WEEK 4-LANGUAGE OF THEATRE, /PRODUCTION PROJECT: 17th September

Tuesday 17th September:

PRODUCTION PROJECT: First Half

 Today we were told to lay in semi supine and whilst doing this we then were told to go to a place in our minds that was a happy place. This exercise was beneficial as it allowed me to  be more open

Emotion memory:

We were told to lay down and relaxing in semi supine and had to close our eyes and be still for a moment, this was effective as it helped me to settle in the space and be aware of my own mind and body. After a happy place and you had to allow it t

Explore the room exercise as Kristine:

We had to walk around the room in neutral at first and then we ha to slowly start to  become the character. I was able to notice intricate details about the room and this helped me to build stories out of certain objects which I could then some how relate them back to/ make them have a connection with the character for example when I was sitting down on the chair I imagined it being Krisitne on the steamer on her way to unexpectedly visit Nora.

Actions/ tactics:

Actions are what you do in order to gain objective  which allow you to reach an objective and also whilst doing this you should be having an effect on characters

"Go to the woods"

 This exercise was very interesting as it was able to explore and vary the way in which we said the words 'go to the woods'.
Alongside this we had to think about the ways in which we could effect others in terms of the tone that we used and this was very spontaneous as it made me question the way in which i could say things whilst thinking about my objective and what i wanted. I liked that this exercise focussed more on the vice rather than the physicality because it made me aware of how important the voice is and how much it can be used in order to achieve your objective/ the effect that you want to give on the other person.

• To seduce (Said slowly and quite breathy)
• To excite (High pitch and said quite fast)
• To persuade (Clearly pronounced and I took my time)
• To convince (High pitch but also varied at times)
• To provoke (Quite aggressive so quite a deep pitch)
• To entertain (High pitch and said quite fast)

This exercise was useful when looking at my dialogue as it made me think about certain ways i could say certain things and alongside this it made me pick out/ notice specific words/ phrases that i felt needed to be noticed or emphasised as they were mainly subtext or things that could infer deeper meanings.

KRISTINE OBJECTIVES:

Life: Carry on working

"I've worked my whole life"
"I need to work, if I'm going to survive i need to work"

Play: Find a job

"You wont believe this but when you told me about your husbands new position i was beside myself with happiness, not because of what it meant for you but because of what it might mean for me."

Act: Wants Krogstad back and is trying to make him understand her reasons

"If two shipwrecked people can reach out for each other"

"I was looking for you, Nils."

'Kill of every feeling you ever felt'
"I need to be somebody's mother, your children need a mother, I know you so well. I know your core."

PARTNERS OBJECTIVES:

Life: To be successful

Play: Love and money

Act: Wants answers
 "A woman with no heart left a man who loved her when a more financially secure position was offered to her"

UNITS AND EVENTS: 

A unit is a portion of a scene that contains one objective for an actor. Units can be changed  every time and this is know as a shift being occurred in a scene. We found out that each unit had an objective for each character and this objective was expressed through the use of an active and transitive verb; for example, to seduce or to entertain.
An event is certain parts in a script which come away from the main meaning and it is also something that contains subtext and hidden meaning.



I found one particular aspect of my rehearsal process challenging in terms of  attempting the stage directions as they were extremely important as they had allot of deep meaning and subtext to them. The stage directions were :

Krogstad: What if its too late for that?
Kristine: Its not.

He looks at her.  (Show me why 'its not')  
She goes to him,    (Slowly moving towards him)
She touches his face. (Hand goes behind his neck)
It is like the first time anybody has touched his face for years and years. (This explicit information meant that there needed to be a reaction and so my focus was completely on him)

I need to be somebody's mother, your children need a mother. I know you so well, i know your core.

She kisses him. Short kiss
He kisses back.
The music upstairs stops. 
She hears it.

STANISLAVSKY QUESTIONS:

1. Who am I? 
Kristine; a widow. a lover, a friend, an ex, a sister, a business woman, independent, strong, caring, opportunist

2. When am I (When is the happening?) 
This is happening at an important moment in Kristine's life as she is out of work and the only way she survives is by working

3. Where am I ? (Is this happening?)
 This is something Kristine has dreamed about for a long time because  she feels guilty and regret towards her actions in the past and how she left Krogstad for another man who meant nothing to her.

4. Why am I ? (Why do i do what i do?) 
I do things because i look out for others and don't think about my own needs first. The reason for this is because I've had to look out for many people who meant allot to me. I married a man who i didn't love as i was desperate for the money in order to provide for my brothers and mum