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.   

17|12|14 - Directing Unit - "DNA - Week 10"

Meeting

For this rehearsal no matter who turns up we want to do a full run through, with the rest of the cast watching when they are not in. This means they can see their queues for entrances and how the energy needs to contrast with the end of the scene previous to pick up the pace. We are also saying that it has to be script down, we will allow them to look at scripts when off stage, and we will prompt them. We know that in the future rehearsal we will do a full run where we treat it as if we have an audience, there will be no prompt and we will see how they deal with it. But this will be the first time without scripts, so we feel allowing prompting will be helpful. 

Rehearsal

Again, the only people unable to make it were India and Freya, so again me and Alex stood in for those. We decided to skip past the Lea and Phil scenes as it would be unproductive to continue with those. 

We finished the blocking of scene 5, we wanted to show the end result due to the chaos and question how much it takes to change a person. It is throughout the play that each individual goes through a struggle and become a different person. 

This is shown in Rachel's monologue where she explains what everyone has become. Rachel has changed person, this is due to Phil's presence & since Lea has left, Rachel now feel's he is able to pursue Phil. We see a softer side of her due to this as she attempts to connect with Phil. We see that Phil has truly realised what he had too late when Lea leaves, this is shown through the placement of a starburst on Lea's seat. 

Taking into consideration the transformation from violence to passive within Rachel, we see the opposite take place within Cathy. We previously see her as quite niave, self obsessed, at the end we see her violent streak grow and her become a more authoritative figure. So it was key throughout the end of scene 5 to show Cathy's new status by her directing threats towards Brian, and it is her that now babysits Brian instead of Rachel. 

Brian's character is shown to have finally hit the rock bottom of his mental state, becoming highly dysfunctional is shown through his lines already, we wanted to reflect this in his personality, his mood being able to flip through the simple production of a sweet, and then being returned to a hysterical mess when told he must go into the police station.  

I want scene 5 to really encase the change that has happened to the group due to the chaos. I feel like Phil' character is the only person who notices this, due to his analytical traits, meaning he knows who he can depend on. Lea also hasn't necessarily changed, the thing that happens with Lea, is that she loses hope. The joke of leaving becomes a reality, her morals can be seen as more than her affections towards Phil.

1|10|14   - Week 1 - introduction - quick fire workshop

8|10|14   - Week 2 - workshop - read through - look at script

15|10|14 - Week 3 - work on script sections

20|10|14 - Week 4 - work on script sections

5|11|14   - Week 5 - work on script - fully blocked (group scenes)

12|11|14 - Week 6 - duologue blocking 

26|11|14 - Week 7 - duologue blocking

3|12|14   - Week 8 - develop duologues, revisit group scenes

10|12|14 - Week 9 - script down - develop tone and body language

17|11|14 - Week 10 - script down - tidy

14|1|15 - Week 11 - script down, full run through, dress?
21|1|15 - Week 12 - dress & tech rehearsal, no script/prompt. two run throughs?

10|12|14 - Directing Unit - "DNA - Week 9"

Meeting

Me and Alex were aware that the year 11's were preparing for their mock exams and therefore, Freya, India and Daisy wouldn't be attending the rehearsal. This meant that we knew we couldn't do the Lea and Phil duologues, and we have decided that we will do these out of n2c time in order to have more focus on them. Instead, we want to go over the group scenes and develop the tone and confidence of their placing. 

Rehearsal

We started the rehearsal discussing the closing deadline for the performance, telling them we wanted to do a full run through of the play next week so they could get an idea for the structure and when they are on. We then started to carry on with the rehearsal, fortunately Daisy turned up, this meant that me and Alex could fill in for Lea and Rachel. We went through the scenes multiple times, saving the feedback until the end of the run through so we could start to get a smooth flow. 

Confidence in their lines was the main fault, the lack of confidence in their delivery slowed the pace of the performance. We told them that the best way was to learn their queues so that they could make their line instantaneous, this will help to develop the atmosphere of panic and urgency within the scenes. 

The delivery of the lines is becoming more definite, they are all showing a large improvement with the understanding of the context of the play. As they grasp the purpose and reason for their lines they are able to add more characterisation to it, which gives the scene depth over all. 

The only thing that I feel needs to happen is a full run through with everyone there, this will help link all the scenes together. I also need to hold a rehearsal with just India and Felix to go over Lea's monologues. Doing this separately will ensure that we don't waste time when the whole cast is there. It also allows me to engage with them more, focusing on how the context effects their character and why I am directing them to do the things they way I do. 

3|12|14 - Directing Unit - "DNA - Week 8"

Meeting

Looking over what me and Alex have left to do, it is still only the end of scene 5 and the Lea and Phil scenes that need completing. We also want to work on the thought behind lines, we feel this will help with the expression of the lines including their tone. With the Phil and Lea scenes we want to show the developing corruption of Lea's faith within Phil. This happens in the scene where there is actually no talking. 

Rehearsal

The cast members that play Cathy and Lea were not at rehearsals due to other commitments, this meant it was hard to complete what me and Alex wanted to do as both carry major roles within the parts we still have left to block. We didn't want to do the group scenes and have us stand in for them as they we didn't feel the cast would benefit from this as they are the ones that carry the scene. Instead, we decided to do a workshop revolving around their characters tone. 

We sat in a circle and one by one I asked them to choose five of their lines from various points within the play. This was a great way to see who also felt most confident with their lines. I then sent them to separate parts of the room so they could go over those fives lines. I then told them to remove context from the line, take them a way from the situation that they are actually from and think about how that might change the way they are said. For example, one of Phil's lines is 'do you want to go?' - in context he is referring to where Adam would like to be, it is a serious question that carries a lot of consequence. If we replace this with a different context, such as, asking a girl to come home after a night out, the tone and delivery of the line would be very different.  We then re-grouped, and I told them to go round saying one line at a time, and changing the tone for each one. I then set up a line of chairs, I then gave them numbers and switched so that when they said their lines in the number order or would come from a more interesting pattern then one after the other in a line.
I then videoed this. 

To develop it into something more interesting to watch we added actions to mimic each tone or line, this meant exaggerated the feeling within the delivery. I felt that this was a successful way to get the cast to think about the meaning and motives behind there lines. This will mean that they will be able to get a more realistic delivery. I think this will  help when we go back to running through the scenes as they will be able to take that knowledge and bring it through the rest of their lines. 

26|11|14 - Directing Unit - "DNA - Week 7"

Meeting 

Looking at our schedule, we realised that we were unable to block the Lea and Phil scenes due to India's absence, so we thought we should get started with one of those. The one thing we both think is missing from the scenes is the intensity of worry, fear and concern, therefore Alex said he would do some developing work on the rest of the cast until I've blocked one of Lea and Phil's scenes. I told Alex my plan of direction, how it would be simple staging and I will mainly be focusing on Phil's reactions and how Lea conveys herself. 

Rehearsal

We felt the cast had a good energy and focus and therefore we felt that if we started a game they may feel liable to get too hyper and less focused. I took Lea and Phil away, as I felt it worked really well with Felix and Freya to explain the context of the scene I decided to do the same with this scene. This meant me telling them how Lea could be seen as the 'moral voice' within the play, showing glimpse of hope within each scene of how they can resolve the situation. The scene concludes on a key moment when Lea asks "If you can change one thing, you can change the world?" Dennis himself felt this moment might well be the heart of the play. I agree as I feel the play deals with the effects a situation has on a group and the consequences it has on the individuals, and although this is just a on a group, we could see the group metaphorically represent a country. I wanted to make Lea understand it's Phil's intelligence and control and how he isolates himself that she finds attractive. They are the balance of each other, where Lea's overriding confidence to talk and display any of her thoughts, Phil is analytic, concise with words and speaks when only he finds necessary. 

We then decided to go through a run through of scene 5. I wanted to bare in mind context, the only points of feedback of the group is to understand what their characters are feeling at this point. The situation is growing more and more difficult and the characters are becoming more desperate in finding a way to resolve the situation. I also want to make it clear of Cathy's growing violent streak and the status she is receiving in the group because of this - maybe having some sort of action between Rachel, the previous clique leader, would show this. Showing Cathy as violent makes it a clear choice for Phil to choose her to carry out the violent plan at the end of scene 5 which is not yet blocked. 

12|11|14 - Directing Unit - "DNA - Week 6"

Meeting 

Me and Alex thought we would go over all of the group scenes, finishing the blocking for scene 5. We would decide at the start of the rehearsal if there was a need for a group game at the beginning based on the energy of the cast, and if we feel they need focus we will do a run through of scene 1 in order to regain their focus. We then agreed that if we finished working on the group scenes we should move onto the duologue scenes as it is technically only the end of scene 5 that needs to be blocked. 

Rehearsal

At the rehearsal, both our Cathy (Daisy W) and Lea (India) were unavailable, due to this, working on any group scenes seemed an invaluable use of time as the cast would be missing to of the strongest voices within the group scenes, therefore we decided that we would have the cast in groups working on different sections of script. We had Mark (Jake) and Jan (Daisy V) developing there characters, working on the pace of their scenes and going over the blocking of positions. Brian (Zack) would help Adam (Sam) with learning his monologue, suggesting ideas of tone. Alex said he would flit between the two in order to keep watch while I focused on blocking the final scene of the play which includes Rachel (Freya) and Phil (Felix). We let the group have a game of their choice which they could play independently to give myself and Alex time to discuss the plan due to the fact we were unable to do what we wanted. 

We agreed on a character development of making Rachel have a thing for Phil, and the end scene, although being a way to communicate to the audience the way nothing seems to have changed (Phil's relunctance to reply) but how everything has changed, the characters development, Rachel's new fondness of Phil & the group no longer being a 'clique'.

I then explained to Freya and Felix my feelings for the last scene, as I feel that if they have an understanding of the context and subtext they will be able to perform it better. I explain how Rachel was attempting to replace Lea with that style of monologue. This meant there was an underlying tone of Rachel wanting Phil in a more romantic way, where as Phil remains reluctant, even more so now Lea has gone. Rachel at the beginning of our half of the script was the 'ring leader' figure, but now the trauma is over, the group no longer exists - this means she no longer has that reputation to keep up and she can follow through on feelings she has for someone who before would've been in a different clique and therefore not an option for 

(FILM IT) 

5|11|14 - Directing Unit - "DNA - Week 5"

Meeting

Me and Alex discussed how we would handle the progression into working on scenes that only contain a couple of the cast members. Now we have almost completed blocking the scenes that include the entire cast we are able to work on the Jan and Mark duologues as well as the Lea and Phil scenes and the members that are focused within the group can continue to learn and develop their characters and help each other. Knowing that from now I will be attending only the first hour of rehearsal we are splitting our time, I will be leading the majority of the first section of the rehearsal, continuing with the blocking of scene 5 and revisiting scene 1. Me and Alex feel that by going over scene 1 and scene 5 we enable the cast to get in touch with their characters, it also helps to develop the pace as the more they are rehearsing them the easier it will be for them to learn their lines. We also know that to get a whole group to come out of a set study time will be difficult compared to taking out the duologue characters. We then decided that I would take Jan and Mark as their scenes are a lot shorter than Lea's monologue so I would definitely be able to produce something with them, whilst I am doing this, Alex will take over with Lea and Phil developing their characters in their scenes. 

Rehearsal 

Mr Chipp lead a calming game of following the point. This needed focus and the aim was that whenever you found someone pointing at you, you had to point at someone else and this would continue until the whole group had joined in pointing. This linked to the theme of blame within 'DNA' nicely, as the entire group is keen to place blame on other characters in order to be part of the rest of the group. 

We did not have Freya for this rehearsal who is playing Rachel, so whilst we did the run through of scene 1 I stepped in for her. I used this an opportunity to show how quickly the lines should come in after each other. This run through was also needed as since the holiday had passed little details had been forgotten and it was easy enough to remind them. One thing I am thinking of doing is a workshop on tone or actioning. I want the cast to understanding their lines and how they are trying to make the other person feel as I feel this will give the performance a more realistic Stanislavsky style.

We went through scene 5, which again had little mistakes. As we had stopped just before Adam's monologue we continued from that point. As he read through he was showing aspects of tone, but there needs to be more variation in order for the audience not to loose interest. It also occurred to me that the rest of the cast need to develop their reactions. This means I will talk to them in the next session about constantly being involved in the scene. During blocking sessions I understand they may drift off but in the run through's I think it is key they listen to what is going on and develop and characterize themselves to give the scene more energy and life. 

I then worked with Daisy and Jake who are playing Jan and Mark. I started by talking to them a little more about their characters. I told them that they were the kind of friends who were inseparable, almost twin like. They are the balance of each other - whilst Jan is flustered and easily worried, Mark has a sense of calm and reassured understanding of situations. We started in chronological order. 

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