of Anya and Varya. I'm a kind and caring person, though, I may be a little blindsided by the pain I've experienced in the past. I care about my family and my friends, I only want what's best for them. I'm strong and stand by my ideas and it's hard for myself to be influenced by other's points and idea's. I come from a well off background, well educated and well cared for. Though, the losses of my son and my husband have both affected me greatly and my view on the world. My second husband was another bad experience to add to my list, I ran looking for comfort after death of my son and found a man who lured me into a sense of false hope then ran off with another woman. I know that there is pain in my past but I chose not to face it, almost because I don't want to influence my negativity onto other people's lives. However, this causes me to be a little single minded about certain subjects - such as the issues concerning my estate and cherry orchard. My upbringing here, birthed many memories attached to the estate and orchard - influencing my reluctance to sell it. I often have trouble letting go of things due to the emotional influence it's had one me.

• Where am I? 

I'm sitting in my old nursery. The furniture is almost the exact same since I last saw it, the colours are bright and bold - perfect for when I was growing up. There's a window at the back of the room, looking out onto the estate's orchard, I used to look out of there everyday when I was younger. However, there's raining beating down against the window at this moment, it's quite cold. Sitting on one of the cupboards, in the corner of the room, are a few of my old toys from when I was younger - they're worn from over time but they provide a state of comfort. This rooms means a lot to me, I have a lot of memories attached to this place, many a day I spent playing in here with my brother. I like to come and just sit and observe the room, just being in here transports me back to my childhood days.

• When is it? 

It's a cold Wednesday morning, the sun has barely risen. It's mid may, one or two days after I arrived back at the estate. I felt restless in my bed and felt the pull of the nursery. 

• Where have I come from? 

My home country is Russia, however, I've been in Paris for the last couple of years, fleeing from the death of my son. There I found a husband, but that feel apart and is now in the past. I barely made a real home for myself in Paris, so on my return to Russia I had very few things to bring back with me.

• What do I need? 

 I'm searching for comfort. I'm searching for love. I'm striving to find a place in the world that I can be completely comfortable in, I thought that was Paris - it wasn't. I'm searching to find love, whether that be in my family, friends, a lover or the memory of this estate. I need to settle back into my old home and move on with my future. I need to face my problems and the tragic events in my past, however, I do not know this consciously. My actions are all motivated by the fact I need to settle back, and find comfort. 

• Why do I need it?/Why do I need it now? 

I need it and I need it now because all the issues in my past are banking up and becoming too much for me. The looming sale of my estate and orchard is casting a shadow everything I do, I know it's something I need to do but I need the comfort it gives me. I need that in my life at this moment, especially after the events in Paris. I could feel myself losing it in Pairs, being away from this estate and my family. I needed to come back right away, I needed the comfort and the love that comes with this estate. I need it to block out everything that's happened to me, I need it so I can have a sense of stability and comfort in my life. 

I found blocking and running through this scene a little more challenging as I have more lines and more actions to carry out. However, I feel this scene really begins to explore Ranyevskaya's character in greater detail. I begun by giving her the objective for the scene as; to settle in (same as previous scene) but also to ignore and block. She wants to settle herself into her estate again, "...I shall never survive this joy..." as she's evidently extremely excited to back in such a familiar place. But when Lopakhin brings up the issue of selling the orchard, she instantly reprimands it with the fac the orchard is a valuable heirloom, "...my dear forgive me but you don't understand." This also gives an indication of the relationship between Lopakhin and herself as they are both quite fond of one another but Lopakhin is extremely oblivious to how Ranyevskaya feels about ideas. Acting this scene out really helped me develop an understanding of their relationship and how I should portray that as effectively as I could.
I action-ed my first chunk of lines, from "Is this really me sitting here..." to "...still alive." as to validate and to communicate as she's validating how much this estate and the country means to her "Oh, but I love my country...", she's really expressing how much this place means to her and the emotions she's attached to it, "...I did nothing but weep..". She then communicates with Firs and greets him with a large amount of respect, "Thank you, Firs, thank you, my dear." - this gives me an understanding on how she communicates with him and her use of "dear", gives me an idea about how much she respects him and his place in the house hold. I action-ed my next set of lines, from "I can't sit still..." to "my dear old table." as to ignore and to reminisce. Ranyevskaya makes an instant point of ignoring what Lopakhin, giving an indication of her feelings towards what he's trying to say - this could also suggestion something about her characterization; that she ignores many of the issues facing her in her life. This gives me a better understanding of her personality and how she's paying more attention to the physical objects of the room, "..my own dear bookcase.." than to the issues Lopakhin is trying to convey. This piece of dialogue also gives me a chance to explore how she moves about the room and how she holds her physicality. She's further reminiscing on the objects presented to her in the room, using words such as "..my dear old.." to convey how much they mean to her.  I then action-ed "I don't entirely..." as to question as she's questioning Lopakhin and herself if she really is hearing what he's saying, she can't quite comprehend what he's proposing. I action-ed the next set of lines as; to respond - She instantly defends the orchard and presents how high in value she holds it "..something rather remarkable.."  -this shows the extent of her emotions and attachment towards the orchard. I then action-ed my last line "And what's happened..." as to question as she's almost asking a question that she doesn't want to know the answer to, it feels as if she's nervous the orchard will fall into the future of the dried cherry recipe.

 The first part from "Is this really me sitting here..." to "They wrote and told me.." I split into one unit as it mainly involves Ranyevskaya finding her footing in this scene and settling back in her old familiar surroundings, familiarizing herself with objects and a room from her past. Her main objective in this objective is to settle in and feel at home again. Then I split "I don't entirely understand..." to "...then it's our cherry orchard" into another unit as it mainly involves the discussion about the issues surrounding the cherry orchard and the character's reactions to Lopakhin's suggestion, Ranyevskaya's main objective in this unit is to ignore and constantly block out what Lopakhin is saying.  I put the rest of the dialogue into one other unit as it moves onto Firs talking about the old cherry recipe they used to use in the past, all the other character's are exasperated by the discussion beforehand. Ranyevskaya's main objective in this unit is to question Firs' statements about the recipe and try and forget all the issues surrounding the sale of the orchard. It's almost as if she uses Firs as a distraction, rather than face the situation full on.

    After working through the scene with everyone, it really gave me a better understanding on how Ranyevskaya feels when returning to the estate and how she interacts with the other characters in the scene. I decided that her objective of the scene was to; settle in and find her place at home again. I feel she doesn't want to think about any of the negative things that have happened to her in past, she's trying her best to ignore them and so she is mainly focusing on the fact she's back in her childhood home, "And now i'm like a little girl again." This meant that I had a better understanding of Ranyevskaya's mindset and the motivation behind her movements and lines. I action-ed my first line "The nursery!" as 'to address' as she is addressing the fact she recognizes the room as the nursery she grew up in. I then action-ed the next line from "The nursery..." to "...now I'm like a little girl again." as 'to develop' as she then develops on her feelings towards the nursery and the memories the room conjures back up. I then action-ed the last few lines from "And Varya's..." to "...I recognize..." as 'to greet' as she is re-finding her footing and familiarising herself with everyone again. She connects all the people she greets, Gayev, Varya and Dunyasha, with the estate - so as she's fimiliarising herself with the room again, she's also re-learning all these old faces. By actioning her lines, I really understand how to perform the lines as true to my interpretation of her character - it helps me develop my understanding of her characterisation and how she approaches different lines and characters.

9    As Ranyevskaya's role in this scene is limited, there's only two units to which I split up her lines. I felt that the first section, from "The nursery.." to "And now i'm like a little girl again..." falls into one unit - as it is mainly Ranyevskaya is reminiscing about the room and conjuring the memories that it brings, her main objective in this scene is to simply settle back in and to feel at home again after being away for so long. Then from "And Varya..." to "I recognize.." I falls into a different unit as she has moved on from thinking about the room to greeting the people she hasn't seen in a while. Her main objective in this scene is to greet her family and friends after being away for so long. 

B

Character work

We got into groups of people playing the same character, others playing Ranyevskaya are; Rhianne, Romy, Lauren, Robin and Eloise. We first began by discussing what we all thought Ranyevskaya's super-objective is and how we may approach to incorporating that into our performance. We looked at many different aspects, such as; to reminisces, to escape her past, to retain her present, to care for others and to love and be loved.

Ranyevskaya is extremely guilty of running from the problems in her past rather than facing them full on, this is suggested by the fact she ran from the orchard to Paris, yet once things fell negative in Paris, she ran back - "Paris is over and done with." This is futher supported by how she still mourns terribly over the loss of her son when she's triggered by Trofimov's presence on the estate "..my little boy was drowned..." - This suggests that one of her objectives could be 'to reminisce' as she keeps constant thought on the past and events that have happened previously.  But she also states "If only I could forget my past!" when referencing to the orchard and nursery, this could suggest she does want to move on and can't help think about the past - which could make one of her objectives "to escape her past" and "to retain her present." However, I feel that she will be forever unable to escape the past she keeps running from and live in the present as she fails to move on and face the situations that have happened to her and she does so, they will be chasing her.

Overall we decided that Ranyevskaya's super-objective is "to be loved" as we felt that she seems to be searching for love and acceptance everywhere she runs to, whether that be love found in her family and her children, the orchard and the estate or romantic love in a significant other. Her need to find love is suggested by events in her past, "I married a man who made nothing of his life but debts" - This suggests that in her first marriage she perhaps got caught up in the idea of being a wife and being married to a man that she didn't possibly know him as well as she thought she might have done - you wouldn't give you heart to someone and marry them if you thought they'd just turn yours and their life into debts. She then says her "..misfortune was to fall in love with someone else..", this instantly gives the idea that her relationship has negative connotations and perhaps, again, she didn't think it through before falling into love and a relationship with this man. She says "..I gave myself to him..." suggesting that she completely gave her all to this man and their relationship, this could be because of the loss she suffered with her previous husband's death and she felt the need to fill the void he left behind as quickly as possible. After moving to Paris, her new husband robbed her "...robbed me openly..." and completely threw her aside to be with another woman - this gives the idea that the relationship was perhaps one sided and that Ranyevskaya's desperate need to be loved blindsided her. She found herself filling with need to return home to her family "..yearning for Russia, for my daughter!.." suggesting that as she couldn't find love to fill the empty void in Paris or out of Russia, she comes home searching for it in the place and in the people she knows best - back at the estate, hence the cause of her return. All of these different points give the sense of her longing and desperation to simply find love and be loved which, I feel, is definitely something that drives her character's sub-objectives and smaller goals - henceforth why it is scene as her overall super-objective.

Looking at her objectives and super-objectives really helped me understand her mindset and how I may approach portraying that in rehearsals and the performance. By understanding her super-objective I can begin to understand in more detail why she may react to certain things in the way she does and why she may say certain lines and how they may effect her character overall. It also helps me understand the relationships between her and other characters and why how these relationships may be effected by her super-objective. It really helps me understand the motivation behind everything that Ranyevskaya does and I will definitely build further on it as I go further into developing her character and my scenes.

We then looked at Ranyevskaya's physicality and how we felt we should approach performing her. She's a motherly character and cares for her family and children very much, this could influence her to be quite calm and light with her physicality - echoing a stereotypical mother's physicality. But, to portray the tension that riddles behind her character, we decided that she often fiddles with things and occasionally places her hand on her head to present how tense she really is. I really liked working with the other Ranyevskaya's to develop on her characterisation and physicality as it really gave me an idea of how other people may perceive and approach Ranyevskaya's character themselves. Bringing our ideas and suggestions together really helped us develop creative and successful outcomes that are extremely useful in understanding and developing her character in all aspects. It also means we all have the same sense and ideas about the character so when we are all portraying her separating, it's obvious that she's still the same character.

The Cherry Orchard castings.

I was cast as Ranyevskaya in two different groups for two different scenes. 

Group 2
Anya - Sophie
Ranyevskaya – Willa*
Varya – Imogen
Gayev – Michael*
Dunyasha - Maria   

Group 3
Ranyerskaya – Willa
Firs – Beau
Gayev – Michael
Lopakhin – Brett    

I started off but working with group 2, we read through the entire scene and began discussing what's happening and what our character's main objects are within it. 

• In the first scene, the characters are exploring the estate after returning, Ranyevskaya is especially taken by seeing the nursery and the memories attached to it. She seems over come with different emotions, greeting everyone she hasn't seen in a while; 'And Dunyasha I recognize.' 
• Ranyevskaya and Gayev then leave and the scene carries on with Dunyasha telling Anya that Trofimov has arrived and is staying in the bathhouse. "The day before yesterday Mr Trofimov arrived." 
• Anya and Varya then greet each other quite tearfully and Anya begins to explain the conditions in which she found their mother in in Paris. 
• Our scene ends with Anya and Varya discussing the fact they have to sell the estate off. "In August they're going to sell the estate off." 

I have many different opportunities in this first scene to explore the relationship between Ranyevskaya and other characters. She greets the other characters quite emotionally, "And Varya's just the same as before." I feel her character is overw    helmed from coming home and seeing everyone again, she's been running from her past for so long and now she's back to where she spent  It also begins to explore the idea of Ranyevskaya's emotional attachment to the estate. As soon as she steps into the nursery she instantly connects it to sleeping in it when she was a little girl - this gives the sense that Ranyevskaya focuses a lot on the past and has a large sense of nostalgia surrounding her character. 

I then worked on the other scene with my other group. We then read through the entire scene and began to discuss the main plot pointers and objectives. 

• The scene opens with Ranyevskaya settling into being back at the estate and thinking about the memories and emotions attached to it ""..my own dear bookcase.."
• Lopakhin begins to propose that they cut down the orchard and build holiday cottages on the land to avoid selling the estate. Ranyevskaya shows imitate dislike and negativity towards this plan. "Cut it down?..." 
• Lopakhin explains to both of them that if they don't come up with a situation fast, then both the orchard and the estate will be sold. "...if we don't think of something..."
• Our scene ends with Firs and Ranyevskaya discussing what they used to do to make profit out of the cherries grown on the tree. "..they'd send off dried cherries.."

This scene begins to explore Ranyevskaya's emotional attachment to the orchard and how that may influence her reluctance to give it up. She immediately rebuffs Lopahkin's ideas about selling and cutting down the orchard as she claims that it is the only thing of interest - "If there is one thing of interest...". So, although selling the land is the smartest option - Ranyevskaya see's it as too important to even give up. This gives me an opportunity to think about her characterisation and how she places a large amount of sentimental value onto the orchard as well as how i would incorporate that into my portrayal of her.

This scene also explores her relationship with Firs and Lopahkin. She seems extremely fond of Firs and says she's "very glad to find you still alive.", this gives the idea that she knew him quite well in the past and associates Fir's with the estate. I think they have quite a positive relationship and they both respect each other that although Fir's is just the butler, Ranyevskaya respects the fact he's worked here the entire time and knowledge he possesses. On the other hand, Ranyevskaya's relationship with Lopahkin comes off extremely uncomfortably and negatively as she almost seems disgusted by his suggestion - this suggests that they don't have a very close relationship as you would generally respect someone you like's view rather than rebuff it so bluntly. This gives the sense that Lopahkin is quite oblivious to other's around him and can't sense the beauty in the orchard - perhaps his need to prove himself against his family's history as serfs fuels his want to sell and make business.

Laban

We started the lesson by looking and exploring Laban efforts. Laban efforts is a system developed to understand and colour the subtle inner characteristics and how movements are carried out. Though the movements may seem similar such as; flick and dab -  the strength, control and timings of the way the movements are carried out enables them to be developed into separate actions, all with a distinct purpose or title. The movements are all made up of different combinations of the actions; direct or indirect, sudden or sustained and strong or light. We carried out an exercise that allowed us all to explore the different effort action, this enabled me to get a good idea of what each action consisted of and what type of character I would apply it to. I found focusing on each movement one at a time really helped me develop a distinct understanding of what the effort was presenting and how to portray it to my best ability.

We then split into pairs, I worked with Tia, and chose a movement each to portray. I chose flick and she chose float - I chose flick because I found the movement really interesting as a characteristic for a character role and wanted to explore it further in relation to how a flick character would respond and interact with others. Through the effort flick, I created a character that had somewhere important to be and generally looked down upon others. I incorporated flick into the character's physicality, flicking my hands physically out to dismiss Tia's character. I found developing a character around one single action extremely interesting to carry out as it gave me an understanding of how much a subtle effort can effect the entire character. In future roles I will definitely use Laban efforts to aid the development of my characters' characteristics, I will incorporate the efforts into the movements and physicality I choose to portray these characters with, using the effort as a guide to who the character may be. Exploring these different movements really helped me understand different aspects of characters, and different and interesting ways - such as Laban efforts - to explored and develop them.

I then worked with the other josh on the first mini script. We begun developing the scene by looking at the dialogue and how it would be used in a situation. We both felt that the dialog was extremely awkward and it felt a little forced to try and shape a scene around, so we approached it as a challenge. We first established the 'Who, Where, When's of the scene, deciding that our characters were two friends who had met up to go out for food - then after A returns from the bathroom, 'hello', B decides they need to leave to catch the bus home. We decided to make A and B friends of the same age and same interests to make the two characters easily relate to each other as it can't be assisted by the (very little) dialog. 

We then focused on developing the 'Want, Do, Feel's of the scene, adding more detail to colour the scene and the characters. Character A's objective was to catch the bus home with character B, but character B decides to stay behind and finish their drink rather than leave. This causes character A to feel disappointed and respond negatively to character B's response, B senses that A is disappointed and tries to compromise when saying "Well I'll see you then" - referencing that they should make future plans.

We then gave our lines of dialog an action to really add detail to our characters and the situation they were in. We both started with 'to greet', as both our characters were saying hello to one another, then i moved onto 'to confirm/answer' as I was responding to what B had asked me and I confirmed my answer to his question. After seeing B's disappointment, I decided to add the action 'to compromise' - this was to portray that my character genuinely felt bad about letting B down and tries to lighten the situation by suggesting to meet again in the future. However, that fails and B is withdraws from the situation and leaves, to which I finished the situation with 'to respond/to lighten' as my character is still trying to make up for the situation even as B says goodbye. By adding actions onto the each line of dialog, it really helps me as an actor understand the objective behind every single line, which therefor gives me a more detailed idea on how I should perform each line to it's full potential and get the point across. By watching other group's take on the scene, it shows just how different every scene can be with the same exact dialog but by just changing the situation and the actions on each line. The actions on the lines really help shape the detail and personality of the scene.

I then worked on the next mini scripted scene with Felix. This scene was a lot more straight forward and I felt it was a lot easier to approach as the dialog had more of a narrative to them. We began by looking at the 'Who, Where, When's of the scene to develop the situation and the characters. We decided to develop a scene between two friends who were meant to meet casually at the park but the meeting is derailed by A confessing the fact they've fallen in love with B. This helped us develop a background story for the scene and give the characters within the scene some personality and back story.

We then looked at the 'Want, Do, Feel's of the scene to add further detail to the situation and the characters. A wanted to tell B how they feel, and so they do, which isn't meant positively so it leads A to feel disappointed and saddened by the situation. As soon as A expresses their feelings towards B, B's main objective of the scene is to get the hell out of there and as far away as possible. We then added actions onto the lines to give our dialog purpose and detail. I action-ed B's first line as 'to question' as B is initially shocked by A's confession and I wanted to portray to the audience how off guard this caught my character. Then with B's second line, I action-ed this as 'to consider/to respond', this was because my character had to quickly respond to A's confession whilst also taking A's feelings into consideration. These actions helped add personality to the lines and helped me perform the scene more effectively as it had more detail and story behind every word spoken.

When then went on to developing the subtext behind each line and the scene on a whole. The subtext behind B's response is that they feel that A has taken their friendship the wrong way and doesn't want the confession to ruin the friendship they already have, B feels pity towards A. By developing subtext for the scene, it meant we were able to tell a different story through the words that were unsaid, this adds greater detail to the scene and gives us as actors more to work from. I found working and developing the subtext extremely interesting as a completely different story can be told through the subtext of a scene that's completely left unspoken by the dialog. I understand that by changing the subtext behind a scene, it changes the dynamic of the scene on a whole and could possibly change how I, as an actor, may choose to portray the characters and the situation they are in. 

Overall I found these two exercises extremely interesting and useful to work through whilst developing a scene and I will definitely use all these aspects in future projects.

Me and Josh developed a scene using our two chosen characters that we saw on the way to school, using the developments we created a scene where my character, a teenage school girl, asks if the seat next to a man, a kind father, on the bus was free. Using the aspects of Who, Where, When, we originally developed a scene that both characters were travelling on the bus at an early time in the morning. However, we then decided to switch it to a busy train so that the man felt required to ask if the girl wanted to sit down - thus, encouraging conversation.

We then used 'Want, Do, Feel' to further develop the scene and characters. I gave my character the want to get to school, she does this by getting on the train - where she meets the obstacle of the man's questions - and ends up feeling annoyed/uncomfortable. This really helped me add characteristics to my character and really develop and being to understand her personality. It also meant that there was colour to the scene, it had detail that only I, myself as the actor, would know. It helped our characters relate and a communicate with one another as it gave us an idea how to play the scene as successfully as possible to relate to our "Want, Do, Feel"s.

We then moved on to putting 'actions' onto every single line of text spoken, giving us an understanding on what our character is trying to communicate with their very few lines of dialogue and how we should perform them to the audience. Josh's character's lines were generally action-ed as 'to question' and 'to persist', this was shown through the fact he persistently (all in good nature) asked questions even though the girl obviously didn't want to have a conversation. I action-ed my first line (thank you) as to respond, as my character responded gratefully to the fact the man gave up his seat to let me sit down. But, this changed quickly when he kept asking questions to which I gave my lines the actions of; to answer. My character answered shortly and with very little detail in her answers - this was to portray her feelings to the audience and how bothered she was by the man trying to start conversation, she just wanted to get to school and didn't need this obstacle in her way.

We then switched the want of the scene and experimented with how differently our characters would respond to that. So if we switched the objective of the scene to something like both our characters just going shopping - not having somewhere important to be, like school - our characters interact in a completely different way and perhaps my character would be a lot more open to holding a conversation. This whole exercise was extremely interesting as it really helped me understand how giving your character a want and an objective in a scene really colours and adds detail that you need to make it as believable as possible. By adding all these aspects whilst I was developing the scene really helped me understand my character and why they're in the situation they're in and how they would respond to the obstacle presented.

Magic If

Having to choose someone I saw on the way to school to adopt and act as proved to be quite a task as I pass quite a few people on my journey to school and I generally don't pay much attention to them. I decided to choose a girl I had seen opposite me on the bus to school who kept checking her watch and seemed extremely anxious. She stood quite turned in on herself, almost as if she was trying to make herself as small as possible. I chose her as it looked as if we were similar ages which made her easier to relate to and adopt. Her posture and her need to check the time regularly gave me, as an outsider, a chance to guess at her personality which I perceived as quite nervous and/or shy. 

We had to completely embody the character and were given different situations to act in as if we were, for example; what if your person found a 20 pound note on the floor or what if your person had just stepped in dog shit?. This exercise was an example of Stanislavsky's method of 'Magic If' - Stanislavsky believed that by understanding 'Magic If' it can aid the actor in making new discoveries about their character and that it is essential to make their performance believable. This exercise really helped me understand the person I was trying to portray as it really made me think and put me in their shoes - I wasn't thinking as myself when I reacted to these situations, I was thinking as the character.This really helped me understand how to get into the mindset of my character, how I had to completely open my imagination up and approach new ideas to explore about my character which I can use in later performances. It's an extremely important exercise that really helps the actor get under the skin of the character, really managing to understand the personality traits and the characteristics of the character they're trying to portray. It's an extremely useful exercise that I enjoyed carrying out in class and I found very useful when developing the character I was trying to perform - It's an exercise I will definitely use in later rehearsals and development in future roles. 

"I don't believe you"

We did an exercise as a group where we gave someone a situation and they had to perform it to us as believable as possible, if the task wasn't fulfilled, you were able to say "I don't believe you!". The first situation was given to Rhianne and she was to play a teenage Muslim girl who just found out she was pregnant. I thought Rhianne successfully performed the situation and chose to use very little movement and no dialogue, it effectively portrayed the feelings of dread and regret. However, personally, I would play the situation more panicked as no doubt a pregnant teenager would be panicking at the news.

Secondly, Josh was given the situation of having to act as if he was experiencing a heat wave. Josh had to go through and rethink his performance three times before the majority of the class were satisfied with it. I personally agreed with the class and felt that the third time he had really managed to capture how one would act in a heat wave.

I really liked the exercise and I hope we get to do it again soon as it really showed how much effort you have to put in and how much you have to think about to make the audience really believe what you're trying to portray. You can't perform to an audience by putting little effort in to make it believable, you've got to work hard and really think what it is that will make the situation successful.

naturalism ˈnatʃ(ə)rəlɪz(ə)mt noun 1. (in art and literature) a style and theory of representation based on the accurate depiction of detail.

After growing tired of seeing the same old over-exaggerated performances, theatre practitioners - largely including Stanislavsky - began to develop a form of theatre that would portray a perfect illusion of reality. This making taking everything melodrama stood for and turning it on it's head; contemporary and realistic situations, large ranges of characters portrayed, a singular world - so no gods, ghosts or spirits intervening and realistic style of acting.

My group developed a piece that was centered around an office, playing the characters as realistic and authentic as possible. We chose to use an office setting as it was such a normal setting that has very few dramatic events, our piece was only around forty seconds in length to place emphasis on making the piece more realistic in the timings. This was quite challenging because we didn't want to be tempted to create characters that are overly dramatic and fall into melodrama rather than naturalism, so it was about making the piece as real as you would expect if you walked into a working office.

I really liked watching how other groups took the challenge of creating a naturalistic piece, they all managed to capture the reality of the situation they were trying to perform effectively and interestingly. It was really captivating to see how situations so dull and so ordinary can be performed in such a way that doesn't become boring to the audience.

We then had to take the pieces we had created and develop them into a piece of realism theatre, this meant we had to focus on the main goal of the piece and almost clip away at the unnecessary parts. The main focus of the piece was the fact one of the office worker's computers wasn't working, so we took out all the irrelevant parts from the beginning and the end, and developed the focus on that one plot point. This was quite a bit of a challenge as it was hard to decipher which parts were relevant and which parts needed to be taken out, but we managed to carry it out.

I've never really had the chance to look at these forms of theatre in great detail so these two exercises helped me develop a deeper understanding of what naturalism and realism stand for in the theatre world and how to carry them out effectively and efficiently as possible. I've developed skills and understandings of these two forms of theatre that I am looking forward to exploring further in my acting development and eventually in my career.  

melodrama ˈmɛlə(ʊ)drɑːmə noun 1. a sensational dramatic piece with exaggerated characters and exciting events intended to appeal to the emotions.

Looking at melodrama in 2/9/14's lesson helped me develop a 

understanding about what type of theatre people would've been experiencing during Stanislavsky's (and Chekhov's) time. Melodramatic theatre's plots were coloured with dramatic and basic archetypal characters, for example; The Damsel in Distress, The Hero, The Mother, The Villain, The Henchman and The Prince. These characters are all quite basic and overplayed to a dramatic extent, this doesn't allow the plots to develop into anything further than an exaggerated story without much depth. Due to the fact the storylines were extremely similar in plot and characters, performances would often grow boring and repetitive - this was evidently something Stanislavsky wanted to see change.

A piece of melodrama has many factors that need to be considered when performing in order for it to be successful, for example; loud voices, confidence, constant expressive body language and characterisation always performed at a level 10. Using these aspects whilst developing our piece of melodrama meant I was able to experiment and push myself in ways I haven't been able to before. I've never really had the chance to go full on dramatic with characteristics, so this was a chance for me to push myself to performing as bold and to the best of my ability.

Memories & Places

Chekhov uses memories in regards to places multiple times throughout The Cherry Orchard at many different points in the plot. Probably the most prominent point would be Ranyevskaya's attachment to the estate and orchard. She's extremely reluctant to give up the estate as it contains too many memories from her past that she considers too valuable to give up.

The exercise we carried out of describing our favourite place in the world, really helped me understand how valued memories are. The exercise helped me connect with Ranyevskaya's point of view and understand her mindset. It was really interesting to listen to other people's description of their favourite places and the range of places people chose to describe. It's really interesting to see the importance of places to people due to the memories associated with them and the way Chekhov used it within The Cherry Orchard managed to build a personal connection with me. As the exercise demonstrates, it's a situation that almost every single person can relate to.

After splitting up into different groups to create a piece in response to Chekhov's use of memory and place, my group decided to look at how memories are made in the sense of growing up around the same thing. We chose to look at the life of a girl who plants a tree when they are young, and how that tree stays with her as she grows old - the tree grew alongside the girl. This signified how the memories develop over time and how they turn into something so significant, they stay with you forever.The tree then split into three parts, mirroring the girl at three different points in her life, this again established how memories grow over time. This links with Ranyevskaya's character as her reasons behind not wanting to give up with estate is due to memories made whilst growing up. I think we successfully developed a creative and imaginative way to explore and develop the understanding behind Chekhov's choices within The Cherry Orchard and develop skills in order to respond to the text.

I really like the overall choices made by the entire class to respond to memories and place - i really liked how 3 out of the 4 groups decided to incorporate the aspect of a tree into their piece, it really managed to colour the link between the piece and The Cherry Orchard. The last group, who chose to not use a tree, chose to vocally portray how memories of a certain place can be warped and forgotten over time. I really liked the contrast this created against the other 3 groups and how it managed to tie up the piece, perfectly capturing what the whole piece was trying to portray.

The other class' pieces all managed to present different themes from the The Cherry Orchard in creative and extremely interesting ways. I really liked the way Mr Rennison's group used different levels and incorporated dance to present their theme of status within The Cherry Orchard, using dance within the piece was a unique way to express the limitations within different status'. How many people were restricted to only act one single way unable to express themselves in the way that they wanted to.

Overall, I managed to develop skills to respond to a text effectively and create an experimental piece whilst working with others' ideas. The whole development of the final piece helped me develop a deeper understanding of The Cherry Orchard and the themes within.

My response to Bella Martin's text on Konstantin Stanislavsky.

Stanislavsky's approach to acting and preparing to get into a role uses different, interesting and creative techniques that, once I've learnt to use them properly, will help and aid me as an actor to develop my skills and apply them to roles to the best of my ability.

His method of breaking down the scenes into separate "bits" places more focus onto the main objectives of the scene. It enables you to look in great detail and determine the motivation behind every piece of text. These two techniques help the actor create a deeper and more authentic understanding of the mindset of the character. This is extremely important for me to understand as an actor as i need to effectively be able to understand the future roles i play's objectives and motivations in order to portray them as authentically as possible.

This is further aided by Stanislavsky's method of asking "what if" questions, this helps me think in the mindset of the character and explore their reactions to certain situations rather than my own. This will help me develop a further understanding of how to perform the role rather than just impersonate the playwrite's text. Stanislavsky's method of looking at the character's obstacles is another important aspect to focus on as this helps develop a further insight into the character. This aims to focus further onto how the character responds to these obstacles and how these responses helps shape the characterisation.

I think Stanislavsky really managed to capture a technique that really helps the actor get underneath the skin of the character - something I hope in the future i'll be able to achieve. His different exercises help develop an understanding and is a creative approach to authentically adopting the character.

His exercise of improvising a scene from memorising the main facts from the script and improvising from them really helps develop a deeper understanding of the text. Once that exercise is further explored, then it creates a deeper connection between the actor and the text as the actor's ideas and the directions from the text soon merge into one. By slowly building up with lines from the script into improvised scenes really helps develop a transition from your own ideas and spoken words into the character's ideas and spoken words. It helps develop a further understanding of the character's mindset and i hope will aid me in adopting the character.

It's extremely important that I, as an actor, understand every aspect of Stanislavsky's method in great detail and that I am able to carry them out as effectively as possible. His exercises help develop a personal link and understanding of the character and text which I really aim to able to carry out and honour to the best of my ability. I'm looking forward to exploring further into Stanislavsky's method and I hope to develop into a more well rounded and skillful actor that is able to use his method to perform and create theatre as successfully as possible.

My response to Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard

Chekhov managed to capture a modern life and modern situations in his classic play that could have easily taken place in our age. The interesting and captivating situations and characters he creates are relatable in such a way that enables to me draw my own conclusions and relate to my own life.

For example; Chekhov's choice of Ranyevskaya placing sentimental value onto the orchard due to the memories linked with the location, is something that occurs in practically every situation. Everyone person to live in the world - myself included- will have placed sentimental value on something (may it be an object, place or person) and then valued it above practicality. Much like Ranyevskaya who values the fact the estate holds so many memories over the fact that if they sold it, they would be able to pay off all their debts. This is cleverly used by Chekhov as this further creates a personal link between myself and the text as I relate greatly to her character and the situation she is in.

I personally feel sympathetic towards Ranyevskaya's character as she's experienced multiple losses due to the death of loved ones in such a short period of time. It seems as though her character tries to find refuge from her emotions in the familiar setting of the estate, yet is reminded of her son's death with the return of his tutor. It seems as though she can't escape from her problems not matter how hard she tries and I think Chekhov uses this effectively to almost portray that no one can run away from their demons, she's going to have to face them and be practical about the situation, otherwise they're never going to stop chasing her. She's obviously struggling to accept the emotional upheaval and so it creates an aura of sadness surround her and her character's actions. By creating this character, Chekhov manages to engage me further into the play as I almost hope for a positive resolve for her character.

Another aspect I really like that Chekhov used is his use of contrast and contradiction within his characters. For example; Gayev is a caring and kind uncle and brother but can almost come off as snobby towards those who aren't part of his class. He's 50 years old but his actions often echos those of a child. I find this aspect interesting and captivating as it creates a deeper and more layered personality of the characters.

Chekhov explores many different types of relationships throughout The Cherry Orchard, ranging from family relationships to romantic. The different relationships further establish the personal link between the audience and the characters as they're able to find comfort in relationships we can easily relate to. I also find this really interesting as it almost shows that no matter when, these relationships will always exist, whether it be in 1904 or in 2014.

Chekhov manages to mix both the tragic and comedic elements through the play, rather than sticking with the tradition of either tragedy or comedy. This expands the amount of emotions he's able to explore throughout the play as he doesn't need to restrict himself to just tragic emotions or just comedic emotions. This causes the audience to feel an array of emotions whilst experiencing the piece, creating a deeper and richer response.

The play ends leaving the audience with a large sense of loss due to the selling of the orchard. Although they are able to solve their money problems, many of the characters are unhappy with the outcome. I felt quite a bit pity towards the characters as they had to give up the estate, something they valued so highly, in order to pay off debts. It's almost Chekhov is presenting the idea that society will always value practicality over sentimentality, money over love. This is another aspect that can easily be translated from 1904 into 2014, almost suggesting that this mentality has, and maybe will never change. The play ends on a depressing note with the death of Firs, as he's left forgotten and behind.  Chekhov's use of symbolism and choosing to let Fir's die, gives the play the sense of finality and a clean finish, tying up loose ends for the audience that may have been left open. Chekhov uses his character's death to represent the estate and that with Fir's death, the estate and the orchard's story, dies with him.