PRACTICE
Because the performance time was only in 2 days time, we needed to finish the rest of the piece. But more importantly - learn techniques of facilitation. Sir had planned for us to do a small 40 -45 minute lesson with a class of year sevens about the Berlin Wall.We had an hours lesson to plan before the year 7's lesson. Sir went through the lesson as if we were the year 7 class facilitating it and every now and then explaining why. After being told how to do it, and practising obvious question they were going to ask and doing taking turns on facilitation. Chris was going to take the lead in the facilitation as he would be for the Junk TIE project.
As the class came in we sat them in a semi circle around a table with a rock in the middle. Chris asked them to say raise there hand and say the atmosphere that was created by this. There responses were such as 'creepy' 'mysterious' 'quiet'. He then asked them to discuss with the person next to them what it might be from. The rest of the group then went and spoke to a few kids at a time, especially if the looked like they did have any ideas, we could give them some. We had to make sure we praised everyone's idea's even if it wasn't the initial response we wanted. We'd signal to Chris the children we knew had the idea's that would lead onto the next task. Then, we repeated this but with the question 'why do you think the person put it there?'.
Then Chris brought out Jake who was doing the role play activity. He had been told the story by Sir and knew the order of it all, he just had to wait for the right questions to trigger it. He went through the story of how his uncle and his lover were separated by the Berlin in wall, and how he and his friends planned to go over but he got shot when he started climbing, and when you were then able to take part of the wall, he took the part of the brick near where his uncle was shot.
We then established the first part of the story, the soldiers coming with the tanks. And the last part, him being shot. We then told them to discuss with the people next to them what they 3 parts in between were. When we spoke to them, we had to hear what they said, most of them had it right, and it was easy to guide them to certain events if not. We then established it was 'love separation.' then 'planning with friends' then 'climbing/getting caught' in between.
Each member of the group then took around 4 students to create a freeze frame for each part of the story. Most of the time you had to suggest the idea with the question and then half suggest a position and let them choose the rest. We had to remain enthusiastic so they would be too. I fortunately had a very good group of 4 girls and they were all very good, and 2 were very enthusiastic with drama which encouraged the other two. Sir then showed the class morphing and how it effects the movement on the whole and kept them 'keeping in character' even when going into a different frame. I made sure each one knew what they needed to do, and went through the counts with them so they knew when they needed to move. Chris came round checking everyone was okay and had nearly finished. we then made them sit in 2 lines facing the performing space, then group at a time showed the performance and added music and it was a whole performance they could be proud of doing within 20 - 30 minutes. Sir then took over the last 15 minutes of the lesson and we were allowed to leave and have our break.
N2C PROJECT.
We went over what we had already and decided to add an extra bit to the social - park section.extra: instead of going straight into the freeze frames, we wanted to show more mishap going on, so Emily got Ciara (Gemma) over and suggested the idea of me and her having a drinking competition, everyone but Tar is up for the idea, me and Gemma run to opposite corners and I shouted 'shots!' Tar attempts to stop her by mentioning her mum and she says 'do I really care what she's going to say? she's going to have a go at me anyway?!' which Chris then picks up the rhyme and shouts 'oh she rhyme's! I love you Gemma!' and Tar tells him to shut up. Then goes back to telling Gemma to not drink, Chris and Emily, who are stood on the table count down and then me and Ciara take the shots, Ciara wins as it comes out of my nose, we then run into the freeze frame positions and continue as normal.
This makes this scene more high energy even though there is nothing majorly important being told to the audience here, it prepares them for the low energy but high intensity scene that follows at home.
Gemma:
Tar: and Gemma have a talk, Tar tells her that he's leaving and going to Bristol. Gemma says she'll come too, and Tar has a go at her saying she has no reason too, that her biggest worry is her GCSE's, or what to spend mummy's money on. This leaves Gemma in a state for when she return homes.
Gemma's Home: We see Gemma sit at the table with a bottle of vodka, she takes of the lid and downs some, then continues to clutch the bottle. Her sister (Emily) walks in, and says 'What are you doing Gemma, mum will be through any second?' Gemma sighs and just turns herself around, still clutching the bottle. Gemma's mum (Kelly) then enters talking but then stops half way when she see's Gemma drinking, she sends Emily to the room. The whole atmosphere goes down to uncertainness. There's a small pause where the audience can think what would happen to them in this situation. When Gemma's mum asks her if she's pregnant, Gemma goes on a rampage saying how her mum would love that. Then Kelly tells Ciara that she can either tell her what's happened or she can go to her room, Ciara responds by biting her fist and saying 'my room mummy?! not my room mummy!' and then her mum finally realises it's to do with Tar and states how she's never liked him or his family, this puts Gemma over the edge and and she storms off with the bottle of alcohol telling her mum she's never even given him a chance and she doesn't know anything about him. This gives the audience a reason to dislike Gemma's mum because she doesn't know that Tar is abused by his family, and he's actually a good lad that doesn't drink. It also shows that Gemma stands up for Tar, even though he's leaving and going to Bristol. The audience are now in suspense of what's going to happen.
FACILIATION.
We are going to make each block of chairs turn round and face a character and an N2C member, Chris will direct the year 7's to turn their chairs around so they can them and then hand over the N2C member. I'm with Jake, he will be role playing and I will facilitate. I have to tell them to think of 3 questions each to ask Tar with the person next to them and I'll give them around a minute, that allows me to go round and see who has the questions that will provoke the best responses for the next part of the freeze frame activity. We wanted to manipulate them so that Jake could tell 3 certain things about Tar:
FACILIATION.
We are going to make each block of chairs turn round and face a character and an N2C member, Chris will direct the year 7's to turn their chairs around so they can them and then hand over the N2C member. I'm with Jake, he will be role playing and I will facilitate. I have to tell them to think of 3 questions each to ask Tar with the person next to them and I'll give them around a minute, that allows me to go round and see who has the questions that will provoke the best responses for the next part of the freeze frame activity. We wanted to manipulate them so that Jake could tell 3 certain things about Tar:
- When was the first time he got hit? It was his first parents evening in year 7, he knew he'd done well and was waiting at home for them to return. His mum came in and gave him a kiss, but he dad hit him, because he'd been told he needed to improve his grade in maths. - What's the worst thing the dad has ever done? Once, he caught Tar swearing online. One time. So he ran a bath, and poured a little bleach in it, and held Tar's head under it, saying he had a dirty mouth. -Why don't you tell anybody/the police? Tar doesn't want to split the family up, he doesn't want a broken home. He knows his mum loves him and he doesn't want to cause any trouble.
We then split the group we have in half and Jake takes one, now as an N2C member, and I take the other. We make them pick out these three things buy re-asking the questions. We mould them into prepared freeze frame ideas and then when Chris comes round we are to give a signal if they are a strong group to show or a if they shouldn't. Obviously, we're are not there to discipline, we have to let the teachers take control of that.
This is the part I am most worried about because it's where the most could go wrong and depends on the children's enthusiasm. So we have to encourage them to get more out of them.
PHONECALLS
Mother: Tar's mum (me) rings Tar when he's in Bristol, because things at home have got worse. She doesn't want to bother Tar, but it's getting really bad for her. She starts of asking if he's staying out of trouble, he looks around at the hoodies he's with, and says yeh. I start to mutter, as if I'm about to cry, and he asks if everything's okay again. I respond with 'I need to see you' and he refuses, until I tell him that it's got worse, then he says I have to leave, and I say I love him. He tells me to not be stupid, but by this time, Matt has put his hand on my shoulder to scare me, I pretend I'm on the phone to a work colleague, and hang up. He takes the phone of me, dials the last number, Jake answers with 'mum?' and Matt hangs up, and then stage slaps me. The music turns up immediately and Jake walks down to the corner I was just at whilst Ciara replaces his old spot. This intermission of music gives the audience time to reflect on the scene they've just witnessed and see that the mother is not as good as the audience thinks, because she wants to bring her son home so he can be beat up and her beat up less.
Gemma: Tar's phone rings again and Gemma tells him that she's done it, she's left her mother and she's at the bus station. Tar tells her to turn back before it's too late. She says she's at the bus station in Bristol. This makes the audience feel sorry for Gemma because she's come all this way and Tar doesn't want to be with her. He says he'll go and collect her and she thanks him. This leaves the audience uncertain on how their relationship will continue if there is a strain on it and if it will make Tar's living situation in Bristol have any complications.
MEETINGS:
Gemma: There's rain music for the transition, Jake and Ciara switch places and while everyone walks on and off stage with an umbrella to show the weather is poor. When they meet they greet with a hug. They talk about how it probably isn't the best idea and then Gemma says her home life is just as bad, even if she doesn't get hit. She reveals 40 pounds and says to go to his because of the weather. They walk of together.
Mother: They meet in London, and we start off looking around the stage for each other, then we hug. He notices a black eye and holds my face and turns me round. He asks when he did it, and I say tell him yesterday. He says I have to get out of there, I try and convince him to return by saying it'll get better if he comes back because his dad just misses him. He says to leave and I say how am I meant to support myself? Chris intervenes at this point, and separates the two situations, I sit at on end, and Ciara sits diagonally opposite and Jake stands in the middle.
SIMPLIFIED FORUM THEATRE
We want to let the children have a go at directing the plot. So first, we will show them what was going on whilst Tar was in Bristol with Gemma. They were cold, she was moaning about not having enough, and he says she should've stayed at home. He then will direct them to see what's happening at home without Tar there, and they'll see Matt having a go at me, asking who I met in London and becoming more violent with his hands pushing me down into the chair.
He'll then gives the year 7's a chance to talk with each other whilst the N2C members go round and plant the two situations we've already created of 'going home and standing up to the dad' and 'ringing the police for his mum'. When these two situations have been said, we will perform them.
For the standing up to the dad, Jake will walk over, I stand up and hug him. Matt will be more aggressive and they start to argue, when Matt picks up the chair and I scream, that's the signal for Chris to come and break it up. He shows how that won't work and we need to do the police one instead. For this, we show Tar knelt down next to me, and me upset that he's in prison, and that the family's split up. When he says he's saved me I loose it, and tell him to get out.
We end it here on the cliffhanger, where nothing it going right for Tar so that the year 7's can think in their own minds what Tar should do and create their own ending, or go and read the book that we based it on.
We then split the group we have in half and Jake takes one, now as an N2C member, and I take the other. We make them pick out these three things buy re-asking the questions. We mould them into prepared freeze frame ideas and then when Chris comes round we are to give a signal if they are a strong group to show or a if they shouldn't. Obviously, we're are not there to discipline, we have to let the teachers take control of that.
This is the part I am most worried about because it's where the most could go wrong and depends on the children's enthusiasm. So we have to encourage them to get more out of them.
PHONECALLS
Mother: Tar's mum (me) rings Tar when he's in Bristol, because things at home have got worse. She doesn't want to bother Tar, but it's getting really bad for her. She starts of asking if he's staying out of trouble, he looks around at the hoodies he's with, and says yeh. I start to mutter, as if I'm about to cry, and he asks if everything's okay again. I respond with 'I need to see you' and he refuses, until I tell him that it's got worse, then he says I have to leave, and I say I love him. He tells me to not be stupid, but by this time, Matt has put his hand on my shoulder to scare me, I pretend I'm on the phone to a work colleague, and hang up. He takes the phone of me, dials the last number, Jake answers with 'mum?' and Matt hangs up, and then stage slaps me. The music turns up immediately and Jake walks down to the corner I was just at whilst Ciara replaces his old spot. This intermission of music gives the audience time to reflect on the scene they've just witnessed and see that the mother is not as good as the audience thinks, because she wants to bring her son home so he can be beat up and her beat up less.
Gemma: Tar's phone rings again and Gemma tells him that she's done it, she's left her mother and she's at the bus station. Tar tells her to turn back before it's too late. She says she's at the bus station in Bristol. This makes the audience feel sorry for Gemma because she's come all this way and Tar doesn't want to be with her. He says he'll go and collect her and she thanks him. This leaves the audience uncertain on how their relationship will continue if there is a strain on it and if it will make Tar's living situation in Bristol have any complications.
MEETINGS:
Gemma: There's rain music for the transition, Jake and Ciara switch places and while everyone walks on and off stage with an umbrella to show the weather is poor. When they meet they greet with a hug. They talk about how it probably isn't the best idea and then Gemma says her home life is just as bad, even if she doesn't get hit. She reveals 40 pounds and says to go to his because of the weather. They walk of together.
Mother: They meet in London, and we start off looking around the stage for each other, then we hug. He notices a black eye and holds my face and turns me round. He asks when he did it, and I say tell him yesterday. He says I have to get out of there, I try and convince him to return by saying it'll get better if he comes back because his dad just misses him. He says to leave and I say how am I meant to support myself? Chris intervenes at this point, and separates the two situations, I sit at on end, and Ciara sits diagonally opposite and Jake stands in the middle.
SIMPLIFIED FORUM THEATRE
We want to let the children have a go at directing the plot. So first, we will show them what was going on whilst Tar was in Bristol with Gemma. They were cold, she was moaning about not having enough, and he says she should've stayed at home. He then will direct them to see what's happening at home without Tar there, and they'll see Matt having a go at me, asking who I met in London and becoming more violent with his hands pushing me down into the chair.
He'll then gives the year 7's a chance to talk with each other whilst the N2C members go round and plant the two situations we've already created of 'going home and standing up to the dad' and 'ringing the police for his mum'. When these two situations have been said, we will perform them.
For the standing up to the dad, Jake will walk over, I stand up and hug him. Matt will be more aggressive and they start to argue, when Matt picks up the chair and I scream, that's the signal for Chris to come and break it up. He shows how that won't work and we need to do the police one instead. For this, we show Tar knelt down next to me, and me upset that he's in prison, and that the family's split up. When he says he's saved me I loose it, and tell him to get out.
We end it here on the cliffhanger, where nothing it going right for Tar so that the year 7's can think in their own minds what Tar should do and create their own ending, or go and read the book that we based it on.
I cant seem to find any of your new tie logs poppy. Am I being dim?
ReplyDeleteThere's only one more log entry for this piece of tie. But I haven't yet published any of the log entries for the two units we're doing at the moment, and I'm focusing more on the Berkoff for now until that performance is finished.
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