26|1|15 - Directing Unit - "DNA - Week 12"

Over the past week we have done smaller rehearsals working on either the Lea and Phil, Rachel and Phil or Jan and Mark scenes. During these we have gone over the direction we have handed them in preparation for the full run.

Lea + Phil - "Deja Vu" monologue: 
This monologue captures Lea's desperation to gain Phil's attention. Although not as dramatic as the strangling in scene 1, we see Lea almost boasting at how well she knows Phil. Part of me feels she is slightly taking the mick because of "doing nothing" is all Phil ever really does. But then from that I thought it was interesting if we made Lea naive to this, as if she see's Phil to be a lot more interesting that he really is. Once failing to correctly predict the birds landing, she changes the subject. (We have cut the discussion about the sky) As she questions the possibility to change things, we see Lea digging metaphorically on ideas within the play. Changing "one thing" being Adam, and "the world" being the group of friends we follow in the play. Phil disagreeing with Lea is the first time that we see the contrast between the characters. This is where I identify Lea as the moral conscious of the play as even Kelly himself see's "If you can change one thing, you can change the world" as the heart of the play. This conflicts with Phil's 'logical' and 'analytic' way of thinking and dealing with situations. 

Lea + Phil - "I'm Going" monologue: 

This is yet another desperate cry for Phil's attention. I do think, in this monologue, we see Lea start to stand up for herself, as realization or perhaps acceptance of Phil's ignorance which is why she might bitterly admit "I admire you so much" as she feels that herself could never be that ignorant if he showed the same desperation towards herself. Phil is provided as a comic relief in both of these monologues as the play deals with panic and chaos, the underlying tone of comedy helps to ease tension. I also think with it being Phil that supplies the unintentional comedy it shows how is detached from the situation and only see's it as a problem that has to be solved, but not necessarily have an emotional attachment or concern with them. Obviously, there is the consequence of prison which is why he will probably continue to help. This can make Phil appear self centered, which is also shown in the scene where he decides how to deal with Adams return. 

Rachel + Phil - "Come Back to Us" monologue: 

We see Rachel attempting to replace Lea, she mimic's patterns of Lea's monologues, such as looking out into the distance, the need for a reaction of Phil. We wanted to see a slight shift in Phil's attitude at this point. We wanted to see him angry at Rachel for trying to replace Lea, causing her to feel uncomfortable, therefore feeling unable or awkward to sit on the crate in which Lea used to occupy. With Phil being upset, it shows that there is no way to handle a situation completely based on logic, there has to be a moral influence on decisions as well, which is why Lea and Phil were together, as a balance. When Rachel says "there are more stars in the sky than grains of sand on Brighton beach" we want to see Phil put his head in his hands, this is because Lea would've said stuff like this, such as "if you can change one thing you can change the world". It is this reminder of Lea's company reflected in Phil, that makes Rachel feel so uncomfortable she's got to go. Phil will retrieve a star burst, a running item that is the idea of connecting logic and emotion, Phil's 'bargaining tool'. He then places it on Lea's crate before leaving the scene. 

Today's plan is to do full run through's of the performance. We video'd our first tech/run which was the first run through with all the staging, props, costume and lighting. Here is the video of the first run, it cut out so the last few scenes are in separate videos: 

Me and Alex then gave our feedback. These are the notes I wrote, in italics I will explain why I wanted to make these changes if necessary.

Scene 1 
- Lea's we heard, takes hold of Phil's hand- subtely

showing straight away that they come as pair, as much to Rachel's annoyance.

- closer together around Cathy
after being spread out, becomes more intense on her mistake. 

- go over lines Lea Rachel Cathy section 

-Brian's enterance, more shock. 

group reaction is a key, it needs to look naturalistic not as if it was set for him to come in then.
-Rachel line in quicker "you dick"
- Brian looking at the group when talking about crying 

shows that he is looking for reassurance and group support 
- mark and jan closer to Brian's stool 

so that when they move away afterwards it's a bigger reaction to Phil
-" mark & jan " move further behind lea in Phil's thing about grille
- Phil. more aggressive second "rachel will take you"

to show an underlying 'aggressive' nature as he is very direct
- Rachel's exit quick and more stroppy 

as she feels that the leadership of 'her' group is slipping from her
- interaction with each other at the end

>lines Rachel
>either side of Cathy - not too for forward
>Rachel more assertive
>Brian sit up more with the sweet (happier)
> reaction to Phil telling Brian what they'll do to him

Scene 2

- more of a let down when the starling doesn't appear, slump back to the crate

- pause before "change one thing" out of annoyance
the change line is one of the most important lines as it captures a lot of what the story is about. 

>more sure a bird is gonna land

Scene 3

- mark louder, more definite with a variety of tones

Scene 4

- Lea move arms more to not look so static or stiff. Need to look comfortable with Phil.
- pull the suitcase "right fucking now"
-genuinely think about the monologue and what's it's saying - easier to learn & you'll create more tone
- Phil don't leave the sight of your plate or pack away til they've left stage. Stay happy for a couple seconds after they've gone so the focus is on you
Phil is the character that can create humour 
>more aggressive and annoyed yeah everyone's happy 

phil isn't engaged by emotions, which upsets you
>sigh when Phil doesn't answer and decides to spread more

Scene 5 
>complete constrast between Brian and Cathy,.
shows the changes within the group and how they have become drastic over time. 

-Cathy lines come in quicker after Brian's, almost overlapping the end his lines

- more shock from the group at Cathy's violence (especially the slap)

she used to be the 'wannabe' of the group and show now holds the power of the group. 

- Lea think about the meaning of your lines, and how you'd actually say them

- Rachel, more distraught about the situation (head in hands) "fucked" a lot louder

- everyone think about your own fear in Brian's monologue. And use that as emotional memory, imagine hearing your best friend telling you go through all of that and how it would hurt. Adjust your body language throughout, don't be scared to move. Use your hands to show shock and worry and how you feel uncomfortable. Facial expressions try and show you imagining (confused, scared, worried shocked) - you got a while to display all these so just mix about with it with your character in mind

- Lea walk with disgust and shock at what Adams been eating

- Adam louder in singular lines

- Rachel look more worried at Phil when telling you what to do. Also look back when you walk off at Cathy (she's taken your place)

-more distress from Lea as soon and jan mark and Rachel have left. Urgency.

- definition and defiance from Cathy, you're now in charge of the group.

- create a build with the bag being over the head to allow the audience to be shocked

- Brian bend over and mean on knees "that was great"

- move closer to Phil body wise

- Brian take suitcase off back of stage

Scene 6

- no matter how it falls. Look disgusted

Scene 7

- mark look shocked as well, you're just as shocked you just know it's a fact and are annoyed that jan doesn't believe you... Again

Scene 8

- script down.
- look out on "Brighton beach" quote (like lea)
>keep the pace fast - you're mimicking lea's monologues

14|1|15 - Directing Unit - "DNA - Week 11"

Meeting

For the first rehearsal back, we thought it would be ideal to run through the scenes as we will have had the holiday. We wanted to make sure the use of scripts was abolished and so the focus was on the physical element. 

Rehearsal

We spent the first 20 minutes doing a solid line run. This is where I was able to direct their tone, as it was clear they knew the lines but didn't fully understand why they were saying these lines. Inputting the context that influences their line or reminding them of their character and Stanislavsky's "what if?" they were able to find a tone that created the correct delivery to make the scene flow and make more sense. You could they started to grasp how to do this independently as they started thinking about their lines whilst the scene carried on. The energy within the piece was raised due to this and I hope this continues when they have the concept of their physical movements.

The second time we went through, I gave characters key movements to match specific tones of voice, for example, when Cathy starts to get angry and I want her to have a venomous tone, I have made her cross her arms. I have done this for various characters throughout the group scenes. Specific actions to remember to help them remember their characters traits and stay closely to 'becoming the character' something Stanislavsky aimed to do.

After doing this for both of the group scenes, I decided to give them my notes on costumes so they had an idea of what I wanted for their character and why. 

Technical Aspect (Costumes): 

Lea: 

-Hair tied into two plaits, less messy, "controlled"
-Knee length skirt, more 'nerdy'. This will help establish the difference between Cathy and Lea
-Blouse/shirt
-Cardigan
-Shoes in which the character think fit the best. 

Phil
-Shirt, rolled up sleeves, top button undone reflects relaxed nature
-Sweatervest, implies the more nerdy side of his character
-Jeans, simple wear
-Black shoes, simple

Jan
-Hippy top - the idea of questioning and thinking
-A jacket - Jan is outside a lot
-Baggy "mom" jeans - constrast with the rest of the group, her "no" remarks against Brian 

Mark 
-Your average teenager (jeans & shoes) 
-Hoodie - the connotations of hoodies imply youth and 'chav' - outside 

Rachel 
-Ripped jeans, rough leader of the pack. 
-Large hoodie - again the connotations of this will imply a gang effect 
-Hoodie taken off to reveal floral top, this is to mimic the change that is imposed on the group, as the tough leader we now see her as more feminine and keen for Phil's attention. 

Brian
-Scruffy clothes, jeans, t-shirt, hoodie. Messy mimicking his mental state.
-Scruff up and gel his hair to make it look messy and odd. 

Cathy 
-School girl appearance for the first group scene.
-Shirt, tie, short skirt, fishnet tights, cardigan (don't care attitude) 
-Second scene, the tie is removed along with the cardigan. the sleeves of the skirt are then rolled up. This is to mimic the transformation she goes through to becoming rough. 

Adam
-Polo top (not fancy) with a pair of ripped jeans. These will then be coated in mud. We have applied mud pre to the performance and then just before the performance we will apply mud and fake blood so its a constant of being in the woods. We will have blood in his hair that appears dried but he can still feel it. 

I want the costumes to feel realistic for an area that suffers with gang trouble, the stereotypical council house area. The idea of them being in school or just finishing school comes through Cathy being in school uniform, and the state of the school will also contribute to the ideas of the society they're from. There is meant to be a contrast between Lea and Phil with the rest of the group, this is because Lea and Phil have been brought in from a higher society to help. Due to this, the characters costumes may have an emphasized stereotype effect, but without a budget getting the exact costumes I want is unachievable.